USS Vixen (PY-4) was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy for operations in the Spanish–American War, where she served with distinction during the Battle of Santiago. She was commissioned again for duty during World War I when she was assigned to patrol the U.S. East Coast.
USS Vixen, photographed in 1898, with sails hoisted on both masts.
USS Vixen, circa unknown
Photograph of USS Suwanee underway off Siboney, Cuba, during the Spanish–American War. Ships in the background include USS St. Louis (left) and USS Vixen (right).
A large-bore Maxim on the USS Vixen c. 1898
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Spanish fleet led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, which occurred during the Spanish–American War. The significantly more powerful US Navy squadron, consisting of four battleships and two armored cruisers, decisively defeated an outgunned squadron of the Royal Spanish Navy, consisting of four armored cruisers and two destroyers. All of the Spanish ships were sunk for no American loss. The crushing defeat sealed the American victory in the Cuban theater of the war, ensuring the independence of Cuba from Spanish rule.
Combate en Santiago de Cuba, Ildefonso Sanz Doménech
Fernando Villaamil, c.1897
Spanish cruiser Cristóbal Colón
USS Brooklyn
