USS Constellation (1854)
Encyclopedia
USS Constellation constructed in 1854 is a sloop-of-war
and the second United States Navy
ship to carry this famous name. According to the US Naval Registry the original frigate
was disassembled on 25 June 1853 in Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia
, and the sloop-of-war was constructed in the same yard, possibly with a few recycled materials from the old frigate. USS Constellation is the last sail-only warship designed and built by the U.S. Navy. Despite being a single-gundeck "sloop", she is actually larger than her frigate namesake, and more powerfully armed with fewer but much more potent shell-firing guns.
The sloop was launched
on 26 August 1854 and commissioned
on 28 July 1855 with Captain
Charles H. Bell
in command.
She was flagship of the USN African Squadron from 1859-1861. In this period she disrupted the African slave trade by interdicting three slave ship
s and releasing the imprisoned Africans.
Constellation spent much of the war as a deterrent to Confederate cruisers and commerce raiders in the Mediterranean Sea.
and exhibits to the Paris
Exposition Universelle (1878)
. She also spent a number of years as a receiving ship (floating naval barracks).
midshipmen, Constellation became a training ship in 1894 for the Naval Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island
where she helped train more than 60,000 recruits during World War I
.
Franklin Roosevelt; by this time the ship had become widely confused with her famous predecessor of 1797. She spent much of the Second World War as relief (i.e. reserve) flagship for the US Atlantic Fleet, but spent the first six months of 1942 as the flagship
for Admiral
Ernest J. King and Vice Admiral
Royal E. Ingersoll
.
Constellation was again decommissioned on 4 February 1955 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 15 August 1955 — about 100 years and 2 weeks from her first commissioning. She was taken to her permanent berth — Constellation Dock, Inner Harbor
at Pier 1, 301 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland (39°17′07.95"N 76°36′40.28"W) — and designated a National Historic Landmark
(reference number 66000918) on 23 May 1963. She is the last existing American Civil War
-era naval vessel and was one of the last sail-powered warships built by the U.S. Navy. She has been assigned the hull classification symbol
IX-20.
In 1994 Constellation was condemned as an unsafe vessel. She was towed to drydock at Fort McHenry
in 1996, and a $9-million restoration project was completed in July 1999.
On 26 October 2004 Constellation made her first trip out of Baltimore's Inner Harbor
since 1955. The trip to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, lasting six days, marked the ship's first trip to the city in 111 years.
Tours are regularly available, self-guided or with the assistance of staff. Nearly all of the ship is accessible, and about half the lines used to rig
the vessel are present (amounting to several miles of rope
and cordage). A cannon firing is demonstrated daily, and tour groups can also participate in demonstrations such as turning the yards.
The ship is now part of Historic Ships in Baltimore, which also operates the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Taney (WHEC-37)
, the WWII-era submarine
USS Torsk (SS-423)
, the lightship Chesapeake
, and the Seven Foot Knoll Light
.
Supporting the position that they are different ships are the facts that the sloop was designed anew from the keel up (without reference to the frigate) and was planned to have been built even if the frigate had not been in the yard during that period. In March 1989 researchers Dana M Wegner and Colan Ratliff from the David Taylor Research Center came upon the builder's hull half model
of the Constellation in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum
. This was important because half models are only built for new designs, not rebuilds, and the use of half models was introduced after 1797. Besides evaluating the half model the researchers also reviewed all the evidence used in the debate to date, concluding with the help of FBI and BATF forensics that many of the rebuild supporting documents were forgeries. In 1991 they published their findings in a paper titled, Fouled Anchors: The Constellation Question Answered and concluded that they are different ships. The proof advanced in this report was confirmed during the 1999 renovation. At that time evidence was uncovered pointing to the construction of an entirely new sloop-of-war of the 1850s era.
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
and the second United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ship to carry this famous name. According to the US Naval Registry the original frigate
USS Constellation (1797)
USS Constellation was a 38-gun frigate, one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. She was distinguished as the first U.S. Navy vessel to put to sea and the first U.S. Navy vessel to engage and defeat an enemy vessel...
was disassembled on 25 June 1853 in Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, and the sloop-of-war was constructed in the same yard, possibly with a few recycled materials from the old frigate. USS Constellation is the last sail-only warship designed and built by the U.S. Navy. Despite being a single-gundeck "sloop", she is actually larger than her frigate namesake, and more powerfully armed with fewer but much more potent shell-firing guns.
The sloop was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 26 August 1854 and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 28 July 1855 with Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Charles H. Bell
Charles H. Bell (naval officer)
Rear Admiral Charles H. Bell was an officer in the United States Navy who served during the War of 1812, the Second Barbary War, and the American Civil War....
in command.
Civil War
From 1855-1858 Constellation performed largely diplomatic duties as part of the US Mediterranean Squadron.She was flagship of the USN African Squadron from 1859-1861. In this period she disrupted the African slave trade by interdicting three slave ship
Slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to Americas....
s and releasing the imprisoned Africans.
- On December 21, 1859, she captured the brig Delicia which was "without colors or papers to show her nationality... completely fitted in all respects for the immediate embarcation [sic] of slaves..."
- On September 26, 1860, the Constellation captured the "fast little bark" Cora with 705 slaves, who were set free in Monrovia, Liberia.
- On May 21, 1861, the Constellation overpowered the slaver brigBrigA brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Triton in African coastal waters. It held no slaves, although "every preparation for their reception had been made."
Constellation spent much of the war as a deterrent to Confederate cruisers and commerce raiders in the Mediterranean Sea.
Pre-World War I
After the Civil War Constellation saw various duties such as carrying famine relief stores to IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and exhibits to the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Exposition Universelle (1878)
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May through to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.-Construction:...
