View source for USS Sterling

{{short description|Collier of the United States Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Sterling, circa 1898-1899.jpg
|Ship caption=Collier ''Sterling'' in late 1898 or early 1899
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag=[[Image:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|70px]]
|Ship name=SS ''Lamington''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Robert Duncan & Company
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=24 August 1881
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship fate= Ran aground 5 February 1896, salvaged by Merritt Salvage Company.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1896}}
|Ship name=SS ''Sterling''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship builder=
|Ship acquired=July 1896
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified= [[Collier (ship)]]
|Ship homeport=Boston, MA
|Ship fate=Sold to the U.S. Navy in April 1898.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1898}}
|Ship name=USS ''Sterling''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=
|Ship acquired=9 April 1898<ref>{{cite news|title=Spain's Naval Movements|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1898-04-10/ed-1/seq-4/|work=The Sun (New York, NY)|date=10 April 1898}}</ref>
|Ship commissioned=16 April 1898
|Ship decommissioned=7 July 1919
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=3 August 1919
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sold to Chile in 1919
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Chile
|Ship flag=[[File:Flag of Chile.svg|60px]]
|Ship name=SS ''Llai Llai''
|Ship namesake=[[Llay-Llay]], Chile
|Ship acquired=15 September 1919
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship struck=
|Ship renamed=1919
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship fate=Sunk due to collision at sea, 11 March 1920
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Collier (ship)|Collier]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|5660|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS||title=Sterling I|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sterling-i.html|{{sfnRef|DANFS Sterling I}}|accessdate=7 April 2015}}</ref>
|Ship length={{convert|284|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|37|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|22|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=926 hp
|Ship speed={{convert|11|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=*60 (merchantmen)
*U.S. Navy crew: 5 officers and 44 enlisted<ref name=ME5-98>{{cite journal|title=Warships and Auxiliary Vessels Recently Acquired by the United States Navy by Purchase, Charter or Transfer|journal=Marine Engineering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBM4AQAAMAAJ|date=May 1898|volume=II|issue=5|page=15}}</ref>
|Ship armament=2 × [[QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss|6-pounder]] guns<ref name=ME5-98/>
|Ship capacity=2,600 tons (coal)<ref>{{cite book|last1=United States Navy Department|title=Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy|date=1898|publisher=Government Printing Office|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fck3AQAAMAAJ}}</ref>
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=Compound engine, single screw
}}
|}

'''[[United States Navy]] [[Auxiliary ship]] ''Sterling''''' was an iron, [[schooner-rigged]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Department of Commerce and Labor|title=Lists of Vessels Belonging to the United States Government|date=1908|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington D. C.|page=387|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SywpAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> [[collier (ship)|collier]] in service with the United States Navy from 1898 to 1919. Originally purchased to transport coal for United States Navy ships during the [[Spanish–American War]], she served in that role until sold in 1919. While serving as the Chilean flagged steamer, ''Llai Llai'', she was rammed by a Chilean warship on 11 March 1920 and sank near [[Iquique]], [[Chile]].

==Commercial service history==
The USS Sterling was built by Robert Duncan and Company, [[Port Glasgow]], [[Scotland]]. Originally christened as SS ''Lamington'', she was launched on 23 August 1881 for the shipping firm Renton and Company, [[Glasgow]], who planned to use her on their [[Adelaide]], [[Melbourne]], and [[Sydney]], [[Australia]] route.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Launches - Scotch|journal=The Marine Engineer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq0EAAAAQAAJ|date=1882|volume=III|pages=159–160}}</ref> By July 1891, ''Lamington'' was transporting coal from the east coast of the United States, when she was rammed by the [[Old Dominion Steamship Company]]'s ''Guyandotte'' off [[Lambert's Point]], [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A British Steamer run into by an Unknown Vessel|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034438/1891-07-10/ed-1/seq-2/|work=The Times (Richmond, VA)|date=10 July 1891|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The News Summary - New York|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034438/1891-07-12/ed-1/seq-4/|work=The Times (Richmond, VA)|date=July 12, 1891|page=4}}</ref>

