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Show FIRST Gl FIRED 01 MNU Hostilities in Mexico Open Sixteen Years After Beginning Begin-ning of War With Spain. On the sixteenth anniversary of the official declaration of the war with Spain tho first gun In .Mexican hostilities was fired at Vera Cruz. Since the sluicing of the Maine in Havana harbor, February IIS, JS9S, the American navy ba risen from the eighth to the third in rank with the world powers and Is exceeded in the number of vessels and tonnage by the navies of England and Germany only. When the Maine went down the United States navy comprised fifty-four vcssela of all types, with nn aggregate tonnage of 171,1 U tone. The navy today has in commission a total of l-l vessels of all types', with an "aggregate tonnage of 1.-017.752 1.-017.752 tons. A comparison of the vessels of today with those of 18!S shows the wonderful strides that have been made during the last sixteen yearn. Vessels In construction at outbreak of Spanish-American war: BATTLESHIPS. First class, -f Indiana. llaBdachusctts, Oregon and Iowa. Aggregate tonnage, 42.10. Second claas, i Texas. Tonnage. C315. Armored crulscra. 'J Brooklyn and New York. Aggregate tonnage, 17,415. Monitors. CAmphl trite. Monadnock, Mlantonomah, Monterey. Puritan and Terror. Aggregate tonnage, 2C.10H. Protected cruisers, 12 Iialtimoro, Charleston. Columbia. Minneapolis. Olyin-pla. Olyin-pla. Newark, San Francisco. New Orleans. Or-leans. Cincinnati, Raleigh and Boston. Aggregate tonnage. 19.722. Unprotected cruisers and gunboats. 20 Detroit, Marblchead, Montgomery. Bennington, Ben-nington, Concord. Yorktown, Topeka, Dolphin, Wilmington. NaslnMHe. Caatlne, Machine, Annapolis, Vicksburg. Wheeling. Wheel-ing. Marietta, Newport, Princeton. Petrel and Bancroft- Aggregate tonnage, 27.4-41. Dvnamlte vessel, 1 Vesuvius. Tonnage. Ton-nage. 329. , Torpedo boats. S Cushlng, Erickson. Footo. Rodgers, Wlnslow, Forter, Dupont, Morris. Tonnage, 108. Total tonnage, 171.114. Summary of vessels of the navy. ISMS; Tonnage. Battleships, first class 4 -12.104 Battleships, second class.. 1 G.315 Armored cruisers 2 17.415 Monitors fi 26.104 Protected cruisers 12 49,722 Unprotected cruisers and battleships 20 27,411 Dynamite vessel 3 9-9 Torpedo boats S 1.084 Total 5 171.111 Vessels in commission in United States navy Tonnage. Battleships, dreadnought type 9 220,400 Battleships. pre - dreadnought dread-nought type 24 .135.2S4 Coast defense-vessels 212.900 Armored cruisers 11 119.205 CrulsorB . ... H 66,410 Torpedo-boat destroyers . . 40 29.SG2 Torpedo boats IS 3,601 Totnl 124 1,017,752 |