by Patrick McSherry
The Auxiliary Cruiser U.S.S. DIXIE
On April 15, 1898, as tensions leading to the Spanish American War
were rising, the U.S. Navy purchased the screw
steamer EL SOL for conversion into an auxiliary cruiser. The EL SOL was
built five years earlier by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock
Company. Only five days after her purchase, the vessel was commissioned
as the U.S.S. DIXIE under the command of Commander Charles Henry Davis
and crewed mainly by members of the Maryland
Naval Militia. By June 11, the vessel's conversion was complete
and U.S.S. DIXIE departed Hampton Roads for Santiago, Cuba
by way of Haiti. She arrived off Santiago eight days later.
The vessel took part in the blockade of Cuba,
engaging coastal fortifications, escorting transports, etc. While
operating off Cuba,
DIXIE captured numerous blockade runners as prizes such as the GREENAN
CASTLE and the MANEUBIA. On July 3, DIXIE arrived off Santiago but just
after the Battle of Santiago had concluded
and Cervera's Spanish squadron was destroyed.
The vessel was soon assigned to Watson's Squadron, which was to
proceed to Spain itself, but the plan was never put into action.
Instead, DIXIE continued to be active in the Caribbean. The vessel,
along with the U.S.S. ANNAPOLIS and U.S.S.
WASP, entered the harbor at Ponce, Puerto Rico on July 27, forcing the
town to surrender and securing a landing place for the U.S. Army forces
for the invasion of the island. In fact, a landing party from DIXIE
received the surrender of both Ponce and La Playa. In August DIXIE made
a call at Guantanamo Bay. While there, a force from the DIXIE
landed and took one of the aging guns at the ruins of Fort Toro near
Caimanera as a trophy. On August 24 DIXIE left Guantanamo Bay for
Philadelphia's League Island Navy Yard, calling at Hampton Roads and
Baltimore before arriving on September 22. At Philadelphia she was
placed out of commission on March 7, 1899.
From March 7 and July 15, 1899 DIXIE was loaned to the War Department for use as an army transport. In November of 1899, the DIXIE was recommissioned as a training vessel, cruising to the Philippines by way of the Suez Canal, returning by the same route and arriving in the U.S. on August 8, 1900. Her next training cruise, from September 29, 1900 to February 28. 1901, was to various ports in the Mediterranean Sea, and then to Venezuela. This was followed by a training cruise to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean from July 24, 1901 to May 7, 1902. Later, DIXIE transported supplies for the relief of the victims of volcanic eruptions on the islands of Martinique and St. Vincent.
DIXIE was taken out of commission again on July 21, 1902 at the New York Navy Yard. The vessel was recommissioned on October 1, 1903 to serve in the Caribbean Squadron where she served mainly as a transport. In the summer of 1905, DIXIE was used to transport a scientific team to the Mediterranean to observe a solar eclipse. On her return, she was again decommissioned. Recommissioned in 1906, she cruised the Caribbean until 1909 when she was assigned to the Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla and Destroyer Squadron as a tender. She transported the Nicaraguan Expeditionary Force to Colon, in the Panama Canal Zone. The vessel also took part in the Mexican Expedition in 1914 as a support vessel.
During World War One, DIXIE was sent to Europe to serve as a destroyer
tender operating out of Queenstown, Ireland and Bremerhaven, Germany.
After the war, she returned to the U.S., continuing to serve as a
destroyer tender on the east coast. DIXIE was reclassified as AD-1 on
July 7, 1920, and was assigned to be a tender to the reserve destroyer
fleet at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. After returning to her tender
duties along the east coast, she was finally decommissioned for the last
time on June 30, 1922, and was sold on September 25, 1922.
