The first USS Leyden was a screw steamer

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 that operated as a tug

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

 in the U.S. Navy from 1866 to 1903 and saw combat service in 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...

 in 1898.

Leyden was launched in 1865 by James Tetlow, Chelsea

Chelsea, Massachusetts

Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. From 1866 to 1879 she operated as a yard tug at the Boston Navy Yard

Boston Navy Yard

The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...

, performing various harbor duties out of Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, until reassigned to Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, in 1879. Leyden served there until 1897, when she was assigned to Newport

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

, Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

. While the ship was near Boston on 26 August 1881, Seaman Michael Thornton

Michael Thornton (Medal of Honor)

-External links:...

 jumped overboard and rescued a fellow sailor from drowning, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

.

In 1898, Leyden performed towing operations off Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 during the Spanish-American War. On 21 July 1898, her captain Walter S. Crosley

Walter S. Crosley

Walter Selywn Crosley was an American naval officer. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 2 June 1893. During the Spanish–American War, he distinguished himself by taking the into the Nipe Bay through a narrow channel that was supposedly mined...

 joined armed yacht USS Wasp

USS Wasp (1898)

The seventh USS Wasp was an armed yacht that served in the U.S. Navy from 1898 to 1919 and saw service in the Spanish-American War.-Acquisition and commissioning:...

, and gunboats USS Annapolis

USS Annapolis (PG-10)

The first USS Annapolis was a gunboat in the United States Navy. She was named for Annapolis, Maryland.Annapolis was laid down on 18 April 1896 at Elizabethport, New Jersey, by Lewis Nixon and his shipyard superintendent, Arthur Leopold Busch; launched on 23 December 1896; sponsored by Ms...

 and USS Topeka

USS Topeka (PG-35)

USS Topeka was a gunboat of the United States Navy.The ship was built in 1881 as the steamer Diogenes by the Howaldtswerke at Kiel, Germany. Acquired by the Navy from the Thames Iron Works, London, England, on 2 April 1898, she was renamed Topeka, and placed in commission the same day, Lieutenant...

 in firing on and sinking the Spanish

Spanish Navy

The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...

 sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

 Jorge Juan

Spanish sloop Jorge Juan

Jorge Juan was a Jorge Juan-class sloop of the Spanish Navy which was sunk during the Spanish-American War.-Technical Characteristics:...

 in Nipe Bay

Nipe Bay

Nipe Bay is a bay on the northern coast of eastern Cuba. It is where the statue of Our Lady of Charity, Patroness of Cuba, was discovered miraculously around 1600. The Battle of Nipe Bay happened on July 21, 1898; it was a naval engagement in the Spanish-American War. Fidel Castro was born near...

, Cuba, in the Battle of Nipe Bay

Battle of Nipe Bay

The Battle of Nipe Bay on July 21, 1898 was an engagement of the Spanish-American War. The battle was fought in Nipe Bay, Cuba, by four United States Navy warships against the Spanish sloop-of-war Jorge Juan and three gunboats which were supported by forts guarding the harbor.-Battle:Nipe Bay had...

.
She also fought at the Battle of Fajardo, bombarding enemy positions.

From 1898 to 1903, Leyden alternated her services between the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and Newport, Rhode Island. While on a return passage from Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 on 21 January 1903, the tug foundered in heavy fog off Block Island

Block Island

Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...

, ending her long, useful career.

External links

• Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center