USS Alvarado

USS Alvarado was a gunboat captured from the Spanish Navy during the Spanish–American War, and then commissioned for use as a United States Navy gunboat. After the war was over, she was again commissioned for use as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy and the Louisiana Naval Militia.

History
United States
NameUSS Alvarado
Laid downdate unknown
Launched1895
Acquired17 July 1898
Commissioned4 August 1898
Decommissioned10 May 1999
In service20 September 1900
Out of service1912
Stricken21 May 1912
Capturedfrom Spain, 17 July 1898
FateSold, 10 June 1912
General characteristics
TypeGunboat
Displacement106 long tons (108 t)
Length116 ft 10 in (35.61 m)
Beam15 ft 6.75 in (4.7435 m)
Draft6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) (aft) (full load)
PropulsionSteam engine
Speed19 kn (22 mph; 35 km/h)
Complement33
Armament
  • 1 × 57 mm (2.2 in) gun
  • 1 × 37 mm (1.5 in) gun

Service history

Alvarado—a gunboat built in 1895 at Clydebank, Scotland, by the Clydebank Engine & Shipbuilding Co. for the Spanish Navy—was captured by the United States Navy at the fall of Santiago de Cuba on 17 July 1898 and was commissioned on 4 August 1898. During the waning days of the Spanish–American War, she patrolled waters around Cuba. On 12 August, the gunboat participated in the bombardment and capture of Manzanillo located on the southeastern coast of the island. Following the end of hostilities, Alvarado continued to cruise between ports of Cuba until November. She began her voyage north on 6 November, and after a number of stops along the East Coast of the United States, arrived at Washington, D.C., on 3 January 1899. She remained at Washington exactly three months before getting underway again on 3 April. The warship operated along the middle Atlantic coast for about a month before arriving at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 5 May. Five days later, she was decommissioned and berthed in the navy yard there.

On 20 September 1900, Alvarado was placed back in commission, probably assigned to training duty at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. There is some information to suggest that, about this time, she also cruised the Atlantic coast making port visits for recruiting purposes. In any event, she served as a training platform at Annapolis until 1906. On 22 March 1906, she was decommissioned once more, this time at the Norfolk Navy Yard. On 16 November, she was turned over to the Louisiana Naval Militia for which she served as a training vessel until 1912. She was returned to Navy custody on 21 May 1912, and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register simultaneously. On 10 June 1912, she was sold at New Orleans, Louisiana.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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