Editing Asiatic Squadron

{{Short description|U.S. Navy squadron positioned in East Asia (1868–1902)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2010}}

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=  Asiatic Squadron
| image= USS Olympia, Battle of Manila.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=The Asiatic Squadron defeating the Spanish fleet in the [[Battle of Manila Bay]] on 1 May 1898.
|dates=1868–1902
|allegiance={{flagu|United States|1896}}
|branch={{Naval|United States|navy-1864}}
|type= [[Squadron (naval)|Naval squadron]]
|role=
|size=
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|garrison_label=
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|colors_label=
|march=
|mascot=
|equipment=
|equipment_label=
|battles=
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
|disbanded=
<!-- Commanders -->
|commander1=
|commander1_label=
|commander2=
|commander2_label=
|commander3=
|commander3_label=
|commander4=
|commander4_label=
|notable_commanders=
<!-- Insignia -->
|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_label=
|identification_symbol_2=
|identification_symbol_2_label=
|identification_symbol_3=
|identification_symbol_3_label=
|identification_symbol_4=
|identification_symbol_4_label=
}}
The '''Asiatic Squadron''' was a [[squadron (naval)|squadron]] of [[United States Navy]] [[warship]]s stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the [[East India Squadron]] was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron were primarily involved in matters relating to American commerce with [[Late Imperial China|China]] and [[Empire of Japan|Japan]], though it participated in several conflicts over 34 years of service until becoming the [[Asiatic Fleet]] in 1902.

==History==
===Korean Expedition===
{{Main|Korean Expedition}}

[[File:Officers of the USS Colorado off Korea in June 1871.jpg|200px|thumb|Officers and men of {{USS|Colorado|1856|6}} during the [[Korean Expedition]] in 1871.]]
In May 1871, [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[John Rodgers (American Civil War naval officer)|John Rodgers]] went to Korea, commanding an expedition of five Asiatic Squadron vessels, the [[screw frigate]] {{USS|Colorado|1856|6}}, the [[Propeller|screw]] [[Sloop-of-war|sloops-of-war]] {{USS|Alaska|1868|6}} and {{USS|Benicia|1868|6}}, the [[Paddle steamer#Sidewheeler|sidewheel]] [[gunboat]] {{USS|Monocacy|1864|6}}, and the screw [[Tugboat|tug]] {{USS|Palos|1865|6}}. The objective of the operation was to ascertain the fate of the merchant ship [[General Sherman Incident|SS ''General Sherman'']], establish trade relations, and receive an assurance from the [[Joseon Dynasty|Joseon]] government that shipwrecked American sailors would be safely treated should they become stranded in Korea.

On 1 June 1871, while Rear Admiral Rodgers was negotiating in [[Inchon]], one of the Selee River forts opened fire on ''Palos'' as she traversed the Gangwha Straits. In the [[Bombardment of the Selee River Forts|following engagement]], ''Palos'' and ''Monocacy'' bombarded the fort until it was silenced and on 10 June 1871, the expedition [[Battle of Ganghwa|attacked]] in force. Five of the six hostile forts were captured and destroyed, over 200 Koreans were killed and dozens of cannons were captured. Although the Americans won a military victory, the Koreans refused to sign a trade treaty until 1882.

===Spanish–American War===
{{Main|Spanish–American War}}
[[File:USS Olympia painting.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Olympia|C-6|6}} leading a column of cruisers, painting by Francis Muller.]]
On 27 April 1898, the squadron, composed of the [[protected cruiser]]s {{USS|Olympia|C-6|6}} (the [[flagship]] of the squadron{{'}}s commander, [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[George Dewey]]), {{USS|Baltimore|C-3|6}}, {{USS|Raleigh|C-8|6}}, and {{USS|Boston|1884|6}}, the gunboats {{USS|Petrel|PG-2|6}} and {{USS|Concord|PG-3|6}}, and the [[United States Revenue Cutter Service]] [[United States Coast Guard Cutter|cutter]] {{USS|McCulloch|1897|6}}, sailed from [[Mirs Bay]], China, to the [[Philippine Islands]] to participate in the [[Spanish–American War]].

