BATH (AP) – The great-granddaughter of the U.S. naval officer who defeated the Spanish fleet outside Cuba’s Santiago Harbor on Saturday christened the latest U.S. Navy warship to bear the Sampson name with a bottle of champagne.

Clare Parsons, 68, of Wilmington, N.C., ended the ceremony with the customary crash of a bottle along the bow of the $1.15 billion warship that’s nearing completion.

The Sampson is the fourth warship to bear the name of Rear Adm. William T. Sampson, whose blocking squadron destroyed Admiral Pascual Cervera’s Spanish fleet when it tried to escape from the harbor on July 3, 1898, during the Spanish-American War.

Afterward, he delivered a famous message: “The fleet under my command offers the nation as a Fourth of July present, the whole of Cervera’s Fleet!”

In addition to being a direct descendent of Sampson, Parsons was the daughter and granddaughter of other admirals, and she served in the naval reserve. The last Sampson, launched in 1960, was sponsored by Parsons’ aunt, Mrs. John S. Crenshaw.

“This great family exemplifies patriotism and duty, and we salute them,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told spectators during the ceremony.

Saturday’s christening marked what could be a new tradition. Afterward, the 8,000-ton destroyer was slowly moved to a dry dock as spectators watched. The demonstration showed off one of the key components of the $240 million land-level transfer facility designed to make the Navy shipbuilder faster and more efficient.

The land-level transfer facility allows ships to be built in pieces that are brought together on a rail-like system. When it’s complete, the ship is moved at six feet per minute to a dry dock. After spectators left, the dry dock was to be pulled to the middle of the Kennebec River, and the ship was to be floated.

The slow-moving process lacked the drama of a warship sliding down the ways into the Kennebec River, but it’s much more efficient.

The first Sampson, which served in World War I, was built in Quincy, Mass. The next two that served in World War II and during the Cold War were built at Bath Iron Works. The last one, DDG10, was decommissioned in 1991.

The latest Navy warship to bear the Sampson name is the 52nd of the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The destroyer is capable of withstanding chemical attacks while waging battle with enemy airplanes, warships and submarines.

The newest Sampson will undergo its first sea trials in February and will be delivered to the Navy the following month. It’s expected to sail to its homeport of San Diego next July, officials said.

Saturday’s ceremony came as the shipyard navigates a lean period as it transitions from construction of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like the Sampson to the next-generation stealth destroyer that’s larger and more expensive.

The day before the christening, shipbuilders received good news when Senate and House conferees agreed to authorize $3.4 billion to simultaneously build the first two of the Zumwalt-class of destroyers in Bath and in Mississippi.

The House originally had sought to fund only one ship to be built at Bath Iron Works’ competitor, the Northrop Grumman Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi.

In her remarks, Collins made reference to the next generation of destroyers. “Ships such as this and the next generation of destroyers to come, the DDG-1000, are essential if America is to continue to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” she said.

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