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23
December - 29 December - Christmas in Trinidad
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At 11 knots in a single file, the fleet approached the island of Trinidad
through the Gulf
of Paria. With deft seamanship they entered the
anchorage dropping their 16 anchors simultaneously. The next morning, as the sun came up, crews
expecting crowds of spectators along the shores were surprised to find things
ashore looked as if the fleet had never arrived. Their first port visit was met without
cheering crowds, bands or dignitaries.
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the British Governor had been directed to officially ignore the visit. As such, all official balls and parties
planned for the Christmas holiday were canceled and no official party was
organized to meet the fleet.
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These
two cards show sailors on liberty in Trinidad during
their first port visit. The cards are part of
the
H.
H. Stratton series. Given the lack of reception,
the cards do reflect a quiet visit.
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Despite this Admiral Evans put the fleet’s “best foot”
forward. During the cruise south each
ship had selected members of the cruise to be trained as the Navy’s first shore
patrol. With the cool reception he
granted liberty to 2000 sailors who went ashore to enjoy the city. Shopping the markets they found fresh fruit,
straw hats, monkeys, parrots, parakeets, and high prices. As for postcards and souvenirs, there were
very few items commemorating the fleet’s visit.
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The fleet found ways to enjoy their Holiday. Boats were sent ashore to gather palm fronds,
bamboo leaves, and green vines to decorate the ships. Crews put on shows aboard ships and took
their liberty boats to go ship-to-ship caroling. Christmas day provided sports competition in
boxing, wrestling, and boat racing between the ships. A typical New England
style dinner was served of roast ham and turkey, cranberry sauce, candied yams,
mince pie and plumb pudding.
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These
two cards are part of the collection sent home by William
Burgess, USS Kersearge. The postcard at the
left of of the lighthouse. The postcard at the
right is the drydock with the comment, "This is
our first stop of the cruise. WGB" To see
more of this collection, select the link above
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These
aluminum plates were issued to commorate
Christmas and New Years for 1907-08 in Trinidad. At
left the USS Maine, at right, the USS Minnasota.
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Swimming
from the ship. Brown
& Schaffer
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For the next few days all hands were occupied with bringing
on coal. This was a dirty task in which
the entire crew participated with the best of spirits. Sailors typically had and old set of cloths
and a special hat they wore during coaling.
The crews sang songs during work or listened to members of the ship’s
band. In Trinidad
the temperature was typically 90-degrees causing the crews to rotate the men in
the bunkers regularly to prevent injury from the heat. Swiming from the
ship was popular.
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This
postcard was sent from Clyde O. Will, USS Connecticut.
It shows a nice view of the Port of Spain with
a one Penny stamp of Trinidad. In the upper left
corner is a cancel from the ship, "Wireless office
USS Connecticut."
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A
brochure of the West Indies was purchased by a sailor
of the Great White Fleet
On the afternoon of December 29th the fleet
finished coaling and immediately weighted anchor to leave the port. The fleet was ready to move on. Upon departure Governor Jackson chose to ignore
is orders and congratulated Admiral Evans on the “irreproachable behavior of
your men . . . I can assure you that
your men established a record hard to equal and impossible to beat.”
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Frank
B. Lesher
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Copyright(c) 2002 My Company. All rights reserved. Bill@GreatWhiteFleet.info
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