NAVY, UNITED STATES. 



471 



to the 115th degree east, taking in New Zea- 

 land, Australia, and New Guinea, together with 

 the Feejee and other groups of the South Pa- 

 cific Ocean. The naval force on this station is 

 looked to for any needed protection to the in- 

 terests of the Government and people in all 

 the waters of the Pacific ; along the great isth- 

 mus and the whole coast of South America; 

 the whaling and fishing fleets in the North 

 Pacific ; the growing commerce with the Sand- 

 wich Islands, China, and Japan; the newly- 

 acquired interests in Alaska and the adjacent 

 islands ; and to the traders, representatives, and 

 missionaries, scattered among the barbarous or 

 half-civilized tribes which people the Pacific 

 groups. 



This station was divided into two squadrons, 

 denominated the North Pacific and the South 

 Pacific squadrons, commanded respectively by 

 Eear- Admiral Craven and Rear- Admiral Turner 

 the North Pacific squadron consisting of eight 

 vessels, mounting in all 78 guns; and the 

 South Pacific squadron, consisting of six ves- 

 sels, mounting in all 49 guns. Since the coming 

 in of the present Administration, for the pur- 

 pose of readier communication, and to give to 

 the small force in this extended field greater 

 efficiency and, facility for combined action, 

 these two stations have been consolidated into 

 one, with a single fleet of two divisions, each 

 under the immediate command of a commodore, 

 with the whole under the general command of 

 a rear-admiral. 



The Pacific fleet, under command of Rear- 

 Admiral Turner, with Commodore William 

 Rogers Taylor and Commodore D. McDougal 

 commanding the respective squadrons, con- 

 sists of 14 vessels: the Kearsarge, Lackawanna, 

 Ossipee, Mohican, Resaca, Cyane, Jamestown, 

 Saginaw, Dakota, Saranac, Nyack, Onward, 

 and the Guerriere, with the Pensacola as flag- 

 ship; mounting in all 129 guns. 



A ship-of-war has been stationed on the coast 

 of Alaska since that country was ceded to us, 

 and the sloop-of-war Cyane, with a properly- 

 equipped steam-launch, has also been sent there, 

 as additional force during the winter. 



An astronomical party was conveyed to 

 Behring Strait in the Mohican, and an interest- 

 ing account of their observations will be found 

 in the report of the Superintendent of the Naval 

 Observatory. 



The rear-admiral commanding the station 

 visited the Sandwich Islands during the sum- 

 mer, for the purpose of communication with 

 our minister, and looking after American in- 

 terests in that locality. He was also charged 

 with the superintendence and completion of the 

 surveys of the Midway Islands, for which and 

 for the purpose of removing obstructions Con- 

 gress made an appropriation at its- last session. 



The naval operations on the Pacific for the 

 year will be found to have been well performed, 

 covering the extent from Alaska to Cape Horn, 

 and including the islands of the Pacific. 



The trade on that ocean is constantly and 



rapidly increasing, and American citizens are 

 found located everywhere on its shores and 

 among its islands. All the groups are visited 

 by whalers, and many Christian missionaries, 

 who are entitled to the protection of the Gov- 

 ernment, are scattered among them. The re- 

 gions of the South Pacific have not been visited 

 by an American vessel-of-war since the explor- 

 ing expedition under Captain Wilkes, and the 

 great Polynesian Archipelago, holding out many 

 inducements to our commerce, has been but 

 partially explored and surveyed. 



The sloop-of-war Kearsarge was sent to make 

 a limited reconnoissance of the Pacific islands, 

 with orders to extend her cruise as far as Aus- 

 tralia, where she was last heard from. 



The Jamestown was subsequently sent with 

 orders to visit the Feejee Islands and the Caro- 

 line group, for the purpose of investigating re- 

 ported outrages on American citizens, and look- 

 ing after the interests of the United States in 

 that quarter. 



The European station embraces the Atlantic, 

 with its connecting waters, north of the equator, 

 and as far as the forty-third degree west from 

 Greenwich, and includes the whole west coast 

 of Europe, the Mediterranean and its commu- 

 nicating seas, and the coast of Africa as far 

 as St. Paul de Loando. 



The squadron, under command of Rear-Ad- 

 miral Radford, has been reenforced by the 

 Juniata and Supply, and the Sabine. It consists 

 now of these vessels, with the Richmond and 

 Plymouth, and the Franklin as flagship six 

 vessels, mounting 106 guns. 



The Asiatic station embraces the eastern 

 coast of Asia, around to Hindostan, and thence 

 to the Cape of Good Hope, taking in Java, 

 Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippine Islands, Japan, 

 and the waters of Western and Southern Asia 

 and Western Africa. 



The squadron consists of the Piscataqua (flag- 

 ship), Oneida, Monocacy, Iroquois, Ashuelot, 

 Unadilla, and Maumee, and the Benicia, Colo- 

 rado, and Alaska, are also fitting out for that 

 station making in all 10 ships, mounting 72 

 guns. It is commanded by Rear -Admiral 

 Stephen C. Rowan. Three of these ships were 

 condemned as entirely unseaworthy, unfit for 

 cruising, except in rivers, and unsafe to be sent 

 to the United States; and, as there was no op- 

 portunity of repairing them in those waters, 

 the admiral in command recommended that 

 they be sold on the station. The Depart- 

 ment, therefore, directed that, when it shall be 

 no longer possible to use them with safety, 

 their armament and stores be removed and 

 sent home, and the vessels themselves sold to 

 the best advantage. This order has been car- 

 ried out in the case of the Aroostook, which 

 was also condemned. 



During the civil war in Japan the presence 

 of our war-vessels was felt to produce a very 

 beneficial effect. Carefully observing a neutral 

 policy themselves, they gave security to Amer- 

 ican citizens and prevented much threatened 



