Collectibles of the Great White Fleet

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The Collectibles from the Fleet's Cruise

The trip generated a variety of collectibles for sailors and the people who came to visit the fleet while in port. This portion of my site tries to bring those items together.

The above framed certificate is from the estate of Seaman Bitting. The USS Missouri crossed the line on January 5, 1908 heading for the Straits of Melligan.

Seaman W. O Bitting

Seaman Bitting was aboard the USS Missouri for the entire cruise. My collection of his things contains three items, his "shellback" certificate, a poster with his name and port visits (approximately 16" x 25") and an literary card of the Missouri cancel February 23, 1909, two days after they returned.

Herbert F. Hill, USS Minnesota

This is the personal cruise log of Herbert F. Hill. There are thirteen pages of notes that start with his enlistment in the Navy and working to put the USS Minnesota in commission. The log is kept on the back pages of a "view album" acquired while in Trinidad at the beginning of the cruise. I have scanned each page for reading below.

(page 1) (page 2) (page 3) (page 4) (page 5) (page 6) (page 7) (page 8) (page 9) (page 10) (page 11) (page 12) (page 13) (back cover)

A. G. Bartkowski, USS Virginia

This booklet is a rare find from a sailor onboard the USS Virgina that brought back a collection of plants of the Middle East. Few items have been saved over the years besides postcards and medals from the cruise makiing this truly a unique item. It is signed and dated in the front cover. Select the pages below to see the plants of the Middle East.

(inside cover) (page 1) (page 2) (page 3) (page 4) (page 5) (page 6)

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