Swabbing the deck and sleeping in hammocks: inside the lives of sailors on an 1896 wa
 

Swabbing the deck and sleeping in hammocks: inside the lives of sailors on an 1896 warship
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Image: Library of Congress

Commissioned in December 1896, the USS Brooklyn was the Navy’s third armored cruiser, after the New York and the famously ill-fated Maine.

Weighing in at more than 9,000 tons, Brooklyn boasted eight 8-inch guns, 12 5-inch guns, and four 6-pounder guns.

She was crewed by a complement of 561 enlisted men and ******rs, commanded by Captain Francis Augustus Cook.

After her first assignment carrying American dignitaries to Britain for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, Brooklyn cruised through the West Indies.

During the Spanish-American War, Brooklyn fought in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, helping to destroy the Spanish Caribbean Squadron and suffering the only American casualties of the engagement. Read more...

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