USS Bennington (PG-4)

The Yorktown class gunboats – unofficially considered third-class cruisers – were the product of a United States Navy design attempt to produce compact ships with good seakeeping abilities and, yet, able to carry a heavy battery. Bennington was authorized in the 1888 fiscal year, and the contract for her construction was awarded to N. F. Palmer & Co. of Chester, Pennsylvania. The hull for Bennington was subcontracted to the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works and built to the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair design. The mechanical design was patterned after the layout for her older sister ship developed by William Cramp & Sons. and the ship was launched on 3 June 1890, sponsored by Anne Aston, the daughter of Rear Admiral Ralph Aston, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Navy. Layout As built, Bennington was in length and abeam. Her steel hull had an average draft of , Armament Benningtons main battery consisted of six /30 caliber Mark 3 guns, with each gun weighing in excess of . == Early career ==

USS Bennington (Gunboat No. 4) was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 20 June 1891 under the command of Commander Royal B. Bradford. As one of the first steel-hulled gunboats of the "New Navy", Bennington was assigned to the Squadron of Evolution, a unit made up entirely of "New Navy" ships that was established to test and perfect tactics and doctrine developed at the Naval War College. In addition to operating as the first tactical fleet of the U.S. Navy, the squadron performed the secondary mission of cruising to foreign ports to demonstrate to the world the types of modern ships the United States was capable of building. In that latter role, Bennington and the rest of the squadron departed New York on 19 November 1891 for the unit's cruise to Brazil. On 5 May 1892, Bennington was transferred to the South Atlantic Squadron and cruised South American waters until 19 July. Setting out from Bahia, Brazil, the gunboat visited Spanish and Italian ports during the 400th anniversary celebration of Columbus' voyage to the western hemisphere. She concluded the European portion of those festivities on 18 February 1893 when she departed Cádiz, with a replica of Columbus's caravel Pinta in tow for Cuba. After stops in the Canary Islands, the Netherlands West Indies, and Havana, the gunboat arrived back in the United States at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 26 March. Following participation in the 1893 International Naval Review at Hampton Roads, Bennington moved north for operations along the coast of New England before beginning preparations for foreign service. To this end, she entered the New York Navy Yard on 24 May and remained there until 6 August. The ship departed New York on the 6th and arrived in Lisbon on the 18th. She cruised the Mediterranean, visiting various ports along its shores, for the next six months. In February 1894, orders arrived sending her to the Pacific. On the 18th, the gunboat transited the Strait of Gibraltar and headed back across the Atlantic. After steaming around Cape Horn and stopping at several Latin American ports, the warship finally arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 30 April. == Pacific Duty ==

Bennington served in the Pacific for a little more than four years. For the most part, her duty consisted of cruising along the west coast protecting American interests in Latin America during the numerous political upheavals that occurred at that time in Central and South America. In addition, she made two extended cruises to the Hawaiian Islands. The first came after a group of pro-royalists attempted in January 1895 to stage a countercoup against the provisional government of the islands. Bennington departed Mare Island on 28 May, arrived at Honolulu on 5 June, and spent the next nine months protecting American interests in the islands. On 5 March 1896, she departed Honolulu, bound for San Francisco where she arrived on 16 March. The following day, the warship entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for five months of repairs. Bennington later made a stop at San Luis d'Apra, Guam, from 23 January to 15 February where Commander (later Rear Admiral) Taussig accepted the relinquishment of Guam from her Spanish colonial governor. Taussig briefly served as the first naval governor of Guam and established a native ruling council, before continuing on to Manila where Bennington arrived on 22 February. == Philippine–American War ==

For a little more than two years after her February 1899 arrival, Bennington served in the Philippine Islands in support of the Army's campaigns during the Philippine–American War. For the most part, her service in the islands consisted of patrol and escort duty – preventing rebel movement and stopping the importation of arms, as well as seeing American troops and supplies safely between the islands. Occasionally, Bennington did see action. On 10 September, she shelled a fort near Legaspi on the southeastern coast of Luzon. Two days later, she captured and destroyed the insurgent vessel Parao. Between 7 and 9 November, the warship supported an Army landing at San Fabian on the shores of Lingayen Gulf in northwestern Luzon. The gunboat began a four-month assignment as station ship at Cebu on 26 November and concluded that duty on 19 March 1900. After 18 months of inactivity, Bennington was recommissioned on 2 March 1903 under the command of Commander Chauncey Thomas. == Boiler explosion ==

On the morning of 21 July 1905, Benningtons crew was preparing her to sail to the aid of the monitor which had broken down and was in need of a tow. After her crew had finished the difficult task of coaling the ship that morning, most of them were belowdecks cleaning themselves from the dirty job. Unbeknownst to anyone on board, three problems with one of Benningtons boilers – oily feed water, an improperly closed steam valve, and a faulty steam gauge – were conspiring against them. At about 10:30, excessive steam pressure in the boiler resulted in a boiler explosion that rocked the ship, sending men and equipment flying into the air. The escaping steam sprayed through the living compartments and decks. The explosion opened Benningtons hull to the sea, and she began to list to starboard. The sheer number of casualties – the death toll exceeded the U.S. Navy's death toll for the entirety of the Spanish–American War – overwhelmed San Diego's medical facilities, and many burn victims had to be cared for in makeshift facilities tended by volunteers. The victims are commemorated by the USS Bennington Monument, a granite obelisk dedicated in the cemetery on 7 January 1908. In spite of rumors of misconduct by Benningtons engineering crewmen, an official investigation concluded that the explosion was not due to negligence on the part of the crew. • Edward William Boers, Seaman • George F. Brock, Carpenter's Mate Second Class • Raymond E. Davis, Quartermaster Third Class • John J. Clausey, Chief Gunner's Mate (retired as a Lieutenant (O-3) after World War I) • Willie Cronan, Boatswain's Mate (retired as Lieutenant Commander (O-4) after World War II) • Emil Fredericksen, Watertender • Rade Grbitch, Seaman • Frank E. Hill, Ship's Cook First Class • Oscar Frederick Nelson, Machinist's Mate First Class • Otto Diller Schmidt, Seaman • William Sidney Shacklette, Hospital Steward Also aboard was John Henry Turpin, an African-American sailor who was aboard the USS Maine when she exploded in Havana harbor in 1898 and would go on to become one of the first African-American Chief Petty Officers in the U.S. Navy. == Disposition ==

After the explosion, Bennington was refloated and towed to the Mare Island Navy Yard. == Notes ==