USS Tallapoosa

Figure 1: Wash drawing by Clary Ray, circa 1900, of USS Tallapoosa (1864-1892), depicts the ship as she appeared during the Civil War. Courtesy of the US Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Tallapoosa (1864-1892) photographed after reconstruction, circa 1874-1884. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Tallapoosa (1864-1892) tied up at the Sheer Wharf, Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, circa 1876, after she was reconstructed. Note the sheer legs on the wharf, and the sterns of USS Wabash and USS Ohio at the left. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Tallapoosa (1864-1892) in dry dock, probably at the New York Navy Yard in 1884 or 1885, showing damage received in August 1884 when she was sunk in a collision with the schooner James S. Lowell. The view looks toward her starboard side, just forward of the midships superstructure. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Tallapoosa (1864-1892) at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, circa 1886, following her final rebuilding. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, view of the waterfront, circa 1886, with the floating dry dock at left. Ships present are (from left to right): USS Constellation; USS Dale; USS Tallapoosa; and USS Constitution (housed over). Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Tallapoosa (1864-1892) ship's officers, 1873. Her Commanding Officer, Lieutenant David G. McRitchie, is seated in the center. Courtesy of Admiral William D. Leahy, December 1938. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a river in Georgia, USS Tallapoosa was a 974-ton Sassacus class “double-ender” gunboat that was built at the New York Navy Yard by C.W. Booz of Baltimore, Maryland, and was commissioned on 13 September 1864. She was a side-wheel steamer approximately 205 feet long and 35 feet wide, had a top speed of 11.5 knots, and had a crew of 190 officers and men. Tallapoosa was armed with two 100-pounder guns, four 9-inch guns, two 20-pounders, and two 24-pounders.

While Tallapoosa was being completed at the dockyard, the Confederate raider Tallahassee was steaming off the Atlantic coast attacking Union merchant ships from the Virginia capes to Nova Scotia. Shortly after Tallapoosa was commissioned, she was sent out to locate and destroy Tallahassee. Tallapoosa’s search took her from New York to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then south to Virginia, then back north to Nova Scotia. On 4 November 1864, Tallapoosa was hit by a southeasterly gale and severely damaged. However, she was able to limp into Boston harbor under her own power on 7 November. After approximately six weeks, repairs to Tallapoosa were completed at the Boston Navy Yard. She was assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and on 11 January 1865 assisted in salvaging material and equipment from the screw frigate San Jacinto, which had run aground off the coast of the Bahamas on an uncharted reef.

After the end of the Civil War, Tallapoosa was assigned to the Gulf Squadron. She patrolled the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico until 1867, when she was placed in reserve at the Washington Navy Yard. Re-commissioned in 1869, Tallapoosa was used as an armed dispatch vessel. In January 1870, she transported Admiral David Farragut to Portland, Maine, where he met the British battleship HMS Monarch, which had just arrived in the United States carrying the remains of philanthropist George Peabody who had died in England. During the summer of 1870, Tallapoosa took Farragut from New York City to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to visit the commandant of the Navy Yard there. Farragut’s health was deteriorating rapidly and it was hoped that the cooler New England sea breezes would improve the admiral’s health. As Tallapoosa arrived at Portsmouth on 4 July, she fired a cannon salute for her distinguished passenger, the Navy’s highest ranking and most respected officer. When Farragut heard the thunder of Tallapoosa’s guns, he left his sick bed, put on his uniform, and walked onto the ship’s quarterdeck. Once there he stated, “It would be well if I died now.” A little more than a month later, Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, hero of the Union Navy during the Civil War, died at Portsmouth.

In 1872, Tallapoosa became a training ship for the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. The following year, the ship was converted into a transport. But Tallapoosa was getting on in years and aging badly, so the ship basically was rebuilt at Baltimore from 1874 to 1875. She was reconfigured as a “single-ender” and was given an extended superstructure. Once this major overhaul was completed, Tallapoosa resumed her duties as an armed dispatch vessel and remained in this role for almost 10 years.

At approximately midnight on 24 August 1884, Tallapoosa was rammed by the schooner J.S. Lowell and sank five miles from Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. Miraculously, the tough old warship was raised and repaired by the Merritt Wrecking Company and was re-commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 11 January 1886. She was assigned to the South Atlantic Squadron and left New York on 7 June 1886, heading for Rio de Janeiro. At the time, there was much political unrest in South America and Tallapoosa was sent to the area to protect American lives and property. Tallapoosa continued patrolling off the coast of South America until 30 January 1892, when she was condemned as unfit for further service. After serving in the US Navy for almost 30 years, USS Tallapoosa was sold at public auction at Montevideo, Uruguay, on 3 March 1892.

