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I appreciate the recommendation! I'd add another recommendation, too, for anyone interested in that period of naval history - specifically, when it becomes rea

I appreciate the recommendation! I'd add another recommendation, too, for anyone interested in that period of naval history - specifically, when it becomes reasonable to do so again, I'd recommend visiting both Constitution in Boston, and Constellation here in Baltimore. Constitution is the last surviving of the "six original frigates" referenced in Toll's title, and the oldest ship in the world still in commission; one of Constitution's sisters was the original Constellation, and her second-generation namesake here in Baltimore represents the final evolution of the design to which Constitution and her sisters were built. Naval warfare in the Age of Sail is a minor interest of mine, enough so that I've read a good deal about it and even written a little. But nothing else I've found has given me the same sense of what those ships really were than walking their decks and being in their spaces has done. Granted, even that isn't "real", in that visiting a museum can't possibly give a true sense of what it's like to serve or even go to sea aboard one of these ships in her time of greatness. But, short of signing aboard as a mate with one of the museums whose ships do still sail, I think visiting these ships is about as close as anyone can expect to come - and, either way, it's very much worth doing in its own right, for anyone who shares the interest.

jaegerpicker 6y ago
I'd also recommend Old Fort Niagra and the US Niagra on Lake Erie/Ontario. Also read about Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie. I believe it's still the largest recorded fresh water naval battle in history and quite a great story. Also if you are visiting the Constitution in Boston I'd highly recommend the Boston Tea Party Museum and Ships. It's a slightly earlier period obviously but it was a fantastic experience IMO and walking the working ships there was great. Like you the Age of sail and especially the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 are interests of mine. My interest started after reading the Aubrey/Maturin series which I can't possibly recommend highly enough. I agree with you walking the decks or walls of the forts is irreplaceable if you are in to the history.
5555624 6y ago
>But, short of signing aboard as a mate with one of the museums whose ships do still sail, I think visiting these ships is about as close as anyone can expect to come - and, either way, it's very much worth doing in its own right, for anyone who shares the interest. Even then, on a museum ship, you're probably not going to be woken up, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the Atlantic, to furl sails due to a storm. (Summer 1981, on the USCGC Eagle.)
- throwanem 6y ago
  Fair, I suppose I should've included Coast Guard OCS as an option for getting a sense of what Age of Sail sailing might have been like! I feel like that's a relatively extreme way of going about getting such experience, but if nothing else it'd show a creditable degree of dedication to the study.
davidw 6y ago
I can confirm. Got to see the Constitution after reading that book and it made it all the more fascinating.
chasil 6y ago
Interesting that what has not been mentioned in this thread today is the Hartford Convention. The constitutional amendments proposed there involved (from the wiki): - Prohibiting any trade embargo lasting over 60 days; - Requiring a two-thirds Congressional majority for declaration of offensive war, admission of a new state, or interdiction of foreign commerce; - Removing the three-fifths representation advantage of the South; - Limiting future presidents to one term; - Requiring each president to be from a different state than his predecessor. (This provision was aimed directly at the dominance of Virginia in the presidency since 1800). It would be an interesting country had this come to pass. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Convention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Convention
- throwanem 6y ago
  Just one country? That seems a bold assumption.

jaegerpicker 6y ago

I'd also recommend Old Fort Niagra and the US Niagra on Lake Erie/Ontario. Also read about Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie. I believe it's still the largest recorded fresh water naval battle in history and quite a great story. Also if you are visiting the Constitution in Boston I'd highly recommend the Boston Tea Party Museum and Ships. It's a slightly earlier period obviously but it was a fantastic experience IMO and walking the working ships there was great. Like you the Age of sail and especially the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 are interests of mine. My interest started after reading the Aubrey/Maturin series which I can't possibly recommend highly enough. I agree with you walking the decks or walls of the forts is irreplaceable if you are in to the history.

5555624 6y ago

>But, short of signing aboard as a mate with one of the museums whose ships do still sail, I think visiting these ships is about as close as anyone can expect to come - and, either way, it's very much worth doing in its own right, for anyone who shares the interest. Even then, on a museum ship, you're probably not going to be woken up, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the Atlantic, to furl sails due to a storm. (Summer 1981, on the USCGC Eagle.)

throwanem 6y ago
Fair, I suppose I should've included Coast Guard OCS as an option for getting a sense of what Age of Sail sailing might have been like! I feel like that's a relatively extreme way of going about getting such experience, but if nothing else it'd show a creditable degree of dedication to the study.

davidw 6y ago

I can confirm. Got to see the Constitution after reading that book and it made it all the more fascinating.

chasil 6y ago

Interesting that what has not been mentioned in this thread today is the Hartford Convention. The constitutional amendments proposed there involved (from the wiki): - Prohibiting any trade embargo lasting over 60 days; - Requiring a two-thirds Congressional majority for declaration of offensive war, admission of a new state, or interdiction of foreign commerce; - Removing the three-fifths representation advantage of the South; - Limiting future presidents to one term; - Requiring each president to be from a different state than his predecessor. (This provision was aimed directly at the dominance of Virginia in the presidency since 1800). It would be an interesting country had this come to pass. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Convention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Convention

throwanem 6y ago
Just one country? That seems a bold assumption.