- USS Urdaneta (1883)
USS "Urdaneta"–occasionally misspelled "Undaneta"–was an iron-hulled
gunboat in theUnited States Navy . She was named for Spanish friar and explorerAndres de Urdaneta ."Urdaneta" was built for the Spanish government at the
Cavite Arsenal nearManila ,Philippines , in 1882 and 1883 and was apparently captured by theUnited States Army during theSpanish-American War in 1898. Acquired from the War Department by the Navy on17 January 1899 , "Urdaneta" went into commission on2 June 1899 .The gunboat conducted local patrols into the summer months to interdict the flow of munitions and arms to the opposition during the
Philippine-American War . On17 September 1899 , "Urdaneta" ran aground in theOrani River , near Manila, on a soft mud shoal. Filipinos along the river soon opened a withering enfilading fire, killing the gunboat's commanding officer, Naval CadetWelborn C. Wood , and some of his crew. The Filipinos quickly rushed the stranded vessel and captured the remainder of the crew not slain by the fire from the jungle-lined banks.Apparently recovered by the Navy, "Urdaneta" resumed her service in the spring of the following year, being commissioned at
Cavite on12 May 1900 . She departed Cavite on the 14th and served for a time as guard ship atOlongapo before shifting toSubic , and eventually, to Cavite, where she spent the remainder of May undergoing repairs and alterations."Urdaneta" subsequently operated as guard vessel at
Subic Bay and conducted surveys in connection with the impending visits of the commission investigating naval base sites in the Philippines. She remained engaged in these vital but unglamourous duties until she was decommissioned on12 December 1902 at Cavite. Struck from the Navy list on15 December 1904 , "Urdaneta" was apparently reinstated on the Navy list as a tug, although there is no extant record of this event. The ship is listed in Ship's Data, United States Naval Vessels editions for 1912 through 1916 as a yard tug operating at Cavite. Her subsequent fate is unknown.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.