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{{uc}}
⚫ {{use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{other ships|USS Onondaga}} {{other ships|USS Onondaga}}
⚫ {{use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}} {|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image {{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=] |Ship image=USRC Onondaga.tif
|Ship caption=USRC ''Onondaga'', ca. 1914 |Ship caption=USRC ''Onondaga'' during 1901 America's Cup.
}} }}
{{Infobox ship career {{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States |Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag}} |Ship flag={{USN flag}}
|Ship name=USRC ''Onondaga'' |Ship name=''Onondaga''
|Ship namesake=]<ref>{{cite news |title=Here and There. |newspaper=The Dayton Herald |date=9 December 1897 |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24603980/the_dayton_herald/ |via=] |access-date=16 October 2018}}{{free access}}</ref>
|Ship namesake=], ]<ref name=USCG01>"Onondaga, 1898", Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office</ref>
|Ship owner |Ship owner
|Ship operator=U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1898&ndash;1915<br>U.S. Coast Guard, 1915&ndash;1923 |Ship operator=*] (1898–1915)
* ] (1915-1923)
|Ship registry= |Ship registry=
|Ship ordered= |Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=30 March 1897<ref name=RoM51>Record of Movements, p 51</ref> |Ship awarded=30 March 1897<ref name=RoM51>Record of Movements, p 51</ref>
|Ship builder=], ],<ref name=RoM51 /><ref name=Colton>Colton, Tim, "Globe Iron Works, Cleveland Ohio", shipbuildinghistory.com, Shipbuilding History</ref> |Ship builder=], ]<ref name=RoM51 /><ref name=Colton>Colton, Tim, "Globe Iron Works, Cleveland Ohio", shipbuildinghistory.com, Shipbuilding History</ref>
|Ship original cost={{usd}}193,800<ref name=RoM51 /> |Ship original cost={{usd}}193,800<ref name=RoM51 />
|Ship yard number=72 |Ship yard number=72
|Ship way number= |Ship way number=
|Ship laid down= |Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= |Ship launched=23 December 1897
|Ship sponsor= |Ship sponsor=Miss Louis Augusta Allen
|Ship christened= |Ship christened=
|Ship completed=13 August 1898<ref name=RoM51 /> |Ship completed=13 August 1898<ref name=RoM51 />
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|Ship commissioned=24 October 1898<ref name=Canney56>Canney, p 56</ref> |Ship commissioned=24 October 1898<ref name=Canney56>Canney, p 56</ref>
|Ship recommissioned= |Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=5 November 1919<ref name=USCG01 /> |Ship decommissioned=1 January 1923<ref name=RoM57>Record of Movements, p 57</ref>
|Ship maiden voyage= |Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service= |Ship in service=
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|Ship nickname= |Ship nickname=
|Ship honors= |Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 16 September 1924<ref name=RoM57>Record of Movements, p 57</ref> |Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 16 September 1924<ref name=RoM57 />
|Ship status=
|Ship notes= |Ship notes=
|Ship badge= |Ship badge=
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|Header caption= <ref name=Canney56 /> |Header caption= <ref name=Canney56 />
|Ship type= |Ship type=
|Ship displacement={{convert|1190|LT|t|lk=in|abbr=on}} |Ship displacement={{convert|1192|LT|t|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|205|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship length={{convert|205|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship complement=73 |Ship complement=73
|Ship sensors= |Ship sensors=
|Ship armament=4 × 6-pounder rapid fire guns (1915) |Ship armament=4 × 6-pounder rapid-fire guns (1915)
|Ship notes= |Ship notes=
}} }}
|} |}


'''USRC ''Onondaga''''' was an ''Algonquin''-class cutter built for the ] for service on the ]. Because of the ], she was cut in half shortly after completion and transported to ] for service on the Atlantic coast although the war ended before she could be put into service. She served as a patrol vessel at various Atlantic coast ports before ] and was transferred to ] control during the war. '''USRC ''Onondaga''''' was an ] built for the ] for service on the ]. Because of the ], she was cut in half shortly before completion and transported to ] for service on the Atlantic coast although the war ended before she could be put into service. After the formation of the ] in 1915 she became '''USCGC ''Onondaga'''''. She served as a patrol vessel at various Atlantic coast ports before ] and unlike most Coast Guard cutters during World War I, she remained under the control of the ]. After the war she patrolled for a brief time based at ] before being decommissioned in 1923.


