Great White Fleet - General Fleet Itinerary

General Fleet Itinerary

With the Connecticut as flagship under the command of Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, the fleet sailed from Hampton Roads on 16 December 1907 for Trinidad, British West Indies, thence to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Punta Arenas, Chile; Callao, Peru; Magdalena Bay, Mexico, and up the West Coast, arriving at San Francisco, 6 May 1908.

At San Francisco, Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry assumed command of the fleet, owing to the poor health of Admiral Evans. Also at San Francisco, the squadrons were slightly rearranged, bringing the newest and best ships in the fleet up to the First Squadron. The Glacier was detached and later became the supply ship of the Pacific Fleet. At this time also, the Nebraska, under Captain Reginald F. Nicholson, and the Wisconsin, under Captain Frank E. Beatty, were substituted for the Maine and Alabama. In San Francisco, Minnesota was brought forward into First Squadron, First Division and Louisiana took her place as flagship, Second Squadron.

Leaving that port on 7 July 1908 the U.S. Atlantic Fleet visited Honolulu; Auckland, New Zealand; Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Manila, Philippines; Yokohama, Japan; Colombo, Ceylon; arriving at Suez, Egypt, on 3 January 1909.

As mentioned earlier, while the fleet was in Egypt, word was received of an earthquake in Sicily, thus affording an opportunity for the United States to show its friendship to Italy by offering aid to the sufferers. Connecticut, Illinois, Culgoa, and Yankton were dispatched to Messina, Italy at once. The crew of Illinois recovered the bodies of the American consul and his wife, entombed in the ruins.

Scorpion, the Fleet's station ship at Constantinople, and Celtic, a refrigerator ship fitted out in New York, were hurried to Messina, relieving Connecticut and Illinois, so that they could continue on the cruise.

Leaving Messina on 9 January 1909 the fleet stopped at Naples, Italy, thence to Gibraltar, arriving at Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909. There President Roosevelt reviewed the fleet as it passed into the roadstead.