240 CHAPTER XL THE OPPOSING FORCES.— THE NAVIES.

1.— The United States Navy.

ports on the Gulf of Mexico,and helping the army to seize and hold the lineof theMississippi. But, nevertheless, for more than twenty years after the war it was utterly neglected. Very few ships were built, none of them vessels of much fighting value. It wasnot till the 'eighties that the work of constructingamodern fleet was takeninhand. A beginning was made withthe buildingof some fine cruisers of moderate size, full-rigged, and carrying their guns in broad-INCLUDING every class of vessel from the battleship down to the smallest despatchboat, there were at the outbreak of the war about 180 ships on the list of the Spanish navy and 120 on that of the United States. To attempt to enumerate and describe all of these would hardly be helpful to the reader. As a matter of fact, the greater number of them on both sides were of very little importance from the point of view of effective RECRUITS FOR U.S. NAVY GOING ON BOARD A RECEIVING SUIT.

side batteries. Some coast defence ships were also constructed— monitors carrying a couple of heavy guns in armoured turrets. Then about eight years ago somelargerand partlyprotected cruisers were begun, and the keels of the first large sea-going battleships were laid down. The special object kept in view in designing these was to give them the heaviest possible armament. They carried a far moreformidable battery than any ships of their size in other navies, but their coal-carrying power was sacrificed to make up for this additional weigh:, the idea being that they would not becalled uponto act at any great distance from the American coasts. A supply ofauxiliarycruisers wassecured force available for serious operations. Many of them were obsolete, others adapted only for harbour service. Ishall therefore content myself with giving a list of the chief ships oh both sides, adding a few notes on their more important features and on the general character of the two navies.

The United States navyhad taken a decisive part in the CivilWar of the 'sixties. InAdmiral Farragut it had a great commander, who not only didmost effective work himself, but trained up a school of younger officers, whom he inspired withhis own ideas. It was the navy that cut off the resources of the Confederacy by blockading the Atlantic coasts, capturing the