Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar;
The meteor of ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more!
“Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr (1809-94)
The Birth of USS Constitution: Old Ironsides
As it turned out, that 1830 poem sparked public concern, and the ship’s ensign was not torn down at all then or since. The USS Constitution was designed by Joshua Humphreys and developed and constructed in response to the Ottoman and Berber Barbary corsairs, which menaced American merchant shipping off the northern coast of Africa. Following the Revolution, the United States’ Continental Navy was disbanded, leaving the new nation without a credible sea power to defend its interests abroad. Signed into law on March 27, 1794 by President George Washington, the Naval Armament Act called for the construction of six frigates to be built at shipyards along the eastern seaboard. The three-masted wooden hull heavy frigate USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) keel was laid at Hartt’s Shipyard in Boston, MA, in 1794, built there, and finally launched on 21 Oct 1797.
After some debate and prompting by President Washington, Congress had agreed to continue funding the construction of the three ships nearest to completion: United States, Constellation, and Constitution. It was first commissioned under its official name on 22 Jul 1798. Between 1800 and 1940, she had been decommissioned and recommissioned eighteen times. The vessel was changed to Miscellaneous Unclassified (IX-21) on 8 Jan 1941 until that was withdrawn on 2 Sep 1975 by order of the Secretary of the Navy. On 28 Oct 2009, President Obama signed a law making the USS Constitution the nation’s “ship of state,” in effect, a national flagship. Retired from active service in 1881 and today berthed at Pier 1 in the old Charleston Navy Yard of Boston Harbor, Old Ironsides remains the oldest commissioned US Navy ship still afloat. At this point in time, Navy TWS lists 477 members who have served with her in some official capacity. In her long service, she has had seventy-five captains, including one female, CDR Billie J. Farrell USN, in 2022.
The Legend of Old Ironsides: USS Constitution’s War Heroics
The USS Constitution earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812 after a battle with the British warship HMS Guerriere. A barrage from the British frigate seemed to be having little effect as its cannon balls bounced off the Constitution’s rugged oak and pine copper-clad sides. Seeing this, one of the crewmen shouted: “Huzza, her sides are made of iron!” The Constitution’s nickname was born, although it is sometimes disputed whether the crewman was American or British. She had captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant. She continued to serve as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons and circled the world in the 1840s. During the American Civil War, she served as a United States Naval Academy training ship. She carried between forty-four and fifty-two guns, weighed 1,576 tons, and was a total of 304 feet in maximum length with a beam of forty-three feet six inches. Her mainmast is 220 feet, with total sail of 42,710 feet on three masts. The hold is fourteen feet three inches. She has four decks (Orlop, Berth, Gun, and Spar) and can make a speed of thirteen knots. She carried eight boats and a landing craft. The ship’s complement was 450, including fifty-five Marines, and there were 75 officers and crew.
USS Constitution and the War of 1812: Maritime Pride
As many Americans rallied around the slogan ‘Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights,’ President James Madison declared war on England on June 18, 1812. At the outset of the War of 1812, the USS Constitution had already won all her engagements in two wars: the Quasi-War with France (1798-1801) and the Barbary Wars (1801-1805). USS Constitution was among the twenty-two commissioned warships of the United States 18-year-old Navy, compared to more than eighty British vessels on station off America’s eastern seaboard in 1812. Throughout the next four decades following the War of 1812, Old Ironsides secured numerous bloodless victories until she was taken out of active service in 1855. However, she is best remembered for that unparalleled string of successes more than two centuries ago and has never fired a round in combat since February 1815.
