U.S. Naval Resurgence
When the Virginius affair first broke out, a Spanish ironclad happened to be anchored in New York Harbor, leading to the uncomfortable realization on the part of the U.S. Navy that it had no ship capable of defeating such a vessel. U.S. Secretary of War George M. Robeson believed a U.S. naval resurgence was necessary and Congress hastily issued contracts for the construction of five new ironclads, and accelerated its existing repair program for several more. USS Puritan (BM-1) and the four Amphitrite class monitors were subsequently built as a result of the Virginius war scare. All five vessels would later take part in the Spanish-American War of 1898.
Read more about this topic: Virginius Affair
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