USS Supply, ex-Illinois, was a schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

-rigged iron steamer

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 built in 1873 by William Cramp and Sons

William Cramp and Sons

thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...

 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. Illinois was purchased by the Navy Department from the International Navigation Company

International Navigation Company

The International Navigation Company was a Philadelphia based holding company owning 26 ships totaling 181,000 tons and carried more passengers than either Cunard or White Star, when the company was reorganized as International Mercantile Marine in 1902...

 on 30 April 1898 for $325,000.00 and commissioned as Supply, Lt. Comdr. R. R. Ingersoll in command.

Spanish-American war

Supply was used as the supply ship for the 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 during 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...

. The ship was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 28 April 1899. She was refitted after the war, with better living quarters, and recommissioned on 1 August 1902.

Peacetime service

After recommissioning, Supply was ordered to duty on the Asiatic Station. She 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. In 1904, she transported Governor of Guam William Elbridge Sewell

William Elbridge Sewell

William Elbridge Sewell was a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander, and the 6th Naval Governor of Guam from February 9, 1903 until his death on March 18, 1904. He was born in Colchester, New York and appointed to the United States Naval Academy from that state in 1867...

 back to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 when he fell deathly ill. The ship was overhauled at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in July 1912 and again from November 1915 to March 1916.

Supply put to sea on 19 March 1916 and after embarking passengers at San Francisco for passage to Guam, sailed on the 29th. She called at Honolulu, T.H., in early April and arrived at Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north. To the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location...

 on 25 April. This was her home port while serving as a stores ship for the Asiatic Station. From 22 October to 7 December 1916, she cruised to the Philippine Islands, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. In January 1917 the ship was overhauled at Olongapo, Philippines, and returned to Guam on 27 March.

First World War

The German auxiliary cruiser SMS Cormoran had been in Asiatic waters at the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and later operated in the southern Pacific. However, lack of provisions forced Cormoran to put in at Guam on 14 December 1914. The German captain accepted internment of the ship the following day, and the cruiser remained in that status until the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 declared war on Germany in April 1917.

The morning of 6 April, Supply put a prize crew of 32 men afloat to board the German ship. Her captain offered to surrender the men but not the cruiser. At 0803, Cormoran was blown up by her own crew. Supply immediately lowered all boats to aid in recovering Cormorans crew and their personal effects from the water.

Supply remained on station in Apra Harbor until steaming for Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 on 21 May 1917. She departed there on 6 June en route to Japan, via Guam. After visiting various Japanese ports, the ship returned to Cavite, Philippines, for drydocking and repairs. Upon completion, she returned to Guam on 29 August and resumed her duties until 28 November when she got underway for the United States. Christmas 1917 was celebrated at Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

; the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 was transited on 19 January 1918; and Supply arrived at the Charleston Navy Yard on the 25th.

Decommission

Upon completion of repairs, Supply was designated flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the Train, Atlantic Fleet, based at Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

. On 29 May 1919, she was reassigned to Guam for duty as Station Ship. However, upon her arrival on the west coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

, she was ordered to 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...

for repairs and placed out of commission there on 15 September 1919. Supply was struck from the Navy list and sold for scrap on 30 September 1921. She was scrapped in 1928.