US battleship WISCONSIN

Datec 1908

Object number00003242

NamePostcard

MediumPaper, inks, light card, silver gelatin emulsion layer

DimensionsOverall: 89 x 139 mm

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionUSS WISCONSIN sailed in the American Great White Fleet's world peace tour in 1908. Many versions of postcards that were produced to coincide with the visit of the American Great White Fleet to Australia in 1908. Postcards were cheap and readily available souvenirs of the occasion.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 WISCONSIN was an Illinois class battleship launched on 26 November 1898. WISCONSIN served in Mexico, Hawaii, Peru, and Chile, acting as flagship of the Pacific Squadron. On 15 May 1920 it was decommissioned out of service being sold for scrap in line with the Washington Naval Treaty.SignificanceThis postcard represents the visit of the American Fleet in 1908 and was an event of enormous proportions. It is estimated that over 25% of the Australian population participated in some way in the public occasion which was celebrated in Sydney, Melbourne and Albany, Western Australia.