History
United States
Name	USS Niagara
Namesake	Fort Niagara
Builder	John Roach & Sons, Chester, Pennsylvania
Completed	1877
Acquired	11 April 1898
Commissioned	11 April 1898
Decommissioned	14 October 1898
Fate	Sold 19 July 1899
General characteristics
Type	Distilling and supply ship
Displacement	5,221 tons
Length	274 ft 0 in (83.52 m)
Beam	38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Draft	19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement	57
Armament	2 × 6-pounder guns 4 × 3-pounder guns 2 × 37 mm guns 1 × Colt machine gun

The third USS Niagara was a distilling and supply ship that served in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War.

Acquisition

Niagara was a steamer built by John Roach & Sons, Chester, Pennsylvania in 1877. The U.S. Navy acquired her from the Ward Line on 11 April 1898 for service in the Spanish–American War. Fitted out as a distilling and supply ship of the Collier Service, she commissioned at New York, New York, on 11 April 1898.

Operational history

Niagara departed New York on 25 April 1898 for the Caribbean Sea via Norfolk, Virginia, and Key West, Florida. During the Spanish–American War she served the fleet off Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. The ship returned to Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 26 May 1898.

She departed Hampton Roads on 30 May 1898, again bound for ports in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Niagara remained on station in the Caribbean Sea until 24 July 1898 when she departed Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for New York, arriving 3 September 1898.

Final Disposition

Niagara remained at New York until she decommissioned on 14 October 1898. She was sold on 19 July 1899.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.