USS Ward (DD-139, later APD-16)

Figure 1: USS Ward (DD-139) off Mare Island Navy Yard, California, circa September 1918, shortly after she was commissioned. Note her disruptive camouflage scheme and small hull numbers painted in rather fancy script below her bridge. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Ward (DD-139) running speed trials off the California coast in September 1918, while painted in disruptive camouflage. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Ward (DD-139) photographed on 26 February 1919. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Ward (DD-139) photographed in late 1918 or early 1919, dressed with flags. Note that she still wears her hull number painted under her bridge in small numerals, as well as on her bow in large numerals. Courtesy of Jack L. Howland, 1983. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Chew (DD-106) and USS Ward (DD-139) at Hilo Sugar Docks, Territory of Hawaii, 22 July 1941. Courtesy of Mr. Jesse Pond (VP-1) via Mr. Robert Varrill. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Ward (DD-139), "A Shot for Posterity,” the USS Ward's number three gun and its crew-cited for firing one of the first shots the day of Japan's raid on Hawaii. Operating as part of the inshore patrol early in the morning of December 7, 1941, this destroyer group spotted a submarine outside Pearl Harbor, opened fire and sank her. Crew members are R.H. Knapp - BM2c - Gun Captain, C.W. Fenton - Sea1c - Pointer, R.B. Nolde - Sea1c - Trainer, A.A. De Demagall - Sea1c - No. 1 Loader, D.W. Gruening - Sea1c - No. 2 Loader, J.A. Paick - Sea1c - No. 3 Loader, H.P. Flanagan - Sea1c - No. 4 Loader, E.J. Bakret - GM3c - Gunners Mate, K.C.J. Lasch - Cox - Sightsetter." (quoted from the original 1942-vintage caption). This gun is a 4-inch/50 type, mounted atop the ship's amidships deckhouse, starboard side. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command. Click on photograph for larger image.



Figure 7: Cape Sansapor Invasion, 1944. Army troops boarding USS Ward (APD-16) at Maffin Bay, New Guinea, en route to the Cape Sansapor landings, 30 July 1944. Boat is one of Ward's LCP(R)s. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Ward (APD-16) burning in Ormoc Bay, Leyte, Philippine Islands, after she was hit by a Kamikaze on 7 December 1944. USS O'Brien (DD-725) is fighting fires from alongside, as landing craft circle to rescue survivors. Photographed from USS Crosby (APD-17). Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Ward (APD-16) on fire after she was hit by a "Kamikaze" in Ormoc Bay, Leyte, on 7 December 1944. She sank later in the day. Exactly three years earlier, on the morning of 7 December 1941, while on patrol off Pearl Harbor, Ward fired the first shot of the Pacific War. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after Commander James Harmon Ward, the first officer in the Union Navy killed during the Civil War, USS Ward (DD-139) was a 1,247-ton Wickes class destroyer that was built at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, and was commissioned on 24 July 1918. The ship was approximately 314 feet long and 30 feet wide, had a top speed of 35 knots, and had a crew of 231 officers and men. Ward was armed with four 4-inch guns, two 3-inch guns, twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

After her shakedown cruise, Ward left America’s west coast on 2 December 1918 and was made flagship of Destroyer Division 18 and participated in the US Navy’s annual winter exercises at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In May 1919, Ward provided navigational assistance and lifeguard station support for the trans-Atlantic flight of the NC flying boats. In July 1919, Ward was sent back to the west coast. After transiting the Panama Canal, she visited Mexico and then steamed to California. Ward eventually made her way to Seattle, Washington, where she participated in a naval review that was attended by President Woodrow Wilson on 13 September 1919. Ward returned to San Diego and remained based there until she was placed in reserve on 21 July 1921.

For almost twenty years, Ward remained in reserve. She was re-commissioned on 15 January 1941, as America was about to enter World War II. After war engulfed Europe in September 1939, the US Navy began re-commissioning old warships, especially destroyers, for patrol duties and use as convoy escorts. Ward was one of these ships and after she was re-commissioned she left her base at San Diego and headed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 9 March 1941 and was assigned to the 14th Naval District and Destroyer Division 80. Her primary duty was to patrol the channel entrance off Pearl Harbor, an important job since the US Pacific Fleet was based there. For the next few months, Ward completed numerous antisubmarine patrols off the coast of Hawaii and was placed on high alert in late November 1941 when a “war warning” was given to commanders in Hawaii and the Philippines of a possible Japanese attack.

