The merchants of Baltimore celebrated Maryland's ratification of the United States Constitution on April 28, 1788, by building a 15-foot (4.6 m) miniature ship called Federalist.

[1] The ship was designed by Joshua Barney, a native of Baltimore and commodore in the United States Navy.

[2] Federalist was the centerpiece of a parade in Baltimore before being sailed by Barney down the Chesapeake Bay and up the Potomac River to Mount Vernon to be presented as a gift to George Washington.

[6] In October 2010, it was reported that the surveyors "... found sonar signals that may indicate that a boat of the Federalist['s] size is present.

She is painted in the colors of the flag of Maryland (red, white, black, and gold) and decorated with other state symbols.