The USS OLYMPIA was commissioned February 5, 1895. Her first assignment was that of Flagship for the Asiatic Fleet. This led to the historical day at Manila Bay when Commodore Dewey turned to Captain Gridley and ordered "Fire when ready." OLYMPIA's guns were the first to cry out, leading to the destruction of Spain's Asian Fleet. In OLYMPIA's 27 years of service, she performed a variety of duties until perhaps her most honorable mission came in 1921 when she sailed for Le Havre, France to take the remains of the Unknown Soldier of World War I from there to Arlington Cemetery. In 1922, OLYMPIA was decommissioned in Philadelphia. Today, the Navy's oldest steel ship, still afloat, is preserved as a shrine by the Cruiser Olympia Association. She was launched in San Francisco, California in 1892. She is similar to many early steel warships built in Philadelphia for the US Navy. Cruiser OLYMPIA was decommissioned in 1922 and has been part of Independence Seaport Museum’s Historic Ship Zone since 1996.

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