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Blogs by Karen Palumbo
On This Day 8/19/1812
8/21/2011 6:13:10 PM
Old Ironsides earns its names
During the "War of 1812" the United States Navy frigate "USS Constitution" defeats the British frigate "HMS Guerriere" in a furious engagement off the coast of Nova Scotia. Witnesses claimed that the British shot merely bounced off the "USS Constitution" sides, as if the ship were made of iron rather than wood. By the end of the "War of 1812" "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 "USS 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 harrassment by British and French troops. It was constructed in Boston, Massachusetts and the bolts fastening its timbers and copper sheathing were provided by the industrialist and American Patriot Paul Revere.
Launched on October 21, 1797, the "USS Constitution" was two hundred four feet long, displaced two thousand two hundred tons, and was rated as a forty-four gun frigate, although it often carried as many as fifty guns. In July 1798 it was put to sea with a crew of four hundred fifty and cruised the West Indies, protecting United States 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 deck of the "USS Constitution". When war broke out with Great Britain in June 1812, the "USS Constitution" was commanded by Isaac Hull, who served as Lieutenant of the ship during the "Tripolitan War".
Scarcely a month later, on July 16, 1812 the "Uss Constitution" encountered a squadron of five British ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Finding itself surrounded, the "USS 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 thirty-six hours, the "USS Constitution's" crew kept their ship ust 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, 1812 a breeze sprang, and the "USS Constitution" was far enough ahead of its pursuers to escape by sail.
One month later, on August 19, 1812 the "USS Constitution" caught the British warship "HMS Guerriere" alone about six hundred miles east of Boston, Massachusetts. After considerable maneuvering, the "USS Constitution" delivered its first boradside, and for twenty 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 "USS 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 Isaac Hull a national hero. The "USS Constitution" went on to defeat or capture seven more British ships in the "War of 1812" and ran the British blockade of Boston, Massachusetts twice.
After the "War of 1812", "Old Ironsides" served as the flagship of the Navy's Mediterranean squadron and in 1828 was laid up in Boston, Massachusetts. Two years later, the Navy considered scrapping the "USS Constitution", which had become unseaworthy, leading to an outcry of public support for preserving the famous warchip.
The Navy refurbished the "USS Constitution" and it went on to serve as the flagship of the Mediterranean, Pacific, and Home squadrons. In 1844, the "USS Constitution" frigate left New York City, New York 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 "USS 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, Massachusetts. 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 on one hundred sixteen years. Today, the "USS Constitution" is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat.
(K) (HST)
Paul Revere American Patriot
American Industrialist
Thomas Jefferson American Patriot
President, USA
Isaac Hull American Patriot
Lieutenant on
USS Constitution, 1803 off
the coast of Tripoli
Commander of the
USS Constitution, 1812
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