SS Illinois
Encyclopedia
SS Illinois was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The last of a series of four Pennsylvania-class
Pennsylvania class steamship
The Pennsylvania class steamships—Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois— were a class of four cargo-passenger liners built by the Philadelphian shipbuilder William Cramp & Sons in 1872-73...
vessels, Illinois and her three sister ships—Pennsylvania
SS Pennsylvania (1872)
SS Pennsylvania was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1872. The first of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels and the lead ship in her class, Pennsylvania and her three sister ships - Ohio, Indiana and Illinois - were the largest iron ships ever built in the...
, Ohio
SS Ohio (1872)
SS Ohio was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1872. The second of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Ohio and her three sister ships—Pennsylvania, Indiana and —were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their...
and Indiana
SS Indiana (1873)
SS Indiana was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The third of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Indiana and her three sister ships - Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois - were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their...
—were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their construction, and amongst the first to be fitted with compound steam engines. They were also the first ships to challenge British dominance of the transatlantic trade since the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Though soon outclassed by newer and larger vessels, Illinois was destined to enjoy a long and distinguished career, first as a transatlantic passenger liner and later as the U.S. Navy's
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
auxiliary vessel
Auxiliary ship
An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self defensive nature.Auxiliaries are extremely...
. In the 1870s, Illinois may have been the first ship to successfully transport a shipment of fresh meat from the United States to Europe, twenty years before the introduction of refrigeration. As USS Supply, the ship served in both the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
and the First World War, and crew members may have been the first United States personnel to fire a hostile shot in the latter. Illinois was scrapped in 1928.
Development
The four Pennsylvania class liners were constructed at a cost of $520,000 each by William Cramp & Sons on behalf of the American Steamship Company (ASC), a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The Railroad intended to utilize the vessels to bring European immigrants direct to Philadelphia, thus ensuring the company a steady stream of customers. In recognition of this purpose, the four ships - Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio - were named after the four states serviced by the Railroad. Design of the ships was entrusted to Charles H. Cramp of the Cramp & Sons shipyard, and Barnabas H. Bartol, a director of the ASC.Construction
At 3,000 gross tons apiece, the ships were 1,000 tons larger than any iron ship previously constructed in the United States, and Cramp & Sons was forced to undertake a substantial upgrade of its facilities to complete them. The company established an entirely new shipyard for construction of the vessels, serviced by its own blacksmith, engine, boiler and carpentry shops, as well as providing it with a 700-foot outfitting wharf. Cost of the real estate alone was in excess of $265,000, and Cramp & Sons was obliged to incorporate as the William Cramp & Sons Engine and Ship Building Company in order to limit the financial risk involved. Fortuitously, Cramp & Sons had only recently built its first compound marine steam engineMarine steam engine
A marine steam engine is a reciprocating steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. Steam turbines and diesel engines largely replaced reciprocating steam engines in marine applications during the 20th century, so this article describes the more common types of marine steam engine in use...
, and consequently the shipyard was able to install the vessels with the latest in engine technology.
The original contract called for Pennsylvania to be completed by January 1, 1873, but the schedule proved optimistic. A short-lived shipbuilding boom in the early 1870s made it difficult for the Cramp shipyard to obtain iron plates and other materials, and the yard was also affected by shortages of skilled labor. As a result, the ship would not be ready for delivery until almost a year later.
Service history
Illinois was launched in June 1873. She commenced her maiden voyage on January 23, 1874 on the Philadelphia-Queenstown-Liverpool route, a route she would maintain for the next twelve years.1870s
Like her sister ships Pennsylvania and Ohio, Illinois also had an eventful first year of operation. In April 1874, she was making her way down the Delaware RiverDelaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
when, just opposite the Philadelphia Naval Yard, she encountered four canal boats coming in the opposite direction. Illinois promptly collided with and sank all four vessels in short order. Fortunately, no lives were lost, and the hull of Illinois was undamaged by the collisions, enabling her to continue the voyage to Liverpool.
After the wooden bridge of Illinois
Experimental meat shipments
With the American Line struggling to turn a profit in the wake of the 1873 financial panicPanic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
, the company decided to experiment with some novel exports. A glut of peaches in the summer of 1875 encouraged the company to try and export some of the surplus fruit to Great Britain on the Ohio, but the experiment was a costly failure.
Undeterred, the company next tried a shipment of fresh meat. Illinois was loaded with 30 head of dressed beef, 140 sheep carcasses and some poultry and oysters for a November 1875 voyage. A high pressure engine was installed to circulate a current of cold air chilled by eight tons of ice. This time the ice lasted through the voyage, and the meat arrived in Liverpool in excellent condition, prompting the client, Martin, Fuller & Company, to make a second shipment of 100 head of dressed beef. These may have been the first ever successful shipments of fresh meat from the United States to Europe, but another twenty years would pass before the invention of refrigeration made regular, reliable shipments possible.
1880s-1897
In 1882, the wooden pilothouse in the bow of all four Pennsylvania class ships was replaced with an iron one for safety reasons.In 1883-84, inspections revealed that all four Pennsylvania class ships required immediate maintenance to their hulls, which needed strengthening. The repairs were carried out at a cost of $25,000 per vessel, but the additional costs probably contributed to the Pennsylvania Railroad's decision to wind up the American Steamship Company, which because of the after effects of the 1873 panic had always struggled to make a profit. With the demise of the ASC, Illinois and her three sister ships were transferred to management of the PRR's other shipping line, the Red Star Line, but Illinois continued to service her familiar Liverpool-Philadelphia route until 1886. Her last such voyage commenced July 7 of that year. On December 17, she began the first of twenty crossings on the Antwerp-New York route.
Illinois had a major refit in 1891 with the installation of a triple-expansion steam engine to replace her original compound steam engine. The new engine, manufactured and installed by the ship's original builder, William Cramp & Sons, was smaller, allowing for more cargo space, and more economical to run. At this time the first class accommodation of Illinois was removed, and she was fitted to accommodate intermediate "cabin class" and steerage passengers only.
Illinois commenced her final Antwerp-New York crossing on February 27, 1892. Subsequently she worked the Antwerp-Philadelphia route until 1897.
USS Supply
In March 1898, Illinois sailed from Philadelphia to San Francisco. On April 30, 1898, she was sold for the sum of $325,000 to the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, for employment in the recently opened Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
Renamed USS Supply, the vessel served as the supply ship for the American fleet in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n waters. After the war ended in late 1898, Supply was decommissioned, refitted to improve her living quarters, and recommissioned on August 1, 1902. She subsequently operated as the supply ship for the Asiatic Fleet and as Station Ship at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
for many years.
When the United States entered the First World War on April 6, 1917, USS Supply was in port at Guam together with the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Cormoran
SMS Cormoran
SMS Cormoran or SMS Cormoran II was built at Danzig, Germany in 1909 for the Russian merchant fleet and named SS Ryazan...
, which had been interned there since 1914. A party from Supply attempted to seize the German vessel, but Cormoran
Supply was placed out of commission at Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
on 15 September 1919. She was struck from the Navy List
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
and sold for scrap on 30 September 1921. The ship was eventually scrapped in 1928.