| The first Stewart (Destroyer No. 13) was laid down on 24
January 1900 at Morris Heights, New York, by the Gas Engine and Power Co.;
launched on 10 May 1902; sponsored by Mrs. Paul Lee Cocke, granddaughter
of Rear Admiral Stewart; and commissioned on 1 December 1902, Lt. Frederick
A. Traut in command. |
| After commissioning, Stewart served for a short time at
the Naval Academy and then joined the Coast Squadron of the North Atlantic
Fleet. In 1906, she was placed in reserve at Norfolk but was recommissioned
in 1907 in the Atlantic Fleet and transferred in 1908 to the Pacific Fleet.
As one of the first group of destroyers built in the United States, Stewart
quickly became obsolescent; and, on 24 February 1916, the Navy Department
decided that destroyers numbered 1 through 16 were "no longer serviceable
for duty with the fleet." These ships were henceforth classed as "coast torpedo
vessels," but this did not prevent Stewart from having an active career
in World War I. |
| After the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917,
Stewart patrolled first off the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal
and along the Colombian coast; and then, after 11 May, off the Pacific entrance
to the canal. On 5 July, she returned to the Atlantic, and was fitted out
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard between 22 July and 11 August for distant
service. |
| On 13 August, she sailed for Bermuda with a destroyer flotilla;
but, on arrival on 16 August, she grounded in the harbor and required repairs
there and at Philadelphia that lasted through 10 October. On 11 October,
Stewart began dispatch and escort duty from a base in the York River.
Except for one interruption for training, this duty continued until 31 December
1917, when she entered the Philadelphia yard to fit out again for distant
service. |
| Departing the yard on 15 January 19188, Stewart got underway
for Europe in company with
Hopkins
(Coast Torpedo Vessel No. 6) Macdonough (Coast
Torpedo Vessel No. 9), Paul Jones (Coast
Torpedo Vessel No. 10), and
Worden (Coast
Torpedo Vessel No. 16). She steamed with them, via Bermuda, to Ponta Delgada
in the Azores, where she arrived on 29 January. There Stewart and
Worden parted company with the other three warships and put to sea
again on 4 February to continue on to the French coast. They reached Brest
on the 9th and soon thereafter began escorting coastal convoys and hunting
for enemy U-boats on the 17th. |
| On 17 April 1918, as Stewart entered Quiberon Bay, an American
steamer, Florence H., with a cargo of powder and steel, exploded in
the anchorage. Stewart saved nine survivors, and her crew was cited
by the Secretary of the Navy for gallantry during the rescue; Destroyers
Whipple
and
Truxtun
also participated in the rescue of the Florence H. crew. On 23 April,
Stewart sighted two seaplanes dropping bombs, apparently on a submarine;
and she raced to the spot. One aircraft flew over the destroyer, and the
observer pointed to the location of the sub. Stewart saw first the
sub's wake, then its periscope and finally the dark form of her hull underwater.
She was forced to turn away at the last moment due to the effort of a French
escort to ram the sub, but dropped two depth charges that brought up large
amounts of oil. The action was evaluated at the time as a kill; but the
submarine, U-108, survived to be damaged by
Porter several
days later and finally to surrender at Harwich at the end of the war. |
| During a dense fog three days later, Stewart was damaged
when she collided with an unidentified merchantman, and she remained under
repair until 28 May. On 4 August, the destroyer made another attack on an
apparent submarine wake, but obtained no evidence of success. |
| After the armistice ending World War I was signed on 11 November
1918, Stewart ceased convoy duty; and she entered drydock at Brest
on 26 November for repairs. On 9 December, she departed Brest with four other
destroyers. As she returned home, on 11 December, she passed the convoy carrying
President Wilson to Europe and subsequently made stops at the Azores and
Bermuda; the four destroyers arrived at Philadelphia on 3 January 1919.
Decommissioned on 9 July 1919, Stewart was struck from the Navy list
on 15 September 1919 and sold on 3 January 1920 to Joseph G. Hintner Co.,
Philadelphia, for scrap. |
Displacement, 420; Length, 245'; Beam, 23'1"; Draft, 6'6" ; Speed,
29.7 knots; Complement, 79; Armament, two 3", five 6-pdrs., two torpedo tubes
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