National Museum of American History | Preserving the Gunboat Philadelphia @SmithsonianAmHistory | Uploaded August 2023 | Updated October 2024, 17 hours ago.
As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026, your National Museum of American History has embarked on its next great challenge: to save an extraordinary piece of history that played a direct role in the founding of the United States. Built in 1776, the gunboat Philadelphia is the nation’s oldest accessible warship and is in desperate need of specialized care to ensure that it can be preserved for future generations.
As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026, your National Museum of American History has embarked on its next great challenge: to save an extraordinary piece of history that played a direct role in the founding of the United States. Built in 1776, the gunboat Philadelphia is the nation’s oldest accessible warship and is in desperate need of specialized care to ensure that it can be preserved for future generations.
