A New Orleans-class Federation starship commanded by Captain Benjamin Maxwell during the Cardassian border wars, on which Miles O'Brien served as tactical officer.
The USS Rutledge was commanded by Captain Benjamin Maxwell during the long border conflict with the Cardassians. Miles O'Brien served aboard and rose to tactical officer.
The ship is central to the back story of The Wounded. The Rutledge answered the distress call from the colony on Setlik III, where a Cardassian raid killed many civilians, Maxwell's wife and children among them. O'Brien killed for the first time there, an experience that stayed with him.
Maxwell later took command of the Phoenix and began attacking Cardassian ships on his own authority. O'Brien's service on the Rutledge is brought up again in Deep Space Nine, including in Tribunal, where an old shipmate turns out to be a Cardassian agent.