At 0408 on the morning of 7 December 1941, Ward, with its new commanding officer, Lieutenant William W. Outerbridge, went to general quarters after she received a signal from another ship, USS Condor (AMC-14), that there was an enemy submarine in the area. Ward continued her search for the submarine when, at 0506, lookouts spotted a thin wake following another American naval vessel, USS Antares (AKS-14). The wake was caused by the conning tower of a small submarine and Ward immediately charged into action. At 0645, Lieutenant Outerbridge ordered his number one 4-inch gun to open fire on the unidentified submarine and soon a shell flew out of the cannon and sailed over the submarine’s conning tower. Although the crew of the Ward did not know it at the time, the first shot in the new war between the United States and Japan had just been fired. Ward’s number three gun on top of the galley deckhouse also began firing. This time the destroyer scored a direct hit, with the shell passing right through the submarine’s small conning tower. As the submarine began to submerge and sink, Ward raced over to the enemy warship and quickly dropped four depth charges. The depth charges went off and sank what turned out to be a Japanese midget submarine, which was trying to enter Pearl Harbor prior to the aerial attack that was to take place later that same morning. Lieutenant Outerbridge immediately notified the Commandant at the 14th Naval District headquarters and tried to make it clear that his ship had fired on an unidentified enemy submarine. Unfortunately, the 14th Naval District headquarters wanted absolute confirmation of the attack before warning the fleet, thereby preventing Pearl Harbor from being on a high state of alert that fateful morning. Ward left the area after the incident and headed for Pearl Harbor’s entrance. At approximately 0800, the crew on board Ward heard gunfire and explosions coming from Pearl Harbor, while seeing large clouds of smoke beginning to rise from the naval base there. By the time Ward’s urgent signals finally were forwarded to Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor already was under attack by Japanese aircraft.

After 7 December 1941, Ward continued her patrol duties around the Hawaiian Islands. In 1942, older ships like Ward were rebuilt and used for different purposes. Ward was sent to the west coast and was converted into a high-speed transport. Re-designated APD-16 in February 1943, Ward was sent to the South Pacific and began operations off the Solomon Islands. She assisted in repulsing a major Japanese air attack off Tulagi on 7 April 1943 and spent the remainder of the year functioning as an escort as well as a transport. In December 1943, Ward participated in the assault on Cape Gloucester and during the first nine months of 1944 she also was part of several amphibious landings in the southwest Pacific, including the invasions of Saidor, Nissan Island, Emirau, Aitape, Biak, Cape Sansapor, and Morotai.

On 17 October 1944, Ward participated in the invasion of the Philippine Islands. She assisted in landing troops on Dinagat Island, which was part of the larger invasion of Leyte. She spent the balance of October and November escorting ships to and from Leyte and in December Ward participated in the amphibious assault at Ormoc Bay, Leyte. On 7 December 1944, three years to the day after she fired the US Navy’s first shot of the Pacific war, Ward was attacked by several Japanese aircraft while on patrol off the coast of Leyte. A “Kamikaze” bomber smashed into her hull amidships, exploded, and caused massive fires throughout the ship. Ward came to a complete stop as the crew fought the spreading fires. But it was too late. The fires were clearly out of control and soon Ward’s commanding officer, Lieutenant R.E. Farwell, ordered the crew to abandon ship. Several ships, including USS O’Brien (DD-725), USS Saunter (AM-295), and USS Scout (AM-296) came to Ward’s assistance. Miraculously, only one crewman was injured and the entire crew was evacuated to the rescue vessels surrounding Ward. However, Ward was now a burnt-out hulk and a total loss. Although still afloat, she was a hazard to navigation and it was determined that one of her escorts, USS O’Brien, had to sink her with gunfire. As the other escort ships in the small group moved away from the stricken destroyer, O’Brien opened fire on the smoldering wreck. At 1130 on 7 December 1944, USS Ward slipped beneath the waves, sinking in Ormoc Bay between Poro Island and Apali Point. Undoubtedly the captain of O’Brien was especially saddened by the loss of Ward. We know this because, in one of those incredible ironies of naval history, his name was William W. Outerbridge, now a Lieutenant Commander, and the officer who was in charge of Ward exactly three years earlier on the morning of 7 December 1941.

USS Marblehead (C-11, later PG-27)

Figure 1: USS Marblehead (C-11, later PG-27) at anchor, date and location unknown. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Marblehead (C-11, later PG-27) in an icy harbor, circa 1894-99. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Marblehead (C-11, later PG-27) "stripped for battle" in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, circa June-July 1898. Donation of Capt. Dudley W. Knox, 1926, from the McCalla collection. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: "Our Warships off the Coast near Santiago de Cuba, June 3, 1898." Colored print based on a drawing by Carlton T. Chapman, depicting US Navy ships off Cuba at the time of the Battle of Santiago. Ships present are identified on the print as (from left to right): USS Marblehead, USS Oregon, USS St. Louis and USS New York. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, D.C. Sheldon Collection. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: US Pacific Station warships in Magdalena Bay, Mexico, circa 1900. The ships are, from left to right: the cruisers USS Marblehead (C-11, later PG-27) and USS Philadelphia, and the battleship USS Iowa. The original photograph was found in old Bureau of Navigation files in June 1941. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Marblehead (C-11, later PG-27) in the Mare Island channel a month after her re-commissioning in December 1902. Courtesy Darryl Baker. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Marblehead (C-11, later PG-27) while at anchor at Mare Island 13 March 1916. Courtesy of Thomas P. Naughton. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a port in Massachusetts, USS Marblehead (C-11) was a 2,072-ton Montgomery class cruiser that was built by the City Point Works at Boston, Massachusetts, and was commissioned on 2 April 1894. The ship was approximately 269 feet long and 37 feet wide, had a top speed of 18 knots, and had a crew of 274 officers and men. Officially listed as “unprotected cruisers” by the US Navy, the Montgomery class warships were essentially large gunboats. Their engine and boiler rooms were protected by watertight steel decks that were less than half an inch thick. That thin armor was slightly thicker than the armor used on gunboats at that time, but it was far thinner than the armor found in protected cruisers. Like all peacetime gunboats, the Montgomery class cruisers were not meant to be used in fleet battles against major warships. They were equipped with a schooner sail rig to reduce their dependency on coal, they were fairly slow but had a large bunker capacity for greater range and endurance, and they had wide beams and shallow drafts, making them suitable for use in rivers and in coastal waters. They also possessed roomy (by gunboat standards) and well-ventilated berth decks, making the ships more habitable in hot tropical climates. Like the other ships in her class, Marblehead was armed with nine 5-inch guns, six 6-pounders, and two 1-pounder guns.

