Haul Away: NRC Baltimore Sailors Move Historic Ship to New Berthing

Photo By Chief Petty Officer Patrick Gordon | BALTIMORE, Maryland (May 31, 2022) - Yeoman 2nd Class Diandre Lashley of Navy Reserve Center (NRC) Baltimore mans a mooring line of historic ship USS Constellation as the ship eases into its new berth in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Navy Reserve Center Baltimore Sailors assisted in shifting USS Constellation to its new berth at Pier 1 as part of a working relationship between the command and Historic Ships in Baltimore, an organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of several historic ships and sites in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.  

BALTIMORE, MD, UNITED STATES

05.31.2022

Story by Chief Petty Officer Patrick Gordon 

Navy Office of Information, Media Content Operations-Navy Reserve Component

On a muggy spring day, and with little more than strong backs and handling lines, the sloop-of-war USS Constellation had its creaking wooden hull eased into a new berthing by able Sailors in Baltimore, Maryland. But this scene did not play out among the backdrop of the Civil War; nowhere were the bearded First Mates and Confederate spies, replaced instead by the tourists of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Long gone were Sailors of the Navy’s Africa Squadron, the ship being handled this day by personnel of Navy Reserve Center (NRC) Baltimore.

The NRC Sailors were on hand May 31, 2022 as part of working relationship between the command and Historic Ships in Baltimore, an organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of several historic ships and sites in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The Constellation’s shift from the Inner Harbor’s west wall to Pier 1 in the Inner Harbor was the culmination of more than 20 years of work and two years of construction on the ship’s new visitor’s center. Constellation had shifted to the west wall during the center’s construction and was moved back to its original berth thanks to the help of the Reservists.

“It takes many hands – many hands make light work,” said Christopher Rowsom, Historic Ships in Baltimore executive director. “The ship is set up so that line handling is pretty much done from the pier. So we set everything aboard, and all of the naval personnel came over here to Pier 1 to actually catch the lines and make them fast.”

The Constellation was the last sail-only ship of the U.S. Navy, designed and built in 1854. But the modern Reservists quickly acclimated themselves to the technology of the 19th century and helped manually turn the capstan to lift the gangplank and haul heavy canons from their gun ports prior to slipping the ship from its moorings. Once the heavy equipment had been moved, the Reservists departed the ship for a walk down the harbor to the Constellation’s new berth and awaited its turnaround from two tugboats in the harbor.

After skillful guiding by the tugboats, the Reservists stood ready to take the historic ship the rest of the way into its new slip. Historic Ships crew aboard the Constellation threw its handling and mooring lines to the Sailors on the pier, where they hand-over-hand hauled her into the new berth and made her fast to the pier.

USS Constellation’s story is a proud though often overlooked part of U.S. Navy history. The sloop of war in Baltimore’s inner harbor is the second Navy ship to bear the name Constellation, taking its name (and some original materials salvaged from) the original frigate Constellation built in 1797. The sloop of war Constellation was commissioned in 1855 and became the flagship of the U.S. Africa Squadron, serving to end the Atlantic Slave Trade. During the American Civil War, she acted as a blockade ship in the Mediterranean disrupting commerce between the Confederacy and European trade. She would perform a variety of roles in the post-Civil War era, including carrying relief cargo during the 1879 Irish famine and serving as a training ship for midshipmen.

The Constellation played a major role in the nation’s 1914 celebration of the Star Spangled Banner centennial. Then Acting Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the ship restored to her appearance in 1814, the Navy having mistaken the sloop of war Constellation for the original Frigate. Regardless of the misconception, Constellation served as a majestic backdrop to the celebration after it was towed into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

“The Constellation’s part in that celebration, and her overall history, are some of the reasons NRC Baltimore has such a love of that ship,” said NRC Baltimore Command Master Chief Jermaine Francis. “Our staff have held lots of events on the Constellation – promotions, retirements, history and heritage overnights – because it’s such a huge part of the Navy and Baltimore’s shared histories. And because our command is next door to Fort McHenry, we call our Chiefs the ‘Star Spangled Chiefs Mess. Knowing that the Constellation played a part in the Star Spangled Banner’s centennial celebration gives us just one more connection to America’s history.”

She was finally decommissioned for good in 1955 and transferred permanently to Baltimore, where several organizations have maintained her over the intervening years. And the Baltimore Reservists recognize their part in keeping the ship’s history alive.

“It’s quite actually quite an honor,” said Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Christopher Hall, NRC Baltimore Boat Shop leading petty officer, and lead Navy representative for the Constellation berthing shift. “Once I caught wind of this opportunity I jumped on it and so did my team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deal, and all of us are proud to be here.”

• Date Taken: 05.31.2022
• Date Posted: 06.08.2022 13:28
• Story ID: 422502
• Location: BALTIMORE, MD, US