Figure 1: SS City
of Paris (British Passenger Liner built in 1889) at anchor, circa
the late 1880s or the early 1890s. This ship, a trans-Atlantic Blue Ribband
winner when new, was transferred to American registry and renamed Paris
in 1893. She served as USS Yale in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.
Rebuilt and renamed Philadelphia in 1901, she again served in the Navy
from 1918 to 1919 as USS Harrisburg (ID No.1663). US Naval Historical
Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2:
USS Yale in Cuban waters in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. This ship also
served from 1918 to 1919 as USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663). Courtesy of
Alfred Cellier, 1977. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3:
USS Yale photographed while serving as an auxiliary cruiser with the US Navy during
the Spanish-American War in 1898. This ship also served from 1918 to 1919 as
USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663). US Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4:
West Indies Naval Campaign Medal, 1898 (also known as the "Sampson Medal").
This medal was awarded to a crewmember of USS Yale for service during
the attack on San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 10 May 1898. The medal, authorized on 3
March 1901, features a bust of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson on its obverse.
The reverse, with a Navy officer, sailor and marine, has a block identifying
the action for which the medal was awarded. The bar on the ribbon identifies
the recipient's ship. The ribbon is red, blue and red in three vertical stripes
of equal width. The medal's obverse was designed by Charles E. Barber; the
reverse by George T. Morgan. Photograph provided by the Chief of Naval
Personnel. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval
Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: SS Philadelphia (American Passenger
Liner) probably photographed prior to World War I. This ship served as USS Harrisburg
(ID No. 1663) from 1918 to 1919. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation.
Collection of Carl T. Osburn. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click
on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6:
SS Philadelphia (American Passenger Liner) underway in harbor
prior to World War I. Previously named City of Paris, and Paris,
this ship served two times in the US Navy: as USS Yale in 1898 and as
USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663) from 1918 to 1919. US Naval Historical
Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: SS Philadelphia (American Passenger
Liner) painted in camouflage in 1917 while operating as a troop transport. This
ship served as USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663) from 1918 to 1919. US Naval
Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8:
SS Philadelphia (American Passenger Liner) Navy Armed Guard gun
crew exercising with a 4-inch gun mounted on board the ship, June 1917. The
stern of another armed merchantman is in the background. Philadelphia
served as USS Harrisburg (ID No.1663) from 1918 to 1919. US Naval
Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9:
USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663) in Brest harbor, France, 1918,
with a steam lighter alongside. Photographed from the waterfront at the US
Naval Air Station, Brest. Absence of a mainmast amidships and a camouflage
pattern differing from that on her sister, USS Plattsburg (ID No. 1645)
strongly indicates that this ship is Harrisburg. US Naval Historical
Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10:
USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663) moored in port with a barge
alongside, circa 1918. Note her pattern camouflage. The original image was
printed on postal card ("AZO") stock. Donation of Dr. Mark
Kulikowski, 2006. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph
for larger image.
Figure 11: USS Harrisburg (ID No.1663). Halftone
reproduction of a photograph taken in New York Harbor while the ship was
engaged in transporting US servicemen home from France, circa 1919. The tug Columbia
is in the right foreground. Courtesy of Alfred Cellier, 1977. US Naval
Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12:
SS Philadelphia (American Passenger Liner, originally the
British SS City of Paris built in 1889) at Naples, Italy, in July 1922.This
ship served as USS Yale in 1898 and as USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663)
from 1918 to1919. At the time this photograph was taken, Philadelphia
was under Italian ownership. She was scrapped in 1923. From the collection of
Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click
on photograph for larger image.
The
10,499-ton passenger liner City of Paris
was built by J & G Thompson at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1889 and soon began a
series of record trans-Atlantic trips, earning her the coveted “Blue Ribband”
prize for fast passenger service. The ship was transferred to an American
shipping firm in 1893 and renamed Paris,
but remained active on the passenger route between the United States and
England. After the start of the Spanish-American War, the ship was acquired by
the US Navy on 27 April 1898 under charter from the International Navigation
Company. She was renamed USS Yale and
was commissioned on 2 May 1898 as an “auxiliary cruiser.” She was approximately
527 feet long and 63 feet wide, had a top speed of 21 knots, and had a crew of
436 officers and men. An auxiliary cruiser was basically a civilian steamship
with a few guns bolted onto its deck. In Yale’s
case, she was armed with four 6-pounders and four 3-pounders.
On the same
day she was commissioned, Yale put to
sea from New York and steamed to Puerto Rico for patrol duty and to assist in
locating Admiral Cervera’s Spanish fleet. On 8 May 1898, two days after her
arrival off the coast of Puerto Rico, Yale
captured the Spanish cargo ship Rita.
A prize crew was put on board the Spanish ship and Rita was sent to Charleston, South Carolina, until the war ended.
The next day, Yale encountered an
armed Spanish transport off San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Spanish ship fired a few
shots at Yale. The auxiliary cruiser quickly
realized that her armament was greatly inferior to the guns possessed by the
enemy ship, so Yale was forced to
retreat from the area. Yale returned
to San Juan the following day and a Spanish shore battery fired two shots at
her, missing by a wide mark.
Later in May
of 1898, Yale patrolled off the
coasts of Haiti, Santiago de Cuba, and Jamaica. In June and July, the ship
cruised between the United States and the Caribbean. In August, Yale transported American troops home
from Cuba. USS Yale was
decommissioned in September 1898 and was returned to her owners.
After
returning to civilian commercial service, the ship was renamed Paris. She resumed trans-Atlantic
voyages, but on 21 May 1899 the ship ran aground on some rocks off the western
coast of Great Britain. The ship was refloated after a major salvage effort and
was towed to Belfast, Ireland, to be rebuilt. After receiving new engines and
having her triple smokestacks replaced by a pair of taller ones, the ship was
renamed Philadelphia in 1901 and
resumed north Atlantic passenger service.
After the
United States entered World War I in 1917, Philadelphia
was used as a transport, carrying American troops to Europe. The US Navy
officially acquired the ship in 1918 and placed her in commission on 29 May as
USS Harrisburg (ID No. 1663). As a
military troop transport for the US Navy, Harrisburg
was armed with two 6-inch guns, two 4-inch guns, and two 1-pounders. For the
rest of the war, Harrisburg carried
troops to Europe, completing four voyages to England and France before the
Armistice brought an end to the conflict on 11 November 1918. After that, the
ship made six more trips carrying American troops back to the United States
from France.
USS Harrisburg was decommissioned at
Hoboken, New Jersey, on 25 September 1919 and returned to her former owners,
the American Line, for passenger service. The ship also reverted back her old
name, Philadelphia. By now quite old
and wearing out, Philadelphia was
sold to the New York-Naples Steamship Company in 1922, which planned to use her
in the Mediterranean. But financial problems forced Philadelphia to remain docked at Naples, Italy, where she stayed
until sold for scrapping in 1923. After 34 years of service and fighting in two
wars, this amazing ship ended her career as it began, as a civilian ocean
liner.