On 5 February 1896 the ''Lamington'', hauling fruit from [[Valencia, Spain]] to [[New York City]] ran aground 15 miles east of the [[Fire Island Lighthouse]]. Life saving crews from the [[List of United States Coast Guard stations#New York|Coast Guard Stations at Blue Point, Lone Hill and Bellport]] were able to rescue much of her crew from the wreck using [[breeches buoy]]s on the first day.<ref>{{cite news|title=Another Ship in the Sand|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1896-02-06/ed-1/seq-12/|work=New-York Tribune|date=6 February 1896|page=12}}</ref> Salvage operations began almost immediately by men and tugs from the [[Merritt-Chapman & Scott|Merritt Wrecking Company]], which likely kept her from breaking up during a storm that swept waves in over the deck and pushed her farther inland.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lamington Men Saved|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1896-02-08/ed-1/seq-2/|work=The Sun (New York, NY)|date=8 February 1896|page=2}}</ref> At the first break in the storm the remaining crew, and one small Spanish pony, were rescued.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arduous Work of Uncle Sam's Coast Guard|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038614/1896-02-23/ed-1/seq-10/|work=Richmond Dispatch. (Richmond, VA)|date=23 February 1896|page=10}}</ref> After her cargo was removed, she was refloated on 26 February and towed to New York.<ref>{{cite news|title=Floated the Lamington|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1896-02-26/ed-1/seq-1/|work=Evening Star (Washington, D.C.)|date=26 February 1896|page=1}}</ref>

The Merritt Company, awarded the salvage rights to the battered wreck of the ''Lamington'', sold it for 17,500 dollars<ref>{{cite news|title=A Celebrated Case|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1898-12-24/ed-1/seq-21/|work=Evening Star (Washington D.C.)|date=24 December 1898|page=21}}</ref> to C. A. Campbell and Company of [[Boston, Massachusetts]], who planned to use her to work the coal trade.<ref>{{cite journal|editor1-last=Saward|editor1-first=Frederick E.|title=Notes of the Week|journal=The Coal Trade Journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTQ8AQAAMAAJ|date=22 July 1896|volume=XXXV|issue=30|page=423}}</ref> By April 1897, with her home port in Boston and renamed ''Sterling'', she was moving coal along the United States' Atlantic coast, from as far south as [[Newport News, Virginia]] to as far north as [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine Intelligence|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038614/1898-02-10/ed-1/seq-7/|work=Richmond Dispatch|date=10 February 1898|location=Richmond, Virginia|page=7}}</ref>

==Acquisition and commissioning==
The United States Navy purchased the ''Sterling'' for 190,000 dollars<ref>{{cite web|title=Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1898, Purchase of Auxiliary Vessels|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/spanish-american-war/report-of-the-secretary-of-the-navy/report-of-the-secretary-of-the-navy-1898-part-12.html|publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command|accessdate=7 April 2015}}</ref> from C. A. Campbell and Company<ref>{{cite news|title=The Auxiliary Board|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024441/1898-04-09/ed-1/seq-2/|work=The Evening Times|date=9 April 1898|location=Washington, D.C.|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=City of Chelsea Board of Trade|editor1-last=Gillespie|editor1-first=Charles Bancroft|title=Souvenir Edition of the Chelsea Gazette Issued by Request of the Board of Trade and Entitled The City of Chelsea, Massachusetts: Her History, Her Achievements, Her Opportunities|date=1898|publisher=Chelsea Gazette|location=Chelsea, Massachusetts|page=114|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BpglAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> in April 1898. Retaining her merchant name, she was commissioned on 16 April 1898.<ref name=DANFS/>

==Military service history==

===Spanish–American War, 1898===
Pressed immediately into service during the Spanish–American War, ''Sterling'' was assigned to support the [[Flying Squadron (United States Navy)|Flying Squadron]] from 1 through 24 May 1898.  The Flying Squadron's commander, Commodore [[Winfield S. Schley]], noted the ''Sterling'' lacked a [[Winding engine|hoisting engine]], and deemed her insufficient for coaling his forces.  She was then assigned to the [[North Atlantic Squadron]] where, on 27 May, Rear Admiral [[William T. Sampson]] sent her, under escort of the {{USS|New Orleans|CL-22|6}} to join the blockade of [[Santiago de Cuba]].  Should it have been necessary to prevent the Spanish fleet from leaving, ''Sterling'' was to have been sunk at the narrowest part (determined to be 300 feet wide) of the channel leading into the harbor. That requirement never materialized, and the ''Sterling'' performed her primary mission of coaling warships.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Navy Department|title=Appendix to the Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation|date=1898|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D. C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LBJLAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