The use of battle streamers had its beginnings in antiquity when various emblems were carried into combat. Today, the battle streamer recognizes fourteen significant actions by the US Navy during the War of 1812. It is one of twenty-eight authorized to be affixed to the military flags of the United States as colorful symbols and reminders of the decisive influence of sea power on the establishment of the nation. Stars on Navy streamers follow the practice initiated during the World War II period for ribbons and medals — that is, a bronze star for each action and a silver star in lieu of five bronze stars. The Navy applies stars to appropriate ribbons throughout its history.”:
1. Constitution-Guerriere (19 August 1812)
2. United States-Macedonian (28 October 1812)
3. Constitution-Java (29 December 1812)
4. Chesapeake-Shannon (1 June 1813)
5. Essex-Phoebe and Cherub (28 March 1814)
6. Constitution-Cyane and Levant (20 February 1815)
7. Sloop-of-war and brig single-ship actions
8. Commerce raiding in the Atlantic
9. Operations against whaling fleets in the Pacific
10. Battle of Lake Erie (10 September 1813)
11. Battle of Lake Champlain (11 September 1814)
12. Defense of Washington (July-August 1814)
13. Defense of Baltimore (September 1814)
14. Battle of New Orleans (December 1814-January 1815)
Restoring Old Ironsides: USS Constitution’s Legacy
On 1 July 1931, the Constitution returned to commissioned status. The following day, she hoisted sails for a tour of ninety US ports along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts, where thousands of Americans saw firsthand one of history’s greatest fighting ships. On 23 Jul 1954, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Navy to restore her “as far as may be practicable” back to their original condition, not for active service. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1960. On 21 Jul 1997, Old Ironsides set sail for the first time in 116 years to commemorate its 200th birthday, and again in August 2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. From 2015-17, the Constitution was renovated by Naval History and Heritage Command’s Detachment Boston, which included new copper sheathing on its lower hull and other important upgrades. Today, the Sailors of Old Ironsides, in partnership with the Naval History and Heritage Command, the USS Constitution Museum, and the National Park Service, work to preserve, protect, and promote the Constitution for the people of the United States and the world as a living link to the Sailors and Marines of the past, present, and future. Annually, more than 500,000 visitors walk across her decks. She remains the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat, and that can still sail under its own power.
For the fifteen years before returning to Boston, Old Ironsides was a receiving ship at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where it began to deteriorate. In the 1890s, this came to the attention of Boston Mayor John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, grandfather of JFK, who rallied support to return her safely to Boston by 21 Sep 1897. In 1954, Charleston Navy Yard was designated her official homeport by an act of Congress. On 23 Jul 2017, thousands celebrated the Constitution’s refloating after two years of restoration.
Although dozens of books have been written about the ship, perhaps the most complete and definitive technical one might be “Old Ironsides” by Thomas C. Gillmer. “In her youth, she was beautiful. Her fine lines and graceful sheer, her lightly upturned head, the classic quarter galleries, and restrained carvings gracing her 18th-century transom stern–all flowed together flawlessly in this magnificent creature of the sea. Her loft rig spread more sail than any European frigate. In fact, she and her two sister ships were larger in every way than their contemporaries. She is the USS Constitution–the oldest warship afloat anywhere in the world. This proud old warrior has seen–and participated in–virtually all our nation’s history.
She fought in four wars, circled the world as a symbol of American power, and was commanded by the superstars of American naval history: Preble, Decatur, Bainbridge, Rodgers, Hull, Stewart, and MacDonough. The Constitution is the definitive American icon–older than the Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore, and the White House. But her age has been one of her greatest enemies, second only to bureaucratic indifference. The ship that rallied America in the Second War of Independence later became a floating classroom at Annapolis and later became a barracks for transient seamen. Theodore Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Navy even recommended that she be towed to sea for gunnery practice.
In 1830, rumors that she would be scrapped prompted Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., to write his epic poem, ‘Old Ironsides.’ The ensuing public clamor brought the Constitution a complete overhaul. She was rescued by the public again in 1876 for the American Centennial and given a cosmetic makeover in 1907.
In 1927, she received another extensive restoration, funded in part by collections from school children.” For students and devotees of America’s naval and 18th century trials or triumphs, Old Ironsides is one of the first and best destinations like no other on any tour of that region.
Read About Other Famous Military Units
If you enjoyed learning about USS Constitution, we invite you to read about other Famous Units on our blog. You will also find military book reviews, veterans’ service reflections, famous military units and more on the TogetherWeServed.com blog. If you are a veteran, find your military buddies, view historic boot camp photos, build a printable military service plaque, and more on TogetherWeServed.com today.
SHARE:
0 Comments