| Act of 4 May 1898: |
"._._. The President
is hereby authorized to have constructed by contract three seagoing coast-line
battle ships carrying the heaviest armor and most powerful ordnance upon
a displacement of about eleven thousand tons, to have the highest practicable
speed for vessels of their class, and to cost, exclusive of armor and armament,
not exceeding three million dollars each, one of said battle ships to be
named the Maine.
._._. Not more
than two of said battle ships,
._._. shall
be built in one yard or by one contracting party,
._._. In all
there parts said vessels shall be of domestic manufacture
._._. One
._._. of the
aforesaid seagoing battle ships,
._._. shall
be built on or near the coast of the Pacific Ocean
._._." |
| The third Missouri was laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding
& Drydock Co., Newport News, Va., 7 February 1900; launched 28 December
1901; sponsored by Mrs. Edson Galludet, daughter of Senator Francis Marion
Cockrell of Missouri, and commissioned 1 December 1903, Capt. William S.
Cowles in command. |
| Assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet, Missouri left Norfolk
4 February 1904 for trials off the Virginia Capes and fleet operations in
the Caribbean. On 13 April, during target practice, a flareback from the
port gun in her afterturret ignited a powder charge and set off two others.
No explosion occurred but the rapid burning of the powder suffocated 36 of
the crew. Prompt action prevented the lose of the warship and three of her
crew were awarded Medals of Honor for extraordinary heroism. After repairs
at Newport News, Missouri sailed 9 June for duty in the Mediterranean
from which she returned to New York 17 December. |
| Fleet operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean during
the next years were highlighted by her relief to earthquake victims at Kingston,
Jamaica, 17 to 19 January 1907. In April, she took part in the
Jamestown
Exposition. |
| With the "Great White Fleet," Missouri sailed from Hampton
Roads 16 December 1907, passing in review before President Theodore Roosevelt
at the beginning of a world cruise which was to show the world that American
naval might could penetrate any waters. Calling at ports in the Caribbean
and along the east coast of South America, the fleet rounded Cape Horn to
call in Peru and Mexico before arriving San Francisco 6 May 1908 for a gala
visit. In July, the fleet turned west for Honolulu, New Zealand, and Australia,
arriving in Manila 2 October. The most tumultuous welcome yet came in Yokohama,
and with a call in Amoy, China, the fleet began the passage home by way of
Ceylon, Suez, and ports in the eastern Mediterranean. Departing Gibraltar
6 February 1909, the fleet was again reviewed by President Roosevelt upon
its triumphant return to Hampton Roads 22 February. An important diplomatic
mission had been carried out with the greatest success. |
| Placed in reserve at Boston 1 May 1910, Missouri recommissioned
1 June 1911 and resumed east coast and Caribbean operations with the Atlantic
Fleet. In June 1912, she carried marines from New York to Cuba where they
protected American interests during a rebellion. The next month the battleship
carried midshipmen for training, then decommissioned at Philadelphia 9 September
1912. |
| Missouri recommissioned 16 March 1914 for that summer's
Naval Academy Practice Squadron's cruise to Italian and English ports. She
returned to ordinary at Philadelphia 2 December 1914, but recommissioned
15 April 1915 to train midshipmen in the Caribbean and in mid-July, en route
to California ports, Missouri became the first battleship to pass
through the Panama Canal; she was accompanied by the battleships
Ohio and
Wisconsin. Missouri
returned to the Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia 18 October 1915, recommissioned
2 May 1916, and again conducted training along the east coast and in the
Caribbean until placed in ordinary for the winter at Philadelphia. |
| Upon the entry of the United States into World War I,
Missouri recommissioned 23 April 1917 and joinined the Atlantic Fleet
at Yorktown, Virginia, and operated as a training ship in the Chesapeake
Bay area to include maneuvers and exercises in company with battleships
Wisconsin,
Kearsarge,
Alabama,
Kentucky,
Ohio,
Illinois,
and
Maine
between 13 and 19 August 1917. |
| On 26 August 1917, Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman broke his flag in
Missouri as Commander, Division 2, Atlantic Fleet, and the warship
continued to train thousands of recruits in engineering and gunnery for foreign
service on warships and as armed guards for merchant vessels. |
| Following the Armistice, the battleship was attached to the Cruiser
and Transport Force, departing Norfolk 18 February 1919 on the first of four
voyages to Brest to return 3,278 U.S. troops to east coast ports.
Missouri decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 8 September 1919.
She was sold to J. G. Hitner and W. F. Cutler of Philadelphia 26 January
1922 and scrapped in accordance with the treaty limiting naval
armaments. |
|
Bibliography
 |
Naval Historical Center FAQ --
Great
White Fleet |
|
United States Navy Department, Bureau of Navigation, Men
on Board Ships of the Atlantic Fleet Bound for the Pacific, December 16,
1907, (Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1908) |
|
|
Larry W. Jewell, Who's Who of United States
Battleships, (Internet publication), edition: 30 August, 1993. |
|
|
James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American Naval
Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1964), Vol.1 -- A-B, p. 191 |
|
James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American Naval
Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1969), Vol.4: L-M, p. 391-393 |
|
