Navy Week gets under way in Chicago

This is Navy Week in Chicago, and visitors to Navy Pier will get an up-close look at some Navy warships.

The ships are on their first scheduled cruise in the Great Lakes since 1999, and they’ll be docked at Navy Pier for tours.

The sailors aboard are celebrating Navy Week and the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. That war was fought in part on the Great Lakes and led to a treaty in which the U.S. and Canada agreed to demilitarize the Great Lakes.

Navy Week leads up to Chicago’s annual Air and Water Show over the weekend, featuring performances by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight team.