* OLD * IRONSIDES *
The U.S.S. Constitution, built in 1797 at Boston, is the oldest commissioned warship in the world. The sailing frigate, authorized by President John Adams during the undeclared war with Revolutionary France, was most famous for her exploits against the Barbary Pirates and especially for her three victorious battles against British ships in the War of 1812. The ship's design (and that of her near-sisters, President and United States) was extremely advanced for the day. She proved to be a swift sailer, able to maul anything she could not out-sail,and to out-sail anything she did not out-gun. Constitution's lines were used as the basis for designing U.S. Navy vessels of her class until the Civil War, when steam and armor plate made traditional wooden warships obsolete. Her timbers and planking, of old growth oak, were so stoutly constructed that cannonballs were seen to bounce off at extreme range, giving her the nickname "Old Ironsides."
Magnificently preserved by the U.S. Navy and crewed by interpreter seamen in period dress, Old Ironsides is permanently berthed at Charlestown, Mass., in the former Navy Yard where she was based for much of her career, and is open to the public. She is shown here on her annual turn-around on Boston Harbor during a Tall Ships parade in 1984. The Logan Airport tower is visible in the background. Constitution made the news in the 1990s for journeying under sail for the first time in a century; Congress authorized the production of a multimillion dollar suit of sails in order to perform scientific research determining the basis for the vessel's superb sailing qualities. The test trips were undertaken only after the hull was stiffened dramatically with bracing timbers, closely following Joshua Humphreys' original plans for the ship. On her 1998 voyage, Constitution visited picturesque Marblehead, a seaport north of Boston where she narrowly escaped the guns of British blockaders during the War of 1812.