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SS ''St. Louis'', was a transatlantic passenger liner built by the William Cramp & Sons Building & Engine Company, Philadelphia and was launched on 12 November 1894; sponsored by Mrs. Grover Cleveland, wife of the President of the United States; and entered merchant service in 1895, under United States registry for the International Navigation Co., of New York with her maiden voyage between New York and Southampton, England. She was acquired by the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and commissioned under the name USS ''St. Louis'' in 1898, and again during World War I under the name USS ''Louisville'' (ID-1644) from 1918 to 1919.〔''Louisville'' was chosen as a name so as not to confuse this ship with the cruiser .〕 After she reverted to her original name in 1919, she burned in 1920 while undergoing a refit. ''St. Louis'' was scrapped in 1924 in Genoa. ==Service history== ===Spanish–American War=== On a later voyage following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, ''St. Louis'' was chartered for Naval service while at Southampton and returned to New York on 22 April 1898. Armed with four 5-inch rapid fire guns and eight 6-pounders, she was commissioned as an auxiliary cruiser in the United States Navy on 24 April, Capt. Caspar F. Goodrich in command. Manned by 27 officers and 350 men, she put to sea on 30 April for the Caribbean. ''St. Louis'' was specially outfitted with heavy drag lines in order to destroy undersea cable communications in the West Indies and to the mainland of South America. On 13 May, she severed the cable between St. Thomas and San Juan; and five days later exchanged fire with the Morro Castle batteries at Santiago de Cuba as she cut the cable between that port and Holland's Bay, Jamaica. When Admiral Pascual Cervera's fleet sailed into Santiago Harbor, the Spanish warships found themselves cut off from direct communications with Spain. ''St. Louis'' next severed the cable between Guantanamo Bay and Haiti; then cut the cable off Cienfuegos to isolate Cuba from outside communications. She joined in the bombardment of fortifications at Caimanera in Guantanamo Bay on 3 June; captured a Spanish merchant ship on the 10th; intercepted two British ships bound for Cuba - the ''Twickenham'' on 10 June and ''Wary'' on 1 July; and was present at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 3 July when the Spanish Fleet was destroyed while trying to force its way to sea. ''St. Louis'' received many prisoners of war, including Admiral Cervera, for internment in the United States and landed them at Portsmouth, N.H., on 11 July. She steamed south from Norfolk on the 28th to cruise among ports of Puerto Rico and Cuba until 10 August; then sailed for New York where she arrived on the 14th. She shifted to Philadelphia on 24 August to enter the Cramp shipyard for preparation for return to her owners. ''St. Louis'' was decommissioned on 2 September and was turned over to Mr. J. Parker, a representative of the American Lines. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SS St. Louis (1894)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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