USAT Burnside

Last updated
Cable Ship Burnside.png
USAT Burnside
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Blue Anchor Line.svg United Kingdom
NameYeoman (1882-1891)
OperatorBlue Anchor Line
BuilderCampbell, Macintosh, Bowstead
Launched25 March 1882
HomeportLondon, England
Identification
  • Official number 85149
  • Signal letters WKQL
FateSold
Flag of Spain (civil).svgSpain
NameRita (1891-1898)
OperatorLinea de Vapores Serra
HomeportBilbao
FateCaptured by USS Yale
Flag of the United States.svg US Army Transport Service Flag 1899-1918.svg United States
Name
  • Rita (1898-1899)
  • Burnside (1899-1924)
OperatorArmy Transport Service
HomeportSeattle
IdentificationCall sign: BS (1909), WXR (1913)
FateSold and scrapped in 1924
General characteristics
Tonnage
  • 2,226 Gross registered tons
  • 1,427 Net registered tons
Length285.2 ft (86.9 m)
Beam36.7 ft (11.2 m)
Depth of hold23.5 ft (7.2 m)
Propulsion1 triple-expansion steam engine
Speed12 knots

USAT Burnside was the first American cable ship in the Pacific. Between 1900 and 1905 she laid 3,000 miles of submarine cable which connected many parts of the Philippines and Alaska to the rest of the world for the first time in history. She was responsible for maintenance of the Army cables on the Pacific coast of the United States for two decades.

Contents

The ship was built in England in 1882 for general freight service between London and Australia. Her initial name was Yeoman. She was sold in 1891 to a Spanish steamship company which renamed her Rita. The ship was at sea when the Spanish-American War was declared and had the bad luck to be taken as a prize by USS Yale in 1898. The US Army purchased her as a transport, and in 1900 converted her into a cable ship named Burnside.

Burnside was replaced by USAT Dellwood in 1923. She was sold and scrapped in 1924.

Construction and characteristics

Yeoman was ordered by Wilhelm Lund for his steamship company, the Blue Anchor Line. She was built by Campbell, Macintosh, and Bowstead at the Scotswood Shipyard in Newcastle, England and launched on 25 March 1882. [1]

Yeoman's hull was built of iron plates. She was 285.2 feet (86.9 m) long, with a beam of 36.7 feet (11.2 m) and a depth of hold of 23.5 feet (7.2 m). Her gross register tonnage was 2,226, and her net register tonnage was 1,427. [2]

Her propeller was originally powered by a coal-fired double-expansion steam engine which was built by T. Clark and Company of Newcastle. It had high, and low-pressure cylinders with diameters of 35 inches, and 68 inches, respectively, with a stroke of 48 inches. The engine was rated at 300 horsepower. [2] This was replaced in 1887 by a triple-expansion engine with cylinders of 25, 38.5 and 63 inches with a stroke of 44 inches. This second engine was built by Wigham Richardson and Company of Newcastle. The more modern engine gave the ship a cruising speed of 12 knots. [3]

Electric lighting and refrigeration were installed on Burnside at the shipyard of Lewis Nixon in Elizabethport, NJ in December 1898 after the ship was taken over by the Army. [4] [5]

She had a 3 kilowatt radio transmitter aboard in 1909, and was assigned the call sign, "BS". [6] In 1913 her call sign was changed to, "WXR" [7]

In 1913 Burnside was taken out of service briefly to have new oil-fired boilers installed. [7]

Blue Anchor Line (1882–1891)

The Blue Anchor Line pioneered regularly scheduled cargo and passenger service between London and Australia. Yeoman sailed this route, via the Suez Canal, stopping for coal and water at several points along her route. [8] She carried as many as 400 immigrants to Australia on a single trip, and general cargo. Her cargo included livestock, [9] musical instruments, china, furniture, stationary, cutlery, dolls, toys, purses, vases, and more. [10] She made port calls in Adelaide, [11] Fremantle, Albany, Hobart, Launceston, and Sydney. [3]

Linea de Vapores Serra (1891–1898)

Sometime in 1891 Lund sold Yeoman to a Spanish steamship company, Linea de Vapores Serra. Her name was changed to Rita, and her homeport became Bilbao. [12]

The ship hauled general cargos between ports in North America across the Atlantic to Europe. North American port calls include Boston, [13] Galveston, [14] Norfolk, [15] Pensacola, [16] Puerto Rico, [17] and St John. [18] European port calls included Liverpool, and Havre. [19]

In October 1892 Rita caught fire outside of Galveston while bound for Liverpool. The fire was extinguished, but 123 bales of cotton were damaged. [14]

US Army service (1898–1924)

General Ambrose Burside, Burnside's namesake Ambrose Burnside2.jpg
General Ambrose Burside, Burnside's namesake

Spanish-American War (1898–1900)

