Ships ahoy: touring famous vessels provides a glimpse into America's rich maritime heritage

Travel America, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Ellen Clark

LOUISIANA

Delta Queen, Delta Queen Steamboat Company, Robin Street Wharf, 1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans; (800) 543-1949; www.deltaqueen.com. Sister ship to Sacramento's Delta King, the Delta Queen was also launched in 1927 to run trips from Sacramento to San Francisco. However, after World War II it was bought by Greene Line Steamers and crated and towed to New Orleans. After extensive renovations, the ship began running luxury cruises. Today passengers are wined and dined in elegant surroundings as they cruise the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

MARYLAND

U.S.S. Constellation, 301 East Pratt St., Baltimore; (410)539-1797; www.constellation.org. The U.S.S. Constellation was launched in 1854 and is the only surviving Civil War-era naval vessel and the last all-sail war ship built by the U.S. Navy. After a $9-million overhaul, the ship was returned to Baltimore's Inner Harbor in June of 1999. Three decks are open to the public, with one of the highlights being firing the ship's new cannon, a replica of the actual armament that would have been onboard during the Civil War.

MASSACHUSETTS

U.S.S. Constitution, Charleston Navy Yard, Pier 1, Boston; (617) 242-5670; www.uss constitution.navy.mil. Launched in 1797, the U.S.S. Constitution was made from some 1,500 trees felled from Maine to Georgia. Its ability to deflect endless cannon shots during the War of 1812 gained it the nickname Old Ironsides. The 54-gun frigate's top two decks are open to the public.

MISSISSIPPI

U.S.S. Cairo, Vicksburg National Military Park, 3201 Clay St., Vicksburg; (601) 636-0583; www.nps.gov/vicldcairo. The U.S.S. Cairo was one of the first of the ironclads, so called because they were sheathed in iron. Built by the U.S. Navy, it plied the Mississippi River during the Civil War. Believed to be the first vessel sunk by an electronically detonated mine, the U.S.S. Cairo was sunk in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg in 1862, where it remained until it was salvaged in 1964. Today visitors can walk around the ship's perimeter, check out the engines and boilers, and look up into the pilot house.

NORTH CAROLINA

U.S.S. North Carolina, Cape Fear River, Wilmington; (910) 251-5797; www.battle shipnc.com Commissioned in 1941 and known as "The Showboat," the U.S.S. North Carolina was considered to be the United States' greatest sea weapon. During World War II it participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific, earning 15 battle stars. Visitors can tour nine decks of the battleship and get a real feeling for life during wartime by visiting the galley, sick bay, mess hall, and crew's quarters.

OHIO

William G. Mather, 1001 E. Ninth St. Pier, Cleveland; (216) 574-6262; www.wgmath er.nhlink.net. A floating maritime museum is housed in this restored 1925 Great Lakes freighter. Visitors can explore the four-story cargo holds, engine room, upscale passenger staterooms, dining rooms, galley, and brass-and-oak pilothouse of this 618-foot ship.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Yorktown, Clamagore, Laffey and Cutter Ingham, Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, 40 Patriots Point Road, Mt. Pleasant; (843) 884-2727; www.patriotspoint.org. Among the ships at this maritime museum, the U.S.S. Yorktown serves as the centerpiece. This heavily decorated aircraft carrier served in World War II and Vietnam, and was later used as the location for the film The Fighting Lady. The Savannah was a nuclear merchant ship. The Clamagore was a World War II-era submarine that was used as an experimental alternative to oil-burning cargo ships. The Laffey participated in the D-Day landings of Allied troops at Normandy. The Coast Guard Cutter Ingham sank a U-boat in World War II.