USS Iris ( 1885 ) USS " Iris " was a ship of the United States Navy which served in the Pacific in a variety of roles from 1899 until 1916 . Originally fitted out as a distilling ship , she served as general utility ship , then as a collier , before being refitted as a torpedo boat tender . Service history . The ship was built in 1885 by A . Leslie and Company , Newcastle , England , and was purchased by the United States Navy from the Miami Steamship Co . on 25 May 1898 for service in the Spanish – American War . However , reconditioning and conversion to a water distilling ship was not completed until after the end of active operations against Spain . " Iris " was commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 August 1898 , Lieutenant Arthur B . Connor USN in command . The ship departed Norfolk on 31 August and arrived at Montauk Point , New York on 5 September . She departed New York Harbor on 14 October for the Philippine Islands , arriving at Manila on 18 March 1899 . She acted as a general utility ship for the Asiatic Squadron in the Philippines during the occupation of the islands and during the subsequent insurrection . Crewmembers serving on " Iris " during any of the periods 18 March to 16 November 1899 ; 14 December 1899 to 16 January 1900 ; 31 May to 21 June 1900 ; 1 August 1900 to 27 April 1901 or 18 July 1901 to 4 July 1902 qualified for award of the Philippine Campaign Medal . " Iris " was decommissioned for repairs at Hong Kong on 31 January 1900 , and resumed duty in May under the command of Lieutenant Dudley Wright Knox USN through June 1901 . During this time , " Iris " returned to duty in the Philippines during the insurrection and also served in the Boxer Rebellion . Crewmembers serving on her between 29 June to 24 July 1900 qualified for award of the China Relief Expedition Medal . " Iris " sailed for home in late 1903 , arriving at San Francisco on 13 November and decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard on 18 December . She was overhauled there and was placed in service as a collier for the Asiatic Squadron . For the next five years , she fueled United States vessels in the Orient . She departed Manila on 20 May 1909 for San Francisco where she was converted to a torpedo boat tender . She was placed out of service on 15 October and recommissioned the same day . During the following years she served as parent ship for the Pacific Torpedo Fleet operating off the West Coast of the United States . In May 1914 , under the command of Lieutenant Allen B . Reed , " Iris " along with five torpedo boats from the Pacific Fleet Torpedo Flotilla , operated in the Gulf of California , also known as the Sea of Cortez . They patrolled the vicinity of La Paz and Mazatlan , Mexico , during the ongoing civil unrest there . On 19 June , " Iris " departed Mazatlan for La Paz , Mexico . " Iris " departed La Paz for San Diego on 28 August . After arriving back to San Diego , " Iris " spent the next few months on regular patrol duty with the torpedo ships in her squadron , primarily operating off the coast of California between San Pedro and San Diego . Crewmembers serving on " Iris " during the period 29 April to 20 May 1914 or 4 to 12 June 1914 qualified for award of the Mexican Service Medal . In late 1915 disorder in Mexico again threatened American citizens and interests . " Iris " arrived Topolobampo , Mexico on 9 December to begin patrol duty on the Mexican coast . She remained in the area ready to act in the event of any emergency until departing La Paz on 30 January 1916 . She arrived back at San Diego , California , on 4 February and began duty towing targets off southern California . Two months later " Iris " was ordered to San Francisco . After arriving on 16 April , she was decommissioned at Mare Island on 2 May 1916 . " Iris " was transferred to the United States Shipping Board on 3 May 1917 .