U.S. Ship Constitution At Boston example essay topic

March 27 -- Congress authorizes construction of six frigates to help protect American merchant fleets from attacks by the Algerian pirates and harassment by British and French forces. They are to be designed by Joshua Humphreys and Josiah Fox and built at six different sites. The contract for one of those ships, to be named CONSTITUTION, is given to Edmond Hartt's Shipyard in Boston. Back to Historical Events List 1794-1797: CONSTITUTION is under construction. Built in Boston to defend the young American nation, currently CONSTITUTION is nearly as old as the document for which George Washington named her. Both the document and the ship have proven to be resilient symbols of America's strength, courage, and liberty.

CONSTITUTION was designed to be powerful enough to defeat any enemy about the same size and fast enough to out sail a stronger opponent. CONSTITUTION was built by Colonel George Claghorn at Edmond Hartt's shipyard in Boston. Made from more than 1,500 trees, with timbers felled from Maine to Georgia and armed with cannons cast in Rhode Island and copper fastenings provided by Paul Revere, the vessel is truly a national ship. Launched in Boston on October 21, 1797, she first put to sea in 1798. Having remained a part of the U.S. Navy since that day, CONSTITUTION is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Back to Historical Events List 1797: Oct. 21 -- CONSTITUTION is launched and christened by Capt. James Sever.

It was the third attempt to launch her. The first, a month earlier, failed when the ship moved only 25 feet down the ship ways. Two days later she was moved an additional 30 feet. Workers had to make the ways steeper before the launch could be completed. The public was warned beforehand that the launch might cause a dangerously large wave, but none materialized.

1798: March 27 -- Congress votes to fit her out for sea. 1798: July 22 -- First put to sea and commanded by Capt. Samuel Nicholson. 1798-1801: Cruising in West Indies protecting U.S. shipping from French privateers, CONSTITUTION is not engaged in any battles. 1802-1803: Laid up in Boston, MA. 1803-1806: President Thomas Jefferson sent her to the Mediterranean as part of the second Mediterranean Squadron to protect American ships and seamen from attack by the Barbary pirates.

With Captain Edward Preble in command, CONSTITUTION and other ships of the squadron bombarded Tripoli. Back to Historical Events List 1805: June -- Peace treaty between the U.S. and Tripoli signed aboard CONSTITUTION in the Captain's Cabin. 1812: Overhauled at Washington Navy Yard. 1812-1815: War with Great Britain. 1812: July 16 - 18 -- The war was hardly a month old when CONSTITUTION, on the way from Chesapeake Bay to New York, met up with a squadron of five British ships. Immediately after recognizing she was surrounded by the enemy, the wind died.

Her escape is now legendary. With both sides becalmed and just out of gunnery range, there ensued what amounted to a 36 hour, slow-speed chase. CONSTITUTION's crew kept her ahead of the English by rowing (known to Sailors as the 'white ash breeze'), by attempting to tow her with the ship's boats. Then her First Lieutenant (XO), Lt. Charles Morris, suggested a procedure known as 'k edging,' in which an anchor is carried out ahead of the ship, dropped, and the ship drawn up to it. This back-breaking task was carried out and when a breeze sprang up at dawn on July 18, CONSTITUTION was far enough ahead of her pursuers to escape by sail.

Back to Historical Events List 1812: Aug. 19 -- The fight with HMS GUERRIERE took place some 600 miles east of Boston on the afternoon of 19 August 1812. After an hour of inconclusive maneuvering and shooting, the two settled down to a short-range slug fest. After 20 minutes, the Briton's mizzenmast fell. A while later, both her remaining masts went overboard.

At some point in the battle, someone is said to have seen British shot bouncing off CONSTITUTION's side, and shouted, 'Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron,' and so was born the nickname 'Old Ironsides. ' The Americans had 14 casualties; the British, 79. GUERRIERE was so badly damaged, she had to be sunk. Congress awarded Captain Isaac Hull a gold medal. Back to Historical Events List 1812: Dec. 29 -- CONSTITUTION was about 30 miles off the coast of Brazil on 29 December 1812 when, at about 2 in the afternoon, she began a fight with the faster HMS JAVA.

Commodore William Bainbridge in command of 'Old Ironsides,' was wounded twice, and the ship's wheel was shot away, but for more than 2 hours he maneuvered brilliantly and fought tenaciously until, finally, JAVA had no masts left standing and her Captain lay dying. This time, there were 34 American casualties as opposed to around 150 British. Like GUERRIERE, JAVA was too badly damaged to bring home - but before sinking her, Bainbridge had her wheel removed to replace the one shot away on CONSTITUTION. Commodore Bainbridge also received a gold medal. Back to Historical Events List 1813: At the end of February, CONSTITUTION returned to Boston, where there was great rejoicing over her victory. The ship then underwent an overhaul.

