USS Lebanon (AG-2)

USS Lebanon (AG-2) was a 3,285-long-ton (3,338-metric-ton) collier, which the United States Navy acquired in 1898 from the Philadelphia and Reading RR. Company to provide coal for Navy warships during the Spanish-American War. When the need for her coal was no longer a necessity, Lebanon was assigned various duty such as transporting stores as well as target repair and towing operations.

Built by William Cramp in Philadelphia
Lebanon — the first ship to be so named by the U.S. Navy — was launched by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1894; acquired by the Navy on 6 April 1898 from Philadelphia and Reading RR. Co.; and commissioned at Boston, Massachusetts on 16 April 1898, Lieutenant Commander Charles Thomas Forse in command.

Spanish-American War
After brief shakedown, Lebanon departed Boston on 17 May 1898 with coal for ships fighting in the Spanish-American War. Arriving Cardenas, Cuba on 4 June, the collier operated in the Caribbean and along the Atlantic coast for the next 10 months. Lebanon decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia on 15 April 1899.

Pre-World War I service
Lebanon recommissioned at Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 11 August 1905, Captain George McDonald in command. From 1905 until 1909, she operated as a collier along the U.S. East Coast sailing as far south as Nicaragua servicing fueling stations and the fleet in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean. She decommissioned at Norfolk 2 October 1909.

On 1 July 1911, Lebanon again recommissioned and was assigned to duty as a range ship. Operating along the U.S. east coast during the rest of the year, she transported stores and ammunition to eastern ports before joining the fleet in the Caribbean for the 1912 winter maneuvers. For the next four years, Lebanon operated as a target towing ship during fleet exercises along the coast and in the Caribbean.

World War I
After America’s entry into World War I, her activities increased as she assisted the fighting ships to prepare for action in the war-ravaged waters. Lebanon continued target repair and towing operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean for the rest of her naval service.

Final decommissioning
Lebanon decommissioned at New York City on 6 February 1922 and was sold on 2 June.