Figure 1: USS Concord (PG-3) in San Francisco Bay, California, circa the 1890s. Collection of Lieutenant Commander Abraham DeSomer, donated by Myles DeSomer, 1975. US Naval Historical Center photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: USS Concord (PG-3) in harbor, circa 1891. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Note: The inscription at the bottom of this photograph identifies this ship as USS Bennington (PG-4). However, her distinctive bow decoration confirms that she is actually Concord. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: USS Concord (PG-3) photographed in Far Eastern waters, 1898, wearing wartime gray paint. Courtesy of Mrs. D.M. Corn, Las Cruces, NM, in memory of Dr. K.L. Rosencrance, 1970. US Naval Historical Center photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898. Photograph of a contemporary artwork depicting USS Concord in action during the battle. Courtesy of Mr. L.Y. Spear, Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT, 1948. US Naval Historical Center photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: The Mare Island Navy Yard, California. USS Philadelphia (Cruiser # 4), at right, and a gunboat off the yard waterfront during the mid-1890s. The latter is either USS Concord (PG-3) or USS Bennington (PG-4). Photo from the William H. Topley Collection, courtesy of Charles M. Loring, Napa, CA, 1972. US Naval Historical Center photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: Bow view of USS Concord (PG-3) showing the crowd during her commissioning at Mare Island on 15 June 1903. US Navy photo PG 3 002-6-1903. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: Stern view of Concord (PG-3) during her commissioning at Mare Island on 15 June 1903. US Navy photo PG 3 003-6-1903. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8: Bow view of Concord (PG-3) during her commissioning at Mare Island on 15 June 1903. US Navy photo PG 3 004-6-1903. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9: Bow view of Concord (PG-3) about to leave Dry Dock No. 1 at Mare Island on 26 June 1903. US Navy photo PG 3 001-6-1903. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10: Starboard bow view of Concord (PG-3) at Mare Island on 26 June 1903. US Navy photo PG 3 005-6-1903. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 11: Starboard quarter view of Concord (PG-3) at Mare Island on 26 June 1903. US Navy photo PG 3 006-6-1903. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12: USS Concord (PG-3) at anchor in 1904, while serving with the Pacific Squadron. Donation of John C. Reilly, Jr., 1977. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 13: US Revenue Cutters and warships in a harbor, probably in Alaskan waters, circa 1904. USS New York (Armored Cruiser # 2) is in the right center. USRC Bear is at left, with (in no particular order), USS Concord (Gunboat # 3) and USS Bennington (Gunboat # 4) second and third from left. Collection of Martin Fenne. US Naval Historical Center photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 14: US Pacific Squadron ships in the moonlight during a Latin American cruise, circa 1903-1904. USS New York (Armored Cruiser # 2) is in the left center. The other two ships, listed in no particular order, are USS Concord (PG-3) and USS Bennington (PG-4). Donation of William L. Graham, 1977. US Naval Historical Center photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Named after a town in Massachusetts and the scene of the first battle between American and British troops in the American Revolution, USS Concord was a 1,710-ton steel gunboat with a three-mast schooner rig that originally was designed as a small cruiser. One of the first gunboats constructed for America’s new steel navy and the second of three Yorktown class ships, Concord was built at the Delaware River Iron Works, Chester, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 14 February 1891. The ship was approximately 244 feet long and 36 feet wide, had a top speed of 16 knots, and had a crew of 195 officers and men. Concord was armed with six 6-inch guns, two 6-pounders, two 3-pounders, and two 1-pounder guns.
Concord initially patrolled off the coast of New England, but then left New York on 17 November 1891 and steamed to the West Indies and South America. After serving in the area for a few months, she headed to New Orleans on 27 April 1892 and steamed up the Mississippi River as far as Cairo, Illinois. Later in 1892, Concord made another voyage to the West Indies before arriving at Norfolk, Virginia, on 5 December. In June 1893, she sailed for the Far East, visiting ports in the Azores, Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt, Thailand, and Cochin China (modern-day Vietnam) before reaching her final destination on 30 October, which was Hong Kong. Concord was assigned to the Asiatic Station and protected American lives and property in that part of the world until May 1894, when she arrived at Unalaska, territory of Alaska. She patrolled the North Pacific for several months to assist the Revenue Cutter Service in enforcing a treaty between the United States and Great Britain (which represented Canada, its colony at that time). The treaty allowed both countries to seize vessels caught in the illegal hunting and killing of endangered fur seals. Concord also collected hydrographic information to create more accurate charts of the Bering Sea and conducted scientific observations of the fur seals.
Concord was sent back to the Asiatic Station in September 1894 and remained there until 1896. Concord then steamed to San Francisco, California, for a major overhaul that lasted from 27 May 1896 to 22 May 1897. After a brief assignment that took her back to Alaska, Concord left Mare Island, California, and returned to the Asiatic Station on 8 January 1898. After war was declared between the United States and Spain on 25 April 1898, Concord joined Commodore George Dewey’s squadron at Mirs Bay near Hong Kong. On 27 April, Dewey’s ships left for the Philippines. On 1 May 1898, the American warships entered Manila Bay and destroyed the small Spanish fleet that was based there. As a result of this victory, the United States took possession of the Philippines and became a major naval power in the Far East.
After the Battle of Manila Bay, Concord remained with the Asiatic Station and continued visiting ports throughout the region. She returned to the Philippines on 19 December 1898 to assist in suppressing an insurrection. Concord patrolled off the coast of the Philippines, intercepted rebel shipping and monitored rebel movements around the islands. She also bombarded several major rebel targets and assisted in transporting US Army troops when needed. Aside from a brief trip to Guam in March 1900 and another short trip to Hong Kong for an overhaul, Concord spent her time in the Philippines. She left in June 1901 and sailed to Alaska, eventually reaching her final destination of San Francisco on 28 September 1901. After a brief assignment with the Pacific Fleet off the coast of Mexico, Concord returned to the Mare Island Navy Yard and was decommissioned on 26 February 1902.
Concord was re-commissioned on 15 June 1903 and was sent on patrols from Alaska to Panama. She also made a trip to Hawaii before being decommissioned once again at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, on 25 August 1904. Concord was re-commissioned on 16 September 1905 and on 24 December sailed from Bremerton to the Philippines for another tour of duty with the Asiatic Station, which now was called (as of 1902) the Asiatic Fleet. Concord remained in the Philippines until March 1906 and then joined the Yangtze Patrol in China and served as the station ship at Shanghai and Canton. Concord stayed in China until December 1908.
Concord functioned as the station ship at Guam from 2 January to 10 September 1909 and then returned to the United States, arriving at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 11 October. She was decommissioned on 4 November 1909 and was converted into a barracks ship for the Washington Naval Militia at Seattle, Washington. Concord was transferred to the Treasury Department on 15 June 1914 and became a quarantine station ship for the Coast Guard at Astoria, Oregon. Returned to the Navy on 19 March 1929, USS Concord was sold for scrapping on 28 June of that same year.
