The steamship Manitoba was steel-hulled freighter built for the Atlantic Transport Line in 1892. She carried live cattle and frozen beef from the United States to England until the advent of the Spanish-American War. In 1898 she was purchased by the United States Army for use as an ocean-going troopship. During the Spanish-American War she carried troops and supplies between the U.S. mainland, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.
After the war, she was renamed USAT Logan and was fitted for service in the Pacific, supporting U.S. bases in Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines. In addition to her regular supply missions, she transported American troops to virtually every conflict in the Pacific for two decades, including the Boxer Rebellion, the Philippine Insurrection, the 1911 Revolution in China, and the Siberian Intervention of World War I. Her last sailing in government service was in November 1922.
Logan was sold to private interests which intended to convert her into a seagoing school. The cost of refurbishing the thirty-year-old ship proved prohibitive, however, and she was scrapped in 1924.
Construction and characteristics The Atlantic Transport Line commissioned four sisterships to be built by the Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They were, in order of launch, Massachusetts, Manitoba, Mohawk, and Mobile.
Manitoba's hull was built of steel plates. She was long, with a beam of and a depth of hold of . Her gross register tonnage was 5,672, and her net register tonnage was 3,653. Her fully loaded draft was just under . She displaced 7,519 tons.
She was driven by two propellers. These were turned by two triple-expansion steam engines which were also built by Harland and Wolff. They had high, medium, and low-pressure cylinders with diameters of 22.5 inches, 36.5 inches, and 60 inches, respectively, with a stroke of 48 inches. Each of the engines was rated at 600 horsepower. Steam was provided by two coal-fired boilers. At full speed, the ship would burn 60 tons of coal a day. Manitoba's coal bunkers could hold 900 tons.
Manitoba's cargo capacity was built primarily to support the shipment of American beef to England, both in the form of live cattle and refrigerated dressed beef. She was fitted out to transport 1,000 live cattle, and could carry 1,000 tons of fresh meat in her refrigerated holds. She was also fitted with a salon and first-class cabins for 80 passengers. There was no accommodation for steerage passengers.
Manitoba was launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyard on Queen's Island on 28 January 1892.
Atlantic Transport Line Service (18921898) While the Atlantic Transport Line was controlled by American shipping magnate Bernard N. Baker, its operations were run from Britain. Manitoba's home port was London and she was registered as a British ship. During her six-year career with Atlantic Transport Line she was assigned to the New York to London route.
Manitoba proved exceptionally capable at moving cattle across the Atlantic. In the first half of 1892, on her first few crossings, she brought 770 cattle to England and only two died en route. Since horses could be shipped using the same facilities as cattle, Manitoba occasionally shipped racehorses across the Atlantic, notably for August Belmont and Pierre Lorillard.
Manitoba was a fast cargo ship for her time. She left London on 23 May 1892 and arrived at her dock on the Hudson River in New York on 4 June, making the crossing in 10 days, 23 hours, and 30 minutes, the fastest recorded by a cargo ship at the time. She beat her own record in April 1893 crossing from New York to London in 10 days, 9 hours. In June 1896, Manitoba once again beat her own record for freight-carrying steamers reaching New York from London in 9 Days, 23 hours, and 20 minutes. Over the 3,240 nautical miles of her route, she averaged 13.54 knots.
US Army Service (18981922)
SpanishAmerican War service (18981899)
On 25 April 1898, Congress declared war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War. An immediate objective was to defeat Spain in the Caribbean, taking Cuba and Puerto Rico. At the time, the United States had few overseas possessions, and thus its military had limited ocean-capable sealift to support such an offensive. American political leaders preferred to acquire American ships to support the war effort, rather than enrich foreigners and rely on foreign crews. There were also legal constraints on using neutral-flagged vessels in American military operations. Through some quirks in the Congressional funding of the war, the US Navy was able to charter transport ships prior to the declaration of war and tied-up the best of the American merchant fleet for its use. When the Army was able to begin acquiring ships after the declaration of war, fewer domestic options remained. While the Atlantic Transport Line was British-flagged, it was American owned, making it a more attractive option.
Army Colonel Frank J. Hecker approached the Atlantic Transport Line to charter its fleet, and was refused. He then offered to buy the vessels he sought and a deal was struck, subject to the approval of the Secretary of War Russel Alger. In addition to Manitoba, the Atlantic Transport Line sold Massachusetts, Mohawk, Mobile, Michigan, Mississippi, and Minnewaska. These ships were placed under the Quartermaster's Department of the United States Army. The Army reckoned Manitoba's capacity to be 80 officers, 1,000 men, and 1,000 horses. Manitoba was purchased on 20 July 1898. The price of the ship was $660,000.
