Dixie (AD 14) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 11 text:

The first DIXIE was the former merchant ship SS EL RIO, built in 1893 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company and owned by the Southern Pacific Company of Oakland, California. She was purchased from her owner on 15 April 1898 to serve as an auxilary cruiser during the Spanish-American War and was commissioned USS DIXIE on 19 April 1898, Commander Charles H. Davies, USN in command. %lbtiitf ittuuh l5ais»htiiu The name DIXIE originated from the early days of Louisiana when the Cit dollar note bearing the french word Dix (ten). The Dixie notes were soo Louisiana became known as Dixieland . As the notes spread throughi and Dixieland became a pseudonym for the south. Bank issued ?on called Dixie ' s a the Southern states

Page 10 text:

History Of The Name

Page 12 text:

Departing Hampton Roads, Virginia, II June 1898, DIXIE arrived at Santiago de Cuba on 19 June and attached to the Eastern Squadron, North Atlantic Fleet, cruised the West Indies during the Spanish-American War on blockade duty and convoying Army transports. During 27-28 July she participated in the capture of Ponce, Puerto Rico, landing an armed force which received the surrender of the towns of Ponce and La Playa. She departed Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 24 August and arrived at Philadelphia 22 September. She was placed out of commission there 7 March 1899, and from 15 March to 15 July 1899 was on loan to the War Department for use as a transport DIXIE was recommissioned 15 November 1899 as a training ship for landsmen. From 17 December to 8 August 1900 she made a training cruise which took her up to the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and through the Suez Canal to the Philippines where she transferred men to the base at Cavite. She returned to the United States via the same route. Her second training cruise was made from 19 September 1900 to 28 February 1901, visiting the Azores, Madiera, Gibraltar and Mediterranean ports, and returning via the West Indies and La Guaira.