Marblehead initially was assigned to the US Navy’s North Atlantic Station and left New York on 6 June 1894, bound for the Caribbean. A serious political crisis engulfed Nicaragua at that time, so Marblehead was sent further south to protect American interests in that troubled nation. On 19 June, Marblehead arrived at the Nicaraguan port of Bluefields and encountered major civil unrest. Basic law and order were deteriorating rapidly and the US consul in Nicaragua urgently requested that steps be taken to protect American lives and property at Bluefields. On 7 July 1894, a landing party of US Marines and sailors from Marblehead was sent ashore to restore order and protect American interests. A second landing party was placed ashore on 31 July and all of the marines and sailors remained there until order was restored. The landing force was withdrawn on 7 August and on 12 August Marblehead left Bluefields to continue her patrol duties throughout the Caribbean. Marblehead left Port Royal, Jamaica, on 26 November and returned to the United States, arriving at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 6 December.

Marblehead left Norfolk, Virginia, on 4 March 1895, this time bound for Europe. After making a port visit in the Azores, Marblehead arrived at Gibraltar on 31 March. For the next two months, the American cruiser steamed throughout the Mediterranean. She eventually made a trip to Germany to represent the United States at the opening of the Kiel Canal on 20 June. For five months, Marblehead steamed along the coast of western Europe and the Mediterranean, covering more than 11,000 miles and visiting approximately 40 ports. She then returned to the United States and arrived at Tompkinsville, New York, on 23 November 1896.

On 1 February 1897, Marblehead was re-assigned to the North Atlantic Station and spent the rest of the year patrolling off America’s east coast and in the Caribbean. At the start of the Spanish-American War, Marblehead was at Key West, Florida. She quickly was sent to Cuba, arriving off the coast of Havana on 23 April 1898. On 29 April, Marblehead assisted in the bombardment of enemy ships and shore batteries at Cienfuegos, Cuba, and she was part of the naval operation to cut the telegraph cables at Cienfuegos on 11 May. After that, Marblehead began patrolling off the coast of Santiago de Cuba, but on 7 June, along with the schooner-rigged cruiser Yankee, captured the lower section of Guantanamo Bay. On 10 June, she supported a battalion of US Marines in the amphibious assault on Guantanamo and Marblehead assisted the battleship USS Texas in destroying the Spanish fort at Cayo del Toro on 15 June.

Marblehead continued patrolling off the coast of Cuba until 2 September 1898, when she left to go to the St. Lawrence River to attend the opening ceremonies for the Champlain monument in Quebec. The cruiser then went to the Boston Navy Yard for an overhaul that lasted from 2 November to 9 February 1899. Once the overhaul was completed, Marblehead steamed to the Caribbean and eventually continued her journey down the coast of South America. After passing through the Straits of Magellan on 16 June, Marblehead headed north to California and joined the US Navy’s Pacific Squadron on 4 July 1899. Marblehead was assigned to patrol duties off the coasts of South America, Mexico, and California until she was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California on 20 April 1900.

Marblehead was re-commissioned on 10 November 1902 and spent the next four years steaming along the coasts of North and South America. She acted as the flagship for Rear Admiral Henry Glass, Commander of the US Navy’s Pacific Squadron, from October 1903 to March 1904. But the cruiser again was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 1 October 1906. On 31 March 1910, Marblehead became a training ship for the California Naval Militia. Placed in reserve on 22 July 1911, Marblehead then was transferred to the Oregon Naval Militia in 1916 as a training ship.

Marblehead was fully re-commissioned on 6 April 1917 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, and on 4 May joined the Pacific Patrol Force. As part of this unit, Marblehead was assigned to convoy, patrol, and survey duties off the coast of Mexico and guarded California against the threat of German raiders. On 11 June 1918, Marblehead left California and steamed south towards the Panama Canal. After transiting the canal, Marblehead arrived at Key West on 22 June and spent the rest of World War I in the Caribbean performing patrol and escort duties. Marblehead was sent back to the west coast on 4 December 1918 to rejoin the Pacific Fleet and she arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 17 February 1919. But on 21 August, the veteran warship was decommissioned for the last time. Although reclassified PG-27 in July 1920, USS Marblehead never returned to duty and was sold for scrapping on 5 August 1921.

USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22)

Figure 1: USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22) photographed circa March-April 1898, possibly in a British port prior to her departure for the United States. Note rowing craft in the foreground. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22) arrives off the New York Navy Yard, April 1898, after crossing the Atlantic. Note oversize commissioning pennant flying from her main mast, and Brazilian Navy paint scheme. She had been purchased from Brazil on 16 March 1898, while still under construction in England. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22) docked at the New York Navy Yard, April 1898, immediately after her maiden voyage from England. The receiving ship USS Vermont is at left. Note New Orleans' extra-long commissioning pennant. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22) photographed during the Spanish-American War, 1898. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Halftone photograph of USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22), taken during the Spanish-American War and published in the book War in Cuba, 1898. Courtesy of Alfred Cellier, 1977. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22) dressed with flags in 1898. Note this British-built cruiser's elaborate stern decoration and the civilian rowboat in foreground. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS New Orleans (PG-34, then CL-22) in New York Harbor. Copyright by Enrique Muller, October 1899.

Originally named Amazonas for the Brazilian Navy, the 3,769-ton protected cruiser USS New Orleans was built by Whitworth & Company at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and was purchased by the United States Navy on 16 March 1898. The United States was drifting towards war with Spain and the US Navy was concerned that it didn’t have enough ships to face this potential enemy. The Navy, therefore, bought two protected cruisers (ships that had steel deck armor that protected critical engine compartments from exploding shells) from Brazil while they were still under construction in England. The first ship was called the Amazonas, which was renamed USS New Orleans. The other cruiser was the Almirante Abreu, which was renamed USS Albany. Although Albany was still under construction when purchased, New Orleans was nearly completed by March 1898. New Orleans was commissioned into the US Navy on 18 March at Gravesend, England, just two days after she was purchased. New Orleans and Albany also were the first steel cruisers in the US Navy to have wood-sheathed and coppered hulls. New Orleans was approximately 354 feet long and 43 feet wide, had a top speed of 20 knots, and had a crew of 365 officers and men. She was armed with six 6-inch guns, four 4.7-inch rapid-fire guns, 10 6-pounders, eight 1-pounders, and three torpedo tubes.

When New Orleans was commissioned at Gravesend on 18 March 1898, she was met by the USS San Francisco. Lieutenant Commander Arthur P. Nazro, the executive officer on board San Francisco, was detached from the ship and placed in command of New Orleans for the voyage to the United States. Nazro brought with him five officers and 87 men from the crew of San Francisco, along with 18 Marines under the command of First Lieutenant George Barnett, a future commandant of the US Marine Corps. After nine days of preparations, New Orleans left England and steamed towards the United States. She arrived at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, on 15 April 1898. Over the next few days, the men on board New Orleans returned to San Francisco. After taking on a new crew, New Orleans continued its journey to Norfolk, Virginia.

New Orleans left Norfolk on 17 May 1898 and was attached to the US Navy’s “Flying Squadron,” which was sent to confront the Spanish fleet that was moored at Santiago de Cuba. The Flying Squadron was in position off Santiago by 30 May and on the next day New Orleans, along with the battleships USS Massachusetts and USS Iowa, made a bold reconnaissance of Santiago harbor. The American ships exchanged gunfire with Spanish ships and shore batteries before leaving the area. New Orleans assisted in the bombardment of Spanish shore batteries at the entrance of the harbor on 6 June and 16 June, before being sent to Key West, Florida, to replenish her depleted supply of coal. Unfortunately, this trip to Florida prevented New Orleans from taking part in the famous naval Battle of Santiago, which occurred on 3 July.

Throughout the rest of the Spanish-American War, New Orleans was part of the American blockade of Cuba and Puerto Rico. On 17 July 1898, New Orleans captured the French blockade runner Olinde Rodrigues. After the war ended, New Orleans went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 20 October to attend the “Peace Jubilee” that was held there and then moved on to New York, where she was overhauled and prepared for peacetime service. The cruiser then was sent to visit her namesake, the city of New Orleans, from 16 to 29 May 1899. After spending the summer participating in naval exercises off the Atlantic coast, New Orleans left New York on 21 October to join the US Asiatic Fleet. She crossed the Atlantic and entered the Mediterranean, eventually transiting the Suez Canal and reaching Manila on 21 December 1899. For the next five years, New Orleans served as the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet’s Cruiser Squadron and patrolled the waters off China as well as the Philippines. She was replaced by the cruiser USS Baltimore and left Cavite, the Philippines, on 27 December 1904. New Orleans arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, on 27 January 1905 and was decommissioned on 6 February.