On 25 April 1898, Congress declared war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War. [20] An immediate objective was to defeat Spain in the Caribbean, taking Cuba and Puerto Rico. The US Navy began patrolling off the islands. On 8 May 1898 Rita was sailing from Liverpool to Puerto Rico with a cargo of coal when she encountered USS Yale off Culebra Island. A chase ensued, but Yale was somewhat faster, and armed with 6-inch guns. Several warning shots were fired which Rita ignored, but when a shell exploded over the head of her captain, the ship was surrendered. A nine-man prize crew, under the command of Yale's first officer, W. B. Porter, took her in to Charleston, South Carolina. [21] [22]

Rita was purchased by the US Army Quartermaster's Department from the U.S. Prize Court on 9 July 1898 for $125,000 and assigned to the Army Transport Service. The Army reckoned her capacity at 15 officers and 700 men. [23] [24] The day after her purchase she began her new career as a troop transport.

On 10 July 1898 Rita sailed for Cuba with reinforcements for the American campaign. She was filled to capacity with the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 6th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, less Companies D and M. [25] She sailed from Tampa to Ponce, Puerto Rico on 27 July 1898. Over the next two years the ship made numerous trips between the American mainland, Cuba, and Puerto Rico laden with personnel, food, medical supplies, and other equipment for the Army. [26] [24] [4] [27] [28]

To mark her transition to military service, the ship was renamed in February 1899.  Rita became United States Army Transport Burnside, named for Civil War General Ambrose Burnside. [29]

Prior to the Spanish-American War there was a Cuban revolutionary army on the island seeking independence from Spain. This army assisted American forces to defeat the Spanish. Spain's ceding of Cuba to the United States did not address the fate of the 30,000 revolutionary soldiers still in the field and owed substantial back pay. [30] Seeking to buy peace on the island, the United States offered to pay each Cuban soldier $100 in return for the orderly disbanding of this Cuban Army. Burnside found herself with $3 million in cash aboard, including 2,500,000 dimes and 200,000 nickels, [31] anchored in Havana harbor on 18 March 1899. [32] Cuban officials sought more money for their soldiers, so Burnside sat at anchor while negotiations continued. On 4 April 1899 the Cuban Military Assembly voted to disband the Cuban Army. [33] Burnside circumnavigated the island with two Army paymasters aboard to distribute the funds. [34]

Cable ship in the Philippines (1900–1904)

Alfred H. Laffin, Burnside's captain from 1898 to 1912 at the ship's engine room telegraph Crew member standing on deck of United States Army transport BURNSIDE, operating ship's telegraph, Washington, ca 1900 (HESTER 742).jpeg
Alfred H. Laffin, Burnside's captain from 1898 to 1912 at the ship's engine room telegraph

When Commodore Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, there were two undersea cables which landed in Manila. One provided telegraph communication from the Philippines to the rest of the world via Hong Kong, and the other connected the city to major islands of the archipelago. Both belonged to the British firm Eastern Extension, Australasia, and China Telegraph Company (Limited). The day after his victory, Dewey approached the British Consul in Manila to arrange for American use of the telegraph service. The Spanish, who still controlled Manila, refused to allow the Americans to send telegrams. Dewey replied by cutting the cables in Manila Bay. The link to Hong Kong was cut on 2 May 1898, and Capiz on 23 May 1898, isolating Luzon from the rest of the world. [35]

Undersea cables became a military priority for the Army commanders in the Philippines. While the British cables were ultimately repaired, they did not reach all the major islands. General Otis, and General MacArthur complained of communication difficulties. The Army in the Philippines was dependent on slow, ship-borne mail for communications to many locations. [36] To build its own inter-island telegraph system, the Army sent the cable ship USAT Hooker to Manila. She was wrecked on Corregidor in August 1899 before she was able to commence her work. Much of Hooker's cable laying machinery and testing equipment was salvaged, and was installed on Burnside when she arrived in Manila. [37]

On 30 June 1900, the Army contracted with the Morse Iron Works shipyard in Brooklyn, New York to convert Burnside into a cable ship. The reported cost of this conversion was $130,000. [38] Burnside was chosen as Hooker's replacement because of her relatively shallow draft for her size. Three large copper tanks were built in her cargo holds in which submarine cable could be coiled. The tanks were 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter and 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. Each had an iron core at its center to hold the cable in position while it was unspooled. Each tank had capacity to hold 250 miles of cable. [36] [39]

Burnside off Dumaguete, December 1900 USAT Burnside off Dumaguete.png
Burnside off Dumaguete, December 1900

Burnside departed New York on 26 September 1900 with 553 miles of deep-sea cable and 8 miles of the thicker, more heavily-armored shore-end cable aboard. [40] [41] [37] She had on board a crew of 104 men to run the ship, and a 25-man Signal Corps detachment led by Captain George O. Squier who were in charge of laying the cable. [42] As she was sailing into a war zone, she was armed with three 6-pounder and four 1-pounder rapid-fire guns. [43]

