View source for USS Tennessee (ACR-10)

{{Short description|US Navy armoured cruiser}}
{{other ships|USS Tennessee|USS Memphis}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= USS Tennessee (ACR-10).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Tennessee'' (ACR-10), at anchor {{circa}} 1907
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1916}}
|Ship name=*''Tennessee'' (1903–1916)
*''Memphis'' (1916)
|Ship namesake=*State of [[Tennessee]]
*City of [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], Tennessee
|Ship ordered=1 July 1902
|Ship awarded=9 February 1903
|Ship original cost= $4,035,000 (contract price of hull and machinery)
|Ship builder=[[William Cramp & Sons]], [[Philadelphia]]
|Ship laid down= 20 June 1903
|Ship launched= 3 December 1904
|Ship completed= 
|Ship acquired= 
|Ship yard number=322
|Ship sponsor=Miss Annie K. Frazier
|Ship commissioned= 17 July 1906
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed= ''Memphis'', 25 May 1916
|Ship struck=17 December 1917
|Ship reclassified= 
|Ship identification=[[Hull classification symbol#Surface combatant type|Hull symbol]]: ACR-10
|Ship fate=*Wrecked, 29 August 1916
*Sold for scrap, 17 January 1922
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Tennessee|cruiser|0}} [[armored cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|14500|LT|t|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} (standard)
*{{convert|15712|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (full load)
|Ship length=*{{convert|504|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} [[length overall|oa]]
*{{convert|502|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|pp]]
|Ship beam={{convert|72|ft|10+1/2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|25|ft|m|abbr=on}} (mean)
|Ship power=*16 × [[Babcock and Wilcox boiler#Babcock & Wilcox boiler|Babcock & Wilcox boilers]]
*{{convert|23000|ihp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 × [[Triple expansion engine|vertical triple expansion]] [[reciprocating engine]]s
*2 × [[Propeller|screw]]s
|Ship speed=*{{convert|22|kn|lk=in}}
*{{convert|22.16|kn|lk=in}} (Speed on [[Sea trial|Trial]])
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=83 officers, 804 enlisted, 64 [[United States Marine Corps|marines]]
|Ship armament=*4 × [[10"/40 caliber gun Mark 3|{{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on}}/40]] [[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] Mark 3 [[Breech-loading weapon|breech-loading rifles]] (2x2)
*16 × [[6"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|6|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50]] caliber Mark 8 breech-loading rifles (16x1)
*22 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50]] caliber rapid-fire guns (22x1)
*4 × [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss#American service|3-pounder]] ({{convert|47|mm|in|abbr=on}}) Driggs-Schroeder [[Saluting guns#Heavy arms: gun salutes|saluting guns]]
*4 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] submerged [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armor=*'''[[Belt armor|Belt]]:''' {{convert|5|in|cm|abbr=on}}
*'''[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]:''' {{convert|1+1/2|-|4|in|mm|abbr=on}} (amidships)
*{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}} (forward & aft)
*'''[[Barbette]]s:''' {{convert|4-7|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*'''[[Gun turret|Turret]]s:''' {{convert|5|-|9|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*'''[[Conning tower|Conning Tower]]:''' {{convert|9|in|mm|abbr=on}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The second '''USS ''Tennessee'' (ACR-10)''', also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 10", and later renamed '''''Memphis''''', was a [[United States Navy]] [[armored cruiser]], the [[lead ship]] of her [[Tennessee class cruiser|class]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Tennessee'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[Cramp Shipbuilding Company]] of [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], on 20 June 1903,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXijAAAAMAAJ | title=Ships' Data, U. S. Naval Vessels | publisher=US Naval Department | date=1 January 1914 | access-date=16 September 2015 | pages=24–31}}</ref> [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 3 December 1904, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Ms. [[Annie K. Frazier]] (daughter of [[Governor of Tennessee|Governor]] [[James B. Frazier]] of [[Tennessee]] and later the foundress of the [[Society of Sponsors of the United States Navy]]), and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] at the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] on 17 July 1906, [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] [[Albert Gleaves Berry]] in command.<ref name=DANFS>{{cite web|title=Tennessee (Armored Cruiser No. 10) iv |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tennessee-armored-cruiser-no-10-iv.html|publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command | date=8 June 2015 |access-date=11 November 2015}}</ref>

==Operational career==
The new armored cruiser departed [[Hampton Roads]] on 8 November 1906 as escort for {{USS|Louisiana|BB-19|2}} in which [[President of the United States|President]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]] had embarked for a cruise to [[Panama]] to check on the progress of work constructing the [[Panama Canal]]. After a brief visit to [[Puerto Rico]] on the return voyage, the warships arrived back at Hampton Roads on 26 November.<ref name="DANFS" />

