tribute. This little flotilla acquitted itself splendidly up
and down the coast of France. Meanwhile, we were constructing fuel-oil tanks; and as soon as these were ready
and repair ships were available, we began building up a
large force at Brest—a force which was ultimately larger
than the one we maintained at Queenstown; at the height
of the troop movements it comprised about 36 destroyers,
12 yachts, 3 tenders, and several mine-sweepers and tugs.
The fine work which this detachment accomplished in
escorting troop and supply convoys is sufficient evidence of
the skill acquired by the destroyers and other vessels in
carrying out their duties in this peculiar warfare.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, a great organization had been created under the able direction of Rear-Admiral Albert Cleaves for maintaining and administering the fleet of transports and their ocean escorts. Also, as soon as war was declared the work was begun of converting into transports those German merchant ships which had been interned in American ports. The successful completion of this work was, in itself, a great triumph for the American navy. Of the vessels which the Germans had left in our hands, seventeen at New York, Boston, Norfolk, and Philadelphia, seemed to be adapted for transport purposes, but the Germans had not intended that we should make any such use of them. The condition of these ships, after their German custodians had left, was something indescribable; they reflected great discredit upon German seamanship, for it would have been impossible for any people which really loved ships to permit them to deteriorate as had these vessels and to become such cesspools of filth. For three years the Germans had evidently made no attempt to clean them ; the sanitary conditions were so bad that our workmen could not sleep on board, but had to have sleeping quarters near the docks ; they spent weeks scrubbing, scraping, and disinfecting, in a finally successful effort to make the ships suitable habitations for human beings. Not only had the Germans permitted such liners as the Vaterland and the Kronprinzessin Cecilie to go neglected, but, on their departure, they had attempted to injure them in all conceivable ways. The cylinders had been broken, engines had been smashed, vital parts of the machinery had been removed and thrown into the sea, ground glass had been placed in the oil cups, gunpowder had been placed in