==Construction== ==Construction==
The ] cutter ''Onondaga'' was built at ] in 1898 by the ]. She was a steel-hulled vessel equipped with a ], ]s, and a single screw. She was one of the first RCS cutters built with electric generators to supply current for lights and call bells.<ref name=USCG01 /><ref name=Evans158>Evans, p 158</ref> Before ''Onondaga'' could be completed, she was transferred to U.S. Navy control because of the outbreak of the Spanish-American War on 24 March 1898 and the contractor was directed to cut the ship in half for transport to Ogdensburg, New York. She was reassembled and was accepted for service by the government 13 August and was returned to ] control on 17 August at the conclusion of hostilities. She was placed in commission 24 October at Ogdensburg and ordered to report for duty at ].<ref name=RoM51 /><ref name=Canney56 /> The ] cutter ''Onondaga'' was laid down in 1897 at the ]{{'}}s yard in ] (yard number 72) and launched on 23 December 1897, with Miss Louis Augusta Allen being the sponsor.<ref name=miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=6100613|shipname=Onondaga|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Revenue Cutter Launched |newspaper=The Dayton Herald |page=7 |date=24 December 1897 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24604001/the_dayton_herald/ |via=] |access-date=16 October 2018}}{{free access}}</ref> She was a steel-hulled vessel equipped with a ], ], and a single screw. She was one of the first RCS cutters built with electric generators to supply current for lights and call bells.<ref name=USCG01>"Onondaga, 1898", Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office</ref><ref name=Evans158>Evans, p 158</ref> Before ''Onondaga'' could be completed, she was transferred to U.S. Navy control because of the outbreak of the Spanish–American War on 24 March 1898 and the contractor was directed to cut the ship in half for transport to Ogdensburg, New York. She was reassembled and was finally accepted for service by the government 13 August and returned to ] control on 17 August at the conclusion of hostilities. She was placed in commission 24 October at Ogdensburg and ordered to report for duty at ].<ref name=RoM51 /><ref name=Canney56 />


==History== ==History==
After ''Onondaga'' arrived at Boston, she was directed to patrol the area from the ] to ].
Upon the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service with the ] to create the ] in 1915, ''Onondaga'' became a ]. Until 1917 she was listed as an independent vessel operating out of ], ]. Her assigned cruising district extended from ], ], to ], ].


===1899–1917===
Transferred to the ] on 9 April 1917 by ] for ] service, she continued to perform patrol, escort, and rescue operations out of Savannah.
After ''Onondaga'' arrived at Boston, she received winter cruising orders to patrol the area from the ] to ]. During February 1899, she was tasked with breaking ice in the harbor at ], ].<ref name=RoM51 /> On 8 December 1899, she received orders transferring her to ], ], with a patrol area set from ] to ], ], including ]. While stationed at Philadelphia, she also had a temporary assignment escorting ] ship ''Senator'' from ], ], to ], ], in June 1900. In September 1900 she was temporarily assigned to ], ]. ''Onondaga'' was also used to cover other Revenue Cutter Service cutters′ patrol areas when they were laid up for repairs.<ref name=RoM51 /> On 1 July 1902, ''Onondaga'' conveyed Maine ] ] and his party from ] to ], Maine.<ref name=RoM51 /> On 7 April 1904, she received orders to return to Galveston, Texas, and tow ] to the ] at ], ], for major repairs.<ref name=RoM51 />{{#tag:ref|The major overhaul of ''Galveston'' also included a name change; she was renamed ''Apache'' 30 December 1904<ref name=Canney49>Canney, p 49</ref>|group=Note}} On 10 December 1904, the ] ''Boxer'' collided with ''Onondaga'' at Philadelphia, striking her ] and necessitating that ''Onondaga'' undergo extensive repairs at Kensington Shipyard Company in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hb1k9i&view=1up&seq=62 |page=56 |title=Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1905 |location=Washington |publisher=Government Printing Office |date=1905 |via=Haithi Trust |access-date=21 May 2020}}</ref> Repairs were completed 7 February 1905, and she departed for ], Virginia, to patrol for the remainder of her winter cruise.<ref name=RoM52>Record of Movements, p 52</ref> On 11 November 1905 she was notified that all winter patrols were to be based out of Norfolk while summer patrols were to be conducted out of Philadelphia.<ref name=RoM52 /> After 13 April 1907, all patrols were based out of Norfolk, with occasional temporary duty at ] on ], ], while the cutters normally stationed there were in shipyards for repairs.<ref name=RoM53>Record of Movements, p 53</ref> On 29 October 1907 she had a ] installed at Norfolk.<ref name=RoM54>Record of Movements, p 54</ref>


