The second USS Milwaukee (C-21) was a St. Louis-class

St. Louis class cruiser (1905)

The St. Louis class cruiser were a group of three protected cruisers used by the United States Navy at the beginning of the 20th century.-Class history:...

 protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 in the United States Navy

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...

. Milwaukee was laid down 30 July 1902 by Union Iron Works

Union Iron Works

Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.-History:...

, San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

; launched 10 September 1904; sponsored by Miss Janet Mitchell, daughter of U.S. Senator John L. Mitchell

John L. Mitchell

John Lendrum Mitchell was an American politician and a Democratic Congressman, Senator from Wisconsin, and a member of the Wisconsin State Senate. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin....

 of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

; and commissioned 10 December 1906, Commander Charles Augustus Gove in command.

Service history

After shakedown off the coast of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, 14 March through 28 May 1907, Milwaukee departed San Francisco, California 26 June 1907 and cruised on the coast of San Salvador

San Salvador

The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...

 and Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

 protecting American interests and engaging in target practice with the squadron in Magdalena Bay

Magdalena Bay

Bahía Magdalena is a 50 km long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the sandy barrier islands of Isla Magdalena and Isla Santa Margarita....

. On 26 March 1908 the cruiser sailed from San Francisco for Bremerton, Washington

Bremerton, Washington

Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...

, where she was placed in reserve 25 April. Except for a cruise in the summer of 1908, which took her to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and to Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

, the ship remained in reserve status at Puget Sound Navy Yard until decommissioned 3 May 1910.

Milwaukee recommissioned in ordinary 17 June 1913 and was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet. In the next two years the ship made several brief cruises, one to Honolulu with a detachment of Washington State Naval Militia, from 1 through 22 July 1914, and several along the coast of California. On 18 March 1916, Milwaukee was detached from the Reserve Fleet and assigned duty as tender to destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s and submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s of the Pacific Fleet. Based at San Diego, the cruiser participated in exercises and maneuvers off the coast, patrolled Mexican waters, transported refugees, and performed survey duty.

Milwaukee was completing overhaul 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...

 including installation of heavy machine tools so the cruiser could act as a tender for the Coast Torpedo Force of destroyers and submarines. Under temporary command of a lieutenant acting as Coast Torpedo Force Commander, Milwaukee sailed 5 January 1917 for Eureka, California

Eureka, California

Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....

, to assist in salvaging U.S. submarine which had run aground off Humboldt Bay 14 December 1916. On 13 January, while attempting to float the submarine, the cruiser stranded in the first line of breakers at Samoa, California

Samoa, California

Samoa is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It is located northwest of Eureka, at an elevation of 23 feet . Samoa is located in the northern peninsula of Humboldt Bay and is the site of the Samoa Cookhouse, one of the last remaining original, lumber style cookhouses...

 off Eureka. The crew reached shore safely, but attempts to salvage the ship were unsuccessful.

Decommissioning and fate

Milwaukee decommissioned 6 March 1917 and a storm in November 1918 broke the ship in two. Her name 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...

23 June 1919 and her hulk was sold 5 August 1919.