USS Constitution (Boston, Massachusetts)
USA /
Massachusetts /
Everett /
Boston, Massachusetts
World
/ USA
/ Massachusetts
/ Everett
World / United States / Massachusetts
frigate (ship), NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, interesting place, United States Navy, museum ship, U.S. National Historic Landmark
Authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 as one of six Heavy Frigates intended to set the United States Navy onto a global footing, the USS Constitution was laid down at the Edmund Hartt Shipyard in Boston on November 1st, 1794. Designed by noted naval architect Joshua Humphreys to be heavily armed and armored for her size while still retaining a long and slender hull, the Constitution and her five sisters were intended to be more than a match for their British and French counterparts, and fast enough to evade and outrun any of the contemporary ships of the line.
Commissioned into US Navy service in July 1798, the Constitution was promptly sent to provide protection for American merchant shipping in the Atlantic and Caribbean during the Quasi-War with France. Spending much of the next four years prowling the Eastern seaboard and Caribbean Sea, Constitution saw little hostile action before peace was formally declared between the two nations, and after returning to Boston in late 1801 the ship was deactivated in anticipation for her first major overhaul. Lack of major enemy nations at the time meant that Constitution would linger dockside for almost two years before the Barbary States began to threaten American merchant shipping in the Mediterranean, prompting orders for Constitution to be returned to active service as soon as possible.
Clad in new copper sheathing supplied by Paul Revere's foundry, the Constitution set to sea in August 1803 and arrived in the Mediterranean port of Gibraltar shortly thereafter, where she immediately became the Flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron under the command of Captain Edward Preble. Remaining so deployed and in frequent action against Barbary Pirate forces in the waters off Tripoli and the present-day Libyan coast, Constitution remained in Mediterranean waters for the better part of four years before returning to Boston in October 1807 with peace with the Barbary States secured but War with England looming.
Out of commission and under a much-needed overhaul until 1809, the Constitution spent the next three years in routine service primarily in European waters before returning to Boston in February 1812 for what was intended to be a routine repair and refit period. With War declared between the United States and England in June of that year, Constitution was hastily made ready for combat duty and put to sea in July, beginning three straight years of offensive and defensive operations against the Royal Navy which would secure her place in the annals of US Naval History.
Starting with a marathon 57-hour boat-powered escape from a full squadron of British warships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey only days into her first deployment, Constitution and her crews soon became the stuff of legend when they encountered and soundly defeated the British Frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia in August 1812. Utilizing effective tactics, Constitution's Captain Isaac Hull quickly dismasted the British Frigate, whose gunners were astounded to see their cannon shot bouncing harmlessly off the heavily-planked Oak hull of the Constitution, causing several sailors to muse that her sides were surely made of Iron. Later actions and decisive victories against the British Frigate HMS Java in the South Atlantic and her successful capture of the Sloops HMS Cyrus and HMS Levant off the Cape Verde Islands, Constitution returned to Boston at the end of the War of 1812 with a battle-scarred but undefeated record.
Once again decommissioned for another much-needed overhaul, the Constitution returned to active service in 1821 and sailed for Mediterranean waters for duty as the Flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron. Uneventfully occupied with this duty for the next seven years, Constitution's return to her homeport of Boston brought about the specter of her final decommissioning and scrapping as her aging wooden hull had more than doubled its life expectancy. Public outcry against the destruction of such a historically and culturally important ship led to Constitution's preservation, and after another round of drydocking, she resumed her duty as Flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron in 1835. Briefly serving as Flagship of the fledgling US Navy Pacific Squadron from 1839-1840, Constitution embarked on an around-the-world cruise from 1843-1846 to show the flag, before starting her final deployment to the Mediterranean Squadron which lasted from 1849-1851.
Overhauled once again and for the first time at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Constitution made her final deployment as an active member of the US Navy in March 1853, bound for duty as the Flagship of the US Navy's African Squadron. Though intended to be largely a ceremonial deployment to an area where the ever-increasing amount of steam-powered warships were not going to pose a danger to the aging vessel, Constitution's time off the West African Coast nonetheless saw her firing her broadsides in anger in order to effect peace treaties with local tribes and capturing a hostile vessel believed to be illegally transporting slaves. These two actions would prove to be the last of their kind in Constitution's storied career, as upon her return stateside she was deemed to outdated for further frontline service and decommissioned on July 14th, 1855.