The vessel was capable of reaching adequate speeds, allowing her
to catch blockade runners, and, carrying ten 6-inch guns, had a
sufficient main battery. However, not being constructed as a naval
vessel, she was devoid of any armor, with her crew resorting to sand
bags and similar items to help shield her gun crews in battle. Her
secondary battery was fairly light in that smaller caliber guns, such
as one-pounders were lacking. The vessel was equipped with only a
single screw which would limit her maneuverability.
| Classification: | Auxiliary Cruiser | |
| Launched: | 1893 | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioned: | April 19, 1898 | |
| Rig: | Schooner | |
| Armament: | Ten 6-inch rapid-fire guns | |
| Six 6-pounder rapid fire guns | ||
| Three Colt machine gun | ||
| Contractor: | Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | |
| Length: | 389 feet, 2 inches | |
| Beam: | 48 feet | |
| Mean draft: | 19 feet, 11 inches | |
| Displacement: | 6,114 tons | |
| Complement: | 14 Officers and 157enlisted men | |
| Engine type: | Triple expansion engine, generating 3,800 hp.; Single screw | |
| Speed: | 16 knots | |
| Coal bunker capacity: | 1371 tons | |
| Endurance @ 10 knots: | 5,328 nautical miles |
The following is the crew roster of the U.S.S. DIXIE. Name marked with an asterisk were members of the Maryland Naval Militia.
OFFICERS:
DAVIS, Charles M., Commander (Commanding)
MERRIAM, Greenlief A., Lieutenant
DOYLE, Robert M., Lieutenant
*BLOUNT, Samuel M., Lieutenant
*MURDOCK, Davies, Lieutenant Junior Grade
*GOODRICH, William M., Ensign
*COYLE, Peter T., Ensign
*PAUL, Robert S., Chief Engineer
*HEISKELL, Sidney O., Passed Assistant Surgeon
*COOK, Parker, Passed Assistant Paymaster
SALISBURY, George R., Passed Assistant Engineer
*POWELL, Henry T., Assistant Engineer
CASTLEMEN, W.G., Naval Cadet
LODGE, George C., Naval Cadet
MCCARTHY, Albert H., Naval Cadet
ENLISTED MEN:
*ALLEN, William George, Ordinary Seaman
*ASHMORE, Charles W., Landsman
*AUSTIN, Joseph M., Chief Master at Arms
*AUZMAN, Charles Seymour, Seaman
*BAKER, Fred, Coal Passer
*BATTENFIELD, Charles E., Seaman
*BAUMAN, Otto Bismark, Ordinary Seaman
*BECHTOLD, John, Landsman
*BECK, Charles, Landsman
*BECKENBAUGH, George M.S., Landsman
*BENTZ, Joseph Edward, Landsman
*BERSTARMAN, Conrad, Landsman
*BIRMINGHAM, Andrew, Ordinary Seaman
*BLANEY, Charles Garfield, Seaman
*BLANK, Joseph, Jr., Ordinary Seaman
*BOWERS, Charles W., Seaman
*BOWMAN, Harry Shesington, Seaman
*BOWMAN, Jibs Ferris, Seaman
*BOYD, Isaac Denson, Chief Yeoman
*BOYD, Milton Whitney, Chief Machinists
*BRADLEY, Charles James, Fireman First Class
*BRIGGS, George Oliver, Landsman
*BRORING, Joseph Herman, Landsman
*BROWN, Artemus, Ship’s Cook First Class
*BRUEN, Joseph Milton, Seaman
*BRUNT, Harry, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class
*BUTLER, Joseph Patrick, Coal Passer
*BUTLER, Thomas Michael, Ordinary Seaman
*CAMPBELL, John Wesley, Coal Passer
*CARROLL, Joseph Francis, Ordinary Seaman
*CARTER, Walter Lee, Seaman
*CARY, George French, Yeoman Second Class
*CASTLE, Edward, Quartermaster Second Class
*CAULK, David Edward, Oiler
*CHAILLON, Joseph August, Landsman
*CHAMBERS, Charles C., Fireman Second Class
*CHERRY, Charles Western, Ordinary Seaman
