The second USS ''Colorado'' (ACR-7/CA-7), also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 7", and later renamed ''Pueblo'', was a
United States Navy armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast en ...
. She was the second US Navy ship named ''Colorado'', and the first to be named after the state of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
. The first, , was named for the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. sta ...
.
Construction
''Colorado'' was laid down on 25 April 1901, 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, and launched two years later on 25 April 1903. She was sponsored by Miss C. M. Peabody, the daughter of the Governor of Colorado,
James H. Peabody; and commissioned on 19 January 1905.
Service history
Pre-World War I
''Colorado'' sailed on her
shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise ...
down the east coast to Target Bay,
Culebra Island
Isla Culebra (, ''Snake Island'') is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico and geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieque ...
, Puerto Rico, to train in Caribbean waters, reaching Culebra, on 24 March 1905. Following the shakedown, she joined Division Four, Cruiser Squadron,
Atlantic Fleet, at
Provincetown
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Province ...
, Massachusetts, on 14 May. ''Colorado'' took part in the preliminary test of , a steel
floating dry dock
Floating may refer to:
* a type of dental work performed on horse teeth
* use of an isolation tank
* the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched
* ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes
* Floating (psychological ...
near
Solomons Island, Maryland, from 23 to 24 June 1905.
''Colorado'' participated in a fleet problem in the Caribbean, from 10 January–17 April 1906. Captain Kennedy died while the armored cruiser maneuvered at sea. He was buried ashore at
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank ...
Joseph L. Jayne, assumed command of the ship on 12 April 1906.
President
Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
*Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Roosev ...
held a Presidential
Naval Review
A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...
of a number of ships including ''Colorado'', , , , and transport at
Oyster Bay, New York, from 2–4 September 1906. ''Colorado'' then sailed for duty on 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 ...
, on 7 September 1906. After cruising to
Japan and
China to represent American interests in the
Far East, she returned to
San Francisco, on 27 September 1907, for exercises along the
Californian and
Mexican coasts, in the
Hawaiian Islands, and off Central and South America.
The running aground of ''Colorado'' on 15 August 1908, lead to the upgrading and improvements of lighthouses in
Puget Sound.
On 26 August 1909, one of her launches had a minor collision with the ferry ''
City of Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
'', between
West Seattle and
Seattle, with minor damage. She served again in the Far East, from September 1909 – February 1910.
Ceremonial visits and receptions for dignitaries highlighted the next two years, and from November 1911 – July 1912, ''Colorado'' returned to the Far East for duty. Between August and November, she sailed to land and support expeditionary troops at
Corinto,
Nicaragua, then patrolled Mexican waters until placed in reduced commission at
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 ...
on 17 May 1913.
Once more in full commission on 9 February 1915, she sailed as the
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 ...
of the
Pacific Reserve Fleet
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...
, patrolling in Mexican waters and observing and keeping in touch with interned merchant ships during the
revolution. She returned to reserve status on 26 September 1915.
World War I
She was renamed ''Pueblo'', in order to free up her original name for use with the , on 9 November 1916, while in overhaul.
After
Submarine ran aground in
Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between San ...
, California, on 14 December 1916. sailed for
Eureka
Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
, to assist in salvaging the boat on 5 January 1917. While she attempted to float the submarine on 13 January, the cruiser stranded in the first line of breakers at Samoa Beach, off Eureka. Her crewmen reached shore safely. ''Pueblo'' made for the area and stood by ''Milwaukee'' on 24 January, but attempts to salvage the stricken cruiser proved unsuccessful. ''Milwaukee'' was decommissioned on 6 March 1917, and a storm in November 1918, broke the ship in two.
''Pueblo'' returned to full commission upon the entry of the United States into
World War I, and as flagship of the
Scouting Force patrolled the
South 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 a ...
, protecting shipping, paying diplomatic calls to South American ports, and preventing the sailing of German and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
n ships interned at
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest by ...
,
Brazil.
''Pueblo'' returned to
Norfolk, Virginia on 18 January 1918, and from 5 February – 16 October, made seven voyages to escort
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
s carrying men and supplies to England. After carrying the Brazilian ambassador to the United States to
Rio de Janeiro, she returned to transatlantic duty, making six voyages between
Hoboken and
Brest, France
Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French ...
, to bring home veterans of 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 ...
.
Post war
''Pueblo'' arrived at Philadelphia, on 8 August 1919, and was placed in reduced commission until decommissioned on 22 September. She was redesignated CA-7 in 1920. In commission for the last time from 2 April 1921 – 28 September 1927, she served as
receiving ship in the
3rd 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 ...
. She was scrapped on 2 October 1930.
In popular culture
A plaque commemorating the crew of ''USS Colorado'' was shown briefly in season 13, episode 1 of ''
American Pickers
''American Pickers'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January 18, 2010 on History, produced by A&E Television Networks in collaboration with Cineflix Media. In the series, the hosts travel across America in search of r ...
''.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Further reading
*
*
*
*
*''Letters from Oregon Boys in France'' has a letter from radioman Robert Sturdevant on the ship's trip from the W. Coast of the United States through the Panama Canal to Rio de Janeiro in 1917.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado (ACR-7)
Pennsylvania-class cruisers
Ships built by William Cramp & Sons
1903 ships
Banana Wars ships of the United States
World War I cruisers of the United States