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NavigationNational Cruise First Barbary War (1803-1805) 1920s Save "Old Ironsides" Campaign Women in the Navy Apprentice Training Squadron USS Constitution in Popular Culture U.S. Naval Academy School Ship Captain John and Mrs. Caroline Gwinn James Sever Collection Ira Dye Collection on Early Seafarers Gunner George Sirian Escaping a British Squadron Commander Charles Stewart Midshipman Pardon Mawney Whipple Gunner John Lord Commander William Bainbridge Purser Thomas J. Chew Battle with HMS Cyane and HMS Levant Marines Commander Isaac Hull Ship Portraits Construction and Launch War of 1812 Souvenirs Battle with HMS Guerriere Medicine Life at Sea Navigation Arms and Armament Battle with HMS JavaNavigationNational Cruise First Barbary War (1803-1805) 1920s Save "Old Ironsides" Campaign Women in the Navy Apprentice Training Squadron USS Constitution in Popular Culture U.S. Naval Academy School Ship Captain John and Mrs. Caroline Gwinn James Sever Collection Ira Dye Collection on Early Seafarers Gunner George Sirian Escaping a British Squadron Commander Charles Stewart Midshipman Pardon Mawney Whipple Gunner John Lord Commander William Bainbridge Purser Thomas J. Chew Battle with HMS Cyane and HMS Levant Marines Commander Isaac Hull Ship Portraits Construction and Launch War of 1812 Souvenirs Battle with HMS Guerriere Medicine Life at Sea Navigation Arms and Armament Battle with HMS Java
CATEGORY
Navigation
To safely travel the world’s oceans, USS Constitution’s crew required a variety of navigational tools and a detailed knowledge of how to use them. Whether avoiding dangerous shoals along the coast or estimating their location on the open ocean, Constitution’s officers followed a strict navigation routine and paid close attention to the ship’s progress. Distances to land were regularly recorded in the logbook, and, when out of sight of land, the ship’s speed and direction by the compass were tracked every hour.
Scientific advances during the 18th century, including the invention of the seagoing chronometer and publication of the nautical almanac, led to new methods of determining a ship’s position out of the sight of land. Midshipmen were educated daily in the mathematics of geography and astronomy, but Constitution’s officers also relied on much older methods to track the ship’s position. Sophisticated tools like the sextant were used to determine position from observation of the sun and stars, while simple tools like the telescope and sounding lead helped crew keep an eye out for dangers and stay in deep water.
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