Figure 1: USS Vicksburg (PG- 11) under sail, circa 1897-1898. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) under sail, circa 1897-1898. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) at anchor, circa the early 1900s. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) coaling at Isabella, Basilan Island, Philippines, 1901. Courtesy of Captain Fletcher L. Sheffield, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) on the marine railway at Canacao, near Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines, 1901. Courtesy of Captain Fletcher L. Sheffield, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: Commander Edward B. Barry, USN, Commanding Officer, USS Vicksburg (PG-11), seated on the deck of his ship during operations in the Philippines in 1901. Courtesy of Captain Fletcher L. Sheffield, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: Lieutenant Commander James H. Glennon, USN, Executive Officer, USS Vicksburg (PG-11), seated on the deck of his ship during operations in the Philippines in 1901. Courtesy of Captain Fletcher L. Sheffield, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8: Assistant Surgeon Karl Ohnesorg, USN, on board USS Vicksburg (PG-11), during operations in the Philippines in 1901. Courtesy of Captain Fletcher L. Sheffield, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9: Brigadier General Frederick Funston, US Army, conversing with the ship's Executive Officer on board USS Vicksburg (PG-11) during operations in the Philippines in 1901. Courtesy of Captain Fletcher L. Sheffield, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10: US Army officers lounging the quarter deck of USS Vicksburg (PG-11) while she was underway in the Philippines in 1901. Courtesy of Captain Fletcher L. Sheffield, USN. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 11: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, circa June 1904, upon her return to the United States from Asiatic waters. Note the "homeward bound" pennant flying from her mainmast peak. Courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, 1971. The original print is in the Union Iron Works scrapbook, Volume II, page 178. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) ship's officers and crew, circa 1904. Photographed by Karl Lewis. Collection of Captain Frederick R. Naile, USN. Donated by his daughter, Mrs. Whitney Ashbridge, 1979. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 13: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) in a Pacific coast harbor during World War I. From the collection of William Crawford, who served on board Vicksburg at that time. Photograph was donated by his daughter, Mrs. Ann Jordan, in 1976. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 14: USS Vicksburg (PG-11) at a Commanding Officer's inspection during World War I. From the collection of William Crawford, who served on board Vicksburg at that time. Photograph was donated by his daughter, Mrs. Ann Jordan, in 1976. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 15: The schooner Alexander Agassiz photographed at the time of her capture by USS Vicksburg (PG-11) off Mazatlan, Mexico, 17 March 1918. She was suspected of being a potential German raider or contraband carrier. The prize crew is seen here going aboard. USS SC-302 is in the background. Note the sailor on deck amidships, holding a rifle. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 16: German prisoners under guard on board USS Vicksburg (PG-11). They were captured on the schooner Alexander Agassiz off Mazatlan, Mexico, 17 March 1918. Note M1903 Springfield rifle, with bayonet, held by the sailor at left. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 17: USCGC Alexander Hamilton under sail, circa 1922-1930, while serving as US Coast Guard Academy training ship. She was formerly USS Vicksburg (PG-11). Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Named after a city in Mississippi, USS Vicksburg (PG-11) was a 1,010-ton Annapolis class “composite” gunboat that was built by the Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine, and was commissioned on 27 October 1897. Vicksburg was classified a “composite” gunboat because it was built using wooden planks over a steel frame. The ships of the Annapolis class also were equipped with a single-screw power plant and a complete barkentine rig that could spread more than 11,000 square feet of canvas. These measures were taken to make them economical to run (they could use wind power instead of their more expensive coal-fired engines) and to substantially extend their cruising range, an important factor when dealing with large oceans such as the Pacific. Vicksburg was approximately 204 feet long and 36 feet wide, had a top speed of 12.7 knots, and had a crew of 143 officers and men. The ship was armed with six 4-inch guns, four 6-pounders and two 1-pounder cannons.
After serving briefly in the Caribbean, Vicksburg was ordered to join Rear Admiral William T. Sampson’s North Atlantic Fleet in May 1898, shortly after the Spanish-American War started. The North Atlantic Fleet blockaded the northern coast of Cuba and for the next three months Vicksburg patrolled off the coast of Havana, returning only occasionally to Key West, Florida, for fuel and supplies. While on blockade duty, Vicksburg captured three Spanish blockade runners. The gunboat did come under fire once from a shore battery near Havana, but by August 1898 the war was ending and Vicksburg was sent back north, arriving at Newport, Rhode Island, on 23 August. For the rest of 1898 and well into 1899, Vicksburg patrolled America’s east coast and the Caribbean. But on 24 May 1899, Vicksburg was decommissioned at Boston, Massachusetts.
