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Revision as of 01:18, 14 July 2018 editInternetArchiveBot (talk | contribs)Bots, Pending changes reviewers5,380,770 edits Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead. #IABot (v2.0beta)← Previous edit Revision as of 00:41, 1 August 2018 edit undoMdnavman (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers178,880 edits →1899–1917: Added information. Clean-up.Next edit →
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===1899–1917=== ===1899–1917===
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 utilized to cover other RCS cutter's patrol areas when they were laid up for repairs.<ref name=RoM51 /> On 1 July 1902, ''Onondaga'' conveyed Maine Senator ] and party from ] to ].<ref name=RoM51 /> On 7 April 1904, she received orders to return to Galveston, Texas and tow ] to the ] at ] for major yard 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 tug ''Boyer'' collided with the stern of ''Onondaga'' necessitating extensive repairs at Kensington Shipyard Company, Philadelphia. Repairs were completed 7 February 1905 and she sailed for ] to patrol for the remainder of her winter cruise.<ref name=RoM52>Record of Movements, p 52</ref> On 11 November she was notified that all winter patrols were to be based out of Norfolk while summer patrols were conducted out of Philadelphia.<ref name=RoM52 /> After 13 April 1907, all patrols were based out of Norfolk with occasional temporary duty at ] while the cutters normally stationed there were in shipyards for repairs.<ref name=RoM53>Record of Movements, p 53</ref> On 29 October she had a wireless telegraph installed at Norfolk<ref name=RoM54>Record of Movements, p 54</ref> On 7 June 1909, ''Onondaga'' was placed out of commission at the RCS Depot for repairs. She sailed without commission to Norfolk for additional repairs and returned to the RCS Depot 30 September. Repairs were completed 6 November and with re-commissioning she returned to normal patrol duties.<ref name=RoM54 /> On 6 March 1910, {{USRC|Mohawk|1904|6}} assisted by ''Onondaga'' towed the abandoned waterlogged four-masted schooner ''Asbury Fountain'' to ] after she suffered a collision with SS ''Jamestown''.<ref name=King143>King, p 143</ref> On 23 May 1912, she was at Philadelphia representing the Revenue Cutter Service at the convention of ].<ref name=RoM54 /> On 9 May 1913, ''Onondaga'' received ] ] and party aboard for a cruise from ] to ].<ref name=RoM55>Record of Movements, p 55</ref> 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 Servie 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 ] ''Boyer'' collided with ''Onondaga'', striking her ] and necessitating that ''Onondaga'' undergo extensive repairs at Kensington Shipyard Company in Philadelphia. 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'' scollided 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>
⚫ At the outbreak of World War I, 5 August 1914, ''Onondaga'' was authorized for duty in enforcing neutrality laws in the ] area.<ref name="RoM55"/> On 19 October 1914 she was placed out of commission at the RCS Depot for overhaul and the crew was transferred to the ] training vessel, ]<ref name=RoM56>Record of Movements, p 56</ref> When the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the ] to form the United States Coast Guard on 28 January 1915, she became known as USCGC ''Onondaga'', a ].<ref name=USCG02>"U.S. Coast Guard General Order No. 1", Historic Documents & Publications, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office</ref> She was re-commissioned 29 January 1915 and her crew was returned from ''Itasca''. During the summer of 1915, Lieutenants ] and ] of the ''Onondaga'' proposed to use aircraft to increase the search capabilities of the cutter in locating overdue fishing schooners. With the approval the commanding officer, Captain ], 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, August 1, 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 she was assigned a winter patrol area from ] to ] with a homeport of ]<ref name=RoM56 /> The next year on 17 October her patrol was changed to the area from ] to ] with a homeport of ]. She patrolled this area until being recalled to the USCG Depot 31 March 1917. On 5 April ''Onondaga'' was decommissioned in preparation to being transferred to the Navy for service in World War I.<ref name=RoM56 />

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''.

In the spring of 1915, the Italian ] ''Verona'' arrived at the immigration station at ], ], 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></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 past guards at the station and arrived at the train station 3 miles (5 km) away in ], demanding tickets to ], ], 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/>

⚫ 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, August 1, 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=== ===World War I===

Revision as of 00:41, 1 August 2018

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

USRC Onondaga, ca. 1914
History
United States
NameUSRC Onondaga
NamesakeLake Onondaga, New York
Operator
  • U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1898–1915
  • U.S. Coast Guard, 1915–1923
Awarded30 March 1897
BuilderGlobe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio,
CostUS$193,800
Yard number72
Completed13 August 1898
Commissioned24 October 1898
Decommissioned1 January 1923
FateSold for scrap, 16 September 1924
General characteristics
Displacement1,190 long tons (1,210 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 de-commissioned in 1923.

Construction

The United States Revenue Cutter Service cutter Onondaga was built at Cleveland, Ohio in 1898 by the Globe Iron Works. 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 Servie 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 Boyer collided with Onondaga, 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 scollided 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 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 past guards at the station and arrived at the train station 3 miles (5 km) away in Lewes, demanding tickets to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 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 she 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 de-commissioning

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.

Notes

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. ^ "Onondaga, 1898", Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
  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. Evans, p 158
  7. Canney, p 49
  8. ^ Record of Movements, p 52
  9. Record of Movements, p 53
  10. ^ Record of Movements, p 54
  11. King, p 143
  12. ^ Record of Movements, p 55
  13. ^ Record of Movements, p 56
  14. "U.S. Coast Guard General Order No. 1", Historic Documents & Publications, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
  15. ^ Morgan, Michael, "Hidden History of Lewes," Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-62584-520-7, unpaginated. Retrieved July 31, 2018
  16. Register of the officers, vessels and stations of the United States Coast Guard, August 1, 1915, U.S. Government Printing Office, p 58
  17. Evans, p 188
  18. Larzelere, pp 137–138
  19. Larzelere, p 93
  20. Kroll, p 113
  21. Larzelere, p 97
  22. Larzelere, pp 98–99
  23. Johnson, p 67
References used
  • "Onondaga, 1898" (PDF). Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  • "Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790–December 31, 1933 (1989 reprint)" (pdf). U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation.
  • Register of the officers, vessels and stations of the United States Coast Guard, August 1, 1915. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1915.
  • "U.S. Coast Guard General Order No. 1" (pdf). Historic Documents & Publications. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  • Canney, Donald L. (1995). U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-101-1.
  • Colton, Tim. "Globe Iron Works, Cleveland Ohio". shipbuildinghistory.com. Shipbuilding History. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  • Evans, Stephen H. (1949). The United States Coast Guard 1790–1915: A Definitive History. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland.
  • Johnson, Robert Irwin (1987). Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-720-3.
  • King (1989), Irving H. (1989). The Coast Guard Under Sail: The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1789–1865. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-234-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Kroll, C. Douglas (2002). Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-474-6.
  • Larzelere, Alex (2003). The Coast Guard in World War I: An Untold Story. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-476-0.

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