Shipwrecks - Time Capsules of Human Civilization

Philadelphia's Rich Nautical History - Part I USS Olympia

At Penn's Landing, the oddly-looking warship with a slanted bow is one of the most decorated ship of the United States Navy. The USS OLYMPIA was the flagship of the Asiatic Squadron and was launched on November 5, 1892 from her San Francisco-based Union Iron Works builder . Her official commissioning was on February 5th, 1895 where she assumed her role as the squadron's flagship under the leadership of Captain John J. Read. It is the only naval vessel from the American Spanish-American War fleet still in existence.

OLYMPIA is one of the most significant vessels in United States history as she  was the flagship of Commodore Dewey in his victory over Admiral Montojo's Spanish Squadron at the Philippine's Manila Bay. On May 1, 1898, OLYMPIA devastated the Spanish fleet, beginning the Spanish-American War. This victory by OLYMPIA enabled the world to acknowledge the United States as a major force on the world's oceans and won fame for her most famous officer, Commodore George Dewey. It was from OLYMPIA's bridge that Dewey remarked, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." OLYMPIA continued her distinguished serve throughout World War I and was later decommissioned in 1922. She can be visited at the Independence Seaport Museum and makes for a wonderful weekend family outing.

Philadelphia's Rich Nautical History - Introduction

Lately, I have been flying out of the Philadelphia Airport more and more. It is not to say that it is any easier to get to than Newark or the other New York-based airports. However, as I travel southbound from Nautical Research Group's central-New Jersey office on Interstate 95, through Philadelphia Center City, along the Delaware River, I get a sense of elation as I see a huge spectrum of our country's nautical history along the river banks.  I am truly amazed at how much maritime heritage ( and the diversity of ships and their related time-frames) is within plain view as we travel towards the airport. Every time I drive through this section of Interstate 95, I am craning my neck to see all the fabulous vessels that defined our history. 

For my next series, we will give a brief description of many of the tremendous ships that are docked in a brief five mile section of Interstate 95.  The diversity of ships is staggering and is literally a living text book on American nautical history. Within the Penn's Landing section, we will visit the USS Olympia, the flagship of Admiral Dewey during the Spanish-American War. Our next part of this series will be a tour of the Moshulu, the largest four-masted sailing ship in the world that was built in 1904, and now serves as a fine dining restaurant. The final ship in Penn's Landing that we will visit is the USS Becuna Submarine. This veteran of World War II completed 5 battle patrols and later served our country during the Cold War. Moving further southward from Penn's Landing is the beautiful ocean liner SS United States. Last month, we did a segment on the SS United States ( http://shipwreck.blogs.com/shipwrecks_historical_tim/2005/03/united_states_s.html ) and I hope to revisit this ship within the next eight weeks. Our last segment will be an overview of the Philadelphia Naval Yard, our countries oldest and most historic ship yard. Many of our most decorated naval ships were either built or served in this ship yard.  I hope that you enjoy our tour of Philadelphia's great nautical history!