USS Stewart ( DE - 238 ) USS " Stewart " ( DE – 238 ) is an " Edsall " class destroyer escort , the third United States Navy ship so named . This ship was named for Rear Admiral Charles Stewart ( 28 July 1778 – 6 November 1869 ) , who commanded USS " Constitution " during the War of 1812 . The " Stewart " is one of only two preserved U . S . destroyer escorts and the only surviving example of her class . Operational history . The third " Stewart " ( DE - 238 ) was laid down at Houston , Texas , by Brown Shipbuilding on 15 July 1942 ; launched on 22 November ; sponsored by Mrs . William A . Porteos , Jr . ; and commissioned on 31 May 1943 , Lieutenant Commander B . C . Turner , USNR , in command . " Stewart " remained at Houston until 10 June , when she shifted to Galveston . She entered the drydock there on the 14th and exited on the 16th . The following day , she got underway for New Orleans , Louisiana , where she reported for duty to the Commandant of the 8th Naval District and to the Commander , Operational Training Command , Atlantic Fleet ( COTCLANT ) . The destroyer escort departed New Orleans on 22 June to conduct shakedown training in the vicinity of Bermuda ; completed it a month later ; and sailed for Philadelphia . After six days at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , Stewart headed south to Miami , Florida , from whence she operated , conducting patrols and exercises , until 29 October . She put to sea ; headed north ; and , on the 31st , arrived at Norfolk , Virginia . Convoy duty . After a cruise up the Potomac River , during which she visited Quantico , Virginia and the Washington Navy Yard , " Stewart " commenced a tour of duty training prospective destroyer - escort crews out of Norfolk . That assignment continued for the next three and one - half months , broken only by two temporary assignments escorting convoys from Tompkinsville , New York , to the Virginia Capes area . On 17 March 1944 , she sailed from Norfolk for Tompkinsville ; arrived there the next day ; and put to sea , on the 19th , in the screen of a convoy bound — via NS Argentia , Newfoundland — for Reykjavík , Iceland . She returned to Tompkinsville on 10 April and sailed for Norfolk on the 12th . She arrived there on the 13th , drydocked from the 14th to the 16th , and joined the screen of convoy Task Unit ( TU ) 29 . 6 . 1 on 25 April . " Stewart " sailed with her convoy via Aruba in the Netherlands West Indies and made Cristobal in the Panama Canal Zone on 3 May . The following day , she put to sea with the convoy and escorted it as far as Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . There , she parted company with the other ships and steamed independently to Bermuda . The destroyer escort arrived at Port Royal on 10 May and , for the next week , made experimental attacks on the captured Italian submarine " Rea " . From the 18th to the 23rd , " Stewart " participated in a search off Bermuda for an unidentified radio direction finder contact . She made one depth charge attack on the 18th , but the results were inconclusive . On the 23rd , she put back into Port Royal and remained there four days . " Stewart " departed Port Royal again on the 27th , this time in a hunter - killer group composed of USS " Rhind " and USS " Wainwright " , in addition to herself . On 3 June , the three warships rendezvoused with convoy UC 24 , and the group sailed north . " Stewart " was detached on the 8th and , on the 9th , put into Boston , Massachusetts . On the 25th , she shifted to Casco Bay , Maine , and the following day , conducted antisubmarine warfare ( ASW ) exercises with the captured Italian submarine " Vortice " . On the 27th , she sailed south to Norfolk . " Stewart " arrived on the 29th and put to sea again on 1 July in the escort of convoy UGF 12 . The destroyer escort screened the convoy to Naples , Italy , where it arrived on 15 July . She departed Naples on 21 July in the screen of the return convoy , GUF 12 , and moored at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 3 August . In mid - August , she returned to Casco Bay for two days of training ; then she entered drydock at Boston on the 17th . She was refloated on the 21st and soon got underway to join another convoy at Norfolk . " Stewart " arrived at Norfolk on 22 August . On the 24th , she began another voyage to Naples , returning to the United States at New York City on 26 September . When she shifted to Casco Bay on 9 October , she took up ASW training again with " Vortice " . On 20 October , she returned to Boston , from whence she sailed two days later in the screen of convoy CU 44 . On that same day , Stewart dropped four depth charges at a sound contact but had to abandon the search and rejoin the convoy . She entered the River Clyde and moored there on 2 November . Eight days later , the destroyer escort sailed for the United States and