USS Constellation Relic Spike and Wood
Plaque from Ship Launched in 1854

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USS Constellation Relic Spike and Wood Plaque
USS Constellation Relic Spike and Wood Plaque
USS Constellation Relic Spike and Wood Plaque
American: c. 1955-59 (from ship c. 1854)
12.5 x .75 inches, copper spike
16 x 4.75 inches, oak plaque
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.

A souvenir relic plaque made of a copper spike and wood salvaged from the USS Constellation, launched in 1854 and now on exhibit in Baltimore.  During the ship's restoration in the late 1950s, wood and other construction materials removed from it was made into souvenirs.  Among these relics were wooden gavels, an example of which was sold by George Glazer Gallery and can be viewed on our web site here.

The first USS Constellation, a frigate, was launched in Baltimore on September 7, 1797.  In 1799, it won the first ship versus ship victory of the U.S. Navy, capturing the French frigate Insurgente in the West Indies.  It also participated in campaigns against Barbary and Caribbean pirates and in the War of 1812.  In 1853, it was decommissioned and broken up at the navy yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. 

The present USS Constellation, a sloop-of-war, was launched in 1854.  It was used for anti-slavery and naval patrols during the Civil War.  After 1869 it was used as a training ship for midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy.  The ship was decommissioned in 1893, although it was periodically used thereafter for training in rigging sails and for ceremonial purposes.  By 1946, the Constellation was at the Boston Navy Yard and eventually arrived in Baltimore for restoration in 1955.  It is now open to the public as a museum in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland.

A brass identification tag affixed to the offered relic states “Plaque Made from Plank and Spike Removed from Hull of US Frigate Constellation Built in Baltimore 1797."  It should be noted, however, that the reference to the frigate Constellation built in 1797 is apparently an error; the spike and wood are almost certainly from the second Constellation, a sloop-of-war built in 1854, which as explained above was made into numerous souvenirs after its 1955 restoration, and which still can be visited in Baltimore Harbor.

References:

“Constellation History.”  USS Constellation.  http://www.constellation.org (15 April 2003).