USS Montgomery (C-9)

The fourth USS Montgomery (C-9), the lead ship of her class, was an unprotected cruiser in the United States Navy authorized in the Naval Appropriations Act of September 7, 1888.[3] Montgomery served during the Spanish–American War and in World War I and was named for Montgomery, Alabama.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Montgomery.
USS Montgomery (C-9), port bow view, circa 1894–99.
History
United States
Name:
  • Montgomery (1894–1918)
  • Anniston (1918–1919)
Namesake:
Ordered: 7 September 1888
Awarded: 2 November 1889
Builder: Columbian Iron Works and Dry Dock Co., Baltimore, Maryland
Cost: $1,037,923 (hull and machinery)
Laid down: February 1890
Launched: 5 December 1891
Sponsored by: Miss Sophia Smith
Commissioned: 21 June 1894
Decommissioned: 16 May 1918
Renamed: Anniston, 14 March 1918
Stricken: 25 August 1919
Identification: Hull symbol:C-9
Fate: sold for scrap, 14 November 1919
General characteristics (as built)[1][2]
Class and type: Montgomery-class cruiser
Type: unprotected cruiser
Displacement:
  • 2,072 long tons (2,105 t) (standard)
  • 2,212 long tons (2,247 t) (full load)
Length: 269 ft 10 in (82.25 m)
Beam: 37 ft (11 m)
Draft: 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) (mean)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Sail plan: Schooner
Speed:
  • 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
  • 19.06 kn (21.93 mph; 35.30 km/h) (Speed on Trial)
Complement: 30 officers 249 enlisted
Armament:
Armor:
  • Deck: 7⁄16 in (11 mm) (slope)
  • 5⁄16 in (7.9 mm) (flat)
  • Conning Tower: 2 in (51 mm)
General characteristics (1914)[1]
Armament:
  • 2 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) guns
  • 1 × 21 inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tube
  • 1 × 18 in (457 mm) submerged torpedo tube
  • 1 × 21 in (533 mm) above water torpedo tube
  • 1 × 18 in (457 mm) above water torpedo tube

Montgomery was launched 5 December 1891 by Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Miss Sophia Smith; and commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard 21 June 1894, Commander Charles Henry Davis Jr. in command.[4]

Service history

Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, the new cruiser operated along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. During the Spanish–American War, she cruised near Cuba and Haiti in April 1898 and in May joined the blockade of Havana. She took two prizes, Lorenzo and Frasquito, 5 May, and shelled the Spanish forts a week later.[4] On 13 June a 280mm Krupp gun at the Santa Clara Battery fired on Montgomery, at a range of 9,000 meters, apparently without effect.

In April 1899 Montgomery transferred to the South Atlantic Squadron and operated along the Atlantic coast of South America . In July 1900 she was import Urgaguy with CDR JohnMerrill as her Commanding Officer. (US Census 2 July 1900, lists crew members.) She returning to the United States and decommissioning at New York City 15 September 1900. Recommissioned 15 May 1902, she was assigned to the Caribbean Division, North Atlantic Squadron, and operated in the West Indies until decommissioning at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 15 September 1904.[4]

Montgomery recommissioned 2 January 1908 and operated in the 5th Naval District as a torpedo experimental ship. From 1914 to 1918 she served with the Maryland Naval Militia. Renamed Anniston 14 March 1918, she was assigned to Division 2, American Patrol Detachment, for patrol and escort duty along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean.[4]

Decommissioning at Charleston, South Carolina, 16 May 1918, Anniston was struck from the Navy list 25 August 1919 and sold 14 November 1919.[4]

References
  1. "Ships' Data, U. S. Naval Vessels, 1911–". US Naval Department. 1 January 1914. pp. 36–39. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  2. Toppan, Andrew (8 September 1996). "US Cruisers List: Protected Cruisers and Peace Cruisers". Hazegray.org. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. Burr, Lawrence (2011). US Cruisers 1883–1904: The birth of the steel navy. Osprey Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-78096-270-2.
  4. "Montgomery IV (C-9)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
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