On 15 May 1900, Vicksburg was re-commissioned at Newport and, after patrolling the Atlantic for almost six months, left Boston on 9 November to join the Asiatic Station. She went via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal and arrived at Cavite, the Philippines, on 2 February 1901. For the next three years, Vicksburg supported the US Army in its effort to suppress the insurrection in the Philippines. Vicksburg made a significant contribution in that effort when she assisted US Army units in capturing the Filipino leader of the revolt, Emilio Aguinaldo, at Palawan Island in March 1901. In June, Vicksburg also assisted with the occupation of the two largest cities on that island, Puerta Princessa and Cuyo.
In 1902, Vicksburg was ordered to patrol off the coasts of China, Japan, and Korea. In 1904, she spent several months at Chemulpo, Korea, protecting American lives and property during the opening phases of the Russo-Japanese War. On 9 June 1904, Vicksburg left Yokohama, Japan, and headed for the United States. She arrived at Bremerton, Washington, on 29 June and then steamed south to the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, where she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 15 July.
Vicksburg went back into commission at Mare Island on 17 May 1909 and left San Francisco on 16 June for duty off the coasts of Mexico and Panama. For the next three years, she patrolled the west coast of Central America and visited ports in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama. She also spent a great deal of time protecting American interests in Nicaragua, which was suffering from almost constant violent political turmoil.
After completing overhauls at the Mare Island and Puget Sound Navy Yards, Vicksburg was transferred to the Washington State Naval Militia on 18 June 1912. She was used as a training ship and served in that capacity until the United States entered World War I in the spring of 1917. The only break in this routine came in May and June 1914, when she was briefly re-commissioned for a patrol off the coast of Mexico. After that trip, the gunboat returned to Puget Sound where she was placed back in reserve and continued operating as a training ship for the Washington State Naval Militia.
On 6 April 1917, America entered World War I. On 13 April, Vicksburg again was re-commissioned at Puget Sound. Although ordered to patrol the west coast of the United States and Mexico throughout the rest of the war, Vicksburg spent most of her time cruising off the coast of Mexico. At that time, Germany tried to convince Mexico to join the Central Powers in the war against the United States. The US Navy, therefore, kept a close watch on any possible German activity along the Mexican coastline, especially any German ships that were trying to slip into or out from Mexico.
On 17 March 1918, Vicksburg was anchored at Viejo Bay, Mexico, when she received word that a ship carrying German citizens was going to leave the Mexican port. At 1225, Vicksburg spotted a suspicious schooner, the Alexander Agassiz, flying the American flag and heading out to sea. Vicksburg decided to intercept the schooner after the Agassiz spotted the American gunboat and tried to make a run for it. Vicksburg fired a shot across the bow of the Alexander Agassiz and it quickly came to a halt. Vicksburg pulled alongside the schooner and soon an armed boarding party of American sailors jumped on board the mysterious vessel. It soon was discovered that the Alexander Agassiz was carrying 14 people, five of whom were German (there also were eight Mexicans and one American, a spy who initially sent the message to Vicksburg that a ship carrying German nationals was leaving Viejo Bay). The American sailors also found arms, ammunition, and a German flag on board the ship. A later investigation determined that the five German nationals probably were attempting to either return to Germany or reach a friendly port where they could arrange passage on a ship taking them back to Europe. Vicksburg towed the schooner and transported its prisoners to San Diego for legal processing.
Vicksburg continued patrolling off the coast of California until the war ended in November 1918. After the war, she remained on active duty on the west coast, but on 16 October 1919 Vicksburg was decommissioned for the last time at Puget Sound. Four days later, she was given to the Washington State Nautical School and served as a training ship.
On 2 May 1921, Vicksburg was transferred to the Coast Guard. Her name was struck from the Navy List and she was renamed Alexander Hamilton on 18 August 1922. She served as a training ship at the Coast Guard Academy until 1930. The Coast Guard decommissioned the old gunboat on 7 June 1930 and towed her to the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland, where she became the station ship there. In 1935 or 1936 (the exact day is not clear), the ship was renamed once again and called Beta. On or about 1 July 1940, Beta became the station ship at New London, Connecticut. By 1942, the ship was towed back to Curtis Bay, where she was used as a training ship for machinist’s mates and water tenders. On 30 December 1944, the once proud gunboat was withdrawn from service for the last time and on 28 March 1946 what was left of the ship was turned over to the War Shipping Administration and sold for scrap.
