Forty Five Years Under the Flag

IN preparing this history of forty-five years of service um der the flag of the United States, the writer has felt that it was his duty, while still in vigorous health, to record the inci dents and activities of a career that has covered many impor tant years in the nation's progress. This service has included, in times of peace, all quarters of the globe. It has imposed responsibilities and afiorded experiences that do not usually come to naval men, and at the same time it has given oppor tunities to observe other civilizations and to visit other coun tries. In time of war it has included the Civil War, the storming of the Korean fortifications on Kang Hoa Island and participation in the war with Spain that ended in the total destruction of the Spanish fleet and the capture of Admiral Cer vera, his officers and men, on July 3, 1898, OE Santiago de Cuba. In a description of these incidents and activities it has not been possible to cover, in the preliminary chapters, everything that happened in the times there referred to.