 After a quick overhaul in drydock , Massachusetts was attempting to leave New York Harbor on 10 December 1898 when she struck Diamond Reef , flooding five of her forward compartments . She was forced to return to the navy yard , where she was placed in drydock again for repairs which took around three months . For a year Massachusetts served with the North Atlantic Squadron , visiting various cities on the Atlantic coast . In May 1900 , she and Indiana were placed in reserve as the navy had an acute officer shortage and needed to put the new Kearsarge @-@ class and Illinois @-@ class battleships into commission . The battleships were reactivated the following month as an experiment in how quickly this could be achieved , and Massachusetts returned to service with the North Atlantic Squadron . 