Drydocked and stripped of much of her rigging at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in 1857 for conversion to a much-needed training ship, the Constitution re-entered service in August 1860 for duty at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. Moved North to New York and eventually Rhode Island after the outbreak of the Civil War, the Constitution continued her training duties for over twenty years, making annual summertime cruises until an 1881 inspection deemed her unfit for further service and marked the end of her sailing days. Re-rated as an accommodation/receiving ship at the Portsmouth Naval Yard and eventually the Charlestown Navy Yard, the Constitution was kept under minimal maintenance and increasingly out of the public conscience until a 1905 proposal to sink the ship as a target for live-fire drills brought a renewed effort at preserving the famous ship.
Though upkeep and preservation funding was sparse, the Constitution was officially opened as a museum ship at her Charlestown berth in 1907 and remained so employed into the 1920's when the Chief of Naval Operations ordered a full and formal inspection and report on the ship's condition. Found to be in imminent danger of sinking or literally falling apart at her berth, nationwide efforts were begun to secure funding for a full restoration of the ship to her former glory. After raising over $600,000 from the general public, the US Congress allocated the balance of any costs to restore the ship and in 1927 she re-entered the drydock for yet another overhaul. Returned to full commission in July 1931 following her four-year $946,000 yard period, the Constitution embarked on a nationwide tour, entering the Pacific Ocean once again before returning to her homeport in May 1934 and resuming her post as a museum ship.
Aside from her 1938 hurricane-assisted cruise across Boston Harbor and final "combat action" against the anchored Destroyer USS Ralph Talbot (DD-390), the Constitution has remained at her Charlestown berth since returning from her nationwide cruise. Deemed to be the responsibility of the US Navy by a 1954 act of Congress, the ship is still maintained in full commission. Overhauled three times since her 1927 reconstruction, the Constitution has been returned to operational condition and has sailed under her own power twice; once in July 1998 to mark her 200th birthday and again in August 2012 to mark her historic victory over HMS Guerriere and the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The ship is also moved once a year during her "turnaround cruise" which permits her hull and rigging to be exposed to and weather evenly from the elements.
Presently the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, the Constitution continues to promote understanding of the US Navy’s historical and present role in war and peace and serves as a monument to the life of past sailors in the days of sail-driven vessels. Officially declared the Ship of State in October 2009, the Constitution now serves as the de facto Flagship for the United States.
Located at Pier 1, Charlestown Navy Yard, the Constitution is located at the end of the Boston "Freedom Trail" and hosts thousands of visitors every year free of charge.
www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/
www.history.navy.mil/ussconstitution/index.html
www.nps.gov/bost/historyculture/ussconst.htm
www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46021.htm
Here, she is in temporary drydock as of 2015. Outline from Google Maps.
Commissioned into US Navy service in July 1798, the Constitution was promptly sent to provide protection for American merchant shipping in the Atlantic and Caribbean during the Quasi-War with France. Spending much of the next four years prowling the Eastern seaboard and Caribbean Sea, Constitution saw little hostile action before peace was formally declared between the two nations, and after returning to Boston in late 1801 the ship was deactivated in anticipation for her first major overhaul. Lack of major enemy nations at the time meant that Constitution would linger dockside for almost two years before the Barbary States began to threaten American merchant shipping in the Mediterranean, prompting orders for Constitution to be returned to active service as soon as possible.
Clad in new copper sheathing supplied by Paul Revere's foundry, the Constitution set to sea in August 1803 and arrived in the Mediterranean port of Gibraltar shortly thereafter, where she immediately became the Flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron under the command of Captain Edward Preble. Remaining so deployed and in frequent action against Barbary Pirate forces in the waters off Tripoli and the present-day Libyan coast, Constitution remained in Mediterranean waters for the better part of four years before returning to Boston in October 1807 with peace with the Barbary States secured but War with England looming.
Out of commission and under a much-needed overhaul until 1809, the Constitution spent the next three years in routine service primarily in European waters before returning to Boston in February 1812 for what was intended to be a routine repair and refit period. With War declared between the United States and England in June of that year, Constitution was hastily made ready for combat duty and put to sea in July, beginning three straight years of offensive and defensive operations against the Royal Navy which would secure her place in the annals of US Naval History.
Starting with a marathon 57-hour boat-powered escape from a full squadron of British warships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey only days into her first deployment, Constitution and her crews soon became the stuff of legend when they encountered and soundly defeated the British Frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia in August 1812. Utilizing effective tactics, Constitution's Captain Isaac Hull quickly dismasted the British Frigate, whose gunners were astounded to see their cannon shot bouncing harmlessly off the heavily-planked Oak hull of the Constitution, causing several sailors to muse that her sides were surely made of Iron. Later actions and decisive victories against the British Frigate HMS Java in the South Atlantic and her successful capture of the Sloops HMS Cyrus and HMS Levant off the Cape Verde Islands, Constitution returned to Boston at the end of the War of 1812 with a battle-scarred but undefeated record.
