cairdandcompany

originally ss City of Berlin of the Inman line. Maiden voyage 29th April 1875 Liverpool/Queenstown/New York. Made several record breaking passages. Of which the best was 7 days 15 hours and 28 minutes from Sandy Hook to Queenstown. She was the first North Atlantic liner to be fitted with internal electric lighting, in 1879 Purchased by US Army Quartermaster Corps as a transport in Spanish~American War as USS MEADE. Scrapped - 1921 www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=15236 www.greatships.net/cityofberlin.html

From this photo it's pretty obvious that the MEADE was designed as a passenger ship, not a naval vessel. There were in fact two destroyers called MEADE, but the first of these wasn't commissioned until 1919. After searching the Internet, I've found a bit of information about the ship in these photos. This U.S. Army transport ship was built in 1874 for the Inman line, originally named the CITY OF BERLIN, and renamed BERLIN when sold to the American Line in 1893. In 1898 she was purchased by the U.S. government and renamed MEADE, according to this page at Norway-Heritage, which also says the ship was scrapped in 1921. However, this page at the Vallejo Gallery website features a painting of the MEADE, and the accompanying text says that she was listed as an Army transport ship until 1921, and was sold to a San Francisco doctor in 1934. This page also describes the ship as a steam screw yacht of 5641 tons, with a length of 488.6', a beam of 44.2', and a draught of 34.9'. Vallejo Gallery also displays this ca.1910 photo of the MEADE running on San Francisco Bay, with inset portraits of the ship's officers.

Lowering brightness the stiker says 4/23/1 (4) and mirror view on the wagon wall, at right border, superimposed over "Loading up the "Meade": 4/22/14. Dr. Roberto Duarte Plastic Surgeon dr.robertoduarte@hotmail.com Torreón, Coahila, México.

Again, caption says "2/13", February, 1913. League Island in the Delaware River, site of the Phil. Naval Shipyard.

The New York Times archive lets us down on this one. There's a 175 word article dated February 20, 1913, with the headline "LEAGUE ISLAND MARINES OFF.; 1,300 Sail Early This Morning -- 8-Inch Shells Aboard." Unfortunately, the .pdf of the complete article is blank except for the fragment "....they had been ordered to rush the work. The shells are intended for use on the warships." A Marine Corps Historical Reference Pamphlet (online here) says, in the second paragraph of part 3, Section I:

"The final one of these temporary '2d Regiment' organizations to be formed was designated as the 2d Regiment, 2d Provisional Brigade on 19 February 1913 at Philadelphia. Headed by Colonel Joseph H. Pendleton, the regiment was originally intended for duty in Mexico as part of an expeditionary brigade. Instead, it was sent to Guantanamo Bay and held in readiness for emergency duties, while undergoing intensive training. On 1 May, this unit was redesignated 2d Regiment, Expeditionary Force, USMC. As such, it remained in Cuba until the latter part of the month, when it boarded the PRAIRIE for the United States, arriving at Philadelphia on 1 June, when it was dissolved."

It seems a reasonable surmise that the Marines in these photos, and those who were the subject of the Times article, might have been this regiment.

actually, the NYTimes article is there, you need to scroll down to see the first part.

Cotinis, whyaduck, and Harry Angstrom: Thanks for your comments and information. We will add the date and location to our source data and reload the description.

D'OH! Scrolling! Why didn't I think of that?