SS St. Paul (1895)
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SS ''Saint Paul'' was a trans-Atlantic
ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
named for the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
of
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.


Construction, acquisition, and commissioning

''Saint Paul'' was launched on 10 April 1895 by
William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) was an American shipbuilding company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1830 by William Cramp. During its heyday in late 19 ...
,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, as a steel passenger liner. The ship later was chartered for United States Navy service as an
auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
from her owner, International Navigation Company, by a board appointed on 12 March 1898; and commissioned on 20 April 1898 for
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
service, Captain Charles D. Sigsbee in command.


Incident with the RMS ''Campania''

At about 2A.M. on January 25, 1896, the SS ''St. Paul'', of the American line, went aground while on its way toward New York Harbor. It was alleged that the steamship had been racing the RMS ''Campania'', a British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Line, but that fog had caused the grounding. At the time, the ''St. Paul'' and her sister ship, the ''St. Louis'', were the largest vessels ever constructed in America, with each able to carry 320 first class passengers, 200 second class passengers, and 900 emigrants. The RMS ''Campania'' was additionally the largest and fastest passenger liner afloat at the time. No one was hurt in the incident, with approximately 265 passengers (65 first class, 75 second class, and 125 steerage passengers) from the ''St. Paul'' successfully evacuated from the ship and ferried on to New York. The ''St. Paul'', however, remained grounded for more than a week afterwards. In the aftermath, both captains and their respective companies denied allegations that a race had occurred just before the grounding, despite reports to the contrary from passengers and even crew members. Vernon H. Young, a representative of the Cunard Steamship Company (of which the ''Campania'' was a part), forbade the ''Campania’s'' captain, Capt. Walker, from speaking with the media about the incident. Captain Walker had already admitted to the race, however, saying in an interview: “We sighted the ''St. Paul'' at 8:30 o’clock Friday morning, when she was fifteen miles ahead of us on the port bow. Then we both went at it as hard as we could. We kept on at racing speed for four hours, and finally passed her.” Similarly, a crew member from the ''St. Paul'', Mall Master Hart, told the media plainly: “We were racing when we struck.” At the time of the incident, the ''St. Paul'' had already been the scene of several other accidents. One of these accidents involved the death of several crewmembers on December 18, 1895 when the main steam pipe supplying one of the engines burst in two places, filling the engine room with steam and scalding 5 men to death while severely injuring 5 others, 4 of whom subsequently died.


Service history


Spanish–American War

Departing Philadelphia on 5 May 1898, ''Saint Paul''s first assignment was to cruise in search of Admiral
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's squadron between Morant Point, Jamaica, and western Haiti. She captured the British collier ''Restormel''—bound for Cuba with a critical cargo of Cardiff coal—on 25 May and sent her into
Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...
under a
prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. History Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew h ...
. She cruised off
Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...
and Guantanamo Bay into mid-June, then sailed to join the force blockading San Juan, Puerto Rico. ''Saint Paul'' arrived off San Juan on the morning of 22 June. Shortly after midday, in the
second battle of San Juan The Second Battle of San Juan occurred on 22 June 1898 when two Spanish vessels tried to break the American blockade off San Juan. Background San Juan had been under blockade by American forces since April 1898. Most of the time, the blockade c ...
, the Spanish cruiser , emerged from the harbor and, remaining under protection of shore batteries, opened fire on ''Saint Paul'' at long range without success. ''Isabel II'' was joined shortly by the destroyer , which attempted to close ''Saint Paul'' to launch torpedoes. ''Saint Paul'' took ''Terror'' under heavy fire, scoring at least one direct hit which heavily damaged the destroyer. ''Terror'' gave up the attack and returned to port, followed by ''Isabel II''. ''Saint Paul'' was relieved by off San Juan on the 26th and made for
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
to coal. ''Saint Paul'' spent the remainder of her Spanish–American War service as a transport, operating for 48 days in July–August as a War Department vessel. She landed troops at
Siboney, Cuba Siboney is a Cuban village and ''Consejo popular (Cuba), consejo popular'' (i.e.: people's council) located in the east of the city of Santiago de Cuba and belonging to its municipality. Geography The village lies by the Caribbean Sea, near the ...
, and
Arroyo, Puerto Rico Arroyo () is a Arroyo barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located along the southern coast of Puerto Rico and bordered by the Caribbean Sea, east of the municipality of Guayama, Puerto Rico, Guayama and northwest o ...
, subsequently returning soldiers from Guantanamo Bay to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
through 15 August. Entering the Cramp shipyard on 22 August for re-conversion to mercantile service, ''Saint Paul'' was decommissioned on 2 September and returned to her owner the same day.


Collision

On 25 April 1908, outward bound from
Southampton, England Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, in a late snowstorm, ''Saint Paul'' was involved in a collision with the British cruiser in the Needles Channel. ''Gladiator'' foundered in shallow water with the loss of 27 crew, but ''Saint Paul'' was able to return to Southampton for repairs.Medland, J. C. (2004).''Shipwrecks of the Wight''. Coach House Publications Ltd; 2nd Revised edition. .


World War I

''Saint Paul'' was again taken over for wartime service on 27 October 1917. Operated by the
United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was a corporation established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting ...
as a transport on the War Department account, she retained her merchant crew and carried a naval armed guard on board. She made twelve voyages between New York and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. She was transferred to the Navy account in April 1918; designated SP-1643; and overhauled at New York. Then, while being towed to her berth from dry dock on 28 April with her ballast removed, she capsized in the North River. Righted on 11 September, she was subsequently turned over to the Commandant,
3rd Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...
, on 17 October. ''Saint Paul'' entered the
New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...
the following day, but the end of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
led to cancellation of plans to convert the ship to a
troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...
.


Post-war

Placed in temporary commission on 14 January 1919 for the purpose of fixing responsibility for her care outside the Navy Yard, ''Saint Paul'' soon began reconversion for mercantile service. Returned to her owner on 24 March 1919, ''Saint Paul'' was scrapped in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in 1923.


Postage stamp

As part of the celebrations surrounding the 1901
Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a world's fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park–Front Park System, Delaware Park, extending ...
a set of six commemorative
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
s were issued. The highest value, 10 cents, shows ''Saint Paul'' under steam. While the three lowest stamps in the series include rare inverted printings, no errors are known for this issue.


References

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External links

*
Video dedicated to the ocean liner SS St. Paul
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul (1895) Passenger ships of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons Ships of the American Line World War I cruisers of the United States Auxiliary cruisers of the United States Navy 1895 ships Spanish–American War cruisers of the United States Maritime incidents in 1908