In 1991 our office wrote a technical report finding that the ship Constellation displayed in Baltimore was not a frigate of 1797, but a sloop-of-war built in 1853. Copies of our 200 page report, Fouled Anchors: The Constellation Question Answered (1991) can be obtained for a fee through the Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, 5825 Port Royal Road, Springfield VA 94942; (703)487-4650. Ask for report AD A241-916. A PDF version of the report and some related articles can be downloaded from the following links:

• Fouled Anchors: The Constellation Question Answered [24MB]
• “An Apple and an Orange: Two Constellations at Gosport, 1853-1855,” The American Neptune 52, #2 (Spring, 1992) [2MB]
• Query and Response, The American Neptune 52, #4 (Fall, 1992) [240KB]
• “The Frigate Strikes Her Colors,” The American Neptune 55, #3 (Summer, 1995) [2.6MB]
• Dana Wegner, "Exhuming the Constellation", Naval History 17, #3 (June 2003): 24-30. Courtesy of Naval History magazine. [Links to article on U.S. Naval Institue web site - requires registration to access]
• Geoffrey Footner's Book, USS Constellation: From Frigate to Sloop: A Critical Review. Illustrated presentation delivered by Dana Wegner at the USS Constellation Symposium, Baltimore MD, April 30, 2003.
• Time Line and Annotated Bibliography of "The Constellation Question," 1848-2003 [118KB]
• Detailed Commentary on Geoffrey Footner's book, USS Constellation: From Frigate to Sloop (Commentary coming soon)

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