Washington was fitted out there until 1 November when she got underway for Hampton Roads, whence she departed a week later as an escort for Louisiana which was then carrying President Theodore Roosevelt to Panama for an inspection of progress of work constructing the Panama Canal. During that voyage, the armored cruiser touched at Hampton Roads and Piney Point, Maryland; Colón, Panama; Chiriquí Lagoon; and Mona Passage before she returned to Newport News on 26 November. She headed back toward the Delaware Capes on 8 December, arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on the 11th, and remained there undergoing repairs into the spring of 1907.[4]
Washington departed League Island on 11 April and arrived at Hampton Roads the next day. She remained there into May participating in festivities of the Jamestown Exposition which commemorated the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. She returned northward soon thereafter, spending most of May undergoing docking and tests at the New York Navy Yard. She then shook down off Tompkinsville, New York (Staten Island), from 28 May to 5 June before she returned to Hampton Roads for further observances at the Jamestown Exposition.[4]
Washington departed Hampton Roads on 11 June and proceeded via Bradford, Rhode Island, to Newport where she joined Tennessee before heading across the Atlantic on the 14th, bound for European waters. The sister ships visited the French ports of Royan, Île-d'Aix, La Pallice, and Brest from 23 June – 25 July, before returning to Tompkinsville in August to run speed trials.[4]
Washington operated off the west coast into 1909 before she made preparations to sail in company with the Armored Cruiser Squadron to "show the flag" in the Far East. She accordingly got underway from San Francisco on 5 September 1909 and called, in succession, at Honolulu, Hawaii; from 10–20 September; and Nares Harbor, Admiralty Islands, where she coaled ship from 17–25 October, before she arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands, on 30 October.[4]
After visiting Woosung (near Shanghai), China, from 14–30 December 1909, Washington and her sisters called at Yokohama, Japan, from 3–20 January 1910, and Honolulu from 31 January – 8 February, before returning to the west coast. Washington made port back at San Francisco via Port Discovery, Washington and Bremerton on 3 March. She then returned to Bremerton where she commenced a period of repairs on 21 March.[4]
Washington next operated off the west coast into the autumn of 1910, holding target practices off Santa Cruz, California, before returning to San Francisco. She coaled ship at Tiburon, California, on 7–8 August before shifting to San Francisco to prepare for her next deployment. On 14 August, she departed San Francisco, bound for South America on the first leg of her voyage to the east coast to join the Atlantic Fleet. With the ships of the 1st Division of the Pacific Fleet, Washington visited Valparaíso, Chile, and took part in the observances of the Chilean Centennial Celebration from 10–23 September. She then resumed her voyage around South America, touching at Talcahauano and Punta Arenas, Chile; Rio de Janeiro; Carlisle Bay, Barbados; and St. Thomas, Danish West Indies; before she arrived at Culebra, Puerto Rico on 2 November to prepare for target practice with the Fleet.[4]
Washington's next area of operations was the Tidewater area of Virginia, especially Hampton Roads and Lynnhaven Bay, before the armored cruiser underwent repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 20 December 1910 – 2 January 1911. The armored cruiser subsequently underwent another period of repairs at the Portsmouth Navy Yard before heading south with stores and material for delivery to the 5th Division of the Fleet in Cuban waters. She arrived at Guantánamo Bay on 20 March and remained there into the summer, conducting trials and exercises with the 5th Division. She then returned northward and stopped at Hampton Roads from 21–24 June before pushing on to New York, where she arrived on the 25th.[4]
USS Washington baseball team in 1911
The armored cruiser operated off the northeastern seaboard through the summer, holding exercises and maneuvers in areas ranging from Cape Cod Bay to Hampton Roads. During that time, she cruised briefly with the Naval Militia from 19–21 July; acted as a reference ship for torpedo practice off Sandwich Island, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on 2 August; witnessed the Delaware as that ship fired at the target hulk San Marcos (former USSTexas) on 27–28 August, and then conducted battle practice with the Fleet off the southern drill grounds. In early November, Washington was among the ships of the Fleet reviewed by President William Howard Taft.[4]
The cruiser then participated in a search problem out of Newport, R.I. from 9–18 November before she sailed for the West Indies in company with North Carolina, arriving at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 26 November. Washington subsequently returned home to Hampton Roads in company with her sister ship and went into drydock at the Norfolk Navy Yard three days before Christmas of 1911.[4]
Naval reserve sailors disembarking the USS Washington.
