Chapter 4 - Sailing the Sulu Sea

Light Cruiser USS Charleston

    In 1899, the Charleston was the largest and most modern warship ever to have visited the Sulu Archipelago, even though by the standards of the great-power navies of the day she was a small, light cruiser and at eleven years old technologically dated. But to the Moros of Sulu, at 313 feet, 3,730 tons, and bristling with weapons, she was the biggest and most fearsome warship they had ever seen. She was also fast, with 6,666-hp engines powering twin screws at 18.2 knots. The Charleston was commanded by Commander Charles Pigman and carried a complement of 300 officers and men. At Captain Barker’s orders, they were surveying the waters and harbors for potential future operations. (p. 59)

    August 14, 1899, the Charleston dropped anchor off Maibun. The Sultan had been invited to bring on board as many people as he would like, and a large delegation accompanied him. Reporter John Bass of Harper's Weekly observed:

 . . . big guns were fired for their benefit; one chief was allowed to pull the trigger of a Colt’s automatic [a predecessor to the Colt machine-gun]; they took electric shocks with delight; they wondered how you could touch a button and kindle a light on the mast-head [electricity was unknown in the archipelago]; they stared at the mysterious box that produced the wind [the boiler]. In no instance did they show fear, but they understood the great power back of these details — the power of civilization . . . What, asked one chief, could an ignorant people like the Moros do against you?

    But the biggest hit, next to the guns, was hearing the Victrola phonograph in Capt. Pigman’s cabin. The Moros kept looking under the table or anyplace that could hide the small individual they were convinced was doing the singing. (p. 63) In September of 1899, just following its Sulu cruise, the Charleston grounded on an uncharted reef north of Luzon. The pounding surf soon rendered her unsalvageable and she was abandoned by the crew, who sought refuge on a nearby island. The gunboat USS Helena came to their rescue and no lives were lost.

(Photo: Naval History Institute)