New Orleans was re-commissioned on 15 November 1909 and returned to duty with the Asiatic Fleet. She arrived at Yokohama, Japan, on 25 April 1910 and remained with the Asiatic Fleet until being sent back to the United States in 1912. New Orleans arrived at Bremerton, Washington, on 14 February 1912 and was placed in reserve. The cruiser was fully re-commissioned on 31 December 1913 and was assigned to patrol the coast of Mexico during the turbulent spring of 1914, when that country was engulfed in political and military violence. New Orleans then was briefly assigned to the Washington State Naval Militia and served as a training ship until the fall of 1914, when she resumed her patrol duties off the coast of Mexico. New Orleans remained on the West Coast until America entered World War I in April 1917. The cruiser was overhauled at the Puget Sound Navy Yard and then sent to the East Coast via the Panama Canal. She arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 27 August 1917.

New Orleans escorted Allied convoys between New York and Europe until 16 January 1918, when she was sent back to the Asiatic Fleet. New Orleans arrived at Yokohama on 13 March and eventually resumed her duties of patrolling the waters off China and the Philippines. From 17 July to 20 December 1919, New Orleans also served as the station ship at Vladivostok, Russia, in support of an Allied expeditionary force that was sent to Siberia to fight communist troops.

After undergoing repairs at Cavite, New Orleans was sent back to Vladivostok and continued supporting the Allied Expeditionary Force from 20 May to 27 September 1920. New Orleans also was re-designated a patrol gunboat (PG-34) in 1920. However, she was re-designated yet again in 1921 as a light cruiser (CL-22). After continuing her duties with the Asiatic Fleet in other parts of the Pacific, New Orleans returned to Vladivostok and served as the station ship there from 14 February to 17 August 1922. The cruiser steamed to the Mare Island Navy Yard on 23 September and was decommissioned for the last time on 16 November 1922. USS New Orleans was stricken from the Navy List on 13 November 1929 and the ship was sold for scrapping on 4 February 1930.

USS Monocacy (PG-20)

Figure 1: USS Monocacy (PG-20, later PR-2) while stationed at Shanghai, China. This picture was taken from a post card dated 17 April 1935. Courtesy Robert M. Cieri. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Monocacy (PG-20, later PR-2) while stationed on the Yangtze River in China, date unknown. US Naval Institute photograph, Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, Yangtze River Patrol Memorial Exhibit. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Monocacy (PG-20, later PR-2) circa 1919 on the Yangtze River in China, exact location unknown. Courtesy Robert Hurst. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a Civil War battle, USS Monocacy (PG-20) was the second American warship to bear that name and was a 204-ton, shallow-draft gunboat specifically built for service on the Yangtze River in China. At the beginning of the twentieth century, American business interests were growing in China and gunboats were needed on the Yangtze to protect American lives and property against violent Chinese warlords and bandits. The US Navy realized that it did not have any suitable gunboats for this mission since all of the American warships on the river were either ex-Spanish Navy vessels captured during the Spanish-American War or ships that were built for use on the high seas and not for the shallow waters of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the US Navy had two shallow-draft gunboats built in 1912 at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California and then had the ships disassembled and transported to Shanghai, China. The parts of the ships then were laid down at the Shanghai Dock and Engineering Company on 28 April 1913 and the gunboats eventually were reconstructed and commissioned on 24 June 1914. The new ships were named USS Monocacy (PG-20) and USS Palos (PG-16). Monocacy, like her sister ship Palos, was approximately 165 feet long and 24 feet wide, but had a draft of only 2 feet 5 inches, making it ideal for steaming on the shallow waters of the Yangtze. The gunboat had a top speed of 13.25 knots and a crew of 47 officers and men, and was armed with two 6-pounders and six machine guns.

Monocacy was assigned to the Second Division of the Asiatic Fleet, also known as the “Yangtze Patrol.” Because of her shallow draft, Monocacy was assigned to the upper Yangtze River, which was approximately 900 miles inland from the Chinese coastline. The gunboat left Shanghai on 29 June 1914 and made her way up the mighty Yangtze River to Chungking, which was roughly 1,300 miles inland from the coast. When Monocacy reached Chungking, she joined her sister ship Palos, which had already reached the inland city. For the next 15 years, aside from annual trips to Shanghai for overhauls, Monocacy patrolled the upper Yangtze, using Chungking as her upriver base. At times, Monocacy (along with Palos) also were called on to protect American lives and property in the treaty ports along the entire length of the Yangtze River. Her primary duties included escorting merchant ships, guarding US consulates in various cities, and rescuing American citizens from Chinese warlords and bandits.

There were numerous instances where Monocacy played an important role in saving foreign nationals on or along the Yangtze. On 16 January 1918, Chinese bandits fired on Monocacy 50 miles from Chenglin as the gunboat tried to protect a Japanese steamer that was being attacked by the marauders. One American sailor was killed and two others were wounded before the bandits fled the area. From February to March 1923, Monocacy fought bandits who were assaulting American missionaries and firing on US merchant ships. Later that same year, Monocacy escorted and protected US merchant ships that were being threatened by local warlords. Monocacy continued her patrols on the upper Yangtze for six more years and was reclassified PR-2 on 15 June 1928.

