The New Steel Navy, the Great White Fleet, and Battleship Connecticut with Historian Mark Albertson

LITCHFIELD, Conn. - June 30, 2015 - PRLog -- In this lecture presentation, historian Mark Albertson will discuss the rise of the New Steel Navy, the Great White Fleet and the historical significance of the Battleship Connecticut.

In 1873, when an ex-Confederate Navy ship was caught by a Spanish warship running guns to Cuban insurgents, Americans realized that the Navy needed rebuilding after the Civil War. This led to the Naval War College in the early 1880s and the creation of the New Steel Navy. In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan published The Influence of Sea Power Upon History that took the Great Powers by storm, and helped launch the Great Battleship Race, the world’s first modern strategic arms race.

Prior to WWI, President Theodore Roosevelt dispatched 16 American battleships on an epic circumnavigation of the globe. The flagship for this superlative effort in American seamanship was Battleship Connecticut. With this first major strategic initiative by the U.S. in the 20th century, Roosevelt let it been known that America had arrived as a global power.

Mark Albertson is a historical research editor at Army Aviation Magazine and the historian for the Army Aviation Association of America. A long-time member of the U.S. Naval Institute, Mark has authored numerous articles and several books on historical topics including USS Connecticut: Constitution State Battleship and They’ll Have to Follow You! The Triumph of the Great White Fleet. His website is www.markwriter.com.

All Oliver Wolcott Library events are free and open to the public. Space is limited. Registration is required and can be done by calling 860-567-8030 or logging onto www.owlibrary.org and clicking on Programs/Adult Programs.