Naval Quotations.

This is coolbert:

Here with a series of quotations as attributed to American naval officers from the earliest days of the Republic, the United States having a navy with outstanding elan and fighting spirit.

That U.S. Navy also from inception pelagic [deep water] extending global reach and power to all parts of globe, a tradition that follows to this day!

1. "I have not yet begun to fight!". John Paul Jones.

The American naval vessel commanded by Jones in mortal combat action with HMS Serapis off the coast of England, a naval battle witnessed by thousands on shore.

"On September 23, 1779, Jones fought one of the bloodiest engagements in naval history. Jones struggled with the 44-gun Royal Navy frigate Serapis, and although his own vessel was burning and sinking, Jones would not accept the British demand for surrender, replying, 'I have not yet begun to fight.' More than three hours later, Serapis surrendered and Jones took command."

2. "Don't give up the ship!" James Lawrence.

That American naval commander Lawrence again in combat action with a British warship [during the War of 1812, mortally wounded, his final command and exhortations to continue the fight inspiring. A battle ultimately fatal for the captain and crew of the Chesapeake the elan and courage of Lawrence and his crew nonetheless undeniable.

"James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an American naval officer. During the War of 1812, he commanded the USS Chesapeake in a single-ship action against HMS Shannon (commanded by Philip Broke). He is probably best known today for his last words or 'dying command' 'Don't give up the ship!', Lawrence, mortally wounded by small arms fire, ordered his officers, 'Don't give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks.' Or 'Tell them to fire faster; don't give up the ship.'"

3. "We have met the enemy and they are ours!". Oliver Hazard Perry.

Oliver Hazard Perry at Lake Erie [also the War of 1812] fighting an inland naval battle the capture intact of an entire British naval squadron unprecedented and shocking both at the same time for friend and foe alike!

"On 10 September 1813, after defeating the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie, Oliver Hazard Perry, commander of the American fleet, dispatched one of the most famous messages in military history to Maj. Gen. William Henry Harrison. It read: 'Dear Gen'l: We have met the enemy, and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop. Yours with great respect and esteem. H. Perry'."

  4. "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!". David Farragut.

Admiral Farragut during the Battle of Mobile Bay [American Civil War] using measured audacity in the face of Confederate torpedoes [naval mines], concerted spirited energetic action in the face of danger. NOT so much foolhardy as an understanding that in warfare there is risk at all times! "He who dares wins!"

"Most popular accounts of the battle relate that when Brooklyn slowed when Tecumseh crossed her path, Farragut asked why she was not moving ahead. When the reply came back that torpedoes [naval mines] were in her path, he is said to have said, 'Damn the torpedoes.'"

Various versions of the quotation exist to include:

"Damn the torpedoes! Go ahead!" . . .  "Damn the torpedoes. Four bells, Captain Drayton." . . . 'Go ahead, Jouett, full speed.'"

5. "You may fire when ready Gridley!" George Dewey.

That exact moment almost precisely understood when the United States became a world power, the Battle of Manila Bay [1898]. Commodore Dewey commanding the American naval squadron issuing his fateful words to the captain of the flagship Olympia.

"As Sunday morning dawned hours later, the Olympia's commander, Captain Charles Gridley, waited for the order to fire his ship's guns. The order would come from the squadron's commander, Commodore George Dewey, who watched from atop the Olympia's flying bridge as shore batteries fired harmlessly at the advancing column of American ships. At 5:40 A.M. Dewey finally hailed Gridley with the now-famous words, 'You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.'"

6. "Sighted sub sank same!". Donald Francis Mason.

There is a literary quality intentionally or otherwise to the message as composed and sent by the naval aviator Mason? Short, terse, and unmistakeably describing events as occurred!

"a Hudson [as piloted by Mason] of 82 Naval Patrol squadron [naval aviation anti-submarine-warfare], operating from Argentia in Newfoundland, sighted and attacked a surfaced U-boat on 28 January 1942. The U-boat disappeared and the pilot, Donald Francis Mason, sent the triumphant signal 'Sighted sub sank same'”.

It is suggested that the German U-boat merely submerged and was NOT sunk, Mason however truthful in his belief the attack had gone well and the German U-boat had gone to the bottom. .

And since the time of the Second World War NO MORE memorable quotations or exhortations?

That current American navy for the last almost seventy years now dominant on the high seas in a manner that even exceeds that of the British Royal Navy [RN] during the Victorian Era!

coolbert.