Once again decommissioned for another much-needed overhaul, the Constitution returned to active service in 1821 and sailed for Mediterranean waters for duty as the Flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron. Uneventfully occupied with this duty for the next seven years, Constitution's return to her homeport of Boston brought about the specter of her final decommissioning and scrapping as her aging wooden hull had more than doubled its life expectancy. Public outcry against the destruction of such a historically and culturally important ship led to Constitution's preservation, and after another round of drydocking, she resumed her duty as Flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron in 1835. Briefly serving as Flagship of the fledgling US Navy Pacific Squadron from 1839-1840, Constitution embarked on an around-the-world cruise from 1843-1846 to show the flag, before starting her final deployment to the Mediterranean Squadron which lasted from 1849-1851.
Overhauled once again and for the first time at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Constitution made her final deployment as an active member of the US Navy in March 1853, bound for duty as the Flagship of the US Navy's African Squadron. Though intended to be largely a ceremonial deployment to an area where the ever-increasing amount of steam-powered warships were not going to pose a danger to the aging vessel, Constitution's time off the West African Coast nonetheless saw her firing her broadsides in anger in order to effect peace treaties with local tribes and capturing a hostile vessel believed to be illegally transporting slaves. These two actions would prove to be the last of their kind in Constitution's storied career, as upon her return stateside she was deemed to outdated for further frontline service and decommissioned on July 14th, 1855.
Drydocked and stripped of much of her rigging at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in 1857 for conversion to a much-needed training ship, the Constitution re-entered service in August 1860 for duty at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. Moved North to New York and eventually Rhode Island after the outbreak of the Civil War, the Constitution continued her training duties for over twenty years, making annual summertime cruises until an 1881 inspection deemed her unfit for further service and marked the end of her sailing days. Re-rated as an accommodation/receiving ship at the Portsmouth Naval Yard and eventually the Charlestown Navy Yard, the Constitution was kept under minimal maintenance and increasingly out of the public conscience until a 1905 proposal to sink the ship as a target for live-fire drills brought a renewed effort at preserving the famous ship.
Though upkeep and preservation funding was sparse, the Constitution was officially opened as a museum ship at her Charlestown berth in 1907 and remained so employed into the 1920's when the Chief of Naval Operations ordered a full and formal inspection and report on the ship's condition. Found to be in imminent danger of sinking or literally falling apart at her berth, nationwide efforts were begun to secure funding for a full restoration of the ship to her former glory. After raising over $600,000 from the general public, the US Congress allocated the balance of any costs to restore the ship and in 1927 she re-entered the drydock for yet another overhaul. Returned to full commission in July 1931 following her four-year $946,000 yard period, the Constitution embarked on a nationwide tour, entering the Pacific Ocean once again before returning to her homeport in May 1934 and resuming her post as a museum ship.
Aside from her 1938 hurricane-assisted cruise across Boston Harbor and final "combat action" against the anchored Destroyer USS Ralph Talbot (DD-390), the Constitution has remained at her Charlestown berth since returning from her nationwide cruise. Deemed to be the responsibility of the US Navy by a 1954 act of Congress, the ship is still maintained in full commission. Overhauled three times since her 1927 reconstruction, the Constitution has been returned to operational condition and has sailed under her own power twice; once in July 1998 to mark her 200th birthday and again in August 2012 to mark her historic victory over HMS Guerriere and the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The ship is also moved once a year during her "turnaround cruise" which permits her hull and rigging to be exposed to and weather evenly from the elements.
Presently the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, the Constitution continues to promote understanding of the US Navy’s historical and present role in war and peace and serves as a monument to the life of past sailors in the days of sail-driven vessels. Officially declared the Ship of State in October 2009, the Constitution now serves as the de facto Flagship for the United States.
Located at Pier 1, Charlestown Navy Yard, the Constitution is located at the end of the Boston "Freedom Trail" and hosts thousands of visitors every year free of charge.
www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/
www.history.navy.mil/ussconstitution/index.html
www.nps.gov/bost/historyculture/ussconst.htm
www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46021.htm
Here, she is in temporary drydock as of 2015. Outline from Google Maps.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 42°22'20"N 71°3'23"W
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- Charlestown Navy Yard 0.3 km
- North End 0.9 km
- Charlestown 1 km
- Moran Terminal (Autoport) 1.2 km
- The Big Dig I-93 Tunnel Section 1.7 km
- Financial District 1.8 km
- North Cargo Area 2.6 km
- East Boston 3.4 km
- Logan International Airport (BOS/KBOS) 4.1 km
- Runway 33L/15R 4.5 km
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