The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-06
By Associated Press

II
 navy department to break up and sell
 for junk or use for targets F obsolete
 battleships marks the passing of a fleet
 of vessels long identified with many of \ the most glorious achievements of the new American navy. They wrote many bright pages into this eountrys naval history during their years of service, and four of them have participated actively
 in two wars. The doomed ships, includ- !. ing the famous old Spanish-Amercan war < squadron consisting of the Oregon, Iowa,
 Indiana and Massachusetts, and the more
 modern but hardly less famous Kentucky,
 kearsarge, Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin, N Ohio, Missouri and Maine, compose one Ilof the most, if not the most, powerful ! nattieship fleet in the world more than b
 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 com missioned at San Francisco in July, 1896, was at Mare Island navy yard in 1898
 when the message was flashed to her
 commander that the United States was \ at war with Spain. On March s, 1896, the | famous old ship cleared the Golden Gate,
 bound for the West Indies, on what proved to be the most epoch-making bat Il tleship voyage ever undertaken. With
 decks stripped for action. and gun crews
 at their stations the Oregon plowed T Cape Ho<h, up the east coast of South America and arrived at Key West on
 May 26, ready for action, having made
 the 14,00o-mile voyage in 6S cruising days A Capt. c. B. Clark, the Oregon's command ing officer, was ordered to take his ship to Santiago and there join the blockading f squadron which was awaiting battle with i the Spanish fleet.
 In the meantime the Iowa, Massa- chuSeftS of Oregon, were attached to the north At lantic fleet and had already arrived off Cuba, the Massachusetts being part of the famous flying squadron" under con- mand of Commodore Schley.
 | The Oregon, already famous through I out the world for her glorious and suc- 4 cessful voyage to join the American fleet ] in time for the impending battle, gained I greater glory in the action off Santiago 4 de Cuba on Sunday, July B. 1898, when \ Spanish sea power was forever humbled \ and the liberation of the Philippines and Cuba assured. In that now historic sea N fight the Oregon ran the Vizcaya, pride of the Spanish fleet ashore after riddling the craft with hits from her eight and 13-inch guns, and then engaged in a running fight with the Colon, which sur- k rendered after having been cut off from N the open sea by the Oregon and forced \ to head for the beach. A shot at the N COIOH IrOm ono or the OTeSOnS s lo~1nCn \ guns was the last shot fired during the E battle.
 Both the Indiana and tho Iowa partic- \ ipated in the battle at Santiago, the Mas sachusetts having gone to Guantanamo \ to coal on the day of the engagement. K The crew of the Massachusetts, much dis k appointed at having missed the fight, N gained revenge the next night when that vessel and tho old batt1eship Texas en- gagged and sunk the Spanish cruiser Reina \ Mercedes as that vessel attempted to es- X cape from the harbor at Santiago. The Massachusetts was the flagship of \ the naval vessels in charge of conveying American troops from Cuba to Porto Rico for the Porto Rican campaign. few years ago the Texas, later renamed the San Mascos, wass used as tarket for later battleships at Tangier Sound, in Chesapeake bay.
 N After the Spanish-American war the Oregon returned to the west coast, where ' the glorious old ship, then in the height Eof her fame, wes received with tremend- lous demonstra tions. She remained there on duty with the Pacific fleet until a i decade ago, her usefulness gone, she was | placed in reserve commission.
 The Iowa, Massachusetts and Indiana participated in the homeeoming of the victorious Atlantic fleet after the Span | ish-American war and remained on duty l the Oregon had been placed in reserve the three sister ships were for several years used as training vessels and con- l veyed the midshipmen from the naval academy abroad each summer for a l practice cruise. Finally they too were l moored to the docks in navy yards, ap- parently to rust away.
 In the meantime a later class of ships had been launched to add to the might of American naval power. The 1 Kearsarge, Kentucky, Illinois, Wiscon- sin, Maine. Missouri and Ohio, launched between 1898 and 1901, formed the neuclus of the new ''steer' navy that was win ming the United States an assured place | among the great naval powers. These ships, then unsurpassed in the world, carried the American flag into the ports | of the world for many years, and in 1907, when the mighty United States fleet left | New York for the historic cruise around the world to demonstrate in all lands the might and power of the American navy. they held their places with their more modern sisters throughout that memor- . able voyage. Greeted with remarkable | demonstrations in South America, the west coast of the United States, Austra- lia, New Zealand, the islands of the Pa- cific, far eastern ports and points in the
 Mediterranean, the great fleet completed 1 the most comprehensive cruise ever un- l dertaken by so large a body of ships of 1 war.
 On the return of the fleet to this coun- try the older ships were forced into the
 background by the new navy and were
 sent to the back channels of the nevy
 yards to join the Oregon, Iowa, Massa- chusetts and Indiana
 The entrance of the United States into
 the world war brought a demand for
 every ton of sea power the United States
 could command and again the old navy
 was called upon to defend the flag All
 of the 12 old vessels were outfitted, mod
 ern fire control appliances were installed,
 new coats of war paint" were applied
 to their time scared sides and they were
 called out to join the fleet
 The Oregon saw service on the west
 coast throughout the war as a coast
 defense vessel and training ship for en-
 listed personnel The Massachusetts,
 Iowa and Indiana were used for time
 as station ships at Newport. R. I. Nor
 folk Va, and New York, respectively,
 and later were ordered south to join the
 main fighting force. which already in-
 cluded the Kearsarge, Kentucky and the
 other vessels of ancient fame. For the
 remainder of the war the historic old
 rships took part in the operations of the
 Atlantic fleet along the coast and ren-
 dered valuable service as training ships.
 After the armistice. the Iowa, Massa-
 chusets and Indiana were sent to the
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