When again ready to fight, 'Old Ironsides' was shut in the Boston harbor for eight and a half months by the strenuous British blockade. 1814: February-April -- Under command of Captain Charles Stewart, runs the blockade of Boston. Captures the schooner Pictou and three smaller vessels during cruise to Windward Islands. 1814: Escapes into Marblehead while being chased by two larger British frigates. Returns to Boston for repairs. 1814: Blockaded at Boston for eight months, from April to December.

Finally, taking advantage of bad weather and poor visibility in December 1814, Captain Stewart slipped past the enemy. 1815: Feb. 20 -- Captain Charles Stewart had CONSTITUTION about 180 miles from Madeira Island when, on the afternoon of 20 February 1815, he came upon the British men-of-war CYANE and LEVANT. The one-against-two fight began as the sun was setting. By adept sail handling, Stewart swiftly closed on CYANE and almost completely destroyed her masts and rigging. Then he blasted LEVANT enough to put her out of action for a while during which time he closed again on CYANE and forced her to surrender. After putting a prize crew in her, he turned his attention again to LEVANT, chasing her until she had no choice but to surrender.

Stewart had 4 killed and 14 wounded. His two opponents had 35 dead and at least 42 wounded. He hoped to bring his two captures home, but ran into a British squadron that retook LEVANT while CONSTITUTION and CYANE returned safely to New York. HMS CYANE later became USS CYANE. Captain Stewart received a gold medal from Congress. Captain Stewart, having learned that the war was over, sailed for home and anchored CONSTITUTION in New York on May 15, 1815.

Her war service had ended but she had played a truly glorious part in establishing our freedom of the seas. Back to Historical Events List 1815-1821: Laid up in ordinary at the Boston Navy Yard. 1821-1828: Served as flagship of the Navy's Mediterranean squadron, under command of Capt. Jacob Jones. During this tour of duty she was visited by the English poet Lord Byron.

She returned to the U.S. once during this period, in 1824, to refit and change crews. 1828-1830: Laid up at Boston. During this time the Navy requested the Navy Yard Commanders conduct surveys on all ships laid up in ordinary -- which included 'Old Ironsides' -- to determine how much work would need to be done to bring the ships into commission. This information reached a local publication and it was misreported that the Navy wanted to scrap 'Old Ironsides'. Immediately after that a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, called Old Ironsides, was written to generate public support for 'Old Ironsides. ' In response to an outcry of public support for preserving her, the Navy paid to refurbish CONSTITUTION.

1833-1834: She became the first ship to enter the John Quincy Adams Dry dock at the former Boston Navy Yard. This dry dock also has the distinction of having CONSTITUTION as the last ship to be overhauled within her walls in 1992-1995.1834: CONSTITUTION became embroiled in a political controversy over the installation of a new figurehead depicting President Andrew Jackson. Her original figurehead, representing Hercules, was lost in a collision during the Barbary wars. Jackson was widely hated in Boston at the time, and feelings ran so high that the commandant of the Boston Navy Yard even had his life threatened. Despite an armed guard, a merchant skipper managed, under cover of a violent thunderstorm, to row across Boston Harbor and decapitate the Jackson figurehead.

The man personally returned the head to the Secretary of the Navy six months later. The mutilated figurehead was repaired, and graced the CONSTITUTION's bow for some 40 years thereafter. Back to Historical Events List 1835-1838: Served as flagship of the Mediterranean squadron. 1839-1841: Served as flagship of the Pacific squadron.

1842-1843: Served as flagship of the Home squadron. 1844-1851: Circumnavigated the globe 1844-1846, under Captain John 'Mad Jack' Percival, sailing 52,279 miles in 495 days at sea. In 1849, Pope Pius IX visited the ship in Greta, Italy; the first Pontiff to step on U.S. territory. Back to Historical Events List 1851-1852: Laid up at New York. 1853-1855: She sails for the last time as flagship of the African Squadron. Also patrolled the West African coast looking for slave traders.

1855-1860: Laid up at the Navy Yard in Portsmouth, N.H., for conversion into a training ship. 1860: August 1 -- Began decade-long stint as a school ship at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. 1861: April 21 -- Following threats to her safety upon the outbreak of the Civil War, the Navy ordered the CONSTITUTION towed to New York. As preparations were being made for her departure, a regiment of Massachusetts volunteers arrived in the harbor aboard the steamer Maryland. Three companies of soldiers, including many from Marblehead, were placed on board the CONSTITUTION to help get her under way. Unfortunately, both the CONSTITUTION and the MARYLAND, which was acting as a tow ship, ran aground in bad weather.

In the darkness, and after some difficulty, the CONSTITUTION was towed by a third ship, the steamer BOSTON, to safety in deep water. On April 26 she left on the three-day trip to New York under tow by the steamer R.R. CUTLER. Back to Historical Events List 1861-1865: Transferred to Newport, R.I., with the rest of the Naval Academy, where she resumed her duty as a training ship for the duration of the Civil War. 1865: Moved back to Annapolis with the Naval Academy after the end of the war.

