USS Constitution

The USS Constitution, popularly known as "Old Ironsides," is one of the most storied vessels in American naval history and one of Boston's most celebrated landmarks. A three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy, she is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat. The oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world still calls its birthplace—Boston—home, having been launched in 1797 from Hartt's Shipyard in the North End as one of six original frigates that formed the core of the fledgling United States Navy in the 1790s. Today she remains permanently berthed in the Charlestown Navy Yard and continues to serve as an active-duty United States Navy vessel, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year as the anchor of Boston's Freedom Trail.

Construction and Design

Named by George Washington in honor of one of the nation's founding documents, the USS Constitution is one of the six original frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. While six were authorized, only three were completed. The ship was designed by Joshua Humphreys and built by Edmund Hartt's Boston shipyard. Her keel was laid down on 1 November 1794 at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts, under the supervision of Captain Samuel Nicholson, master shipwright Colonel George Claghorn and Foreman Prince Athearn of the Martha's Vineyard Athearns.

Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sister ships were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. Constitution's hull was built 21 inches (530 mm) thick, and her length between perpendiculars was 175 ft (53 m), with a 204 ft (62 m) length overall and a width of 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m). Total construction cost was about $302,000.

In total, 60 acres (24 ha) of trees were needed for her construction. Primary materials consisted of pine and oak, including southern live oak which was cut from Gascoigne Bluff and milled near St. Simons Island, Georgia. Enslaved workers were used to harvest the oak used for the ship's construction, and USS Constitution Museum historian Carl Herzog stated that "the forced labor of enslaved people was an expediency that Navy officials and contractors saw as fundamental to the job." Paul Revere made the ship's copper fastenings. The first two attempts to launch the vessel into Boston Harbor failed; a third attempt to launch into Boston Harbor succeeded.

Active Service and the Nickname "Old Ironsides"

Her first duties were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War. After the war, the Constitution would see service with the U.S. Navy's Mediterranean Squadron, sail around the world in 1843, and conduct anti-slavery operations as part of the African Squadron. She was often the flagship of the assembled naval force.

The USS Constitution was launched in 1797 to protect American merchant vessels and grew in fame during the War of 1812 when it won three marquee battles against England. In addition to capturing numerous merchant ships, the Constitution defeated five British warships. Her most famous sea battle was against the HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia in August 1812. It was during this engagement that the ship earned her celebrated nickname: USS Constitution earned her nickname "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812 when she fought the British frigate HMS Guerriere. Enemy cannonballs appeared to bounce harmlessly off her thick oak hull, astonishing observers on both sides of the battle.

As the Mediterranean Squadron Flagship, Constitution patrolled the Mediterranean protecting vital trade routes and American diplomatic interests. Amid Greece's struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire, Constitution's strategic presence as part of the Mediterranean Squadron prevented the eruption of a broader Mediterranean conflict.

Preservation, Poetry, and the Save "Old Ironsides" Campaign

Built at a time when wooden sailing vessels lasted only 10 to 15 years, the Constitution was saved from the scrap yard when public opinion was galvanized to save the ship in 1830 by the publication of the Oliver Wendell Holmes poem "Old Ironsides." The poem, written in protest of a Navy proposal to demolish the ship, sparked a nationwide public campaign that forced officials to reconsider. When the Civil War broke out, the USS Constitution was used as a training ship for the U.S. Naval Academy, which had relocated to Newport, Rhode Island.

Although still in dry dock during the celebration, the USS Constitution would carry valuable artwork to France for the Paris Exhibition of 1878. She was deemed unfit for service three years later. In 1896, Old Ironsides was towed to the Charlestown Navy Yard for her centennial celebration. Over the course of the next several years, different proposals were discussed, including returning the ship to active service, designating her as a museum, and using the ship for target practice. When news of the last suggestion spread, a storm of public protest forced Congress to restore the ship. She began to serve as a museum ship in 1907.

Sponsored by the Elks Lodge, a public campaign was initiated that encouraged schoolchildren to donate pennies to help refurbish the ship in 1925. The campaign raised more than $600,000. Congress appropriated the rest of the money needed to save the historic vessel.

