USS Constitution

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The USS Constitution, known as "Old Ironsides," is a wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate of the United States Navy. Named after the United States Constitution, she is the oldest commissioned ship in the world still afloat. (HMS Victory, three decades older, is the oldest comissioned ship in the world, but is permanently drydocked.) Constitution was one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794.

Joshua Humphreys designed them to be the Navy's capital ships and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed than the standard run of frigates from the period. For a time, Constitution was assigned the hull classification symbol IX-21 (the "IX" hull code stands for "Unclassified Miscellaneous"), but was reclassified to "none" on 1 September 1975.

History

The Constitution was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts from the resilient lumber of 2,000 live oak trees (specifically Southern live oak) cut and milled at Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons, Georgia. The Constitution's planks were up to seven inches (178 mm) thick. The ship's design was also unique for its time because of a diagonal cross-bracing of the ship's skeleton that contributed considerably to the ship's structural strength. Paul Revere forged the copper spikes and bolts that held the planks in place and the copper sheathing that protected the hull. Thus armed, Constitution first put to sea 22 July 1798 and saw her first service patrolling the southeast coast of the United States during the Quasi-War with France.

In 1803 Constitution was designated flagship for the Mediterranean Squadron under Captain Edward Preble and went to serve against the Barbary States of North Africa, which were demanding tribute from the United States in exchange for allowing American merchant vessels access to Mediterranean ports. Preble began an aggressive campaign against Tripoli, blockading ports and bombarding fortifications. Finally Tripoli, Tunisia, and Algeria agreed to a peace treaty.

Constitution patrolled the North African coast for two years after the war ended, to enforce the terms of the treaty.

She returned to Boston in 1807 for two years of refitting. The ship was recommissioned as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron in 1809 under Commodore John Rodgers.

By early 1812, relations with the United Kingdom had deteriorated and the Navy began preparing for war, which was declared 20 June. Captain Isaac Hull, who had been appointed Constitution's commanding officer in 1810, put to sea 12 July, without orders, to prevent being blockaded in port. His intention was to join the five ships of Rodgers' squadron.

Constitution sighted five ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey, July 17. By the following morning the lookouts had determined they were a British squadron that had sighted Constitution and were giving chase. Finding themselves becalmed, Hull and his seasoned crew put boats over the side to tow their ship out of range. By using kedge anchors to draw the ship forward, and wetting the sails down to take advantage of every breath of wind, Hull slowly made headway against the pursuing British. After two days and nights of toil in the relentless July heat, Constitution finally eluded her pursuers.

But one month later on August 19, she met with one of them again—the frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British ship fired the first shot of the battle; 20 minutes later, Guerriere was a dismasted hulk, so badly damaged that she was not worth towing to port. Hull had used his heavier broadsides and his ship's superior sailing ability, while the British, to their astonishment, saw that their shot seemed to rebound harmlessly off Constitution's hull—giving her the nickname "Old Ironsides".

Under the command of William Bainbridge, "Old Ironsides" met HMS Java, another British frigate, in December. Their three-hour engagement left Java unfit for repair, so she was burned. Constitution's victories gave the American people a tremendous boost to morale.

Despite having to spend many months in port, either under repair or because of blockades, Constitution managed eight more captures under the command of Charles Stewart, including a British frigate and sloop sailing in company which she fought simultaneously, before peace was declared in 1815. After six years of extensive repairs, she returned to duty as flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron. She sailed back to Boston in 1828.

An examination in 1830 found her unfit for sea, but the American public expressed great indignation at the recommendation that she be scrapped, especially after publication of Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem "Old Ironsides". Congress passed an appropriation for reconstruction and in 1835 she was placed back in commission. She served as flagship in the Mediterranean and the South Pacific and made a 30-month voyage around the world beginning in March 1844.

In the 1850s she patrolled the African coast in search of slavers, and during the American Civil War served as a training ship for midshipmen.

After another period of rebuilding in 1871, she transported goods for the Paris Exposition of 1877 and served once more as a training ship. Decommissioned in 1882, she was used as a receiving ship at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She returned to Boston to celebrate her centennial in 1897.

In 1905, public sentiment saved her once more from scrapping; in 1925 she was restored, through the donations of school children and patriotic groups. Recommissioned 1 July 1931, she set out under tow for a tour of 90 port cities along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts of the United States. From 1920–23 she was renamed Old Constitution, to free her name for a new (but ultimately never-completed) battlecruiser.

More than 4,600,000 people visited her during the three-year journey. Having secured her position as an American icon, she returned to her home port of Boston. In 1941, she was placed in permanent commission, and an act of Congress in 1954 made the Secretary of the Navy responsible for her upkeep.

On July 11, 1976, as part of her bicentennial visit to the United States of America, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Prince Philip came to Boston and toured the ship with Commanding Officer Tyrone G. Martin. The Secretary of the Navy, J. William Middendorf, then presented the Queen with a special gift—a sea chest made from original wood that had been removed from the hull of Constitution during refurbishment in the early 1970's.

From 1992–95, Constitution underwent a 44 month refit and overhaul ending in the ship being returned to fully sailable condition. Her refit was far less extensive and intensive than Constellation's, as Constitution was in much better shape.

On 21 July 1997, as part of her 200th birthday celebration, Constitution set sail for the first time in over a century. She was towed from her usual berth in Boston to Marblehead, then set six sails (jibs, topsails, and driver), moved unassisted for an hour and rendered a 21-gun salute.

The modern day role of "Old Ironsides" is that of "ship of state". With a mission of promoting the Navy to millions of visitors and observers each year, the crew of 55 modern-day sailors participates in ceremonies, educational programs and special events while keeping the ship open to visitors and providing tours. She is still a fully commissioned vessel in the US Navy fleet. The crew are all active-duty sailors and the assignment is considered special duty in the Navy. Traditionally, the duty of captain of the vessel is assigned to an active duty Navy commander.

The USS Constitution is one of the sites along the Freedom Trail and is part of Boston National Historical Park, better known as the Charlestown Navy Yard. She is open to the public. For additional information see the website references below.

Timeline

October 21, 1797: USS Constitution launched and christened at Edmond Hartt's Shipyard, Boston.
August 1798: Ordered into action in the Quasi-War with France.
1803 – 1806: Flagship, Mediterranean Squadron, Barbary Wars.
1812 – 1815: War of 1812 with United Kingdom.
August 19, 1812: Defeats 38-gun British frigate HMS Guerriere. Crew bestows her with "Old Ironsides" nickname because of cannonballs bouncing off her sides.
December 29, 1812: Captures British frigate HMS Java and five smaller vessels.
February 20, 1815: Captures HMS Cyane sailing in company with HM Sloop Levant.
1828 – 1830: Laid up at Boston and condemned by naval commissioners, she was saved by the poem "Old Ironsides" by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
March 1844: Begins 30-month voyage around the world.
1920: Renamed Old Constitution in preparation for the construction of a brand new all-steel battlecruiser to be named USS Constitution (CC-5).
1923: Constitution (CC-5) is cancelled before completion and scrapped. The word "Old" is dropped from the name of Old Constitution, restoring her to her original name.
1931 – 1934: National cruise takes "Old Ironsides" to 90 American cities, returns to her place of honor in Boston harbor.
1957: Norwegian cadet sailors of the Christian Radich (ship) came aboard Constitution during filming of the Cinemiracle widescreen motion picture "Windjammer (film)".
1976: Queen Elizabeth II tours "Old Ironsides" during the U.S. Bicentennial.
March 1996 – 1997 Completes 44-month restoration.

Specifications

Builders: Col. George Claghorn, Edmond Harrt's Shipyard, Boston, Massachusetts.
Cost: $302,718 (1797 dollars)
Propulsion: 42,710 ft² (3,968 m²) of sail on three masts
Mast height: foremast, 198 ft (60 m); mainmast, 220 ft (67 m); mizzenmast, 172.5 ft (52.56 m)
Displacement: 2,200 t
Speed: 13 kt (24 km/h)
Boats: one 36 ft (11 m) long boat; two 30 ft (9 m) cutters, two 28 ft (9 m) whaleboats; one 28 ft (9 m) gig; one 22 ft (7 m) jolly boat; and one 14 ft (4 m) punt
Anchors: two main bowers 5300 lb (2,400 kg); one sheet anchor 5400 lb (2,400 kg); one stream anchor 1100 lb (500 kg); and two kedge anchors 400-700 lb (180-320 kg)

Constitution in Literature and Film

Constitution is portrayed by a sea-going replica in the 1926 silent film Old Ironsides, which features a dramatized version of the actions in the First Barbary War. Noteworthy scenes include Stephen Decatur's raid on the captured USS Philadelphia, Richard Somers' destruction of the ketch Intrepid, and the on-screen sinking of the three-masted barquentine S. N. Castle (representing a Tripoli raider).

In C. S. Forester's novel Hornblower and the Hotspur, HMS Hotspur, in port in Cádiz, Spain, is briefly berthed next to Constitution who is there during her service against the Barbary pirates.

Constitution's action against the HMS Java appears in Patrick O'Brian's book The Fortune of War.

In the movie, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the fictional French frigate Acheron was modeled after the Constitution. In the novel The Far Side of the World, Acheron did not appear, Surprise's quarry was the fictional American frigate USS Norfolk, based on the actual USS Essex.

Herman Melville mentions the Constitution in his 1850 novel White-Jacket: or, The World in a Man-of-War. Melville makes special mention of the reverence the sailors aboard the fictional USS Neversink have for the Constitution, to them a symbol of American naval might and glory.

An episode of the G.I. Joe animated series featured sailing the Constitution after Cobra Commander used a device to render his flagship invulnerable to modern warships with electronic devices.

Urban legend

On August 6, 1997, Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton gave a speech about the Ironsides.[1]. He described in detail a journey as part of the War of 1812, that took her from Boston to Jamaica to the Portuguese Azores to England, defeating five British men-of-war and scuttling 12 English merchantmen, before heading, unarmed, up the Firth of Clyde in Scotland to raid a whiskey distillery, before returning to Boston Harbor on February 23. The point of the story was that the Navy and Marine Corps had "spirit", and weren't much for drinking non-alcoholic beverages. However, despite the seemingly specific details, and the fact that the story is often forwarded around the internet via email, and appears in several personal "naval history" websites (often suffixed with the traditional "Go Navy!" or "Beat Army!"), it is almost certainly false. There is no historical record of the ship sailing anywhere near Scotland, nor of engaging in battle with that many warships. Not to mention that to make the numbers in the story come out, each crewman would have had to consume over two gallons of alcohol per day.

Some versions of the story have the journey 1812-1813, some have it 1779-1780 (especially unlikely, since the ship was not launched until 1797). The exact origin of the story is not clear. Some reports say that it was printed in a periodical of the Oceanographer of the US Navy, Oceanographic Ships, Fore and Aft, although this may have simply been an embellishment on the urban legend.[2] Another source is quoted as "U.S. Atlantic Command, Joint Training, Analysis and Simulation Center."

References

Thomas P. Horgan, Old Ironsides (Burdette & Co., 1963)
Tyrone G. Martin, A Most Fortunate Ship 2nd edition (Naval Institute Press, 1997)
Undefeated (Tryon Publishing Company, 1996)
Creating A Legend (Tryon Publishing Company, 1997)
A Signal Honor (Tryon Publishing Company, 2003)
A fictional account of the 1812 battle between Constitution and Java appears in the novel The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian.
The United States Naval Historical Center. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
"A Call to the Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution"

External links