1812
Old Ironsides Earns Its Name
During the War of 1812, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution
defeats the British frigate Guerrière in a furious engagement off the
coast of Nova Scotia. Witnesses claimed that the British shot merely bounced
off the Constitution‘s sides, as if the ship were made of iron rather
than wood. By the war’s end, “Old Ironsides” destroyed or captured seven more
British ships. The success of the USS Constitution against the
supposedly invincible Royal Navy provided a tremendous boost in morale for the
young American republic.
The Constitution was one of six
frigates that Congress requested be built in 1794 to help protect American
merchant fleets from attacks by Barbary pirates and harassment by British and
French forces. It was constructed in Boston, and the bolts fastening its
timbers and copper sheathing were provided by the industrialist and patriot
Paul Revere. Launched on October 21, 1797, the Constitution was 204 feet
long, displaced 2,200 tons, and was rated as a 44-gun frigate (although it
often carried as many as 50 guns).
In July 1798 it was put to sea with a crew of
450 and cruised the West Indies, protecting U.S. shipping from French
privateers. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson ordered the American warship to
the Mediterranean to fight Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli. The vessel
performed commendably during the conflict, and in 1805 a peace treaty with
Tripoli was signed on the Constitution‘s deck.
When war broke out with Britain in June 1812,
the Constitution was commanded by Isaac Hull, who served as lieutenant
on the ship during the Tripolitan War. Scarcely a month later, on July 16, the Constitution
encountered a squadron of five British ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
Finding itself surrounded, the Constitution was preparing to escape when
suddenly the wind died. With both sides dead in the water and just out of
gunnery range, a legendary slow-speed chase ensued. For 36 hours, the Constitution‘s
crew kept their ship just ahead of the British by towing the frigate with
rowboats and by tossing the ship’s anchor ahead of the ship and then reeling it
in. At dawn on July 18, a breeze sprang, and the Constitution was far
enough ahead of its pursuers to escape by sail.
One month later, on August 19, the Constitution
caught the British warship Guerrière alone about 600 miles east of
Boston. After considerable maneuvering, the Constitution delivered its
first broadside, and for 20 minutes the American and British vessels bombarded
each other in close and violent action. The British man-of-war was de-masted
and rendered a wreck while the Constitution escaped with only minimal
damage. The unexpected victory of Old Ironsides against a British frigate
helped unite America behind the war effort and made Commander Hull a national
hero. The Constitution went on to defeat or capture seven more British
ships in the War of 1812 and ran the British blockade of Boston twice.
After the war, Old Ironsides served as the
flagship of the navy’s Mediterranean squadron and in 1828 was laid up in
Boston. Two years later, the navy considered scrapping the Constitution,
which had become unseaworthy, leading to an outcry of public support for
preserving the famous warship. The navy refurbished the Constitution,
and it went on to serve as the flagship of the Mediterranean, Pacific, and Home
squadrons. In 1844, the frigate left New York City on a global journey that
included visits to numerous international ports as a goodwill agent of the
United States. In the early 1850s, it served as flagship of the African
Squadron and patrolled the West African coast looking for slave traders.
In 1855, the Constitution retired from
active military service, but the famous vessel continued to serve the United
States, first as a training ship and later as a touring national landmark.
Since 1934, it has been based at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. Over the
years, Old Ironsides has enjoyed a number of restorations, the most recent of
which was completed in 1997, allowing it to sail for the first time in 116
years. Today, the Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned
warship afloat.