Through the remainder of the Spanish–American War and until 1899, ''Sterling'' operated along the eastern coast of the United States and in the [[Caribbean]] area as a collier. On 31 December 1898, ''Sterling'' left [[Montevideo]] for [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Movements of Naval Vessels|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024441/1898-12-31/ed-1/seq-8/|work=The Evening Times|date=31 December 1898|location=Washington, D.C.|page=8}}</ref> where she took the crippled {{USS|Topeka|PG-35|6}} in tow to [[Norfolk, Virginia]] for repairs.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Topeka for Repairs|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86071779/1899-02-05/ed-1/seq-14/|work=Virginian-Pilot|date=5 February 1899|location=Norfolk, Virginia|page=14}}</ref> It was at this time the [[Great Blizzard of 1899]] struck the Norfolk area and nearly dashed the ''Sterling'' on the [[Delaware Breakwater|breakwater]] near [[Cape Henlopen]].  Despite dragging both anchors and full steam on, a shipwreck was only diverted due to a fortunate shift in the wind. Despite a hole in her bow, ''Sterling'' was immediately ordered to sail for Boston and join the ''Topeka''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Close Call for the Sterling|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026817/1899-02-15/ed-1/seq-2/|work=Evening Star|date=15 February 1899|location=Washington, D.C.|page=2}}</ref>

Arriving in Boston around 17 February 1899,<ref>{{cite news|title=The Topeka Weathered the Gale|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1899-02-17/ed-1/seq-3/|work=The Sun|date=17 February 1899|location=New York, N.Y.|page=3}}</ref> she was placed out of commission (likely to repair her damaged bow),<ref>{{cite news|title=The Sterling Sails for Boston|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1899-02-16/ed-1/seq-1/|work=Evening Star|date=16 February 1899|location=Washington, D.C.|page=1}}</ref> on 1 March 1899.<ref name=DANFS/> In November of that year, due to shortage of funds, repair work was stopped.<ref>{{cite news|title=Naval Work Curtailed|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024441/1899-11-09/ed-1/seq-6/|work=The Evening Times|date=9 November 1899|location=Washington, D.C.|page=6}}</ref>

===Ordered to Asiatic Squadron, 1900===
In early August 1900, repairs were ordered resumed for the ''Sterling''.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Sterling for China Service|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85054468/1900-08-10/ed-1/seq-2/|work=The Times|date=10 August 1900|location=Washington, D.C.|page=2}}</ref> By late September, repairs were completed at the [[Charlestown Navy Yard]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Charlestown Navy Yard Work|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19000919&id=WJc-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=MFoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6450,2423974&hl=en|work=Boston Evening Transcript|date=21 September 1900|location=Boston, Massachusetts|page=10}}</ref> and ''Sterling'' was one of seven colliers identified to support Admiral [[George C. Remey]]'s [[Asiatic Squadron#Boxer Rebellion|Asiatic Squadron]].<ref>{{cite news|title=To Reinforce Remey|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1900-09-24/ed-1/seq-7/|work=Evening Star|date=24 September 1900|location=Washington, D.C.|page=7}}</ref> Despite these orders, there is no record of ''Sterling'' leaving Boston until November 1901.

