The fourth USS ''Philadelphia'' (C-4) (later IX-24) was the sixth
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 ...
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 ...
. Although designed by the Navy Department, her hull was similar to the preceding British-designed , but ''Philadelphia'' had a uniform main armament of twelve 6-inch guns.
[Gardiner and Chesneau, p. 152][Bauer and Roberts, p. 143][Friedman, pp. 26–27, 460]
She was laid down 22 March 1888 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 ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, launched 7 September 1889, sponsored by Miss Minnie Wanamaker, daughter of merchant and philanthropist
John Wanamaker; and commissioned 28 July 1890, Capt.
Albert S. Barker in command.
Design and construction
''Philadelphia'' was built to Navy Department plans, with twelve
6-inch (152 mm)/30 caliber guns.
[DiGiulian, Tony, US 6"/30, 6"/35, and 6"/40 guns at Navweaps.com]
/ref> Two guns each were on the bow and stern, with the remainder in sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spon ...
s along the sides. Secondary armament was four 6-pounder () guns, four 3-pounder () Hotchkiss revolving cannon, two 1-pounder () Hotchkiss revolving cannon, and two .45 caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Containers
* Case (goods)
A case of some merchandise
Merchandising is any practic ...
(11.4 mm) Gatling guns.[ Some of the weapons listed as Hotchkiss revolving cannon may actually have been rapid-firing guns. Four 14-inch (356 mm) ]torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s were included in the design but never mounted.[
References vary as to the ship's armor. ''Philadelphia'' probably had gun shields and a conning tower. The armored deck was up to thick.][
The engineering plant included an unusual mix of boilers: four Scotch return-tube double-ended, one single-ended, and four ]locomotive boiler
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating t ...
s.[ These produced steam for two horizontal ]triple expansion engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...
s totaling (designed) for a designed speed of .[ This speed was attained on trials but the trial horsepower was only .][ As with other contemporary Navy Department designs, sails were fitted but soon removed. ''Philadelphia'' carried 525 tons of coal for a designed range of at .][
The ship's 6-inch guns were converted to rapid-firing in 1898.][ All armament was removed when ''Philadelphia'' was converted into a receiving ship in 1904.][
]
Service history
Atlantic Squadron, 1890–1893
While fitting out at the New York Navy Yard, ''Philadelphia'' was designated on 18 August as flagship of Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi
Bancroft Gherardi (November 10, 1832 – December 10, 1903) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Even though his family hailed from French Corsica, because of his I ...
, commanding 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 ...
. The squadron departed New York on 19 January 1891 to cruise 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 Greate ...
for the protection of American interests until May. It was during this time Fred J. Buenzle had served aboard the ''Philadelphia'', as noted in ''Bluejacket; An Autobiography'', a part of the ''Classics of Naval Literature'' series. Then to the northern waters as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early the following year, the flagship called at Montevideo, Uruguay, 6–18 February, after which she resumed cruising in the West Indies.[
]
''Philadelphia'' continued operations with the Atlantic Squadron along the eastern seaboard of the United States and in the West Indies until 1 March 1893. She was then assigned to the Naval Review Fleet as flagship of Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi
Bancroft Gherardi (November 10, 1832 – December 10, 1903) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Even though his family hailed from French Corsica, because of his I ...
. Charged with conducting the International Rendezvous and Review, with a fleet of twelve American ships, he received the visiting foreign ships as they commenced arrival in Hampton Roads on 8 April. The fleet steamed to New York 24 April, where it joined additional foreign visitors to form a combined fleet of 35 men-of-war. President Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
reviewed the Fleet 27 April, after which appropriately festive ceremonies took place, initiating a parade through the streets of New York. The Naval Review Fleet disbanded 31 May and ''Philadelphia'' departed New York 30 June 1893, bound for the Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...
via Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, Brazil, and Callao, Peru.[
]
Pacific Station, 1893–1902
''Philadelphia'' arrived San Francisco 22 August 1893. As the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station, she cruised with the squadron, engaging in drills and maneuvers, and visiting various ports on the west coast of the United States, Mexico, and South America, and in the Hawaiian Islands. She arrived at the 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 t ...
