USS ''Maple'', was a

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthous ...

that served 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 ...

from 1893 to 1899, seeing service as an

auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxil ...

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 ...

in 1898, and from 1917 to 1919, operating as a patrol vessel during

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 also served as USLHT ''Maple'' in the United States Lighthouse Board fleet from 1899 to 1910 and in the United States Lighthouse Service from 1910 to 1933.

Construction and acquisition

USLHT ''Maple'' was built as a

in 1893 at

Elizabethport Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

.McLean, Bruce D., "The U. S. Lighthouse Service," spanamwar.com, Retrieved 28 February 2019
/ref>NavSource USLHT ''Maple'' She was delivered to the United States Lighthouse Board on 26 May 1893. The Lighthouse Board transferred her to the

immediately upon delivery.

Service history

U.S. Navy, 1893–1899

The U.S. Navy commissioned the ship as USS ''Maple'' in June 1893. When the

broke out in April 1898, she was converted for war service at the

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 ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, her conversion including the installation of two

quick-firing gun A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and ...

s. After the completion of her conversion, she deployed to 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 ...

, where she operated with the U.S. Navy forces blockading

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The war ended in August 1898, but ''Maple'' remained off Cuba until 20 September 1898. The Navy cited ''Maple'' for "conspicuous service" during the war. After the war ''Maple'' underwent repairs. The Navy transferred her to the U.S. Lighthouse Board on 6 February 1899.

Lighthouse Board and Lighthouse Service, 1899–1917

Once again USLHT ''Maple'', the ship was assigned to lighthouse tender duty in the 5th Lighthouse District, with her home port at

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Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. In 1901, her Scotch marine boilers were replaced. While leaving the Old Point Dock at

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Virginia, on 20 June 1907 she struck the steamer on the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

bow, doing

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

500 in damage to ''Augusta'' . In 1910, the Lighthouse Board was abolished and replaced by the new United States Lighthouse Service, and ''Maple'' became part of the Lighthouse Service fleet.

U.S. Navy, 1917–1919

The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

entered

on 6 April 1917, and on 11 April 1917, the Lighthouse Service transferred ''Maple'' to the U.S. Navy for war service. After ''Maple'' underwent conversion for naval service as a patrol vessel, the Navy commissioned her as USS ''Maple'' on 1 November 1918. Assigned to the

5th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

, ''Maple'' performed patrol duties off

, Virginia, through the end of the war on 11 November 1918 and in the war′s aftermath until 1 July 1919, when the Navy both decommissioned her and transferred her back to the U.S. Lighthouse Service.

Lighthouse Service and commercial use, 1919–1949

As USLHT ''Maple'', the ship returned to lighthouse tender service for the Lighthouse Service. She continued these duties until she was decommissioned in 1933. She was sold into commercial service on 29 October 1933. The ship′s engines were removed before the end of 1933, and she was converted into the commercial

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

''Nichols No. 6''. Later she was sold to the McLain Caroline Line, Inc., of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which renamed her ''McLain No. 300''. ''McClain No. 300'' was retired from service in 1948 and scrapped in 1949.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maple (1893) Ships of the United States Lighthouse Service Lighthouse tenders of the United States Spanish–American War ships of the United States World War I patrol vessels of the United States Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy 1893 ships Ships built in Elizabeth, New Jersey Maritime incidents in 1907