===Atlantic Fleet, 1901&ndash;1910===

By 13 November 1901, ''Sterling'' was recommissioned, with orders to Lambert's Point to load coal for Guantanamo.<ref>{{cite news|title=Latest from the Wires|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038614/1901-11-13/ed-1/seq-3/|work=Richmond Dispatch|date=13 November 1901|location=Richmond, Va.|page=3}}</ref> Before she could resume her role of carrying coal for the Atlantic Fleet, she and the {{USS|Illinois|BB-7|6}} were ordered to [[New Orleans, Louisiana]] to support testing a new [[Dry dock#Floating|floating dry dock]] there.<ref>{{cite news|title=Illinois at New Orleans|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062245/1901-11-28/ed-1/seq-4/|work=The Washington Times|date=28 November 1901|location=Washington D.C.|page=4}}</ref> ''Sterling'' was successfully floated in the dry dock on 2 January 1902, fulfilling the preliminary trials prior to full test using ''Illinois''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Testing the New Floating Dock|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016758/1902-01-02/ed-1/seq-8/|work=The Princeton Union|date=2 January 1902|location=Princeton, Minnesota|page=8}}</ref> On 6 January, the ''Illinois'' was successfully raised by the floating dock<ref>{{cite news|title=The Drydock a Success|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91068367/1902-01-10/ed-1/seq-3/|work=The Semi-Weekly Messenger|date=10 January 1902|location=Wilmington, N.C.|page=3}}</ref> and by the 14th ''Sterling'' left New Orleans.<ref>{{cite news|title=Movement of Naval Vessels|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062245/1902-01-14/ed-1/seq-5/|work=The Washington Times|date=14 January 1902|location=Washington, D.C.|page=5}}</ref>

On May 8, 1902, [[Mont Pelée]] erupted and completely destroyed [[Saint-Pierre, Martinique]] killing 30,000 people.  [[United States Secretary of the Navy]] [[William H. Moody]] ordered [[Yates Stirling]], the commanding officer of United States forces at San Juan, Puerto Rico, to fit out the ''Sterling'' with supplies so she could make way for Martinique immediately.<ref>{{cite news|title=Army and Navy Departments begin their work of relief|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024441/1902-05-13/ed-1/seq-1/|work=The Evening Times|date=13 May 1902|location=Washington, D.C.|page=1}}</ref> As the collier's captain was a merchantman, Commander George W. Mentz was ordered aboard to command her overall relief efforts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Collier Sales with Food Supplies for Martinique|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062245/1902-05-15/ed-1/seq-2/|work=The Washington Times|date=15 May 1902|location=Washington D.C.|page=2}}</ref> On 16 May, ''Sterling'' arrived in [[Fort-de-France]] with the United States' first installment of relief supplies<ref>{{cite news|title=Seventeen Hundred Dead; Five Thousand Destitute on St. Vincente|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1902-05-17/ed-1/seq-1/|work=The San Francisco Call|date=17 May 1902|location=San Francisco, California|page=1}}</ref> and was still anchored nearby when she witnessed Mt. Pelée's subsequent eruption on May 20.<ref>{{cite news|title=Capt. McDowell's Description of Conditions at Martinique|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1902-06-02/ed-1/seq-2/|work=Evening Star|date=2 June 1902|location=Washington, D.C.|page=2}}</ref> For the remainder of 1902 she was active along the east coast, transporting coal and supporting naval war games, until late in December when she was damaged in a collision with the {{USS|Texas|1892|6}} off [[Culebra, Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A Wedding|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038614/1903-01-01/ed-1/seq-11/|work=Richmond Dispatch|date=1 January 1903|location=Richmond, VA|page=11}}</ref> Quickly repaired, she was back in operation within two months.

In June and July 1903, the battleships {{USS|Kearsarge|BB-5|2}}, {{USS|Illinois|BB-7|2}}, {{USS|Alabama|BB-8|2}}, {{USS|Massachusetts |BB-2|2}} and colliers {{USS|Lebanon|AG-2|2}}, {{USS|Caesar|AC-16|2}} and ''Sterling'' participated in a transatlantic "race" from [[Tompkinsville, Staten Island|Tompkinsville]] to the [[Azores]] to determine how well the four battleships could stay together at various speeds over long distances.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Trans Atlantic Battleship Race|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84027621/1903-06-19/ed-1/seq-1/|work=The Ocala Evening Star|date=19 June 1903|location=Ocala, Florida|page=1}}</ref>

