Climb aboard Olympia, the oldest steel warship still afloat in the world

In addition to the ship's roles in the Battle of Manila Bay and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Olympia escorted other vessels as a convoy during World War I.

"One of my favorite fun facts is that she was so fast that she would actually outpace the convoy she was escorting," Greg Williams, manager of historic ships at the Independence Seaport Museum, told Business Insider. "She could do a top speed of 22 knots, whereas the merchant ships could only maybe do 10, 12 knots, and so she actually had to zig-zag back and forth to keep pace with the merchants who were sailing in a straight line."

Olympia also carried out humanitarian relief missions and sailed the world to serve as a symbol of American might and protect American interests abroad — part of President Theodore Roosevelt's philosophy to "speak softly and carry a big stick."

Olympia was decommissioned in 1922 and has served as a museum since 1957.

The river's fresh water helps preserve the historic ship since it's less corrosive than salt water.

Officers worked under Olympia's captain and admiral to manage the operations of the ship and its crew.

During battle, the wardroom functioned as the ship's sick bay.

At two-and-a-half stories tall, Olympia's custom-built engines were larger than most on ships of a similar size to prioritize speed.

The furnaces were numbered to help crew members distribute the coal evenly in an ordered sequence so as not to snuff out any of the fires.

At top speed, Olympia burned through over 600 pounds of coal per minute.

Sailors were required to wash up after shoveling coal so they wouldn't track soot all over the ship, much of which was painted white.

The living arrangements offered little privacy.

Williams said the hammocks were taken down and stored during the day "to prevent anyone from taking a nap."

"The original heads would have had panels between the seats so you're not elbow-to-elbow, but it's not a whole lot," Williams said.

Everything a sailor owned had to fit in one box.

Olympia was one of the first ships to feature refrigeration, allowing the crew to enjoy cold water.

The exact origin of the name "scuttlebutt" is unknown, but Williams said he's looking into it.

Purchases in the ship store came out of the sailors' pay.

The galley featured a coal-burning stove and copper kettles lined with lead.

"The Navy was so concerned that copper would leach into the food and affect the health of the sailors," William said. "All they knew about lead back then was it was an inactive metal, it didn't rust, and it heated nicely. They tried."

The 5-inch, 51-caliber deck guns could shoot up to 10 miles and fire nine rounds in one minute.

Olympia's 5-inch, 40-caliber breech-loading rifles could fire distances of up to 6 miles, but were replaced by more advanced weaponry in World War I.

As the highest-ranking leaders on Olympia, Dewey and Gridley worked, ate, and slept in their stateroom.

The wood was damaged in places, but it appeared amazingly well-preserved.

"At this point in time, the Navy is kind of a de facto arm of American foreign policy, so you have admirals who are given a lot of leeway, especially compared to today, about making agreements with foreign powers," Williams said. "So if Dewey, or whoever the admiral is, wants to sign a treaty with somebody, they will do it here right next to this thing that they're going to enforce that treaty with."

The plaque reading May 1, 1898, the date of the Battle of Manila Bay, is original to the ship. So is the Olympia's bell.

The Independence Seaport Museum hosts weddings where couples can get married on the deck of the ship or inside the museum with a ceremonial gun salute.

Marines stood guard over the casket for the entire 15-day journey from Le Havre, France, to Washington, DC. The soldiers latched themselves to the casket to keep themselves from going overboard.

Dewey commanded the Battle of Manila Bay from the pilothouse.

Dewey famously began the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 with the command, "You may fire when ready, Gridley." Gridley received the instruction while stationed in the conning tower.

The "Victory" figure is shown holding a ribbon that reads "Gridley, you may fire when ready."

The memorial was first mounted on Olympia's forward turret, then moved to the front of the conning tower before its permanent exhibit near the ship's exit.

The US does not have the largest navy in the world. That distinction belongs to China.

Much of the US Navy's post-Cold War shipbuilding projects have been plagued with issues causing them to run over budget and behind schedule, which could prove disastrous in a war with China.

At his joint address to Congress in March, President Donald Trump announced a new White House office to "resurrect the American shipbuilding industry" to produce new ships "very fast, very soon."