[3] They were lightly gunned ships with only moderate armor that were built for the speed needed to overtake and destroy the fast ocean liners of the day as commerce raiders.

However, the light armament and armor left these ships over-specialized and outclassed by ordinary similar sized protected cruisers that they might encounter.

The German cruiser SMS Kaiserin Augusta also had a triple-screw design and was nearly as long as the American Columbia-class ships, but had a more general role instead of a specialized commerce raider.

Later, Russia acquired a series of oversized protected cruisers such as the Pallada and Bogatyr classes along with Askold and Varyag up until the Russo-Japanese War (1905), although these were given a relatively stronger armament for their size.

The British were the most probable target of most of these ships, and invested in various cruiser designs as a counter to the perceived threat.

US Representative Charles A. Boutelle of Maine was the primary advocate of these ships in Congress, and overcame significant opposition to get them built.

[6] The engineering plant needed to meet the designed speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph) was unprecedented in the US Navy.

Eight or ten (references vary, possibly 8 in Columbia and 10 in Minneapolis) coal-fired cylindrical boilers supplied steam to three triple-expansion engines.

[6] Columbia was built with four funnels while Minneapolis had two; it is possible this, along with the main gun placement on the aft deck, was intended to make the ships resemble their prey from a distance.

However, the design allowance was 2,130 tons for a globe-girdling range of 25,520 nmi (47,260 km; 29,370 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[6] In July 1895 Columbia made a transatlantic crossing from Southampton to Sandy Hook in 6 days, 23 hours, 49 minutes for an average speed of 18.41 knots.

[17] Minneapolis joined a Special Service Squadron in 1905, making astronomical and other observations off Spain and Africa, including a solar eclipse on 30 August.

[18] She was present for the arrival of the body of John Paul Jones at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in mid-1906.

[17] Following the American entry into World War I in April 1917, Minneapolis was recommissioned and both ships served as convoy escorts.