After returning to the Fleet and participating in maneuvers in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in late January and early February 1912, Washington steamed back to the Norfolk Navy Yard where, between 13 and 19 February, she underwent special preparations to embark the Secretary of State and his party. The armored cruiser then shifted to Key West where she embarked the Secretary on 23 February. In the ensuing weeks, Washington carried Philander C. Knox and his guests to such ports as Colón, Panama; Port Limón, Costa Rica; Puerto Barrios, Guatemala; La Guaira, Venezuela; Santo Domingo; St. Thomas; Puerto Cabello, Venezuela; San Juan; Port-au-Prince; Guantánamo Bay; Kingston, Jamaica; and Havana, before disembarking her distinguished guests at Piney Point, Maryland, on 16 April.[4]
The high point of the spring of 1912 for Washington was her service as temporary flagship for the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, while she was at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 19 April – 3 May. The warship subsequently paused at New York from 9–12 May and at the Portsmouth Navy Yard for an inspection by the Board of Inspection and Survey for ships before she conducted maneuvers out of Provincetown and Newport and then received Rear AdmiralHugo Osterhaus, the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, aboard on 26 May. After shifting to Hampton Roads, Washington embarked a detachment of additional Marines on 27 May, took on stores; and set out that day for Key West. There, she awaited further orders from 30 May – 10 June, while President Taft concentrated a strong naval force there to prepare for possible action which might be required by internal problems in Cuba.[4]
In the late spring and early summer, a rebellion on that Caribbean island occasioned a show of force by the United States. Washington accordingly departed Key West on 10 June and arrived at Havana later that day. She remained there on "duty in connection with the Cuban rebellion" until 1 July, when she shifted to Guantánamo. The rebellion on the island was put down by the Cuban Government, resulting in the withdrawal of the American naval and marine representation there. Accordingly, Washington sailed to Hampton Roads, where she discharged her marines and equipment and went into "first reserve" at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 9 July.[4]
Washington remained inactive until 8 October, when she sailed for New York to participate in the Naval Review held there from 10–15 October and then resumed her reserve status at Portsmouth on 17 October. Shifted subsequently from Portsmouth to the New York Navy Yard, via President Roads, Massachusetts, and Tompkinsville, Staten Island, Washington was assigned duty as receiving ship at the navy yard on 20 July.[4]
The armored cruiser was placed in commission again on 23 April 1914, Captain Edward W. Eberle in command. Later that spring, the armored cruiser took aboard drafts of men from Norfolk and Port Royal, South Carolina on 30 April and 2 May; touched at Key West, and proceeded to Santo Domingo.[4]
Once again there was unrest in the Dominican Republic. A revolution in the northern province of Santiago, against the rule of Provisional President José Bordas Valdez, had been quelled; but one in the province of Puerto Plata, near the capital of Santo Domingo itself, continued unchecked and was marked by severe fighting, fighting so severe that "marked apprehension" existed in Washington.[4]
On 1 May, Petrel had been ordered to Dominican waters, but a further show of force seemed to be in order. Accordingly, Washington was chosen to "show the flag" in those troubled waters. She departed Key West on 4 May and arrived at the beleaguered city of Puerto Plata on 6 May to protect American interests, joining the Petrel. Six days later, Captain Eberle invited representatives of both warring parties – the insurgents and the government – out to his ship, in an attempt to persuade both sides to come to an amicable settlement.[4]
Unfortunately, the attempt failed, and the fighting continued. The insurgents were aided by a recent large consignment of guns and ammunition smuggled across the Haitian border that had given them new blood. The revolutionaries soon recaptured the key city of La Vega and were successfully holding Puerto Plata. Government forces, laying siege to that port and shelling the insurgents, clearly endangered the lives of the neutral citizens still living in the city. Captain Eberle objected to the bombardment and warned President Valdés repeatedly.[4]
Washington departed Puerto Plata on 6 June with the conflict between the insurgents and the government of President Valdes still unresolved. Her place had been taken by Machias. Washington coaled ship and took on stores at Guantánamo Bay from 7–10 June before she sailed for Veracruz, Mexico. She then remained in Mexican waters from 14–24 June before she shifted to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, to protect American interests there during an outbreak of violence that summer.[4]
Washington remained at Cap-Haïtien into July. In the meantime, the situation in the Dominican Republic had worsened when government shellings of rebel positions in Puerto Plata resulted in an inevitable "incident". On 26 June, a stray shell killed an English woman in Puerto Plata causing the gunboat Machias to shift to a berth in the inner harbor and shell one of President Valdes' batteries, silencing it with a few well placed shots. During early July, Machias again fired her guns in anger when stray shots hit the ship.[4]
