- USS Eagle (1898)
The fourth USS "Eagle" served in the
United States Navy from1898 to1919 , and saw action in theSpanish-American War andWorld War I ."Eagle", a
yacht , was built in1890 as "Almy" byHarlan and Hollingsworth , Wilmington,Delaware ; purchased by the Navy2 April 1898 and renamed "Eagle"; and commissioned 3 days later, LieutenantWilliam Henry Hudson Southerland in command."Eagle" sailed from New York
17 April 1898 for duty with theNorth Atlantic Squadron on blockade and dispatch duty inCuba n waters. On29 June she shelled the Spanish battery atRio Honda and on12 July captured the Spanish merchantman "Santo Domingo". "Eagle" returned to Norfolk22 August 1898 to be fitted out for surveying duty, her principal employment through the remainder of her naval service. She compiled new charts and corrected existing ones for the waters surrounding Cuba,Puerto Rico , andHaiti .Troubled conditions throughout the
Caribbean often interrupted "Eagle"'s surveying duty and she gave varied service in protecting American interests. She patrolled off Haiti in January and February1908 and again in November and December and offNicaragua in December1909 . In June1912 she transported Marines toSantiago de Cuba and Siboney to protect American lives and property during a rebellion in Cuba, and continued to investigate conditions and serve as base ship for the Marines until1914 . She also had gunboat duty with a cruiser squadron during the Haiti operation of July1915 to March1916 and was commended by theSecretary of the Navy for her creditable performance of widely varied duty. She then remained off Haiti to conduct surveys.With American entry into World War I, "Eagle" returned to Cuban waters. She was attached to American Patrol Detachment,
U.S. Atlantic Fleet , and throughout1917 and1918 was continually on patrol off Cuba, Santo Domingo, and the southern coast of theUnited States . FromKey West , where she arrived3 April 1918 , she patrolled theFlorida Straits and after the end of the war operated on target practice, and tactical exercises and maneuvers. Between7 January and15 March 1919 she made a cruise to Cuban ports and along the Gulf coast before being detached from the American Patrol Detachment28 April . "Eagle" left Key West the following day forPortsmouth Navy Yard . She was decommissioned there23 May 1919 and sold3 January 1920 .References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e1/eagle-iv.htm
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