. She also spent a number of years as a receiving ship (floating naval barracks).
World War I
After being used as a practice ship for Naval AcademyUnited States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
midshipmen, Constellation became a training ship in 1894 for the Naval Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
where she helped train more than 60,000 recruits during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
World War II
Decommissioned in 1933, Constellation was recommissioned as a national symbol in 1940 by PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin Roosevelt; by this time the ship had become widely confused with her famous predecessor of 1797. She spent much of the Second World War as relief (i.e. reserve) flagship for the US Atlantic Fleet, but spent the first six months of 1942 as the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for Admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...
Ernest J. King and Vice Admiral
Vice admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
Royal E. Ingersoll
Royal E. Ingersoll
Royal Eason Ingersoll was a United States Navy four-star admiral who served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet from January 1, 1942 to late1944; Commander, Western Sea Frontier from late 1944 to 1946; and Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S...
.
Post-war restoration
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 15 August 1955 — about 100 years and 2 weeks from her first commissioning. She was taken to her permanent berth — Constellation Dock, Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
at Pier 1, 301 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland (39°17′07.95"N 76°36′40.28"W) — and designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
(reference number 66000918) on 23 May 1963. She is the last existing American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
-era naval vessel and was one of the last sail-powered warships built by the U.S. Navy. She has been assigned the hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
IX-20.
In 1994 Constellation was condemned as an unsafe vessel. She was towed to drydock at Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...
in 1996, and a $9-million restoration project was completed in July 1999.
On 26 October 2004 Constellation made her first trip out of Baltimore's Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
since 1955. The trip to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, lasting six days, marked the ship's first trip to the city in 111 years.
Tours are regularly available, self-guided or with the assistance of staff. Nearly all of the ship is accessible, and about half the lines used to rig
Rigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
the vessel are present (amounting to several miles of rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
and cordage). A cannon firing is demonstrated daily, and tour groups can also participate in demonstrations such as turning the yards.
The ship is now part of Historic Ships in Baltimore, which also operates the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Taney (WHEC-37)
USCGC Taney (WHEC-37)
USCGC Taney is a United States Coast Guard High Endurance Cutter, notable as the last ship floating that fought in the attack on Pearl Harbor, although she was actually moored in nearby Honolulu Harbor not Pearl Harbor itself. She was named for Roger B...
, the WWII-era submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
USS Torsk (SS-423)
USS Torsk (SS-423)
The USS Torsk is docked at the Baltimore Maritime Museum and is one of two Tench Class submarines still located inside the United States. It is nicknamed the "Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast." In 1945, Torsk made two war patrols off Japan, sinking one cargo vessel and two coastal defense...
, the lightship Chesapeake
Lightship Chesapeake
The United States lightship Chesapeake is owned by the National Park Service and on a 25-year loan to the Baltimore Maritime Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 1820, several lightships have served at the Chesapeake lightship station and have been called Chesapeake...
, and the Seven Foot Knoll Light
Seven Foot Knoll Light
The Seven Foot Knoll Light was built in 1855 and is the oldest screw-pile lighthouse in Maryland. It was initially installed on a shallow shoal, Seven Foot Knoll, at the mouth of the Patapsco River...
.
Identity controversy
For some time there was controversy over whether or not the 1854 sloop was a new ship or a rebuilt version of the 1797 frigate. Much of the controversy was created when the city of Baltimore promoted the ship and even rebuilt sections of the ship to resemble the 1797 frigate. Geoffrey M. Footner maintained the view in his book, USS Constellation: From Frigate to Sloop of War, that she was in fact, the original frigate though greatly modified. Additionally, when the ship was to be rebuilt in the 1990s, naval historians who favored the theory that the ship was indeed the 1797 original relied on three main points:- Some of the funds used to build the sloop were originally allocated to rebuild the frigate.
- Some timbers from the broken-up frigate were used in the construction of the sloop.
- The frigate was never formally stricken from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel RegisterThe Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
— a wooden, sailing man-of-war called Constellation was continuously listed from 1797-1955.
Supporting the position that they are different ships are the facts that the sloop was designed anew from the keel up (without reference to the frigate) and was planned to have been built even if the frigate had not been in the yard during that period. In March 1989 researchers Dana M Wegner and Colan Ratliff from the David Taylor Research Center came upon the builder's hull half model
Half hull model ship
A half hull model ship is a wooden model ship featuring only one half of a boat's hull without rigging or other fixtures.-Background:...
of the Constellation in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum
U.S. Naval Academy Museum
The United States Naval Academy Museum is a public maritime museum in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. Being part of the United States Naval Academy, it is located at Preble Hall within the Academy premises. Its history dates back to 1845 . The museum has an area of with four galleries.It is...
. This was important because half models are only built for new designs, not rebuilds, and the use of half models was introduced after 1797. Besides evaluating the half model the researchers also reviewed all the evidence used in the debate to date, concluding with the help of FBI and BATF forensics that many of the rebuild supporting documents were forgeries. In 1991 they published their findings in a paper titled, Fouled Anchors: The Constellation Question Answered and concluded that they are different ships. The proof advanced in this report was confirmed during the 1999 renovation. At that time evidence was uncovered pointing to the construction of an entirely new sloop-of-war of the 1850s era.
External links
- Historic Ships in Baltimore
- HNSA Web Page: US Sloop of War Constellation
- Navsource Image Archives for USS Constellation - IX-20
- The Question of the USS Constellation Ship history and summation of the ongoing controversy, with images
- U.S.S. Constellation, Baltimore City, including photo in 2003, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Radio-Controlled Model: Site contains a History section with information and images of the ship, as well as chronicling the construction of a 1:36th scale working model.