USS Bennington ( PG - 4 ) USS " Bennington " ( Gunboat No . 4 / PG - 43 ) was a member of the of steel - hulled , twin - screw gunboat s in the United States Navy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . She was the first U . S . Navy ship named in honor of the town of Bennington , Vermont , site of the Battle of Bennington in the American Revolutionary War . The contract to build " Bennington " was awarded to N . F . Palmer & Co . of Philadelphia in November 1887 . Her hull was subcontracted to the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works which laid down " Bennington " s keel in June 1888 . " Bennington " was launched in June 1890 . She was just over long and abeam and displaced . She was equipped with two steam engines which were supplemented with three schooner - rigged mast s . The ship ' s main battery consisted of six guns and was augmented by an assortment of smaller caliber guns . After her June 1891 commissioning , " Bennington " was attached to the Squadron of Evolution and for its cruise to South America . The gunboat made two Mediterranean tours between 1892 and 1894 , after which she was assigned to the duties in the Pacific . She sailed the Pacific coasts of North and Central America and spent time in the Hawaiian Islands to protect American interests there . On her way to support United States Army operations of the Philippine – American War , " Bennington " claimed Wake Island for the United States . After two years in the Philippines , she returned to the United States and was decommission ed for 18 months of repairs and refitting . After her March 1903 re - commissioning , most of the next two years were spent patrolling the Pacific coasts of North and South America . On 21 July 1905 at San Diego , California , " Bennington " suffered a boiler explosion , that killed 66 men and injured nearly everyone else on board . Shortly after the explosion , a tug beached the ship to prevent her from sinking . Eleven men were awarded the Medal of Honor for " extraordinary heroism " in the aftermath of the explosion . After " Bennington " was refloated , the damage was deemed too extensive to repair and the ship was decommissioned in September . The ship was sold for scrap in 1910 , but instead served as a water barge for the Matson Line at Honolulu from 1912 . In 1924 , the former " Bennington " was scuttled off the coast of Oahu . Design and construction . The " Yorktown " class gunboats – unofficially considered third - class cruisers – were the product of a United States Navy design attempt to produce compact ships with good seakeeping abilities and , yet , able to carry a heavy battery . " Bennington " was authorized in the 1888 fiscal year , and the contract for her construction was awarded to N . F . Palmer & Co . of Chester , Pennsylvania . The hull for " Bennington " was subcontracted to the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works and built to the Navy ' s Bureau of Construction and Repair design . The mechanical design was patterned after the layout for her older sister ship developed by William Cramp & Sons . " Bennington " s keel was laid down in June 1888 , and the ship was launched on 3 June 1890 , sponsored by Anne Aston , the daughter of Rear Admiral Ralph Aston , Chief Engineer of the U . S . Navy . Layout . As built , " Bennington " was in length and abeam . Her steel hull had an average draft of , which was expected to give her the ability to escape from larger ships into shallow water . At the waterline was a turtleback deck of ⅜ - inch ( 9 . 5 mm ) steel that formed a watertight seal over the lower spaces . The deck had a crown at the level of the waterline and curved downwards to below the waterline at the sides of the ship . Below this armored deck were twelve compartments separated by watertight bulkheads ; the spaces above were equipped with watertight doors intended to be closed during battle . Above the armored deck , " Bennington " had forecastle and poop decks with an open gun deck that spanned the length of the ship between them . The conning tower was located forward on the forecastle deck and was oval - shaped to deflect shot . It was outfitted with a steam - powered Ship ' s wheel , an engine order telegraph , and speaking tubes ; it was protected by of steel armor plate . Propulsion . " Bennington " was powered by two triple - expansion steam engines which each drove one of the pair of , three - bladed screw propellers . The cylinders of each engine were 22 , 31 , and 51 inches ( 56 , 79 , and 130 cm ) in diameter and had a stroke . Each engine was rated at and together were designed to move the ship at , though the ship exceeded that in her trials , topping out at . The engines , situated in separate watertight compartments , were each fed by a pair of coal - fired boilers . Each boiler was horizontally mounted and was in diameter and in length with a total grate area of . " Bennington " s coal bunkers could carry up to of fuel , and were shielded from " shot and shell " . At a near top - speed of 16 knots , the ship could cover in 6½ days ; at the more economical speed of she could cruiser over 62 days . To supplement her steam power plant , " Bennington " was built with three mast s that were schooner - rigged . She had a total sail area of . The steam and sail combination was expected to allow " Bennington " to remain at sea for months at a time during wartime . Armament . " Bennington " s main battery consisted of six / 30 guns , with each gun weighing in excess of . Two were mounted on the forecastle deck , two on the poop deck , and the other pair amidships on the gun deck . The two guns on the gun deck were mounted above the waterline , while the other four were above . The guns fired armor - piercing projectile s with a propellant charge weighing at . At an elevation of 30 . 