USS ''Iris'' was a ship of 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 ...

which served in the Pacific in a variety of roles from 1899 until 1916. Originally fitted out as a

distilling ship A distilling ship is a class of military ships, generally converted tankers, with the capability to convert salt water into fresh water. They were typically stationed at forward bases during conflict where they supported on-the-ground troops and ...

, she served as a general utility ship, then as a collier, before being refitted as a

torpedo boat tender The torpedo boat tender was a type of warship developed at the end of the 19th century to help bring small torpedo boats to the high seas, and launch them for attack. During the Turko-Russian war in 1877, the Russians requisitioned 19 trade ve ...

Service history

The ship was built in 1885 by

A. Leslie and Company Andrew Leslie & Co, Hebburn was a shipbuilding company that was started in 1853 on an 8-acre site at Hebburn Quay, Newcastle upon Tyne. The company later merged with the locomotive manufacturer R and W Hawthorn to create Hawthorn Leslie and Com ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, England, and was purchased by the

from the Miami Steamship Co. on 25 May 1898 for service in 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 ...

. However, reconditioning and conversion to a water distilling ship was not completed until after the end of active operations against Spain. ''Iris'' was commissioned at

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

on 1 August 1898. The ship departed Norfolk on 31 August and arrived at

Montauk Point, New York Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

on 5 September. She departed

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

on 14 October for the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, arriving at

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

on 18 March 1899. She acted as a general utility ship for the

Asiatic Squadron 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 invo ...

in the Philippines during the occupation of the islands and during the subsequent

insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. Crewmembers serving on ''Iris'' during any of the periods 18 March to 16 November 1899; 14 December 1899 to 16 January 1900; 31 May to 21 June 1900; 1 August 1900 to 27 April 1901 or 18 July 1901 to 4 July 1902 qualified for award of the

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 and 1913. Although a single service medal, the Philippin ...

. ''Iris'' was decommissioned for repairs at

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

on 31 January 1900, and resumed duty in May under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Dudley Wright Knox Commodore Dudley Wright Knox (21 June 1877 – 11 June 1960) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and World War I. He was also a prominent naval historian, who for many years oversaw the Navy Department's his ...

USN 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 o ...

through June 1901. During this time, ''Iris'' returned to duty in the Philippines during the

and also served in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. Crewmembers serving on her between 29 June to 24 July 1900 qualified for award of the

China Relief Expedition Medal The China Relief Expedition Medal was a decoration of the United States military which was issued to members of both the United States Navy and the United States Marines for service in the China Relief Expedition between 1900 and 1901 during the ...

. ''Iris'' sailed for home in late 1903, arriving at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on 13 November and decommissioned at

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

on 18 December. She was overhauled there and was placed in service as a collier for the Asiatic Squadron. For the next five years, she fueled United States vessels in the

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

. She departed Manila on 20 May 1909 for San Francisco where she was converted to a

. She was placed out of service on 15 October and recommissioned the same day. During the following years she served as parent ship for the Pacific Torpedo Fleet operating off the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

In late April 1914, under the command of

Allen B. Reed, ''Iris'' along with five torpedo boats from the Pacific Fleet Torpedo Flotilla, were ordered to the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

, also known as the Sea of Cortez following the

Tampico Affair The Tampico Affair began as a minor incident involving U.S. Navy sailors and the Mexican Federal Army loyal to Mexican dictator General Victoriano Huerta. On April 9, 1914, nine sailors had come ashore to secure supplies and were detained by Me ...

. They patrolled the vicinity of

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

and Mazatlan, Mexico, during the ongoing

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty m ...

there. During May and June 1914, ''Iris'' evacuated American citizen refugees from Mazatlan and Acapulco, including the American consul, Hon. Clement S. Edwards. On 19 June, ''Iris'' departed Mazatlan for La Paz, Mexico. ''Iris'' departed La Paz for San Diego on 28 August. After arriving back to San Diego, ''Iris'' spent the next few months on regular patrol duty with the torpedo ships in her squadron, primarily operating off the coast of California between San Pedro and San Diego. Crewmembers serving on ''Iris'' during the period 29 April to 20 May 1914 or 4 to 12 June 1914 qualified for award of the

Mexican Service Medal The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military for service in Mexico from 1911 to 1919. History The Mexican Service Medal awarded by the Army was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December ...

. In late 1915 disorder in Mexico again threatened American citizens and interests. ''Iris'' arrived Topolobampo, Mexico on 9 December to begin patrol duty on the Mexican coast. She remained in the area ready to act in the event of any emergency until departing La Paz on 30 January 1916. She arrived back at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California, on 4 February and began duty towing targets off southern California. Two months later ''Iris'' was ordered to San Francisco. After arriving on 16 April, she was decommissioned at Mare Island on 2 May 1916. ''Iris'' was transferred to the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

on 3 May 1917.

Campaigns

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iris (1885) 1885 ships Ships built on the River Tyne Distilling ships of the United States Navy Colliers of the United States Navy Motor torpedo boat tenders of the United States Navy