# Squadron of Evolution

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Squadron_of_Evolution
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Squadron_of_Evolution.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squadron_of_Evolution
> Source revision: 1325354662
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

19th century US Navy unit

*Chicago* leading the squadron, 1889

The White Squadron at [Hampton Roads](/source/Hampton_Roads), 1889

**The Squadron of Evolution**—sometimes referred to as the "White Squadron" or the "ABCD ships" after the first four— was a transitional unit[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) during the late 19th century. It was probably inspired by the French "[Escadre d'évolution](/source/Escadre_d'%C3%A9volution)" of the 18th and 19th centuries. The squadron was composed of the [protected cruisers](/source/Protected_cruiser) [USS *Atlanta*](/source/USS_Atlanta_(1884)), [USS *Boston*](/source/USS_Boston_(1884)), [USS *Chicago*](/source/USS_Chicago_(1885)), and dispatch boats [USS *Dolphin*](/source/USS_Dolphin_(PG-24)) and [USS *Yorktown*](/source/USS_Yorktown_(PG-1)). *Yorktown*′s sister ships [USS *Bennington*](/source/USS_Bennington_(PG-4)) and [USS *Concord*](/source/USS_Concord_(PG-3)) joined the squadron in 1891.[1]

Rear Admiral [John G. Walker](/source/John_Grimes_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](/source/Squadron_(naval)) 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](/source/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.[4] After being displayed at a public maritime celebration in Boston, the squadron sailed to [Lisbon, Portugal](/source/Lisbon%2C_Portugal), where Walker was received by the Portuguese government and conducted exercises to determine his ships' ability to execute coordinated maneuvers under steam. On January 17, 1890, the squadron called at [Cartagena, Spain](/source/Cartagena%2C_Spain), where the vessels were toured by Spanish authorities, who gave "their favorable opinions regarding the handsome construction, clean state, and the latest sea and war improvements and perfect order of the four ships."[5] After stops at [Mahón](/source/Mah%C3%B3n), [Toulon](/source/Toulon), [Villefranche](/source/Villefranche-sur-Mer), and [Spezia](/source/Spezia), the squadron headed to [Corfu](/source/Corfu), where Walker carried out target practice and landing exercises. The White Squadron remained in the Mediterranean until leaving for [Algiers](/source/Algiers) on April 30. After arriving there, Walker received a telegram ordering the squadron to head across the Atlantic to Brazil in order to support U.S. interests there following the recent [military coup](/source/Decline_and_fall_of_Pedro_II_of_Brazil#Republican_coup). After arriving there, and being greeted with ceremony by representatives of the new government, the squadron turned back to the United States, returning to New York in July 1890.

In 1891, the White Squadron commenced a tour of the Great Lakes, which was commemorated in an [album](/source/Album_(disambiguation)) by Woolson Spice Co. At that time, the White Squadron consisted of the cruiser [USS *Philadelphia*](/source/USS_Philadelphia_(C-4)) under the command of Captain [Frederick Rodgers](/source/Frederick_Rodgers), [USS *Charleston*](/source/USS_Charleston_(C-2)) under the command of Captain [George C. Remey](/source/George_C._Remey), [USS *Baltimore*](/source/USS_Baltimore_(C-3)) under the command of Captain [Winfield S. Schley](/source/Winfield_S._Schley), [USS *Boston*](/source/USS_Boston_(1884)) under the command of Captain Gilbert C. Wise, [USS *Vesuvius*](/source/USS_Vesuvius_(1888)) under the command of Lieutenant [Seaton Schroeder](/source/Seaton_Schroeder), the torpedo boat [USS *Cushing*](/source/USS_Cushing_(TB-1)) under Lieutenant [Cameron McRae Winslow](/source/Cameron_McRae_Winslow), [USS *Petrel*](/source/USS_Petrel_(PG-2)) under the command of Lieutenant-Commander M. R. S. McKenzie, [USS *Atlanta*](/source/USS_Atlanta_(1884)) under the command of Captain John W. Philip, and [USS *Chicago*](/source/USS_Chicago_(1885)) under the command of Captain [Joseph N. Miller](/source/Joseph_N._Miller). Some of the ships had other squadron assignments prior to the 1891 cruise.[6]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Rentfrow, *Home Squadron*, page 84.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Rentfrow, *Home Squadron*, pages 64-86.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["US Navy, January 1, 1892"](http://www.fleetorganization.com/1892intro.html). *fleetorganization.com*. 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Rentfrow, *Home Squadron*, page 70.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Alberto Molina to Blaine, 24 January 1890

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** *The White Squadron* (1891)

## Bibliography

- Leader, Henry G. *The story of the USS Boston*. [n.p., 1946?]. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [51732066](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51732066).

- Rentfrow, James C. *Home Squadron: The U.S. Navy on the North Atlantic Station.* Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 2014. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-61251-447-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-61251-447-2) [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [865711810](https://www.worldcat.org/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](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [45112425](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45112425)

- *The White squadron of the U S Navy*. New York : James Clarke Publisher, 1894. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [50490393](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50490393).

- *The White Squadron : armed cruisers, U.S.N.*. New York : International Art Publ. Co, [ 18--]. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [271460419](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/271460419).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Squadron of Evolution](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Squadron_of_Evolution).

- ["Peace (The White Squadron in Boston Harbor)"](https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Cannon-Building/Peace/). *Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives Art & History*.

v t e United States Navy Squadron of Evolution Atlanta Boston Chicago Yorktown Bennington Dolphin

v t e United States Navy squadrons 19th century Africa Squadron Brazil Squadron Chesapeake Bay Flotilla East India Squadron Home Squadron Mediterranean Squadron Mosquito Fleet New Orleans Squadron Pacific Squadron West Indies Squadron Civil War Atlantic Blockading Squadron East Gulf Blockading Squadron Mississippi River Squadron North Atlantic Blockading Squadron Potomac Flotilla South Atlantic Blockading Squadron West Gulf Blockading Squadron West India Squadron Post-Civil War Asiatic Squadron Bering Sea Squadron European Squadron Flying Squadron North Atlantic Squadron North Pacific Squadron Pacific Station South Atlantic Squadron South Pacific Squadron Special Service Squadron Squadron of Evolution

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Squadron of Evolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squadron_of_Evolution) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squadron_of_Evolution?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.