text: uss bennington ( pg - 4 ) uss bennington ( gunboat no. 4 / pg - 43 ) was a member of the yorktown class of steel - hulled , twin - screw gunboats in the united states navy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . she was the first u.s. navy ship named in honor of the town of bennington , vermont , site of the battle of bennington in the american revolutionary war . the contract to build bennington was awarded to n. f. palmer & co. of philadelphia in november 1887 . her hull was subcontracted to the delaware river iron shipbuilding & engine works which laid down bennington 's keel in june 1888 . bennington was launched in june 1890 . she was just over 244 feet ( 74 m ) long and 36 feet ( 11 m ) abeam and displaced 1 , 710 long tons ( 1 , 740 t ) . she was equipped with two steam engines which were supplemented with three schooner - rigged masts . the ship 's main battery consisted of six 6 - inch ( 15 . 2 cm ) guns and was augmented by an assortment of smaller caliber guns . after her june 1891 commissioning , bennington was attached to the squadron of evolution and for its cruise to south america . the gunboat made two mediterranean tours between 1892 and 1894 , after which she was assigned to the duties in the pacific . she sailed the pacific coasts of north and central america and spent time in the hawaiian islands to protect american interests there . on her way to support united states army operations of the philippine – american war , bennington claimed wake island for the united states . after two years in the philippines , she returned to the united states and was decommissioned for 18 months of repairs and refitting . after her march 1903 re - commissioning , most of the next two years were spent patrolling the pacific coasts of north and south america . on 21 july 1905 at san diego , california , bennington suffered a boiler explosion , that killed 66 men and injured nearly everyone else on board . shortly after the explosion , a tug beached the ship to prevent her from sinking . eleven men were awarded the medal of honor for " extraordinary heroism " in the aftermath of the explosion . after bennington was refloated , the damage was deemed too extensive to repair and the ship was decommissioned in september . the ship was sold for scrap in 1910 , but instead served as a water barge for the matson line at honolulu from 1912 . in 1924 , the former bennington was scuttled off the coast of oahu . design and construction 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 yorktown developed by william cramp & sons . bennington 's keel was laid down in june 1888 , 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 244 feet 5 inches ( 74 . 50 m ) in length and 36 feet ( 11 m ) abeam . her steel hull had an average draft of 14 feet ( 4 m ) , which was expected to give her the ability to escape from larger ships into shallow water . at the waterline was a turtleback deck of ⅜ -inch ( 9 . 5 mm ) steel that formed a watertight seal over the lower spaces . the deck had a crown at the level of the waterline and curved downwards to 3 feet ( 0 . 9 m ) below the waterline at the sides of the ship . below this armored deck were twelve compartments separated by watertight bulkheads ; the spaces above were equipped with watertight doors intended to be closed during battle . above the armored deck , bennington had forecastle and poop decks with an open gun deck that spanned the length of the ship between them . the conning tower was located forward on the forecastle deck and was oval - shaped to deflect shot . it was outfitted with a steam - powered ship 's wheel , an engine order telegraph , and speaking tubes ; it was protected by 2 inches ( 51 mm ) of steel armor plate . propulsion bennington was powered by two triple - expansion steam engines which each drove one of the pair of 10 . 5 - foot ( 3 . 2 m ) , three - bladed screw propellers . the cylinders of each engine were 22 , 31 , and 51 inches ( 56 , 79 , and 130 cm ) in diameter and had a 30 - inch ( 76 cm ) stroke . each engine was rated at 3 , 400 indicated horsepower ( 2 , 500 kw ) and together were designed to move the ship at 16 knots ( 30 km / h ) , though the ship exceeded that in her trials , topping out at 17 . 5 knots ( 32 . 4 km / h ) . the engines , situated in separate watertight compartments , were each fed by a pair of coal - fired boilers . each boiler was horizontally mounted and was 9 feet 6 inches ( 2 . 90 m ) in diameter and 17 feet 6 inches ( 5 . 33 m ) in length with a total grate area of 220 square inches ( 1 , 400 cm2 ) . bennington 's coal bunkers could carry up to 400 long tons ( 410 t ) of fuel , and were shielded from " shot and shell " . at a near top - speed of 16 knots , the ship could cover 2 , 800 nautical miles ( 5 , 200 km ) in 6 ½ days ; at the more economical speed of 8 knots ( 15 km / h ) she could cruise 12 , 000 nautical miles ( 22 , 000 km ) over 62 days . to supplement her steam power plant , bennington was built with three masts that were schooner - rigged . she had a total sail area of 6 , 300 square feet ( 590 m2 ) . the steam and sail combination was expected to allow bennington to remain at sea for months at a time during wartime . armament bennington 's main battery consisted of six 6 - inch ( 152 mm ) / 30 caliber mark 3 guns , with each gun weighing in excess of 11 , 000 pounds ( 5 , 000 kg ) . two were mounted on the forecastle deck , two on the poop deck , and the other pair amidships on the gun deck . the two guns on the gun deck were mounted 10 feet ( 3 . 0 m ) above the waterline , while the other four were 18 feet ( 5 . 5 m ) above . the guns fired 105 - pound ( 48 kg ) armor - piercing projectiles with a propellant charge weighing 18 . 8 pounds ( 8 . 5 kg ) at 1 , 950 feet per second ( 590 m / s ) . at an elevation of 30 . 2 ° , the guns had a range of 18 , 000 yards ( 16 , 000 m ) . each gun was shielded with steel plating 3 inches ( 76 mm ) thick . bennington 's secondary battery consisted of four 6 - pounder ( 57 mm ( 2 . 24 in ) ) guns , and four 1 - pounder ( 37 mm ( 1 . 46 in ) ) guns . both were based on designs of the french arms company hotchkiss . according to a 1902 bureau of ordnance publication , an armor - piercing round fired from a 6 - pounder gun could penetrate 2 inches ( 51 mm ) of armor at a distance of 1 , 000 yards ( 910 m ) . 