The first USS Saint Paul (SP-1643) was a cruiser in the United States Navy. She was named for the capital of Minnesota. Saint Paul was launched on 10 April 1895 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a steel passenger liner; chartered for United States Navy service as an auxiliary cruiser from her owner, International Navigation Company, by a board appointed on 12 March 1898; and commissioned on 20 April 1898 for Spanish-American War service, Captain Charles D. Sigsbee in command.