us navy photo, nhhc
situation more difficult was that the Navy had reasonable concerns that the rotting ship might not even survive the transit down the coast and around Florida to Mobile. Hartford’s pumps were more active than ever. Officials investigated using a floating drydock to get her to the Gulf Coast. That meant more money, and, with the UDC lobbying against the project, Mobile was having trouble raising funds. Meanwhile, the residents of Connecticut reconsidered. Early in 1954, letters in local newspapers voiced support for bringing Hartford “to a suitable resting place in Connecticut waters.” The governor told Connecticut’s Congressional delegation that “every effort should be made to have her brought to” Connecticut, rather than Alabama. He was specifically looking at Mystic Seaport Museum. The museum (above) USS Hartford at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, after World War II, deteriorating at the dock. USS Midway (CVB41) is to the right in the background.
us navy photo, nhhc
leadership considered it an honor to host Hartford but lacked the millions of dollars needed to get her there. The state was not offering any financial help. Logistics were complicated by the fact that the ship was too big to navigate the Mystic River. The governor suggested a floating drydock like the Navy wanted for Mobile, but again offered no funding. Everyone involved seemed to expect someone else to foot the bill. By June 1954, the governor concluded “that there seems to be no present likelihood that the ship can be berthed in Connecticut.” Back in Mobile, the city missed its deadline. New Orleans made a last-minute push to get the ship, even going so far as to raise some funds and pick out possible sites to berth the ship as a museum attraction. Doubting anyone would save the Hartford, in early 1956 the Navy once again
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During USS Hartford’s long life, she was associated with many historic events and noteworthy people amongst her ship’s company. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, served in her on his second class cruise while a midshipman at the US Naval Academy, 1903. His signature can be seen at the bottom of this photo. SEA HISTORY 176, AUTUMN 2021