The ships that have been built since that time are entirely unlike those with which Paul Jones and Commodore Perry and Admiral Farragut won their great victories. The largest and most formidable of the new vessels are known as battleships, and may be briefly described as floating forts, built of steel and armed with powerful guns. These are named after the states, as the _Oregon_, the _Texas_, and the _Iowa_. Next to them in importance are the great monitors, such as the _Monadnock_ and the _Monterey_. These are slow sailers but terrible fighters, and are intended chiefly for harbor defense. The cruisers, which rank next, are smaller than battleships and are not so heavily armed; but they are built for speed, and their swiftness makes up for their lack of strength. Among the most noted of these are the _Brooklyn_, the _Columbia_, and the _Minneapolis_. There are also smaller cruisers, such as the _Cincinnati_ and the _Raleigh_, that are intended rather for scout duty than for service in battle. Most of the cruisers are named after cities. One of the strangest vessels in the navy is the dynamite cruiser _Vesuvius_, which is armed with terrible dynamite guns. Then there is the ram _Katahdin_. She carries no heavy guns, and her only weapon of offense is a powerful ram. Her speed is greater than that of most battleships, and she is protected by a covering of the heaviest steel armor. Besides all these there are a number of smaller vessels, such as torpedo boats and tugs. A few old-fashioned wooden vessels--steam frigates and sailing vessels--are still to be found in our navy yards, but these would be of no use in a battle. In reading of the exploits of our great naval heroes it is well to keep in mind these wonderful changes that have taken place in the navy. Think of the slow-going wooden frigates which sailed the seas in the time of Paul Jones or Commodore Perry--how small and insignificant they would be if placed side by side with the tremendous _Oregon_ or with the cruisers which Admiral Dewey led to victory in the Bay of Manila! But if the glory of an achievement is measured by the difficulties that are encountered and overcome, to whom shall we award the greater honor--to our earlier heroes, or to our later? JAMES BALDWIN. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 THE STORY OF PAUL JONES