In the [[Battle of Manila Bay]] on 1 May 1898, the squadron destroyed the [[Spanish Navy|Spanish]] fleet in the Philippines, and effectively took control of [[Bay of Manila|Manila Bay]]. Eight Spanish ships were sunk and over 150 killed while the Americans suffered only slight damage. Vessels of the squadron also fought the Spanish in the [[Battle of Manila (1898)|battle]] to capture [[Manila]]. Naval gunfire on the Spaniards' left flank helped American troops take the city without severe losses. The Philippines became an American possession.

[[File:Charleston agana.jpg|right|thumb|200px|{{USS|Charleston|C-2|6}} taking possession of [[Guam]] in June 1898 during the [[Spanish–American War]].]]
On 20 June 1898, the Asiatic Squadron protected cruiser {{USS|Charleston|C-2|6}} [[Capture of Guam|captured]] [[Guam]] from the Spanish without resistance, beginning the American possession of the island.

===Philippine–American War===
{{Main|Philippine–American War}}
The Asiatic Squadron participated in the [[Philippine–American War]] from 1899 until its disbandment in 1902. American naval forces operated by sending landing parties ashore and by providing them with naval gunfire support. From 1899 to 1902, the squadron conducted several missions against the Filipinos.

Dewey{{'}}s squadron engaged in naval operation against the Filipinos during and after the 1898 Battle of Manila against the Spanish. At the beginning of the Philippine–American War in February 1899, several American warships supported the occupation of the Philippine Islands.  At the same time, the [[Monitor (ship)|monitor]] {{USS|Monadnock|BM-3|6}}, the protected cruisers ''Charleston'', and the gunboats ''Concord'', {{USS|Callao|YFB-11|6}}, and ''Laguna de Bay'' bombarded Filipino positions during the [[Battle of Caloocan]]. Over 300 Filipinos were killed in action and three times as many wounded, with many of the casualties attributed to accurate naval gunfire. USS ''Petrel'' and USS ''Boston'' shelled [[Panay Island]] on 11 February 1899, and, on 22 February 1899, a landing party from ''Petrel'' occupied [[Cebu]]. In October 1899, ''Petrel'' joined ''Callao'' in supporting American troops in the [[Battle of Noveleta]] by bombarding Filipino troop concentrations at [[Noveleta]] before a shore party made its assault.

[[File:Concord.jpg|thumb|200px|{{USS|Concord|PG-3|6}} off San Francisco, in the 1890s.]]
Many of the captured Spanish gunboats used in the Philippine–American War were manned by [[United States Army]] troops and operated together with United States Navy forces. In mid-April 1899, [[General (United States)|General]] [[Henry Lawton]] led an expedition of 1,500 men in several [[casco class cutter|cascoes]] and three gunboats to a place near Santa Cruz to find another former Spanish gunboat which was being used by the Filipinos; during the ensuing [[Battle of Santa Cruz (1899)|Battle of Santa Cruz]], the American force captured six [[Steamboat|steam]] [[Launch (boat)|launches]] along with two cascoes, and later took the Filipino gunboat, which the Filipinos reportedly had disarmed so that they could use her guns on land, without a fight.

''Baltimore'' and ''Petrel'' served at the [[Battle of Iloilo]], in which about 1,000 Filipinos were defeated when the two warships bombarded the fort there and sent [[United States Marines]] and sailors ashore. Only minor skirmishing occurred on land because the Filipinos retreated and burned the town as they left.

On 7 May 1899, ''Laguna de Bay'' and another gunboat [[Bombardment of Sexmoan|bombarded]] [[Sexmoan]] and routed the Filipinos there. Later that day, the gunboats [[Battle of Guagua|fought]] at [[Guagua]], where they bombarded Filipino positions in the town and sent men ashore to fight on the ground. Again the Filipinos retreated and set several buildings on fire as they went.

