THE GREAT WHITE FLEET

San Francisco to Hawaii

Postcards from the Myers collection

From December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909, 16 battleships and 14,000 men of the U. S. Navy traveled around the world. From the East Coast of the United States, down the coast of South America, up the West Coast - the Panama Canal was not yet open - and then a stay of almost two months in San Francisco harbor. During that time some of the fleet went to Seattle, then rejoined the rest in San Francisco, and on 7 July 1908, the fleet composition changed and they headed to Hawaii.

Later stops were: New Zealand, Australia, Manila, Yokohama, Ceylon, Suez, various ports in the Mediterranean, and finally home to Virginia. The fleet arrived in Virginia on 22 February 1909. See Route Map for the fleet or check the Site Map.

These postcards were inherited from the Myers/Hurst family. Going through the collection, I found many cards from "Ed" which comprised a trip around the world. With help from the Postcard Collectors, and especially Cary Finder, I was able to identify the cards as documents of the Great White Fleet's trip. The cards are particularly interesting as some of the photos were taken by E. A. (Ed) Stein of the USS Minnesota.

	Post Office, San Francisco. Postmarked 8 Jun 1908 to Laura. Invites her and a friend to be aboard on Sunday, the 14th. Signs it E. A. Stein, USS Minnesota. Note: Ed Stein was listed as a Coxswain on the USS Minnesota.
Cathedral. Photo by Stein written on negative. Postmarked from San Francisco, July 7th. I believe this was taken somewhere in South America.
	Park in Rio. Photo by Stein written on negative. Postmarked July 7th from San Francisco. Some of the pictures are ones he took earlier and chose to send to Laura at departure time. The identification of the locale of the park is very evident in the inscription on the picture.
Ship in Dry Dock. No identification of locale or of ship. Postmarked July 7th from San Francisco.
	Photo from deck of ship. The Yosemite is alongside and full of people. Lots of women on its deck. Postmarked July 7th from San Francisco.
Photo from on-board ship (USS Minnesota). Photo by Stein written on negative. Two large ships in background. Many launches and other boats in foreground. Postmarked from San Francisco, July 7th. ("Best Wishes from Ed. Bye Bye")
	Photo from on-deck (USS Minnesota). Not mailed. Shows one battleship nearby and 6 smaller vessels in background.
Photo from on deck (USS Minnesota). Photo by Stein written on negative. Canon barrel partly showing. Ahead are 9 battleships (fleet) and many smaller vessels. Postmarked July 7th from San Franciso.

If you are interested in more information about the Great White Fleet - which I think is one of the great naval adventures - please check out the bibliography. I will be adding more materials to it.