USS Montgomery (C-9)-- Part 2: Took Part in the Spanish-American War

The USS Montgomery was launched 5 December 1891 by Columbian Iron  Works in Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Miss Sofia Smith; and commissioned at Norfolk  Navy Yard (Virginia)  21 June 1894, Commander Charles Henry Davis, Jr. in command.

Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron and operated along the eastern edge of the U.S. as far south as the Caribbean Sea.

During the Spanish-American War she  cruised near Cuba and Haiti in April 1898 and in May joined the blockade of Havana.  She took two prizes, the Lorenzo and Frasquito, on 5 May, and shelled the Spanish forts  a week later.

On 13 June a 280 Krupp gun at the Santa Clara  Battery fired on the Montgomery at a range of 9,000 meters, apparently without effect.

--Cooter

John H. Russell, Jr. 16th USMC Commandant-- Part 3

Then, he was at Marine Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and then back to Haiti where he first commanded Marines, but then became American High Commissioner in that country from 1922  to 1930.

Returning to the States, he was the commander of the Marine Base at San Diego and then Marine Barracks in Quantico, Virginia, and in February 1933 he was made the Assistant Commandant USMC  On March 1, 1934, he was appointed 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps and held that position until he retired on December 1, 1936.

During his tenure as Commandant, Russell changed the old system of promotion from seniority to  advancement by selection and withdrew the 1st Marine Brigade from Haiti.  Also, the Fleet Marine Force assumed new responsibilities; the Marine Reserves were given more attention and the number of ships carrying Marine detachments increased.

Major General Russell retired after 42 years of commissioned service and continued afterwards as a military journalist.  He died in Coronado, Colorado, on March 6, 1947, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

He was a hereditary member of the Military  Order of the Loyal Legion in succession to his father who was a Union Navy officer during the Civil War.

--Cooter