There were also two ships that provided ICE (most of the warships could produce their own but many of the auxiliary ships and transports packed with men did not have the capability). They actually had two distillery ships, including Niagara on service in Cuba. The Navy also had 37 ships directly tied to service the fleet. The US Navy was not prepared for a conducting an extended Naval blockade and while the few standard warships in 1898 had their own sufficient water distilling plants, many of the smaller auxiliary ships, some 67, mostly civilian in origin, did not have adequate distilleries for extended blockade duty and any summer in Cuba demanded lots of water (and ICE). Actually the navy needed the water distilling ships to support the auxiliary ships on the blockade. The Navy actually made a good showing in the campaign (with a little help from wealthy patriots some with their own agendas) compared to the US Army that did not show to advantage. It is interesting that the RB where in 7mm as were the Rough Riders Potato diggers, the South and Central American Market in 7×57 was very significant to US gun manufacturers in that era peaking with the Mexican revolution around 1912 although by then the Carabina Trienta Trienta became the most sold weapon from the US to the South. As for the Remington Rolling Block, thank you for showing it. Ian you are Gun Jesus and I worship you for that, but you are not US Navy History Jesus. Bannerman’s catalog would list Niagara items until 1927… Francis Bannerman was on hand at the scrap auction, and bought most of the small items form the ship (including the rifles).
Once the outfitting was complete and the ship was in Navy service, she sailed down to Cube, stayed on station for about two months without participating in any action of note, and then sailed back to New York to be decommissioned and sold for scrap. The arms and accouterments purchased were all finely stamped or engraved with the name of the ship, including 35 brand new Remington Rolling Block rifles in 7mm Mauser, with “NIAGARA” engraved in bold letters across the top of the receiver. And the fitted it out like a private yacht, with porcelain china and silver flatware for all the officers and sailors, and much more. As an outburst of (allegedly) grassroots support for the US war effort against Spain, these men outfitted and donated the Niagara to the Navy. That fitting out was not actually done by the Navy, though, but rather by a group of wealth private citizens in New York, headed by William Randolph Hearst. It was a ship built in 1877 and acquired by the US Navy in 1898, fitted out as a water distillery and supply ship.
The story of the USS Niagara is quite an odd little corner of history. This rifle is being sold at Morphys on October 31, 2018.
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