Nebraska Postcard

From the archives, here is a 100 year old postcard featuring the Moran built USS Nebraska. Although the ship was launched in 1904, it was not commissioned until the summer of 1907 at the Bremerton Naval Shipyards. Robert Moran had moved to Orcas Island in 1905 and started building Rosario in 1906, leaving his brothers to complete the construction of the battleship.

U.S. Navy Inspector Lt. Robert Coontz wrote of the commissioning “The Nebraska was placed in commission July 1, 1907. She had a full Marine Guard, a complete band, a few in the engineers department, and only two on deck – a quartermaster and a seaman. We started to coal the ship the morning after she was commissioned, having only the musicians in the band to do the work…”

Those poor musicians...