Independence Seaport Museum - Visiting a War ship Part 3

Launched in October 1892, the USS Olympia became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after returning to the U.S. in 1899, but was returned to active service in 1902.

She served until World War I as a training ship for naval cadets and as a floating barracks in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1917, she was mobilized again for war service, patrolling the American coast and escorting transport ships.

Following the end of World War I, Olympia participated in the 1919 Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, and conducted cruises in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas to promote peace in the unstable Balkan countries. In 1921, the ship carried the remains of World War I'sUnknown Soldier from France to Washington, DC, where his body was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. Olympia was decommissioned for the last time in December 1922 and placed in reserve.

News room....

Officer's Country....they slept in these areas and had a huge open area to eat and socialize.

Had 6 pounder guns on both sides of the room...

This ship was well armed...

The machine shop so that parts could easily be fixed and created as needed.

The Berth Deck....yep, soldier's would sleep in those hammocks hanging from the ceiling.

The Scuttlebutt or water filtration system.

Print room where the newsletter was created

Barbershop

Operating room and medical area.

 This ship was huge....we were all exhausted walking.

The recovery area/sick bay.

The Chapel

 Joey checking out the firepower.

Kitchen....

This was rather interesting.  The cooks or their helpers would sometimes lose the money for food during bets or spend it unwisely and then the sailors would have to make do and not get their proper food rations because of their stupidity.

 The tables would swing from the ceiling.  They were raised and lowered for meals.  You can see the wooden table on the ceiling.

The Admiral's Quarters....he got the big guns!!!

 On the top of the ship...

This was a great experience.  We all learned so much visiting both the inside museum and the ship/submarine.  We would definitely recommend this museum for the large amount of information that we had presented to us!!

The highlight for everyone though was definitely the submarine.  The only one who didn't want to visit the sub again was Brayden.  So we waited for the others to visit it again.

Next stop......Atlantic City....Steel Pier and Abscon Lighthouse.