Squadron of Evolution

The Squadron of Evolution—sometimes referred to as the "White Squadron"— was a transitional unit^{[clarification needed]} in the United States Navy during the late 19th century. It was probably inspired by the French "Escadre d'évolution" of the 18th and 19th centuries. The squadron was composed of the protected cruisers USS Atlanta, USS Boston, USS Chicago, and dispatch boats USS Dolphin and USS Yorktown. Yorktown′s sister ships USS Bennington and USS Concord joined the squadron in 1891.^[1]

Rear Admiral John G. Walker served as its Commander with Chicago as his flagship. Walker was a proponent of the relatively new practice of concentrating ships into formations controlled by a single commander, and used his position to carry out exercises in squadron tactics, ship-to-ship signalling, and landing operations.^[2] Having both full rigged masts and steam engines, the White Squadron was also influential in the beginning of steel shipbuilding in the United States.^[3]

Following a period of sea trials in the fall of 1889, the squadron was first set underway from New York on November 18, 1889.

Bibliography

• Leader, Henry G. The story of the USS Boston. [n.p., 1946?].
  OCLC 51732066
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• Rentfrow, James C. Home Squadron: The U.S. Navy on the North Atlantic Station. Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 2014.
  OCLC 865711810
• Alberto Molina to Blaine, 24 January 1890, Area Files of the Naval Records Collection, 1775-1910, 1775-1910, RG 45, NARA, Washington, DC.
• The White Squadron. [Toledo, Ohio]: Woolson Spice Co., 1891.
  OCLC 45112425
• The White squadron of the U S Navy. New York : James Clarke Publisher, 1894.
  OCLC 50490393
  .
• The White Squadron : armed cruisers, U.S.N.. New York : International Art Publ. Co, [ 18--].
  OCLC 271460419
  .

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Squadron of Evolution.

• "Peace (The White Squadron in Boston Harbor)". Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Art & History.