Following a yard period for repairs, ''Tennessee'' left Hampton Roads on 16 April 1907 for the [[Jamestown Exposition]], held from 7 to 11 June 1907, to commemorate the tricentennial of the founding of the first English settlement in America.<ref name="DANFS" />

On 14 June, ''Tennessee'' sailed for Europe in company with {{USS|Washington|ACR-11|2}} and reached [[Royan]], [[France]] on the 23rd for duty with the [[Special Service Squadron]]. She returned home in August but departed Hampton Roads on 12 October for the [[Pacific]], where she became flagship for the second division of the Pacific Fleet.<ref name="DANFS" />

''Tennessee'' then patrolled off the [[California]] coast until 24 August 1908 but suffered a boiler tube explosion on 5 June, which killed seven men, while steaming at full speed. The explosion occurred just after the rear admiral in charge of the squadron had visited on a tour of inspection; had the explosion taken place a few minutes earlier, he might have been among the casualties. Since the ship's 16 boilers were sub-divided into separate watertight compartments, the rest of the engineering section was not affected.<ref>''The Navy'', pp. 24–5</ref> Once repairs had been made and her tour had ended, ''Tennessee'' sailed for [[Samoa]], arriving at [[Pago Pago]] on 23 September to resume service with the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]]. On 15 May 1910, she arrived at [[Bahía Blanca]] to represent the United States at the centenary celebration of the independence of [[Argentina]]. On 8 November, the armored cruiser departed [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], and proceeded to [[Charleston, South Carolina]], to embark President [[William Howard Taft]] for a round trip voyage to Panama to inspect further progress on the canal. She returned to Hampton Roads on 22 November and then engaged in battle practice off the Virginia coast into February 1911. Following a [[New Orleans Mardi Gras|Mardi Gras visit to New Orleans]] and a visit to [[New York City]] early in March, the ship steamed to [[Cuba]]n waters for two months of operations out of [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]].<ref name="DANFS" />

Placed in reserve at the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]] on 15 June 1911, she remained on the east coast for 18 months before departing Philadelphia on 12 November 1912 for the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]. Arriving off Smyrna (now [[İzmir]]), [[Turkey]] on 1 December, she remained there protecting American citizens and property during the [[First Balkan War]] until 3 May 1913, when she headed home. After reaching Hampton Roads on the 23rd, ''Tennessee'' operated on the East Coast until entering the [[Atlantic Reserve Fleet]] at Philadelphia on 23 October. On 2 May 1914, she became [[receiving ship]] at the [[New York Navy Yard]].<ref name="DANFS" />

On 4 November, ''Tennessee'' arrived in Beirut, what was then Syria, to protect the Christian population there in case of attack by Syrian Muslims.

On 6 August, ''Tennessee'' sailed from New York for duty in Europe through the first half of 1915 supporting the [[American Relief Expedition]] by carrying gold bullion and other resources to assist in the extraction of American refugees from war-ravaged Europe. In August, she transported the [[1st Regiment, Marine Expeditionary Force]], and the [[Marine Artillery Battalion]] to [[Haiti]]. From 28 January-24 February 1916, the cruiser served as [[flagship]] of a cruiser squadron off [[Port-au-Prince]], Haiti. In March, she embarked a group of dignitaries at Hampton Roads for a two-month, round trip cruise to [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]].<ref name="DANFS" />

On 25 May 1916, ''Tennessee'' was renamed '''''Memphis''''', honoring the city of [[Memphis, Tennessee]], so that the name "Tennessee" could be reassigned to the new [[battleship]] {{USS|Tennessee|BB-43|3}}.<ref name="DANFS" />

In July 1916, under the command of Captain [[Edward L. Beach, Sr.]], the ship got underway for [[the Caribbean]] arriving at [[Santo Domingo]] on 23 July for peace-keeping patrol off the rebellion-torn [[Dominican Republic]].<ref name="DANFS" />

==Loss==
''Memphis'' was at anchor {{convert|.5|nmi|mi m|lk=in|abbr=on}} off a rocky beach in {{convert|45|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water in the harbor of Santo Domingo on the afternoon of 29 August 1916 with two of her 16 [[boiler]]s operating in case she needed to get underway; the [[gunboat]] {{USS|Castine|PG-6|2}} also was anchored in the harbor. Shortly after 12:00, ''Memphis'' began to roll heavily and Captain Beach observed an unexpected heavy swell developing. ''Memphis'' and ''Castine'' both made preparations to leave the harbor and began to raise steam; ''Memphis'' expected to be able to get underway at about 16:35.

[[File:USS Tennessee ACR-10 - photo NH59921.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The wreck of ''Memphis'' at Santo Domingo on 29 August 1916.]]

