USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named after the Constitution of the United States of America by President George Washington, she is the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in the world. Constitution, launched in 1797, was one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than the standard frigates of the period. Built in Boston, Massachusetts at Edmund Hartt's shipyard, her first duty with the newly formed United States Navy was to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.
Her most famous era of naval warfare was the War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS and Шаблон:HMS. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to actively serve the nation as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons and circled the world in the 1840s. During the American Civil War she served as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy and carried artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878. Retired from active service in 1881, she served as a receiving ship until designated a museum ship in 1907. In 1931 she made a three year 90-port tour of the nation and in 1997 she finally sailed again under her own power for her 200th birthday.
ConstitutionШаблон:'s mission today is to promote understanding of the Navy’s role in war and peace through educational outreach, historic demonstration, and active participation in public events. As a fully commissioned US Navy ship, her crew of 60 officers and sailors participate in ceremonies, educational programs and special events while keeping the ship open to visitors year-round and providing free tours. The officers and crew are all active-duty US Navy personnel and the assignment is considered special duty in the Navy. Traditionally, command of the vessel is assigned to a Navy Commander.
The Naval Act of 1794 provided for the construction of four ships carrying forty-four guns each, and two ships carrying thirty-six guns each. Constitution was the third of the forty-four gun frigates to be completed, and was given her name by President George Washington. Her keel was laid down on 1 November 1794 at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts, under the supervision of Captain Samuel Nicholson and naval constructor George Claghorn. Primary materials used in her construction were white pine, longleaf pine, white oak, and, most importantly, southern live oak, which was cut and milled at Gascoigne Bluff in St. Simons, Georgia. Southern live oak, a particularly dense wood, can weigh up to Шаблон:Convert per cubic foot (1,201 kg/m3). ConstitutionШаблон:'s hull was built Шаблон:Convert thick in an era when Шаблон:Convert was common. Her vertical hull ribbing was placed Шаблон:Convert apart instead of the standard Шаблон:Convert. Her length between perpendiculars was Шаблон:Convert, with a Шаблон:Convert length overall and a width of Шаблон:Convert. In total, Шаблон:Acre to ha of trees were needed for her construction. Paul Revere forged the copper bolts and breasthooks. The copper sheathing installed to prevent shipworm was imported from England.
In March 1796, as construction of Constitution slowly progressed, a peace accord was announced between the United States and the Dey of Algiers and, in accordance with the Naval Act of 1794, construction was halted. After some debate and prompting by President Washington, Congress agreed to continue to fund the construction of the three ships nearest to completion: Шаблон:USS, Шаблон:USS and Constitution. ConstitutionШаблон:'s launching ceremony on 20 September 1797 was attended by then President John Adams and Massachusetts Governor Increase Sumner. Upon launch, she only slid down the ways Шаблон:Convert before stopping. Her weight caused the ways to settle into the ground, preventing further movement. An attempt two days later only resulted in an additional Шаблон:Convert of travel before stopping on the ways. After a month of rebuilding the ways, Constitution finally slipped into Boston Harbor on 21 October 1797 with Captain James Sever breaking a bottle of Madeira wine on her bowsprit.
Though listed as a 44-gun frigate, ConstitutionШаблон:'s rating was meant only as an approximation, and she would often carry over 50 guns at a time. In comparison, a British ship of the line, depending on rating, carried between 50 and 100 guns. Ships of ConstitutionШаблон:'s era had no permanent battery of guns as modern Navy ships carry. The guns and cannons were designed to be completely portable and often were exchanged between ships as situations warranted. Each commanding officer outfitted armaments to his liking, taking into consideration factors such as the overall tons of cargo, complements of personnel onboard, and planned routes to be sailed. Consequently, the armaments on Constitution changed many times during her career, and records of the changes were not generally kept.
During the War of 1812, ConstitutionШаблон:'s battery of guns typically consisted of thirty 24-pounder cannons, divided to 15 on each side of the gun deck. Twenty-two 32-pounder carronades on the spar deck divided to 11 on each side. Four chase guns would also be positioned, two each at the stern and bow. Twelve men and a powder boy were required to operate each gun. Some men were designated to take stations as boarders, to man the bilge pumps, or to fight fire as needed. Guns were normally manned on the engaged side only; if a ship engaged two opponents, gun crews had to be divided. All of the guns were capable of using several different kinds of projectiles: round shot, bar shot, chain shot, grape shot and heated shot. Each gun was mounted on a wooden gun carriage controlled by an arrangement of rope and tackle. The Captain ordered the gun crews to either open fire together in a single broadside, or allowed each crew to fire-at-will as the target came close alongside. The gun captain pulled the lanyard to trip the flintlock which sent a spark into the pan. The ignited powder in the pan sent a flame through the priming tube to set off the powder charge in the gun and hurl its projectile at the enemy. The marine detachment onboard were the naval infantry that manned the fighting tops, armed with rifles to fire down onto the decks of the enemy ship.
Near the end of the fitting out period, Nicholson was authorized to recruit sailors and midshipmen to serve in loads" of barnacles and seaweed. Hull then prepared for a voyage to France, carrying the new Ambassador to France Joel Barlow and his family, departing on 5 August 1811 and arriving on 1 September. Remaining near France and Holland through the winter months, Hull continually held sail and gun drills to keep the crew ready for possible hostilities with the British. After the events of the Little Belt Affair the previous May, tensions were high between the United States and Britain, resulting in Constitution being shadowed by British frigates while awaiting dispatches from Barlow to carry back to the United States, where she arrived on 18 February 1812.
War was declared on 18 June and Hull put to sea on 12 July, attempting to join the five ships of a squadron under the command of Rodgers in Шаблон:USS. Hull sighted five ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey on 17 July and at first believed them to be Rodgers' squadron, but by the following morning the lookouts had determined they were a British squadron (Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS, Шаблон:HMS and Шаблон:HMS) out of Halifax that had sighted Constitution and were giving chase. Finding themselves becalmed, Hull, from a suggestion given by Charles Morris, instructed the crew to put boats over the side to tow their ship out of range, using kedge anchors to draw the ship forward, and wetting the sails down to take advantage of every breath of wind. The British ships soon imitated the tactic of kedging and remained in pursuit. The resulting 57 hour chase in the July heat saw the crew of Constitution employ a myriad of methods to outrun the squadron, finally pumping overboard Шаблон:Convert of drinking water. Cannon fire was exchanged several times, though the British attempts fell short or over their mark, including an attempted broadside from Belvidera. On 19 July Constitution pulled far enough ahead of the British squadron that they abandoned the pursuit. She arrived in Boston on 27 July and remained there just long enough to replenish her supplies; Hull sailed without orders on 2 August to avoid being blockaded in port. Heading on a northeast route towards the British shipping lanes near Halifax and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, she captured three British merchantmen, which Hull ordered burned rather than risk taking them back to an American port. On 16 August Hull was informed of the presence of a British frigate Шаблон:Convert to the south and sailed in pursuit.
A frigate sighted on 19 August was determined to be Шаблон:HMS, with the words "Not The Little Belt" painted on one of her topsails. Guerriere opened fire upon entering range of Constitution, but Hull held his ship's guns in check until the two warships were a mere Шаблон:Convert apart, at which point he ordered a full double-loaded broadside of grape and round shot. Over the course of the engagement, the ships collided, and at one point they rotated together counter-clockwise while Constitution continued firing broadsides. GuerriereШаблон:'s bowsprit became entangled in ConstitutionШаблон:'s rigging. When the two ships pulled apart, the force of the extracting bowsprit sent shockwaves through GuerriereШаблон:'s rigging. Her foremast soon collapsed and it took the mainmast down with it shortly afterward. Guerriere was now a dismasted hulk, so badly damaged that she was not worth towing to port, and Hull ordered her scuttled the next morning. Using his heavier broadsides and his ship's sailing ability, Hull had managed to surprise the British and to their astonishment, their shot seemed to rebound harmlessly off ConstitutionШаблон:'s strong hull. A sailor reportedly exclaimed "Huzzah! her sides are made of iron!" and Constitution acquired the nickname "Old Ironsides". Arriving back in Boston on 30 August, Hull and his crew found that news of their victory had spread like wildfire, and they were hailed as heroes.
On 8 September William Bainbridge, senior to Hull, took command of "Old Ironsides" and prepared her for another mission in British shipping lanes near Brazil. Sailing with Шаблон:USS on 27 October, they arrived near Sao Salvador on 13 December sighting Шаблон:HMS in the harbor. Bonne Citoyenne reportedly was carrying $1,600,000 in currency to England, but her Captain refused to leave the neutral harbor lest he risk losing his cargo. Leaving Hornet to await the departure of Bonne Citoyenne, Constitution sailed offshore in search of prizes. On 29 December she met with Шаблон:HMS under Captain Henry Lambert, a frigate of the same class as the Guerriere, and at the initial hail from Bainbridge, Java answered with a broadside that severely damaged ConstitutionШаблон:'s rigging. She was able to recover, and returned a series of broadsides to Java. A shot from Java destroyed her helm, and Bainbridge, wounded twice during the battle, directed the crew to steer her manually from the tiller for the duration of the engagement. Similar to the battle with Guerriere, JavaШаблон:'s bowsprit became entangled in ConstitutionШаблон:'s rigging, allowing Bainbridge to continue raking her with broadsides until her foremast collapsed, sending the fighting top crashing down two decks below.
Drawing off to make emergency repairs, Bainbridge approached Java an hour later, and the British ship surrendered. Determining that Java was far too damaged to retain as a prize, Bainbridge ordered her burned, but not before having her helm salvaged and installed on Constitution. Returning to Sao Salvador on 1 January 1813, she met with Hornet and that ship's two British prizes to disembark the prisoners of Java. Being far away from a friendly port and needing extensive repairs, Bainbridge ordered Constitution to sail for Boston on 5 January, leaving Hornet behind to continue waiting for Bonne Citoyenne in the hopes that she would leave the harbor (she did not). ConstitutionШаблон:'s action against Java would appear in detail when Patrick O'Brian wrote his fictional novel The Fortune of War. Her victory over Java, the third British ship in as many months to be captured by the United States, would prompt the British Admiralty to order their frigates not to engage American frigates one-on-one. Only British ships of the line or squadrons were permitted to come close enough to these ships to attack. Constitution arrived in Boston on 15 February to even greater celebrations than Hull had received a few months prior.
Bainbridge determined that Constitution required new spar deck planking and beams along with entirely new masts, sails, rigging and replacement of her copper bottom. Personnel and supplies were being diverted to the Great Lakes, causing shortages that would keep her in Boston intermittently with her sister ships Chesapeake, Congress and President for the majority of the year. Charles Stewart took command on 18 July and struggled to complete the construction and recruiting of a new crew. Finally making sail on 31 December, she set course for the West Indies to harass British shipping, and by late March 1814 had captured five merchant ships and Шаблон:HMS. She had also pursued Шаблон:HMS and Шаблон:HMS, though both ships escaped after realizing she was an American frigate.
Off the coast of Bermuda on 27 March, it was discovered that her mainmast had split, requiring immediate repair. Stewart set a course for Boston, where on 3 April two British ships Шаблон:HMS and Шаблон:HMS picked up pursuit. Stewart began ordering drinking water and food to be cast overboard to lighten her load to gain speed, trusting that her mainmast would hold together long enough to make way into Marblehead, Massachusetts. The last item thrown overboard was the supply of spirits. Upon ConstitutionШаблон:'s arrival in the harbor, the citizens of Marblehead rallied in support, assembling what cannons they possessed at Fort Sewall, and the British called off the pursuit. Two weeks later, Constitution made her way into Boston, where she would remain blockaded in port until mid-December.
Captain George Collier of the Royal Navy received command of the 50-gun Шаблон:HMS and was sent to North America to deal with the American frigates that were causing losses to British merchant shipping. Meanwhile, Charles Stewart saw his chance to escape out of Boston Harbor on the afternoon of 18 December, and again set course for Bermuda. Collier gathered a squadron consisting of Leander, Шаблон:HMS and Шаблон:HMS, and set off in pursuit but were unable to overtake Constitution.
On 24 December Constitution intercepted the merchantman Lord Nelson and placed a prize crew aboard. Lord NelsonШаблон:'s stores readily supplied a Christmas dinner for the crew of Constitution as she had left Boston not fully supplied. Off Cape Finisterre on 8 February 1815, Stewart learned the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, but realized that before it was ratified, a state of war would still exist. On 16 February Constitution captured the British merchantman Susanna with her cargo of animal hides valued at $75,000. Sighting two British ships on 20 February she gave chase to HMS Cyane and Шаблон:HMS, sailing in company.
Cyane and Levant began a series of broadsides against Constitution, but Stewart soon out maneuvered both of them. Forcing Levant to draw off for repairs, he concentrated fire on Cyane, which soon struck her colors. Levant returned to engage Constitution, but once she saw that Cyane had been defeated she turned and attempted escape. Constitution soon overtook her, and after several more broadsides, she too struck her colors. Stewart remained with his new prizes overnight while ordering repairs to all ships. Constitution had suffered little damage in the battle, though it was later discovered she had twelve 32-pound British cannonballs embedded in her hull, none of which had penetrated through. Setting a course for the Cape Verde Islands, the trio arrived at Porto Praya on 10 March.
The next morning Collier's squadron was spotted on a course for the harbor, and Stewart ordered all ships to sail immediately. Stewart had until now been unaware of the pursuit by Collier. Cyane was able to elude the squadron and make sail for America, where she arrived on 10 April, but Levant was overtaken and recaptured. While Collier's squadron was distracted with Levant, Constitution made another escape from overwhelming forces.
Constitution set a course towards Guinea and then west towards Brazil, as Stewart had learned from the capture of Susanna that Шаблон:HMS was transporting gold bullion back to England, and wanted her as a prize. Constitution put into Maranhão on 2 April to offload her British prisoners and replenish her drinking water. While there, Stewart learned by rumor that the Treaty of Ghent had been ratified, and set course for America. Receiving verification of peace at San Juan, Puerto Rico on 28 April, he set course for New York and arrived home 15 May to large celebrations. While Constitution had emerged from the war undefeated, her sister ships Chesapeake and President were not so fortunate, as the ships had been captured in 1813 and 1815 respectively. By 1820 they had been sold and broken up for their timbers. ChesapeakeШаблон:'s timbers still survive today as part of the Chesapeake Mill. Constitution was moved to Boston and placed in ordinary in January 1816, sitting out the action of the Second Barbary War.
In April 1820 Isaac Hull, commandant of the Charlestown Navy Yard, directed a refitting of Constitution to prepare her for duty with the Mediterranean Squadron. Joshua Humphreys' diagonal riders were removed to make room for two iron freshwater tanks, and timbers below the waterline along with the copper sheathing were replaced. She was also subjected to an unusual experiment in which, at the direction of Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson, manually operated paddle wheels were fitted to her hull. If stranded by calm seas, the paddle wheels were designed to propel her up to Шаблон:Convert by the crew using the ships capstan. Initial testing was successful, but Hull and the new commanding officer of Constitution Jacob Jones were reportedly unimpressed with paddle wheels on a US Navy ship; Jones had them removed and stowed in the cargo hold before he departed 13 May 1821 for a three year tour of duty in the Mediterranean.
Constitution experienced an uneventful tour, sailing in company with Шаблон:USS and Шаблон:USS, until the behavior of the crews during shore leave gave Jones a reputation as a Commodore who was lax in discipline. Weary of receiving complaints of the crew's antics while in port, the Navy ordered Jones to return, and Constitution arrived in Boston on 31 May 1824, upon which Jones was relieved of command. Thomas MacDonough took command and sailed again on 29 October for the Mediterranean under the direction of John Rodgers in Шаблон:USS. With discipline restored, Constitution resumed uneventful duty. MacDonough resigned his command for health reasons on 9 October 1825. Constitution put in for repairs during December and into January 1826, until Daniel Todd Patterson assumed command on 21 February. By August she had put into Port Mahon, suffering decay of her spar deck, and she remained there until temporary repairs were made in March 1827. Constitution returned to Boston on 4 July 1828 and was placed in ordinary.
in 1875]] Built in an era when a wooden ship had an expected service life of ten to fifteen years, Constitution was now thirty-one years old. A routine order for surveys of ships held in ordinary was requested by the Secretary of the Navy John Branch; the commandant of the Charlestown Navy Yard, Charles Morris, estimated a repair cost of over $157,000. On 14 September 1830, an article appeared in the Boston Advertiser that erroneously claimed the Navy intended to scrap Constitution. Two days later, Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem "Old Ironsides" was published in the same paper and later all over the country, igniting public indignation and inciting efforts to save "Old Ironsides" from the scrap yard. Secretary Branch approved the costs, and she began a leisurely repair period while awaiting completion of the dry dock then under construction at the yard. In contrast to the efforts to save Constitution, another round of surveys in 1834 would find Congress unfit for repair; she was unceremoniously broken up in 1835.
On 24 June 1833 Constitution entered dry dock in company of a crowd of observers, among them Vice President Martin Van Buren, Levi Woodbury, Lewis Cass and Levi Lincoln. Captain Jesse Elliott, the new commander of the Navy yard, would oversee her reconstruction. With Шаблон:Convert of hog in her keel, Constitution remained in dry dock until 21 June 1834. This would be the first of many times that souvenirs would be made from her old planking; Isaac Hull ordered walking canes, picture frames and even a phaeton that was presented to President Andrew Jackson. Meanwhile, Elliot directed the installation of a new figurehead of President Jackson under the bowsprit, which became a subject of much controversy due to Jackson's political unpopularity in Boston at the time. Elliot, a Jacksonian Democrat, received death threats. Rumors circulated about the citizens of Boston storming the Navy yard to remove the figurehead themselves.
A merchant captain named Samuel Dewey accepted a small wager that he could complete the task of removal. Elliot had posted guards on Constitution to ensure safety of the figurehead, but—using the noise of thunderstorms to mask his movements—Dewey crossed the Charles River in a small boat and managed to saw off Jackson's head. The severed head made rounds between taverns and meeting houses in Boston until Dewey personally returned it to Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Dickerson; it remained on Dickerson's library shelf for many years. An 1855 letter to the editor of The New York Times reported the story again. The addition of busts to her stern depicting Isaac Hull, William Bainbridge and Charles Stewart escaped controversy of any kind and the busts would remain in place for the next forty years.
Elliot was appointed Captain of Constitution and got underway in March 1835 to New York, where he ordered repairs to the Jackson figurehead, avoiding a second round of controversy. Departing on 16 March, Constitution set a course for France to deliver Edward Livingston to his post as Minister. She arrived on 10 April and began the return voyage on 16 May, narrowly avoiding being wrecked off the Isles of Scilly due to the mistaken navigation of her Officer of the Deck. She arrived back in Boston on 23 June and sailed on 19 August to take her station as flagship in the Mediterranean, arriving at Port Mahon on 19 September. Her duty over the next two years was uneventful as she and United States made routine patrols and diplomatic visits. From April 1837 into February 1838 Elliot collected various ancient artifacts to carry back to America, adding various livestock during the return voyage from which Constitution arrived in Norfolk on 31 July. Elliot was later suspended from duty for transporting livestock on a Navy ship.
As flagship of the Pacific Squadron under the command of Captain Daniel Turner, she began her voyage on 1 March 1839 with the duty of patrolling the western side of South America. Often spending months in one port or another, she visited Valparaíso, Callao, Paita and Puna while her crew amused themselves with the beaches and taverns in each locality. The return voyage found her at Rio de Janeiro where Emperor Pedro II of Brazil visited her about 29 August 1841. Departing Rio, she collided with the ketch Queen Victoria, suffering minor damage, and returned to Norfolk on 31 October. On 22 June 1842 she was recommissioned under the command of Foxhall Alexander Parker for duty with the Home Squadron. After spending months in port she put to sea for three weeks during December and was again put in ordinary.
Under the command of John Percival, she underwent a refitting and was recommissioned on 24 March 1844 for a scheduled three-year circumnavigation of the world. She got underway on 29 May, carrying Henry A. Wise, the new Ambassador to Brazil and his family, arriving at Rio de Janeiro on 2 August after making two port visits along the way. Remaining there to pack away supplies for the planned journey, she sailed again on 8 September, making port calls at Madagascar, Mozambique, and Zanzibar and arriving at Sumatra on 1 January 1845. Many of her crew began to suffer from dysentery and fevers, causing several deaths, which led Percival to set course for Singapore, arriving there 8 February. While in Singapore, Commodore Henry Ducie Chads of Шаблон:HMS paid a visit to Constitution, offering what medical assistance his squadron could provide. Chads had been the Lieutenant of Шаблон:HMS when surrendering to William Bainbridge thirty-three years earlier.
Leaving Singapore she arrived at Turon, Cochinchina (present day Da Nang, Vietnam) on 10 May. Not long after, Percival was informed that a French missionary, Dominique Lefèbvre, was being held captive and had been sentenced to death. Percival and a squad of Marines went ashore to speak with the local Mandarin. Percival demanded the return of Lefèbvre and took three local leaders hostage to ensure his demands were met. When no communication was forthcoming, he ordered the capture of three junks, which were brought to Constitution. Percival released the hostages after two days, attempting to show good faith towards the Mandarin who had demanded their return. During a storm the three junks escaped upriver, requiring a detachment of Marines to pursue and recapture them. When the supply of food and water from shore was stopped, Percival had to give in to another demand for the release of the junks in order to keep his ship supplied, which he did, expecting Lefèbvre to be released. Soon realizing that no return would be made, Percival ordered Constitution to depart on 26 May.
Arriving at Canton, China on 20 June, she spent the next six weeks there while Percival made shore and diplomatic visits. Again the crew suffered from dysentery due to poor drinking water, resulting in three more deaths by the time she reached Manila on 18 September. Spending a week there preparing to enter the Pacific Ocean, she sailed on 28 September for the Hawaiian Islands, arriving at Honolulu on 16 November. At Honolulu was Commodore John D. Sloat and his flagship Шаблон:USS; Sloat informed Percival that Constitution was needed in Mexico as the United States was preparing for war after the Texas Annexation. Provisioning for six months, she sailed for Mazatlán, arriving there 13 January 1846. Sitting at anchor for over three months, she was finally allowed to sail for home on 22 April, rounding Cape Horn on 4 July. Arriving in Rio de Janeiro, they learned the Mexican War had begun on 13 May, soon after their departure from Mazatlán. Arriving in Boston on 27 September, she was placed in ordinary 5 October.
She began a refitting in 1847 for duty with the Mediterranean Squadron. The figurehead of Andrew Jackson that had caused so much controversy fifteen years earlier was replaced with another, this time sans the top hat and with a more Napoleonic pose for Jackson. Captain John Gwinn commanded her on this voyage, departing on 9 December 1848 and arriving at Tripoli on 19 January 1849. She carried Daniel Smith McCauley and his family to Egypt; McCauley's wife gave birth en route to a son, who was named Constitution Stewart McCauley. At Gaeta on 1 August she received onboard King Ferdinand II and Pope Pius IX, giving a 21-gun salute. This would be the first time a Pope had set foot on American territory. At Palermo on 1 September, Captain Gwinn died of chronic gastritis and was buried near Lazaretto on the
