Daily British Whig (1850), 15 Nov 1919, p. 14

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~PAGF. FOURTEEN SB A. ' Pac aia sical siaie iain gl | | SAAN a THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG TOYYwYYYY J al 4 " 4 5 AMERICAN DESTROYERS REACH EUROPE Irish Welcome Back Their Boys.--Commander Taussig Senior Officer in Charge.--Admiral Bayly's Real Friendliness Sets the Americans: at 'Ease~Taussig's The morning of May4, 1817, wit] an important event in the sad, of Queenstown. The neva had been printed in no Britis ne American paper, yet in scme mys of fous way it had reached nearly every. body in the town. A squadron - American destroyers, which Bad lof Boston on the evening of April' 2 th had already been reported to the westward of Ireland and was due 18 réach Queenstown that mening. Al almost the appointed hour . ite smudge of smoke appeared in te distance, visible to the crowds ab sembled on the hills; then Present another black spot appeared, an then another; aad finally these flecks upon the horiz assumed the form of six rapidly approaching wars ips. The Stars and Stripes were heokon out on the public buildings, on it vate houses, and '0h nearly all the water craft in the harbor; the pop- ace, armed with American flags, began to gather on the shore; 2 the local dignitaries donned their - cial 'robes to welcome the new friends from overseas. One of the greatest days in Anglo-American history had dawned, for the first contingent of the American Navy was about to arrive in British waters and join hands with the Allies In the battle against the forces of darkness and savagery. a Arrival at Queenstown, The morning was. an unusually brilliant one. The storms which had tossed our little vessels on the seas for ten days, and wich had followed them nearly to the Irish coast, had suddenly given way to smooth water and a burst of sunshine. The long and graceful American ships steamed into the channel amid the cheers of the people and the woting of all harbor craft; the sparkling waves, "the greenery of the bordering hills, the fruit trees already in bloom, te say nothing of the smiling and + faces of the welcoming Irish people, seemed to promise a fair > ning for our great adventure. "Welcome to the American colors," 'Hd been the signal of the Mary Rose, a British destroyer which had _ 'been sent to lead the Americans to r ancliiorage. "Thank you, I am -- of your co y." answered the Yankee commander; and these mes- sages represented the spirit of the Whole proceeding. Indeed there was something in these strange-looking British des' oyers, that necessarily inspired enthusiasm and respect. ight long and slender; the sun- caps, also at the populace. Bifound himself I;ing on Anam bine od Quick Action Pleases. } Vessel of the Division. { The senlor officer in 'charge was | Commander Joseph K. Taussig, whose {flagship was the Wadsworth. The jother vessels of the divisioff and their commanding officers were the {Conymgham, Commander Alfred W. | Johnson: Porter, Libutenant-Com- |mander Ward K. Wortman; McDoug- {al, Lieutenant-Commander Arthur P. { Fairfield; Davis, Lieutenant-Comand- {er Rufus. F. Zogbaum; and Wain- {wright, Lieutenant-Commander Fred iH. Poteet. | = On the outbreak of hostilities these | vessels, comprising our Eighth Des- {troyer Division; were stationed at Base? in the York river, Virginia: at |7 p.m. of April 6, the dav that Con- | | gress declared war on Germany, their | commandar received the following | | signal from the Pennsylvania, the {flagship of the Atlanvic fleet: Mabi- {lize for war in accordance with De- partments confidential mobilization plan of March 21." From that time events moved rapidly for the Eighth Division, - On April 14, the very day on which I gent my first report on submarine conditions to Washington, Commander Taussig received a mes- sage To take his flotilla to Boston and there fit out for 'long and distant service." Ten days afterward he sailed, with instructions to go fifty miles due east of Cape Cod and there open his sealed orders. First Instructions for Fighting At the indicated spot Commenfier| Taussig broke the seal and read the | following document--a paper so im- portant in history, marking as it! does the first instructions any Amer- fcan naval or army officer had re- ceived for engaging directly in hos- tilities with Germany, that it is worth quoting In full: Op--10 NAVY DEPARTMENT «+» Office of Naval Operations .... Washington, D.C. Secret and Confidential To: Commander, Bighth Divi- sion, Destroyer Force, At- lantic Fleet, U.8.8. Wads- worth, Flagship. Subject: Protection of Com- merce near the coasts of Great Brtain and Ireland. 1. The British Admiralty have requested the "o-operation of a division of American destroyers in the protection of commerce near the coasts of Great Brtain and France. 2. Your mission is to assist naval operations of Hatents Powers In every way possible, 3. Proceed to Queenstown, Ire- land. Report to senior (naval) British officer present, and there-' after co-operate fully with the British pavy. Should it be de- cided that your force act in co- operation with Fretch naval for- <es your mission and method of co-operation under French Ad- miralty authority remain un- changed. 4 Route to Queenstown. Boston to latitude 50 N--- Long. 20 W to arrive at day- break then to latitude 50 N --{Long. 12 W 'thence to Queentown When within radio communica- tion of the British naval forces off Ireland, calt G OK and inform the Vice-Admirsl at Queenstown in British general code of your Rosition, course and - You will be met outside of Queens- town. ; 4. Base facilities will be provid- ed by the British Admiralty. my Tr aolers und . Commun hie your at London and be guided by such instructions as 'he may give. Make no reports of arrival to Navy Department direct. --Jose- phus Daniels. : Tausplg, then a 0 | Was a member of the! forces which the United Staies China to co-operate with other powers fn putting down the Hoxer Rebellio and ting the lh or its Rational force saw ibs | ing, and here : Was wounded. While reco from his Injury, the young VOTO YVYOTSYYYY and -civilization. We shall all have our work cut out to subdue piracy My experience in China makes me feel perfectly convine- ed