Kentucky Marine: Major General Logan Feland and the Making of the Modern USMC

4. Shuttling between the States and the Caribbean, 1907-1913

53 4 Shuttling between the States and the Caribbean, 1907–1913 On March 9, 1907, Captain Logan Feland presided over the Marine Guard on the USS Minnesota as the battleship was commissioned. In April, after a shakedown cruise to New England, the Minnesota joined other Atlantic Fleet vessels off the coast of Virginia in celebrating the Jamestown Exposition . The exposition commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony. Many famous people attended, including Mark Twain, William Jennings Bryan, Booker T. Washington, William Randolph Hearst, Samuel Gompers, and President Theodore Roosevelt. A lavish affair, the exposition underscored the military and naval might of the United States, despite some objections from exposition board members about the display of “extravagant militarism.”1 Sailing down the Potomac River on the presidential yacht Mayflower, Roosevelt opened the exposition on April 26 and reviewed a naval parade in Hampton Roads that included twelve international ships and thirtyeight U.S. vessels. Ships from Britain, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile participated in the parade. The Atlantic Fleet, commanded by Rear Admiral Robley “Fighting Bob” Evans, had on hand sixteen battleships, three cruisers, and an assortment of other ships. Feland and the sailors and Marines on the Minnesota participated in various events throughout the summer, welcoming foreign ships and dignitaries and once again sailing past Roosevelt for a presidential review on “Georgia Day” on June 10. The Jamestown Exposition festivities were marred, however, when the Minnesota’s steam launch sank in rainy weather and choppy seas as it was ferrying sailors back to the ship after they had attended an army and navy ball on land. Eleven men, including six Naval Academy midshipmen, 54 KENTUCKY MARINE died in the accident. One of the midshipmen was the brother of Lieutenant Thomas Holcomb, a future Marine Corps Commandant.2 In mid-August Captain Feland and his Marine detachment participated in the Minnesota’s final acceptance trial. Then, at the end of September , tragedy struck again. While conducting maneuvers off Cape Cod with other members of the North Atlantic Fleet, the Minnesota encountered severe weather and lost a seaman overboard.3 Later that year, the Minnesota joined the Great White Fleet, so called because the ships were painted white to better deal with the heat of tropical climates. Conceived originally as a response to growing tension in East Asia, especially in Japan, the Great White Fleet was the largest display of naval power ever assembled. In addition to being a popular event abroad, designed to improve U.S. relations with several foreign countries, the fleet’s cruise “was a highly successful exercise in public awareness. It greatly expanded popular understanding of American foreign relations and defense considerations, particularly in regard to the Pacific Basin.”4 After putting into the Brooklyn Navy Yard for preparations for its extended cruise around the world, the Minnesota sailed for Hampton Roads, where the Great White Fleet would be reviewed by President Roosevelt before departing. Forced to lay off Cape Henry for a day in thick fog, the Minnesota was the last battleship to arrive, reaching Hampton Roads on December 11. The sixteen battleships took up position in two parallel lines, with the Minnesota at the head of one line, serving as a squadron flagship; Rear Admiral Charles M. Thomas was aboard as Second Squadron commander and fleet second in command. The fleet Marines, under the command of Major Dion Williams, prepared for a parade at the army’s Fort Monroe, where Admiral Evans would review them.5 Several days of final preparations followed, including coaling the ships. Several glittering social events were held, such as a grand ball onshore on December 13. On December 16 Roosevelt returned on the Mayflower and was greeted by a twenty-one-gun salute. As the Mayflower proceeded down the line between the two squadrons, bands played and Marines paraded. Roosevelt held a reception on the Mayflower for senior naval officers, after which the admirals and captains returned to their ships, weighed anchor, and set sail for the south, firing a final twenty-onegun salute to the president. Logan Feland and the others aboard the fleet vessels were embarking on the trip of a lifetime. Shuttling between the States and the Caribbean 55 The fleet steamed southward in double columns as Admiral Evans conducted fleet exercises. By December 23, 1907, the Great White Fleet had arrived in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where it remained until December...