1913 Live Fire Exercises in the Chesapeake Bay: Chicken Farmers Not Pleased...Again

Atlantic Fleet battleships steaming from Hampton Roads towards the
"Southern Drill Grounds" in the Chesapeake Bay, 1913

We have previously posted about Maryland poultry farmers accusing the Navy of killing over 70,000 chickens during live fire exercise off Tangier Island in 1911. The farmers claimed that the big battleship guns caused such a concussion shock on shore that the poor chickens keeled over and died. The Navy denied having anything to do with the alleged chicken massacre. Two years later, the Navy was back with more ships and bigger guns.

The Atlantic Fleet at the Southern Drill Grounds as seen
from the cage mast of USS Kansas (BB-21)

The operation was one of the largest Naval exercises to date.  Navy planners plotted out a series of static target gun shoots and war games between ships in an area they designated as the "Southern Drill Grounds" in the Chesapeake Bay.  Planners preferred the Chesapeake Bay due to the fact that it provided favorable weather conditions. They wanted the water to be somewhat rough to give gunners the chance to practice in choppy water, but not so rough as to cancel the exercise.   


USS Kansas unloads her 12-inch guns at a stationary target

In late March 1913, the Atlantic Fleet arrived near Tangier Island in full force. Rear Admiral Charles Johnson Badger led a force that consisted of the new dreadnought-type battleships USS Wyoming (BB-32), Utah (BB-31), Delaware (BB-28), and South Carolina (BB-26), along with the pre-dreadnought-type battleships USS Kansas (BB-21), Minnesota(BB-22), Georgia (BB-15), New Jersey (BB-16), and Nebraska (BB-12). In addition to the battleships, two divisions of torpedo boat and torpedo boat destroyers joined the battle force, along with several support ships such as coal tenders and store ships. 

12-inch shell explosions during live fire drills

The fleet conducted several rounds of live fire shoots with their main guns in late March and early April. The torpedo boat divisions practiced torpedo attack runs on the battleships during the middle of the night. Several senior naval officers served as observers and kept score of hits and misses of the stationary targets and determined the success of the torpedo boats against the battleships. Witnessed by several U.S. Senators and Secretary of the Josephus Daniels, the exercises were by all accounts a success.

With their round of shooting done, officers on board Kansas
observe other battleships' firings. 

That is not how local Marylanders saw it. Like the 1911 operation, Maryland civilians who lived near Tangier Island claimed the battleship gun shoots were having a devastating affect on their town and their agribusiness. One newspaper reported that buildings in Chrisfield, Maryland had their shattered windows and cracked foundations. The newspaper even claimed some of their chimneys were knocked off. In addition, Chrisfield watermen claimed the concussion waves killed thousands of fish.  They were also afraid of getting hit by stray shells. Local poultry farmers claimed that eggs cracked and were hatching prematurely. The Navy had no comment on these allegations.

German Warships and President Taft in Hampton Roads, 1912

USS Idaho (BB-24) waiting for the German squadron east of Hampton Roads

Those who hold public office know that one must be careful when making a comment within earshot of the media.  In 1910, the battleship USS Minnesota (BB-22) made a port call in England. During an official reception, the mayor of London asked Minnesota's commanding officer, the always outspoken Captain William Simms, what the United States would do if England were attacked by a foreign power. Simms responded, "It is my opinion that you may count on every man, every dollar, every drop of blood of kindred from across the sea."


The German dreadnought SMS Molkte near Fort Monore

This statement infuriated Kaiser Wilhelm who naturally believed he was speaking of the German Empire. Relations between Germany and the United States were lukewarm at best in the early 20th century, particularly with Germany's increased involvement in the Western Hemisphere. Thus, President Howard Taft had to publicly reprimand Simms and apologize to the Kaiser in person.  But that was not good enough for German diplomats. The diplomats also noted in their official protest that the American Navy frequently visited France and Great Britain, but never Germany. 

The German Squadron from left to right-The cruisers SMS

Stettin and Bremen and the battleship Molkte.

The Germans demanded a public showing of goodwill between the United States and the Germans.  Taft agreed. In the Summer 1911, the Navy's Second Division of the Atlantic Fleet travelled to Kiel, Germany where the Kaiser and the entire German fleet greeted them.

In the Summer 1912, the German Navy reciprocated the visit with three ships, the cruisers SMS Stettin and Bremen and the brand new dreadnought-type battleship SMS Moltke. Realizing that Taft was in the middle of a reelection, the Kaiser wanted to send the ships as not to cause distraction to the American election season. Thus he sent them to Hampton Roads from Kiel in May 1912. The three ship squadron arrived off the Virginia Capes in late May, and were saluted by USS Idaho (BB-24) upon arrival. Two divisions of U.S. Battleships lined Hampton Roads to greet the Germans, including Utah (BB-31), Michigan (BB-27), Delaware (BB-28), and South Carolina (BB-26).

The Presidential yacth Mayflower entering Hampton Roads
and approaching the line of U.S. battleships on the left and
the German squadron on  the right.


Taft arrived in the Presidential yacht Mayflower and boarded Molkte. There, Vice Admiral Hubert von Rebeur-Paschwitz greeted the President and his entourage and personally gave him a tour of the ship. Taft remarked "Admiral, I'm glad to welcome you and to have an opportunity of visiting the Moltke, of the finest ships I have ever seen." Upon leaving the ship, Moltke's band struck up the "Star Spangled Banner." Once the Hampton Roads' festivities were over, the senior staff of the German ships proceed to Washington and New York City where they were wined and dined by America's leading politicians and business leaders.

The Washington, D.C. photo studio of Harris and Ewing followed the President to Hampton Roads and took these very vivid shots of the President, the U.S. Navy and the German squadron. Many more of the studio's collection can be found at the Library of Congress' website.

President Taft being given a tour of Moltke by German Vice Admiral Hubert von Rebuer-Pachswitch

Underway Replishment Experiment

One of the most underappreciated skills the U.S. Navy has that only a few other navies in the world have is the ability to transfer fuel from one ship to another while moving and out at sea. Like many skills, this ability has come from years of experience, training, and experimentation.

American civil engineer Spencer Miller first invented the necessary equipment in the 1890s for the Navy and continued to work with the Fleet to design proper replenishment ships for the remainder of his career. Miller perfected the technique for one ship to refuel another in a harbor, but how to actually refuel a ship at sea was another matter.

This picture shown above of one underway replacement experiment that took place just outside Hampton Roads. It shows two locally based ships, the collier USS Cyclops (AC-4) and the new dreadnought USS South Carolina (BB-26) off the Virginia Capes in 1914. Notice on how Cyclops is in front of the battleship (as opposed to being the battleship's port or starboard side).

This called for Cyclops's company to send 800 pound coal bags from their ship's stern the line to South Carolina's number one gun turret. Then it was hauled over to the battleship's bunkers. The technique worked, but it was not practical. It was slow and a battleship like South Carolina needed several thousand tons of coal. There is no record of the Navy ever trying this method again.