arrived in New York on 22 November . Following another round of ASW training off Nantucket Island , this time with the Italian submarine " Mameli " , she departed Boston on 10 December in the screen of another convoy . Ten days later , she entered Plymouth Sound . On the night of 23 / 24 December , she shifted to the Isle of Wight where she joined another convoy getting underway for America . Between January and June 1945 , " Stewart " , escorted three more convoys to England , one to Falmouth and two to Liverpool . Between each round - trip voyage , she trained off the New England coast . On the return voyage from the second of these missions , " Stewart " was called - upon to assist SS " Saint Mihiel " in fighting fires caused by a collision with SS " Nashbulk " . Following her final voyage to England , " Stewart " put into the New York Navy Yard for 18 days of availability . On 24 June 1945 , she departed New York for Norfolk , arriving there on the 26th . After a brief stop , she continued on to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , where she conducted training exercises from 30 June until 12 July . Transfer to the Pacific . She cleared the area on the 12th in company with USS " Edsall " and USS " Moore " . The three warships transited the Panama Canal on 16 July and made San Diego on the 24th . Four days at the Naval Repair Base followed ; then USS " Wilhoite " joined " Stewart " and the other two destroyer escorts as they headed for Pearl Harbor on the | 28th . The formation reached Pearl Harbor on 4 August , and " Stewart " conducted training , first with USS " Spearfish " , then with USS " Baltimore " until 5 September when she departed for the west coast . She stopped at San Diego from 11 to 13 September ; then continued on to the Canal Zone . Reserve status and decommissioning . She retransited the canal on 22 September and made Philadelphia on the 27th . One month later , " Stewart " reported for duty to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia . " Stewart " was placed out of commission , in reserve , in January 1947 at Green Cove Springs , Florida . " Stewart " changed berthing areas three times between 1947 and 1969 — first to Charleston in 1958 , then to Norfolk in 1959 , and finally to Orange , Texas in 1969 . In 1972 , the destroyer escort underwent inspection and survey and was found to be unfit for further naval service . Consequently , her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 October 1972 . Museum ship . On 25 June 1974 , USS " Stewart " and the Gato - class submarine " Cavalla " were donated by the U . S . Navy to the city of Galveston for use as part of Seawolf Park , a memorial to the Texans who lost their lives in World War II located on Pelican Island . Both vessels were placed , in their entirety , on land , overlooking the city . Neglect . Over the years , a lack of maintenance , the elements and vandalism had left the " Stewart " and " Cavalla " in extremely poor material condition , with corrosion and missing equipment serving as their most prominent features . In 1996 , the U . S . Navy was considering reclaiming the vessel and placing it in the care of the Carnegie Institute with the intention of moving the ship to Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , on the condition that a metallurgical analysis found that the hull was in sufficient condition to be re - floated . In October 1998 , the Galveston Parks Board announced its intention to scrap both vessels and turn Seawolf Park into an RV park . After a protracted public battle , the Parks Board allowed the " Cavalla " Historical Foundation to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the vessels . Current restoration . As of 2006 , a significant restoration effort was underway for " Stewart " , with extensive sandblasting , repainting and repairs aimed at returning the ship to its wartime appearance . In addition , work is currently underway to correct a number of inaccuracies , including the ship ' s mast , which currently originates from the Buckley - class USS " Holton " . Induction into the National Register of Historic Places . On 11 November 2007 the USS " Stewart " was officially inducted into the National Register of Historic Places in a formal ceremony held in conjunction with regular annual Veterans Day activities . Captain C . W . " Swede " Andersen , President of the Texas Navy Association , Dwayne Jones , Executive Director of the Galveston Historical Foundation , Lyda Ann Thomas , Mayor of Galveston and a host of other dignitaries were present for the ceremony . Hurricane Ike . On 13 September 2008 the " Stewart " suffered extensive flooding and wind damage as a result of Hurricane Ike . While Hurricane Ike hit Galveston as a strong Category 2 storm , most of the damage resulted from the category 5 - equivalent storm surge . Repairs and restoration are continuing .