In view of those developments, Washington returned to Puerto Plata on 9 July and remained there into the autumn, keeping a vigil to protect American lives and property and standing by to land her landing force if the situation required it. That August, Captain Eberle's attempts to bring about a conference finally bore fruit. The United States government sent a commission consisting of John Franklin Fort, the former governor of New Jersey, James M. Sullivan, the American Minister to Santo Domingo; and Charles Smith, a New Hampshire lawyer, to mediate a peace in the Dominican Republic.[4]
Both sides ultimately accepted the American suggestions which provided for the establishment of a constitutional government and the institution of elections under United States "observation."[4]
Washington left Santo Domingo on 20 November; but, later that month, continued high feelings over the closely contested election resulted in further unrest – unrest met by the dispatch of additional Marines to Santo Domingo. For Washington, however, her part in the Dominican intervention of 1914 was over. She sailed for home and arrived at Philadelphia on 24 November and became flagship of the Cruiser Squadron.[4]
Following an overhaul at the Portsmouth Navy Yard from 12 December 1914 – 11 January 1915, Washington sailed via President Roads, Massachusetts (where she took on ammunition on 11 January), for Hampton Roads, arriving there on 14 January. After a five-day visit, during which she took on stores and provisions and an expeditionary force of Marines, Washington sailed for the Caribbean once more.[4]
Two revolutions had rocked Haiti in 1914; a third, in January 1915, led by General Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, had resulted only in further unrest for that troubled nation. Washington arrived at Cap-Haïtien on 23 January, a week after General Sam's troops had invested it. The armored cruiser, flying the flag of Rear Admiral William B. Caperton and commanded by Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr., the father of the future naval officer who would win fame as a famous submariner and author, stayed in port there until the 26th investigating "political conditions" before she shifted to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, on 27 January. There, she again observed local political conditions in the wake of General Sam's takeover of the government before sailing, via Guantánamo, for Mexican waters.[4]
Washington conducted sub-caliber practices, observed political conditions, and conducted torpedo practices off the ports of Tampico, Tuxpan, Progreso, and Veracruz into the summer. Receiving provisions and stores from the supply ship Celtic off Progreso on 26–27 June, the armored cruiser sailed for Guantánamo where she coaled and took on water on 30 June. She sailed the same day for Cap-Haïtien, as all reports from the American minister there indicated that yet another crisis was brewing.[4]
While Washington awaited further developments at Cap-Haïtien, events in Port-au-Prince deteriorated, moving American chargé d'affaires Davis to send a telegram on 27 July to the Secretary of State, Robert Lansing, reporting the troubled conditions. He reported that President Sam and some of his men had been surrounded in the presidential palace and that the presence of American war vessels was desirable.[4]
In accordance with that message, the Navy dispatched Washington to that port. Meanwhile, Sam took refuge in the French legation where he hoped that diplomatic immunity would prevail. The mobs of angry Haitians, however, were not concerned with such international niceties; they invaded the legation at 10:30 on 28 July 1915, forcibly removed former President Sam, killed and dismembered him, and paraded portions of his body on poles around the city.[4]
Washington arrived at Port-au-Prince that day. Upon reviewing the situation, Admiral Caperton acted quickly. He ordered marines and a landing force ashore from his flagship to protect not only American interests but those of other foreign nations as well. Washington remained at Port-au-Prince into the winter. During that time, the United States effectively ran Haiti. On 12 August, Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave was elected president; and his government was recognized by the United States on 17 September.[4]
Ending that lengthy in-port period, Washington departed Port-au-Prince on 31 January 1916 and arrived at Guantánamo the following day. There, she transferred passengers and stores to other ships of the Fleet and later transferred a company of Marines to Norfolk soon after her arrival in Hampton Roads on 5 February. The armored cruiser steamed north, via New York and Boston; reached Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 29 February; and began an overhaul in the navy yard there which lasted until the end of March. Then, on 31 March, she was placed in reserve.[4]
10in (250mm) turret during gun practice
The ship was renamed Seattle on 9 November 1916—in order that her original name might be used for the new Colorado-class battleshipUSSWashington(BB-47)---but retained her classification as Armored Cruiser No. 11. She was simultaneously taken out of reserve and recommissioned for duty as flagship of the Destroyer Force.[4]
World War I
Seattle's peacetime duties as flagship for the Destroyer Force were short. On 6 April 1917, the United States, after attempting to remain neutral despite repeated incidents on the high seas, finally entered World War I.[4]
Shortly before the convoy was attacked, Seattle's helm jammed; and she sheered out of formation sharply, sounding her whistle to warn the other vessels. A few minutes later, the ship was brought back on course. Soon lookouts noted a white streak in the water 50yd (46m) ahead of the vessel, crossing from starboard to port at right angles to Seattle's course. Admiral Gleaves, asleep in the charthouse at the time, awoke and was on the bridge in time to see the armored cruiser's gun crews manning their weapons and the transport De Kalb opening fire on the U-boat.[4]
