The Haunted USS Constellation
Posted: 11.11.2024 | Updated: 11.11.2024
Since 1955, the USS Constellation has been a landmark vessel of the city’s Inner Harbor. She is truly one of a kind, being the last sail-only warship that the United States Navy ever built. Though decommissioned, she spends her days regaling tourists with tales of war and victories. Yet, there is more to her than old timber and canvas sails. For there are rumors of things that lurk below deck that mortal eyes can not describe.
The streets of Baltimore are steeped in the history and blood of the United States. The city served as our nation's capital during the early months of the Revolution. The famed Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 cemented our national anthem. Some of the first violent acts of the Civil War were committed in these streets. Yet, one could argue that the most fascinating anecdotes of American history aren’t found on its land but in its waters.
Why Is The USS Consetllation Haunted?
Whispers of things shivering on the timbers of the USS Constellation have circulated since the 1960s. Many believe these spirits are soldiers who lost their lives aboard the ship.
Like the sailors of yore who used constellations to sail the seven seas, let us take you on a journey and discover the fate of those who linger still. But this is not all that Baltimore has to offer. For those of you yearning for more spooks and scares, book a tour with Baltimore Ghosts and discover a history drenched in black deeds, dark waters, and vengeful ghosts.
USS Constellation: The Last Starship
The USS Constellation was commissioned in 1854 by the United States Navy as the last sail-only vessel the country would ever produce. She served with the Meteriannian Squadron for three years, protecting American interests in Spain during a revolution and protecting American commerce off the waters of Cuba.
In 1859, she became the flagship of the African Squadron. The squadron’s main goal was to capture slave ships and free their inhabitants.
Slavery was still legal in the United States at the time, but kidnapping free people from Africa had been outlawed since 1807. However, U.S. merchants were still keen to make a profit from this barbaric trade.
During her tour, The Constellation was able to capture three slave ships, freeing 705 captured Africans. Yet there was no time to celebrate.
Back home, the Confederate army had just fired on Fort Sumter. The American Civil War had begun. The Constellation was sent home not to stave off foreign adversaries or slave ships but to fight her own brothers.
The truth of the matter was that the Constellation saw little action at the home front, for war had little need for a sail-only ship. By this time, iron and steam had replaced canvas and wood. The ironclad ships had become the dominant naval forces of the North and South.
The Constellation would not have stood a chance.
Instead, she was sent back to the Mediterranean to protect Union merchants from Confederate ships. She might have been weaker than the ironclads, but she was faster. And she was in a familiar place performing a familiar task. Outmaneuvering the Confederates was child’s play.
Despite the Constiellation’s continued success, she was still plagued with tragedy. And those whose lives ended on the ship during her service may still be lurking within.
Dead Men Tell No Tale
Even though Constellation has seen her fair share of war, it is believed that the majority of the deaths that happened on board were the result of workplace accidents. Stories permeate of sailors falling off the masts or being crushed by the rigging.
There’s a gruesome tale of a mad sailor who took his own life on the upper deck by fashioning a noose from the rigging. Rumor has it that at night, you can hear the groaning of a swinging rope on the upper deck. And if you were to look up the rigging, you might just see the silhouette of a hanged man.
The Constellation even has a ghost story during her years of active service.
It’s said they kept a prisoner below deck who saw the spirit of two former shipmates who wanted him to sing for them while they danced. A corporal went below to tell the prisoner to stop singing, where he noticed that a stack of pots and pans was floating above the deck.
Today, people have seen a wide range of bizarre and unexplainable things. Some have heard phantom footsteps throughout the ship, while others have sworn they have actually seen spirits walking the deck or peering through the gun ports.
More than once, people have discovered themselves talking to “tour guides” in period clothes only to learn that guides do not exist and are not part of ship tours.
What's In A Name?
After the war, the Constellation had a quiet but eventful life. In 1871, she was refitted as a training ship for the Naval Academy, carried exhibits to the France Exposition in 1878, and ran supplies to Ireland during their famine in 1880.
In 1914, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the “Star-Bangled Banner,” the then Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt had the ship restored to how it appeared in 1814. This is an odd statement, especially since the Constellation wasn’t built until 1854.
Or was she?
For most of the 20th century, there had been a long-standing belief that the USS Constellation, built in 1854, was actually the same ship as the frigate Constellation, built in 1797. This ship had an eerily similar history to its 1953 counterpart. It protected American interests overseas, was part of the Mediterranean Squadron, and went overseas to fight during a time of war.
It wasn’t until the 1990s, and after copious amounts of research, that it was agreed upon that both ships were entirely different. They just happened to have the same name and extremely similar backgrounds.
It’s scary to think about such a landmark and icon of American Naval history being smeared with a salacious scandal if you can even call it that.
Haunted Baltimore
But that’s not the only scary thing you can find in Baltimore. We have tons of more haunted and scary stories on our website. And for those of you wanting to do more than just read about ghosts, then book a tour with Baltimore Ghosts.
Keep reading our blog for more content on Baltimore’s most haunted places! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more spooky content.
Sources:
https://historicships.org/explore/uss-constellation
https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/board-the-uss-constellation.htm
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/uss-constellation-ship-inner-harbor-spooky-tours/62775963
https://www.pbs.org/video/fur-fest-4f9rkd
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimores-uss-constellation-shares-its-ghost-stories/13106954\
Book A Tour Baltimore Ghosts Tour And See For Yourself
Join us on a ghost tour through Baltimore’s historic Fells Point as we recount authentic stories from Baltimore’s bustling colonial days to Edgar Allan Poe, and the resulting hauntings and ghosts that lurk in the dark alleys and cobblestone streets.
Steeped in maritime history, tragedy, and death, Baltimore was a city where pirates and cut-throats feared to sail. Take a Baltimore ghost tour to explore this dreaded outpost, and discover a history drenched in black deeds, dark waters, and vengeful ghosts.