On 7 June 1909, ''Onondaga'' was placed out of commission at the Revenue Cutter Service Depot for repairs. She sailed without commission to Norfolk for additional repairs and returned to the Revenue Cutter Service Depot 30 September 1909. Repairs were completed 6 November 1909, and she recommissioned and returned to normal patrol duties.<ref name=RoM54 /> On 6 March 1910, {{USRC|Mohawk|1904|6}} assisted by ''Onondaga'', towed the abandoned and waterlogged four-masted ] ''Asbury Fountain'' to Norfolk after ''Asbury Fountain'' collided with the ] SS ''Jamestown''.<ref name=King143>King, p 143</ref> On 23 May 1912, ''Onondaga'' was at Philadelphia, representing the Revenue Cutter Service at the convention of the ].<ref name=RoM54 /> On 9 May 1913, ''Onondaga'' received ] ] and his party aboard for a cruise from ], Maryland, to ], Virginia.<ref name=RoM55>Record of Movements, p 55</ref>
The highlight of her naval service occurred on 20 February 1918, when she rescued the entire crew of the ] steamship {{SS|Veturia||6}} after she foundered on ] off the ] coast. For acting in the best tradition of the seagoing services, Captain Frederick C. Billard, ], commanding officer of the cutter—together with the entire crew—received a commendation on 20 May from the ].


On 9 October 1913, the steel-hulled ] ''Manga Reva'' departed ], ], bound for ], ], via ] with a cargo of ], but about a week after she cleared ], her crew of 28 men mutinied while she was in the ] {{convert|600|nmi|km|}} east of ]. The mutineers forced her ] and other officers to sail her back toward Philadelphia. On 9 November 1913, she anchored inside the ] off ], ], in the midst of a ]. The weather prevented the ] who came aboard from guiding her up the Delaware Bay to Philadelphia, and as he disembarked ''Manga Reva''′s captain, despite warnings from the mutineers not to mention the mutiny, slipped him a note asking for help. The pilot notified the ] at ] in Philadelphia of the mutiny, and the navy yard promptly radioed ''Onondaga''. In response, ''Onondaga'' made for Lewes at full speed. With a small crowd of onlookers from Lewes using ]s to observe the action from the beach, ''Onondaga'' arrived on the scene on 10 November 1913 and fastened herself to ''Manga Reva'' with ]s. Members of ''Onondaga''′s crew leaped over the rail and onto the deck of ''Manga Reva'' and found the mutineers gathered on ''Manga Reva''′s ] armed with ] and other weapons they had found, shouting defiance at ''Onondaga''′s crew. More ''Onondaga'' crewmen came aboard ''Manga Reva'' armed with ]s and fixed ]s. The mutineers, ] from drinking ''Manga Reva''′s ] supply overnight, retreated, and within five minutes, and with no shots fired, ''Onondaga''′s crew brought the mutiny to an end and arrested the mutineers.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref>Morgan, Michael, "A Mutiny on a Ship Ended at Delaware Breakwater," ''Delaware Wave'', 28 August 2018, p. 37.</ref>
At the end of hostilities, ''Onondaga'' was returned to the ] to resume her Coast Guard service. She resumed patrol and rescue operations out of ], ], until 1920, at which time she transferred to ], ]. She continued to operate out of Baltimore until 1923, when she decommissioned and was sold for scrap.{{#tag:ref|Colton claims that after being sold ''Onondaga'' was converted to a barge.<ref name=Colton />|group=Note}}


