USS New Orleans (later designated PG-34 then CL-22) was a United States Navy protected cruiser of the New Orleans class. She was laid down in 1895 as Amazonas for the Brazilian Navy by Armstrong, Mitchell and Company, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, launched on 4 December 1896, purchased by the U.S. Navy while building on 16 March 1898; and commissioned 18 March 1898 at Gravesend, England.