[2] The two 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines and five Scotch boilers, connected to two propeller shafts, produced a total of 12,179 indicated horsepower (9,082 kW), and gave a maximum speed of 16.897 knots (19.445 mph; 31.293 km/h).

[8] The contract for her construction was awarded on 2 January 1896,[9] and her keel was laid down on 30 June 1896 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in Virginia.

[14] On 26 October, during the Boxer Rebellion, she left Tompkinsville, Staten Island for China,[15] passing through Gibraltar[16] and the Suez Canal.

[17] On 5 February 1901 she arrived at Manila,[18] and on 23 March she replaced the protected cruiser Newark as the flagship of Rear Admiral Louis Kempff.

[19] Between 1901 and 1904, Kentucky visited numerous ports in China and Japan, including Yantai,[20] Wusong,[20][21][22] Nanjing,[21] Taku Forts,[23] Hong Kong,[24] Xiamen,[22] Nagasaki,[25] Kobe,[14] and Yokohama.

[26] In 1902, Kentucky became the flagship of Rear Admiral Frank Wildes, although he moved his flag to the distilling ship Rainbow on 12 April 1902.

[27] On 13 March 1904 she sailed from Manila, passing through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar, and arriving at New York City on 21 May.

[28] After receiving upgrades at the New York Navy Yard, including the addition of smoke ejectors,[29] Kentucky joined the North Atlantic Squadron.

[32] Kentucky attended the Jamestown Exposition at Norfolk, Virginia, on 15 April 1907,[4] and then participated in exercises off the New England coast.

[14] In 1907, the Great White Fleet was ordered by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to circle the world, as a demonstration of the might of the United States Navy.

[39] From there she passed the west coast of South America, visiting Punta Arenas[40] and Valparaíso, Chile,[41] Callao, Peru,[42] and Magdalena Bay, Mexico.

[48] Kentucky departed Albany, Western Australia, on 18 September, passing through ports in the Philippine Islands, Japan, China, and Ceylon before traveling through the Suez Canal.

[49] The fleet split at Port Said on 8 January 1909, with Kentucky visiting Tripoli and Algiers[50] before rejoining the other ships at Gibraltar.

She remained there during the Mexican Revolution, staying until 2 June 1916, except for a visit to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras festival in March 1916.

[56] The battleship stopped at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base[57] and Santo Domingo on her way back to Philadelphia, arriving there on 18 June 1916.

[14] She arrived at Yorktown, Virginia on 2 May, and trained recruits along the Atlantic coast, from Chesapeake Bay to Long Island Sound.