Robley D. Evans (admiral)
Robley Dunglison Evans, born in Floyd County, Virginia, was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, who served from the American Civil War to the Spanish–American War. In 1907–1908, he commanded the Great White Fleet on its worldwide cruise from the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Magellan to the Pacific Ocean.
Robley D. Evans (admiral)
Early photo
Evans (left) and President Theodore Roosevelt aboard Roosevelt's yacht, The Mayflower
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships that completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907, to February 22, 1909, by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with various small escorts, and earned its moniker for the stark white paint on its hulls.
Flagship Connecticut: one of a set of commemorative postcards of the ships of the Great White Fleet
Kansas sails ahead of Vermont as the fleet leaves Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 16 December 1907.
A 1908 postcard welcomes the fleet to Australia.
The Fleet Passing Through the Magellan Straits by naval artist Henry Reuterdahl, who traveled with the fleet on USS Culgoa