USS Texas (1892)

USS Texas, print c. 1898
History
United States
Name:	Texas
Namesake:	State of Texas
Ordered:	3 August 1886
Builder:	Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia
Cost:	$4,202,121.49
Laid down:	1 June 1889
Launched:	28 June 1892
Sponsored by:	Madge Houston Williams
Commissioned:	15 August 1895
Decommissioned:	11 February 1911
Renamed:	San Marcos, 15 February 1911
Struck:	10 October 1911
Nickname(s):	Old Hoodoo
Fate:	Sunk as gunnery target, 21–22 March 1912
Status:	Remains buried in the mud off Tangier, Virginia
General characteristics
Type:	Battleship
Displacement:	6,316 long tons (6,417 t) full load (1896)
Length:	308 ft 10 in (94.1 m)
Beam:	64 ft 1 in (19.5 m)
Draft:	24 ft 6 in (7.5 m)
Installed power:	8,610 ihp (6,420 kW)
Propulsion:	2 × vertical triple-expansion steam engines 2 × screws, 4 × boilers
Speed:	17.8 knots (33.0 km/h; 20.5 mph)
Complement:	392 officers and men (1896)
Armament:	2 × 12 in (305 mm)/35 caliber Mark 1 guns 4 × 6 in (152 mm)/30 caliber Mark 3 guns 2 × 6 in/35 caliber Mark 3 guns 12 × QF 6-pdr (57 mm (2.2 in)) (10 Driggs-Schroeder, 2 Hotchkiss) guns 4 × QF 1-pdr 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns 6 × QF 1-pdr Driggs-Schroeder guns 4 × 14 in (360 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 12 in (305 mm) Deck: 1–3 in (25–76 mm) Redoubt: 12 in (305 mm) Turrets: 1–3 in (25–76 mm) Conning Tower: 9 in (229 mm) Bulkheads: 8 in (203 mm)

Coordinates: 37°43′10″N 76°05′00″W / 37.71944°N 76.08333°W / 37.71944; -76.08333

USS Texas was a second-class battleship built by the United States in the early 1890s, the first American battleship commissioned and the first ship named in honor of the state of Texas to be built by the United States. Built in reaction to the acquisition of modern armored warships by several South American countries, Texas was meant to incorporate the latest developments in naval tactics and design. This includes the mounting of her main armament en echelon to allow maximum end-on fire and a heavily-armored redoubt amidships to ensure defensive strength. However, due to the state of U.S. industry at the time, Texas's building time was lengthy, and by the time she was commissioned, she was already out of date. Nevertheless, she and her near-sister USS Maine were considered advancements in American naval design.

Texas developed a reputation as a jinxed or unlucky ship after several accidents early in her career; she consequently earned the nickname "Old Hoodoo". These mishaps included problems during construction, a grounding off Newport, Rhode Island, and flooding shortly afterwards while at dock in New York City. In the last, she settled to the bottom with her gun deck awash and several crew members drowned. She also received significant damage to her hull in drydock after being raised. Her reputation improved with her service in the Spanish–American War, when she blockaded the coast of Cuba and fought in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.