7 November 2023: It's November and while we are in "winter quarters," elsewhere it's getting cold with nasty things like frost, ice, and in some spots, snow! Boats being put up on the hard for the duration (here, my boat is ready to go!) and life in general gets a little crazy as we head into the various winter holidays looming. At the end of last month (and yes, I am remiss in not posting this in a more timely manner, but here it is now) the American "Ship of State" celebrated yet another birthday, marking her 226th year of existence. The following (with some necessary edits) is from Fox News.
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The mighty USS Constitution, arguably the most famous warship in American history — a testament to dauntless courage at sea in the nation's infancy — was launched in Boston on this day in history, Oct. 21, 1797.
The mighty warship, 225 years old today [ed:226 if my math is correct, but 225 from first voyage], is still afloat in Boston's Charlestown Navy Yard.
July 4th 2012, Bicentennial War of 1812
She serves the United States as a reminder of the fight for national sovereignty, a symbol of our unique-at-the-time constitutional foundations and as the centerpiece of the USS Constitution Museum. [Ed: the ship is owned and manned by the United States Navy, but shares space in the navy yard with the USS Constitution Museum, the voice of the ship]
"The ship sailed its first cruise [in 1798] as the Quasi-War with France emerged. Later it served in engagements with pirates off the Barbary Coast in the Mediterranean," the National Park Services writes of the vessel.
The USS Constitution was part of the American fleet that bombarded Tripoli in 1804, a powerful show of force on the global stage of the young nation's naval power.
She remains a commissioned US Navy vessel, still manned by a U.S. Navy crew, making the USS Constitution the oldest warship [Ed: oldest afloat. HMS Victory in England is oldest warship] in the world.
Constitution defeats HMS Guerierre
The frigate, better known as Old Ironsides for her mighty oak hull and masts, was designed by Joshua Humphreys.
It was built over three years at Hartt's shipyard, in what is now Boston's North End.
The ship was ordered on March 1, 1794, in anticipation of the passage of the Naval Act of 1794, which President George Washington signed on March 27.
She enjoyed her greatest glory and earned her status in the annals of naval warfare during the War of 1812.
"Huzzah, her sides are made of iron!" an America sailor shouted joyfully, as the ship's white oak planks and live oak frame, grown in the swamps of Georgia, repelled volleys of direct cannon fire from British warship HMS Guerriere.
The battle was fought on the high seas, about 600 miles east of Boston, on Aug. 19, 1812.
The Constitution, under Captain Isaac Hull, destroyed the Guerriere and forced her to surrender in the close-combat sea exchange. The British ship was so badly beaten that Hull scuttled it rather than capture it as a trophy of war.
"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," notes History.com.
She earned 33 victories at sea, with zero defeats.
"By 1830, Constitution needed repairs and was about to be scrapped when Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem Old Ironsides helped to save her," writes the National Museum of the U.S. Navy.
"Recommissioned in 1835, she served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific, where she became the first U.S. warship to conduct a show of force against Vietnam in May 1845."
She served several more decades in various capacities through the 20th century, before being decommissioned one last time.
"Following restoration that began in 1925, she was recommissioned in July 1931 and sailed on a 90-port tour along United States' coasts," writes the U.S. Navy Museum.
"Today, the USS Constitution occasionally sails through Boston Harbor for special anniversaries and commemorations," according to the National Park Service.
unassisted sail (light breeze, sadly)
"The USS Constitution and its U.S. Navy crew go underway with the assistance of tugboats as they sail down the coast to Castle Island. In the harbor near Castle Island, the Navy crew always fires a cannon salute before they turn around to return to the Charlestown Navy Yard."[Ed: and on at least 2 occasions, she has sailed under her own power (sails -she has no motor) without the assistance of tugs.]
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Happy belated birthday, old girl! Long may you serve as our Ship of State!
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
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