Guided Tour Programs

Powder Monkey Tour

The USS Constellation invites youngsters, six years old and up, to come aboard to learn about the lives of the young boys who served as powder monkeys during the Civil War. Young "recruits" will find out through demonstrations and hands-on activities, how lads from eleven to eighteen lived in President Lincoln's Navy. Powder Monkey Tours provide the visitors with an exceptional glimpse into mid-19th century American naval life through the unique perspective of the young boys who served on fighting ships as powder monkeys.

Black Sailors in Navy Blue Tour

Historic Ships in Baltimore interpreters offer this tour aboard USS Constellation. Learn about the experiences of the tens of thousands of sailors of African descent who served at sea during the American Civil War. These sailors, from freedmen along the Southern coast to old New England salts, enlisted in President Lincoln's navy and by 1865, the last year of the Civil War, black sailors constituted 20 percent of union naval enlistments. The Black Sailors in Navy Blue walking tour helps examine the work these men did, what their shipboard life was like, and how their experiences may have varied throughout the fleet.

A Ship as a Machine Tour

This walking tour includes demonstrations and one hands-on activity: Bracing the Yards. This tour examines the purpose, design, and construction of sailing warships and focuses on those aspects of Constellation's build that make her uniquely suited for the role she played. Basic questions are also considered such as:

"If the wind blows to the right, why does not the ship move to the right?"

"What keeps the ship from turning over in the water?"

"How are warships built differently than merchant ships?"

Note: this tour is slightly longer (about 1.5 hours) due to the multiple hands-on activities included

Constellation 101: An Adult Tour

This tour is targeted to adult groups. The Constellation 101 Tour provides an overview of the ship’s history and a comprehensive walk-through fore-and-aft, spar-deck-to-hold. Hands-on activities punctuate the tour and bring into focus some of the tasks associated with service aboard a mid-19th century, all-sail, man-of-war.

Constellation Fights the Slave Trade

USS Constellation is distinguished for her three years of service in the African Squadron from 1859 to 1861, when as the squadron's flagship she led the United States' fight against the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved people. With the outbreak of the Civil War, armed combat against slavery soon moved beyond the bounds of the sea and consumed the nation. While the war itself marks a well-known era in American history, USS Constellation stands as an important reminder of the pre-war struggles of people, both enslaved and free, and the conditions that made the war and shaped the nation. Learn about the ship's role in combating the international slave trade, and her capture of the slave ship Cora in 1860.