While this leather-bound storage chest is typical of the era, the brass plates on it tell the story of its owners and a friendship formed at sea. John Lord, who served as a gunner on USS Constitution from 1824-1828, placed a brass plate, engraved with his name and his personal motif of crossed cannons and a stack of cannon balls, on the chest’s lid. But it is the other small brass plate, marked “J.H. Ward,” on the front that broadens the story. James Harmon Ward was a midshipman who entered the U.S. Navy in March 1823. He served on Constitution during the Mediterranean Cruise from October 1824 until July 1828, the same period as Lord. In the close and personal confines of a frigate, the midshipman and the gunner had to know each other.
The chest may have been a parting gift between the two men, or Ward may have received it after Lord’s untimely death from illness in 1829. Ward clearly cherished the piece, and maintained Lord’s nameplate while adding his own. Perhaps inspired by his friend, Ward went on to become an expert in gunnery and ordnance and even authored an important work on those subjects. He died in 1861, the first U.S. naval officer killed in the American Civil War. 🇺🇸 ⚓
📷 From the USS Constitution Museum Collection
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James Harmon Ward's portrait is on view at the Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis.
Did you know that the Museum is housed in Charlestown Navy Yard’s “Building 22,” the Pump House for Dry Dock 1? Also called the “Engine House,” the building opened in 1833 to drain the water from the dock to enable repairs to USS Constitution. Once the ship was in place and a wooden caisson sealed off the dock from Boston Harbor, the Pump House's giant steam pumps worked for six hours to drain the water and make the ship’s hull accessible for repairs. By the time USS Constitution entered Dry Dock 1 again, the pumping mechanism had been relocated and Building 22 was now the offices of the restoration supervisor and his staff. Today, visitors entering the Museum walk directly over the location of the original pump wells that first drained the dry dock for Constitution. #Preservation
📷 “Elevations and Sections of Building 22”, May 1872. [Courtesy Boston National Historical Park/National Park Service, BOSTS-13373.]
![Did you know that the Museum is housed in Charlestown Navy Yard’s “Building 22,” the Pump House for Dry Dock 1? Also called the “Engine House,” the building opened in 1833 to drain the water from the dock to enable repairs to USS Constitution. Once the ship was in place and a wooden caisson sealed off the dock from Boston Harbor, the Pump Houses giant steam pumps worked for six hours to drain the water and make the ship’s hull accessible for repairs. By the time USS Constitution entered Dry Dock 1 again, the pumping mechanism had been relocated and Building 22 was now the offices of the restoration supervisor and his staff. Today, visitors entering the Museum walk directly over the location of the original pump wells that first drained the dry dock for Constitution. #Preservation
📷 “Elevations and Sections of Building 22”, May 1872. [Courtesy Boston National Historical Park/National Park Service, BOSTS-13373.]](https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/440572088_832789648883202_2492358950390952320_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=gSd5sAZGi1AQ7kNvgH7sIss&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&cb_e2o_trans=t&edm=AKIiGfEEAAAA&oh=00_AfChnS3_T98QcYHGLDYNT075opBCwATGkcFMM1-A94IfXg&oe=6639CB00)
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Summer begins! 👏 The Museum switches to Summer hours beginning tomorrow, May 1st. We'll be open from 9:30 am- 5:00 pm daily! Plan your visit: bit.ly/4aVJB7v
☀️ ⚓
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A Bucket List item and a Must See
Awesome.
Thank you to everyone who made last week's Council of American Maritime Museums annual conference a special one. Our time together included tours of Dry Dock 1, Boston's North End, and culminated in a sunset cruise in Boston Harbor, which offered spectacular views of the city. #huzzah to all, and thank you to everyone for the opportunity to host! See you next year!
#museumlife
#CAMM
📸 Images of the Museum and USS Constitution by Arlan Fonseca, Courtesy National Park Service
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Thank you for being such outstanding hosts!
All hands ,make Ready, the Lady is coming threw!!
