USS Merrimack Bell
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An authentic watch bell from the frigate USS Merrimack, built in Boston Navy Yard and commissioned in 1856. During her years of service in the United States Navy, the ship traveled to the West Indies and to Europe as well as the Pacific coast of South and Central America. In 1861, retreating Union forces burned and sank Merrimack to prevent her capture by Confederates. The blaze may have damaged the bell, the heat causing the bronze to soften and leaving it vulnerable to a blow or a fall. The Confederates later repaired the hull and converted the frigate into the ironclad CSS Virginia.
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