USS Petrel (PG-2)

Figure 1: USS Petrel (PG-2) photographed during the 1890s. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Petrel (PG-2) oil on canvas by Francis Muller. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. Donation of Commodore J.H. Hellweg. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Petrel (PG-2) on 16 December 1896 (10:00 am) at the Mare Island Navy Yard. US Navy Photo PG 2 12181896. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Petrel (PG-2) date and place unknown. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Petrel (PG-2) at Hong Kong, 15 April 1898, shortly before the beginning of the Spanish-American War. Note crewmen aloft watching the rowing launches racing past in the foreground, also shipping and Chinese junks in the distance. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral Montgomery M. Taylor. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898, photograph of a contemporary artwork depicting USS Petrel (PG-2) 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 7: USS Petrel (PG-2) fine-screen halftone reproduction of a pre-Spanish-American War photograph of the ship, with vignette portraits of her officers at the time of the 1 May 1898 Battle of Manila Bay. The officers' names and ranks are listed below the image. Copied from the book "The Battle of Manila Bay ... An Epic Poem by Pay Director William W. Galt, U.S.N.,” published in 1900. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: Leftmost section (of six) of a panoramic photograph. Ship at the dock is Petrel (PG-2) circa 1917/1918, which was then the Station Ship at Guantanamo Bay. A South Carolina class battleship is visible in the right distance. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC. Donation of MMC Jesse Forton, USN (Retired), 1972. Naval Historical Center photo NH 76417. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Petrel (PG-2) between 1898 and 1901. From the Detroit Publishing Company Collection of the Library of Congress. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: Quarter deck of USS Petrel (PG-2) between 1898 and 1901. From the Detroit Publishing Company Collection of the Library of Congress. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Petrel (PG-2) between 1898 and 1901. From the Detroit Publishing Company Collection of the Library of Congress. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a sea bird, USS Petrel (PG-2) was an 867-ton steel gunboat with a barkentine sail rig that originally was designed as a small cruiser and was built by the Columbia Iron Works and Dry Dock Company, Baltimore, Maryland. The ship was approximately 188 feet long and 31 feet wide, had a top speed of 11.4 knots, and had a crew of 138 officers and men. Petrel was armed with four 6-inch guns, two 3-pounders, and one 1-pounder rapid-fire gun. Petrel was one of the first gunboats in America’s new steel Navy and was commissioned on 10 December 1889. Although heavily armed for a ship her size, Petrel was one of the smallest and slowest ships in the fleet.

Petrel initially was assigned to the North Atlantic Station and stayed with this unit until September 1891, when she was transferred to the Asiatic Station. Petrel basically remained with the Asiatic Station for the next 20 years, until 1911, although she did make one trip to Unalaska, Territory of Alaska, in May 1894. The gunboat assisted the Revenue Cutter Service and the Bering Sea Patrol in the battle against fur seal poachers. Petrel patrolled off the coast of the Pribilof Islands until July 1894, but then steamed west and returned to the Asiatic Station.

Petrel was in Hong Kong in April 1898 when she was attached to Admiral George Dewey’s squadron. After war was declared between the United States and Spain on 25 April 1898, Dewey’s ships left Mirs Bay near Hong Kong on 27 April. On 1 May 1898, the American warships entered Manila Bay and destroyed the small Spanish fleet that was based there. As Dewey’s squadron was bombarding the Spanish ships, Petrel steamed into the inner harbor of Manila Bay and lowered a boat that assisted in the destruction of six Spanish ships that were moored there. Petrel then proceeded into the Navy Yard at Cavite and accepted the Spanish surrender. The next day, a landing party from Petrel went ashore at Cavite and seized the arsenal that was located there, and also captured two tugs and three launches. As a result of the crushing American victory at Manila Bay, the United States took possession of the Philippines and became a major naval power in the Far East.

Petrel remained in the Philippines throughout 1898 and 1899. On 1 February 1899, Petrel and the cruiser USS Boston bombarded Panay Island and on 22 February a landing party of 48 men from Petrel occupied Cebu. In October, Petrel, along with the gunboat USS Callao, provided gunfire support for a US Marine Corps assault on Noveleta.

Petrel was decommissioned at Cavite in the Philippines in late 1899, but eventually was re-commissioned on 9 May 1910. After a brief trip to Europe in 1911, the gunboat returned to America’s east coast. From 1912 to 1915, Petrel protected American lives and property by patrolling off the coasts of Mexico and the West Indies. Then in 1916, she became the station ship at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After America entered World War I in April 1917, Petrel returned to the United States and was assigned to the American Patrol Detachment for the rest of the war.

USS Petrel was decommissioned for the last time at New Orleans on 15 July 1919, after almost 30 years of service in the US Navy. The old gunboat was struck from the Naval Register on 16 April 1920 and she was sold on 1 November of that same year.

USS Concord (PG-3)

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.

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.