On 5 August 1914, at the outbreak of ] in ], ''Onondaga'' was authorized for duty in enforcing ] laws in the ] area.<ref name="RoM55"/> On 19 October 1914 she was placed out of commission at the Revenue Cutter Service Depot for overhaul, and her crew transferred to the ] ] ]<ref name=RoM56>Record of Movements, p 56</ref> When the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the ] to form the ] on 28 January 1915, ''Onondaga'' became a ], designated as USCGC ''Onondaga''.<ref name=USCG02>"U.S. Coast Guard General Order No. 1", Historic Documents & Publications, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office</ref> She was recommissioned on 29 January 1915 and her crew returned to her from ''Itasca''.
{{Portal bar|United States Coast Guard}}


In the spring of 1915, the Italian ] ''Verona'' arrived at the immigration station at ], Delaware, carrying several hundred immigrants and, after immigration authorities discovered a suspected case of ] on board, the immigrants were confined to the ] at Cape Henlopen.<ref name=hiddenhistory>, 2014, {{ISBN|978-1-62584-520-7}}, pp.97–98. Retrieved 31 July 2018</ref> Many of the immigrants were eager to reach ] in time to celebrate ] Sunday with relatives on 4 April 1915,<ref name=hiddenhistory/> and about 200 of them pushed through the wire and past the guards at the quarantine station and arrived at the train station {{convert|3|mi|km}} away in ], demanding tickets to Philadelphia, but the station manager held them at bay with a ].<ref name=hiddenhistory/> ''Onondaga'' arrived at Lewes and disembarked a detachment of 50 ] carrying ]s with fixed ]s, prompting the unarmed immigrants to return to the quarantine station.<ref name=hiddenhistory/> The following day, a steamer arrived to take the immigrants to Philadelphia.<ref name=hiddenhistory/>
==Notes==

⚫ ;Footnotes
During the summer of 1915, ] ] and ] of ''Onondaga'' proposed the use of airplanes to increase the search capabilities of the cutter in locating overdue ] schooners. With the approval of ''Onondaga''′s ], ] ], they flew scouting missions in an airplane loaned to them by a representative of the ].<ref name=1915register58>Register of the officers, vessels and stations of the United States Coast Guard, 1 August 1915, U.S. Government Printing Office, p 58</ref><ref name=Evans188>Evans, p 188</ref><ref name=Larzelere137-138>Larzelere, pp 137–138</ref> On 16 October 1915, ''Onondaga'' was assigned a winter patrol area from ], ], to ], ], with a ] of ], North Carolina.<ref name=RoM56 /> On 17 October 1916 her patrol area was changed to ], ], to ], ], with her home port at ], ]. She patrolled this area until being recalled to the United States Coast Guard Depot on 31 March 1917. On 5 April 1917 she was ] in preparation for transfer to the ] for service in World War I.<ref name=RoM56 />

===World War I===
After 6 April 1917, the Coast Guard was placed under the control of the ] by executive order; however, ''Onondaga'' was unique among the cutters in the Coast Guard in that she was never assigned to a naval district commandant but instead received her orders directly from the Commandant of the Coast Guard. After re-commissioning on 18 May 1917, she sailed for ] where Captain ], also superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, took command of her. ''Onondaga'' was used to convoy vessels turned over for use by the Coast Guard during the war from one port to another and to transfer personnel between units.<ref name=Lazelere93>Larzelere, p 93</ref> She also was used to train newly recruited enlistees and cadets at the Academy and for towing disabled vessels to shipyards for repair.<ref name=Kroll113>Kroll, p 113</ref><ref name=Lazelere97>Larzelere, p 97</ref>

On 20 February 1918, ''Onondaga'' rescued the entire crew of the ] steamship {{SS|Veturia||6}} after she foundered on ] off the ] coast. Captain Billard maneuvered ''Onondaga'' close by the grounded ''Veturia'' in heavy seas and dense fog and one of the small boats from ''Onondaga'' made seven trips rescuing the stranded crew of the grounded ship. Captain Billard and his crew received a commendation from the ]. The owners of the ''Veturia'', Gow, Harrison and Company, sent a letter to the ], ], expressing appreciation for the rescue.<ref name=Larzelere98-99>Larzelere, pp 98–99</ref> While on patrol near ] on 13 March 1918, she came to the aid of SS ''Kershaw'', taking some of the crew off the stricken ship and placing them aboard {{USRC|Tuscarora|1902|6}}.<ref name=RoM57 />

