USS Iris (1885)

USS Iris off the coast of Guaymas, Mexico, 1915.
History
Name:	USS Iris
Namesake:	Iris
Builder:	A. Leslie and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Launched:	1885
Acquired:	25 May 1898
Commissioned:	1 August 1898
Decommissioned:	2 May 1916
Fate:	Transferred to the United States Shipping Board, 3 May 1917
General characteristics
Type:	Screw steamer
Displacement:	1,923 long tons (1,954 t)
Length:	321 ft (98 m)
Beam:	39 ft (12 m)
Draft:	24 ft (7.3 m)
Speed:	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	124
Armament:	None

USS Iris was a ship of the United States Navy which served in the Pacific in a variety of roles from 1899 until 1916. Originally fitted out as a distilling ship, she served as general utility ship, then as a collier, before being refitted as a torpedo boat tender.

The ship was built in 1885 by A. Leslie and Company, Newcastle, England, and was purchased by the United States Navy from the Miami Steamship Co. on 25 May 1898 for service in the Spanish–American War. However, reconditioning and conversion to a water distilling ship was not completed until after the end of active operations against Spain. Iris was commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 August 1898, Lieutenant Arthur B. Connor USN in command.

The ship departed Norfolk on 31 August and arrived at Montauk Point, New York on 5 September. She departed New York Harbor on 14 October for the Philippine Islands, arriving at Manila on 18 March 1899. She acted as a general utility ship for the Asiatic Squadron in the Philippines during the occupation of the islands and during the subsequent insurrection. Crewmembers serving on Iris during any of the periods 18 March to 16 November 1899; 14 December 1899 to 16 January 1900; 31 May to 21 June 1900; 1 August 1900 to 27 April 1901 or 18 July 1901 to 4 July 1902 qualified for award of the Philippine Campaign Medal.

Iris was decommissioned for repairs at Hong Kong on 31 January 1900, and resumed duty in May under the command of Lieutenant Dudley Wright Knox USN through June 1901. During this time, Iris returned to duty in the Philippines during the insurrection and also served in the Boxer Rebellion. Crewmembers serving on her between 29 June to 24 July 1900 qualified for award of the China Relief Expedition Medal.