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 cadiz , 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 . on 8 august , she resumed cruises along the west coast . that employment lasted a year and a week . on 14 august 1897 , bennington headed back to hawaii . she arrived in lahaina roads on 27 september and reached honolulu on the 30th . except for a six - day cruise back to lahaina in march 1898 , the gunboat remained at honolulu for just over nine months . at the outbreak of the spanish – american war , bennington was in hawaiian waters . after spending the first two months of the war in the hawaiian islands , she departed honolulu on 16 june and steamed to the west coast of the united states . the warship arrived in san francisco on 26 june and patrolled the california coast for the remainder of hostilities . on 18 september , bennington stood out of san francisco on her way ultimately to the philippines . she arrived in hawaii on 27 september and devoted a little over three months to operations in nearby waters . on 7 january 1899 , she resumed her voyage west . ten days out of honolulu , she stopped at wake island . there commander edward d. taussig , bennington 's commander , under direct orders from president william mckinley claimed the atoll for the united states , despite protests from germany ( which considered the island group a part of its claim of the marshall islands ) . wake eventually became an important link in the honolulu – manila trans - pacific cable . bennington later made a stop at san luis d , 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 . 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 visiting cavite on luzon , the gunboat headed for japan on 3 april and underwent repairs there from 9 april to 19 may before heading back to the philippines . the warship arrived at cavite on 27 may and resumed patrols on 3 june . she spent another seven months conducting patrols in the philippines and supporting the army ’ s operations in the island chain . on 3 january 1901 , she departed cavite and shaped a course for hong kong . the gunboat arrived in that british colony on the 6th and began over six months of repairs . at the completion of that work , she departed hong kong on 25 june . after a visit to shanghai , the warship headed back to the united states in july and arrived at the mare island navy yard on 19 august . she was decommissioned there on 5 september 1901 . while she was out of commission at mare island , bennington was refitted . a pilothouse that had been added on top of her bridge and a spotlight platform on her bow – both added in 1893 – 94 – were removed . bennington 's mainmast was also removed , leaving her as a two - mast rig . in addition , two tall ventilation cowls were added immediately behind the bridge . after 18 months of inactivity , bennington was recommissioned on 2 march 1903 under the command of commander chauncey thomas . over the next 27 months , bennington cruised in the eastern pacific along the coasts of north and south america . the warship visited alaskan ports in the summer of 1903 and the coast of central america the following fall and winter . in may 1904 , she steamed to hawaii and then proceeded to the aleutians in june . the winter of 1904 and 1905 saw her voyage south for visits to pacific ports in central and south america . in february 1905 , she departed san francisco for a two - month cruise to the hawaiian islands , returning to san diego on 19 july , after a difficult 17 - day voyage . boiler explosion on the morning of 21 july 1905 , bennington 's crew was preparing her to sail to the aid of the monitor wyoming 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 bennington 's 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 bennington 's hull to the sea , and she began to list to starboard . quick actions by the tug santa fe — taking bennington under tow and beaching her – almost certainly saved the gunboat from sinking . the combination of the explosion and the scalding steam killed a number of men outright and left others mortally wounded ; the final death toll was one officer and sixty - five men , making it one of the u.s. navy 's worst peacetime disasters . nearly all of the forty - six who survived had an injury of some sort ; eleven of the survivors were awarded the medal of honor for " extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion " . one of the survivors was john henry turpin , who had also survived the explosion of maine in havana in february 1898 and was , reportedly , the only man to survive both explosions . 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 number of dead also taxed the morticians in san diego , who were hard - pressed to prepare all of the victims for burial . on 23 july , two days after the explosion , the majority of those killed were buried in the cemetery at fort rosecrans . the victims are commemorated by the uss bennington monument , a 60 - foot ( 18 m ) granite obelisk dedicated in the cemetery on 7 january 1908 . in spite of rumors of misconduct by bennington 's engineering crewmen , an official investigation concluded that the explosion was not due to negligence on the part of the crew . list of medal of honor recipients from explosion the eleven men who were awarded the medal of honor for " extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion " were : edward william boers , seaman george f. brock , carpenter 's mate second class raymond e. davis , quartermaster third class john j. , chief gunner 's mate willie cronan , boatswain 's mate ( retired as lieutenant commander ( o - 4 ) during world war ii ) emil fredericksen , watertender rade , seaman frank e. hill , ship 's cook first class oscar frederick nelson , machinist 's mate first class otto diller schmidt , seaman william sidney , hospital steward disposition after the explosion , bennington was refloated and towed to the mare island navy yard . because of the extent of the damages and the age of the ship , bennington was not repaired but was instead decommissioned on 31 october 1905 . after five years of inactivity , bennington was struck from the naval vessel register on 10 september 1910 and sold for scrap on 14 november . bennington was not scrapped but was purchased in 1913 by the matson line for use as a molasses barge . she was towed to honolulu and remained in use there from 1913 until 1924 , when she was scuttled off oahu . campaigns