The USS TEXAS was the United States' first battleship. She was commissioned a month earlier than the USS MAINE. She took part in the bombardment of the fortress on Cayo del Tore, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and also took a very active part in the Battle of Santiago.
USS TEXAS was commissioned on Aug 15, 1895. She cruised off of the East Coast of the United States, and also in the Gulf of Mexico.
At the outbreak of the Spanish American War, she was assigned to the "Flying Squadron" and arrived off Cuba on Feb 21, 1898. She began regular patrolling and blockading duty.
On Jun 16, 1898, USS TEXAS and USS MARBLEHEAD bombarded the fort at Cayo del Tore in Guantanamo Bay, damaging the fort to the point that it was no longer a threat to the United States forces.
Even before the signing of the peace treaty between the United States and Spain, the TEXAS was returned to American waters, arriving in New York on Jul 31, and staying in the vicinity of the city until November.
USS TEXAS was briefly decommissioned in 1901 for repairs, but recommissioned on Nov 3, 1902. She served as the flagship of the "Coast Squadron" until 1905, and continued to serve with the squadron until 1908. In 1908 she became a station ship at Charleston, South Carolina.
On Feb 15, 1911, she was renamed USS SAN MARCO so that the old name could be given to a new battleship. She was struck from the Navy rolls on Oct 10, 1911. She was sunk as a target in Tangier Sound in the Chesapeake Bay.
The TEXAS had overhanging sponsons which always placed the colliers in danger of being stove in. Also, on loading of coal and supplies, the ship sank so low in the water that the ship's armor belt was submerged below the water and therefore greatly reduced in effectiveness.
