“Connecticut”

Now Mr. Long uv Washin’ton. jest lend yew ear tur me;

Yaas, Mr. Long, the Navy man, thet’s who I wanter see;

I’m all the way frum Gungawamp, up in the Nutmeg State,

An’ hev a story, Mr. Long, which I will now relate.

I ain’t no pollertician, sir, I ain’t come way down here

Tur git a job ez some folks do, so don’t hev any fear;

I ain’t a naval cannerdate, app’intments lookin’ for,

Nor I ain’t here tur crittercize the conduc’ uv the war.

I ain’t got no sergestions how thet naval fight should be,

The way tur do is all pitch in an’ lick the enemy;

‘N’ I guess they done it, Mr. Long, an’ done it purty slick,

Ef ‘warn’t a fight uv science ‘twuz a fight uv lick ‘em quick!

Wall, ez I wuz sayin’, Mr. Long, it’s bizniz calls me here,

The which I’ll put in my own way in statements short an’ clear;

I represent the Nutmeg State, each woman, man an child,

I’m all the way frum Gungawamp where things is purty wild.

But we’ve got senterments, dear sir, an’ patriotism, too,

We fought the Revolution, an’ the Civil War all through,

We helped tur lick the Spaniards, we’re ready fur a fight,

We’ll give air lives fur thet air flag whene’er the cause is right;

An' now most honored neighbor Long, you’re buildin’ battleships,

Some mighty warriors uv the deep, no nation kin eclipse.

An’ what we want, an’ all we ask uv yew, an’ Washin’ton,

Is thet yew paint “Connecticut” ercross the end uv one.

Nov. 2, 1898

Pub. in B. Courier

John Davis Long (October 27, 1838 – August 28, 1915) was a American lawyer, politician, and writer. He served as the 32nd Governor of Massachusetts between 1880 and 1883. He later served as the Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1902, a period that notably included the Spanish–American War.

Born in Buckfield, Maine, Long was educated a lawyer at Harvard, and then settled in Hingham, Massachusetts. He became active in Republican Party politics in the 1870s, winning election to the state legislature in 1874. He rose rapidly in prominence, and was elected lieutenant governor in 1879 and governor in 1880. He advocated modest reforms during his three years as governor, which were relatively undistinguished.

After returning to private practice he was offered a cabinet post by his friend President William McKinley in 1896. He chose to become Secretary of the Navy despite lacking detailed knowledge of naval matters. He clashed with his Under-Secretary, Theodore Roosevelt, over expansion of the Navy, but did so when the Spanish–American War broke out in 1898. He resigned the post after Roosevelt became president, and resumed his law practice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Davis_Long

      The Navy began building a monitor warship named “Connecticut” on April 17, 1899, but renamed it “Tonopah” on March 1, and then “Nevada”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_(BM-8)  

The USS Connecticut (BB-18), the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after the state of Connecticut, was the lead ship of her class of six battleships. Her keel was laid on 10 March 1903; launched on 29 September 1904, Connecticut was commissioned on 29 September 1906 as the most advanced ship in the U.S. Navy.

Connecticut served as the flagship for the Jamestown Exposition in mid-1907, which commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony. She later sailed with the Great White Fleet on a circumnavigation of the Earth to showcase the US Navy's growing fleet of blue-water-capable ships. After completing her service with the Great White Fleet, Connecticut participated in several flag-waving exercises intended to protect American citizens abroad until she was pressed into service as a troop transport at the end of World War I to expedite the return of American Expeditionary Forces from France.

For the remainder of her career, Connecticut sailed to various places in both the Atlantic and Pacific while training newer recruits to the Navy. However, the provisions of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty stipulated that many of the older battleships, Connecticut among them, would have to be disposed of, so she was decommissioned on 1 March 1922 and sold for scrap on 1 November 1923.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Connecticut_(BB-18)