Petrel III

(pG-2: dp. 867; 1. 188'; b. 31'; dr. 11'6"; s. 11.4 k.; cpl. 138;
a. 4 4", 2 3-pdrs.)

The third Petrel, a 4th rate gunboat laid down 27 August 1887, was built by the Columbia Iron Works and Dry Dock Co., Baltimore, Md.; launched 13 October 1888, and eommussioned 10 December 1889, Lt. Comdr. W. H. Bronson in command.

Assigned to the North Atlantic Station, Petrel continued with it until September 1891, when ordered to the Asiatie Station where she was to serve until 1911. Steaming north in May 1894, she reported at Unalaska, T.A., in July to operate with the Bering Sea patrol to discourage seal poaching. In July, she operated off the Pribiliof Islands; and in August she returned to her Asiatie station.

Withdrawing from Hong Kong in April 1898, Petrel became part of Dewey's fleet in the campaign against Manila. On 1 May, after Dewey's squadron had defeated the heavy Spanish ships, Petrel entered the inner harbor and lowered a boat to destroy 6 Spanish ships there. Petrel then steamed to the navy yard at Cavite and forced its surrender. Sent into Cavite to destroy any Spanish ships seeking refuge there 2 May, Petrel sent a party ashore which seized the arsenal at Cavite and returned with 2 tugs, Rapido and Hercules, plus 3 additional launches.

Petrel continued operations in the Philippines throughout 1898 and 1899. She joined Boston in shelling Panay Island 11 February 1899; on the 22nd, a force of 48 men from Petrel occupied Cebu. In October, Petrel joined Callao in supporting the Marine Corps assault on Neveleta by bombarding ahead of the advancing Marine column.

Decommissioning at Cavite after the war, Petrel re-commissioned 9 May 1910. After visiting European waters in 1911, she returned to the Atlantic coast. Disturbanees in the Caribbean sent her to Mexican and West Indian waters from 1912 to 1915 to protect American interests, and in 1916 she became station ship at Guantanamo. With the declaration of war Petrel returned to the United States to serve with the American Patrol Detsehment at Boston throughout the war.

After 30 years of service, Petrel decommissioned at New Orleans 15 July 1919 and was struck from the Naval Register 16 April 1920. She was subsequently sold to Snare and Treest, New York, 1 November 1920.