The fourth USS ''Columbia'' (C-12/CA-16) was a

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She was the lead ship of her class of two cruisers; her sister ship was . The class was originally designed with three funnels; however, ''Columbia'' was built with four and ''Minneapolis'' with two. This may have been to make them resemble specific passenger liners. ''Columbia'' was launched 26 July 1892 by

William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century. Company hi ...

Ship & Engine Building Company,

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; sponsored and christened by Miss Edith H. Morton, daughter of Vice President

Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of Ne ...

; and commissioned 23 April 1894, Captain George Watson Sumner in command.

Service history

United States Commerce Destroyer Columbia

''Columbia'' joined the

North Atlantic Squadron The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the Nort ...

, and from 30 July 1894 to 5 January 1895 cruised to protect American interests in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. She participated in the intervention in Nicaragua from July to August 1894. She visited

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in the summer of 1895 and represented the United States at the ceremonial opening of the

Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the N ...

in June. Returning to the east coast in August, she operated in the western

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

until going in ordinary, in reserve at

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

13 May 1897. On 28 April 1896 passenger steamer () struck the anchored ship at

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and sank. Wyanoke had 107 passengers and 42 crew on board, of which two passengers and 1 crewman drowned, and one crewman died of injuries in the hospital. Recommissioned 15 March 1898 for service in the Spanish–American War, ''Columbia'' patrolled along the Atlantic coast and in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

until 26 August. She convoyed troops to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and aided in its occupation between July and 14 August. ''Columbia'' was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Philadelphia Navy Yard 31 March 1899. Following recommissioning on 31 August 1902, ''Columbia'' served as

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...

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and from 9 November 1903 as a part of the Atlantic Training Squadron. Once more out of commission at Philadelphia between 3 May 1907 and 22 June 1915, the cruiser then joined the Submarine Flotilla as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

. After cruising between the various Atlantic submarine bases on inspection tours, she was detached 19 April 1917. ''Columbia'' patrolled off the

Delaware Breakwater The Delaware Breakwater is a set of breakwaters east of Lewes, Delaware on Cape Henlopen that form Lewes Harbor. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1976. The original and breakwaters were built in 1828 ...

from 21 April 1917 as flagship of Squadron 5,

Patrol Force The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...

until July when she joined the

Cruiser Force The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France. Composition On 1 July 1918, the Cruiser and Transport Force was ...

as a convoy escort. Between 1 January and 13 November 1918 she made five Atlantic escort voyages, protecting the passage of men and supplies for the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On her detachment 7 January 1919, she became flagship of Squadron 2, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, operating along the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

and in the

. She was relieved as flagship on 29 May but continued cruising until decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 29 June 1921. Reclassified CA-16, 17 July 1920, she was renamed ''Old Columbia'' 17 November 1921, and sold 26 January 1922.

Awards

Sampson Medal The Sampson Medal was a U.S. Navy campaign medal. The medal was authorized by an Act of Congress in 1901. The medal was awarded to those personnel who served on ships in the fleet of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson during combat operations in th ...

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

Cuban Pacification Medal The Cuban Pacification Medal (Navy) is a military award of the United States Navy which was created by orders of the United States Navy Department on 13 August 1909. The medal was awarded to officers and enlisted men who served ashore in Cuba betw ...

* World War I Victory Medal with "Atlantic Fleet" clasp

References

External links

*
Naval Historical Center: USS ''Columbia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbia (C-12) Protected cruisers of the United States Navy Columbia-class cruisers Spanish–American War cruisers of the United States World War I cruisers of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1892 ships