USS Mississippi (BB-23) - U.S. Navy Service

U.S. Navy Service

The second Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) was laid down on 12 May 1904 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by the William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co. She was launched on 30 September 1905, and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, League Island, on 1 February 1908, with Capt. John C. Fremont in command. The ship was sponsored by Miss Mabel Clare Money, daughter of Senator Hernando DeSoto Money of Mississippi. Mississippi departed Philadelphia in February 1908 for Hampton Roads, and then sailed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Following her shakedown off the coast of Cuba in 1908, she returned to Philadelphia for final fitting out. In early 1909 she attended the inauguration of the President of Cuba, met the Great White Fleet upon its return, and was reviewed by the President. For the remainder of the year and into 1910 she traveled the waters off New England, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico, took a voyage up the Mississippi River, and participated in war games out of Guantanamo Bay.

In late 1910 she sailed to Gravesend Bay, England and to Brest, France, as part of Atlantic Fleet maneuvers, returning to Guantanamo Bay in early 1911. She then spent about 14 months off the Atlantic coast, based alternately out of Philadelphia and Norfolk, serving as a training ship and conducting operational exercises. In June 1912 she landed a Marine detachment at El Cuero, Cuba, to protect American interests and remained on station in Guantanamo Bay until July, when she sailed for home. Following exercises with Battleship Division 4 (BatDiv 4) off New England, she returned to Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she was put in the First Reserve in August 1912.

Mississippi remained in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia until detached in December 1913 for duty as an aeronautic station ship at Pensacola, Florida. At Pensacola, she stood by while her crew, along with the early naval aviators, rebuilt the old naval base, laying the foundation for the Pensacola Naval Air Station. With the outbreak of fighting in Mexico in April 1914, Mississippi sailed to Veracruz, arriving with the first detachment of naval aviators to go into combat. Serving as a floating base for the fledgling seaplanes and their pilots, the warship launched nine reconnaissance flights over the area during a period of 18 days. One month later, the battleship departed Veracruz for Pensacola. In June 1914 she returned to Hampton Roads where in July she was decommissioned and transferred to the Greek Navy. The US received $12 million for her and USS Idaho.