Protected Cruiser U.S.S. Boston
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account of the Battle of Manila Bay as told by one of the BOSTON's
gunners
GENERAL:
The USS BOSTON was a Cruiser of the ATLANTA class, the first "modern"
United States Navy ships. Long overdue when ordered, these vessels were
obsolete upon completion.
BACKGROUND:
USS BOSTON was assigned to the United States Asiatic Squadron under Commodore
Dewey. She took part in the Battle of Manila Bay
on May 1, 1898, and the capture of the city of Manila on August 13th. The
cruiser remained in the Philippines, assisting in their pacification,
until June 1899. BOSTON returned to San Francisco in August, 1899 and went
out of commission, rejoining the Pacific Squadron in 1902. In June, 1905
she helped represent the Navy at the Lewis and Clark Exposition at
Portland, Oregon, and between April 23 and May 10, 1906 she helped care
for the victims of the San Francisco earthquake and fire. As a militia
training vessel and receiving ship she survived until 1946.
TECHNOTES:
Note: gun sizes listed in metric sizes.
| Classification: |
|
Protected Cruiser |
| Laid Down: |
|
November 15, 1883 |
| Launched: |
|
December 4, 1884 |
| Commissioned: |
|
May 2, 1887 |
| Armament: |
|
Two 8" guns |
|
|
Six 6" guns |
|
|
Two 6 pounders |
|
|
Two 1 pounders |
|
|
Two 47mm Hotchkiss Revolving Cannons |
|
|
Two 37mm Hotchkiss Revolving Cannons |
|
|
Two Gatling Guns |
| Contractor: |
|
John Roach and Sons, Chester, Pa. |
| Length: |
|
283 feet |
| Beam: |
|
42.1 feet |
| Draught: |
|
16.83 feet |
| Displacement: |
|
3189 Tons |
| Complement: |
|
19 Officers and 259 Enlisted Men under the
command of Capt. Frank Wildes |
| Engine Type: |
|
Horizontal Compound engines, 3,500 hp. 1 shaft. |
| Boiler type: |
|
8100 psi boilers |
| Speed: |
|
15.6 knots |
| Armor: |
|
1.5 inches deck on both the sloped and flat
portion of the protective deck, 2inches on barbettes, 2 inches
casamate. |
Naval History Department, Navy Department, Dictionary of American
Naval Fighting Ships, Washington DC: Government Printing Office,
1959.
Clerk of Joint Comittee on Printing, The Abridgement of Message
from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress,
Vol. 2, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899.
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