USS South Carolina (BB-26) - World War I

World War I

By the time South Carolina returned to Norfolk on 24 September, World War I had already been raging for almost two months. On 14 October, the battleship entered the yard at Philadelphia. She emerged revitalized on 20 February 1915 and headed south for the usual battle practice in the vicinity of Cuba. The exercises took on new meaning since they were hard on the heels of the diplomatic crisis triggered by Germany's declaring the waters around England to be a war zone. The sinking of Lusitania did not cause the United States to enter the war. For almost two years, South Carolina continued her routine of winter and spring exercises out of Guantánamo Bay, summer operations off Newport, and periodic repairs at Philadelphia.

The entry of the United States into the war on the side of the Allies in April 1917 did not presage dramatic events for the Navy. Except for U-boats and an occasional disguised commerce raider, the Royal Navy had already cleared the seas of German naval might at such battles as the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Therefore, South Carolina continued to operate along the East Coast through 1917 and for the first eight months of 1918.

On 9 September 1918, she joined the escort of a convoy bound for France. A week later, she turned the convoy over to other escorts in mid-ocean and steamed back to the United States. After a brief repair period at Philadelphia, she returned to gunnery training service and was so employed at the time of the Armistice on 11 November. During the war, William Gilmer commanded her, for which he received the Navy Cross.