Subsequently, the destroyer Wilkes attacked an enemy submersible but failed to sink the German submarine. Later information indicated that the enemy, probably aware of the approach of the first American expeditionary forces, had dispatched a pair of submarines to lie in wait for it. The attack, conducted under "ideal" conditions, was, fortunately for the Americans, unsuccessful. Admiral Gleaves, in his report to the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, on 12 July, reported unequivocally: "their [the enemy's] failure to score hits was probably due to the attack being precipitated by the fortuitous circumstances of the Seattle's helm jamming and the sounding of her whistle, leading the enemy to suppose he had been discovered."[4]
Seattle operated on comparatively uneventful escort duties for the remainder of World War I, completing her ninth round-trip voyage at New York on 27 October 1918.[4]
Inter-war period
After the armistice of 11 November 1918, Seattle — like many other ships – was fitted with extra accommodations to enable her to function as a transport, and she brought back doughboys from France until 5 July 1919. Later, after all of her special troop fittings had been removed, Seattle sailed for the west coast to join the Pacific Fleet.[4]
Reviewed by President Woodrow Wilson on 12 September at her namesake city – Seattle – the armored cruiser shifted to the Puget Sound Navy Yard where she was placed in "reduced commission". While in that inactive status, Seattle was reclassified — CA-11 — on 17 July 1920.[4]
Placed in full commission again on 1 March 1923, Captain George L. P. Stone in command, Seattle became the flagship for the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. In that role, over the next four years, she wore the four-starred flags of a succession of officers: AdmiralsHilary P. Jones, Robert Coontz, Samuel S. Robison (who was embarked in the ship at the time of the Australian cruise of 1925), and Charles F. Hughes. During that time, the armored cruiser operated from Seattle to Hawaii and from Panama to Australia.[4]
Subsequently returning to the Atlantic in June 1927, Seattle passed in review before President Calvin Coolidge on 3 June. After a cruise along the east coast, the ship arrived at New York on 29 August to assume duties as the receiving ship at that port. On 1 July 1931, the ship's classification was changed to "unclassified."[4]
As receiving ship, Seattle served as a floating barracks – a "clearance house for personnel" — at New York into the 1940s. Ships and stations transferred men to her for attending various schools in the 3rd Naval District; she provided men for tugs and other district craft, as well as naval escorts for patriotic functions (parades and funerals, etc.) and, on board her, crews for ships preparing to go into commission were assembled. Among those ships was the light cruiserHonolulu.[4]
USS Seattle docked at Pier 92 in New York during World War II
On 17 February 1941, the erstwhile armored cruiser was again reclassified, this time as IX-39 and served as receiving ship for the duration of World War II. She was ultimately placed out of commission at New York on 28 June 1946 and was struck from the Navy List on 19 July of the same year. Sold on 3 December to Hugo Neu of New York City, the former flagship of the United States Fleet and receiving ship at New York was subsequently scrapped.[4]
USS Iowa was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the United States Navy in the mid-1890s. The ship was a marked improvement over the previous Indiana-class battleships, correcting many of the defects in the design of those vessels. Among the most important improvements were significantly better seaworthiness owing to her greater freeboard and a more efficient arrangement of the armament. Iowa was designed to operate on the high seas, which had been the impetus to increase the freeboard. She was armed with a battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns in two twin-gun turrets, supported by a secondary battery of eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns.
USS Kentucky (BB-6), was the second and final Kearsarge-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the United States Navy in the 1890s. Designed for coastal defense, the Kearsarge-class battleships had a low freeboard and heavy armor. The ships carried an armament of four 13-inch (330 mm) and four 8-inch (203 mm) guns in an unusual two-story turret arrangement. The Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Virginia laid down her keel on 30 June 1896. She was launched on 24 March 1898 and was commissioned on 15 May 1900.
USS Wisconsin (BB-9), an Illinois-class pre-dreadnought battleship, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 30th state. She was the third and final member of her class to be built. Her keel was laid down in February 1897 at the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, and she was launched in November 1898. The completed ship was commissioned into the fleet in February 1901. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 13-inch (330 mm) guns and she had a top speed of 16 knots.
USS Connecticut (BB-18), the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after the state of Connecticut, was the lead ship of her class of six pre-dreadnought battleships. Her keel was laid on 10 March 1903; launched on 29 September 1904, Connecticut was commissioned on 29 September 1906, as the most advanced ship in the US Navy.
