Abdication of Wilhelm II and the Dutch government, however, refused the Allies' requests to extradite him. King George V wrote that his cousin was "the greatest criminal in history", but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George's proposal to "hang the Kaiser". U.S. President Woodrow Wilson also opposed extradition, arguing that punishing Wilhelm would destabilize international order and lose the peace. Wilhelm first settled in Amerongen, where on 28 November he issued a belated statement of abdication of both the Prussian and imperial thrones. He also released his soldiers and officials in both Prussia and the empire from their oaths of loyalty to him. Wilhelm
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II transport. While this work progressed, she was employed as a barracks ship at the New York Navy Yard. The U.S. Navy placed the ship in commission as USS "Kaiser Wilhelm II" (ID-3004) in late August 1917. Her name was changed to "Agamemnon" at the beginning of September and active war work commenced at the end of October, when she left for her first troopship voyage to France. While at sea on 9 November 1917, she was damaged in a collision with another large ex-German transport, , but delivered her passengers to the war zone a few days later. Following her