*CONGLETON, Thomas A., Painter
*CONNELLY, Walter W., Seaman
*CONNORS, Joseph, Fireman First Class
*CONRAD, Henry, Ordinary Seaman
*CONSTANTINE, Charles C., Chief Machinist
*CONWAY, John, Fireman Second Class
*COSGROVE, John, Coal Passer
*COSTELLO, Edward Thomas, Ordinary Seaman
*COSTELLO, Maurice A., Ordinary Seaman
*COTTRILL, Hayes, Coal Passer
*COURTNEY, Harry S., Seaman
*CRANE, Francis Patrick, Fireman First Class
*CRONIN, John, Oiler
DARLING, Louis, Coxswain
*DAVIS, Walter Winston, Landsman
*DAVIS, Williams, Water Tender
*DEHENOULT, August, Ordinary Seaman
DERR, Frank Lewis, Landsman
*DILL, Edward, Landsman
*DIPPLE, George, Seaman
*DOLAN, John Francis, Fireman Second Class
*DONAHUE, Charles Edward, Seaman
*DONAHUE, James, Fireman Second Class
*DORN, George Joseph, Ordinary Seaman
DOUGHERTY, Thomas F., Oiler
*DOUGHERTY, Thomas J., Fireman Second Class
*DUNN, Alfred, Fireman First Class
*DURST, George Augustus, Seaman
*DUVALL, Thomas Irwin, Ordinary Seaman
*ERICH, George Bessel, Plumbers and Fitters
*FAHEY, John Joseph, Fireman First Class
*FARINHOLT, Benjamin A., Boatswain’s Mate Second Class
FEENEY, John James, Fireman Second Class
*FELDHAUS, Charles F., Landsman
*FITZPATRICK, William J., Fireman First Class
*FLAHERTY, Luke, Fireman First Class
*FLAHERTY, Thomas Joseph, Ordinary Seaman
FLUEGAL, Herman, Landsman
*FOX, Ellis, Landsman
*FRANK, Emmanuel, Coal Passer
*FREDERICK, Walter Henry, Landsman
*FRITZ, Frederick, Ordinary Seaman
*FRIZZELL, Thomas, Fireman First Class
*GAIERTY, James Leo, Ordinary Seaman
*GALLAGHER, Easter J., Gunner’s Mate Third Class
*GARRETT, William Manly, Fireman Second Class
*GATCH, Joseph Alvin, Seaman
*GAVIN, John, Fireman First Class
*GLENN, William Edwards, Quartermaster First Class
*GONDERMAN, John Henry, Landsman
*GOODRICH, William Edgar, Seaman
GORSUCH, Albert Joseph, Seaman
*GREENFIELD, Robert, Seaman
*GRIEF, George William, Seaman
*GRIFFIN, John Charles, Fireman First Class
*HAASE, George, Seaman
*HAASE, Louis Robert, Landsman
*HAMILL, Frank Wesley, Landsman
*HAMILTON, George W., Landsman
*HANSEN, Emil, Sailmaker’s Mate
*HARBAUGH, Edward R., Landsman
*HARROD, Moses Henry, Cabin Cook
*HATTON, James Kinchero, Chief Boatswain’s Mate
*HAWKINS, Walter Scott, Wardroom Steward
*HAYES, Charles Dunn, Landsman
*HEINLEIN, John George, Ordinary Seaman
*HEFFERAN, Joseph, Landsman
*HENDERSON, Thomas A., Gunner’s Mate Second Class
*HERBERT, Charles, Ordinary Seaman
*HERGET, Charles D., Seaman
*HEWITT, Earl William, Landsman
*HOLTON, John Armstrong, Landsman
*HORN, Milton E., Coppersmith
*HOWARD, John Russell, Gunner’s Mate Second Class
*HOWARD, John Thomas, Landsman
*HUBBARD, William Lee, Ordinary Seaman
*HUDSON, Curtis Thomas, Seaman
*HUTH, Frank Rudolph, Fireman Second Class
*HYMAN, William Howard, Mess Attendant
*ITTNER, George Edward, Fireman Second Class
*ITTNER, William R., Master at Arms Third Class
*JENNINGS, William B., Seaman
*KAPPELL, George W. G., Seaman
*KAUFMAN, Fred, Ordinary Seaman
*KEMP, Jacob Garrett, Coal Passer
*KESMODEL, Frank B., Seaman
*KIMMETT, William L., Landsman
*KIRWAN, Elmer Herman, Seaman
*KIRWAN, William H., Gunner’s Mate First Class
*KNAPMAN, George W., Fireman Second Class
*KRATZ, George F., Landsman
*LACKEY, Patrick Henry, Oiler
