Mahogany, silver, and enamel humidor made by Tiffany and Co. in 1896 and presented to Henry Flagler in recognition of Flagler and his yacht Alicia’s role in the 1895 America’s Cup Race. Flagler Museum Collection. his participation, New York Yacht Club Rear Commodore Bergen commissioned a cigar humidor from Tiffany & Co. When the United States hastily declared war against Spain in 1898, it did so without much in the way of a navy - the Great White Fleet was yet to be created by Theodore Roosevelt. Since war with Spain would necessarily involve naval battles and blockades, in order to bring the Navy quickly up to par, Congress authorized the purchase of more than
100 private yachts and corporate ships, among them: JP Morgan’s Corsair, Ogden Goelet’s Mayflower, J.D. Spreckels’ Fearless, two Standard Oil ships Atlas and Hercules, and Henry Flagler’s Alicia. The Navy removed the aft mast of the Alicia and renamed her the USS Hornet, immediately sending the ship into battle where it quickly developed a reputation as a capable Navy ship. In April of 1898 the USS Hornet seized the English schooner Nickerson, with its Spanish crew, trying to run the blockade off Manzanillo, Cuba. Shortly thereafter, the USS Hornet and two other ships sank a Spanish gunboat. Later that same day the same group of three U.S. ships entered Manzanillo Harbor and immediately engaged in battle. The steam pipe on the USS Hornet was blown away, but the Hornet continued to fight and sank a Spanish sloop. By July the Hornet had been repaired and was back in action near Santa Cur del Sur cutting under water telegraph cables. But, it wasn’t long before the Hornet saw action again in Manzanillo Harbor where the American fleet sank nine Spanish ships in an hour and 40 minutes of heavy fighting. By August the Hornet was back in Key West and by October 1898 it was decommissioned and loaned to the Naval Militia of North Carolina where she served until 1902. The Hornet was then sent to Norfolk , where it served as a tender to the Franklin for the next eight years. In 1910 the Hornet was decommissioned and sold to a broker in New Orleans.
A painting by William G. Yorke depicting America’s Cup champion Columbia in 1881, purchased by Henry Flagler. Flagler Museum Collection.