The 1906 Report of the Secretary of the Navy notes the ''Sterling'' was in the Norfolk Navy Yard undergoing repairs in August 1904.<ref>{{cite book|last1=United States Navy Department|title=Annual Reports of the Navy Department|date=1906|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=283, 547, 597–598|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2A7AQAAIAAJ}}</ref> In early 1905, she supported Rear Admiral [[Charles Dwight Sigsbee|Sigsbee's]] Caribbean division of the [[North Atlantic Squadron]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Army of Clerks for Santo Domingo|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1905-01-25/ed-1/seq-9/|work=The Washington Times|date=25 January 1905|location=Washington D.C.|page=9}}</ref> In August 1905 she was placed out of service, pending almost 24,000 dollars of repair work,  at [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|League Island]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=United States Navy Department|title=Annual Reports of the Navy Department|date=1907|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=483, 554, 597–598|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGE7AQAAIAAJ}}</ref> where she remained through August 1906.<ref>{{cite news|title=Movements of Vessels|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1906-08-26/ed-1/seq-5/|work=New-York Tribune|date=26 August 1906|location=New York, N.Y.|page=5}}</ref> After recommissioning on 24 August, she resumed regular coaling duties through May 1908.<ref name=1908Report/> Of significance during this time, ''Sterling'' along with {{USS|Hannibal|AG-1|6}}, {{USS|Marcellus|1879|6}}, and {{USS|Nanshan|AG-3|6}}, accompanied the [[Great White Fleet]] from [[Hampton Roads, Virginia]] to [[Port of Spain]], [[Trinidad]], the first refueling stop along the fleet's circumnavigation of the world.<ref name=Star190708>{{cite news|title=To Sail in December|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1907-08-27/ed-1/seq-3/|work=Evening Star (Washington DC)|date=27 August 1907}}</ref>

On 13 May 1908, she was placed in reserve at Boston.<ref name=1908Report>{{cite book|last1=United States Navy Department|title=Annual Reports of the Navy Department|date=1908|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=406, 643|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EjNHAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> She was recommissioned on 24 November 1908 and resumed collier service along the Atlantic coast and the [[West Indies]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=United States Navy Department|title=Annual Reports of the Navy Department|date=1909|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=378, 643|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zmE7AQAAIAAJ}}</ref> In December, while searching for coal barges that had broken loose from their tug, ''Sterling'''s crew rescued the two master ''M. E. Eldridge'', her crew exhausted after losing her sails in a storm and being adrift for over two days.<ref>{{cite news|title=Crew Rescued at Sea|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1908-12-06/ed-1/seq-1/|work=The Sun|date=6 December 1908|location=New York, NY}}</ref> The 1910 Report indicates that she was out of service on 30 April, berthed at the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]], [[New Hampshire]] for repair.<ref name=DANFS/>

She was back in service from 15 August 1911 to 29 May 1912 when, at [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]], she underwent a repair survey.<ref>{{cite book|last1=United States Navy Department|title=Annual Reports of the Navy Department for the Fiscal Year 1912|date=1913|publisher=Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D. C.|pages=153, 235|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xqg3AQAAMAAJ}}</ref> In August 1912, ''Sterling'' transported the [[foremast]] of the battleship {{USS|Maine|ACR-1|2}}, which was blown up in [[Havana Harbor]] in 1898, from [[Governor's Island]] to Annapolis, where it was later erected on the grounds of the [[United States Naval Academy|Naval Academy]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Maine Foremast at Annapolis|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1912-08-08/ed-1/seq-4/|work=Evening Star|date=8 August 1912|location=Washington, D.C.|page=4}}</ref> In late December 1912, ''Sterling'' transported [[United States Naval Aviator|naval aviators]], their aircraft and other necessary supplies and equipment from the Naval Academy to Guantanamo, Cuba to establish a Naval Aviation training camp during the Atlantic Fleet's winter maneuvers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Naval Aviators Sail for Guantanamo, Cuba on Collier Sterling|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1912-12-29/ed-1/seq-6/|work=The Washington Herald|date=29 December 1912|location=Washington, D.C.|page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Collier will Take Navy Fliers and Machines to Cuba|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1912-12-28/ed-1/seq-2/|work=The Washington Times|date=28 December 1912|location=Washington D.C.|page=2}}</ref> She resumed regular coaling assignments through 9 August 1913, when she was placed out of service.<ref>{{cite book|last1=United States Navy Department|title=Annual reports of the Navy Department|date=1915|publisher=United States Government Printing Office|location=Washington, D.C.|page=161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVc7AQAAIAAJ}}</ref>

