 The crew of "Illinois" recovered the bodies of the American consul, Arthur S. Cheney, and his wife, entombed in the ruins., the fleet's station ship at Constantinople, and , a refrigerator ship fitted out in New York, were hurried to Messina, relieving "Connecticut" and "Illinois", so that they could continue on the cruise.Leaving Messina on 9 January 1909, the fleet stopped at Naples, Italy, thence to Gibraltar, arriving at Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909.