Military
2
After the War of 1812, the shipyard helped repel an invasion of Craney Island, and the USS Chesapeake was captured off Nova Scotia. Gosport continued to expand and improve. The keel of the USS Delaware was laid in the summer of 1817, and the ship, launched October 21, 1820, was one of the largest warships in the world. Construction of the first graving dock in the Western Hemisphere began in November 1827. On June 17, 1833, during the administration of President Andrew Jackson, who had twice visited to watch the dock's construction, the USS Delaware became the first American vessel to be dry docked. Dry Dock 1 continues to be utilized.
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Portsmouth, Virginia · United States