During the voyage she proved faster than her tug and was allowed to continue alone and under sail. At one point, despite her age, she was recorded running at 13.5 knots. 1871-1877: In 1871, after it was determined she was in critical need of repair, she was sent to the U.S. Navy Yard in Philadelphia for extensive restoration. Plans were made to have her restored for the 1876 exhibition in Philadelphia, however work delays missed this deadline. 1877-1878: Served as a training ship at Philadelphia yard.

1878-1879: Last cruise in foreign waters. She carried the American exhibits for the Paris Exposition, docking in Le Havre, France. She stayed in Le Havre for nine months waiting to carry the exhibits back to the U.S. 1879 January 16 -- While returning from France, ran aground off Swanage, England. A British tug pulled her free. Back to Historical Events List 1879: May 24 -- Arrived home in New York. 1879-1881: Sailed Atlantic from West Indies to Nova Scotia as a training ship for apprentices.

This was the end of her career on the high seas. 1882-1897: Laid up at the U.S. Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., serving as receiving ship. A barracks was built on top of her hull. Some repairs are made before she is transferred to Boston. 1897: Arrived at Navy Yard, Boston, prior to her 100th birthday. This was brought about in part because of the efforts of Massachusetts Congressman John F. Fitzgerald, grandfather of President John F. Kennedy.

1897-1900: On exhibition at the U.S. Navy Yard, Boston. 1900: Feb. 14 -- Congress authorizes repairs to restore CONSTITUTION's hull and rigging to the condition it had been in when it was on active duty. 1907: Repairs completed to include removing the barracks-like structure from her main deck, and replacing her rigging, spars, masts and some woodwork. Also, she is outfitted with replica guns in preparation for being opened to the public as a national monument. 1925-1927: A 'Pennies Campaign' for funds and material is begun -- the initiative of the Secretary of the Navy, Curtis Wilbur. Numerous patriotic organizations and the nation's children respond by contributing over a hundred thousand dollars, much of it in pennies.

US Navy Sailors, Marines and Coast Guard donate $31,000. Back to Historical Events List 1927: June 16 -- Docked for complete reconstruction in the same dock she was the first to enter, June 24, 1833.1927-1930: During an extensive restoration period, much decayed timber is replaced and the interior of the hull given extensive additional support. 1930: March 16 -- CONSTITUTION is floated out of dry dock, her repairs nearly completed. 1931: July 2 -- CONSTITUTION leaves Boston for the first time in half a century for a goodwill tour of ports on the New England coast.

Due to her overwhelming popularity, she continues the tour to include the West coast. 1931-1934: Under Commander Louis J. Gulliver she visits 90 ports and welcomes more than 4.5 million visitors -- 2 million in California alone. The tour takes her as far north as Bar Harbor, Maine, and Bellingham, Wash., and as far south as the Panama Canal. She is towed the by the minesweeper USS GREBE (and the BUSHNELL). 1934: May 7 -- CONSTITUTION returns to Boston, where she has been ever since and begins duty as America's Ship representing our proud Naval heritage and those who fought so gallantly to preserve America's freedom. Back to Historical Events List 1954.23 July -- An act is passed (Public Law 83-523) that states in part, 'The Secretary of the Navy is authorized to repair, equip, and restore the United States Ship CONSTITUTION, as far as may be practicable, to her original condition, but not for active service, and thereafter to maintain the United States Ship CONSTITUTION at Boston, Massachusetts.

' 1992: Sept. 25 -- Dry docked at the Old Navy Yard in Boston for a major repair that was completed in 1997.1995: Sept. 26 -- Floated out of the dry dock. 1997: July 21 -- CONSTITUTION sails for the first time in 116 years. The sail was conducted just outside Boston Harbor under the command of Commander Michael C. Beck. The sail complement was six.

October 21 -- CONSTITUTION celebrates her Bicentennial. The crewmember's parade from CONSTITUTION's 'birthplace' (Coast Guard Integrated Support Command) to the Old South Meeting House. 1998: . July 21 - 23 -- Naval vessels and tall ships from around the world come to Boston Harbor and honor CONSTITUTION during her bicentennial. The Deputy Secretary of Defense breaks his flag in 'Old Ironsides' and returns the salute from visiting warships.

The ship receives a blessing, and a wreath is laid at the grave site of CONSTITUTION's first commanding officer, Samuel Nicholson, at Old North Church. 2000: . On 11 July, CONSTITUTION leads a 'Parade of Sail' of over 120 tall ships into Boston Harbor with four sails set as part of SAIL BOSTON 2000. CONSTITUTION and the USS CONSTITUTION Museum launch a collaborative educational outreach program entitled, 'Old Ironsides Across the Nation,' to bring the Constitution story to citizens throughout the Nation over the next six.