Burnside reached Gibraltar on 10 October 1900. [44] She stopped at Malta, [45] Port Said, [46] Aden, [47] Colombo, [48] and Singapore, [49] before arriving in Manila on 7 December 1900. [50] She sailed from Manila on 23 December 1900 to begin laying cable. The first segment connected Dumaguete on Negros Island to Misamis on Mindanao, approximately 100 miles away. In the first six months of 1901, Burnside completed seven cables which were, in aggregate, 447 nautical miles long. [51] Between July and November 1901 she laid another 14 cables of 607 miles and repaired 13 cables. While in the Philippines, she was not employed continuously as a cable ship, but spent part of her time as a transport. [52]

Filipino crewmen aboard Burnside Crew of the US Army transport BURNSIDE, Washington, ca 1900 (HESTER 54).jpeg
Filipino crewmen aboard Burnside

A notable aspect of the Burnside's operations was the large number of Filipino crew. Her job in the Philippines was not merely to lay submarine cable, but to trench the cable ashore, build cable offices, and do whatever else was required on land and sea to make the links work in wilderness locations. The ship needed more manpower, so the bosun went ashore in Manila to hire whoever he could. These men stuck with the ship and gained cable-laying skills. There were 116 Filipino crew aboard in 1904 when the ship came to Seattle. [53] They were highly regarded by their officers, but were paid roughly two-thirds of what the Army would pay a white crew. Filipino crew worked on Burnside until at least 1912 despite the fact that the ship left the islands in 1904. [54]

Laying the Alaska cable (1903–1905)

Burnside at anchor in Puget Sound US Army transport steamer BURNSIDE at anchor, Puget Sound port, Washington, ca 1900 (HESTER 37).jpeg
Burnside at anchor in Puget Sound

In the wake of the discovery of gold in the Klondike and at Nome, [55] in May 1900 Congress appropriated $455,550 to build a telegraph cable from St. Michael to the rest of the military network in Alaska. [56] Since Burnside was the only American cable ship in the Pacific, and fully engaged in the Philippines, little could be done immediately. Congress extended the availability of these funds through the 1903 fiscal year. [57] A further $485,000 was voted to connect the Alaska network with continental America. [58] Congress approved $321,580 in April 1904 for a cable between Valdez and Sitka, [59] and another $95,000 in March 1905 for a cable between Valdez and Seward. [60] Burnside laid all of these cables.

In March 1903 Burnside sailed to Hong Kong for shipyard maintenance prior to crossing the Pacific. [61] She departed Manila on 8 June 1903, made a coaling stop in Nagasaki, and reached Juneau on 11 July 1903. [62] She laid a 17-mile-long cable connecting Skagway and Haines, and repaired the existing cable between Juneau and Skagway. Burnside then sailed south to Seattle surveying the proposed route of the cable to Alaska. [63] She arrived in Seattle on 4 August 1903. [64] [65]

The contract for 1,200 miles of cable for the Alaska project was awarded to the Safety Insulated Wire and Cable Company of Bayonne, New Jersey on 7 March 1903. It was the longest submarine cable manufactured in the United States at the time. [66] The cable was shipped from New York to Puget Sound via Cape Horn in two sections. The first 580 miles shipped in June 1903 [67] aboard the American-Hawaian Line steamer Texan . She arrived in Seattle on 1 September 1903. [68] This cable was loaded aboard Burnside by the morning of 15 September. [69]

Burnside arriving in Valdez to begin cable laying, September 1904 USAT Burnside at Valdez.jpg
Burnside arriving in Valdez to begin cable laying, September 1904

On 16 September 1903, Burnside sailed for Juneau. She had aboard the Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army, Brigadier General Adolphus Greely, who supervised the laying of the cable. [70] The trip began on a sour note when Burnside hit an iceberg off Admiralty Island and sustained damage to her hull. [71] She arrived at Juneau on 22 September 1903. [72] After making quick repairs to the ship, the cable from Juneau to Sitka, 291 miles long, was completed on 2 October 1903. [73] [74] Due to the lateness of the season, the days were getting shorter and the weather stormier. Burnside laid cable from Sitka about 130 miles south before the need for repairs, and bad weather sent her back to Seattle. The end of the cable was buoyed so work on the Sitka-Seattle route could resume in 1904. [75]

During the winter of 1903-04, Burnside was sent back to the Philippines where a number of outages had occurred in the telegraph cables laid by the ship in 1901. In areas of high current, cables were sawn apart by movement over rough, coral-encrusted seabeds. [76] She left Seattle for Manila on 1 January 1904, carrying 200 tons of oats and 200 tons of hay. She stopped for coal in Honolulu on 12 January 1904. [77] After 48 days of cable maintenance in the Philippines, [78] on 6 April 1904 Burnside sailed from Manila for Seattle, where she arrived on 18 May 1904. [55]

