Chronological History and career of the USS Oregon

Jun. 30, 1890....................Congress funds $3,180,000 for the construction of the USS Oregon.

Nov. 19, 1890..................Builder contract awarded to Union Iron Works of San Francisco.

Nov. 19, 1891..................Keel Laid.

Oct. 26, 1893...................Launched, Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California.

May 14, 1896...................Trial Run, Santa Barbara Channel. USS Oregon set speed trial record for Indiana class.

Jun. 26, 1896....................Delivered by builder to the U.S. Navy.

Jul. 15, 1896.....................Commissioned. Now an official operating unit of the U.S. Navy. Underway to Acapulco, Mexico for fuel consumption evaluation.

Dec. 28, 1896...................Attached to Pacific Squadron.

Feb. 16, 1897...................Return to San Francisco, California then underway to Puget Sound, Washington operating area.

Mar. 20, 1897..................Capt, A.S. Barker relieves Capt Howison.

Jun. 1897..........................To Esquimalt B.C., Canada, for Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee, representing the United States of America.

Jul. 06, 1897.....................To Seattle, Washington for dry dock. Receives 30 piece silver service set for the citizens of the State of Oregon.

Fall 1897......................... #1 Dry Dock, Bremerton Navy Yard. First ship to use the new dry dock.

Jan. 17, 1898....................Capt. A.H. McCormick relieves Capt. Barker.

Feb. 15, 1898...................USS Maine (ACR1) sunk in Havana Harbor, Cuba.

Feb. 16, 1898...................Hauls out of dry dock. News of Maine explosion reaches crew.

Mar. 06, 1898...................Receives orders to depart Bremerton Navy Yard.

Mar. 09, 1898...................Arrives San Francisco, California to take supplies, ammunition, and coal.

Mar. 17, 1898...................Capt. C. E. Clark relieves Capt. McCormick after Capt. McCormick becomes ill.

Mar. 19, 1898...................Oregon ordered to depart for Callao, Peru and await for further orders.

Apr. 05, 1898...................Arrives Callao Peru. Re-coals bunkers.

Apr. 07, 1898...................Departs Callao, Peru.

Apr. 16, 1898................... Arrives at the mouth of the Straits of Magellan. Anchors Port Tamar to weather out severe storm.

Apr. 17, 1898...................Arrives Puntas Arenas. Re-coals bunkers.

Apr. 21, 1898...................Departs Punta Arenas in company with Gunboat Marietta.

Apr. 25, 1898...................United States declares war on Spain.

Apr. 30, 1898...................Arrives Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

May 02, 1898...................News of the Battle of Manila Bay. Re-coals bunkers.

May 04, 1898...................Departs Rio de Janeiro.

May 08, 1898...................Arrives Bahia (Salvador), Brazil. Warned of Spanish fleet in area.

May 09, 1898...................Departs Bahia.

May 18, 1898...................Arrive and depart Bridgetown, Barbados. Re-coals bunkers.

May 24, 1898...................Anchors off Jupiter Inlet, Florida.

May 26, 1898...................Arrives Key West, Florida. Receives orders to report to nearest U.S. Naval Station or to "North Atlantic Fleet" if capable.

May 28, 1898...................Departs Key West, Florida to "North Atlantic Fleet".

Jun. 01, 1898....................Joins Admiral Sampson's' fleet blockading Cuba. Engages in blockading operations.

Jun. 04, 1898....................Engages Spanish Torpedo boat at 10:30 PM.

Jun. 06, 1898....................Oregon and fleet perform naval bombardment of Spanish fortifications.

Jun. 11, 1898....................Searchlight duty at harbor entrance.

Jun. 17, 1898....................To Guantanamo, Cuba for re-coaling.

Jul. 03, 1898.....................Battle of Santiago against Spanish fleet. Oregon plays key role in the destruction of the Spanish Fleet.

Aug. 06, 1898...................Capt. A.S. Barker relieves Capt. Clark after Capt. Clark becomes ill.

Aug. 12, 1898...................War with Spain officially ends.

Aug. 14, 1898....................Departs with fleet for New York, New York.

Aug. 20, 1898....................Arrives New York. To Brooklyn Navy Yard for overhaul.

Oct. 12, 1898.....................Departs New York bound for Pacific via Straits of Magellan.

Nov. 12, 1898....................Arrives Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dec. 12, 1898....................Arrives Callao, Peru.

