The second MARBLEHEAD, an unarmored cruiser, was laid
down in October 1890 by City Point Works, Boston, Massachusetts;
launched 11 August 1892; sponsored by Mrs. C. F. Allen and commissioned
2 April 1894, Commander Charles O'Neil in command.
Assigned to the North Atlantic Station,
MARBLEHEAD departed New York 6 June 1894 for the Caribbean
to protect American lives and property threatened by a change
of government in Nicaragua. Arriving Bluefields 19 June, the
ship found that city to be the point of greatest danger. On 7
July, in response to dispatches from the American consul, she
put ashore a landing party of marines and bluejackets to keep
order and protect American interests. Reinforced by a second
party 31 July, this force remained ashore until 7 August. Five
days later, MARBLEHEAD departed Bluefields to continue
cruising the Caribbean, showing the flag in Latin American waters
until 26 November, when she departed Port Royal, Jamaica, for
Hampton Roads, Virginia, arriving 6 December.
The cruiser stood out from Norfolk 4 March
1895 for duty on the European Station. Sailing via the Azores,
the ship arrived Gibraltar on the 31st. During April and May,
she cruised the Mediterranean, spending much time on patrol in
Syrian waters, and then steamed for Germany to represent the
United States at the opening of the Kiel Canal 20 June. For the
next 5 months, the ship cruised along the coast of western Europe
and in the Mediterranean steaming over 11,000 miles and visiting
more than 40 foreign ports. MARBLEHEAD returned to the
United States, anchoring at Tompkinsville, N.Y., 23 November
1896.
On 1 February 1897, the ship was again
assigned to the North Atlantic Station, and for the remainder
of the year cruised the east coast and the Caribbean in training.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, MARBLEHEAD
was at Key West, Florida. Immediately sailing for Cuban waters,
she arrived off Havana 23 April 1898 and then proceeded to Cienfuegos
where she shelled enemy vessels and fortifications on the 29th.
After joining the blockading squadron, she cut the cables off
Cienfuegos 11 May, and then patrolled off Santiago de Cuba until
the beginning of June.
In company with schooner-rigged cruiser YANKEE, MARBLEHEAD
captured the lower bay of Guantanamo as a base for the fleet
7 June, and on the 10th supported the landing of a battalion
of Marines there. Continuing operations in the bay, she helped
battleship TEXAS destroy the Spanish fort on Cayo del Toro 15
June.
The ship remained in Cuban waters until
2 September, when she sailed for the St. Lawrence River 20 October
to participate in ceremonies opening the Champlain monument in
Quebec. She repaired at Boston Navy Yard from 2 November 1898
to 9 February 1899, and, following a brief cruise to the Caribbean,
proceeded through the Straits Of Magellan 16 June to join the
Pacific Squadron 4 July. She cruised off the coast of South America,
Mexico, and California until she decommissioned at Mare Island
Navy Yard 30 April 1900.
MARBLEHEAD
recommissioned 10 November 1902 to devote the next 4 years to
cruising along the west coast of North and South America, from
Alaska to Chile on training and protocol missions. From October
1903 to March 1904, she served as flagship of Rear Admiral. Henry
Glass, Commander of the Pacific Squadron. The cruiser decommissioned
at Mare Island Navy Yard 1 October 1906 and remained at the yard
until 31 March 1910, when she was loaned to the California
Naval Militia as a training ship. She was placed in commission
in reserve 22 July 1911, and in 1916 was turned over to the Oregon
Naval Militia as training ship for that State.
MARBLEHEAD
was again placed in full commission 6 April 1917 at the navy
yard, Puget Sound, Wash., and on 4 May was ordered to the Pacific
Patrol Force. She was employed on convoy, patrol, and survey
duty, operating off Mexico and in search of possible German raiders
in the California area until 11 June 1918, when she proceeded,
via the Panama Canal, to Key West for duty with the American
patrol detachment. Arriving Key West 22 June, the ship spent
the remainder of World War I in the Caribbean, engaged in escort
and patrol duty. Detached from patrol duty 4 December, the veteran
cruiser steamed to join Division 2, Pacific Fleet. She arrived
Mare Island 17 February 1919 and decommissioned 21 August. Reclassified
PG-27 in July 1920, MARBLEHEAD was sold 5 August 1921.
Specifications
Displacement
2,072 tons
Length
269 feet, 6 inches
Beam:
37 feet, 6 inches
Draft:
14 feet, 6 inches
Speed:
18 knots
Complement:
274
Armament:
9 x 5 inch guns
6 x 6 pound guns
2 x 1 pound guns
2 x machine guns
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