Brief description:
Prior to 1898 the duties of installing and operating submarine cables devolved but rarely on the Signal Corps of the Army, and in such cases only along the coasts of the United States where technical labor and special material were readily available. The war of 1898 necessitated on the part of the Signal Corps extensive cable operations in the Caribbean Sea and in the Philippine Archipelago, while later they have been extended to Alaskan waters. Under such conditions it was impracticable to either lay such cables by contract or to operate them by civilian force. In consequence, it devolved upon the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, Gen. A. W. Greely, to organize a system under which the installation, operation, and maintenance of long submarine cables should be efficiently performed by the officers and men of the Signal Corps of the Army.
Lt. Col. Edgar Russel co-authored the manual while leading the expeditions through the Philippine Archipelago from December 21, 1900 to April 7, 1901. His wife, Florence Kimball Russel penned a memoir of her travels on that ship through several months of cable-laying on the captured Spanish freighter renamed the Burnside. This is a fascinating story describing the trials and tribulations of cable laying, the life of the two officers' wives and one child and their shipboard life. There were were shore visits with many natives - not always friendly - and the mingling of cultures. It is an engaging tale of a special Army assignment:
"It was a busy trip, everyone on the ship being occupied, with the exception of the women who spend most of their time under the cool blue awning of the quarterdeck, where many a letter was written, and many a book read aloud and discussed, though more often we accomplished little, preferring to lie back on our long steamer chairs and watch the wooded islands with cloud shadows on the shaggy breasts drift slowly by and fade into the purple distance."
Clearly, Mrs. Russel kept and exceptionally detailed diary accompanied by dozens of photos of islands and the inhabitants she encountered.
Lt. Col. Edgar Russel co-authored the manual while leading the expeditions through the Philippine Archipelago from December 21, 1900 to April 7, 1901. His wife, Florence Kimball Russel penned a memoir of her travels on that ship through several months of cable-laying on the captured Spanish freighter renamed the Burnside. This is a fascinating story describing the trials and tribulations of cable laying, the life of the two officers' wives and one child and their shipboard life. There were were shore visits with many natives - not always friendly - and the mingling of cultures. It is an engaging tale of a special Army assignment:
"It was a busy trip, everyone on the ship being occupied, with the exception of the women who spend most of their time under the cool blue awning of the quarterdeck, where many a letter was written, and many a book read aloud and discussed, though more often we accomplished little, preferring to lie back on our long steamer chairs and watch the wooded islands with cloud shadows on the shaggy breasts drift slowly by and fade into the purple distance."
Clearly, Mrs. Russel kept and exceptionally detailed diary accompanied by dozens of photos of islands and the inhabitants she encountered.
Publication
L.C. Page & Co., London