An anecdote has Roosevelt watching the fleet leave from the presidential yacht Mayflower and urging the yacht to follow farther than planned. The story conveys his enthusiasm for the fleet he had helped create and dispatch. A quotation giving his eventual reason for turning back is less secure: it appears in only one of the sources checked. Professional command also mattered to the voyage. Charles Sperry could replace the ailing Robley Evans because the US Navy had several capable rear admirals available.
Chapter · 1:10:59-1:13:30
Commanders and the fleet's dramatic departure
Robley Evans, Charles Sperry, and Roosevelt's pursuit of the departing fleet show the human command structure behind the voyage.