U.S.S. Constitution

Built in 1794 under an Act of Congress authorizing a Navy for the new Union, this wood frigate designed by Joshua Humphreys combined speed with outstanding maneuverability.

Her qualities were proven on July 17, 1812, when she encountered a squadron of five British men-of-war off the New Jersey coast. England’s fastest ships chased her for three days and nights, but the Constitution finished with no losses of equipment. It was a month later that she earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” when she tangled with the British Guerriere. Observing that the enemy’s shots bounced harmlessly off the vessel’s planking, the crew yelled, “See, her sides are made of iron!”

There is little doubt that her most impressive performance occurred on February 20, 1815, when she fought off two British vessels. Although exceeded in tonnage and manpower, the Constitution outclassed her rivals: both British ships surrendered after only four hours of combat.

In 1828, after she had served her country valiantly for thirty-four years, it was recommended that the Constitution be broken up, but she was saved by national interest aroused by Oliver Wendell Holmes’s poem, “Old Ironsides.”

The Constitution’s active service ended June 14, 1855, because steam was replacing sails in the Navy, but she was once again restored with money raised, in part, by American schoolchildren. The Constitution now lies in Boston in a permanent mooring accessible to all who want to view one of America’s most precious inheritances from the past.

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