The second part of the Alaska cable, 780 miles, arrived at Seattle from New York on the American-Hawaiian Line steamship American in November 1903, too late to be used that year. It was stored in Tacoma. [79] Other, shorter sections arrived from New York in forty freight cars. On her return from the Philippines, Burnside began loading cable aboard on 9 June 1904 [80] and finally sailed north to Alaska on 19 June 1904. [81] Numerous difficulties were encountered. The buoy that marked the end of the cable in October 1903 had been washed away in winter storms, forcing the crew to grapple for the wire in 9,000 feet (2,700 m) of water. Some of Burnside's cable laying machinery broke down, and the weather was stormy. [82] Nonetheless, the cable from Sitka to Seattle, 1,070 miles long, was completed on 28 August 1904. The final splice took place at a ceremony in Elliot Bay which was attended by several hundred people. To commemorate the event, Mayor Richard A. Ballinger of Seattle and Mayor Keller of Skagway telegraphed greetings to each other. [83]

Burnside began laying the Valdez to Sitka link on 29 September and completed her work on 5 October 1904. [55] She completed the final link in the submarine cable system between Valdez and Seward on 3 August 1905. [84]

Maintaining Pacific Northwest cables (1905–1922)

Cable breaks at Valdez from the 1908 earthquake, as charted aboard Burnside Submarine Cable Breaks at Valdez.png
Cable breaks at Valdez from the 1908 earthquake, as charted aboard Burnside

In addition to the Alaska cable system, the Army maintained a number of short cables between coastal defense installations. In Puget Sound, Fort Casey, Fort Flagler, and Fort Worden were connected by fire-control cables. [85] In the Bay Area, there were cables between the Presidio, Fort Baker, Fort Barry, and Fort McDowell. [86] At the mouth of the Columbia, Army cables connected Fort Stevens and Fort Columbia. [87] Burnside was involved in maintaining all of these cables.

Burnside at Ketchikan, Alaska in 1911 US cable ship Burnside at Ketchikan, Alaska, June 29, 1911 (COBB 199).jpeg
Burnside at Ketchikan, Alaska in 1911

The sea bed is a hostile environment and there were many interruptions in the cables Burnside maintained. In 1905 a whale tangled the Sitka-Valdez cable in its jaws. As it thrashed to free itself, it broke the cable. The drowned corpse was still tangled in the cable when Burnside arrived to fix the line weeks later. [88] A February 1908 earthquake broke the two cables to Valdez in 11 places as the seabed faulted. [89] Ships' anchors ripped cables from harbor bottoms. [90] The ship was continuously busy. In fiscal year 1915, for example, Burnside made five round-trips from Seattle to Alaska to fix nine breaks. [91]

Even though most of her efforts were for maintenance, Burnside did lay additional cable to extend the system, and to replace outdated lines. Notably, at the end of 1906 new cable was laid to connect Wrangell, Hadley, and Ketchikan to the outside world. [85] In 1909 she laid submarine cable to Cordova. [6]

The most serious accident in the ship's career occurred on 21 November 1904. Burnside was on her way north to fix a cable break between Valdez and Sitka. While passing through Seymour Narrows at one-quarter speed, she lost steerage way in the current and was thrown sideways onto Ripple Rock. At the time of the accident the ship was under the command of pilot O. H. Johansen. Later examination in dry dock revealed that 51 feet (16 m) of her keel was torn away and there was a gash 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and 21 feet (6.4 m) long in her port quarter. [92] This enormous hole would likely have sunk the ship but for the fact that it opened a ballast tank which was already filled with water. Burnside continued north to Alert Bay where a quick inspection of the damage was made. The decision was made to return to Seattle for repairs. [93] After an Army investigation of the accident, Captain Laffin was temporarily relieved of his command in January 1905 for being absent from the bridge at the time of the accident. [94] The contract to repair the ship was won by Heffernan Engine Works which bid $31,482 for the work. [95] [96]

In October 1911, the Alaska Steamship Company's Edith went aground on Level Island in Sumner Strait, heavily laden with 60,000 cases of canned salmon. Burnside was able to pull her off undamaged, and Edith was able to continue her voyage under her own steam. [97] [98]

Obsolescence, sale, and scrapping

As the 1920's began, the cables that Burnside had laid in Alaska fifteen years earlier were wearing out. [99] The wear and tear of currents scraping cable along the bottom was compounded by concern that the seamless rubber insulation used by the Safety Insulated Wire and Cable Company was inferior to the gutta-percha insulation used by British cable manufacturers. The Signal Corps planned to replace the original cables, and planned to do it with a more modern ship than the 40-year old Burnside. On 26 September 1921, the steamer Dellwood was transferred from the US Shipping Board to the War Department by Executive Order 3553. [100] [101] Dellwood was a design 1043 freighter built in 1919 for the Emergency Fleet Corporation. [102] Todd Drydocks, Inc. was awarded the contract to convert the freighter into a cable ship in July 1922. [103] By February 1923, Dellwood was in Seattle, and cable laying equipment was moved from Burnside to her replacement. [104]

Burnside was transferred to the US Shipping Board which sold her for $7,600. [105] The ship was bought by General Metal and Supply Company of Oakland in April 1924. [106] Burnside was towed from Seattle to San Francisco Bay in July 1924. [107] In November 1924 she was set ablaze off Oakland, to burn away everything but her steel. She was scrapped there for her metal. [108]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Badger</i> (1889) Auxiliary cruiser of the US Navy

USS Badger was an auxiliary cruiser of the United States Navy, the first U.S. Navy ship named after the burrowing mammal. Badger was sold to the War Department in April 1900 to serve as the U.S. Army Transport Lawton.

