Admiral Strauss, who was in general command of mining operations, went to England in March, inspected the bases, and conferred with the British authorities as to the general arrangements. His flagship was the _Black Hawk_ (Captain R. C. Bulmer), which was also the repair vessel of the mine force. The British began mine laying in March, but one of their vessels, the _Gailardia_, was sunk; and operations were suspended for a time until the safety of the mines could be assured. The _Baltimore_, the first of our vessels sent over, arrived in the Clyde in March. Submarines were very active in Irish waters, and the Admiralty decided to lay a deep mine-field off the north coast of Ireland, in the North Channel. As all British mine-layers were employed elsewhere, the Admiralty requested the use of the _Baltimore_. This was readily granted and the _Baltimore_ engaged in this from April 13th until the latter part of May, joining our squadron in Scotland June 2nd. The _Roanoke_, sent over to assist her, was instead ordered to our base at Invergordon. Sailing from Newport, May 12th, the _San Francisco_ and other vessels arrived at Inverness, May 26th, all ready to begin operations. Twelve days later the squadron started on its first mine-planting "excursion." On these expeditions, which lasted usually from 40 to 80 hours, the squadron was regarded as a part of the British Grand Fleet. Screening it against submarines, and hostile mines casually placed, was an escort of eight to twelve British destroyers, which formed around the squadron upon its leaving the base and kept with it until its return. To guard against attack from enemy cruisers, while away from the coast, the squadron was accompanied by a supporting force, consisting of a battleship or battle-cruiser squadron and a light-cruiser squadron of the Grand Fleet, sometimes by all three, according to the estimated probabilities of attack. On the second mining excursion the support was the Sixth Battle Squadron, the American battleships, commanded by Admiral Rodman. Captain Belknap gave a vivid picture of the dangerous character of mine-laying when he said: One may imagine with what feelings we saw our own great ships file out of Scapa Flow, form line on our quarter, and slowly disappear in the haze, as they swept off to the southeastward. It will be readily understood that the way had to be made smooth for the mine planters. As long as it was so, all would go well; but a single well placed torpedo or mine, or a few enemy shells, would certainly finish one vessel, and probably destroy all ten of them. Each mine planter carried from 24 to 120 tons of high explosive, a total of nearly 800 tons in the squadron, many times more than the amount that devastated Halifax. With this on board, the squadron was hardly a welcome visitor anywhere.