In June 1899, American gunboats silenced an [[artillery]] piece during the [[Battle of Zapote River]], which ended with an American victory.
[[File:Vicksburg3.jpg|200px|right|thumb|{{USS|Vicksburg|PG-11|6}} in 1898.]]
In the summer of 1899, American gunboats started patrolling [[Subic Bay]]. During a routine patrol, the [[collier (ship type)|collier]] {{USS|Zafiro|1884|6}} entered Subic Bay and came under fire from a [[shore battery]] protecting [[Olongapo]]. ''Zafiro'' withdrew to [[Cavite]] and reported the incident to headquarters. In response, ''Charleston'' engaged the battery. On 23 September 1899, ''Charleston'', ''Concord'', the monitor {{USS|Monterey|BM-6|6}}, and ''Zafiro'' steamed into Subic Bay and destroyed the battery in the [[Battle of Olongapo]]. Then, a [[Company (military unit)|company]] of U.S. Marines and sailors landed and took control.

''Charleston'' grounded on an uncharted reef off [[Camiguin Island]] on 2 November 1899. She sustained heavy damage, and her crew abandoned ship and escaped to the nearby island where they made camp. ''Charleston''{{'}}s launch was sent out for help and, after ten days of being [[marooning|marooned]], the American sailors were rescued by the gunboat {{USS|Helena|PG-9|6}}.

On 7 November 1899, ''Helena'' [[Battle of San Fabian|bombarded]] [[San Fabian, Pangasinan|San Fabian]] in [[Lingayen Gulf]] and covered the landing of 2,500 American troops there.

Asiatic Squadron gunboats took part in the [[Battle of Mabitac]] in June 1900, where they bombarded Filipino forces while U.S. Army troops attacked their fortifications. In a bloody frontal assault the American troops were repulsed and the Filipinos won the battle.

In November 1900, the Asiatic Squadron [[auxiliary cruiser]] {{USS|Yosemite|1892|6}} was heavily damaged in a [[typhoon]] while in [[Apra Harbor]], Guam. Due to damage to her screw, her crew scuttled her. They were picked up later by the collier {{USS| Justin|1891|6}}.

The gunboat {{USS|Vicksburg|PG-11|6}} assisted land forces in capturing the Filipino rebel [[Emilio Aguinaldo]] in March 1901 at [[Palawan Island]]. Later the gunboat {{USS|Isla de Luzon|1886|6}} supported the operation which led to the capture of the Filipino general [[Vicente Lukbán]] on [[Samar]] in November 1901.

===Boxer Rebellion===
[[File:Monitor monterrey.jpg|right|thumb|{{USS|Monterey|BM-6|6}} served in [[Late Imperial China|China]] during the [[Boxer Rebellion]].]]
{{Main|China Relief Expedition}}
During the [[Boxer Rebellion]], the Asiatic Squadron participated in the [[China Relief Expedition]] in 1900. At the time, Peking was home to many foreigners who were under [[Battle of Peking (1900)|siege]] by Boxer rebels. An international force including U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy sailors of the Asiatic Squadron slowly [[Battle of Tientsin|fought]] their way to take control of [[Battle of Tientsin|Tientsin]] away from the Boxers in order to relieve the [[Siege of the International Legations]] at [[Beijing|Peking]].

===Asiatic Fleet===
{{Main|United States Asiatic Fleet}}

In 1902, the Asiatic Squadron was upgraded in status, becoming the [[United States Asiatic Fleet]].  Except for a period from early 1907 until 28 January 1910 when it was downgraded to the status of First Squadron, [[United States Pacific Fleet]], the Asiatic Fleet replaced the Asiatic Squadron in defending American interests in East Asia from 1902 until February 1942.

==Commanders==
[[File:RADM Joseph S. Skerrett.JPG|180 px|right|thumb|Illustration of RADM Joseph S. Skerrett from ''The San Francisco Call'', 2 January 1897]]

[[File:George Dewey at the National Portrait Gallery IMG 4432.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Admiral George Dewey, commander of the squadron at the [[Battle of Manila Bay]], as he appears at the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]] in Washington, D.C.]]