*LAUGHTON, Lyman Jordan, Ordinary Seaman
*LAVENDER, John Joseph, Landsman
*LAWRENCE, George I., Chief Machinist
LEIBOLD, William M., Seaman
*LEURS, Charles Godfrey, Landsman
*LEUTBECKER, William Lee, Seaman
*LEWIS, Charles S., Bugler
*LIGHTHISER, Theodore J., Seaman
*LITZ, Frank, Coal Passer
LOGAN, Thomas J., Shipwright
*LOHMEYER, Frederick H., Ordinary Seaman
*LUND, John, Boatswain’s Mate First Class
*LYONS, John Jr., Seaman
*LYTTLE, George W., Landsman
MACNEAL, James Walter, Gunner’s Mate First Class
*MALDEIS, Richard Daniel, Seaman
*MALDEIS, Rutherford S., Seaman
*MANLER, Joseph, Landsman
*MANLY, John S., Coal Passer
*MARKS, George Raymond, Ordinary Seaman
*MARSHALL, Alexander, Mess Attendant
*MARTINDALE, Fielder, Coal Passer
*MARTINDALE, Wallace A., Coxswain
*MASHMEYER, Herman, Landsman
*MATTERN, Harry Luther, Landsman
MAYO, Joseph Henry, Ordinary Seaman
*MCCALL, Patrick Henry, Chief Carpenter’s Mate
MCCLAIN, John William, Ordinary Seaman
*MCCLASKEY, William, Landsman
*MCCLEAN, Samuel Adam, Blacksmith
*MCCLURE, Nelson Elwood, Landsman
*MCCOLLUM, Charles S., Ordinary Seaman
*MCCULLEY, Edward C., Landsman
*MCDONALD, James George, Sail Maker’s Mate
*MCGARY, Thomas Henry, Ordinary Seaman
*MCMAHON, Bernard, Water Tender
*MCNAUGHTON, Charles J., Water Tender
*MCSWEENEY, Thomas, Ordinary Seaman
*MEDCALF, Louis Randolph, Seaman
*MEGINNEY, John Parker, Fireman First Class
*MELVIN, Walter Hartwell, Ordinary Seaman
*MEYER, Harry Joseph, Quartermaster First Class
*MEYERS, Fred, Ordinary Seaman
*METTER, Milton Dale, Landsman
*MORFIT, Clarence Mason, Chief Yeoman
*MULLEN, Charles Edward, Oiler
*MURRAY, Robert Seldon, Landsman
*NAPFEL, Thomas Joseph, Ordinary Seaman
*NELSON, Charles Alfred, Ordinary Seaman
*NELSON, Charles Oscar, Fireman Second Class
*NIQUET, Charles Raymond, Seaman
*O’MEARA, John Agastine, Seaman
*O’NEIL, Michael James, Seaman
*OWENS, Clarence Weems, Chief Yeoman
*OZMAN, Roy Grandon, Seaman
*PATTISON, Arthur Stanley, Coxswain
PAYNE, John Shelton, Mess Attendant
*PAYNE, William C., Chief Steward
*PENDERGAST, John J., Coxswain
*PENDERGAST, Thomas, Coal Passer
*POEHLER, William H., Ordinary Seaman
*POLITZER, Milton, Ordinary Seaman
*POTTER, Phillip Thomas, Seaman
POULTON, William A., Ordinary Seaman
POYNER, John Thomas, Bayman
PYLE, Francis McCarthy, Coal Passer
*QUILL, Dennis P., Fireman Second Class
*RAUSCH, Herman August, Seaman
*RAYMOND, Harry R., Gunner’s Mate Third Class
*REDDEN, Charles W., Mess Attendant
*REESE, John, Fireman First Class
*REIMER, Walter Lewis, Ordinary Seaman
*REINHARDT, Charles F., Seaman
*RICHTER, Harry Eugene, Landsman
*RILEY, John Joseph, Fireman Second Class
*RILEY, Patrick F., Fireman First Class
*RITTENHOUSE, James A., Machinist First Class
*RIVERS, Alfred, Ordinary Seaman
*ROBOSSON, Ralph H., Blacksmith
*ROONEY, Peter Frank, Seaman
*ROTH, Frederick C., Ordinary Seaman
*ROYSTON, Howell W., Fireman Second Class
*RUBEY, Charles Francis, Ordinary Seaman
*RUSSELL, William, Landsman
*RYDER, David Oscar, Fireman Second Class
*SAMET, Michael, Landsman
SAMPSON, Patrick, Fireman First Class
*SCHERER, Roland, Seaman
*SCHERF, Frederick, Apothecary
*SCHLAEBECKER, James W., Seaman
*SCHLOER, Benjamin, Seaman
*SCHLUFTER, Herman, Landsman
*SCHLUTTER, Christopher, Machinist First Class
