USS New Orleans ( CL - 22 ) USS " New Orleans " ( later designated PG - 34 then CL - 22 ) was a United States Navy protected cruiser . She was laid down in 1895 as " Amazonas " for the Brazilian Navy by Armstrong , Mitchell and Company , Newcastle - on - Tyne , England , launched on 4 December 1896 , purchased by the U . S . Navy while building on 16 March 1898 ; and commissioned 18 March 1898 at Gravesend , England , with Lieutenant Commander Arthur P . Nazro in command . " New Orleans " sailed on 27 March 1898 to fit out at New York , New York , for service in the Spanish - American War . She left Norfolk , Virginia , on 17 May and joined the Flying Squadron off Santiago de Cuba on 30 May . The next afternoon , with " Massachusetts " ( BB - 2 ) and " Iowa " ( BB - 4 ) , she reconnoitered the harbor , exchanging fire with Spanish ships and shore batteries . After joining in the bombardment of the batteries at the entrance to the harbor 6 and 16 June , " New Orleans " sailed to coal at Key West , and was thus absent during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 3 July . Through the summer , " New Orleans " cruised on blockade between San Juan , Puerto Rico , and Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , capturing the French blockade runner " Olinde Rodrigues " on 17 July . She arrived at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on 20 October for the Peace Jubilee , then prepared at New York to launch her peacetime service with a visit to New Orleans , Louisiana , from 16 May through 29 May 1899 . After summer exercises off the Atlantic seaboard , she sailed from New York on 21 October to join the Asiatic Fleet . She called at the Azores and Port Said , passed through the Suez Canal , and reached Manila on 21 December . For the next 5 years , as flagship of the Cruiser Squadron , U . S . Asiatic Fleet , she cruised the Philippines and the China coast . Relieved by " Baltimore " ( C - 3 ) , she departed Cavite on 27 December 1904 for Mare Island Navy Yard , arriving there on 27 January 1905 to decommission on 6 February 1905 . Recommissioning on 15 November 1909 , " New Orleans " returned to Asiatic duty at Yokohama on 25 April 1910 . She cruised the Orient until returning to Bremerton , Washington , on 14 February 1912 and going into reserve . Again in full commission on 31 December 1913 , " New Orleans " patrolled the west coast of Mexico during the tense spring of 1914 . " New Orleans " observed the Topolobampo naval campaign in the Gulf of California during the Mexican Revolution ; she was present at the Second , Third , and Fourth Battle of Topolobampo , the final naval action of the campaign . After the Topolobampo campaign , " New Orleans " trained the Washington State Naval Militia through the summer of 1914 , returning to Mexican waters in the fall . Upon American entry into World War I , she was overhauled at Puget Sound , and sailed for the Panama Canal and the East Coast , arriving at Hampton Roads on 27 August 1917 . " New Orleans " escorted convoys from New York City to ocean rendezvous with destroyer escorts off the British Isles and the French coast until 16 January 1918 , when she cleared New York for the Asiatic Station . She reached Yokohama from Honolulu and Panama on 13 March , cruised to China , and the Philippines , and from 17 July to 20 December 1919 was station ship at Vladivostok , Russia , supporting the Allied force in Siberia . After repairs at Cavite , " New Orleans " returned to Vladivostok to resume her service for the Allied Expeditionary Force from 20 May to 27 September 1920 . During further cruising with the Asiatic Fleet she was redesignated CL - 22 on 8 August 1921 , then completed her service at Vladivostok 14 February to 17 August 1922 . She returned to Mare Island on 23 September , decommissioned there on 16 November 1922 , and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 November 1929 . On 1 April 1925 the 4 . 7 - inch gun No . 5 was presented to Kane County , Illinois by the U . S . government and is currently on display at the Kane County courthouse in Geneva Illinois . She was sold for scrapping on 11 February 1930 .