Mar. 18, 1899....................Arrives Manila, Philippines. Capt. G.F. Wilde assumes command. USS Oregon becomes flagship for Admiral Dewey.

Nov. 1899..........................Operations in Lingayen Gulf, Philippines.

Feb. 13, 1900.....................Departs Cavite Naval Installation for Japan.

May 1900...........................To Hong Kong.

Jun. 23, 1900......................Departs Hong Kong.

Jun. 28, 1900......................Aground Pinnacle Rock, North of Shantung Peninsula China.

Jul. 05, 1900.......................Oregon refloated. Underway.

Jul. 17, 1900.......................To Kure, Japan Naval Facility for dry docking and repairs.

Aug. 29, 1900.....................To Yangtze River, China for patrol duty.

Feb. 22, 1901.....................Capt. F. W. Dickens relieves Capt. Wilde.

Apr. 07, 1901.....................Capt. C. M. Thomas relieves Capt. Dickens.

May 05, 1901.....................To United States via Yokohama, Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Jun. 12, 1901......................Arrive San Francisco, California.

Jul. 06, 1901........................In Bremerton Navy Yard for permanent repairs - Laid up. In commission - Capt. Joseph Easton commanding.

Nov. 28, 1902.....................Encounters severe typhoon 1800 East of Hawaii.

Mar. 18, 1903.....................Arrive Hong Kong - Capt. John Merrell commanding Patrol duty Asiatic Squadron.

Apr. 27, 1906......................Decommissioned at Bremerton, Washington.

1906 through 1911...............Inactive, Bremerton, Washington. Prior to recommissioning, ship is modernized.

Aug. 29, 1911......................Recommissioned - Capt. Charles Pond commanding.

Oct. 01, 1911......................San Diego, California. Operating out of West Coast ports.

Apr. 09, 1913......................Bremerton, Washington - In ordinary.

Sep. 16, 1914......................Reserve Status.

Jan. 02, 1915.......................Full Commission - Cmdr Joseph Reeves (Oregon crewmember during Spanish-American War) commanding. To San Francisco, California for Panama-Pacific International Exposition and review.

Feb 11, 1916.......................Oregon placed in Reserve Status.

Apr 06, 1917.......................United States declares war on Germany.

Apr 07, 1917.......................USS Oregon in full commission. Used as training ship on West Coast and Flagship for Pacific Fleet. Escorts transports for Siberian Expedition.

Apr 1919.............................Two-thirds of ships company stricken with influenza.

Jun 12, 1919........................Decommissioned at Bremerton, Washington.

Aug. 21, 1919......................In commission - Review ship for President Wilson during arrival of Pacific Fleet in Seattle, Washington. Capt. I. C. Wettengill commanding.

Oct. 04, 1919......................Decommissioned.

Jul. 17, 1920........................Designated BB-03.

Jul. 03, 1925........................Loaned to the State of Oregon.

Jul. 14,1925.......................Arrives Portland, Oregon. - Moored Northeast end of the Broadway Bridge. Ship becomes a museum and used for meetings by local organizations.

1925..................................Battleship Oregon Commission formed to administrate the Battleship.

Apr. 11, 1938.....................Shifted to berth at Southwest end of the Hawthorne Bridge.

Dec. 07, 1941.....................Pearl Harbor bombed.

Nov. 02, 1942....................Stricken from the Navy list and put up for sale.

Dec. 07, 1942....................Sold for $35,000 to Edwin M. Ricker and William O. McKay. Towed to Kalama, Washington. Superstructure and machinery removed.

Sep. 01, 1943.....................Remains of the vessel are requisitioned by the Navy. Classified as IX-22, USS Oregon.

Jul. 1944..............................Loaded with 1,400 tons of explosives and towed to Guam. Assigned to Service Squadron 12.

Sep. 07, 1945.....................World War II in Pacific officially ends.

Nov. 14, 1948....................Hurricane Agnes hits Guam. Oregon torn from her moorings and set adrift.

Dec. 08, 1948.....................Located 500 miles SE of Guam - towed back to Guam.

Mar. 15, 1956.....................Sold to Massey Supply Company for $208,000. Resold to Iwai Sanggo Company. Towed to Kawasaki, Japan, and broken up for scrap metal.

Today..................................Parts of the ship still exist to this day such as the mast, smoke stacks, radio stack, and other little pieces scattered throughout the country. Most of the ship is just a memory now and an entry in the history of the United States.

Age: From launching to disposal = 62 years

Age: From commissioning to decommissioning = 23 years

Back to Ship Statistics