She was still assigned to the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]] on 1 January 1914, but was recommissioned on 2 February 1916.<ref name=DANFS/> On 16 February 1916, ''Sterling'' left Norfolk, Virginia with supplies for the gunboat {{USS|Des Moines|PG-29|2}}, medicine funded by the [[American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee|American Jewish Relief Committee]] and 60,000 pounds of [[matzoth]] paid for by [[HIAS|Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society]] for [[Jewish]] sufferers in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].<ref>{{cite news|title=U. S. Ships to take Food to Jews in Palestine|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014682/1916-02-26/ed-1/seq-29/|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|date=26 February 1916|location=Oahu, Hawaii|page=29}}</ref> After arriving in Naples around 3 April,<ref>{{cite news|title=U. S. Relief Ship for Jews Reaches Naples|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014682/1916-04-04/ed-2/seq-9/|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|date=4 April 1916|location=Oahu, Hawaii|page=9}}</ref> Germany denied her clearance to Egypt so the supplies were delivered by other means.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jewish Refugees Tell of Horrors|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87055779/1917-10-26/ed-1/seq-17/|work=South Bend News-Times|date=26 October 1917|location=South Bend, Indiana|page=17}}</ref>

===World War I===
Sterling spent the remainder of [[World War I]] supplying American bases and ships with fuel to maintain a steady flow of men and materiel to the battlefields in [[Europe]]. She served with the Atlantic Fleet Train until 9 January 1918, when the [[Naval Overseas Transportation Service]] (NOTS) was established.<ref name=DANFS/>

On 19 April 1917, ''Sterling'' was so badly damaged in a collision with the {{USS|Nereus|AC-10|6}} in Hampton Roads, her commander beached her off [[Sewell's Point]] to avoid sinking. While still resting on a sandbar with water reaching her second deck, she was deemed salvageable by Navy inspectors.<ref>{{cite news|title=U. S. Collier Beached After Ramming Freighter|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038411/1917-04-20/ed-1/seq-13/|work=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=20 April 1917|location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Clephane|first1=Lewis P.|title=History of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service in World War I|date=1969|publisher=United States Naval History Division|page=257|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJ41AQAAIAAJ}}</ref>

On 6 May 1919, ''Sterling'' was reassigned to the [[United States naval districts#3rd Naval District|3d Naval District]] for decommissioning and disposal. She was decommissioned at [[Philadelphia]] on 7 July 1919, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 3 August 1919. On 15 September, she was sold to F & H Starr, of [[New York City]].<ref name=DANFS/>

==Awards==
*[[Spanish Campaign Medal]]
*[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] (with Transport clasp)

==Collision and loss at sea==
In late 1919, she was resold to the [[Anglo-South American Bank]] at [[Valparaiso]], registered as a Chilean steamship, and renamed ''Llai Llai'' (for [[Llay-Llay|a town in Chile]]).<ref name=NavSource>{{cite web|last1=Priolo|first1=Gary P.|title=NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Sterling (I)|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/02/0297.htm|website=NavSource Online|publisher=NavSource Naval History|accessdate=7 April 2015}}</ref>  On 11 March 1920, she was en route to load a cargo of nitrate and collided with the Chilean armored cruiser ''[[Chilean cruiser O'Higgins (1897)|O'Higgins]]'' and sank near Iquique, Chile.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chilean steamship goes to bottom|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058396/1920-03-17/ed-1/seq-1/|work=The Ogden Standard|date=17 March 1920|page=1}}</ref>

==References==
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sterling-i.html}}
{{Reflist|colwidth=25em}}

==See also==
*{{cite web|last1=Roberts|first1=Stephen S.|title=US Navy Auxiliary Ships: Sterling (AC, 1898)|url=http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/AC/ac-sterling.html|website=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy: Auxiliary Vessels 1835-1945}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling}}
[[Category:1881 ships]]
[[Category:Colliers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]