===Post-war service and decommissioning===
On 28 August 1919 the Coast Guard was returned to Department of the Treasury control. ''Onondaga'' continued patrol operations based out of New London until 1920, at which time she transferred to Baltimore. She continued to operate out of Baltimore until 1 January 1923, when she was placed out of commission at the Coast Guard Depot for repairs.<ref name=RoM57 /> Funding for needed repairs was never received and her condition gradually deteriorated to the point where she had to be sold for scrap.<ref name=Johnson67>Johnson, p 67</ref> She was sold 16 September 1924 to Charles A. Jording of Baltimore for {{USD}}7,840.<ref name=RoM57 />{{#tag:ref|Colton claims that after being sold ''Onondaga'' was converted to a barge.<ref name=Colton />|group=Note}}

⚫ ==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group=Note}} {{reflist|group=Note}}


;Citations ==Citations==
{{reflist|}} {{reflist}}


;References used ==References==
{{refbegin}} {{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hb1k9i&view=1up&seq=32 |title=Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1905 |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=9 August 2019}}

* {{cite web|title=Onondaga, 1898|url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Onondaga1898.pdf|website=Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels|publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office|accessdate=16 September 2014}} * {{cite web|title=Onondaga, 1898|url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Onondaga1898.pdf|website=Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels|publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office|access-date=16 September 2014}}
* {{cite web|title=Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790–December 31, 1933 (1989 reprint)|publisher=U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation|url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/RecordofMovements.pdf|format=pdf}} * {{cite web|title=Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790 – December 31, 1933 (1989 reprint)|publisher=U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation|url=https://media.defense.gov/2020/Mar/09/2002261298/-1/-1/0/USCG_RECORD_OF_MOVEMENTS.PDF}}
* {{cite book|title=Register of the officers, vessels and stations of the United States Coast Guard, August 1, 1915|year=1915|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}
* {{cite web|title=U.S. Coast Guard General Order No. 1|url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/docs/1915USCG_GO1.pdf|work=Historic Documents & Publications|publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office|access-date=21 September 2014}}
* {{cite book|last=Canney|first=Donald L.|title=U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-101-1}} * {{cite book|last=Canney|first=Donald L.|title=U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-101-1}}
* {{cite web|last1=Colton|first1=Tim|title=Globe Iron Works, Cleveland Ohio|url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/globe.htm|website=shipbuildinghistory.com|publisher=Shipbuilding History|accessdate=16 September 2014}} * {{cite web|last1=Colton|first1=Tim|title=Globe Iron Works, Cleveland Ohio|url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/globe.htm|website=shipbuildinghistory.com|publisher=Shipbuilding History|access-date=16 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926135818/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/globe.htm|archive-date=26 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}
* {{cite book|last=Evans|first=Stephen H.|year=2000|title=The United States Coast Guard 1790–1915: A Definitive History|year=1949|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=}} * {{cite book|last=Evans|first=Stephen H.|title=The United States Coast Guard 1790–1915: A Definitive History|year=1949|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland}}
* {{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Robert Irwin|year=1987|title=Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present|year=1987|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-0-87021-720-3}} * {{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Robert Irwin|title=Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present|year=1987|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-0-87021-720-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/guardiansofseahi00john}}
* {{cite book|last=King (1989)|first=Irving H.|title=The Coast Guard Under Sail: The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1789–1865|year=1989|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-0-87021-234-5}} * {{cite book|last=King (1989)|first=Irving H.|title=The Coast Guard Under Sail: The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1789–1865|year=1989|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-0-87021-234-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Kroll|first=C. Douglas|title=Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard|year=2002|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-474-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Larzelere|first=Alex|year=2003|title=The Coast Guard in World War I: An Untold Story|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-476-0}} * {{cite book|last=Larzelere|first=Alex|year=2003|title=The Coast Guard in World War I: An Untold Story|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-476-0}}
{{refend}} {{refend}}


==External links== ==External links==
* at navsource.org * at navsource.org


{{DEFAULTSORT:Onondaga}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Onondaga}}
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Latest revision as of 13:19, 5 April 2023

For other ships with the same name, see USS Onondaga.

