Landing Party, 125 Years Ago

We see a great shot of a Montgomery-class cruiser (USS Montgomery C-9, Detroit C-10, or Marblehead C-11) conducting an “arm and away” landing party boat drill in Hampton Roads circa 1901. Note the five whale boats are carrying about 100~ Bluejackets, complete with visible cartridge belts and canteens, which amount to nearly half the authorized complement. Photo by Edward Hart, Detroit Postcard Collection, Library of Congress, LC-D4-20678. (Incorrectly described as USS Newark on card). Official caption: “The naval battalion exercised shore landings with rifles, machine guns, and 3-inch field pieces. The landing party also included an ammunition party, pioneers for building fortifications, an ambulance party, a supply detail, a signal gang, buglers, and a color guard.”