*SCHLUTTER, Conrad H., Coal Passer
*SCHOLTZ, Eckhart, Seaman
*SCHROEDER, John George, Landsman
*SCHULTZ, Ferndinand J., Coal Passer
*SCHULTZ, George John, Landsman
*SCONES, George Thomas, Ordinary Seaman
*SCULLY, Charles Edward, Landsman
*SCULLY, Vincent, Landsman
*SEIDEL, George, Coal Passer
*SIMPSON, William J., Mess Attendant
*SMITH, Charles Winslow, Seaman
*SMITH, Frank A., Boilermaker
SMITH, James Henry, Wardroom Cook
*SPANIOL, Louis, Landsman
*STAGMER, Eugene Rudisil, Ordinary Seaman
*STAGMER, Robert Rankin, Ordinary Seaman
*STAHL, James Thomas, Ordinary Seaman
*STEPHENS, William Thomas, Ordinary Seaman
*STEVENSON, George Vincent, Ordinary Seaman
*STONE, Charles, Seaman
*STOWELL, William Nichols, Oiler
*SULTZER, William Francis, Seaman
*SWAIN, Lawrence C., Chief Gunner’s Mate
*SWINDELL, Herbert B., Ordinary Seaman
*TOOGOOD, Robert, Ship’s Cook Fourth Class
*TOWNSEND, Thomas L., Ordinary Seaman
*TRAGESER, John W., Landsman
*TRAUTWEIN, William J., Ordinary Seaman
TURNER, William A., Chief Yeoman
*VANNERSON, Howard E., Seaman
*VOYLE, Francis B., Quartermaster Third Class
*WAHL, Ernest, Seaman
*WAHL, George, Seaman
WALKER, James, Machinist First Class
*WALKER, William W., Landsman
*WALTHER, Louis, Landsman
*WARD, Matthew Topham, Boatswain’s Mate First Class
*WATSON, Joseph Edward, Ordinary Seaman
*WELCH, Thomas C., Ordinary Seaman
*WHALEN, James J., Coal Passer
*WHEELEY, Charles Henry, Coxswain
*WHITE, Harry Smith, Ordinary Seaman
*WHITE, Talbot, Fireman First Class
*WILLSON, Horace G., Landsman
*WILMER, Lemuel, Gunner’s Mate Third Class
*WISE, Louis, Fireman First Class
*WOOD, William H., Coxswain
*YOUNG, William Charles, Ordinary Seaman
MARINE GUARD:
HAINES, H.C., First Lieutenant
HORGAN, Dennis F., First Sergeant
HILL, Charles P., Sergeant
KAVANAGH, James, Sergeant
CARROLL, James, Corporal
CAMERON, Richard B., Corporal
SCHUTZ, Henry E., Corporal
HAWKINS, Albert, Drummer
DENNIS, Harvey, Fifer
APPLETON, Edwin R., Private
GRABILL, William M., Private
HARRIS, John O., Private
HOLCOMB, Jacob, Private
HOLLY, John F., Private
JAY, Alfred, Private
KINZEY, John F., Private
KRAFT, Paul, Private
KRALISHECK, Richard, Private
LEITZENBURGER, Anton, Private
O’DONNELL, John D., Private
ROBERTS, Frank E., Private
SHIELDS, Thomas, Private
SIMPSON, John, Private
SMITH, David, Private
SMITH, Frederick G., Private
STARK, Albert, Private
THIES, Louis F., Private
WARREN, Philip E., Private
WATERMAN, Charles F., Private
WOLF, Edward G., Private
YOUNG, Robert, Private
Clerk of Joint Committee on Printing, The Abridgement of Message
from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of
Congress. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899). Vol. 2
1136, 1216-1217.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Vol. 2 (Washington: Naval Department, 1963) 281-282.
Payne, William C., The Cruise of the U.S.S.
DIXIE or On Board with the Maryland Boys in the Spanish American
War. (Washington DC: E. C. Jones, Printer, 1899).
Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1898) 18.
Weaver, Barry, Col Albert F. Gleim and Danny J. Farak, The West Indies Naval Campaign Medal of 1898 - The Sampson Medal, the Ships and Men. (Arlington, VA: Planchet Press, 1986) (data contributed by Douglas Davis).