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USS Boston (1884)
Encyclopedia
The fifth USS Boston, a protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
, was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
4 December 1884 by John Roach & Sons
John Roach & Sons
John Roach & Sons was a major 19th-century American shipbuilding and manufacturing firm founded in 1864 by Irish-American immigrant John Roach. Between 1871 and 1885, the company was the largest shipbuilding firm in the United States, building more iron ships than its next two major competitors...
, Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
2 May 1887, Captain Francis M. Ramsay
Francis Munroe Ramsay
Admiral Francis Munroe Ramsay was an officer in the United States Navy who distinguished himself in the American Civil War, and who later served as Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation.-Early life and career:...
in command.
Boston, being the second cruiser of the New Navy completed, was not ready for active service until 1888. She then made a cruise to Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
to protect American citizens. She joined the Squadron of Evolution
Squadron of Evolution
The Squadron of Evolution " —sometimes referred to as the "White Squadron"— was a transitional unit in the United States Navy, during the late 19th century. Composed of the cruisers , , , USS Yorktown, and dispatch boat . Having both full rigged masts and steam engines, it was influential in the...
30 September 1889 and cruised to the Mediterranean and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
(7 December 1889 – 29 July 1890), and along the east coast in 1891. Boston departed New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
24 October 1891 for the Pacific, via Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, arriving at San Francisco 2 May 1892. Except for a cruise during which she participated in the U.S. invasion of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
(11 August 1892 – 10 October 1893), she remained on the west coast until laid up at Mare Island Navy Yard 4 November 1893.
Recommissioned 15 November 1895, Boston joined the Asiatic Squadron
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...
at Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 25 February 1896. She remained in the Orient protecting American interests for the next four years and during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
took part in the Battle of Manila Bay (1 May 1898) and the capture of Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
(13 August 1898). She remained in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
assisting in their pacification until 8 June 1899.
Boston returned to San Francisco 9 August 1899 and went out of commission at Mare Island Navy Yard 15 September 1899. She remained out of commission until 11 August 1902 and then rejoined the Pacific Squadron
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 supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
. During 16–25 June 1905 she helped represent the Navy at the Lewis and Clark Exposition at Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, and between 23 April and 10 May 1906 she helped care for the victims of the San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
and fire. She went out of commission again at Puget Sound Navy Yard 10 June 1907.
Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island sits in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland, California. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It has had several other names over the decades: Sea Bird Island, Wood...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where she served as a receiving ship until 1946. She was renamed Despatch
USS Despatch
USS Despatch may refer to:, a schooner in commission from 1814 to 1820, a sloop-of-war in commission from 1856 to 1859, which was recommissioned as USS Pocahontas in 1860, served in the American Civil War, and was decommissioned a final time in 1865, a screw steamer in commission from 1873 to 1891,...
, the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear that name, on 9 August 1940, thus freeing her original name for use on the new heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
Boston (CA-69)
USS Boston (CA-69)
USS Boston , a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston was launched 26 August 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Company's, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Mass.; sponsored by Mrs. Maurice J. Tobin, wife of the Mayor of...
. The old ship was reclassified IX-2, 17 February 1941. Despatch was towed to sea and sunk off San Francisco 8 April 1946.
Two of Boston's 8-inch guns were placed in Hamlin Park, in Shoreline, Washington
Shoreline, Washington
Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States, north of Downtown Seattle bordering the northern Seattle city limits. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,007, making it the 19th largest city in the state of Washington....
. However, county records do not indicate when the guns were placed in the park or why it was done.
Awards
- Navy Expeditionary MedalNavy Expeditionary MedalThe Navy Expeditionary Medal is an award of the United States Navy which was first created in August 1936 by General Orders of the Department of the Navy...
(2 awards) - Battle of Manila Bay Medal (aka Dewey MedalDewey MedalThe Dewey Medal was a military decoration of the United States Navy which was established by the United States Congress on June 3, 1898. The medal recognizes the leadership of Admiral of the Navy George Dewey, during the Spanish-American War, and the sailors and marines under his command.The Dewey...
) - Spanish Campaign MedalSpanish Campaign MedalThe Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those members of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish-American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish Campaign Medal, one for members of the United...
- World War I Victory MedalWorld War I Victory MedalThe World War I Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was first created in 1919, designed by James Earle Fraser. The medal was originally intended to be created by an act of the United States Congress, however the bill authorizing the decoration never passed, leaving...
- American Defense Service MedalAmerican Defense Service MedalThe American Defense Service Medal is a decoration of the United States military, recognizing service before America’s entry into the Second World War but during the initial years of the European conflict.-Criteria:...
- American Campaign MedalAmerican Campaign MedalThe American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
- World War Two Victory Medal
See also
See USS BostonUSS Boston
Seven ships of the United States Navy have borne the name Boston, in honor of the city of Boston, Massachusetts.* The , was a gundalow launched in 1776 and was burned to avoid capture by the British on 13 October 1776....
and USS Despatch
USS Despatch
USS Despatch may refer to:, a schooner in commission from 1814 to 1820, a sloop-of-war in commission from 1856 to 1859, which was recommissioned as USS Pocahontas in 1860, served in the American Civil War, and was decommissioned a final time in 1865, a screw steamer in commission from 1873 to 1891,...
for other ships of the same name.
External links
