Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Bachrach & Chase Practice Ship Constellation

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.01.0028 Author/Creator: Bachrach & Chase Place Written: s.l. Type: Photograph Date: Pagination: 1 albumen : b&w ; 27.7 x 35.5 cm. Order a Copy

One undated photograph entitled, "Practice Ship Constellation," printed by Bachrach & Chase. Image is of the U.S.S. Constellation which was the last Civil War vessel afloat, that launched August 26, 1854 and was the last all-sail warship built by the U.S. Navy.

Some of the timbers from the original Constellation (1797) were used to build the new ship. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Constellation made the first Union Navy capture, overpowering the larger Triton, a slaver brig in coastal waters off Africa. She then spent two years on the Mediterranean station attempting to capture the Confederate commerce raider Sumter. She also served briefly with Farragut's Gulf Blockading Squadron, was a receiving ship at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1865, used as Naval Academy practice ship for midshipmen from 1873 - 1892, and a training ship for the Naval Training Center in Newport, R.I. from 1893 - 1920.

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