On this date in 1797, one of six frigates authorized by the Naval Armament Act of 1794 was launched in Boston. Safe to say, it outlasted the other five. The frigate Constitution entered service to battle pirates and protect a young country’s global maritime concerns, but its success during the War of 1812 began a legacy that’s lasted more than two centuries. It’s impossible to sum up the history of the world’s oldest active commissioned warship afloat in a few words, but this passage from the London Times, courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command’s Constitution website, comes pretty close.…
Browsing: Navy History
The USS Olympia served as Adm. George Dewey’s flagship during the Spanish-American War and brought the body of World War I’s “Unknown Soldier” home from Europe in 1921. Since 1957, it’s been pierside in Philadelphia as a museum ship. But now, as funds are drying up, the ship has three potential fates: Move homeports, get sunk or get scrapped. The Philadelphia waterfront’s Independence Seaport Museum can no longer afford to take care of the ship. Officials have looked for three years for new caretakers but time is running out. Of a handful of groups that have expressed interest, two are still…
