USS Winslow ( TB - 5 ) USS " Winslow " ( Torpedo Boat No . 5 / TB - 5 ) was a United States Navy torpedo boat noted for its involvement at the First and Second Battle of Cardenas during the Spanish - American War . She was named for Rear Admiral John Ancrum Winslow . History . The first " Winslow " ( Torpedo Boat No . 5 ) was laid down on 8 May 1896 at Baltimore , Md . , by the Columbian Iron Works ; launched on 8 May 1897 ; sponsored by Miss E . H . Hazel ; and commissioned on 29 December 1897 at the Norfolk Navy Yard , Lt . John B . Bernadou in command . On 6 January 1897 , " Winslow " departed Norfolk and proceeded via New York to Newport , R . I . , where she loaded torpedo es and drilled her crew in torpedo firing before returning to Hampton Roads on the 30th . During " Winslow ' s " seven - week sojourn at Norfolk , the battleship sank in Havana Harbor ; and the United States began drifting steadily closer to war with Spain . On 11 March 1897 , " Winslow " steamed out of Norfolk and headed south to Key West , Florida . , a base much nearer the probable theater of operations in the approaching conflict . The warship operated from that port through the remainder of March and the first three weeks in April . On Monday , the 25th , President William McKinley reluctantly ratified a joint resolution of Congress which proclaimed that a state of war had existed between the United States and Spain since the previous Thursday . Battle at Cárdenas . During the next fortnight , the warship patrolled the northern coast of Cuba near Havana , Cárdenas , and Matanzas . On 8 May , she engaged in battle and forced three Spanish gunboats back into the harbor of Cardenas . Early in the morning of 11 May 1898 , Winslow left her blockade station off Matanzas and proceeded to Cardenas to replenish her coal bunkers . Upon reporting to for that purpose , she was ordered to take on a Cuban pilot and scout the entrance of Cardenas Bay for mines . " Winslow " then entered the bay in company with the revenue cutter " Hudson " . The two ships conducted a meticulous search of the channel , found no mine s , and returned to " Wilmington " around noon to make their report . At this point , the commanding officer of " Wilmington " decided to take his ship — escorted by " Winslow " and " Hudson " — into Cardenas harbor in search of three Spanish gunboats reportedly in port . " Winslow " marked shoal water to " Wilmington ' s " portside and , upon reaching a point about from the city , sighted a small , gray steamer moored alongside the wharf . The torpedo boat received orders to move in closer to determine whether or not the vessel was an enemy warship . By 1335 , " Winslow " reached a point approximately from her quarry when a white puff of smoke from the Spaniard ' s bow gun signaled the beginning of an artillery duel which lasted one hour and 20 minutes . Winslow immediately responded with her 1 - pounders . The Spanish concentrated their efforts on little " Winslow " , and she soon received a number of direct hits . The first shot to score on the torpedo boat destroyed both her steam and manual steering gear . While her crew tried to rig some type of auxiliary steering system , " Winslow " used her propellers to keep her bow gun in position to fire . Then , all at once , she swung broadside to the enemy . Almost immediately , a shot pierced her hull near the engine room and knocked the port main engine out of commission . She maneuvered with her remaining engine to evade enemy fire and maintained a steady return fire with her 1 pounder s . At this point , " Wilmington " and " Hudson " brought their guns to bear on the Spanish ship and shore , and the combined fire of the three American warships put the Spanish gunboat out of action . All but disabled , " Winslow " requested " Hudson " to tow her out of action . The revenue cutter approached the stricken torpedo boat and rigged a tow line between the two ships . As " Hudson " began to tow Winslow out to sea , one of the last Spanish shells to strike the torpedo boat hit her near the starboard gun and killed Ensign Worth Bagley who had been helping to direct the warship ' s maneuvers by carrying instructions from the deck to the base of the engine room ladder . Ens . Bagley had the dubious distinction of being the first naval officer killed in the Spanish - American War ; and in memory of his sacrifice and devotion to duty , Torpedo Boat No . 24 , , and each carried the name . Badly damaged , " Winslow " was towed clear of the action . Her commanding officer and a number of others in her crew were wounded . Lt . Bernadou saw that the dead and wounded were transferred to " Hudson " , and he then left the ship himself after turning command over to Chief Gunner ' s Mate George F . Brady , who — along with Chief Gunner ' s Mate Hans Johnsen and Chief Machinist Thomas C . Cooney — later received the Medal of Honor and was promoted to warrant officer . The day following the engagement , Winslow arrived at Key West for temporary repairs there and at Mobile , Ala . She returned to Key West for 10 days before sailing north on 16 August . After brief stops at Port Royal , S . C . , and at Norfolk , Va . , the ship reached New York on 27 August and was placed out of commission at the New York Navy Yard on 7 September 1898 to begin more extensive repairs . Post Spanish - American War . But for a short voyage to Philadelphia in mid - October , " Winslow " remained inactive until early in 1901 , first at New York — in a decommissioned status — and later at the Norfolk Navy Yard where she was officially listed as " in reserve . " In any event , the torpedo boat had returned to full commission by 30 June 1901 and — assigned to the Naval Torpedo Station at Newport — spent the next three years training naval officers and enlisted men in the techniques of torpedo firing and helping them to polish their skills in gunnery and shipboard engineering . In all probability , she also participated in some of the work done to improve the " automotive " torpedo . Information on her activities between July 1904 and February 1906 is extremely sketchy , but she probably spent the majority of that time either in reserve or out of commission at New York . Whatever the case , " Winslow " was recommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 16 February 1906 and steamed south to Norfolk , where she was placed in the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla . Sometime during fiscal year 1909 , she was transferred to Charleston , S . C . , though she remained in reserve . On 1 June 1909 , the torpedo boat was turned over to the Massachusetts Naval Militia at Charleston . She moved north to Boston where she served as a school ship for volunteer seaman of the local naval militia until the following November . On 2 November 1909 , the Massachusetts Naval Militia returned " Winslow " to the Navy , and she was placed in reserve at the Boston Navy Yard until the summer of 1910 . On 12 July 1910 , " Winslow " was placed out of commission at Boston , and her name was struck from the Navy list . In January 1911 , she was sold to H . Hanson of New York City .