USRC Onondaga during 1901 America's Cup.
History
United States
NameOnondaga
NamesakeOnondaga
Operator
Awarded30 March 1897
BuilderGlobe Iron Works, Cleveland
CostUS$193,800
Yard number72
Launched23 December 1897
Sponsored byMiss Louis Augusta Allen
Completed13 August 1898
Commissioned24 October 1898
Decommissioned1 January 1923
FateSold for scrap, 16 September 1924
General characteristics
Displacement1,192 long tons (1,211 t)
Length205 ft 6 in (62.64 m)
Beam32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft13 ft 2 in (4.01 m)
Installed powerTriple-expansion steam engine
Speed16 knots (max)
Complement73
Armament4 × 6-pounder rapid-fire guns (1915)

USRC Onondaga was an Algonquin-class cutter built for the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service for service on the Great Lakes. Because of the Spanish–American War, she was cut in half shortly before completion and transported to Ogdensburg, New York for service on the Atlantic coast although the war ended before she could be put into service. After the formation of the United States Coast Guard in 1915 she became USCGC Onondaga. She served as a patrol vessel at various Atlantic coast ports before World War I and unlike most Coast Guard cutters during World War I, she remained under the control of the Commandant of the Coast Guard. After the war she patrolled for a brief time based at New London, Connecticut before being decommissioned in 1923.

Construction

The United States Revenue Cutter Service cutter Onondaga was laid down in 1897 at the Globe Iron Works's yard in Cleveland (yard number 72) and launched on 23 December 1897, with Miss Louis Augusta Allen being the sponsor. She was a steel-hulled vessel equipped with a triple-expansion steam engine, Scotch boilers, and a single screw. She was one of the first RCS cutters built with electric generators to supply current for lights and call bells. Before Onondaga could be completed, she was transferred to U.S. Navy control because of the outbreak of the Spanish–American War on 24 March 1898 and the contractor was directed to cut the ship in half for transport to Ogdensburg, New York. She was reassembled and was finally accepted for service by the government 13 August and returned to Department of the Treasury control on 17 August at the conclusion of hostilities. She was placed in commission 24 October at Ogdensburg and ordered to report for duty at Boston, Massachusetts.

History

1899–1917

After Onondaga arrived at Boston, she received winter cruising orders to patrol the area from the St. Croix River to Nantucket Shoals. During February 1899, she was tasked with breaking ice in the harbor at Sullivan, Maine. On 8 December 1899, she received orders transferring her to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a patrol area set from Great Egg Harbor to Fort Monroe, Virginia, including Delaware Bay. While stationed at Philadelphia, she also had a temporary assignment escorting Marine Hospital Service ship Senator from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to Havana, Cuba, in June 1900. In September 1900 she was temporarily assigned to Galveston, Texas. Onondaga was also used to cover other Revenue Cutter Service cutters′ patrol areas when they were laid up for repairs. On 1 July 1902, Onondaga conveyed Maine United States Senator William P. Frye and his party from New York City to Portland, Maine. On 7 April 1904, she received orders to return to Galveston, Texas, and tow USRC Galveston to the Revenue Cutter Service Depot at Curtis Bay, Maryland, for major repairs. On 10 December 1904, the tug Boxer collided with Onondaga at Philadelphia, striking her stern and necessitating that Onondaga undergo extensive repairs at Kensington Shipyard Company in Philadelphia. Repairs were completed 7 February 1905, and she departed for Norfolk, Virginia, to patrol for the remainder of her winter cruise. On 11 November 1905 she was notified that all winter patrols were to be based out of Norfolk while summer patrols were to be conducted out of Philadelphia. After 13 April 1907, all patrols were based out of Norfolk, with occasional temporary duty at Tompkinsville on Staten Island, New York, while the cutters normally stationed there were in shipyards for repairs. On 29 October 1907 she had a wireless telegraph installed at Norfolk.

