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February 20th to February 29th - Callao, Peru


At Callao, the Peruvian government did its best to welcome the fleet.  Having been at conflict with Chile and Brazil, Peru was looking for an alley in American and delivered a warm greeting for the ships. 

They were met 250 miles from Callao by the cruiser Bolognesi which escorted the ship into a crowed harbor of warm wishers. 


By this time in the cruise, the crews had grown tired to the receptions and clearly were not as crisp in going to anchorage as at previous ports.  Admiral Evans issued provided a reprimand to the fleet for its un-seaman like anchoring.  

Below, a stereoview of the USS Yanton anchored inn Callao.

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The fleet received a warm welcome from the people of Callao and Lima during their visit.

At left ships providing fleet support.

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These two cards were issued as part of a series after the fleet departed.  Left: Torpedo Boats in Harbor.  Right:  Fleet landing in Callao.

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The postcards above show the port facility as it receives the fleet steamers with liberty boats in tow.  These cards were created from photographs during the visit but not available unitl long after they left.  All of them are written in Spanish and were made for local use.


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Callao was ready.  They had sent spies to earlier port visits of the crew and pasted on information regarding how the fleet had been received.  It was quickly translated into businesses and a community prepared to greet sailors including signs that said, “American Spoken Here”, organized dances and dinners, and efforts to prevent conflict within the community.  They went so far as to lock-up a traveling group of Japanese acrobats that were visiting the city as to not offend the Americans.

The postcard above pictures President Pardo of Peru sent from E. C. Krugger, Petty Officer First Class, USS Alabama and is dated February 23, 1908.


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Van Buren Edwards, Machinist Mate 2nd, USS Connecticut saved these postcards from Lima.  At left:  A real photo postcard of a group of sailors on the street.  "How bad the natives gather around the Sailors" At Right:  "Birds eye view"

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Above fleet units of the Peruivan Navy that were in commission during the fleets visit.

At Left:  A postcard showing the Plaza de Toros in Lima during the fleet visit on February 24th.  

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On February 22nd, Washington’s birthday, the fleet took the opportunity to celebrate by holding a birthday party for President Pardo, who’s birthday just happen to coincide.  A reception was held onboard the USS Connecticut attended by more than 2,000 Peruvian dignitaries.  The event was a success with only one minor incident where three people in the crowd were pushed overboard and had to be rescued by crewmembers.


The two events that were planned by the government both had difficulties.  The first event was a bullfight for the sailors.  Six bulls had been specially selected and named to appear at a special event in the Plaza de Toros.  Three-thousand officers and men were transported by special train to the event and offer the best seating for what was planned as premier bull fighting. 

 Select the highlighted link for an excellent account of this event  provided by one of the letters of Milton Willard, a sailor onboard the USS Georgia, and by Frank Lesher, USS Virginia, who attended the bull fight and wrote a detailed account.      

The government had planned to prevent any horses getting gored by a bull, understanding that the Americans would find it cruel.  Unfortunately in the first fight one of the horses took a horn from the bull.  It was followed by the bull catching the matador with its horns and tossing him out of the ring.  In the next two fights the matadors hacked at the bull repeatedly but failed to kill the bull in a humane manner.  At this point the American guest became uncomfortable with the treatment of the bull and began hissing a booing. 

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The last of the fights included one matador getting gored to the audience fear of his death.  By the end, many sailors left the stadium deciding the event was unfair to the bulls and would rather not watch.

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The above photographs are part of the Brown & Schaffer postcards sold to sailors of the fleet.  Additional postcards can be found in the collection of photo taken by Midshipman William Gerald Child of the USS Georgia.


 The second planned event was a train trip to the top of Mount Oroya, the highest railroad in the world.  This recently completed line went through the mountains at a height of 13,000 feet.  Two trains were planned for the journey, the first for the “official” party and the second for sailors and other guests.  At a height of 10,000 feet, the second train stalled.  Some were already suffering from altitude sickness from the quick assent, but now many more began to suffer.  Then came word from the first train at 13,000 feet that there had been an avalanche blocking the line.  At this point many were stricken with vomiting and laid out on the floor. 

One passenger actually died from their condition.  At this point the first train could not remain at 13,000 feet and made a slow decent to where the blockage in the tracks had occurred.  Here there were accommodations of four beds for the overnight stay which had been commandeered by members aboard the second train leaving the members of the official party to sleep onboard the train that evening. 

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The next day, sick and exhausted they were able to climb around the obstruction and board a train to return to Callao.  Surely this had been a memorable event from the cruise for many of the crewmembers.  Above is a card from a European Dispensary in Lima, part of the collection from Wilbur Main, USS Virginia.


This is a program for a Minstrel show onboard the USS Louisiana while in port at Callao, Peru.  It was the first performance given by "The Louisiana Minstrels" and included songs, dancing, magic, juggling, comedy and drama.  Pages of the program are shown at right and can be seen in greater detail by selecting.

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Left: downtown Lima mailed by "Frank" onboard the USS Kansas.  Right:  "B" sent a card of Iglesia de San Marcelo - Lima.

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From the collection of William Burgess, USS Kersearge

Callao, Peru, Feb. 25, 1908

Dear Nephew Howard, What do you think of these people.  Petty badly sunburned don't you think?

W.G.B"

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Their time in Peru also included fleet maneuvers.  The above card described the completion of the "Gridiron" maneuver.  Select the above card to see the 3-fold card.

On February 29th the Fleet departed the harbor providing a 21-gun salute to President Pardo on his yacht at the mouth of the harbor.  Everything went well with the exception of the sailor off the Ohio to tried to “jump ship” by having a small boat standing by to receive him as the ships steam out of the harbor.  Unfortunately, the Georgia saw the acts of the deserter and quickly lowered boats to apprehend the man before he could get ashore.  The ships were on the way to proceed with a much needed period of target practice with the guns.

The Cruise of Frank B. Lesher

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