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"WHITE SQUADRON"

"WHITE SQUADRON" was the first group of modern American steel vessels (USS Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and Dolphin) to be completed (1887–1888) after the naval decay following the Civil War. Congress had adopted a policy to modernize the navy in 1882 and required the use of steel in domestic manufacture. The White Squadron, named for the group's white-painted hulls, was the core of the "new Navy" of the 1890s, one capable of vying with major European powers for supremacy in the Pacific. The Boston participated in the Battle of Manila Bay (1 May 1898), which ended the Spanish-American War.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wimmel, Kenneth. Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet: American Seapower Comes of Age. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 1998.

Dudley W. Knox/ A. R.

See also Battle Fleet Cruise Around the World; Manila Bay, Battle of; Navy, United States; Spanish-American War; Warships.