On 7 June 1909, Onondaga was placed out of commission at the Revenue Cutter Service Depot for repairs. She sailed without commission to Norfolk for additional repairs and returned to the Revenue Cutter Service Depot 30 September 1909. Repairs were completed 6 November 1909, and she recommissioned and returned to normal patrol duties. On 6 March 1910, USRC Mohawk assisted by Onondaga, towed the abandoned and waterlogged four-masted schooner Asbury Fountain to Norfolk after Asbury Fountain collided with the steamer SS Jamestown. On 23 May 1912, Onondaga was at Philadelphia, representing the Revenue Cutter Service at the convention of the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses. On 9 May 1913, Onondaga received United States Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo and his party aboard for a cruise from Baltimore, Maryland, to Richmond, Virginia.

On 9 October 1913, the steel-hulled bark Manga Reva departed Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bound for San Francisco, California, via Cape Horn with a cargo of coal, but about a week after she cleared Delaware Bay, her crew of 28 men mutinied while she was in the Atlantic Ocean 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) east of Bermuda. The mutineers forced her captain and other officers to sail her back toward Philadelphia. On 9 November 1913, she anchored inside the breakwater off Lewes, Delaware, in the midst of a gale. The weather prevented the pilot who came aboard from guiding her up the Delaware Bay to Philadelphia, and as he disembarked Manga Reva′s captain, despite warnings from the mutineers not to mention the mutiny, slipped him a note asking for help. The pilot notified the Philadelphia Navy Yard at League Island in Philadelphia of the mutiny, and the navy yard promptly radioed Onondaga. In response, Onondaga made for Lewes at full speed. With a small crowd of onlookers from Lewes using telescopes to observe the action from the beach, Onondaga arrived on the scene on 10 November 1913 and fastened herself to Manga Reva with grappling hooks. Members of Onondaga′s crew leaped over the rail and onto the deck of Manga Reva and found the mutineers gathered on Manga Reva′s quarterdeck armed with sheath knives and other weapons they had found, shouting defiance at Onondaga′s crew. More Onondaga crewmen came aboard Manga Reva armed with rifles and fixed bayonets. The mutineers, intoxicated from drinking Manga Reva′s liquor supply overnight, retreated, and within five minutes, and with no shots fired, Onondaga′s crew brought the mutiny to an end and arrested the mutineers.

On 5 August 1914, at the outbreak of World War I in Europe, Onondaga was authorized for duty in enforcing neutrality laws in the Chesapeake Bay area. On 19 October 1914 she was placed out of commission at the Revenue Cutter Service Depot for overhaul, and her crew transferred to the Revenue Cutter Service Academy training ship USRC Itasca When the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the United States Coast Guard on 28 January 1915, Onondaga became a United States Coast Guard cutter, designated as USCGC Onondaga. She was recommissioned on 29 January 1915 and her crew returned to her from Itasca.

In the spring of 1915, the Italian steamer Verona arrived at the immigration station at Cape Henlopen, Delaware, carrying several hundred immigrants and, after immigration authorities discovered a suspected case of smallpox on board, the immigrants were confined to the quarantine station at Cape Henlopen. Many of the immigrants were eager to reach New York City in time to celebrate Easter Sunday with relatives on 4 April 1915, and about 200 of them pushed through the wire and past the guards at the quarantine station and arrived at the train station 3 miles (4.8 km) away in Lewes, demanding tickets to Philadelphia, but the station manager held them at bay with a pistol. Onondaga arrived at Lewes and disembarked a detachment of 50 United States Marines carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, prompting the unarmed immigrants to return to the quarantine station. The following day, a steamer arrived to take the immigrants to Philadelphia.

During the summer of 1915, Lieutenants Elmer F. Stone and Norman B. Hall of Onondaga proposed the use of airplanes to increase the search capabilities of the cutter in locating overdue fishing schooners. With the approval of Onondaga′s commanding officer, Captain Benjamin M. Chiswell, they flew scouting missions in an airplane loaned to them by a representative of the Curtiss Aeroplane Company. On 16 October 1915, Onondaga was assigned a winter patrol area from Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with a home port of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. On 17 October 1916 her patrol area was changed to Cape Romain, South Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, with her home port at Savannah, Georgia. She patrolled this area until being recalled to the United States Coast Guard Depot on 31 March 1917. On 5 April 1917 she was decommissioned in preparation for transfer to the United States Navy for service in World War I.

