The second USS Osceola, later AT-47, was a 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...

 armed tug

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

 in commission in 1898 and in combat in 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 from 1911 to 1922.

Osceola was laid down as the commercial tug Winthrop by Charles Hillman, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 in 1896. Completed in 1897, Winthrop was purchased by the U.S. Navy from Staples Coal Company on 21 March 1898 and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 4 April 1898 as the United States made final preparations for the approaching war with Spain.

Osceola saw immediate action after commissioning as the United States became involved in the Spanish-American War. She joined the force at Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

 in May 1898, in preparation for duty in the blockade

Blockade

A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...

 of 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...

.

In the attack on Cabañas

Cabañas, Cuba

Cabañas is a town in the Mariel municipality of the Artemisa Province, on the northeast coast in western Cuba. Prior to 1970 was a municipality of Pinar del Río Province. Cabañas bay is a harbor with industrial and fishing facilities, with an important base of the Cuban...

, Cuba, Osceola prepared for towing disabled ships, up to a dozen at a time. In July 1898 she joined armed yacht in a reconnaissance of Manzanillo

Manzanillo, Cuba

Manzanillo is a municipality and city in the Granma Province of Cuba.It is a port city in the Granma Province in eastern Cuba on the Gulf of Guacanayabo, near the delta of the Cauto River...

, Cuba. On 18 July 1898 Osceola and Scorpion joined in the major attack on Manzanillo, an attack causing severe losses to the Spaniards. In August Osceola joined the strong force that captured the port. The armistice

Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...

 that brought the war to a close soon followed, on 13 August 1898. Decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 after the war, Osceola was laid up.

Osceola recommissioned on 1 July 1911. During World War I, she steamed to Guantanamo Bay in 1918 and remained there as station ship through 1920. In 1920, as part of the U.S. Navy's institution of an alphanumeric hull classification system, she was designated AT-47 as a seagoing tug.

In 1921 Osceola became part of a special U.S. Navy squadron organized to patrol Caribbean waters to promote friendly relations between the United States and Latin America. In 1922 she steamed to Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....

, Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

, and returned to the United States that autumn.

Osceola decommissioned and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

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...

on 15 November 1922. She was sold to F. E. Pope of Washington, D.C. on 24 March 1923.

External links

• Photo gallery at Navsource.org