Visitors to Baltimore should make a special trip to see the last all-sail ship built in the U.S. and the last Civil War ship in existence. Built in 1854, the USS Constellation has a proud history. As the flagship of the Navy's African Squadron, the ship led the fight against slave trafficking for the three years before the Civil War, and served in the Mediterranean Sea as a deterrent to Confederate cruisers during the war.
Among the Museum's best exhibits is Black Sailors in Navy Blue, which focuses on the untold stories of the thousands of African American soldiers who served in the Navy during the Civil War. Several fun, hands-on exhibits give visitors the opportunity to haul the lines that hoist the sails, visit the galley to learn all about dining at sea, and man a Civil War naval cannon on the gun deck.
