In a report made to Secretary Long in 1897 by Theodore Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, these prophetic words were used:
"The rapidity with which modern wars are decided renders it imperative to have men who can be ready for immediate use, and outside of the regular navy these men are only to be found in the Naval Militia of the various States. If a body of naval militia is able to get at its head some first-class man who is a graduate of Annapolis; if it puts under him as commissioned officers, warrant officers, and petty officers men who have worked their way up from grade to grade, year after year, and who have fitted themselves for the higher positions by the zeal and painstaking care with which they have performed their duties in the lower places; and if the landsmen, ordinary seamen, and seamen go in resolutely to do real work and learn their duties so that they can perform them as well as the regulars aboard our warships, taking pride in their performance accordingly as they are really difficult—such an organization will, in course of time, reach a point where it could be employed immediately in the event of war.
"Most of the Naval Militia are now in condition to render immediate service of a very valuable kind in what may be called the second line of defence. They could operate signal stations, help handle torpedoes and mines, officer and man auxiliary cruisers, and assist in the defence of points which are not covered by the army. There are numbers of advanced bases which do not come under the present scheme of army coast defence, and which would have to be defended, at any rate during the first weeks of war, by bodies of Naval Militia; while the knowledge they get by their incessant practice in boats on the local waters would be invaluable.
"Furthermore, the highest and best trained bodies could be used immediately on board the regular ships of war; this applies to the militia of the lakes as well as to the militia of the seacoast—and certainly no greater tribute is necessary to pay to the lake militia. Many of these naval battalions are composed of men who would not enlist in time of peace, but who, under the spur of war, would serve in any position for the first few important months."
The last sentence of the above extract is of peculiar interest, inasmuch as it proved true in every particular. The crews of the auxiliary ships manned by the Naval Militia during the Spanish-American war of 1898 were composed of men who, in civil life, were brokers, lawyers, physicians, clerks, bookkeepers, or men of independent means. They sacrificed their personal interests for the moment, and, in their patriotic zeal, accepted positions of the most menial capacity on board ship.
Prior to the outbreak of war they had entered into training with the utmost enthusiasm. The Navy Department had assigned some of the older vessels to the various naval brigades, to be used as training ships, and with these as headquarters the brigades began drilling. In addition to the regular routine, summer cruising was taken up.
The First Battalion, New York State Militia, for instance, went in a body to Fisher's Island, off the eastern end of Connecticut, and there engaged in landing parties, camping, and sham battles. On another occasion the battalion embarked on board the battleships "Massachusetts" and "Texas," each militiaman having a regular bluejacket for a running mate, and doing just as he did. The two ships cruised in the vicinity of Fisher's Island, and a programme was carried out which included instruction in the different parts of the ship in great guns and ordnance, such drills as abandon ship, arm and away boats, clear ship for action, general quarters, signalling, and in the use of torpedoes.
During one of the cruises of the Massachusetts Naval Brigade a detachment was engaged in locating signal stations on the coast from the New Hampshire State line to Cape Ann, and it was due to the efforts of this detachment that the signal stations established during the late war proved so efficient.
The Naval Militia of Maryland, Louisiana, Illinois, and other States were given opportunities for instruction in the handling of guns, the care of wounded, in infantry drill, limited artillery practice with rapid-fire batteries, and all the details of naval life, and so well did they benefit by it that the authorities at Washington announced a willingness to trust any of the warships in their sole charge.
It was to reach this pinnacle, as it may be termed, that the Naval Militia organizations of the United States had striven, and when they were finally called upon by the Government they proved their worth by boarding modern warships, doing the work of regular sailors, and fighting for their country with a degree of skill and zeal that has earned for them the commendation of their fellow-citizens.