Vacation Part 4: U.K. James and U.S.S. Constellation - Lower Decks and Ghosts!

Squinting in the 100F heat!

This is part four of our regional tour for our friend James. This is the second part of exploring the U.S.S Constitution ship that is docked in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. In this blog we take you to the bottom decks of the ship where there was some ghostly activity!


REMINDER: WHAT IS 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.

 

Captain's quarters

This is the dining area in the rear of the ship.

Hammocks

THE RESTORATION AND THE ANNIVERSARY! - The ship was literally wearing out and the top two decks really had to be re-built. The bottom two levels, however, remained pretty well intact, although the bottom of the boat was apparently not sea worthy, so boards were re-fitted and planks were glued together to make it waterproof. It turns out that we were visiting on the 15th Anniversary of the day the U.S.S. Constellation came back into the port of Baltimore's Inner Harbor (it was returned on July 2, 1999).

BELOW DECKS  - The third level had the hammocks where the crew slept, and they stretched from front to back of the ship. It was eerie looking!
WHAT IS A WARDROOM ? 
  In the back of the ship was the Wardroom. According to Wikipedia, the wardroom is the mess-cabin of naval commissioned officers above the rank of midshipman.

 

Wardroom

   It provides a place of recreation as well as being a dining room. Usually, a galley or scullery adjoins the wardroom. Service is provided by stewards. There is usually a bar, where drinks can be purchased.
 Around the perimeter of the Wardroom were bedrooms /cabins for all of the commanding officers and the chaplain.
 

LOTS OF GHOSTLY ENERGY IN THE WARDROOM - 
Because I can sense ghosts and spirits- I can also sense areas where there was a LOT of emotional energy. I didn't  know what room I was walking into when I entered the Wardroom.  

Wardroom sign

   What's strange is that as I stepped through the doorway I felt the air was HEAVY inside the Wardroom. So, I stepped back into the main room where the hammocks were and the air was lighter (there was no air conditioning in the ship, and it was 100F outside). So, to test this feeling I stood at the doorway between rooms and went back and forth about 6 or 7 times. It was still heavy in the Wardroom and light in the main room.
  WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?  - It means that there was a lot of STRESS in the Wardroom. A lot of high emotional energy happened there. As I learned who resided in the room it made perfect sense. That's the room where all of the important decisions pertaining to the ship would usually happen!  So, the commander's emotions left an "energy thumbprint" in the room that I sensed.

Rob outside the creepy surgeon's room

Surgeon's Room

  

THE SURGEON'S ROOM AND GHOSTLY SICKNESS - This was located in the bow (front) of the ship. James said it felt claustrophobic, and I did NOT feel good in there. Obviously people were very ill - upstairs on deck 2, before I reached this deck I did get a feeling of flu-like symptoms and learned that there were outbreaks of Yellow Fever and Typhoid Fever.  There were also a lot of bottles of medications on display.

This is the hold on deck 4 (bottom)

James walking through the hold

HUNCHED OVER IN THE HOLD - Since James is 6 feet 2 inches, the Hold, or the bottom (4th) deck was not his favorite place to walk around!  He had to hunch over. Of course, for the most part, I could walk upright (I'm 5'6").   The hold is also where the brig (jail) was located - at the back of the ship.

That concludes our tour of the U.S.S. Constellation!
MY SHORT VIDEO TOUR : http://youtu.be/KyA9ZZXtYs4


NEXT: TOURING THE U.S.S. TANEY - THAT SURVIVED THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR... and a special dog!

Vacation Part 3: U.K. James: U.S.S. Constellation and a Ghost

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!

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.

Did you know the U.S.S. Constellation captured 3 slave ships and returned slaves to Africa?

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.

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.

Baltimore's Inner Harbor on this hazy, summer day

ROB SEES A GHOSTLY BOY -  

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

 

Saving the Ship - July 2, 1999 the ship renewed

Constellation's giant mast