Monocacy was placed in reserve on 24 June 1929 and was based at Shanghai. She patrolled the lower river and made fewer trips to Chungking and Ichang. Monocacy was fully re-commissioned on 19 September 1931 because additional US ships were needed to assist in a natural disaster. Massive summer floods, the worst in the Yangtze’s history up to that time, had inundated 34,000 square miles of land and left millions homeless. Monocacy worked with other Yangtze Patrol warships to bring humanitarian aid to these unfortunate people. In 1933, Monocacy was used as a station ship at the various US treaty ports along the river and her crew served as an armed landing force in case of emergencies.

As the 1930s progressed, the war between Japan and China was intensifying. On 29 August 1938, while protecting American interests and citizens at Kiuklang, Monocacy got trapped in the conflict between the two warring Asian nations. Several mines detonated 80 yards from the gunboat, raining down shell fragments on her. Monocacy remained at Kiuklang for several days until Japanese ships could sweep the river of any remaining mines. But the end was near for the aging gunboat. On 31 January 1939, Monocacy was decommissioned at Shanghai and on 10 February she was towed out to sea and sunk off the Chinese coast. For 25 years, Monocacy protected American lives and property in a troubled nation, fighting warlords, bandits, and an unforgiving river. The US Navy certainly got its money’s worth out of this gunboat and her tough sister ship, USS Palos.

USS Palos (PG-16)

Figure 1: US Navy photo of USS Palos (PG-16) from the 1924 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: US warships at Hankow, China, at low river level, 1925. The ships are USS Truxtun (DD-229) at left; USS Isabel (PY-10) in center, and USS Palos (PG-16) in the right foreground. Also present are several junks, and a British Cornflower-class sloop (partially visible at far right). From the collection of Captain Glenn Howell, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Palos (PG-16) circa 1930. US Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after the port of Palos de la Frontera, Spain, where Columbus sailed from on his first voyage to the New World in 1492, USS Palos (PG-16) was a 204-ton shallow-draft gunboat that was built specifically for service on the Yangtze River in China. At the beginning of the twentieth century, American business interests were growing in China and gunboats were needed on the Yangtze to protect American lives and property against violent Chinese warlords and bandits. The US Navy realized that it did not have any suitable gunboats for this mission since all of the American warships on the river were either ex-Spanish Navy vessels captured during the Spanish-American War or ships that were built for use on the high seas and not for the shallow waters of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the US Navy had two shallow-draft gunboats built in 1912 at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California and then had the ships disassembled and transported to Shanghai, China. The parts of the ships then were laid down at the Shanghai Dock and Engineering Company on 28 April 1913 and the gunboats eventually were reconstructed and commissioned on 24 June 1914. The new ships were named USS Palos (PG-16) and USS Monocacy (PG-20). Palos, like her sister ship Monocacy, was approximately 165 feet long and 24 feet wide, but had a draft of only 2 feet 5 inches, making it ideal for steaming on the shallow waters of the Yangtze. The gunboat had a top speed of 13.25 knots and a crew of 47 officers and men, and was armed with two 6-pounders and six machine guns.

Because of its shallow draft, Palos was assigned to the upper Yangtze River, which was approximately 900 miles inland from the coast of China. Palos left Shanghai on 29 June 1914 and steamed up river, passing steep gorges and encountering strong rapids along the way. On 28 August, Palos became the first US warship to reach Chungking, roughly 1,300 miles inland from the coast. Palos stayed at Chungking until 23 September, when she was joined by her sister ship Monocacy. Except for four months in 1917 when she was interned in Shanghai because of an international agreement during World War I, Palos spent the rest of her career in these waters and as part of the Yangtze Patrol.

While assigned to the Yangtze Patrol, Palos protected American lives and property along the entire length of the Yangtze. Her primary duties also included convoying US and foreign merchant ships on the river and evacuating American citizens from cities and consulates during periods of civil unrest. During the 1920s, Palos spent the bulk of her time patrolling the upper Yangtze as warlords and bandits terrorized that region. In 1923, Palos was on continuous patrol between the cities of Ichang and Chungking. She provided armed guards for merchant ships in the area and protected American citizens in Chungking while that city was being attacked by a warlord army. As the Nationalist Revolution gripped the Middle Yangtze Valley, Palos moved down river and patrolled the waters between Hankow and Kiukiang and remained there until 1927. Palos was reclassified PR-1 on 15 June 1928 and continued her work on the Yangtze until she was placed in reserve in June 1929, when six new American river gunboats were attached to the Yangtze Patrol.

But even while in reserve, Palos had an active career. She was based in Shanghai and primarily patrolled the lower Yangtze and its tributaries. However, she occasionally made the trek up river when an additional US gunboat was needed for specific naval missions, such as rescuing American nationals in danger. During the summer of 1930, Palos steamed to Changsha, a port on Tungting Lake near Hankow and rescued American, British, and German nationals who were being threatened by local warlords. Palos received an official thanks from the German government for this operation. Palos was fully re-commissioned on 5 September 1931, because additional ships were needed to assist in a natural disaster. Massive summer floods, the worst in the Yangtze’s history up to that time, had inundated 34,000 square miles of land and left millions homeless. Palos worked with other Yangtze Patrol warships to bring humanitarian aid to these unfortunate people.

