USS Raleigh ( C - 8 ) USS " Raleigh " ( C - 8 ) was a United States Navy protected cruiser commissioned in 1894 and in periodic service until 1919 . The second ship named " Raleigh " , C - 8 was laid down on 19 December 1889 at the Norfolk Navy Yard , Portsmouth , Virginia ; launched 31 March 1892 ; sponsored by Mrs . Alfred W . Haywood ; and commissioned on 17 April 1894 , Captain Merrill Miller in command . The ship was named after the City of Raleigh , the capital of North Carolina . Pre - Spanish - American War . Remaining in the yard for another five months , " Raleigh " shifted to Hampton Roads in early September , then conducted shakedown in Chesapeake Bay . In January 1895 , she completed fitting out at the torpedo station at Newport , Rhode Island , and on the 25th put to sea to join the North Atlantic Squadron for battle practice in the Caribbean . In June , she put into New York , whence she moved south again for a cruise around the Florida peninsula ; and in August , she returned to New York for voyage repairs before resuming operations with her squadron . For the next 10 months , she continued operations in the western Atlantic , ranging from New England to the Straits of Florida . During the summer of 1896 , she trained Naval Militiamen from South Carolina and Louisiana , then returned to the east coast and North Atlantic Squadron exercises . From late October 1896 - early February 1897 , she joined in a neutrality patrol off Florida , and in April , after the completion of an overhaul at Norfolk , participated in ceremonies marking the dedication of Grant ' s Tomb . On 6 May , " Raleigh " steamed east , and on 11 June reported for duty on the European Station at Smyrna ( now Izmir ) on the Aegean Sea . In July , she participated in a good - will tour of Moroccan ports . In August , she cruised off Italy , then returned to the western Mediterranean . Into December , she operated off the Levant and , toward the end of the month transited the Suez Canal en route to the Asiatic Station . On 18 February 1898 , she reached Hong Kong where she joined Dewey ' s squadron . Spanish - American War . On 26 April , the US Congress declared war against Spain . On the 27th the squadron got underway for Manila . At the end of the month , " Raleigh " passed El Fraile Island and was fired on by an enemy battery . With and , she returned the fire , then moved toward Cavite to engage the Spanish fleet . Steaming in column , the American squadron ran by the Spanish , firing at close range . Two hours later , five cross runs had been completed , and the Spanish fleet had been destroyed . Shore batteries became the targets . Just before noon on 1 May , " Raleigh " joined , " Boston " , and in silencing the navy yard and arsenal batteries . On 2 May , she sent officers ashore to demand the surrender of Corregidor and , on the 3rd , sent men to disable the batteries there and destroy the munitions . In the late afternoon , shore parties were sent to Palo Caballo for the same purpose . " Raleigh " then took up picket and patrol duties , capturing the gunboat on the 12th . In July , " Raleigh " shifted from Manila Bay to Subic Bay . On the 7th , she shelled Spanish positions on Grande Island until they surrendered ; she then sent garrison troops ashore . On the 10th , she returned to Manila , where she remained until after the Spanish surrendered the city in mid - August . Pre - World War I . On the 25th , " Raleigh " put to sea , bound for Hong Kong with mail . In early September , she returned to the Philippines where she operated until sailing for Suez , Gibraltar , and the United States on 15 December . On 15 April 1899 , she arrived at New York and the next day received honors from other ships and from officials of the city . 10 days after her arrival , " Raleigh " cleared New York Harbor and turned south . On the 26th , she entered the Delaware River and moved up to Philadelphia , where on the 28th , President William McKinley and Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long came on board to honor the ship and crew for a job well done . On 2 May , " Raleigh " got underway again , and , after visiting ports in the Carolinas , put into Portsmouth , New Hampshire , where she was decommissioned on 10 June . Recommissioned on 5 January 1903 , " Raleigh " was fitted out at New York and in mid - March sailed for Honduras . There , she delivered stores to ships cruising off that coast , then headed east . Steaming via Gibraltar and Suez , she rejoined the Asiatic Fleet at Chefoo , China , on 26 August . For the next four years she cruised in Korean , Chinese , Japanese , and Philippine waters in support of diplomatic missions as well as showing the flag and conducting good - will tours . One of " Raleigh " ' s sailors , Chief Carpenter ' s Mate Robert Klein , received the Medal of Honor for his actions during a 25 January 1904 incident in which he rescued shipmates who had been overcome by turpentine fumes in a double bottom compartment . On 12 August 1907 , she departed Yokosuka for San Francisco . Arriving on 6 September , she proceeded to Mare Island to begin inactivation . Decommissioned on 12 October 1907 , " Raleigh " was recommissioned on 21 February 1911 . Initially assigned to the Pacific Reserve Squadron , she remained in San Francisco until December . She then moved north to Bremerton , Washington , and two more years of little activity . On 6 December 1913 , she departed Puget Sound . Steaming south , she joined the active fleet and served as a station ship in Mexican ports , primarily Manzanillo , Mazatlán , La Paz , and Guaymas for the next four years . During the time she interrupted her Mexican assignments twice : for duty at Ocos , Guatemala from 6 – 25 October 1915 ; and at Corinto , Nicaragua from 1 April - 26 July 1916 . World War I and beyond . Undergoing repairs at Mare Island when the United States entered World War I , " Raleigh " departed San Francisco in early May 1917 , and on 5 June joined the Patrol Force , Atlantic Fleet , at Newport , R . I . Assigned to Cruiser Force , 2nd Squadron , she patrolled from Boston to Norfolk until November when she was detached for duty in Brazilian waters . On 12 December , " Raleigh " arrived at Rio de Janeiro , and until 27 April 1918 she patrolled between there and Bahia ( Salvador ) . In May , she arrived off West Africa ; delivered munitions to the Liberian Government ; continued on to Dakar , French West Africa , then headed west on 18 May . At the end of the month , she resumed Bahia - Rio patrols . At the same time , however , German U - boats appeared off the east coast of the United States . " Raleigh " was ordered home . Clearing Bahia on 26 June , she joined the American Patrol Detachment at Key West , Florida , on 21 July and began guarding convoys in the Gulf of Mexico , in the Caribbean , and off the east coast of the Carolinas . She remained on that duty until after the end of the war , and into 1919 continued operations out of Key West . On 6 April , she entered the Charleston Navy Yard and prepared for inactivation . On 21 April , she was decommissioned for the last time , and on 5 August 1921 she was sold for scrapping to Henry A . Hitner ' s Sons Co . , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania .