.gif)
USS Vermont (BB-20)
Encyclopedia
USS Vermont (BB-20), a , was the second ship of the United States Navy
named for the 14th state
.
Vermont was laid down on 21 May 1904 at Quincy, Massachusetts
, by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company. She was launched
on 31 August 1905 sponsored by Miss Jennie Bell, the daughter of Governor Charles J. Bell
of Vermont
, and commissioned
at the Boston Navy Yard
on 4 March 1907, Captain
William P. Potter in command.
, Virginia
, Vermont participated in maneuvers with the 1st Division of the Atlantic Fleet
and, later, with the 1st and Second Squadrons. Making a final trial trip between Hampton Roads and Provincetown, Massachusetts
from 30 August-5 September, Vermont arrived at the Boston Navy Yard on 7 September and underwent repairs until late November 1907.
Departing Boston on 30 November, she coaled at Bradford, Rhode Island
, received "mine outfits and stores" at Newport, Rhode Island
, and picked up ammunition at Tompkinsville, New York, arriving at Hampton Roads on 8 December.
There, she made final preparations for the globe-girdling cruise of the Atlantic Fleet. Nicknamed the "Great White Fleet
" because of the white and spar color of their paint schemes, the 16 pre-dreadnought battleships sailed from Hampton Roads on 16 December, standing out to sea under the gaze of President Theodore Roosevelt
who had dispatched the ships, around the globe as a dramatic gesture toward Japan, a growing power on the world stage.
Vermont sailed as a unit of the 1st Division, under the overall command of Rear Admiral
Robley D. "Fighting Bob" Evans
, who was concurrently the Commander in Chief of the Fleet. Over the ensuing months, the battleship visited ports in Chile
, Peru
, Mexico
, California
, Hawaii
, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines
, Japan, China, and in the Mediterranean, before she returned to Hampton Roads again passing in review before President Roosevelt on 22 February 1909. During the voyage, Vermonts commanding officer, Captain Potter, was advanced to flag rank and took command of the division; his place was taken by Captain (later Admiral) Frank Friday Fletcher.
Following her return to the United States, Vermont underwent repairs at the Boston Navy Yard from 9 March-23 June and then rejoined the fleet off Provincetown. She subsequently spent 4 July at Boston as part of the 1st Division of the Fleet before spending nearly a month, from 7 July-4 August, in exercises with the Atlantic Fleet. Subsequently coaling at Hampton Roads, the battleship conducted target practice off the Virginia Capes in the operating area known as the Southern Drill Grounds.
For the remainder of 1909, Vermont continued maneuvers and exercises, broken by visits to Stamford, Connecticut
, for Columbus Day festivities and to New York City for the observances of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration from 22 September-9 October. She spent the Christmas holidays at New York City, anchored in the North River.
The battleship then moved south for the winter, reaching Guantánamo Bay on 12 January 1910. For the next two months, she exercised in those Caribbean climes, returning to Hampton Roads and the Virginia Capes for elementary target practice that spring. Ultimately reaching Boston on 29 April, the battleship underwent repairs at that yard through mid-July, before embarking members of the Naval Militia at Boston for operations between that port and Provincetown from 22–31 July.
Vermont subsequently visited Newport and then sailed for Hampton Roads on 22 August, where she then prepared for target practices from 25–27 September, before visiting New York City with other ships of the Atlantic Fleet.
After minor repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the battleship sailed for European waters on 1 November. Reaching the British Isles
a little over two weeks later, Vermont, with other units of the 3rd Division, Atlantic Fleet, visited Gravesend, England from 16 November-7 December and then called at Brest, France
, where she remained until heading for the West Indies on 30 December.
Vermont engaged in winter maneuvers and drills out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba from 13 January-13 March 1911, before sailing for Hampton Roads. In the ensuing weeks, the battleship operated in the Southern Drill Grounds and off Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay
, where she conducted target practice. After dropping off target materials at Hampton Roads on 8 April, Vermont sailed later that day for Philadelphia where she arrived on 10 April and entered drydock.
Later in the spring, Vermont resumed her operations with the other pre-dreadnought battleships of the 3rd Division. She operated off Pensacola, Florida
, and ranged into the Gulf of Mexico
, calling at Galveston, Texas
from 7–12 June before returning to Pensacola on 13 June for provisions.
Shifting northward to Bar Harbor, Maine
, Vermont spent 4 July there before she drilled and exercised with the Fleet in Cape Cod Bay
and off Provincetown. The battleship then operated off the New England
seaboard through mid-August, breaking her periods at sea with a port visit to Salem, Massachusetts
, and alterations at the Boston Navy Yard. She then shifted south to conduct experimental gunnery firings and autumn target practice in the regions from Tangier Sound to the Southern Drill Grounds.
After repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 12 September-9 October, Vermont rejoined the Fleet at Hampton Roads before participating in the naval review in the North River, at New York City from 24 October-2 November. She then maneuvered and exercised with the 1st Squadron of the Fleet before returning to Hampton Roads.
Touching briefly at Tompkinsville on 7–8 December, Vermont reached the New York Navy Yard on the latter day for year-end leave and upkeep and remained there until 2 January 1912, when she sailed for the Caribbean and the annual winter maneuvers. She operated in Cuban waters, out of Guantánamo Bay and off Cape Cruz
until 9 March, when she sailed for the Norfolk Navy Yard and an overhaul that lasted into the autumn.
She departed Norfolk on 8 October and reached New York City on 10 October. She participated in the naval review at that port from 10–15 October before embarking Commander, Second Division, Atlantic Fleet, at Hampton Roads from 16–18 October.
Vermont subsequently worked out of Hampton Roads, in the Virginia Capes Southern Drill Grounds area, into December. During that time, she conducted target practices and twice participated in humanitarian deeds, searching for on 2 November and assisting from 13–15 December.
The battleship spent Christmas 1912 at the Norfolk Navy Yard before steaming for Cuba and winter maneuvers. En route, she visited Colón, Panama
, a terminus of the nearly completed Panama Canal
, and reached Guantánamo Bay on 19 January 1913. She subsequently operated out of Guantánamo and Guayancanabo Bay until sailing for Mexican waters on 12 February.
Vermont arrived at Veracruz
on 17 February and remained at that port into the spring, protecting American interests until 29 April, when she sailed north to rejoin the fleet in Hampton Roads. The battleship conducted one midshipman
's training cruise that summer, embarking the midshipmen at Annapolis, Maryland
on 6 June. After rejoining the fleet, Vermont cruised in Block Island Sound
and visited Newport.
_returning_home_from_med_cruise_1913.jpg)
The battleship then received her regular overhaul at Norfolk from July into October before she conducted target practice off the Southern Drill Grounds. Vermont then made her second European cruise, departing Hampton Roads for French waters on 25 October, reaching Marseille
on 8 November. Ultimately departing that Mediterranean port on 1 December Vermont reached the Norfolk Navy Yard five days before Christmas, making port on the end of a towline because of storm damage to a propeller.
Soon after she had completed her post-repair trials and had begun preparations for the spring target practice with the Fleet in the Southern Drill Grounds, tension in Mexico beckoned the battleship. Departing Hampton Roads on 15 April, Vermont reached Veracruz very early in the morning on 22 April in company with , , , and .
Her landing force - a "battalion" of 12 officers and 308 men - went ashore after daybreak that same day as United States forces occupied the port to block an arms shipment to the dictator Victoriano Huerta
. In the fighting that ensued, two officers from the staff were awarded
Medals of Honor
: Lieutenant
Julius C. Townsend, the battalion commander, and Surgeon Cary DeV. Langhornes, the regimental surgeon of the Second Seaman Regiment. During the fighting, Vermonts force suffered one fatality - a private from her Marine detachment, killed on 23 April. But for a visit to Tampico, Mexico from 21 September-10 October, Vermont remained in that Mexican port into later October.
from 29 November 1916-6 February 1917 and then conducted battle practices out of Guantánamo Bay. She ultimately returned to Norfolk on 29 March.
On 4 April, Vermont entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for repairs. Two days later, the United States declared war on Germany. The battleship emerged from the yard on 26 August and sailed for Hampton Roads for duty as an engineering training ship in the Chesapeake Bay region. She performed that vital function for almost the entire duration of hostilities, completing the assignment on 4 November 1918, a week before the armistice stilled the guns of World War I.
Her service as a training ship during the conflict had been broken once in the spring of 1918, when she received the body of the late Chile
an ambassador to the United States on 28 May, embarked the American Ambassador to Chile - the Honorable J. H. Shea - on 3 June, and got underway from Norfolk later that day. The battleship transited the Panama Canal
on 10 June, touched at Port Tongoy, Chile on 24 June, and arrived at Valparaíso
on the morning of 27 June.
There, the late ambassador's remains were accompanied ashore by Admiral
William B. Caperton
and Ambassador Shea. Departing that port on 2 July, Vermont visited Callao
, Peru
on 7 July, before retransiting the Panama Canal and returning to her base in the York River.
Prepared at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for inactivation, Vermont departed the east coast on 18 July, sailing from Hampton Roads on that day, bound for the west coast. After transiting the Panama Canal, the battleship visited San Diego, California
, San Pedro, California, Monterey, California
, and Long Beach, California
, Astoria, Oregon
, and San Francisco, California
, before reaching the Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo, California
on 18 September. There, the battleship was decommissioned on 30 June 1920. She was reclassified as BB-20 on 17 July. (She was previously known simply as "Battleship #20.")
Vermont remained inactive at Mare Island until her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 10 November 1923. She was then sold for scrapping on 30 November in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty
limiting naval armaments.
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...
named for the 14th state
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Vermont was laid down on 21 May 1904 at Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 31 August 1905 sponsored by Miss Jennie Bell, the daughter of Governor Charles J. Bell
Charles J. Bell
Charles James Bell , a Republican, was the 50th Governor of the U.S. state of Vermont from 1904 to 1906.-Early life and education:...
of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, 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...
at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
on 4 March 1907, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
William P. Potter in command.
Pre-World War I
After her shakedown cruise off the eastern seaboard between Boston, Massachusetts and Hampton RoadsHampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Vermont participated in maneuvers with the 1st Division of the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
and, later, with the 1st and Second Squadrons. Making a final trial trip between Hampton Roads and Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
from 30 August-5 September, Vermont arrived at the Boston Navy Yard on 7 September and underwent repairs until late November 1907.
Departing Boston on 30 November, she coaled at Bradford, Rhode Island
Bradford, Rhode Island
Bradford is a census-designated place and historic district in the town of Westerly in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 1,497 at the 2000 census...
, received "mine outfits and stores" at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, and picked up ammunition at Tompkinsville, New York, arriving at Hampton Roads on 8 December.
There, she made final preparations for the globe-girdling cruise of the Atlantic Fleet. Nicknamed the "Great White Fleet
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with...
" because of the white and spar color of their paint schemes, the 16 pre-dreadnought battleships sailed from Hampton Roads on 16 December, standing out to sea under the gaze of President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
who had dispatched the ships, around the globe as a dramatic gesture toward Japan, a growing power on the world stage.
Vermont sailed as a unit of the 1st Division, under the overall command of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Robley D. "Fighting Bob" Evans
Robley Dunglison Evans
Robley Dunglison Evans was born in Floyd County, Virginia served in the United States Navy from the American Civil War to the Spanish-American War, attaining the rank of rear admiral...
, who was concurrently the Commander in Chief of the Fleet. Over the ensuing months, the battleship visited ports in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Japan, China, and in the Mediterranean, before she returned to Hampton Roads again passing in review before President Roosevelt on 22 February 1909. During the voyage, Vermonts commanding officer, Captain Potter, was advanced to flag rank and took command of the division; his place was taken by Captain (later Admiral) Frank Friday Fletcher.
Following her return to the United States, Vermont underwent repairs at the Boston Navy Yard from 9 March-23 June and then rejoined the fleet off Provincetown. She subsequently spent 4 July at Boston as part of the 1st Division of the Fleet before spending nearly a month, from 7 July-4 August, in exercises with the Atlantic Fleet. Subsequently coaling at Hampton Roads, the battleship conducted target practice off the Virginia Capes in the operating area known as the Southern Drill Grounds.
For the remainder of 1909, Vermont continued maneuvers and exercises, broken by visits to Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
, for Columbus Day festivities and to New York City for the observances of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration from 22 September-9 October. She spent the Christmas holidays at New York City, anchored in the North River.
The battleship then moved south for the winter, reaching Guantánamo Bay on 12 January 1910. For the next two months, she exercised in those Caribbean climes, returning to Hampton Roads and the Virginia Capes for elementary target practice that spring. Ultimately reaching Boston on 29 April, the battleship underwent repairs at that yard through mid-July, before embarking members of the Naval Militia at Boston for operations between that port and Provincetown from 22–31 July.
Vermont subsequently visited Newport and then sailed for Hampton Roads on 22 August, where she then prepared for target practices from 25–27 September, before visiting New York City with other ships of the Atlantic Fleet.
After minor repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the battleship sailed for European waters on 1 November. Reaching the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
a little over two weeks later, Vermont, with other units of the 3rd Division, Atlantic Fleet, visited Gravesend, England from 16 November-7 December and then called at Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, where she remained until heading for the West Indies on 30 December.
Vermont engaged in winter maneuvers and drills out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba from 13 January-13 March 1911, before sailing for Hampton Roads. In the ensuing weeks, the battleship operated in the Southern Drill Grounds and off Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, where she conducted target practice. After dropping off target materials at Hampton Roads on 8 April, Vermont sailed later that day for Philadelphia where she arrived on 10 April and entered drydock.
Later in the spring, Vermont resumed her operations with the other pre-dreadnought battleships of the 3rd Division. She operated off Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, and ranged into the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, calling at Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
from 7–12 June before returning to Pensacola on 13 June for provisions.
Shifting northward to Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island...
, Vermont spent 4 July there before she drilled and exercised with the Fleet in Cape Cod Bay
Cape Cod Bay
Cape Cod Bay is a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Measuring below a line drawn from Brant Rock in Marshfield to Race Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts, it is enclosed by Cape Cod to the south and east, and Plymouth County, Massachusetts, to the west....
and off Provincetown. The battleship then operated off the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
seaboard through mid-August, breaking her periods at sea with a port visit to Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, and alterations at the Boston Navy Yard. She then shifted south to conduct experimental gunnery firings and autumn target practice in the regions from Tangier Sound to the Southern Drill Grounds.
After repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 12 September-9 October, Vermont rejoined the Fleet at Hampton Roads before participating in the naval review in the North River, at New York City from 24 October-2 November. She then maneuvered and exercised with the 1st Squadron of the Fleet before returning to Hampton Roads.
Touching briefly at Tompkinsville on 7–8 December, Vermont reached the New York Navy Yard on the latter day for year-end leave and upkeep and remained there until 2 January 1912, when she sailed for the Caribbean and the annual winter maneuvers. She operated in Cuban waters, out of Guantánamo Bay and off Cape Cruz
Cape Cruz
Cape Cruz, , is a cape which forms the western extremity of the Granma Province in southern Cuba. It extends into the Caribbean sea and marks the eastern border of the Gulf of Guacanayabo....
until 9 March, when she sailed for the Norfolk Navy Yard and an overhaul that lasted into the autumn.
She departed Norfolk on 8 October and reached New York City on 10 October. She participated in the naval review at that port from 10–15 October before embarking Commander, Second Division, Atlantic Fleet, at Hampton Roads from 16–18 October.
Vermont subsequently worked out of Hampton Roads, in the Virginia Capes Southern Drill Grounds area, into December. During that time, she conducted target practices and twice participated in humanitarian deeds, searching for on 2 November and assisting from 13–15 December.
The battleship spent Christmas 1912 at the Norfolk Navy Yard before steaming for Cuba and winter maneuvers. En route, she visited Colón, Panama
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, a terminus of the nearly completed 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...
, and reached Guantánamo Bay on 19 January 1913. She subsequently operated out of Guantánamo and Guayancanabo Bay until sailing for Mexican waters on 12 February.
Vermont arrived at Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
on 17 February and remained at that port into the spring, protecting American interests until 29 April, when she sailed north to rejoin the fleet in Hampton Roads. The battleship conducted one midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
's training cruise that summer, embarking the midshipmen at Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
on 6 June. After rejoining the fleet, Vermont cruised in Block Island Sound
Block Island Sound
Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of Rhode Island in the United States...
and visited Newport.
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
on 8 November. Ultimately departing that Mediterranean port on 1 December Vermont reached the Norfolk Navy Yard five days before Christmas, making port on the end of a towline because of storm damage to a propeller.
Soon after she had completed her post-repair trials and had begun preparations for the spring target practice with the Fleet in the Southern Drill Grounds, tension in Mexico beckoned the battleship. Departing Hampton Roads on 15 April, Vermont reached Veracruz very early in the morning on 22 April in company with , , , and .
Her landing force - a "battalion" of 12 officers and 308 men - went ashore after daybreak that same day as United States forces occupied the port to block an arms shipment to the dictator Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
. In the fighting that ensued, two officers from the staff were awarded
Medals of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
: Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Julius C. Townsend, the battalion commander, and Surgeon Cary DeV. Langhornes, the regimental surgeon of the Second Seaman Regiment. During the fighting, Vermonts force suffered one fatality - a private from her Marine detachment, killed on 23 April. But for a visit to Tampico, Mexico from 21 September-10 October, Vermont remained in that Mexican port into later October.
World War I
Over the next 2½ years, Vermont maintained her schedule of operations off the eastern seaboard of the United States, ranging from Newport to Guantánamo Bay, before she lay in reserve at Philadelphia from 1 October-21 November. Vermont subsequently supported the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force in HaitiHaiti
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...
from 29 November 1916-6 February 1917 and then conducted battle practices out of Guantánamo Bay. She ultimately returned to Norfolk on 29 March.
On 4 April, Vermont entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for repairs. Two days later, the United States declared war on Germany. The battleship emerged from the yard on 26 August and sailed for Hampton Roads for duty as an engineering training ship in the Chesapeake Bay region. She performed that vital function for almost the entire duration of hostilities, completing the assignment on 4 November 1918, a week before the armistice stilled the guns of World War I.
Her service as a training ship during the conflict had been broken once in the spring of 1918, when she received the body of the late Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an ambassador to the United States on 28 May, embarked the American Ambassador to Chile - the Honorable J. H. Shea - on 3 June, and got underway from Norfolk later that day. The battleship transited 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...
on 10 June, touched at Port Tongoy, Chile on 24 June, and arrived at Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
on the morning of 27 June.
There, the late ambassador's remains were accompanied ashore by Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
William B. Caperton
William B. Caperton
William Banks Caperton was an admiral of the United States Navy.-Biography:He was born on June 30, 1855 in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Caperton graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1875...
and Ambassador Shea. Departing that port on 2 July, Vermont visited Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
on 7 July, before retransiting the Panama Canal and returning to her base in the York River.
Inter-war period
Vermont entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 5 November and was there converted to a troop transport. She subsequently sailed from Norfolk on 9 January 1919 on the first of four round-trip voyages, returning "doughboys" from "over there". During her time as a transport, the battleship carried some 5,000 troops back to the United States, completing her last voyage on 20 June.Prepared at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for inactivation, Vermont departed the east coast on 18 July, sailing from Hampton Roads on that day, bound for the west coast. After transiting the Panama Canal, the battleship visited San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, San Pedro, California, Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, and Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, and 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...
, before reaching the Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
on 18 September. There, the battleship was decommissioned on 30 June 1920. She was reclassified as BB-20 on 17 July. (She was previously known simply as "Battleship #20.")
Vermont remained inactive at Mare Island until her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 10 November 1923. She was then sold for scrapping on 30 November in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
limiting naval armaments.