USS Memphis
Armored Cruiser · United States · Lost 1916 · Cuba & the Greater Antilles
A U.S. armored cruiser driven onto the rocks off Santo Domingo by giant waves on a calm, clear afternoon, killing 43 sailors.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USS Memphis, formerly USS Tennessee, was flagship of the U.S. Navy's cruiser force when she anchored off Santo Domingo in the summer of 1916. On August 29, a set of enormous waves, likely generated by a distant seismic event, struck the open roadstead without warning under clear skies. Memphis was driven onto rocks and wrecked, killing 43 of her crew and injuring over 200 more, while her companion gunboat Castine escaped to sea. She was declared a total loss and eventually scrapped where she lay.
Vessel
- 1906
- ACR-10
- William Cramp & Sons
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Steel
- 504 ft
- 72 ft
- 14500
- Steam, triple screw
- United States Navy
Loss
- August 29, 1916
- Storm
- Off Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Caribbean Sea
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 43
- Edward L. Beach Sr.
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Total loss; the hulk remained visible at the harbor entrance for over two decades before being scrapped in place around 1938.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Anchored on a narrow ledge off the Ozama River entrance; no verified modern position located in the sources reviewed.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)
Naval History and Heritage Command
Ship history, loss event, casualties, and later disposition.
U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 'The Wreck of the U.S.S. Memphis' (1918)
First-hand account of anchorage conditions and the sequence of loss.
