The first Columbia was a 44-gun sailing frigate built at the Washington Navy Yard in 1814 under authority of the Act of Congress approved January 2, 1813. She was a vessel of 1,508 tons’ burden, and was designed to carry a battery of 52 guns. She was nearly ready for service in August, 1814, but never got to sea, as she was burned by order of the President upon the advance of the British after the battle of Bladensburg.
The second Columbia, authorized by the naval appropriation act of April 29, 1816, was named after the Columbia River. She was a 44-gun sailing frigate, built at the Washington Navy Yard at a cost of $336,891. Her keel was laid in 1825, but she was not launched until eleven years later. Her principal dimensions were: burden, 1,726 tons; length, 175ft.; breadth, 45ft.; depth of hold, 14ft. 4in.; draft, 22ft. When first commissioned she carried a battery of four 8-inch smooth bores, twenty-eight long 32-pounders, and twenty-two 42-pounder carronades. This was changed in January, 1850, to eight 8-inch smooth-bores and forty-two long 32’s. In November, 1853, two of the 32-pounders were replaced by 8-inch guns. Her complement was 480 officers and men.
When completed, the Columbia was towed to the Norfolk Navy Yard, where she was fitted out for sea in preparation for a cruise to the East Indies as flagship of Commodore George C. Read. She sailed from Norfolk on May 6, 1838, in company with the sloop of war John Adams, and arrived in Chinese waters in the spring of the following year. On June 14, 1840, the Columbia was back in Boston, Massachusetts, for a new crew, but she did not refit until two years later, when, under the command of Captain Foxhall A. Parker (January 2, 1842) she joined the Home Squadron as the flagship of Commodore Charles Stewart. This cruise lasted only two months, as in the spring of that year the frigate was ordered to the Brazil station under Captain Edward R. Shubrick (May 31, 1842). After a short stay in American waters, Captain Shubrick received orders to proceed to the Mediterranean, but he died during the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and was succeeded in command by Lieutenant John R. Goldsborough (March 12, 1844), who brought the ship to the squadron rendezvous at Port Mahon on May 4, 1844. The Columbia remained in European waters a little over a year, during which she was commanded by Captain Samuel L. Breese (May 8, 1844), after which she returned to Norfolk, Virginia, where she was laid up in ordinary on January 21, 1845.
In November, 1845, the Columbia was recommissioned for service on the Brazil station as flagship of Commodore Rousseau. She sailed from Norfolk on November 14, under Commander Robert Ritchie, and returned to Hampton Roads after an uneventful cruise of two years. From October 26, 1847, to January 1, 1853, the frigate was laid up at the Norfolk Navy Yard, after which followed her last cruise with the Home Squadron as flagship of Commodore Newton. Commander Garrett J. Pendergrast (January 1,1853) kept her for a year and a half, and then turned her over to Captain Stephen B. Wilson (October 14, 1854) under whom she was ordered on special service to Santo Domingo and San Juan de Nicaragua, until the appearance on board of yellow fever compelled her to return north. She reached Norfolk on March 19, 1855, and was placed out of commission on the following day. On the outbreak of the Civil War the Columbia was still laid up in ordinary at Norfolk, where she was burned, on April 21, 1861, to prevent her falling into the hands of the Confederates. After the war, what remained of her hull was sold, on October 10, 1867, for $16,901.50.
The third Columbia was a screw steamer of 503 tons captured on August 3, 1862, by the U.S.S. Santiago de Cuba, and purchased from the Key West prize court on November 4, 1862, for $66,000. She was an iron steam vessel of the fourth rate, with the following dimensions: length, 168 ft.; breadth, 25 ft.; depth, 14 ft. She was fitted with inverted engines of 30-inch stroke, and horizontal tubular boilers. Her armament consisted of one 30-pounder Parrott rifle and six 24-pounder howitzers.
The Columbia was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard in December, 1862, by Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Joseph P. Couthouy, and was assigned to duty with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She was ordered to the Wilmington blockade, but, on the night of January 14,1863, while cruising off Masonbore Inlet, North Carolina, she ran ashore on an unknown bar and was wrecked, part of her crew being taken prisoners by the Confederates. The wreck was burned by the enemy, but after the war it was raised (May 1, 1865) and brought to Norfolk, Virginia, where it was sold on October 10, 1867, for $13,400.
The fourth Columbia, which took the name from the District of Columbia, was a steel protected cruiser of the second class. She was built by William Cramp & Sons, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under the terms of the appropriation act of June 30, 1890, and was launched on July 26, 1892. Her contract price was $2,725,000. Her principal characteristics were: displacement, 7,350 tons; length, 413 ft. 1 in.; breadth, 58 ft. 2 in.; draft, 22 ft. 6 in. As described by Secretary Tracy:
With a maximum speed of 22.8 knots, she can safely be counted on, in any ordinary sea, to overtake any commerce destroyer, any commerce protector, or any mercantile vessel now afloat, while her ability to cruise for great distances without recoiling makes her a peculiarly important addition to a navy destitute of coaling stations abroad. Her triple-screw arrangement, one of the most important and original features, is at once effective for high speed and economical for ordinary service. The arrangement of her screws, tending to secure constant immersion in the water, is calculated to prevent the racing so common in single-screw and twin-screw vessels, which leads not only to reduction of speed, but to material increase of loss from wear and tear.
Her engines were of the vertical triple-expansion type, with an aggregate horsepower of 18,509, and a stroke of 42 inches. She was fitted with eight double-ended Scotch boilers and two single-ended boilers. Protection to her machinery was furnished by a steel deck varying from 4 to 2.5 inches thick. Her original armament consisted of one 8-inch B.L.R., two 6-inch guns, eight 4-inch R.F., with a secondary battery of 12 pieces of smaller caliber. During the World War she carried three 6- inch, 45-caliber rifles, four 4-inch, 40- caliber guns, and three 3-inch anti-aircraft guns. Her complement was 22 officers and 458 men.
