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USS Buffalo (1898-1927/AD-8) 

Please see below for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USS Buffalo (1898-1927/AD-8) 

The steamship El Cid was built in 1892 at Newport News, Va., by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. Acquired by the Brazilian government for conversion to an auxiliary cruiser, she was renamed Nictheroy. Purchased by the U.S. Navy from the Brazilian Government on 11 July 1898, Nictheroy was renamed Buffalo; commissioned in ordinary a week later; fitted out as an auxiliary cruiser at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.; and placed in full commission there on 22 September 1898, Cmdr. Joseph N. Hemphill in command.

USS Buffalo (1898-1927)'s first voyage while in commission was to Newport, R.I. (9-17 November 1898). She then returned to New York, where she arrived on 18 November. She then operated in the waters near the Virginia capes until clearing Hampton Roads on 3 May, bound for Fayal, Azores. Arriving on 14 May, she remained until 20 May, then moved on to Gibraltar (24 May-4 June) and Gravesend, England (9-10 June). USS Buffalo (1898-1927) again stood out from New York on an easterly course bound for the Philippines. She then steamed in company with USS Albany to Gibraltar (28-30 September) where she took on sailors for transport back to the U.S. after her departure from “The Rock,” USS Buffalo (1898-1927) did not make landfall again until she stood in to Tompkinsville on 12 October. 

Steaming out of Aden on the 9th, the flotilla crossed the Arabian Sea to Bombay [Mumbai], India (15-23 March), then proceeded to the British possessions at Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka] (26-27 March) and Singapore (3-9 April) before steaming through the South China Sea to her new station in the Philippine Islands (P.I.). The flotilla and its escort stood in to the Navy Yard at Cavite, P.I., on 14 April. USS Buffalo (1898-1927) remained at Cavite until 20 April 1904, when she steamed to Singapore (24-28 April) before making a return to the U.S. via Guam (7-10 May) and Honolulu, Hawaiian Territory (21 May-4 June 1904), Panama City, Panama (21-29 June), before steaming into San Francisco Bay on 12 July, en route to entering the Navy Yard at Mare Island the next day. Underway on New Year’s Eve, USS Buffalo (1898-1927) arrived at Corinto to protect U.S. interests there on 1 January 1914. After over five months in Alaskan waters, USS Buffalo (1898-1927) stood in to Mare Island on 27 October 1914, to take on supplies for the U.S. ships deployed in Mexican waters in order to protect American interests there.

USS Buffalo (1898-1927) returned to San Diego on 29 April 1917, but was underway again the next day bound for Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash. USS Buffalo (1898-1927) cleared San Diego on 11 January 1920 and steamed northward to the Navy Yard at Mare Island. Arriving on 15 January, she entered the yard and docked. During this time, on 17 July 1920, USS Buffalo (1898-1927) was re-designated (AD-8) as part of a Navy-wide administrative re-organization. Continuing her passage westward, she cleared Honolulu on 30 November and steaming via Guam (13-15 December), stood in to the Navy Yard at Cavite, P.I., and her new duties in the Philippines, on 20 December. USS Buffalo (AD-8) remained at Cavite until 10 June 1922 when she cleared Manila Bay and steamed to Shanghai, China, reaching on 15 June. The tender stood down the Yangtze on 5 July, bound for Chefoo [Yantai]. She arrived on 8 July and remained there until 4 September. Clearing the yard, she proceeded to San Diego, where she arrived two days later. USS Buffalo (AD-8) was decommissioned at San Diego on 15 November 1922. USS Buffalo (AD-8) served as a barracks ship there until her name was stricken from the Navy list on 27 May 1927. 

For a complete history of USS Buffalo  (1898-1927/AD-8) please see its DANFS page.