page_title: Oscar Walter Farenholt
section_title: Spanish–American War
hierarchical_section_title: Oscar Walter Farenholt / Spanish–American War
caption_attribution_description: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Farenholt (DD-491) off Pearl Harbor, circa May 1943.
context_page_description: Rear Admiral Oscar Walter Farenholt was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, the Spanish–American War and is the first enlisted man in the Navy to reach flag rank.
context_section_description: During the Spanish–American War, Farenholt was put in command of USS Monocacy. The ship was an old vessel with about 50 crew members. Monocacy was once said to be "only fit for a museum shelf." His ship was used as base of procurement at Shanghai for Dewey's fleet. Farenholt spent no time in the Caribbean during the war, even though that was where the majority of the fighting took place. He was given the task of obtaining a source for coal and supplies for the Asiatic Squadron through a Chinese intermediary. The efforts were kept secret, because this was against the neutrality laws.
caption: USS Farenholt (DD-491), commissioned in 1942
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