USS Oregon (BB 3)
USS Oregon, a 11,688-ton Indiana class battleship, was built at San Francisco, California. Commissioned in July 1896, at that time she was the only battleship serving on the U.S. Pacific seaboard. As the Spanish-American War approached, she was ordered to steam around South America to strengthen the forces available in the Atlantic. Upon arrival, Oregon served off Cuba, and had an important role in the Battle of Santiago on 3 July 1898.
In late 1898, Oregon went to the Far East for the first of two tours of duty there that lasted until 1906, when she returned to the U.S. west coast. From 1906 until 1917, she had occasional periods of active service in the eastern Pacific. During the First World War, she guarded the Pacific coast and escorted a troop convoy to Siberia. Decommissioned in 1919, Oregon was loaned to the State of Oregon as a museum ship in 1925 and was later reclassified IX-22.
World War II caused her to be sacrificed for the scrap steel effort, but her hull was retained as an ammunition barge and towed to Guam in 1944. Oregon was finally sold for scrapping in 1956.
