This sailing frigate served as a floating classroom for midshipmen at the end of it's life. The USS Santee had a slow start. Shipbuilders at the Portsmouth Navy Yard started the ship back in 1920 but a lack of funds caused the USS Santee to remain unfinished for years. In 1855, the boat was finally launched but didn't get commissioned until 1861. The Union Navy used the boat in the Union Blockade. 

In September 1862, the USS Santee was sent to Boston Navy Yard to be refitted for a school ship. From there it was sailed to Newport, RI where midshipmen lived, studied and trained on the ship in 1912. After the Civil War, the ship was returned to Annapolis. It remained there until it sank at her mooring. The boat was sold and was raised in May 1913. The new owners towed it to Boston where it was burned for the copper and brass of the hull.