USS Petrel ( PG - 2 ) The third USS " Petrel " ( PG - 2 ) was a 4th rate gunboat in the United States Navy during the Spanish - American War . She was named for a sea bird . " Petrel " was laid down on 27 August 1887 , built by the Columbia Iron Works and Dry Dock Company in Baltimore , Maryland ; launched on 13 October 1888 ; and commissioned 10 December 1889 , with Lieutenant Commander W . H . Bronson in command . Service in the Pacific . Assigned to the North Atlantic Station , " Petrel " continued with it until September 1891 , when ordered to the Asiatic Squadron where she was to serve until 1911 . Steaming north in May 1894 , she reported at Unalaska , in July to operate with the Bering Sea patrol to discourage seal poaching . In July , she operated off the Pribilof Islands ; and in August she returned to the Asiatic station . Withdrawing from Hong Kong in April 1898 , " Petrel " became part of George Dewey ' s fleet in the campaign against Manila . On 1 May , after Dewey ’ s squadron had defeated the heavy Spanish ships in the first engagement of the Spanish - American War , " Petrel " entered the inner harbor and lowered a boat to destroy six Spanish ships there . ( For more detailed information , see Battle of Manila Bay . ) " Petrel " then steamed to the navy yard at Cavite and forced its surrender . Sent into Cavite to destroy any Spanish ships seeking refuge there on 2 May , " Petrel " sent a party ashore which seized the arsenal at Cavite and returned with 2 tugs , and , plus 3 additional launches . " Petrel " continued operations in the Philippines throughout 1898 and 1899 . She joined in shelling Panay Island on 11 February 1899 ; on the 22nd , a force of 48 men from " Petrel " occupied Cebu . In October , " Petrel " joined in supporting the Marine Corps assault on Neveleta by bombarding ahead of the advancing Marine column . 1901 fire . On the morning of 31 March 1901 , while off Cavite in Manila Bay , " Petrel " suffered a fire which resulted in the death of her captain , Lieutenant Commander Jesse M . Roper . The fire originated in the sail room , a small compartment in the bottom of the ship , adjacent to the magazine and accessible only by a hatchway from the berth deck above . While some sailors cleared ammunition out of the magazine , another group , led by Roper , took turns entering the compartment and fighting the blaze . The fire produced no visible flames but thick , acrid smoke and fumes . The sail room was also pitch black ; the ship ' s electric generator had been turned off at dawn , and no other lamps would work in the harsh atmosphere of the compartment . A number of men , including Roper , were overcome by the bad air and were pulled out of the sail room semi - conscious . As the fumes grew thicker and more noxious , Roper ordered everyone out of the compartment , but one sailor , Seaman Patrick Toner , did not emerge from the room . When a sound was heard from below , believed to be Toner fighting for breath , four men descended to rescue him . The four were Roper ( not fully recovered from his first trip below ) , Cadet J . E . Lewis , Jack of the Dust Kessler , and Gunner ' s Mate Flaherty . When the four men did not return , Seaman Alphonse Girandy tied a rope around his waist and climbed down the ladder . He found Kessler and Flaherty , both semi - conscious , and passed them up to be hauled through the hatchway . At the bottom of the ladder he found Toner and , although losing consciousness himself , held on to him as the sailors above pulled both men out of the compartment . Lieutenant J . S . McKean , with a rope around his waist , was next into the sail room , followed by Private Louis F . Theis of the ship ' s Marine Corps detachment and Seaman Thomas Cahey . As McKean searched in the darkness for the two men still missing , Lieutenant Commander Roper and Cadet Lewis , the ship ' s generator finally came back online . With the help of a lamp lowered through the hatchway , McKean could see Roper and Lewis slumped against the walls of the compartment . McKean dragged Roper to the ladder to be hauled out and then , with the help of Theis and Cahey , rescued Lewis just before losing consciousness himself . The fire was extinguished later that day ; Roper was killed by the fumes , but the other men all eventually recovered . For their actions during the incident , Cahey , Girandy , and Thies were each awarded the Medal of Honor . Service in the Atlantic . Decommissioned at Cavite after the war , " Petrel " was re - commissioned on 9 May 1910 . After visiting European waters in 1911 , she returned to the Atlantic coast . Disturbances in the Caribbean sent her to Mexican and West Indian waters from 1912 to 1915 to protect American interests , and in 1916 she became station ship at Guantanamo . With the World War I declaration of war in April , " Petrel " returned to the United States to serve with the American Patrol Detachment at Boston , Massachusetts , throughout the war . During World War I the Petrel became stranded on a South America island while hunting for submarines after the wireless communications were swept overboard during a storm . The natives helped the sailors find food and survive until they were able to get away on the tide . After 30 years of service , " Petrel " was decommissioned at New Orleans , Louisiana , on 15 July 1919 and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 16 April 1920 . She was subsequently sold to Snare and Treest , New York , on 1 November 1920 .