USS Constitution

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For similarly named ships, principles of government, and other uses, see Constitution (disambiguation).

Image:USS Constitution 1997.jpg USS Constitution under sail in Massachusetts Bay, July 21, 1997.
Career	Image:Naval Jack of the United States.svg Image:US flag 15 stars.svg
Ordered:	1794
Laid down:	Summer 1795
Launched:	October 10, 1797
Commissioned:	October 21, 1797
Status:	Active, in commission
General characteristics
Displacement:	2,200 tons
Length:	175 ft (53 m) bp, 204 ft (62 m) total
Beam:	43.5 ft (13.3 m)
Draught:	14.3 ft (4.4 m) in hold
Propulsion:	Sail (three masts, ship rig)
Speed:	13 kt (24 km/h)
Complement:	450 officers and enlisted, including 55 Marines and 30 boys
Armament:	30 × 24 pounder (11 kg) long gun 20 × 32 pounder (15 kg) carronade 2 × 24 pounder (11 kg) bow chasers
Nickname:	"Old Ironsides"

USS Constitution, known as "Old Ironsides," is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named after the United States Constitution, she is the oldest commissioned ship afloat in the world. The Constitution was one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and was launched in 1797. 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 frigates of the period.

In 1917 she was renamed to Old Constitution, to free the name for a new Constitution, a Lexington class battle cruiser that was never completed. She resumed the name Constitution in 1925 after the new hull was canceled. In early 1941, Constitution was assigned the hull classification symbol IX-21^[1] (the "IX" hull code stands for "Unclassified Miscellaneous"), but was reclassified to "none" on 1 September 1975.^[2]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Construction and early service 1.2 War of 1812 1.3 1835 Service after reconstruction 1.4 1925 restoration 1.5 1992-95 refit and return to sail 2 Present day 3 Timeline 4 Specifications 5 Constitution in literature, film, and popular culture 6 Urban legend 7 See also 8 References 9 External links 9.1 US Navy links 9.2 General links

[edit] History

[edit] Construction and early service

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 in St. Simons, Georgia. 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. It took several abortive attempts to launch Constitution in 1797 before she finally slipped into Boston Harbor. 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. During her service in the conflict, Constitution's sailors and Marines took part in the amphibious operation against Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo wherein the French privateer Sandwich was cut out and guns from the local Spanish fort were spiked.

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, Tunis, and Algiers agreed to a peace treaty.

Constitution patrolled the North African coast for two years after the war ended, commanded by Stephen Decatur and two other captains between 1803 and 1805, 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.

[edit] War of 1812

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 smaller frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British frigate opened fire upon entering range of Constitution. Captain Hull held his ship's guns in check until the two warships were a mere 25 yards apart, at which point he ordered a full broadside. Over the course of the engagement, the ships collided three times but musket fire from the Marine complements on both Guerriere and Constitution prevented boarding parties from being sent. During the third and final collision, Guerriere 's bowsprit became entangled in Constitution 's rigging. When the two ships pulled apart, the force of extracting the bowsprit sent shockwaves through Guerriere 's rigging. Her foremast soon collapsed and it took the mainmast down with it shortly afterward. At the conclusion of the engagement Guerriere was a dis-masted 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 strong live oak 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 a tremendous boost to the morale of the American people.

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, HMS Cyane, and a sloop, HM Sloop Levant, sailing in company which she fought and defeated simultaneously, before she returned to port in 1815 to find the war had ended. After six years of extensive repairs, she returned to duty as flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron. She sailed back to Boston in 1828.

[edit] 1835 Service after reconstruction

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. But Constitution, along with all ships of her type, was becoming rapidly obsolete as a fighting vessel. As early as 1838, steamships had begun to make regular transatlantic crossings (see steamboat) and the Civil War's Battle of Hampton Roads had shown the impotence of wooden-hulled warships when faced with ships made of (or clad in) iron.

Even when restricted from front line duties, however, Constitution continued to serve the Navy and the country, and 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.

[edit] 1925 restoration

In 1905, public sentiment saved her once more from scrapping. In 1917 she was renamed Old Constitution, to free her name for a planned new Lexington-class battlecruiser, USS Constitution (CC-5). Constitution (CC-5) was canceled in 1923 (only 14 percent completed) due to the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. In 1925 the ship, once again bearing the name Constitution, was restored through the donations of schoolchildren and patriotic groups. After being recommissioned on July 1, 1931, she set out under tow for a tour of 90 port cities along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts.

More than 4.6 million 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 1940, 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, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh came to Boston and toured the ship with Commanding Officer Tyrone G. Martin. Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf presented the queen with a sea chest made from original wood that had been removed from the hull of Constitution during refurbishment in the early 1970s.