SS <i>Cuba</i> (1920) Passenger steamship that was wrecked in 1923

SS Cuba was a passenger and cargo steamship that was wrecked in 1923 off the coast of California. Her remains are now a wreck diving site. She was launched in Germany in 1897 as Coblenz for Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), who owned and operated her until the United States seized her in 1917. The United States Shipping Board took possession of her and renamed her Sachem. In 1920 the Pacific Mail Steamship Company bought her and renamed her Cuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Minett</span>

Henry Minett was a career officer of the United States Navy who served during the Spanish–American War. Prior to retirement in 1905, he achieved the rank of captain. He is best remembered as one of the early acting Governors of American Samoa. Minett Islet in Alaska is named for him.

USAT <i>Thomas</i> Transport ship in service of the U.S. Army from 1898 to 1927

USAT Thomas was a United States Army transport ship purchased on 26 July 1898 for Spanish–American War service. Thomas served with the Army Transport Service (ATS) until retired in 1929.

The Alaska Communication System (ACS), also known as the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), was a system of cables and telegraph lines authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1900 and constructed by the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The communications lines were to serve both military and civilian needs in the territory of Alaska. By 1904, ACS comprised some 2,100 miles (3,400 km) of undersea cable, over 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of land lines, and a wireless segment across at least 107 miles (172 km). On 15 May 1936 WAMCATS was renamed the U.S. Army Alaska Communication System. The Alaska Communication System remained under the control of the Army Signal Corps until 1962 when it was taken over by the U.S. Air Force. The ACS handled the radioteletype, radio telephone, 500 kHz ship-to-shore frequencies, collected communications intelligence, and other services for more than half a century in Alaska.

USS <i>Zafiro</i> Collier of the United States Navy

USS Zafiro was a collier, a bulk cargo ship, that served in the United States Navy from 1898 until 1904. She executed the first known cut of subseacables.

USRC <i>Thomas Corwin</i> U.S. revenue cutter and merchant ship

The Thomas Corwin was a revenue cutter of the United States Revenue-Marine and United States Revenue Cutter Service and subsequently a merchant vessel. These two very different roles both centered on Alaska and the Bering Sea. In 1912, Frank Willard Kimball wrote: "The Corwin has probably had a more varied and interesting career than any other vessel which plies the Alaskan waters."

SS <i>Ancon</i> American cargo and passenger ship; first to officially transit the Panama Canal (1914)

SS Ancon was an American cargo and passenger ship that became the first ship to officially transit the Panama Canal in 1914 although the French crane boat Alexandre La Valley completed the first trip in stages during construction prior to the official opening. The ship was built as Shawmut for the Boston Steamship Company by the Maryland Steel Company, Sparrows Point, Maryland and put into Pacific service operating out of Puget Sound ports for Japan, China and the Philippine Islands. Shawmut and sister ship Tremont were two of the largest United States commercial ships in service at the time and the company eventually found them too expensive to operate.

USAT <i>McClellan</i>

USAT McClellan was a United States Army transport ship that saw service during the Spanish–American War and World War I. She also participated in the occupation of Veracruz in 1914.

USC&GSS <i>Pathfinder</i>

The first USC&GSS Pathfinder, also noted in some NOAA histories as "old Pathfinder", was a United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ship in service from 1899 to 1941, when she was beached in sinking condition on January 30, 1942, after 40 years service in the Philippines.

SS <i>Rosecrans</i>

Methven Castle was a steam iron passenger cargo ship built in 1882–1883 by Barclay, Curle & Company of Glasgow for Donald Currie & Co. with intention of serving as cargo, passenger and mail carrier on their existing route from England to South Africa. The vessel was later sold to the North American Mail Steamship Co. of Tacoma to work on their Oriental trade routes and renamed Columbia. In 1899 the ship was chartered by the United States Army to transport troops and supplies to various overseas destinations. In 1900 the Army bought out the ship placing it in service as the United States Army Transport Rosecrans but sold it two years later to Matson Navigation Company. The vessel was then converted into an oil tanker to carry oil from the West Coast to Alaska and Hawaii. Subsequently she was sold in 1905 to Associated Oil Co. to carry oil from California to various ports along the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. In January 1913 while on one of her regular trips, the ship was wrecked off the mouth of the Columbia River with the loss of almost her entire crew.