14 October 1897 and decommissioned there 18 December.[
''Philadelphia'' recommissioned 9 July 1898 and became the flagship of Rear Admiral J. N. Miller, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Station. She steamed from San Francisco 2 July to participate in the ceremonies attending the assumption of sovereignty by the United States over the Hawaiian Islands. Flagship ''Philadelphia'' arrived ]Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
3 August, and nine days hence her officers and those of the steam sloop , with a force under arms from the two warships, represented the US Navy at the ceremonies transferring the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.[
In March 1899, with Commander-in-Chief Rear Admiral ]Albert Kautz
Rear Admiral Albert Kautz (January 29, 1839 – February 6, 1907) was an officer of the United States Navy who served during and after the American Civil War.
Biography
Kautz was born in Georgetown, Ohio, one of seven children of Johann George an ...
embarked, ''Philadelphia'' steamed to the Samoan Islands
The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa an ...
for duty in connection with the settlement of civil difficulties by the Samoan Commissioners of the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. A landing party from ''Philadelphia'' went ashore in the vicinity of Vailele
Vailele is a village situated on the central north coast of Upolu island in Samoa.
Vailele is in the electoral constituency (''faipule district'') of Vaimauga East in the larger political district of Tuamasaga.
The village is less than ten minu ...
1 April to act in concert with a British landing party. The combined force, ambushed by adherents of Chief Mataafa, sustained seven killed and seven wounded, including two American officers, Lieutenant Philip Lansdale
Philip Van Horne Lansdale (15 February 1858 – 1 April 1899) was an officer in the United States Navy.
Biography
Lansdale, born in Washington, D.C., graduated as Passed Midshipman from the Naval Academy 18 June 1879. Commissioned ensign 1 June 1 ...
and Ensign John R. Monaghan
Ensign (rank)#United States, Ensign John R. Monaghan (26 March 1873 – 1 April 1899) was an officer in the United States Navy.
Biography
Born in Chewelah, Washington, Chewelah, Washington Territory Monaghan was a part of the first graduating cla ...
, and two sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
s killed, including Seaman Norman Edsall
Norman Eckley Edsall (3 June 1873 – 1 April 1899) was a sailor in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War.
Biography
Born in Columbus, Kentucky, Edsall enlisted in the U.S. Navy 27 June 1898. While serving on ''Philadelphia'' ...
, and five bluejackets wounded. ''Philadelphia'' remained in the Samoan Islands until 21 May 1899, when she steamed for the west coast via Honolulu.[
''Philadelphia'' served as flagship of the Pacific Station until 6 February 1900, when Rear Admiral Kautz transferred his flag to . The cruiser continued Pacific operations until 1902, conducting training cruises, drills, target practice, and port visits.][
Returning from a six-month cruise off the Panamanian coast, ''Philadelphia'' arrived San Francisco 17 July 1902. Needing extensive repairs, she was ordered to the ]Puget Sound Navy Yard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...
for decommissioning. Arriving Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...
23 August, she decommissioned at Puget Sound 22 September 1902.[
]
Receiving ship, 1904–1926
''Philadelphia'' was housed over and became a 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 ...
at Puget Sound Navy Yard 12 May 1904. She continued this service until 4 November 1912, when she became a prison ship
A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nat ...
. Resuming service as a receiving ship 10 January 1916, she was redesignated with the hull number
Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the HIN is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varies by country and type.
United ...
IX-24 (unclassified miscellaneous) on 17 July 1920.[ She was struck from the ]Navy List
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
on 24 November 1926.[
Cruiser ''Philadelphia'' was sold at public auction at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in 1927 to Louis Rotherberg.][
]
References
*
Bibliography
*
*
*Burr, Lawrence. ''US Cruisers 1883–1904: The Birth of the Steel Navy.'' Oxford : Osprey, 2008.
*
*
*''The White Squadron''. Toledo, Ohio: Woolson Spice Co., 1891.
*United States
''Hand Book of the U.S.S. Philadelphia.''
lace of publication not identified
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread (yarn), thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, suc ...
U.S.S. Philadelphia, 1892.
*
*
*
External links
*
USS ''Philadelphia'' (C-4) photos at Naval History & Heritage Command
Watch-, Quarter-, and Station-Bill of the U.S.S. ''Philadelphia'', 1892-1894, MS 112
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia (C-4)
Cruisers of the United States Navy
Spanish–American War cruisers of the United States
World War I cruisers of the United States
Protected cruisers of the United States Navy
Ships built by William Cramp & Sons
1889 ships