[edit] 1992-95 refit and return to sail

From 1992 to 1995, the Constitution underwent a 44-month refit and overhaul that returned the ship to fully sailable condition. Her refit was far less extensive and intensive than Constellation's, as Constitution was in much better shape. The refit restored many of her original hull design elements that had been omitted to save time and money in previous refits, including Humphreys' unique diagonal riders which resist hogging.^[3]

On July 21, 1997, as part of her 200th birthday celebration, Constitution set sail for the first time in 116 years. She was towed from her usual berth in Boston en route to an overnight mooring in Marblehead. The visit to Marblehead marked the first time since 1934 that the ship had been absent overnight from its berth in Charlestown. Embarked dignitaries among the approximately 450 personnel onboard included the Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps (General Richard I. Neal), Senator Kennedy, and the venerable Walter Cronkite, an avid sailor. A little more than five nautical miles offshore, the tow line was dropped, and the commanding officer (Commander Mike Beck, USN) ordered her six sails set -- (jibs, topsails, and driver). Constitution then sailed unassisted for 40 minutes on a South South East course. With true wind speeds of about 12 knots, the ship attained a top recorded speed of six and a half knots. (See infobox picture at top.) While under sail, her modern naval combatant escorts, USS Ramage (DDG-61) and USS Halyburton (FFG-40), rendered Passing Honors to Old Ironsides. The ship was overflown by the Blue Angels, honoring the ship's first sail in over 116 years. Inbound to her permanent berth at Charlestown the following evening, she rendered a 21-gun salute to the nation, abeam Fort Independence (Castle Island) in Boston Harbor.^[4]

[edit] Present day

The modern day role of "Old Ironsides" is that of "ship of state". USS Constitution is today considered the most famous vessel in American naval history. Her mission is to promote the Navy to millions of visitors and observers each year. The crew of 55 sailors participates in ceremonies, educational programs and special events (including sail drill) while keeping the ship open to visitors year-round and providing free tours. 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.

While Constitution is the oldest fully commissioned vessel afloat, she is not the oldest commissioned. HMS Victory holds the honor of being the oldest commissioned warship by three decades, however Victory is permanently drydocked.

Constitution is one of only four presently commissioned ships in the US Navy known to have sunk an enemy vessel. The other three are USS Simpson (FFG-56), USS Porter (DDG-78) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50).

Constitution is berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail. She is open to the public year round. However, as a commissioned US Navy ship, a visit to "Old Ironsides" is subject to Navy provisions and the fact that she occasionally puts out to sea. The private USS Constitution Museum is nearby, located in a restored shipyard building at the foot of Pier 2.

In 2007, the Constitution's commander, Thomas C. Graves was relieved of command and reassigned after being accused of abusing his subordinates. The charges were settled at a private U.S. Navy hearing on October 26, 2007.^[5]

[edit] 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 British frigate 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 canceled 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 came aboard Constitution in Boston during summer filming of the wide-screen motion picture "Windjammer". The movie was released in America in 1958. Scenes of the movie were also filmed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
• December 19, 1960 - Constitution designated a National Historic Landmark.^[2]
• 1972–1975 - A restoration of Constitution takes place in preparation for the Bicentennial celebration of the United States; some original wood is removed from the hull.
• 1976 - Queen Elizabeth II tours "Old Ironsides" during the U.S. Bicentennial.
• March 1996–1997 - Completes 44-month restoration.
• July 21, 1997 - Underway on sail alone for the first time in 116 years.

[edit] Specifications

USS Constitution Specifications

Specification	Data
Builders	Col. George Claghorn, Edmond Harrt's Shipyard, Boston, Massachusetts.
Cost	$302,718 (1797 dollars)
Materials	Wood from 2000 trees
Propulsion	42,710 ft² (3,968 m²) of sail on three masts
Mast heights	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
	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)
	two kedge anchors 400-700 lb (180-320 kg)

[edit] Constitution in literature, film, and popular culture

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, which is visiting there during her service against the Barbary pirates.

Constitution's action against HMS Java appears in Patrick O'Brian's book The Fortune of War.^[6]

In the movie, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the fictional French frigate Acheron was computer modeled after the Constitution, using a stem to stern digital image scan of the real Old Ironsides.^[7] The fictional Acheron was built in Boston by the Americans. 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.

Author Clive Cussler's novel Fire Ice involves the USS Constitution in a battle scene.

[edit] Urban legend

On August 6, 1997, Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton gave a speech about the Ironsides.^[8] 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 whisky distillery, and finally 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. Additionally, the legend would have required each crewman 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."

[edit] See also

• USS Constitution (CC-5)
• Space Shuttle Enterprise (OV-101)
• USS Constitution (NCC-1700) (fictional)

[edit] 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)
• "The Great Ships - Frigates" (The History Channel, 1997)
• [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/* A Signal Honor (Tryon Publishing Company, 2003)
• "A Call to the Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution"
• This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

[edit] External links

[edit] US Navy links

• Official USS Constitution homepage
• Constitution schedule and provisions
• Old Ironsides' Battle Record, including original documents
• Artwork of Constitution in the War of 1812 escaping the British fleet and capturing HMS Guerriere
• Constitution's U.S. Navy Fact File entry
• Constitution's Naval Vessel Registry entry

[edit] General links

• The Captain's Clerk
• USS Constitution Museum
• HNSA Web Page: USS Constitution
• local.live.com Bird's Eye View of USS Constitution at port
• Biography of Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution
• Maritimequest USS Constitution Photo Gallery
• Boston National Historical Park Official Website

Preceded by Old North Church

Locations along Boston's Freedom Trail USS Constitution

Succeeded by Bunker Hill Monument

Coordinates: 42°22′20.88″N 71°03′23.68″W / 42.3724667, -71.0565778

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