USS Zafiro-- Part 2: Much Confusion

213 feet, 8.5 inches length

31 feet, 9.5 inch beam

Armament in 1900:  two X 37mm revolving cannons. 

When bought, the only U.S. Navy man on board was its commander, am Ensign Henry A. Pearson, USN.  The crew evidently was its civilian crew.  Despite orders to the contrary, Dewey did not commission her, so technically she was still a commercial vessel and able to enter neutral ports without any difficulty of bein a belligerent vessel.  This made resupplying the American ships much easier.

Her status in the U.S. Navy is further complicated because no deck logs were kept until 1900.  Finally, after the Spanish-American War, there were no Americans on board until Ensign L.A. Gotten assumed command in May 1900.

--DaCootDazed