drill and instruction.

These details of the summer operations of the Naval Militia will
convey an idea of the manner in which its members are being prepared
for the emergencies of war. In addition to the summer work, there is
drill in armories in the winter. This course of training, in
conjunction with the intelligence and enthusiasm of the young men of
the Naval Militia, who are of the best classes in this country, has
made an organization which would doubtless be of very great value in
time of war.

The uniform of the Naval Militia consists of a blue cap, blouse, and
trousers of blue trimmed with white braid. The working suit is of
white duck with white canvas hat.

CHAPTER III.

HOW THE NAVY HAS GROWN. -- THE COST AND CHARACTER OF OUR NEW
WHITE SHIPS OF WAR. -- OUR PERIOD OF NAVAL WEAKNESS AND OUR
ADVANCE TO A PLACE AMONG THE GREAT NAVAL POWERS. -- THE NEW
DEVICES OF NAVAL WARFARE. -- THE TORPEDO, THE DYNAMITE GUN, AND
THE MODERN RIFLE. -- ARMOR AND ITS POSSIBILITIES.

At the close of the civil war the United States had one of the most
formidable navies afloat. The necessities of the war had forced the
Navy Department to the utmost exertion in increasing the number and
power of the vessels of the fleets. This work of naval upbuilding and
strengthening had been carried on, moreover, till Fort Fisher fell and
hostile operations ceased. The result was that at the close of the war
the United States had upon its hands a large number of ships-of-war
for which it had no use. The Secretary of the Navy at once began to
reduce the number, and secretaries succeeding him followed the same
policy. Old vessels which had outlived their usefulness as cruisers
were one by one taken out of commission and were not replaced. Thus
the navy moved steadily on a downward plane. Through the seventies and
into the eighties this retrogression continued. The lowest ebb was
reached in 1882, when the entire naval force numbered only thirty-one
vessels in commission, all but four of which were built entirely of
wood. They were old-fashioned ships, which had been efficient in a
past day, but were totally unfit to cope with the modern warships of
foreign naval powers. Both their guns and engines were inferior. Their
sole usefulness, in short, lay in displaying the national flag upon
the seas and in the harbors of the commercial world in times of peace.

This condition of the navy was referred to by Secretary