In October 1934, Palos left Shanghai for Chungking and became the permanent station ship there on 12 November. She remained at Chungking until she was decommissioned and struck from the Navy List on 21 May 1937. Palos was sold to the Ming Sung Industrial Company on 3 June of that same year and then scrapped.

USS Palos was one of the few American warships that never docked in the United States while in commission. But she served this country well and achieved an excellent record of accomplishments in a very turbulent part of the world.

USS Paducah (PG-18)

Figure 1: USS Paducah (PG-18) date and place unknown. Courtesy Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Paducah (PG-18) date and place unknown. Courtesy Robert Hirst. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Paducah (PG-18) at Gibraltar during World War I. Courtesy David Smith. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Dubuque (PG-17) or USS Paducah (PG-18) underway in harbor, circa 1916 or early 1917. Probably seen from USS Melville (Destroyer Tender # 2). A column of older ("pre-Dreadnought") battleships is steaming past in the background, headed toward the right. The original photograph is printed on postcard stock. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: The former American gunboat USS Paducah (PG-18) as she appeared in 1947 after being converted into the passenger ship Geula. She is seen here entering the Mediterranean on her way to Bayonne, France, just before embarking on her epic journey to Palestine. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: Geula being boarded by British Royal Marines after she was captured by the Royal Navy on 2 October 1947. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: Passengers leaving Geula after she was brought to Haifa by the Royal Navy on 2 October 1947. These Jewish refugees then were taken to detention camps on Cyprus before eventually being sent back to Palestine to become citizens in the new state of Israel. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a city in western Kentucky, USS Paducah (PG-18) was a 1,084-ton Dubuque class gunboat that was built by the Gas Engine and Power Company at Morris Heights, Long Island, New York, and was commissioned on 2 September 1905. She was the only sister ship of USS Dubuque (PG-17) and also had a “composite” hull (which was made up of wooden planks over a steel frame) that was built specifically for service in tropical climates. Paducah was approximately 200 feet long and 35 feet wide, had a top speed of 13 knots, and had a crew of 184 officers and men. The ship was armed with six 4-inch guns, four 6-pounders and two 1-pounder guns.

After a shakedown cruise, Paducah was assigned to the Caribbean Squadron in early 1906 and was used as a typical gunboat, protecting American lives and property throughout the Caribbean and along the coasts of South and Central America. She patrolled off the coast of Mexico right after the famous American landing at Vera Cruz in the summer of 1914, but returned to operations in the Caribbean shortly after that.

After America entered World War I in April 1917, Paducah was sent to the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and converted into a convoy escort. She left the United States on 29 September 1917 and arrived at Gibraltar on 27 October and was based there throughout the war. While based at Gibraltar, Paducah escorted convoys to North Africa, Italy, the Azores, and Madeira. On 9 September 1918, Paducah attacked a German U-boat after it had torpedoed and sunk a ship in the convoy she was escorting. Paducah was credited with damaging the submarine, but there was no confirmation that the submarine had actually sunk.

Paducah left Gibraltar on 11 December 1918 and returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 7 January 1919. The ship was decommissioned on 2 March 1919 but was re-commissioned on 16 August 1920. Paducah was assigned to survey duty in the Caribbean and then was decommissioned once again on 9 September 1921. The gunboat was re-commissioned for the third time on 2 May 1922 and on 20 June she began a new career as a training ship for Naval Reservists in the Ninth Naval District and was based at Duluth, Minnesota.

Paducah returned to the East Coast in early 1941 and, after America entered World War II on 7 December, the old gunboat was sent to Little Creek, Virginia, where she was used as a gunnery practice ship for the US Naval Armed Guard School that was located there. For the remainder of World War II, Paducah served as a training ship for the Naval Armed Guard and stayed primarily in Chesapeake Bay. Paducah was decommissioned for the last time on 7 September 1945 and was transferred to the Maritime Commission. She was sold to Maria Angelo of Miami, Florida, on 19 December 1946.

After the ship was sold, she was transferred to the Israeli group Haganah and was renamed Geula, which means “Redemption” in Hebrew. A crew of American volunteers sailed the ship to Bayonne, France, and then continued the trip to Bulgaria, where Geula took on board 1,388 Jewish refugees. The ship tried to break through the British naval blockade of Palestine but was captured on 2 October 1947. Geula was brought to the port of Haifa, where she was held with other ships that also attempted to bring Jewish refugees to Palestine. She remained there for a while until the fledgling Israeli Navy examined her in 1948 for possible use as a warship. However, Geula was in such bad shape that the Israeli Navy decided against taking her into service. She then was converted into an Israeli merchant ship and steamed from Haifa to Naples, Italy, in late 1948. But this proved to be the end of the road for Geula, once known as USS Paducah. The elderly ex-gunboat never left Naples again and eventually was sold for scrap in 1951.