USS Olympia
The U.S.S. Olympia, built by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco in 1890-1893 and commissioned in 1895, is the oldest steel warship on earth. A product of the international naval arms race of the late nineteenth-century, the 344-foot-long Olympia is a “protected cruiser,” a new class of vessels with greater weight, thicker deck armor, and larger guns than their predecessors. She achieved 21.7 knots (25.0 mph) in her sea trials, faster than any previous warship of her kind. Her main armament was four eight-inch rifled guns, housed in a unique arrangement of two cylindrical armored turrets. Her crew comprised 33 officers and 395 men.
After commissioning and sea trials, Olympia joined the Pacific squadron and became its flagship. Commodore (later Admiral) George Dewey took command in January 1898, and on May 1 Olympia led the fleet into Manila Bay to confront the anchored Spanish navy in the first battle of the Spanish-American War. The fight began when Dewey issued his famous command to Charles Gridley, Olympia’s captain: “You may fire when ready, Gridley.”
The outgunned and out-maneuvered Spanish were defeated a few hours in a lopsided battle in which many Spanish and very few American lives were lost. The victory paved the way for the American invasion of the Philippines, which signaled the fall of Spain and the rise of the United States as a world power.
Following the war, Olympia joined the Atlantic Squadron and then became the flagship of the Caribbean Squadron. She served for several summers as a training ship for midshipmen at the Naval Academy and briefly as a barracks ship in Charleston. Recommissioned when America entered World War I, she patrolled the east coast, convoyed ships across the Atlantic, and supported anti-Bolshevik forces in northern Russia.
Her final important assignment was conveying the body of the unknown soldier from France to Washington, DC, for interment in Arlington Cemetery in the fall of 1921. While making the crossing, Olympia was battered by two hurricanes, during which the honor guard heroically maintained their watch over the coffin, which, owing to its large size, had to be lashed down on deck rather than stored below.
The Olympia was decommissioned in 1922 and acquired by organizations dedicated to her care in 1955. They restored her 1998 appearance. In 1996 the ship was transferred by the Cruiser Olympia Association to the Independence Seaport Museum, where she is berthed next to the submarine Becuna.
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