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| Rob and James arrive in Baltimore! |
Rob and James went to Baltimore one day and explored many attractions. In this blog, come along as we explore an historic sailing ship called the U.S.S. Constellation. There's even a couple of ghostly encounters to boot!
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| Baltimore Skyline! |
THE U.S.S. CONSTELLATION - The oldest sailing ship in existence that has been rebuilt. Well, we learned that the bottom two levels of the ship were pretty intact, but the top two decks had to be mostly rebuilt. The ship was originally built at the Sterrett Shipyard, Baltimore, Md., and launched on September 7, 1797.
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| Did you know the U.S.S. Constellation captured 3 slave ships and returned slaves to Africa? |
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| A model of the U.S.S. Constellation |
SOME HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS- The ship went to the West Indies. Then on February 9, 1799 the ship and crew captures the
French 40-gun frigate L'Insurgente in battle off Nevis, West Indies. According to www.historicships.org, on February 1, 1800 the ship engaged the 52-gun frigate Vengeance in a lengthy battle.In 1804 it cruised widely throughout the Mediterranean. On May 20, 1815, the Constellation sailed from New York and joined in the capture of the Algerian frigate Mashuda on June 17, 1815. On July 25, 1820, it sailed for the first time to Pacific waters. In 1827, Constellation acted briefly as flagship for the West India
Squadron on a twofold mission involving the eradication of the last of
the pirates and the interception of slavers operating in the area. In the 1840s the ship was involved in the Gulf of Mexico for the Seminole uprising, the Opium Wars, Hawaiian Islands and various South American ports.
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| A poem about how slavery is un-Christian |
After being decommissioned in Boston in August 1858, the ship was put back in service in 1859 and became the flagship of the African Squadron, Constellation was stationed off the Congo River on November 21, 1859, where she
captured the brig Delicia and freed and returned hundreds of slaves back to Africa.
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| Baltimore's Inner Harbor on this hazy, summer day |
ROB SEES A GHOSTLY BOY -
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| James at the ship's bow |
Since I have the ability to sense ghosts and spirits, it was no surprise that I sensed one on the ship. I've heard stories about a boy being a powder monkey (one that helped bring gun powder to cannoneers) who passed away. But the boy I clearly saw looked like this: He had brown hair in a bowl cut, and had green eyes. He was wearing black pants and boots. He had a long-sleeved white shirt with three buttons down from the center of the neck. He had a small dark colored vest on over the shirt. He was still walking around the ship and was "one of the crew."
According to the Shadowlands website, In 1822 a boy was serving aboard
as a surgeon's
assistant. He was
stabbed to death by two other sailors, though it is not known
why.
Psychic
Sybil Leek once confirmed that the boy's spirit is still
aboard
the ship.
NEXT: EXPLORING THE DEPTHS OF THE SHIP AND MORE GHOSTLY ACTIVITY
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| Saving the Ship - July 2, 1999 the ship renewed |
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| Constellation's giant mast |