Conditions in the harbor had deteriorated badly by 15:45, when ''Memphis'' sighted an approaching {{convert|75|ft|m|abbr=on}} wave of yellow water stretching along the entire horizon. By 16:00, the wave was closer, had turned [[ochre]] in color, and had reached about {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height; at the same time, ''Memphis'' was rolling 45°, so heavily that large amounts of water cascaded into the ship via her [[gun port]]s and water even was entering the ship via ventilators {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the [[waterline]]. By 16:25, water began to enter the ship via her funnels, {{convert|70|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the waterline, putting out the fires in her boilers and preventing her from raising enough steam to get underway. She began to strike the rocky harbor bottom at 16:40, damaging her propellers just as she was raising enough steam to begin moving, and her engines lost steam pressure.

At about this time, the giant wave ''Memphis'' had seen approaching over the past hour arrived; she rolled into a deep trough and was struck immediately by what proved to be three very large waves in rapid succession, the highest of them estimated by the crew to have been {{convert|70|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height, completely swamping her except for her highest points, and washing crewmen overboard. The waves rolled her heavily, caused her to strike the harbor bottom, then pushed her to the beach {{convert|.5|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} away. By 17:00, she had been driven under cliffs along the coast of the harbor and was resting on the harbor bottom. She was battered into a complete wreck in 90 minutes. ''Castine'', meanwhile, managed to reach safer waters by getting underway and putting to sea through the large waves, although damaged by them and at times in danger of capsizing.<ref>For a description of the loss of ''Memphis'', see Smith, pp. 67–70.</ref>

''Memphis''{{'}}s casualties numbered 43 men dead or missing &ndash; 10 of them washed overboard by the waves or killed by steam as the ship's powerplant broke up, another 25 lost as they returned from [[shore leave]] in the ship's motor [[Launch (boat)|launch]] and were caught in the harbor by the huge breakers, and eight more lost in three boats wrecked after dark as they attempted to reach shore<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/events/ev-1910s/ev-1916/memphis.htm DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER Online Library of Selected Images -- EVENTS -- The 1910s -- 1916 Loss of USS Memphis, 29 August 1916]</ref> &ndash; and 204 badly injured. Due to their heroic actions during this incident, [[Chief Petty Officer|Chief]] [[Machinist's Mate]] [[George William Rud]], [[Lieutenant]] [[Claud Ashton Jones]], and [[Machinist]] [[Charles H. Willey]] were awarded the [[Medal of Honor]].
<gallery heights=200 widths=140 class=center>
File:Rud1adj.jpg|George Rud
File:Jones CA NHC 48727.jpg|Claud Jones
File:Charles H Willey.jpg|Charles H. Willey
</gallery>

===Alternative explanations for the wreck===
In his 1966 account of the incident, ''The Wreck of the Memphis'', Captain Beach{{'}}s son, [[Edward L. Beach Jr.]], ascribed her loss to an unexpected [[tsunami]] exceeding {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height,<ref>Beach, ''The Wreck of the Memphis''.</ref> and this explanation has been carried forward by most sources discussing her loss.<ref>See, for example, Gardiner, Robert, ed., ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', New York: Mayflower Books, Inc., 1979, {{ISBN|0-8317-0302-4}}, p. 149, for another citation of the 100-foot tsunami explanation.</ref> More recent research, however, has called this explanation into question. No record of any seismic event in the Caribbean on 29 August 1916 that could have triggered a tsunami has been found, and the rate of advance of the large wave ''Memphis'' reported – about an hour to cross the distance from the horizon to the ship – matches that of a wind-generated ocean wave (possibly a [[rogue wave]]); a tsunami, in contrast, would have covered the distance in only a few minutes. The periods of the three large waves that struck ''Memphis'' also are characteristic of large wind-generated waves rather than tsunamis.<ref name="smithpp6869">For a discussion of the lack of evidence for a tsunami and the more compelling evidence for freak wind-generated waves having wrecked ''Memphis'', see Smith, pp. 68–69.</ref>