The Columbia was placed in commission at the League Island Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1894, and made her first cruise on the North Atlantic Station in command of Captain George W. Sumner. Her remarkable speed and beautiful appearance combined to make her the pride of the new navy and won her the popular appellation, “The Gem of the Ocean.” Her first service was in Costa Rican waters where she was employed for almost a year in the protection of American interests, after which she was ordered to Germany to participate in the Kiel naval celebration. This voyage across the Atlantic was followed by naval officers with intense interest, for it was the fastest long-distance passage ever attempted by a vessel of war and definitely answered the critics of speed as a factor in naval warfare. The Columbia left Southampton, England, on her return voyage shortly after noon on July 26, 1895, and arrived at Sandy Hook early on the morning of August 2, having made a run of 3,090 nautical miles in six days, twenty-three hours and forty-nine minutes, or an average speed of 18.41 knots for the whole distance. The Hamburg-American lines Augusta Victoria followed the Columbia out of the English Channel five hours behind her, with the boasted intention of beating her to New York. So confident was the German captain that he had passed her during the voyage, that when he came within hail of quarantine station he inquired derisively, “Where is that white whirlwind now?” The answer was a bitter disappointment and rudely disillusioned his passengers; for it said that the Columbia had passed up the harbor hours before.
The next cruise was a long one under Captain James H. Sands, who commanded her from September 10, 1895, to August 30, 1898. She was first attached to the North Atlantic Station, after which she made a cruise with the naval militia, returning to League Island in the spring of 1897 to be placed in reserve. The outbreak of hostilities with Spain found her ready for service. But instead of being employed as a scout in covering the approaches to the Caribbean, she was retained to patrol the New England coast where a condition of unreasoning panic existed, each town and hamlet clamoring for fortifications and ships to defend it against possible raids by the Spanish cruisers. And on this service, the Columbia was maintained until Admiral Cervera’s presence in Cuban waters led to her recall on June 25, and assignment to Commodore Schley’s Flying Squadron. Stopping at Charleston, South Carolina, to take on board some troops belonging to Garretson’s brigade, she joined the fleet before Santiago de Cuba on July 11. This duty accomplished, Captain Sands was next called upon to take part in the Porto Rico expedition, which ended with the conclusion of hostilities. The Columbia thereupon returned to League Island, Pennsylvania, where she was placed in reserve pending her going out of commission on March 31, 1899.
On August 31, 1901, the Columbia was recommissioned by Captain Albert S. Snow for duty as receiving ship at the New York Navy Yard. Following this, she was ordered to sea, under Captain James M. Miller (November 9, 1903), with the Atlantic Training Squadron. Captain John V. B. Bleecker relieved Captain Miller on June 14, 1905, and was in turn succeeded by Commander John M. Bowyer (July 11, 1905), under whom the cruiser was employed on special service in connection with the protection of American interests in Cuba. Commander Frank E. Beatty (March 26, 1907) commanded the Columbia during the concluding months of this cruise, and brought her north about the middle of April, 1907. Over eight years elapsed before the Columbia was again fitted out for service, when, under Commander Yates Stirling, Jr. (June 22, 1915) she was commissioned as flagship of the Submarine Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet. In the following year Captain Stirling was detached, being relieved by Commander Ridley McLean (December 4, 1916), who kept her only eight months, and then turned her over to Captain Frank B. Up- ham (August 16, 1917). On the outbreak of hostilities with Germany, the Columbia was assigned to the Patrol Force, Atlantic Fleet, which was charged with the protection of the transatlantic commerce of the Allies. In the summer ofl9l7shewas designated as divisional flagship of the cruiser force and during the remainder of the war she was actively engaged in escorting troop and merchant convoys across the Atlantic. Two voyages were made to Halifax and six to rendezvous in the Eastern Atlantic. After the conclusion of hostilities the Columbia became the flagship of the Train, Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Captain Harry L. Brinser (1919) and Captain William B. Wells (1920). She was placed out of commission in the following year, and was sold on January 26, 1922.
The fifth Columbia was a steam tug of 275 tons chartered during the World War from Duncan Robinson of Grand Rapids, Michigan, for duty in the Third Naval District. She was a wooden vessel built in 1892 (rebuilt in 1918), with the following characteristics: length, 101 ft. 3 in.; breadth, 20 ft. 5 in.; depth of hold 7 ft.; draft, 7 ft. 9 in. She was fitted with a single-screw vertical compound engine of 300 horsepower and one marine boiler. Her speed was 14 knots. Although officially listed in the Navy register, the Columbia was never taken over, and consequently saw no service as a regularly commissioned naval vessel.
The sixth Columbia was a screw steamer of 12,500 tons transferred from the Army by executive order on August 3, 1921. She was formerly the army transport Great Northern, built by William Cramp & Sons at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1914. Her principal characteristics were: length, 525ft.; breadth, 63ft.; draft 25ft. She had triple-screw Parsons turbines, capable of maintaining a sustained speed of 23 knots, and 12 Mosher boilers. Her fuel capacity was 3,000 tons of oil. She had an authorized armament of four 6-inch rifles and four 3-inch anti-aircraft guns. Her crew numbered 427 men.
The Columbia was converted for use as an administrative flagship for the Atlantic Fleet at the New York Navy Yard, and under the command of Captain Joseph K. Taussig, flew the flag of Admiral Hilary P. Jones during the winter maneuvers of 1922. On her return north, she was stricken from the Navy register and transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board, March 4, 1922.