Ahoy there, Mateys! Captain LeDrew here, waitin' to take ye on the voyage of the USS Constitution, the biggest Frigate ever in the entire US Navy. Now, come aboard as we sail the troubled seas of this old ship's troubled pasts. Arrrr,,,

 

The USS Constitution is the biggest naval frigate ever in the US Navy. It was buit in Boston between 1794 and 1797. It was 204 feet long, and had the capasity of 44 cannons as well as provisions for a crew of 475. It's hull was made of oak, an extremely hard wood. The Constitution launched for the first time on October 21, 1797. It came home unscathed and victorious from the Barbary Wars in 1803 and 1804.

In the war of 1812, it won a decisive battle against the British warship Guerrière near Cape Race. It was in this battle that this famous frigate earned it's nickname, Old Ironsides. A lone sailor was looking over the side of the ship during the battle and saw enemy fire bouncing off the sturdy sides of the ship and splashing in the water. He sword that the ship had sides of iron.

But, as all ships come to be, in 1830 Old Ironsides was claimed unseaworthy and was sent to be scrapped. But then, when all else seemed inevitable...

 

Read the Poem that saved a ship. Arrr...

 

"Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to seeThat banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon's roar;
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee;
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered bulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!"

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

Now, back to our story. Arrr...

 

The poem had saved a ship from an imminent doom by arousing public sentiment, and thus the vessel was rebuilt and put back into active service in 1833. In 1855, though, it was put out of commission at the Portsmouth Naval Yard and was used as a training ship for budding young sailors. Again, it was rebuilt in 1877 and put back into active service.

In 1897, one hundred years after his original launch, the Constitution was finally drydocked and repaired, to be preserved as a memorial.