World War I

After 6 April 1917, the Coast Guard was placed under the control of the Department of the Navy by executive order; however, Onondaga was unique among the cutters in the Coast Guard in that she was never assigned to a naval district commandant but instead received her orders directly from the Commandant of the Coast Guard. After re-commissioning on 18 May 1917, she sailed for New London, Connecticut where Captain Frederick C. Billard, also superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, took command of her. Onondaga was used to convoy vessels turned over for use by the Coast Guard during the war from one port to another and to transfer personnel between units. She also was used to train newly recruited enlistees and cadets at the Academy and for towing disabled vessels to shipyards for repair.

On 20 February 1918, Onondaga rescued the entire crew of the British steamship SS Veturia after she foundered on Diamond Shoals off the North Carolina coast. Captain Billard maneuvered Onondaga close by the grounded Veturia in heavy seas and dense fog and one of the small boats from Onondaga made seven trips rescuing the stranded crew of the grounded ship. Captain Billard and his crew received a commendation from the British Admiralty. The owners of the Veturia, Gow, Harrison and Company, sent a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, expressing appreciation for the rescue. While on patrol near Montauk Point on 13 March 1918, she came to the aid of SS Kershaw, taking some of the crew off the stricken ship and placing them aboard USRC Tuscarora.

Post-war service and decommissioning

On 28 August 1919 the Coast Guard was returned to Department of the Treasury control. Onondaga continued patrol operations based out of New London until 1920, at which time she transferred to Baltimore. She continued to operate out of Baltimore until 1 January 1923, when she was placed out of commission at the Coast Guard Depot for repairs. Funding for needed repairs was never received and her condition gradually deteriorated to the point where she had to be sold for scrap. She was sold 16 September 1924 to Charles A. Jording of Baltimore for US$7,840.

Footnotes

  1. The major overhaul of Galveston also included a name change; she was renamed Apache 30 December 1904
  2. Colton claims that after being sold Onondaga was converted to a barge.

Citations

  1. "Here and There". The Dayton Herald. 9 December 1897. p. 1. Retrieved 16 October 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  2. ^ Record of Movements, p 51
  3. ^ Colton, Tim, "Globe Iron Works, Cleveland Ohio", shipbuildinghistory.com, Shipbuilding History
  4. ^ Canney, p 56
  5. ^ Record of Movements, p 57
  6. "Onondaga (6100613)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. "Revenue Cutter Launched". The Dayton Herald. 24 December 1897. p. 7. Retrieved 16 October 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Free access icon
  8. "Onondaga, 1898", Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
  9. Evans, p 158
  10. Canney, p 49
  11. "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1905". Washington: Government Printing Office. 1905. p. 56. Retrieved 21 May 2020 – via Haithi Trust.
  12. ^ Record of Movements, p 52
  13. Record of Movements, p 53
  14. ^ Record of Movements, p 54
  15. King, p 143
  16. ^ Record of Movements, p 55
  17. newspaper abstracts.com "Mutiny On The Magna Reva Ended By The Revenue Cutter Onondaga," New York Times, 10 November 1913 Retrieved 2 September 2018
  18. newspaperabstracts.com "Revenue Cutter Crew Nab Ship Mutineers," The Washington Post, 16 November 1913 Retrieved 2 September 2018
  19. Morgan, Michael, "A Mutiny on a Ship Ended at Delaware Breakwater," Delaware Wave, 28 August 2018, p. 37.
  20. ^ Record of Movements, p 56
  21. "U.S. Coast Guard General Order No. 1", Historic Documents & Publications, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
  22. ^ Morgan, Michael, "Hidden History of Lewes," Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-62584-520-7, pp.97–98. Retrieved 31 July 2018
  23. Register of the officers, vessels and stations of the United States Coast Guard, 1 August 1915, U.S. Government Printing Office, p 58
  24. Evans, p 188
  25. Larzelere, pp 137–138
  26. Larzelere, p 93
  27. Kroll, p 113
  28. Larzelere, p 97
  29. Larzelere, pp 98–99
  30. Johnson, p 67

References

External links

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