USS CONNECTICUT

Date1906-1908

Object number00015063

NamePostcard

MediumInk, cardboard

DimensionsOverall: 90 x 139 mm

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionUSS CONNECTICUT was the flagship of the American Great White Fleet in 1908. This postcard depicts CONNECTICUT from the starboard side surrounded by a border of three gold embossed eagles. All the 16 battleships of the American Great White fleet were depicted on similar commemorative souvenir postcards.HistoryIn December 1907 United States President Theodore Roosevelt sent a US Atlantic Battle Fleet of 16 battleships on a 14 month goodwill cruise around the world. The fleet was a chance for the Navy to practice seamanship and express America's world power. Roosevelt was also concerned about rising Japanese aggression and their expansionist foreign policy. The cruise would be a political and public relations exercise to build domestic support for more naval construction. Led by the flagship, USS CONNECTICUT, the Great White Fleet as it became known, consisted of 16 battleships painted white, as was the practice of all US Navy ships in times of peace. The ships sailed in four divisions of four ships each. Early in the voyage the order of the ships was altered to allow the best-looking vessels to be at the front of the fleet. The cruise incorporated six continents, 26 countries and 32 ports with 614 officers and 13,504 crew. It consumed 435,000 tons of coal, more than any other naval expedition and was the largest fleet to ever accomplish a circumnavigation of the globe. Australia was not originally on the itinerary route of the Great White Fleet, who only decided to visit after receiving a direct invitation from the Prime Minister Alfred Deakin. One quarter of the Australian population, over one million people, saw the Great White Fleet during its three-week visit to Sydney, Melbourne and Albany. Public holidays were declared and enthusiastic crowds flocked to see the ships and parades. Vast arrays of souvenirs were produced for a population caught up in the euphoria. USS CONNECTICUT was the leading vessel of six Connecticut class battleships. Launched on 29 September 1904 it became flagship of the Atlantic Fleet and the Great White Fleet's world time peace tour between 1907 and 1909. During World War I CONNECTICUT was used for training and transport purposes. By the 1920s it was a training ship and had completed service in the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific. On 1 March 1923 CONNECTICUT was decommissioned and sold for scrap to comply with the Washington Treaty. SignificanceThis postcard demonstrates the type of memorabilia produced to celebrate the arrival of the Great White Fleet to Australian shores in 1908.