A likely source for such large, wind-generated waves in Santo Domingo Harbor on 29 August 1916 does exist, in that three [[hurricane]]s active in the Caribbean between 12 August and 2 September 1916 passed westward just to the south. Waves generated from these storms could well have combined to create a large wave like those that struck and wrecked ''Memphis''. Such a circumstance appears to explain the loss of the ship better than the tsunami theory.<ref name="smithpp6869"/> Oceanographer Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis in particular published an extensively detailed rebuttal demonstrating that a tsunami could not have caused the foundering of ''Memphis'', but that the last of the three hurricanes, [[1916 Atlantic hurricane season#Hurricane Eight|category 1 Hurricane Eight]], likely did, creating a {{convert|59|ft|m|abbr=on}} wave that reached a breaker height of {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=on}} as it approached ''Memphis''. This swamped the cruiser, anchored in only {{convert|55|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water, and would have done so even had the ship been at full maneuvering power. Pararas-Carayannis concluded that had ''Memphis'' been anchored in {{convert|100|to|120|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water, she would have ridden out the swells, including the killer wave.<ref>[http://www.drgeorgepc.com/LossUSSMemphis.html "The Loss of the USS Memphis on 29 August 1916 – Was a Tsunami Responsible? Analysis of a Naval Disaster" by Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis]</ref><ref>[http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/gwlr4&div=29&id=&page= heinonline.org 4 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 520 (1935–1936) Annotations of Opinions of the Attorney General of the United States]</ref>

==Salvage efforts==
[[File:USS Memphis, 1922, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 23 of 26 (6227030475).jpg|thumb|Wreck of ''Memphis'' after being stripped of essentials, 1922]]
Although ''Memphis'' came to rest upright and appeared relatively undamaged above the [[waterline]], it was apparent as early as the day after the disaster that she was not worth repairing; she was outdated by 1916, she had suffered the destruction of her propulsion plant and severe distortion of her hull structure, and her bottom had been driven in. Accordingly, the [[United States Department of the Navy]] assigned the crew of the battleship {{USS|New Hampshire|BB-25|2}}, or the wrecking vessel ''Henlopen'', to strip her of her guns, supplies, and equipment for use on other ships. ''New Hampshire''{{'}}s crew left ''Memphis'' without her guns, with much of her topside gear missing, and with her gun turrets rotated off the centerline.<ref name="salvage">[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/events/ev-1910s/ev-1916/memph-4.htm DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER Online Library of Selected Images -- EVENTS -- The 1910s -- 1916 Loss of USS Memphis, 29 August 1916 -- Salvage Efforts on the Ship's Wreck]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.103308979&view=1up&seq=92 |title=American Marine Engineer January, 1917 |publisher=National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association of the United States |via=Haithi Trust |access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref>

''Memphis''{{'}}s [[ship's bell]] was presented to a local church as a gesture of thanks to citizens of Santo Domingo who had helped to rescue the ship's crew.<ref name="salvage"/>

==Final disposition==
''Memphis'' was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 17 December 1917 and sold to the A. H. Radetsky Iron and Metal Company of [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]], [[Colorado]], on 17 January 1922 for scrapping for the sum of $3,000 (US$ {{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3000|1916|r=-2}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}). Scrapped on site, her wreck proved difficult to dismantle, and the last of it did not disappear from the Santo Domingo shoreline until 1938.<ref name="salvage"/>

Her bronze bow scrollwork, removed approximately 1909, is on display on a concrete mockup of her bow in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]'s [[Centennial Park (Nashville)|Centennial Park]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Yarnall|first1=Paul|title=USS TENNESSEE - MEMPHIS (Armored Cruiser No. 10/CA 10)|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/acr10/acr10.htm|website=NavSource Online: Cruiser Photo Archive|publisher=Navsource.org|access-date=15 February 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tennessee-armored-cruiser-no-10-iv.html}}
{{refbegin}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=CHgDAAAAYAAJ&dq=Tennessee+cruiser+engine&pg=RA4-PA24 Author not listed, "The Tennessee Accident." In "Service Items,"] ''The Navy'' (Washington DC: Navy Publishing Company), June 1908. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
*Alden, John D. ''American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. {{ISBN|0-87021-248-6}}
*[[Edward L. Beach, Jr.|Beach, Edward L., Jr.]] ''The Wreck of the Memphis''. New York, New York:  Holt, Rinear, and Wiston, 1966. Naval Institute Press Classics of Naval Literature 1998 re-print {{ISBN|1-55750-070-3}}
*Friedman, Norman. ''U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1984. {{ISBN|0-87021-718-6}}
*Musicant, Ivan. ''U.S. Armored Cruisers: A Design and Operational History.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. {{ISBN|0-87021-714-3}}
*Smith, Craig B. ''Extreme Waves''.  Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-309-10062-3}}.
*{{cite book|title=Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I |author=Taylor, Michael J.H. |publisher=Studio |year=1990 |isbn=1-85170-378-0}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Tennessee (ACR-10)}}
*[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tennessee-armored-cruiser-no-10-iv.html USS Tennessee (Armored Cruiser # 10), 1906–1916. Renamed Memphis in May 1916]

{{Tennessee class cruisers}}
{{August 1916 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Caribbean Sea}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee (ACR-10), USS}}
[[Category:Tennessee-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Ships built by William Cramp & Sons]]
[[Category:1904 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1916]]
[[Category:Rogue wave incidents]]