Norwich bulletin., 1919-07-12
g PASSING OF FLEET oF WELL KNOWN WARsHIPs

] -.E i Decision of the navy department to
 break uP and sell for junk or use for I targets twelve obsolete battleships
 marks the passing of a fleet of vessels
 long identified with many of the most glorious achievements of the new Am
 erican navy. They wrote many bright pages into this country's naval history l during their years of service and four l of, them have participated actively in
 two years. The doomed ships, includ- 1 ing the famous old Spanish American war squadron consisting of the Ore gon, Iowa, Indiana and Massachusetts and the more modern but hardly less famous Kentucky, Kearsarge, Alaba-
 ma, Illinois Wisconsin, Ohio Missouri and Maine, composed one of the most fleet in the world more than Is years ago.
 Foremost among the achievements of these famous old fighting craft is the part; they played in the Spanish American war. The Oregon, which had been commissioned at San Francisco in July, 189S, was at Mars Island navy yard in 1898 when the message was flashed to her commander that the United States was at war with Spain.
 On March 6, 1S93, the famous old ship
 cleared the Golden Gate. bound for the West Indies, on what proved to
 be the most epoch making battleship
 voyage ever undertaken. With decks
 Stripped for action and gun crews at
 their stations the Oregon p1owed
 around Cape Horn, up the east coast
 Of South America and arrived at Key
 West on May 26. ready for action, hay
 ing made the 14,0o0 mile voyage in 6s
 cruising days. Captain C. E. Clark.
 the Oregon's commanding officer, was
 ordered to take his ship to Santiago
 and there join the blockatfing souad dron
 ha yyif Ea
 Spanish feet
 In the meantime the Iowa, Massa--
 chusetts and Indiana sister ships Of
 the Oregon, were attached to the north. Atlantic fleet and had already arrived off Cuba, the Massachusetts being
 part of the famous flying souadron'' under command of Commodore Schley.
 The Oregon, already famous through
 out the world for her glorious and
 successful voyage to join the American
 Heet in time for the impending bat
 tie, gained greater glory in the action
 oft Santiago de Cuba on Sunday, July
 5, 1898 when Spanish sea power was forever humbled and the liberation Of
 the Philippines and Cuba assured Tn that now historic sea flight the Ore goh ran the Vizcaya, pride of the
 spanish fleet, ashore after riddling the
 craft with hits from her eight and -thirteeen inch guns and then engaged
 in a running fight with the Colon Which surrendered after having been cut off from the open sea by the Ore gon and forced to head for the beach
 A shot at the Colon from one of the Oregon's thirteen inch guns was the last shot fired during the battle
 both the Indiana and the Iowa par ticlpated in the battle at antiago, the tanarno 10 coal on the day of the en- gagement. The crew of the Massa- chusetts, much disappointed at hay | ing missed the fight, gained revenge the next night when that vessel and the old battleship, Texas engaged and sunk the Spanish cruiser Reina Mer- cedes as that vessel attempted to escape from the harbor at Santiago.
 The Massachusetts was the flag snip Of the naval vessel in charge of conveying American troops iron, Cuba to Porto Rico for the Porto. Rica i campaign. A few years ago the i Texas later renamed the San Marcos, l was used as a target for the battle 1 ships at Tangier Sound in Chesapeake 1 Bay. - $ After. the Spanish American war the Oregon returned to the, west coast 1 where the glorious old ship, then ini the height of her fame, was received 1 with tremendous demonstrations. She remained there on duty with the Paci- hc. fleet until a decade ago, her use f gone, she was placed in reserve commission.
 The Iowa, Massa chusetts. and Indiana in the homecoming of. the Atlantic fleet after the Spanish American war and remained on duty in home waters for many years. After the Oregon. had been placed in reserve the three sister ships F were for several years used as train. ng vessels and conveyed the mfdship- men from the Naval Academy abroad each summer for practice cruise l tinaily they too were moored to the locks in navy yards, apparently to -ust away. i
 In the meantime 8 later class of ships had been launcild to add to the night of American naval power The aearsarge, Kentucky, Illinois, Wiscon- '1n, Maine, Missouri and Ohio launch d between 1898 and 1901, formed the leuclus of the new steel navy that vas winning the United tates an as- iured place among the great naval bowers. These ships, then unslir- 'assed in the world. carried the Ann ,rican flag into the ports of the world or many years and in 19G1, when the mighty United States fleet left New fork for the historic cruise around the 'wrld to demonstrate in all lands the night and power of the American navy, hey held their places with their more modern sisters throughout that mem 'rable voyage. Greeted with remark -ble demonstrations in South America. ( he west coast of the United States. Australia. New Zealand, the islands of [ he Pacafic, far eastern ports and l