| Badger in 1898 () | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | ?? |
| Launched: | 1889 |
| Commissioned: | 25 April 1898 |
| Decommissioned: | 31 October 1899 |
| Fate: | ?? |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,784 tons |
| Length: | 329.6 ft ( m) |
| Beam: | 48.3 ft ( m) |
| Draft: | 18.5 ft ( m) |
| Speed: | 16 knots |
| Complement: | 235 officers and men |
| Armament: | 6 x 5-inch guns |
The first USS Badger was an auxiliary cruiser of the United States Navy, named after the burrowing mammal.
She was built in 1889 by John Roach and Sons, Chester, Pennsylvania, as merchant ship Yumuri, purchased for use in the Spanish-American War 19 April 1898 and converted to an auxiliary cruiser at New York Navy Yard, then commissioned 25 April 1898, Commander A. S. Snow in command; and joined the North Patrol Squadron.
From 1 July to 18 August 1898, Badger served on the blockade of Cuba. On 26 July 1898, off the Dry Tortugas, she seized a Spanish tug with two vessels in tow, each with a quarantine flag hoisted. They were given medical assistance, provisioned, and kept in port until 3 August when a prize crew was put aboard the tug to sail her to New York. The other two vessels with 399 prisoners of war were sent to Havana.
Badger left Guantanamo Bay 18 August 1898 with a contingent of Army troops, landing them at Montauk Point, New York, 24 August. Badger remained on the east coast until 26 December 1898 when she sailed to the Pacific, arriving at San Francisco 15 April 1899. From there she carried the Joint High Commission to Samoa (26 April-13 May 1899) and then cruised in Samoan waters. Following her return to Mare Island Navy Yard 14 August 1899, she cruised along the Pacific coast until 6 October 1899 with the Oregon and California Naval Militia. Decommissioned 31 October 1899, Badger was transferred to the War Department 7 April 1900, where she was renamed Lawton and used as a transport.
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This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.