USAT <i>Warren</i>

USAT Warren was the former Hamburg America Line liner Scandia, laid down as the Scandiinavia at AG Vulcan Stettin, launched on 24th Aug 1889. The liner was purchased by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Department 5 July 1898. In March 1899 Scandia was renamed Warren for Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren. Serving the Army Transport Service as United States Army Transport (USAT) Warren the ship was assigned to the Philippine Inter-Island Service based in Manila as one of the interisland transports. Along with routine voyages transporting troops and supplies among the islands the ship made routine trips to China with the Chinese port of Chingwangtao a routine part of service. Warren underwent major overhaul and was "practically reconstructed" during fiscal year 1916 including boiler replacement.

USS <i>Wompatuck</i> Tugboat of the United States Navy

USS Wompatuck (YT-27) was an armed tug in commission in the United States Navy from 1898 to 1931. Early in her naval career, she saw combat in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. After she was decommissioned, she was selected for conversion into the fuel oil barge YO-64, but she was lost in the early days of World War II in the Pacific before the conversion could be completed.

<i>Senator</i> (1898 ship) Steel-hulled steamship

Senator was a steel-hulled steamship launched in 1898. She served as a troopship during the Spanish-American War and was an important part of the Nome gold rush. She spent thirty years in the coastwise shipping trade between Alaska and San Diego, until she was scrapped in Osaka, Japan in 1935.

USLHT <i>Columbine</i> (1892) Tender of the United States Lighthouse Service

USLHT Columbine was a steel-hulled steamship built as a lighthouse tender in 1892. During her career in the United States Lighthouse Service she was based in Portland, Oregon, Ketchikan, Alaska, Honolulu, Hawaii, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Baltimore, Maryland. During World War I she was transferred to the United States Navy and became USS Columbine. She returned to the Lighthouse Service in 1919. The ship was decommissioned and sold by the in 1927.

USAT <i>Logan</i> U.S. Army troopship

The steamship Manitoba was steel-hulled freighter built for the Atlantic Transport Line in 1892. She carried live cattle and frozen beef from the United States to England until the advent of the Spanish-American War. In 1898 she was purchased by the United States Army for use as an ocean-going troopship. During the Spanish-American War she carried troops and supplies between the U.S. mainland, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

USAT <i>Sheridan</i> U.S. Army troopship

The steamship Massachusetts was steel-hulled freighter built for the Atlantic Transport Line in 1891. She carried live cattle and frozen beef from the United States to England until the advent of the Spanish–American War. In 1898 she was purchased by the United States Army for use as an ocean-going troopship. During the Spanish–American War she carried troops and supplies between the U.S. mainland, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

USAT <i>Sherman</i> U.S. Army troopship

The steamship Mobile was steel-hulled freighter built for the Atlantic Transport Line in 1891. She carried live cattle and frozen beef from the United States to England until the advent of the Spanish-American War. In 1898 she was purchased by the United States Army for use as an ocean-going troopship. During the Spanish-American War she carried troops and supplies between the U.S. mainland, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

The steamship Mohawk was steel-hulled freighter built for the Atlantic Transport Line in 1892. She carried live cattle and frozen beef from the United States to England until the advent of the Spanish–American War. In 1898 she was purchased by the United States Army for use as an ocean-going troopship. During the Spanish–American War she carried troops and supplies between the U.S. mainland, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army</span> Commanding officer of the U.S. Army Signal Corps

The Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army was a position which was established during the American Civil War. Over the course of a century, the chief signal officer was the commanding officer of the U.S. Army Signal Corps which at various times was responsible for combat communications, strategic communications, military aviation, homing pigeons, designing and purchasing the Army's radio, radar, and other electronic equipment, weather reporting, Army photography and motion pictures, collection of signal intelligence, and research and development of technologies as diverse as wig-wag flag signaling, cryptography, FM radio, submarine cable, and satellite communications.

