Est. 1854 · National Historic Landmark · Only major combat vessel still afloat that actively served in the American Civil War · Last all-sail warship built by the U.S. Navy · African Squadron service against the transatlantic slave trade
The USS Constellation at Pier 1 in Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a sloop-of-war launched on August 26, 1854 at the Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard. She is the second U.S. Navy ship to carry the name; the original 1797 frigate Constellation was disassembled in 1853 at Gosport, and a small amount of its materials was salvaged for the new 1854 sloop — a continuity that for decades caused historical confusion about the ship's true age. Modern scholarship has firmly dated the present vessel to 1854.
Constellation served in the African Squadron from 1859-1861, capturing three slave ships and freeing roughly 700 enslaved people before delivering them to Liberia. During the Civil War she served in the Mediterranean Squadron, protecting Union shipping interests and intercepting Confederate commerce raiders. She continued in active naval service through the late 19th century, including a stint as a training ship at the U.S. Naval Academy, and saw a final wartime role during World War II as a relief flagship of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet stationed at Newport, Rhode Island.
The ship was transferred to a citizens' organization in Baltimore in 1955 and has been a museum vessel ever since. She is the only major combat vessel still afloat that actively served in the American Civil War and the last all-sail warship built by the U.S. Navy. The ship was extensively restored in the 1990s to reverse decades of inaccurate alterations.
Today Constellation is the flagship of the Historic Ships in Baltimore fleet, which also includes the USCGC Taney, the submarine USS Torsk, and the Lightship Chesapeake. Historic Ships in Baltimore is a 501(c)(3) operating in partnership with the city. Admission to Constellation is part of a combination ticket covering the fleet.
Sources
- https://historicships.org/explore/uss-constellation
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constellation_(1854)
- https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-100000/NH-100174.html
- https://www.southernspiritguide.org/radiance-and-translucency-baltimore-maryland/
- https://tourbaltimoreghosts.com/the-haunted-uss-constellation/
- https://myfamilytravels.com/pots-and-pans-float-on-their-own-at-this-baltimore-maryland-ghost-ship/
ApparitionsPhantom soundsPhotographic anomalies
The USS Constellation's paranormal folklore is unusual in that much of it is anchored to specific named individuals tied to the historical record — though some confusion follows from the long-running mix-up between the 1797 and 1854 ships. According to Tour Baltimore Ghosts, Haunted Houses, and other paranormal-tourism sources, the most commonly cited apparition is that of Captain Thomas Truxtun, first commander of the 1797 Constellation, said to appear in old-fashioned naval uniform on the forecastle and lower decks.
A second figure is Seaman Neil Harvey. Harvey was court-martialed for cowardice during the February 9, 1799 engagement in which the 1797 Constellation captured the French frigate Insurgente, and was executed by being tied to a cannon and blown apart on Truxtun's order. Ghost lore describes him as a shimmering, indistinct form, often interpreted as the way Harvey now 'sees himself.' Reports of an 11-year-old powder boy stabbed by two sailors and a sailor who hanged himself aboard ship round out the historical-era cast.
The most modern figure in the ship's lore is Carl Hansen, the Constellation's longtime watchman until his death in 1963. Hansen is described as so attached to the ship that he continues to walk it after death, sometimes giving informal tours to visitors who later realize he matched no living staff member. A 1955 photograph by Lt. Cmdr. Allen Ross Brougham is frequently cited in older paranormal literature as 'proof' of ghostly activity, though it is debated.
The Constellation appears in regional paranormal television features and remains a staple of Baltimore ghost-tour itineraries.
Notable Entities
Captain Thomas TruxtunSeaman Neil HarveyCarl Hansen (former watchman, d. 1963)An unnamed powder boy
