The third USS ''Frolic'' was a

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 ...

patrol yacht in commission in 1898, from 1900 to 1906, and from 1906 to 1907. She served briefly 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 = (cloc ...

Construction, acquisition, and commissioning

''Frolic'' was built for H. M. Hanna in 1892 by Globe Iron Works at

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, Ohio, yard number 46, as the private

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

''Comanche'', official number 126888. The U.S. Navy purchased her on 28 May 1898 for service during the Spanish–American War and commissioned her as USS ''Frolic'' on 6 July 1898.

Service history

Spanish–American War

''Frolic'' departed Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 23 July 1898 with

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for ships of the North Atlantic Station on Spanish–American War duty off

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and

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. The war ended in August 1898 while she was performing these duties. She arrived at

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at Portsmouth, Virginia, on 17 September, and was decommissioned there on 27 September.

Post-war

''Frolic'' was recommissioned on 25 October 1900. Assigned to the

Asiatic Station The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron were primarily inv ...

, she cleared Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 30 December bound for the

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, the Suez Canal, and finally

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

in the

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, where she arrived on 24 April 1901. Cooperating with the

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in the Philippine–American War, ''Frolic'' patrolled the southern Philippines, serving primarily off

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

. Several times during the next year, she aided ships in distress, and from October 1902 made hydrographic surveys. She performed a variety of other duties in establishing American control in the Philippines, including investigation of possible

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sites and

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duty. In February 1904, ''Frolic'' added patrols and target practice in

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waters to her operating schedule at intervals. ''Frolic'' was decommissioned on 31 March 1906. After repairs, was placed in reduced commission on 19 December 1906 for service as a

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...

craft at Cavite. ''Frolic'' was decommissioned for the last time on 31 July 1907.

Final disposition

On 21 May 1909, ''Frolic'' was transferred to the

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for U.S. Army service in the Philippines.

References

*
Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS ''Frolic'' (1898–1909)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frolic (1892) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy Individual yachts Ships built in Cleveland 1892 ships Spanish–American War naval ships of the United States