References

  1. ↑ "Launch Of A Steamer". Newcastle Weekly Chronicle. 25 March 1882. p. 8.
  2. 1 2 Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1884. Lloyd's Register. 1884. pp. YAR.
  3. 1 2 "Shipping Reports". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 July 1887. p. 8.
  4. 1 2 "Rita Weathered The Storm". Brooklyn Citizen. 3 December 1898. p. 9.
  5. ↑ "Prize Ship Rita Now The Burnside". Morning Call. 27 February 1899. p. 1.
  6. 1 2 Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer Made to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1909. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1909. p. 24.
  7. 1 2 "Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1913". Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  8. ↑ "Arrival Of The Steamers". This Week. 26 August 1882. p. 5.
  9. ↑ "Queensland". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 July 1886. p. 8.
  10. ↑ "Order Of Auction Sales". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 May 1884. p. 10.
  11. ↑ "Shipping Facilities At Port Adelaide". Observer. 17 November 1888. p. 30.
  12. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1892 Steamers. Lloyd's Register. 1892.
  13. ↑ "Late Shipping News". Times-Picayune. 18 July 1895. p. 2.
  14. 1 2 "Maritime Miscellany". New York Herald. 23 October 1892. p. 28.
  15. ↑ "Movement Of Galveston Vessels". Galveston Daily News. 9 January 1896. p. 6.
  16. ↑ "Foreign Ports - Arrivals And Sailings". Times-Picayune. 22 September 1893. p. 2.
  17. ↑ "Domestic Ports". Baltimore Sun. 30 August 1897. p. 9.
  18. ↑ "Marine Tidings". Telegraph-Journal. 25 June 1892. p. 3.
  19. ↑ "Movements Of Ocean Vessels". Times Democrat. 24 May 1895. p. 1.
  20. ↑ "The Declaration Of War". The New York Times. 26 April 1898. p. 3.
  21. ↑ "General War News". Buffalo Courier Express. 14 May 1898. p. 2.
  22. ↑ "Prisoners Of War Here". Times Union. 3 June 1898. p. 8.
  23. ↑ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order Of Battle, 1919-1941 (PDF). Vol. 4. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 2144.
  24. 1 2 United States Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1900. p. 136.
  25. ↑ "More Troops Sail Away". Sun. 11 July 1898. p. 1.
  26. ↑ "Business Rush To Havana". Sun. 15 August 1898. p. 3.
  27. ↑ "The Burnside". Nashville Banner. 8 March 1899. p. 6.
  28. ↑ Annual Report of Major General John R. Brooke, U.S. Army, Commanding the Division of Cuba. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office. 1899.
  29. ↑ "Steamer Burnside Returns". The New York Times. 26 February 1889. p. 4.
  30. ↑ "Overtures To Gomez". Commercial Appeal. 1 February 1899. p. 1.
  31. ↑ "Cuban Army To Be Reduced". Sacramento Bee. 29 April 1899. p. 9.
  32. ↑ "Guarding The Cuban Fund". The New York Times. 19 March 1899. p. 7.
  33. ↑ "Dissolved". Twice-A-Week Courier-Journal. 8 April 1899. p. 2.
  34. ↑ "Payment of the Cuban Troops". The New York Times. 11 May 1899. p. 5.
  35. ↑ REPORTS OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRAL AWARDS (PDF). United Nations. 9 November 1923.
  36. 1 2 "A Philippine Cable". Fort Riley Guidon. 25 November 1900. p. 1.
  37. 1 2 "Electricity In Warfare". Gazette. 28 June 1902. p. 6.
  38. ↑ "Cable Ship For Manila". The New York Times. 1 July 1900. p. 6.
  39. ↑ "Interisland Cable". Evansville Journal. 24 March 1901. p. 15.
  40. ↑ Annual Reports of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1900 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1900. p. 989.
  41. ↑ "Cable Ship Leaves". Brooklyn Eagle. 27 September 1900. p. 13.
  42. ↑ "The Cable Ship Burnside". New York Tribune. 16 September 1900. p. 34.
  43. ↑ "From the "Rita" to the "Burnside"". Times Union. 26 September 1900. p. 2.
  44. ↑ "The Burnside at Gibraltar". Times Leader. 11 October 1900. p. 2.
  45. ↑ "Long Stories By Wires After Being Squeezed". Daily Local News. 20 October 1900. p. 1.
  46. ↑ "The Burnside At Port Said". Brooklyn Eagle. 26 October 1900. p. 9.
  47. ↑ "Telegraph for All Philippines". Philadelphia Inquirer. 7 November 1900. p. 3.
  48. ↑ "Cable Ship Burnside At Colombo". New York Tribune. 20 November 1900. p. 2.
  49. ↑ "Burnside at Singapore". Evening World. 27 November 1900. p. 10.
  50. ↑ "Military Activity In The Philippines". Brooklyn Eagle. 7 December 1900. p. 3.
  51. ↑ Annual Reports of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1901. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1901. pp. 931–932.
  52. ↑ Corps, United States Army Signal (1902). Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer Made to the Secretary of War for the Year ... U.S. Government Printing Office.
  53. ↑ "Filipinos Are Born Sailors". Tacoma Times. 20 June 1904. p. 4.
  54. ↑ "Longshoremen Will Handle All Cable". Tacoma Daily Ledger. 20 July 1912. p. 8.
  55. 1 2 3 "Annual report of the Secretary of War pt.1 1903/04". p. 21, 22, 264. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  56. ↑ "31 Stat. 206 (1900)" (PDF).
  57. ↑ "32 Stat. 508 (1902)" (PDF).
  58. ↑ 32 Stat. 929 (1903) (PDF).
  59. ↑ "33 Stat. 260 (1904)" (PDF).
  60. ↑ "33 Stat. 828 (1905)" (PDF).
  61. ↑ "Cable Ship". Daily Alaskan. 1 March 1903. p. 1.
  62. ↑ "Will Lay The Cable". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 12 July 1903. p. 3.