USS Georgia (BB-15) was a United States Navy Virginia-class battleship, the third of five ships of the class. She was built by the Bath Iron Works in Maine, with her keel laid in August 1901 and her launching in October 1904. The completed battleship was commissioned into the fleet in September 1906. The ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 19 knots.
USS Kansas (BB-21) was a US Connecticut-class pre-dreadnought battleship, the fourth of six ships in the class. She was the second ship of the United States Navy named Kansas, but the only one named in honor of the state of Kansas. The ship was launched in August 1905 and commissioned into the fleet in April 1907. Kansas was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and was capable of a top speed of 18 kn.
The first USS West Virginia (ACR-5/CA-5), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 5", and later renamed Huntington, was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser.
USS New York (ACR-2/CA-2) was the second United States Navy armored cruiser so designated; the first was the ill-fated Maine, which was soon redesignated a second-class battleship. Due to the unusually protracted construction of Maine, New York was actually the first armored cruiser to enter U.S. Navy service. The fourth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state of New York, she was later renamed Saratoga and then Rochester. With six 8-inch guns, she was the most heavily armed cruiser in the US Navy when commissioned.
USS Wyoming (BB-32) was the lead ship of her class of dreadnought battleships and was the third ship of the United States Navy named Wyoming, although she was only the second named in honor of the 44th state. Wyoming was laid down at the William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia in February 1910, was launched in May 1911, and was completed in September 1912. She was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns and capable of a top speed of 20.5 kn.
USS Arkansas (BB-33) was a dreadnought battleship, the second member of the Wyoming class, built by the United States Navy. She was the third ship of the US Navy named in honor of the 25th state, and was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was laid down in January 1910, launched in January 1911, and commissioned into the Navy in September 1912. Arkansas was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns and capable of a top speed of 20.5 knots.
USS Colorado (ACR-7), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 7", and renamed USS Pueblo (CA-7) in 1916, was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser. She was the second US Navy ship named Colorado, and the first to be named after the State of Colorado. The first, Colorado, was named for the Colorado River.
The second USS Tennessee (ACR-10), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 10", and later renamed Memphis, was a United States Navy armored cruiser, the lead ship of her class.
USS Montana (ACR-13/CA-13), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 13", later renamed Missoula and reclassified CA-13, was a Tennessee-class armored cruiser of the United States Navy. She was built by the Newport News Drydock & Shipbuilding Co.; her keel was laid down in April 1905, she was launched in December 1906, and she was commissioned in July 1908. The final class of armored cruisers to be built for the US Navy, Montana and her sisters were armed with a main battery of four 10-inch (254 mm) guns, and they were capable of a top speed of 22 knots.
USS Tacoma (C-18/PG-32/CL-20) was a Denver-class protected cruiser in the United States Navy during World War I. She was the second Navy ship named after the city of Tacoma, Washington.
USS Raleigh (CL-7) was the fourth Omaha-class light cruiser, originally classified as a scout cruiser, built for the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, the first being the protected cruiser Raleigh, commissioned in 1894, and decommissioned in 1919.
The second USS Marblehead (C-11/PG-27) was a Montgomery-class unprotected cruiser in the United States Navy, authorized in the naval appropriations bill of September 7, 1888. Marblehead served in the Spanish–American War and World War I, and was the last ship of her class in service.
USS Williamson (DD-244/AVP-15/AVD-2/APD-27) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Commander William Price Williamson.
The second USS Amphitrite—the lead ship in her class of iron-hulled, twin-screw monitors—was laid down, on June 23, 1874, by order of President Ulysses S. Grant's Secretary of Navy George M. Robeson at Wilmington, Delaware, by the Harlan and Hollingsworth yard; launched on 7 June 1883; sponsored by Miss Nellie Benson, the daughter of a Harlan and Hollingsworth official; and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, on 23 April 1895, Captain William C. Wise in command.
USS Porter was a torpedo boat, the first of her class, launched in 1896, served during the Spanish–American War, and struck in 1912. She was the first Navy ship named for Commodore David Porter, and his son, Admiral David Dixon Porter.
USS Topeka (PG-35) was a gunboat of the United States Navy.
Alden, John D. American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. ISBN0-87021-248-6
Friedman, Norman. U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1984. ISBN0-87021-718-6
Musicant, Ivan. U.S. Armored Cruisers: A Design and Operational History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN0-87021-714-3
Taylor, Michael J.H. (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. Studio. ISBN1-85170-378-0.
Sieche, Erwin F. (1990). "Austria-Hungary's Last Visit to the USA". Warship International. XXVII (2): 142–164. ISSN0043-0374.
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.
United States