The ship underwent little conversion for military use and began embarking troops just two weeks after her purchase. By that time the fighting was all but over. Hostilities ceased on 12 August 1898. Even though the war was over, the Army faced substantial logistical challenges. It had to garrison the new possessions, and return the men temporarily mobilized for the offensive. Manitoba moved thousands of troops and animals to and from Cuba and Puerto Rico in the immediate post-war period. +Manitoba/Logan troop movements to and from the CaribbeanDepartureFromToArrivalUnits embarked6 August 1898Newport NewsPonce12 August 1898Batteries A & C Pennsylvania Light Artillery Sheridan's & Governor's Troops Pennsylvania Cavalry7 September 1898PonceNew York13 September 18986th Illinois Volunteer Infantry (1,203 officers and men) Battery A Illinois Light Artillery (159 officers and men)11 October 1898Newport, R.I.Ponce16 October 189847th New York Volunteer Infantry21 October 1898PonceNew York26 October 1898two battalions 3rd Wisconsin Infantry13 November 1898SavannahNuevitas6 troops 8th US Cavalry1 December 1898SavannahCasilda7 December 18984th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry22 January 1899SavannahHavana6 troops 7th US Cavalry3 February 1899SavannahMatanzas6 troops 2nd US Cavalry16 February 1899SavanahMatanzas6 troops 2nd US Cavalry25 March 1899NuevitasSavannah27 March 18993rd Georgia Volunteer Infantry (988 officers and men)29 March 1899HavanaSavannah2 April 1899161st Indian Volunteer Infantry (1,196 officers and men)7 April 1899HavanaSavannah13 April 18993rd Nebraska Volunteer Infantry2 May 1899GalvestonSantiago6 troops 10th US Cavalry17 May 1899GalvestonManzanillo6 troops 10th US Cavalry25 May 1899GibaraNew York29 May 18992nd US Volunteer Infantry (683 officers and men)23 June 1899PonceNew York27 June 1899Battery B 5th US Artillery Batteries E, H 7th US Artillery
(536 officers and men, 343 mules, 240 horses)
Preparation for Pacific service (18991900)
Having taken Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, the Army had a permanent need for transport to overseas bases. The annexation of Hawaii in 1898 also required new ocean transport. The Army Transport Service chose the best vessels acquired during the war to become a permanent sealift capability. Manitoba and her three sister ships were retained for this purpose. To mark their transition to permanent military service, they were renamed in March 1899. Manitoba became United States Army Transport Logan, named for Civil War General John A. Logan.
Once the Army completed the bulk of the troop movements in the Caribbean at the end of the war, it refit Logan for service in the Pacific. In July 1899 a contract was given to the Morse Iron Works of New York to repair and refit the ship. The contract price for the work was $230,000. When she emerged from the shipyard she had a new steam-powered steering system. As equipped for her Pacific service, she could accommodate 1,650 soldiers sleeping in three-tier canvas berths suspended from steel posts. Her coal bunkers were enlarged to hold 1,780 tons. She had fourteen fresh water tanks with 1,270 tons capacity. Her refrigerated space of 20,580 cubic feet was kept at 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The ship was also equipped with a vault for gold and silver in order to fund overseas operations. During her December 1900 sailing, for example, she carried $1.3 million to pay the troops in the Philippines. A sea trial for the improved Logan took place on 13 November 1899.
As configured for her Pacific service Logan's authorized complement was 13 officers and 172 crew. As she sailed, her crew was typically between 175 and 200 officers and men.
On 20 November 1899 Logan sailed from New York, bound for Manila, via the Suez Canal. She had a full load, including 1,312 officers and men of the 41st Volunteer Infantry regiment. She stopped at Gibralter for water in December 1899. She reached Singapore on 2 January 1900, and Manila on 5 January. After disembarking her troops in Manila, she sailed to San Francisco, via Nagasaki, with 19 passengers aboard. She arrived at her new home port on 10 February 1900.
Boxer Rebellion and Philippine Insurrection (19001901)
After a brief shipyard visit, she sailed again for Manila on 16 May 1900. By the time she reached the Philippines, the Boxer Rebellion had come to a critical point. The War Department instructed General Arthur MacArthur Jr., Military Governor of the Philippines, to hold Logan for possible intervention in China. The U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment was embarked on Logan at Manila. The ship carried 32 officers and 1,230 men. The regiment's baggage, horses, wagons sailed on Port Albert. After a stop for coal and water at Nagasaki, Logan landed the troops at Taku, China on 8 July 1900. On her return trip, Logan evacuated sick and wounded soldiers, Christian missionaries, and other refugees. She arrived back in San Francisco from Manila, via Nagasaki and Yokohama, on 6 August 1900.
Logan began a regular shuttle service between San Francisco, Honolulu, Guam, and Manila. The Army Transport Service maintained a roughly monthly schedule of sailings from San Francisco using Logan, USAT Sheridan, USAT Sherman, and USAT Thomas. The ships carried supplies, cash, and fresh troops to the Philippines to fight insurgents, and relieved, discharged, wounded, and dead troops back to the United States. Many officers brought their wives and children aboard as cabin passengers. Details of Logan's trans-Pacific trips during this period are shown in the table below. +Logan trans-Pacific trips 1900–1901DepartureFromToArrivalUnits Embarked1 September 1900San FranciscoManila2 October 19002 battalions, 1st Infantry Regiment 1 battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment16 October 1900ManilaSan Francisco15 November 1900283 invalided troops 39 prisoners16 December 1900San FranciscoManila11 January 1901124 recruits and other troops1 March 1901ManilaSan Francisco29 March 190133rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment (795 men) 34th Volunteer Infantry Regiment (806 men)15 April 1901San FranciscoManila14 May 19012 companies 1st Infantry Regiment 3rd squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment
2nd squadron 10th Cavalry Regiment
1 battalion 11th Infantry Regiment31 May 1901ManilaSan Francisco25 June 190144th Volunteer Infantry Regiment 2 battalions 38th Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Pacific service (19011918)