The U.S.S. Constellation, located at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Pier 1, 2002:  First placed in commission in July, 1855, the U.S.S. Constellation is the last all sail warship built by the U.S. Navy. (Her keel was laid and construction begun in 1853, just before steam propulsion was adopted as auxiliary power for all new warships.) Over the course of a century, she served her country in a number of varied roles. Before the Civil War, she served as the flagship of the African Squadron, on anti-slavery patrol off the coast of Africa. During the Civil War, she both served in blockading squadrons and protected U.S. merchant ships from confederate raiders. For much of her life after the Civil War, she served as a training ship for naval academies and training centers, but also filled other valuable roles, such as carrying relief supplies to famine starved Ireland in the 1880s. Following World War II, in 1955, the Constellation was brought to Baltimore for restoration and preservation as a public museum. (For more information, see www.constellation.org.)

Digital photo; Michael Tormey; June, 2002.