2° , the guns had a range of . Each gun was shielded with steel plating thick . " Bennington " s secondary battery consisted of four guns [ with a caliber of ] , and four guns [ ] . Both were based on designs of the French arms company Hotchkiss . According to a 1902 Bureau of Ordnance publication , an armor - piercing round fired from a 6 - pounder gun could penetrate of armor at a distance of . Early career . USS " Bennington " ( Gunboat No . 4 ) was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 20 June 1891 under the command of Commander Royal B . Bradford . As one of the first steel - hulled gunboats of the " New Navy " , " Bennington " was assigned to the Squadron of Evolution , a unit made up entirely of " New Navy " ships that was established to test and perfect tactics and doctrine developed at the Naval War College . In addition to operating as the first tactical fleet of the U . S . Navy , the squadron performed the secondary mission of cruising to foreign ports to demonstrate to the world the types of modern ships the United States was capable of building . In that latter role , " Bennington " and the rest of the squadron departed New York on 19 November 1891 for the unit ' s cruise to Brazil . On 5 May 1892 , " Bennington " was transferred to the South Atlantic Squadron and cruised South American waters until 19 July . Setting out from Bahia , Brazil , the gunboat visited Spanish and Italian ports during the 400th anniversary celebration of Columbus ' voyage to the western hemisphere . She concluded the European portion of those festivities on 18 February 1893 when she departed Cadiz , with a replica of Columbus ’ s caravel " Pinta " in tow for Cuba . After stops in the Canary Islands , the Netherlands West Indies , and Havana , the gunboat arrived back in the United States at Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 26 March . Following participation in the 1893 International Naval Review at Hampton Roads , " Bennington " moved north for operations along the coast of New England before beginning preparations for foreign service . To this end , she entered the New York Navy Yard on 24 May and remained there until 6 August . The ship departed New York on the 6th and arrived in Lisbon on the 18th . She cruised the Mediterranean , visiting various ports along its shores , for the next six months . In February 1894 , orders arrived sending her to the Pacific . On the 18th , the gunboat transited the Strait of Gibraltar and headed back across the Atlantic . After steaming around Cape Horn and stopping at several Latin American ports , the warship finally arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 30 April . Pacific Duty . " Bennington " served In the Pacific for a little more than four years . For the most part , her duty consisted of cruising along the west coast protecting American interests in Latin America during the numerous political upheavals that occurred at that time in Central and South America . In addition , she made two extended cruises to the Hawaiian Islands . The first came after a group of pro - royalists attempted in January 1895 to stage a countercoup against the provisional government of the islands . " Bennington " departed Mare Island on 28 May , arrived at Honolulu on 5 June , and spent the next nine months protecting American interests in the islands . On 5 March 1896 , she departed Honolulu , bound for San Francisco where she arrived on 16 March . The following day , the warship entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for five months of repairs . On 8 August , she resumed cruises along the west coast . That employment lasted a year and a week . On 14 August 1897 , Bennington headed back to Hawaii . She arrived in Lahaina Roads on 27 September and reached Honolulu on the 30th . Except for a six - day cruise back to Lahaina in March 1898 , the gunboat remained at Honolulu for just over nine months . At the outbreak of the Spanish – American War , " Bennington " was in Hawaiian waters . After spending the first two months of the war in the Hawaiian Islands , she departed Honolulu on 16 June and steamed to the west coast of the United States . The warship arrived in San Francisco on 26 June and patrolled the California coast for the remainder of hostilities . On 18 September , " Bennington " stood out of San Francisco on her way ultimately to the Philippines . She arrived in Hawaii on 27 September and devoted a little over three months to operations in nearby waters . On 7 January 1899 , she resumed her voyage west . Ten days out of Honolulu , she stopped at Wake Island . There Commander Edward D . Taussig , " Bennington " s commander , under direct orders from President William McKinley claimed the atoll for the United States , despite protests from Germany ( which considered the island group a part of its claim of the Marshall Islands ) . Wake eventually became an important link in the Honolulu – Manila trans - Pacific cable . " Bennington " later made a stop at San Luis d ' Apra , Guam , from 23 January to 15 February where Commander ( later Rear Admiral ) Taussig accepted the relinquishment of Guam from her Spanish colonial governor . Taussig briefly served as the first naval governor of Guam and established a native ruling council , before continuing on to Manila where " Bennington " arrived on 22 February . Philippine – American War . For a little more than two years after her February 1899 arrival , " Bennington " served in the Philippine Islands in support of the Army ' s campaigns during the Philippine – American War . For the most part , her service in the islands consisted of patrol and escort duty – preventing rebel movement and stopping the importation of arms , as well as seeing American troops and supplies safely between the islands . Occasionally , " Bennington " did see action . On 10 September , she shelled a fort near Legaspi on the southeastern coast of Luzon . Two days later , she captured and destroyed the insurgent vessel " Parao " . Between 7 and 9 November , the warship supported an Army landing at San Fabian on the shores of Lingayen Gulf in northwestern Luzon . The gunboat began a four - month assignment as station ship at Cebu on 26 November and concluded that duty on 19 March 1900 . After visiting Cavite on Luzon , the gunboat headed for Japan on 3 April and underwent repairs there from 9 April to 19 May before heading back to the Philippines . The warship arrived at Cavite on 27 May and resumed patrols on 3 June . She spent another seven months conducting patrols in the Philippines and supporting the Army ’ s operations in the island chain . On 3 January 1901 , she departed Cavite and shaped a course for Hong Kong . The gunboat arrived in that British colony on the 6th and began over six months of repairs . At the completion of that work , she departed Hong Kong on 25 June . After a visit to Shanghai , the warship headed back to the United States in July and arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 19 August . She was decommissioned there on 5 September 1901 . While she was out of commission at Mare Island , " Bennington " was refitted . A pilothouse that had been added on top of her bridge and a spotlight platform on her bow – both added in 1893 – 94 – were removed . " Bennington " s mainmast was also removed , leaving her as a two - mast rig . In addition , two tall ventilation cowls were added immediately behind the bridge . After 18 months of inactivity , " Bennington " was recommissioned on 2 March 1903 under the command of Commander Chauncey Thomas . Over the next 27 months , " Bennington " cruised in the eastern Pacific along the coasts of North and South America . The warship visited Alaskan ports in the summer of 1903 and the coast of Central America the following fall and winter . In May 1904 , she steamed to Hawaii and then proceeded to the Aleutians in June . The winter of 1904 and 1905 saw her voyage south for visits to Pacific ports in Central and South America . In February 1905 , she departed San Francisco for a two - month cruise to the Hawaiian Islands , returning to San Diego on 19 July , after a difficult 17 - day voyage . Boiler explosion . On the morning of 21 July 1905 , " Bennington " s crew was preparing her to sail to the aid of the monitor which had broken down and was in need of a tow . After her crew had finished the difficult task of coaling the ship that morning , most of them were belowdecks cleaning themselves from the dirty job . Unbeknownst to anyone on board , three problems with one of " Bennington " s boilers – oily feed water , an improperly closed steam valve , and a faulty steam gauge – were conspiring against them . At about 10 : 30 , excessive steam pressure in the boiler resulted in a boiler explosion that rocked the ship , sending men and equipment flying into the air . The escaping steam sprayed through the living compartments and decks . The explosion opened " Bennington " s hull to the sea , and she began to list to starboard . Quick actions by the tug " Santa Fe " — taking " Bennington " under tow and beaching her – almost certainly saved the gunboat from sinking . The combination of the explosion and the scalding steam killed a number of men outright and left others mortally wounded ; the final death toll was one officer and sixty - five men , making it one of the U . S . Navy ' s worst peacetime disasters . Nearly all of the forty - six who survived had an injury of some sort ; eleven of the survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor for " extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion " . One of the survivors was John Henry Turpin , who had also survived the explosion of in Havana in February 1898 and was , reportedly , the only man to survive both explosions . The sheer number of casualties – the death toll exceeded the U . S . Navy ' s death toll for the entirety of the Spanish – American War – overwhelmed San Diego ' s medical facilities , and many burn victims had to be cared for in makeshift facilities tended by volunteers . The number of dead also taxed the morticians in San Diego , who were hard - pressed to prepare all of the victims for burial . On 23 July , two days after the explosion , the majority of those killed were buried in the cemetery at Fort Rosecrans . The victims are commemorated by the USS " Bennington " Monument , a granite obelisk dedicated in the cemetery on 7 January 1908 . In spite of rumors of misconduct by " Bennington " s engineering crewmen , an official investigation concluded that the explosion was not due to negligence on the part of the crew . List of Medal of Honor recipients from explosion . The eleven men who were awarded the Medal of Honor for " extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion " were : Disposition . After the explosion , " Bennington " was refloated and towed to the Mare Island Navy Yard . Because of the extent of the damages and the age of the ship , " Bennington " was not repaired but was instead decommission ed on 31 October 1905 . After five years of inactivity , " Bennington " was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 10 September 1910 and sold for scrap on 14 November . " Bennington " was not scrapped , however , and ended up as a water barge for the Matson Line . She was towed to Honolulu and remained in use there from 1912 until 1924 , when she was scuttled off Oahu .