The ship embarked on a National Cruise in a show of gratitude to the many people who contributed to the Save "Old Ironsides" Campaign. Towed by the minesweeper USS Grebe from port to port between 1931 and 1934, Constitution visited over 70 cities on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts.

Constitution broke loose from her dock on 21 September 1938 during the New England Hurricane and was blown into Boston Harbor, where she collided with the destroyer Ralph Talbot; she suffered only minor damage. Constitution and USS Constellation were recommissioned in 1940 at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt. The United States Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating Constitution in 1947, and an Act of Congress in 1954 made the Secretary of the Navy responsible for her upkeep. A subsequent Congressional Act, Public Law 83-523, designated Boston as the ship's official home port.

Notable milestones continued well into the twentieth century. On 10 July 1976, Constitution led the parade of tall ships up Boston Harbor for Operation Sail, firing her guns at one-minute intervals for the first time in approximately 100 years. On 11 July, she rendered a 21-gun salute to Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrived for a state visit. The royal couple were piped aboard and privately toured the ship for approximately 30 minutes with Commander Martin and Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf. Upon their departure, the crew of Constitution rendered three cheers for the Queen. This is the only time a sitting British monarch has ever stepped foot on Constitution's decks.

In 1997 and 2012, she sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday and the anniversary of her victory over HMS Guerriere. In a landmark moment for the U.S. Navy, Rosemarie Lanam became the first female crewmember to serve on USS Constitution.

The Ship Today

Constitution is berthed at Pier One of the former Charlestown Navy Yard, at the terminus of Boston's Freedom Trail. She is open to the public year-round. Her crew of approximately 75 U.S. Navy sailors participate in ceremonies, educational programs, and special events while keeping the ship open to visitors year-round and providing free tours. The crewmen are all active-duty members of the U.S. Navy, and the assignment is considered to be special duty.

USS Constitution offers free tours conducted by its Navy crew members and is one of the popular sites on Boston's Freedom Trail. Located in the Charlestown Navy Yard close to Downtown Boston, the USS Constitution spends most of the year anchored wharf-side, easily accessible to visitors who join the free 30-minute tours. During the tours, visitors get to see the top deck, gun deck, and berth area. Adding to the authenticity, crew members wear 1812-style uniforms.

Constitution typically makes at least one "turnaround cruise" each year, during which she is towed into Boston Harbor to perform underway demonstrations, including a gun drill; she then returns to her dock in the opposite direction to ensure that she weathers evenly. The "turnaround cruise" is open to the general public based on a "lottery draw" of interested persons each year. The USS Constitution makes her annual turn-around cruise in Boston Harbor each Fourth of July to celebrate the nation's independence. The magnificent 204 foot-long wood-hulled ship sails out to Fort Independence on Castle Island, exchanges a 21-gun salute, and then turns around and heads back into the Inner Harbor.

The Naval History and Heritage Command Detachment Boston is responsible for planning and performing her maintenance, repair, and restoration, keeping her as close as possible to her 1812 configuration. The detachment estimates that approximately 10–15 percent of the timber in Constitution contains original material installed during her initial construction.

The USS Constitution Museum

The privately run USS Constitution Museum is nearby, located in a restored shipyard building at the foot of Pier Two. Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison cut the rope to officially open the USS Constitution Museum in Building 22 in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The nonprofit museum, which opened in 1976 and operates independently, allows guests to meander through the Navy Yard and its visitor center, both maintained by the National Park Service.

The museum features a variety of interactive exhibits that chronicle the 200-year career of this iconic warship. The displays include how the ship was built as well as how sailors lived, worked, and ate while at sea. Through portraits, artifacts, and wooden cutouts of reenactors, visitors learn about the crew. Researchers found a black Bostonian who, later in his naval career, abandoned ship in Alabama and was captured as a supposed fugitive slave; a Greek orphan who joined the Constitution as a ten-year-old, initiating a 53-year naval career; and a twelve-year-old boy who was blown overboard when a boiler exploded.

The site, which serves as the penultimate stop on the Freedom Trail, is a lively presence in Charlestown. Families compete on a free mini-golf course with nine holes, each representing a significant event in the Constitution's history. The mission of Constitution is to promote understanding of the Navy's role in war and peace through active participation in public events and education through outreach programs, public access, and historic demonstration.