USS Montgomery (C-9)

USS Montgomery (C-9), port bow view, circa 1894–99.
History
United States
Name:	Montgomery (1894–1918) Anniston (1918–1919)
Namesake:	City of Montgomery, Alabama City of Anniston, Alabama
Ordered:	7 September 1888
Awarded:	2 November 1889
Builder:	Columbian Iron Works and Dry Dock Co., Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,037,923 (hull and machinery)
Laid down:	February 1890
Launched:	5 December 1891
Sponsored by:	Miss Sophia Smith
Commissioned:	21 June 1894
Decommissioned:	16 May 1918
Renamed:	Anniston, 14 March 1918
Struck:	25 August 1919
Identification:	Hull symbol:C-9
Fate:	sold for scrap, 14 November 1919
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Montgomery-class cruiser
Type:	unprotected cruiser
Displacement:	2,072 long tons (2,105 t) (standard) 2,212 long tons (2,247 t) (full load)
Length:	269 ft 10 in (82.25 m)
Beam:	37 ft (11 m)
Draft:	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) (mean)
Installed power:	6 × Almy Water tube boilers 5,400 ihp (4,000 kW)
Propulsion:	2 × vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines 2 × screws
Sail plan:	Schooner
Speed:	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) 19.06 kn (21.93 mph; 35.30 km/h) (Speed on Trial)
Complement:	30 officers 249 enlisted
Armament:	2 × 6 in (152 mm)/40 caliber guns 8 × 5 in (127 mm)/40 caliber guns 6 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) guns 2 × 1-pounder (37 mm (1.5 in)) guns 2 × Gatling guns 3 × 18 in (457 mm) Torpedo tubes
Armor:	Deck: 7⁄16 in (11 mm) (slope) 5⁄16 in (7.9 mm) (flat) Conning Tower: 2 in (51 mm)
General characteristics (1914)
Armament:	2 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) guns 1 × 21 in (533 mm) submerged torpedo tube 1 × 18 in (457 mm) submerged torpedo tube 1 × 21 in (533 mm) above water torpedo tube 1 × 18 in (457 mm) above water torpedo tube

The fourth USS Montgomery (C-9), the lead ship of her class, was an unprotected cruiser in the United States Navy authorized in the Naval Appropriations Act of September 7, 1888.Montgomery served during the Spanish–American War and in World War I and was named for Montgomery, Alabama.

Montgomery was launched 5 December 1891 by Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Miss Sophia Smith; and commissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard 21 June 1894, Commander Charles W. Davis in command.

Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, the new cruiser operated along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. During the Spanish-American War, she cruised near Cuba and Haiti in April 1898 and in May joined the blockade of Havana. She took two prizes, Lorenzo and Frasquito, 5 May, and shelled the Spanish forts a week later. On 13 June a 280mm Krupp gun at the Santa Clara Battery fired on Montgomery, at a range of 9,000 meters, apparently without effect.

In April 1899 Montgomery transferred to the South Atlantic Squadron and operated along the Atlantic coast of South America until returning to the United States and decommissioning at New York City 15 September 1900. Recommissioned 15 May 1902, she was assigned to the Caribbean Division, North Atlantic Squadron, and operated in the West Indies until decommissioning at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 15 September 1904.