Successive Commanders-in-Chief of the Asiatic Squadron were as follows:<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ozs2SuQE5qYC&pg=PA317 Tolley, Kemp, ''Yangtze Patrol: The U.S. Navy in China''], Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1971, {{ISBN|1-55750-883-6}}, pp. 317–318.</ref>

* [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Henry H. Bell]] ( – 11 January 1868)
* [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[John R. Goldsborough]] (11 January 1868&nbsp;– 18 April 1868)
* Rear Admiral [[Stephen C. Rowan]] (18 April 1868&nbsp;– 19 August 1870)
* Rear Admiral [[John Rodgers (American Civil War naval officer)|John Rodgers]] (19 August 1870&nbsp;– 12 May 1872)
* Rear Admiral [[Thornton A. Jenkins]] (1 September 1872&nbsp;– 12 December 1873)
* Rear Admiral [[Enoch Greenleafe Parrott]] (12 December 1873&nbsp;– 12 January 1874)
* Commodore [[Edmund Colhoun]] (12 January 1874&nbsp;– 29 May 1874)
* Rear Admiral [[Alexander Mosely Pennock]] (29 May 1874&nbsp;– 24 June 1875)
* [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Robert F. R. Lewis]] (24 June 1875&nbsp;– 16 August 1875)
* Rear Admiral [[William Reynolds (naval officer)|William Reynolds]] (16 August 1875&nbsp;– 12 August 1877)
* [[Captain (United States)#U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Public Health Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|Captain]] [[Jonathan Young (commodore)|Jonathan Young]] (12 August 1877&nbsp;– 4 October 1877)
* Rear Admiral [[Thomas H. Patterson]] (12 August 1877&nbsp;– 11 September 1880)
* Rear Admiral [[John M. B. Clitz]] (11 September 1880&nbsp;– 21 April 1883)
* Rear Admiral [[Peirce Crosby]] (21 April 1883&nbsp;– 30 October 1883)
* Captain [[Joseph S. Skerrett]] (30 October 1883&nbsp;– 19 December 1883)
* Commodore/Rear Admiral [[John L. Davis]] (19 December 1883&nbsp;– 22 November 1886)
* Rear Admiral [[Ralph Chandler]] (22 November 1886&nbsp;– 11 February 1889)
* Rear Admiral [[George E. Belknap]] (4 April 1889&nbsp;– 20 February 1892)
* Rear Admiral [[David B. Harmony]] (20 February 1892&nbsp;– 7 June 1893)
* Rear Admiral [[John Irwin (admiral)|John Irwin]] (11 June 1893&nbsp;– 11 December 1893)
* Rear Admiral [[Joseph S. Skerrett]] (11 December 1893&nbsp;– 1 September 1894)
* Commodore/Rear Admiral [[Charles C. Carpenter (admiral)|Charles C. Carpenter]] (1 September 1894&nbsp;– 21 December 1895)
* Commodore [[Frederick V. McNair Sr.]] (21 December 1895&nbsp;– 3 January 1898)
* Commodore/Rear Admiral/[[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[George Dewey]] (3 January 1898&nbsp;– 20 May 1899)
* Commodore/Rear Admiral [[Albert S. Barker]] ( 20 May 1899&nbsp;– 20 June 1899)
* Rear Admiral [[John C. Watson (admiral)|John C. Watson]] (20 June 1899&nbsp;– 19 April 1900)
* Rear Admiral [[George C. Remey]] (19 April 1900&nbsp;– 1 March 1902)
* Rear Admiral [[Frederick Rodgers]] (1 March 1902&nbsp;– 29 October 1902)

==Gallery==
<gallery widths=180>
File:Council of War USS Colorado June 1871.jpg|{{center|A posed photograph of Asiatic Squadron officers holding a council of war aboard {{USS|Colorado|1856|6}} off Korea in June 1871 prior to the [[United States expedition to Korea|Korean Expedition]]. Squadron commander [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[John Rodgers (American Civil War naval officer)|John Rodgers]] leans over the table at right.}}
Image:USS Olympia 2.jpg|USS ''Olympia'' at the Independence Seaport Museum in 2007
image:Olympia (Cruiser 6). Port bow, 02-10-1902 - NARA - 513012.tif|USS ''Olympia'' in 1902
Baltimore (Cruiser 3). Starboard bow, 1891 - NARA - 512896.jpg|{{USS|Baltimore|C-3|6}} in 1891
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[China Squadron|China Squadron and Fleet]]
*[[Far East Fleet (United Kingdom)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{US Squadrons}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ship squadrons of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Boxer Rebellion]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the United States in the Spanish–American War]]