Update USS Saint Louis

The St. Louis-class cruisers were a bit of exceptions in the USN cruiser lineage. They began as a replacement for the old USS Olympia, but went through several redesigns over time, before development was rushed up as part of the naval buildup touched off by the Spanish–American War. They were authorized in fiscal year 1901, by Congress act of 7 June 1900. Only three were built, as it appeared soon the design was an unsatisfactory compromise.

Postcard showing C-20 by Henrique Muller (src navsource.org)

Designated C20, 21 and 22, USS St. Louis, Milwaukee and Charleston were started in 192 (January and July), launched in 1904-05, and completed in May, August 1906 and October 1905 for USS Charleston, so the class should have been named Charleston, as she was the first laid down and completed. Their prewar career was pretty uneventful as their wartime career (Atlantic patrols) and USS Milwaukee was lost in 1917, stranded off California, while the other two were decommissioned in 1922 and sold in 1930.

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