  63. ↑ "To Haines". Daily Morning Alaskan. 16 July 1903. p. 2.
  64. ↑ "Laying Alaskan Cable". Spokesman-Review. 4 August 1903. p. 9.
  65. ↑ "Burnside In Port". Seattle Star. 4 August 1903. p. 1.
  66. ↑ "New Cable For Alaska". Brooklyn Eagle. 8 March 1903. p. 8.
  67. ↑ "An American Made Cable". Democrat and Chronicle. 22 June 1903. p. 1.
  68. ↑ "Texan Brings Alaskan Cable". News Tribune. 1 September 1903. p. 8.
  69. ↑ "Steamer Burnside Takes Alaskan Cable". News Tribune. 15 September 1903. p. 2.
  70. ↑ "Burnside Goes to Lay Alaska Cable". Duluth News Tribune. 17 September 1903. p. 2.
  71. ↑ "Struck An Iceberg". Tacoma Daily Ledger. 24 September 1903. p. 3.
  72. ↑ "Burnside With Cable". Daily Alaska Dispatch. 23 September 1903. p. 1.
  73. ↑ Maynard, George C. (12 November 1904). "The Alaska Telegraph". New York Review of the Telegraph and Telephone Electrical Journal. 45 (20): 781–787.
  74. ↑ Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer, United States Army, to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1904. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1904. pp. 5–8.
  75. ↑ "none". Tacoma Daily Ledger. 23 October 1903. p. 12.
  76. ↑ Chandler, C. de F. (3 February 1924). "Men of Army Cable Ship Burnside Have Had Thrilling Experiences". Evening Star. p. 69.
  77. ↑ "Spanish War Prize Steamer In Port". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 13 January 1904. p. 10.
  78. ↑ "To Begin". Daily Alaskan. 26 May 1904. p. 3.
  79. ↑ "Shipping Notes". News Tribune. 25 November 1903. p. 8.
  80. ↑ "Burnside Is Loading Cable". News Tribune. 9 June 1904. p. 10.
  81. ↑ "Cable Ship Takes Coal". Seattle Star. 18 June 1904. p. 3.
  82. ↑ "Cable Ship Now In Port". Tacoma Daily Ledger. 21 July 1904. p. 3.
  83. ↑ "Cable Connects Alaska And The States". Daily Alaskan. 29 August 1904. p. 1.
  84. ↑ Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer Made to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1905. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1905. p. 7.
  85. 1 2 Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer Made to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1907. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1907.
  86. ↑ Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer Made to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1910. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1910.
  87. ↑ Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer Made to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1911. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1911.
  88. ↑ "Whale Wrecks Sika Cable". Evening Express. 25 January 1905. p. 5.
  89. ↑ Tarr, Ralph S.; Martin, Lawrence (1912). The Earthquakes at Yakutat Bay, Alaska in September, 1899 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 97–98.
  90. ↑ "From Saturday's Daily". Ketchikan Miner. 13 March 1914. p. 3.
  91. ↑ "Annual report of the Chief Signal Officer to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1915". Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office. p. 34. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  92. ↑ "Cable Ship Going North". Tacoma Daily Ledger. 12 January 1905. p. 3.
  93. ↑ "Cable Ship Comes Here For Repairs". Tacoma Daily Ledger. 25 November 1904. p. 5.
  94. ↑ "He Was Absent From The Bridge". News Tribune. 19 January 1905. p. 10.
  95. ↑ "To Investigate Mishap". Tacoma Daily Ledger. 2 December 1904. p. 3.
  96. ↑ Annual Report of the Quartermaster General of the United States Army to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1905. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1905. p. 51.
  97. ↑ "Casualties To Pacific Coast Shipping". Railway and Marine News. IX (9): 28. 15 October 1911.
  98. ↑ "Edith Off The Rocks". Weekly Alaska Citizen. 9 October 1911. p. 7.
  99. ↑ Annual Report of the Secretary of War to the President. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1922. p. 259.
  100. ↑ The Alaska Cable System. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office. 1925. p. 3.
  101. ↑ United States Shipping Board and Emergency Fleet Corporation: Hearings Before the Select Committee to Inquire Into the Operations, Policies, and Affairs of the United States Shipping Board and the United States Emergency Fleet Corporation, House of Representatives, Sixty-eighth Congress, First Session, Pursuant to H.R. 186 ... Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1925. p. 2138.
  102. ↑ "Steel Shipbuilding Under The U.S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921" (PDF). The Belgian Shiplover (93): 232. May–June 1963.
  103. ↑ "Todd Drydock Co. Gets Contract". News Pilot. 5 July 1922. p. 5.
  104. ↑ "Cable Ship Dellwood Is Coming To Alaska". Cordova Daily Times. 21 February 1923. p. 8.
  105. ↑ Eighth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office. 1924. pp. 108, 139.
  106. ↑ "Old Cableship Burnside Sold". Juneau Empire. 21 April 1924. p. 6.
  107. ↑ McIntyre, M. H. (6 July 1924). "Army and Navy News". Evening Star. p. 48.
  108. ↑ "Old Transport Given Up To Flames". Oakland Post Enquirer. 14 November 1924. p. 4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.