that the two nations wil in the closest co-opera won't flatter you by saying too much about the value of your I must offer you and all your officers and men the warmest welcome possible in the name of the British nation and the Brit- ish Admiralty, and add to it every possible good wish from myself. May every good for- tune attend you and speedy vic- tory be with us. Yours very sincerely Johg R. Jellicoe. At this same meeting Captain Ev- ans handed the American commander another letter which was just as char- acteristic as that of Admiral Jellicoe The following lines constitute our officer's first introduction to Viee- Admiral Bayly, the officer who was years old, who 'was in command of help. I must say tats, however. the Centurion, and chief-of-staff to There is no navy in the world Admiral Seymour, who had charge] that can possibly give us more of the British forces. This British valuable assistance, and there is officer was severely wounded ; a bul- | no personnel in any navy that let had pierced his lung,'and for will fight better than yours. My a consideralilgiperiod he was unable China experience tells me this. to lie down. Naturally this inforced If only my dear friend McCalla ¢émpanionship made the two men could have seen this day how friends. Commander Taussig had | glad 1 would have been had many 'occasions to recall this! to command their operations in the next eighten months, and in its brev- ity, ts entirely business-like quall- ties, as well as in its. genuine sin-| cerity and kindness, it gave a fair introduction to the man: Admiralty House, Wueenstown, 3.4, 11. Dear Lieutenant Commander Taussig: I hope that you and the other five officers in command of the U.S. destroyers in your flotilla will come and dine here to-night, Friday, at 7.45 and that you and three others will remain here to sleep 50 as to get a good rest after your long journey. Allow The Wadsworth, Flagship of the First American Destroyer Division, After Being Camouflaged and Fitted with Anti-Submarine Device. Below--On the Deck of the Wadsworth, Off Queenstown. ' Queenstown, Lieut.-Com, (now Cant.) Joseph K. Tausigg, Senior Officer of First American Destroyer Division to Reach Europe. me to welcome you and to thank you for coming. Yours sincerely, Lewis Bayly. Dine in undress; no speeches. sein, Welcomed to Queenstown. The first duty of the officers, on arrival, was to make the usual cere- mopial calls. The Lord Mayor of Cork had come down from the city, which is only twelve miles from to' receive the Ameri. cans, and now awaited thom in the American consulate; and other citizens were assembled to welcome One of the most eon- procession presence really had an inter national - significance. The British Government itself had detailed him N | Butterfield, made an eloguent adress, ilaying particular emphasis upon tha | close friendship that had always pre- {Yalled between the American and { Irish people. Other dignitaries mada {spoeches voicing similar sentiments: | this welcome concluded, Commander {| Taussig and his brother officers start {ed up the steep hill that leads to | Admiralty House, a fine and spacious joid building. Here, following out {the instructions of the Navy Depart- {ment, they were to report to Vices {Admiral Bayly for duty. It is doing no injustice to Sir Lewis | to say that our men regarded this first | meeting with some misgiving. The |Admiral's reputation in the Brtish {navy was well known to them. They! | kgew that he was one of the ablest jofficers in the service: but they had {also heard that he was an extremsly | exacting man, somewhat tactiturn inl his manner and not inclined to be jover familiar with his subordinates {a man who did not easily give his | friendship or his respect, and alto- | gether, in the anxious minds of thesa | young Americans, he was a somewhat | forbidding figure. And the appear- ance of the Admiral, standing in the {doorway awaiting their arrival, rather | accentuated these preconceptions. {He was a medium sized man ,with' somewhat swarthy weather-beaten | face and black hair just turning |8Tay; he stood there gazing rather | quizzically at the Americans as they [came trudging up the hill, his hands {behind his back, his bright oyes | keenly taking in every detail of thel | men, his face not showing the slight {est trace of a smile. This struck jour young men at first as a somewhat grim reception; the attitude of the Admiral suugested tuat he was slight-| {1¥ in doubt as to the value of his new! { recruits, that he was. entirely willing' to be convinced, but that only deeds and not fine speeches of greeting would convince him. sn, Bayly's Cordiality, Yet Admiral Bayly welcomed our {men with the utmost seriousness and dignity; his face, as ue began shaking hands, broke into a quiet neon-com: mittal smile; there was nothing about his manner that was effusive, thers were no unecessary words, yet there Was a real cordiality that put our men At ease and made them feel at bhomd {in this strange environment. They knew, of course, that they had come to Ireland, not for social diversions, but for the serious business of fight- ing the Hun, and that indeed was the only thought which, could then find place in Admiral Bayly's mind: Up to this time the welcome had ri the form of lofty 3 rigs rical flights, with emphasis upon the blood ties of Anglo-Saxodom and the sig- nificance to civilization of America and Great Britain fighting side by side; but this was net the kind of a greoting our men received from Ad- miral Bayly. Tiina "When Can You Begin Work?" The Admiral, himself, with his somewhat worn uniform, and his Jack of ceremony, formed a marked con- trast to'the official reception by the Lord Mayor and his suite in their insignia of office. Entirely charac teristic also was the fact that, instead of 'making a long speech, he made no speech at all. His chief Interest in the Americans ut that time was the assistance which bring to the 5 ter courteously greeting the officers, the first question he t these forces was: "Wsen will you be ready to go to sea?" es Even under the most favorable conditions that Is «n embarrassing | J jaf td i iif ; h ih i i iE as | il i i ie \ a ---------- EE

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