USS Marblehead (C-11)

The second USS Marblehead (C-11/PG-27) was an unarmored cruiser in the United States Navy which served in the Spanish-American War and World War I.

Marblehead was laid down in October 1890 by City Point Works, Boston, Massachusetts; launched on 11 August 1892; sponsored by Mrs. C. F. Allen; and commissioned on 2 April 1894, Commander Charles O'Neil in command. She was named for the seaport Marblehead, Massachusetts.

North Atlantic Station, 1894
Assigned to the North Atlantic Station, Marblehead departed New York on 6 June 1894 for the Caribbean in response to a change of government in Nicaragua. Arriving Bluefields on 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 protect American interests. Reinforced by a second party on 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 on 6 December.

European Station, 1895-1897
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 U.S. at the opening of the Kiel Canal on 20 June. For the next five months, the ship cruised along the coast of western Europe and in the Mediterranean steaming over 41 ft11,000 miles (18,000 km) and visiting more than 40 foreign ports. Marblehead then returned to the U.S., anchoring at Tompkinsville, New York, 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.

Spanish-American War, 1898
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Marblehead was at Key West, Florida. Immediately sailing for Cuban waters, she arrived off Havana on 23 April 1898 and then proceeded to Cienfuegos where she shelled enemy vessels and fortifications on the 29th, in support of the invasion of Guantánamo Bay. After joining the blockading squadron, she cut the cables off Cienfuegos on 11 May, when many of her sailors and Marines received Medals of Honor. She then patrolled off Santiago de Cuba until the beginning of June. In company with the auxiliary cruiser USS Yankee (1892), Marblehead captured the lower part of Guantánamo Bay 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 the pre-dreadnought battleship USS Texas (1892) destroy the Spanish fort on Cayo del Toro on 15 June. The ship remained in Cuban waters until 2 September, when she sailed for the St. Lawrence River on 20 October to participate in ceremonies opening the Champlain monument in Quebec.

Pacific Squadron, 1899-1916
She repaired at Boston Navy Yard from 2 November 1898-9 February 1899, and, following a brief cruise to the Caribbean, proceeded through the Straits of Magellan 16 June to join the Pacific Squadron on 4 July. She cruised off the coast of South America, Mexico, and California until she decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard on 30 April 1900.

Marblehead recommissioned on 10 November 1902 to devote the next four years to cruising along the west coast of North and South America, from Alaska to Chile on training and protocol missions. From October 1903-March 1904, she served as flagship of Rear Admiral Henry Glass, Commander of the Pacific Squadron. The cruiser decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard on 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 on 22 July 1911, and in 1916 was turned over to the Oregon Naval Militia as training ship for that state.

World War I, 1917-1919
Marblehead was again placed in full commission 6 April 1917, at the navy yard, Puget Sound, Washington, 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 on 4 December, the veteran cruiser steamed to join Division 2, Pacific Fleet. She arrived Mare Island on 17 February 1919, and decommissioned on 21 August. Reclassified PG-27 in July 1920, Marblehead was sold on 5 August 1921.