The second USS Milwaukee (C-21) was a St. Louis-class protected cruiser constructed for the United States Navy, with a service life spanning from her commissioning in December 1906 to her decommissioning in March 1917. Built by Union Iron Works in San Francisco, she was launched on September 10, 1904, and sponsored by Miss Janet Mitchell. Milwaukee was primarily assigned to the Pacific Fleet, undertaking various cruises along the Central American coast and in Hawaii. Her initial active duty included a shakedown cruise off California and Mexico, followed by operations off San Salvador and Costa Rica, where she participated in target practice off Magdalena Bay. After a brief period in reserve at Puget Sound Navy Yard beginning in April 1908, she returned to service in 1913, making cruises to Honolulu and along the California coast. By 1916, Milwaukee was assigned as a tender to destroyers and submarines of the Pacific Fleet, based at San Diego, engaging in exercises, patrols, refugee transport, and survey work. Milwaukee underwent overhauls at Mare Island, including the installation of heavy machine tools to support her role as a tender for the Coast Torpedo Force. In January 1917, under the temporary command of Lieutenant William F. Newton, she was dispatched to Eureka, California, to assist in salvaging the submarine H-3, which had run aground. During this operation, on 13 January 1917, Milwaukee herself grounded in Samoa, California, while attempting to assist the submarine. Despite the rescue of her crew—421 enlisted men and 17 officers—the cruiser was stranded on the breakers, and salvage efforts failed. The submarine H-3 was eventually salvaged and returned to service. Following the grounding, Milwaukee was decommissioned in March 1917. Her hull was broken by a storm in November 1918, and she was officially struck from the Naval Vessel Register in June 1919. The vessel was subsequently sold for scrap in August 1919. Her service underscores her role as a Pacific Fleet cruiser and her involvement in early 20th-century naval operations and salvage efforts.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.