USS Vixen ( PY - 4 ) USS " Vixen " ( PY - 4 ) was a yacht acquired by the U . S . Navy for operations in the Spanish - American War , where she served with distinction during the Battle of Santiago . She was commissioned again for duty during World War I when she was assigned to patrol the U . S . East Coast . Commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard . " Josephine " — a steel - hulled , schooner - rigged , steam yacht — was built in 1896 at Elizabethport , New Jersey , by Lewis Nixon and , at the time of her acquisition by the U . S . Navy on 9 April 1898 , was owned by the Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , financier Peter Arrell Brown Widener . Renamed " Vixen " , the erstwhile pleasure craft was armed and fitted out for naval service at the Philadelphia Navy Yard where she was commissioned on 11 April 1898 , Lt . Alex Sharp in command . Spanish - American War service . A ship of many talents . Assigned to the North Atlantic Station , " Vixen " sailed for Cuban waters on 7 May and arrived off the coast of Cuba nine days later . For the duration of the " splendid little war " , the graceful armed yacht performed a variety of duties , blockading and patrolling , carrying mail and flags of truce , ferrying prisoners , establishing communications with Cuban insurgents ashore , and landing reconnaissance parties . Among her passengers embarked during that time was Colonel ( later President ) Theodore Roosevelt , of the famous " Rough Riders " . Also aboard during that time period was Midshipman , later Admiral , Thomas C . Hart . Arthur MacArthur III , General Douglas MacArthur ' s brother , served on Vixen during the Battle of Santiago . The Battle of Santiago , Cuba . Between 13 and 17 June 1898 , she took part in the bombardment of Santiago , Cuba , and , on 3 July 1898 , took part in the Battle of Santiago . On the latter occasion , the highlight of the ship ' s operations during the Spanish - American War , " Vixen " was patrolling off Santiago between 0935 and 0945 and was at a point some four miles to the westward of the distinctive landmark , the Morro Castle . At about 0940 , a messenger reported to the captain , Lt . Sharp , that there had been an explosion inside the entrance to the harbor . Rushing on deck , Sharp almost immediately sighted the first Spanish vessel to sortie — the armored cruiser " Vizcaya " . " Vizcaya " fires on " Vixen " . Sharp ordered full speed ahead and hard - a - port , a move taken in the nick of time because shells from his own ships — alerted to the sortie of Admiral Cervera ' s fleet — splashed in the water astern in the yacht ' s frothing wake . " Vizcaya " acknowledged the presence of the yacht in the vicinity when she sent a salvo toward her with her starboard bow guns . Fortunately for " Vixen " , the shells passed overhead , " all being aimed too high . " As " Vixen " gathered speed , she steered south by east , clearing the armored cruiser " Brooklyn ' s " field of fire , about two points on " Vixen ' s " port bow . The yacht then steered west by south , as Sharp wanted to steer a course parallel to that of the Spanish fleet that was then under fire from the other American ships . Unfortunately , the helmsman erred and steered southwest by south — a mistake not discovered until " Vixen " had steered farther from the action . Meanwhile , " Brooklyn " had engaged the leading ships of the Spanish fleet and was trading shell for shell in a spirited exchange of fire . Shells from " Cristobal Colon " passed over " Brooklyn " . One splashed " close ahead " and another splashed astern on the yacht ' s starboard beam . Several others passed directly overhead , a piece of bursting shell going through " Vixen ' s " battle flag at her mainmast . " Vixen " fires on " Vizcaya " . " Vixen " witnessed the battle as it unfolded , but , as her commanding officer observed , " . . . seeing that the Spanish vessels were out of range of our guns while we were well within range of theirs , we reserved our fire . " In fact , " Vixen " did not fire upon the enemy ships until 1105 , when she opened fire on the badly battered " Vizcaya " , which had gone aground , listing heavily to port . " Vixen ' s " fire was short - lived for " Vizcaya ' s " flag came down at 1107 , and Lt . Sharp ordered cease fire . The yacht remained underway to participate in the chase of the last remaining heavy unit of the Spanish fleet , " Cristobal Colon " , until that Spanish warship struck early in the afternoon . After the conclusion of hostilities with Spain later that summer , " Vixen " returned to the United States , reaching Staten Island , New York , on 22 September . She then shifted southward to Norfolk , Virginia , arriving there on 19 October . Subsequently placed in reserve there on 18 January 1899 , " Vixen " was recommissioned on 17 March , sailing for Key West , Florida , and the Caribbean on 21 May . Post - war service . For the next seven years , " Vixen " operated in waters off Puerto Rico , conducting surveys , carrying mail , stores , and passengers for the fleet , interspersing those miscellaneous duties with annual voyages to Norfolk for overhauls . During that time , she also briefly served as tender for " Amphitrite " ( Monitor No . 2 ) , the station ship at Guantanamo Bay , and later herself held the assignment of station ship there . Her diligent service was often rewarded with commendations for the excellence of her surveying activities . She often carried out her duties in completely uncharted waters and under a variety of weather conditions . World War I service . Decommissioned at Pensacola , Florida , on 30 March 1906 , " Vixen " remained there until 6 December 1907 , when she was turned over on loan to the New Jersey State Naval Militia . Serving with that force until the American entry into World War I , " Vixen " was recommissioned on 2 April 1917 . She patrolled off the eastern seaboard and , following the establishment of United States naval activities in the recently acquired Virgin Islands ( purchased from Denmark ) , served as station ship at St . Thomas . Subsequent decommissioning and sale . During her tour at that West Indian port , " Vixen " was classified as a converted yacht , PY - 4 , on 17 July 1920 . Ultimately decommissioned on 15 November 1922 , " Vixen " was struck from the Navy list on 9 January 1923 . She was subsequently sold on 22 June 1923 to the Fair Oaks Steamship Corp . , of New York City .