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USS Brutus (AC-15)
ex
 USS Brutus (Fuel Ship #15) (1898 - 1920)

International Radio Call Sign, 1912:
Nan - Cast - Tare
 NCT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Spanish Campaign Medal - Mexican Service Medal - World War I Victory Medal (with Transport clasp)
Brutus Class Collier:
  • Built in 1894 as SS Peter Jebsen by J. Readhead and Sons, South Shields-on-Tyne, England
  • Acquired by the US Navy at San Francisco, 21 April 1898
  • Commissioned USS Brutus (Fuel Ship #15), 27 May 1898, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., LT. Vincendon L. Cottman, in command
  • Decommission, 20 October 1899, at Apra Harbor, Guam
  • Recommissioned, 25 December 1899
  • Decommissioned, 16 February 1900, at Apra Harbor
  • Recommissioned, 10 November 1900
  • Decommissioned, 25 August 1901, at New York Navy Yard
  • Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) Asiatic Fleet, 1 November 1901 to 1 June 1906
  • Recommissioned, 8 March 1902
  • Decommissioned, 13 May 1908, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Recommissioned, 2 January 1909
  • Decommissioned, 20 May 1912, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Recommissioned, 2 July 1912
  • Designated (AC-15), 17 July 1920
  • Decommissioned 17 August 1921
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 July 1922
  • Final Disposition, sold 29 July 1922, to A. Bercovich Co., Oakland, CA., fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,000 t. 6,550(fl.)
    Length 332' 6"
    Beam 41' 6"
    Draft 23' 6"
    Speed 10 kts.
    Complement 63
    Armament two 6-pdrs
    Propulsion
    one triple expansion reciprocating steam engine
    two coal fired boilers
    single propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merchant Service
    Brutus 24k Drawing of Norwegian flagged SS Peter Jebsen underway prior to acquisition by US Navy.
    Norway Heritage - Hands Across th Sea    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS Brutus (Fuel Ship #15) (AC-15)
    Brutus
    09021511    		 17k
    Namesake
    Brutus - Marcus Junius Brutus, also called Quintus Caepio Brutus, (born probably 85 bce—died 42 bce, near Philippi, Macedonia [now in northwestern Greece]), Roman politician, one of the leaders in the conspiracy that assassinated Julius Caesar in 44 bce. Brutus was the son of Marcus Junius Brutus (who was treacherously killed by Pompey the Great in 77) and Servilia (who later became Caesar’s lover). After his adoption by an uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio, he was commonly called Quintus Caepio Brutus.(Britannica)
    Marble bust of Marcus Junius Brutus; in the Capitoline Museum, Rome.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Brutus 77k USS Brutus being repainted into wartime gray, off Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 28 May 1898. She had been commissioned on the previous day. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Maritime Museum, 1970.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 71722    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Brutus 72k USS Brutus being repainted into wartime gray while at anchor in the Mare Island Channel, off Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 28 May 1898. Note the steam gig alongside.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 15 002-5-1898    		 Darryl Baker
    Brutus 94k USS Brutus at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, September 1964.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Brutus
    AC 15 001-3-1899    		 72k Forward view of US Brutus moored to the sea wall at Navy Yard Mare Island, March 1899.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # AC 15 001-3-1899 and AC 15 001-4-1899    		 Darryl Baker
    Brutus
    AC 15 001-4-1899    		 78k
    Brutus 109k USS Brutus moored pierside, March 1902, location unknown.
    US National Archives, RG-19-N box 9., Photo # NH 19-N-14260, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Brutus 92k USS Brutus laying at anchor at Corinto, Nicaragua, prior to World War I.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo # NH 92194, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Brutus 119k USS Brutus at anchor, during or after World War I, location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # Unknown, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Brutus (AC-15)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Cottman, Vincendon Lazarus, USN (USNA 1872) :RADM27 May 1898 - 16 February 1900
     Decommissioned16 February 1900 - 10 November 1900
    02CDR. Prim, Ebenezer Scudder, USN (USNA 1867)10 November 1900 - 6 April 1901
    03LT. Maxwell, William John, USN (USNA 1880)6 April 1901 - 13 April 1901
    04LCDR. Moore, Charles Brainerd Taylor, USN (USNA 1873) :ADM13 April 1901 - 20 April 1901
    05LCDR. Gheen, Edward Hickman, USN (USNA 1867)20 April 1901 - 10 June 1901
    06LCDR. Moore, Charles Brainerd Taylor, USN (USNA 1873) :ADM10 June 1901 - 1 November 1901
     Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) Asiatic Fleet1 November 1901 1 June 1906
    07MASTER Hendricks, Edward W. (Naval Auxiliary Service)1 June 1906 - 26 July 1907
    08MASTER McDonald, George (Naval Auxiliary Service)26 July 1907 - 10 June 1908
    09MASTER Tilton, Charles Oscar (Naval Auxiliary Service)10 June 1908 - 2 July 1912
    10MASTER Carver, Isaac (Naval Auxiliary Service)2 July 1912 - 23 July 1915
    11MASTER Smith, James Downing (Naval Auxiliary Service) USNA 1908)23 July 1915 - 30 August 1915
    12LT. Michael, Herbert Harlan, USN (USNA 1904)30 August 1915 - 13 September 1916
    13LCDR. Driggs, James Robert, USNRF13 September 1916 - October 1916
    14MASTER Carver, Isaac (Naval Auxiliary Service)October 1916 - 10 December 1918
    15LCDR. Driggs, James Robert, USNRF10 December 1918 - 30 April 1921
    16LCDR. Harrison, George G., USNRF30 April 1921 - 17 August 1921
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Brutus (AC-15) - Shipscribe.com US Navy Colliers
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 31 July 2020