Maritime Treasures

Today's New York Times reports on the sad state of some national maritime treasures.

The most urgent and saddest case is USS Olympia, Commodore Dewey's flagship at the battle of Manila Bay in 1898.

I toured Olympia almost thirty-five years ago when my ship was being overhauled at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The ship's guns had been removed (possibly during a WWII scrap metal drive) and had been replaced with hollow metal tubing. Still, it was possible to imagine the ship speeding through the warm waters of Manila Bay, evading Spanish mines, that long ago May night, closing at dawn on the Spanish Fleet, when Commodore Dewey turned to the ship's captain and said, "you may fire when ready, Gridley."

The most impressive part of the tour below decks was the engine room. Her massive reciprocating steam engines could propel the nearly 6,000 ton ship at a speed of 20 knots.

Olympia was ordered in 1888, only five years after the first four ships of the modern steel navy were authorized by Congress. Her design incorporates the lessons learned from building the first four ships (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Dolphin) of the new steel navy. It did not yet have the benefit of operational experience with the "ABCD" ships.

Olympia's paint job, with white hull and buff masts and stacks was the peacetime paint scheme of US Navy ships of the day. Before going into battle in 1898, she was repainted in haze gray.

USS Olympia is the only ship of her era still afloat. A true national treasure. We need to find a way to preserve her.