USS ''Iris'' was a ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

which served in the Pacific in a variety of roles from 1899 until 1916. Originally fitted out as a

distilling ship Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

, she served as a general utility ship, then as a collier, before being refitted as a

torpedo boat tender The torpedo boat tender was a type of warship developed at the end of the 19th century to help bring small torpedo boats to the high seas, and launch them for attack. During the Turko-Russian war in 1877, the Russians requisitioned 19 trade ve ...

Service history

The ship was built in 1885 by A. Leslie and Company,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, England, and was purchased by the

from the Miami Steamship Co. on 25 May 1898 for service in the

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 ...

. However, reconditioning and conversion to a water distilling ship was not completed until after the end of active operations against Spain. ''Iris'' was commissioned at

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...

on 1 August 1898. The ship departed Norfolk on 31 August and arrived at Montauk Point, New York on 5 September. She departed

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

on 14 October for the

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, arriving at

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

on 18 March 1899. She acted as a general utility ship for the

Asiatic Squadron The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron (naval), squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron w ...

in the Philippines during the occupation of the islands and during the subsequent

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

. Crewmembers serving on ''Iris'' during any of the periods 18 March to 16 November 1899; 14 December 1899 to 16 January 1900; 31 May to 21 June 1900; 1 August 1900 to 27 April 1901 or 18 July 1901 to 4 July 1902 qualified for award of the

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 and 1913. Although a single service medal, the Philippin ...

. ''Iris'' was decommissioned for repairs at

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

on 31 January 1900, and resumed duty in May under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Dudley Wright Knox Commodore Dudley Wright Knox (21 June 1877 – 11 June 1960) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and World War I. He was also a prominent naval historian, who for many years oversaw the Navy Department's hi ...

USN through June 1901. During this time, ''Iris'' returned to duty in the Philippines during the

and also served in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

. Crewmembers serving on her between 29 June to 24 July 1900 qualified for award of the

China Relief Expedition Medal The China Relief Expedition Medal was a decoration of the United States military which was issued to members of both the United States Navy and the United States Marines for service in the China Relief Expedition between 1900 and 1901 during the B ...

. ''Iris'' sailed for home in late 1903, arriving at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on 13 November and decommissioned at

Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...

on 18 December. She was overhauled there and was placed in service as a collier for the Asiatic Squadron. For the next five years, she fueled United States vessels in the

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

. She departed Manila on 20 May 1909 for San Francisco where she was converted to a

. She was placed out of service on 15 October and recommissioned the same day. During the following years she served as parent ship for the Pacific Torpedo Fleet operating off the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

In late April 1914, under the command of

Allen B. Reed, ''Iris'' along with five torpedo boats from the Pacific Fleet Torpedo Flotilla, were ordered to the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

, also known as the Sea of Cortez following the

Tampico Affair The Tampico Affair began as a minor incident involving United States Navy sailors and the Mexican Federal Army loyal to Mexican dictator General Victoriano Huerta. On April 9, 1914, nine sailors had come ashore to secure supplies and were detai ...

. They patrolled the vicinity of

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

and Mazatlan, Mexico, during the ongoing

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to maintain public order or tranquility. Causes Any number of things may cause civil di ...

there. During May and June 1914, ''Iris'' evacuated American citizen refugees from Mazatlan and Acapulco, including the American consul, Hon. Clement S. Edwards. On 19 June, ''Iris'' departed Mazatlan for La Paz, Mexico. ''Iris'' departed La Paz for San Diego on 28 August. After arriving back to San Diego, ''Iris'' spent the next few months on regular patrol duty with the torpedo ships in her squadron, primarily operating off the coast of California between San Pedro and San Diego. Crewmembers serving on ''Iris'' during the period 29 April to 20 May 1914 or 4 to 12 June 1914 qualified for award of the

Mexican Service Medal The Mexican Service Medal was an award of the United States military for service in Mexico from 1911 to 1919. History The Mexican Service Medal awarded by the Army was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December ...

. In late 1915 disorder in Mexico again threatened American citizens and interests. ''Iris'' arrived Topolobampo, Mexico on 9 December to begin patrol duty on the Mexican coast. She remained in the area ready to act in the event of any emergency until departing La Paz on 30 January 1916. She arrived back at

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, on 4 February and began duty towing targets off southern California. Two months later ''Iris'' was ordered to San Francisco. After arriving on 16 April, she was decommissioned at Mare Island on 2 May 1916. ''Iris'' was transferred to 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 ...

on 3 May 1917.

Campaigns

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iris (1885) 1885 ships Ships built on the River Tyne Distilling ships of the United States Navy Colliers of the United States Navy Motor torpedo boat tenders of the United States Navy