Description:

1906 USS RALEIGH PRIVATE LOG BOOK AND PHOTO ALBUM
Fascinating private log book and photo album of Medical Corpsman G. F. Powers, describing his service cruise aboard the USS Raleigh anchored at Cavite in the Philippines from Dec. 9, 1904 to his return to New York on Dec. 2, 1906. There are about one hundred pages of text with various souvenir clippings included in this bound ledger book which Powers pressed into service. There is an extraordinary amount of fine content in Powers' clearly written log, which also reads like a travelogue of the period, only a fraction of which we can include here. In very small part: "...The Raleigh was the first cruiser to win the Cruiser Trophy given by the President...a new record for 12 inch guns...received orders for an extended cruise among the Southern Philippine Islands...no belligerents making use of these waters and invading our neutrality...we found no sign of either Japs or Rooskies...The Sulu Moros...capturing prisoners for slavery and looting the towns...Manila Bay became the center of the [Russo-Japanese War] war zone last night...three Russian warships torn and ragged from the effects of the fierce battle in the Korean [Tsushima] Straits came slowly into port...the Czar's crippled wanderers...Admiral Train...will probably direct the Admiral in command to proceed to sea inside of 24 hours or disarm...the damaged vessels might refuge here...the wounded on board the vessels are having good medical attendance...[Powers names the vessels which are later interned, including the famous AURORA, now a monument to the Russian Revolution] The Logan arrives with Miss Alice Roosevelt...The Roosevelt Party arrived at Takeo...[they] made several visits to different ships...[and] embarked on the Emperor's Special Train for Peking....about 20 of us bluejackets got on the same train...made the conductor think we were the guard...". Powers offers a fine description of Roosevelt's reception by foreign troops and dignitaries in Peking, and then describes the city in some 10 pages of detail as he goes sight-seeing. On his return, Powers describes rabble-rousing with the locals: "...about 90 of us sailors and 40 or so soldiers went out that night to have some fun with the chinks...called in the chine soldiers to help them keep the peace for we didn't do a thing to them yellow chinks they all run when they see us coming, we ruled the place that night...". He also describes assaulting and tying up Chinese tug crewmembers for refusing to return him and his associates to their vessel; they commandeered the tug instead. Returning to sea, the vessel steams to Yokohama where Powers continues touring, climbing Mount Fuji and visiting the city, then on to Formosa, Ceylon, Suez, Cairo, and New York. The log is illustrated by its author with postcards, photographs, menus, hotel flyers, tickets, etc. throughout. Also included is Powers' 8vo. photo album bearing about fifty photos, most occupying an entire page, many commercially produced, and all from his voyages in the Far East. Subjects include an opium smoker, street scenes, a "Chinese Sing Song Girl", farmers, temples, and images of armed sailors escorting a hearse. USS Raleigh had a very distinguished career, most notably in the Spanish-American War where she participated in the destruction of the Spanish fleet near Cavite.

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May 14, 2009 10:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

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