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General Note

The USS Massachusetts was a 10 ton Indiana-class battleship that served along the eastern seaboard of the United States and across the Atlantic for more than 20 years. The ship was the second modern, heavy-armor and heavy-caliber steel battleship built by the United States. Constructed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and commissioned in 1896, the ship took part in the blockade around Cuba during the Spanish-American War. After years as part of the North Atlantic Squadron and in service as a training vessel, including as a gunnery training vessel during World War I, the ship was decommissioned in March 1919. The Massachusetts was scuttled in Pensacola Bay January 1921, after being given by the Navy to the War Department as a target for coastal defense artillery practice. As the nation's oldest existing battleship, the Massachusetts remains in Pensacola Bay to this day where it provides a home to numerous species of aquatic life and is a popular destination for divers and fisherman. In 1993 the Massachusetts became Florida's fourth Underwater Archaeological Preserve, located under 26 feet of water a mile and a half from Pensacola Pass at 30° 17.68'N and 87° 18.70'W. The USS Massachusetts shipwreck was later added to the US National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Biographical Note

Charles H. Brems was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 30, 1895. A lifelong amateur photographer, Brems served in the Illinois Naval Battalion from 1914-1917 and served aboard the USS Massachusetts as Chief Petty Officer. He died on September 13, 1995.