I Have Not Yet Begun To Fight!

He Who Will Not Risk Cannot Win.

...without A Respectable Navy, Alas America!

It Seems To Be A Law Of Nature, Inflexible And Inexorable, That Those Who Will Not Risk Cannot Win.

It Is By No Means Enough That An Officer Should Be Capable. . . . He Should Be As Well A Gentleman Of Liberal Education, Refined Manners, Punctilious Courtesy, And The Nicest Sense Of Personal Honor. . . . No Meritorious Act Of A Subordinate Should Escape His Attention, Even If The Reward Be Only One Word Of Approval. Conversely, He Should Not Be Blind To A Single Fault In Any Subordinate.

I May Sink, But I'll Be Damned If I Strike!