Reply To: All at Sea – British Builds, Part One

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

Thank you for another truly enjoyable post. I greatly appreciate the post-Trafalgar history of HMS Victory. The decline and eventual destruction of naval vessels is so often glossed over that most people are completely unaware of how long-lived these vessels actually were. On this side of the pond we have a pretty spotty history preserving our historic vessels.

Just after WWII, Congress passed legislation to allow the preservation of four historic ships. USS Constitution was funded for preservation by the Navy and remains in Charlestown, Massachusetts, as a gem of our maritime past. The Constellation, Hartford and Olympia were to be handed over to private foundations for preservation. Hartford, Farragut’s flag during the Civil War, sadly sank at the wharf before it could be transferred and was dismantled shortly after. The Constellation still exists in Baltimore, Maryland. It was preserved as a relic of the beginnings of our Navy being one of the original six frigates funded by Congress in the 1790s. Wrong. The vessel is actually a rebuild of the same name dating to 1854. There is little, if any, of the original Constellation‘s material incorporated in the later ship. But the tradition that this was the oldest commissioned US Navy ship far outlived its usefulness–though I wonder if the ship would have been preserved at all if the truth had been widely known.

Finally, the USS Olympia, Dewey’s flag at the Battle of Manila Bay, is still afloat in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A few years ago it was in deep financial trouble. The dire warning that the Navy would tow it out and sink it as an artificial reef if it could not be properly preserved has not come to pass. But I’ve not kept up with the drama so I don’t know the current status. A few years ago my wife and I travelled to Philly just to see the Olympia. That was what I wanted to celebrate my birthday. However, it was off-season and the ship was open to the public only a few days a week and we had chosen poorly. I’ve yet to step foot on perhaps my favorite ship of all time.

Well, now I’m rambling…. Thanks again for taking us along on your fleet builds. Great stuff.

P.S. Anybody familiar with the age-of-sail novels of Chris Durbin? I’m currently reading the second of six in the series. Highly recommended.

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/