trainingshipalabama

A Naval Militia in the USA is usually part of the State defence organization. Here's info on New York's one: www.dmna.state.ny.us/nynm/naval.php

The dates on both the negative and the sticker begin with 4 and end with 7 or 17, indicating April 1917. The original day of the month appears to have been changed, possibly corrected.

So here's another instance of Bain's reuse of a 1913 military photo after Wilson's (and Congress's) declaration of war against Germany (April 6, 1917).

From Wikipedia: Lattice masts, or cage masts, are a type of observation mast common on major warships in the early 20th century. They were used most prominently on American dreadnought battleships and armored cruisers of the World War I era. Their purpose was to make the observation posts mounted on the masts and used to direct the fire of the warships' guns less vulnerable to shells from enemy ships. These masts remind me of Chinese finger traps.

More lattice masts in this image: Must have been some fun painting these things!

Genial