Okla-homey
10/21/2006, 08:12 AM
Oct 21, 1797: USS Constitution Launched!
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3997/constit229ba.jpg
209 years ago, on this day in 1797, the infant United States launched the most famous of six frigates which would play an important role in US and US naval history.
USS Constitution was one of six frigates that Congress authorixed in 1794 to help protect American merchant fleets from attacks by Barbary pirates and harassment by British and French forces.
The design for Constitution was well planned. Even before he was contracted for by the Secretary of War, ship builder and naval architect Joshua Humphreys had been thinking about the warships America might need.
Britain's Royal Navy and other navies of Europe had thousands of vessels and hundreds of ships-of-the-line -- floating fortresses with double and triple decks bristling with guns. America had to catch up, but it could not afford to build the largest vessels.
Humphreys sought a ship that would be able to defeat the smaller vessels and escape the larger ones. He combined the best features of the larger and smaller vessels to create something new.
He designed a ship that had a hull as strong as the large ships and was 20 feet longer and two to three feet wider than the medium-sized ships in her class. Her extra heavy construction meant she could carry 15 percent more guns than other frigates, but because she was smaller and sleeker, she could escape the biggest and most destructive ships.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3169/ttttttttttttttttttttttttth64198ul0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Contrast Constitution with a "ship-of-the-line" of the period seen here. As you can tell, the largest warships of the British and French navies were much heavier and more powerful with almost twice the guns of an American frigate. As you can understand, Constitution would have avoided a stand-up fight with one of these behemoths. Fortunately, the saucy American frigates could easily avoid a fight with the slower, less manueverable monsters.
She was laid down in Boston, and the bolts fastening her timbers and copper hull sheathing were provided by the industrialist and patriot Paul Revere. USS Constitution displaced 2,200 tons, and was rated as a 44-gun frigate (although she often shipped as many as 50 guns).
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7629/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt091918802pn7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Named for Constitution's designer and builder, T-AO-188 USNS Joshua Humphreys is a fleet oiler of the Kaiser Class. She is seen here underway at Norfolk, VA
She was the product of a truly national effort. Towering white pine for her masts was found in Unity, Maine, (which then was part of Massachusetts). New Jersey and Massachusetts contributed white oak for her spars, hull and ribs. Flax for Constitution's sails was harvested in the fields of Rhode Island. Hardware to outfit and arm her came from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey. She also incorporated massive live oak from islands off the coast of Georgia. From South Carolina and Georgia came yellow pine.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6326/tltttttttookup2ls7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
When Constitution's hull was complete, it had four decks: the top deck open to the weather called the spar deck; the next with gunports for the cannon called the gun deck; a third called the berth deck where, among other things, the crew slept; and, at the bottom, the orlop deck, used mostly for storage.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4240/ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttphila2lg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
US naval shipbuilders, c.1800.
From end to end, Constitution is 204 feet long and at the beam 43 1/2 feet wide. Her hull is 25 inches thick at the waterline. Her mainmast is 220 feet high.
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/4859/constitutionpostersm8tt.jpg
More than a few men joined the Navy inspired by this popular recruiting poster featuring "Old Ironsides" widely used in the 1960's and 70's.
In July 1798 she was fully outfitted and put to sea with a crew of 450 to cruise the West Indies, protecting U.S. 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.
Previously, maritime nations whose ships either transitted or called on ports in the southern Mediterranean, paid bribes to North African pirate lords in order to keep their merchant vessels safe from harm in that part of the world. President Jefferson rightly decided the US would not abide such Tripolitan extortion and sent the Constitution task force, including a sizable detachment of US Marines, to communicate America's unwillingness to pay "protection" money to the Libyan warlords.
[ It is not known if there were domestic protests by folks carrying signs and shouting "No Blood To Stop Barbary Bribes" ]
The task force performed commendably during the conflict, and in 1805 a peace treaty with Tripoli was signed on Constitution's quarterdeck.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/7748/ship8a0bu.jpg
Constitution squadron off "the shores of Tripoli" dealing with Arab piracy
When war broke out with Britain in June 1812, Constitution was commanded by Isaac Hull, who served as lieutenant on the ship during the Tripolitan War. Scarcely a month later, on July 16, Constitution encountered a squadron of five British ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
Finding herself surrounded and seriously outgunned, 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 36 hours, Constitution's crew kept her just ahead of the British by towing the frigate with her oar powered longboats and by tossing the ship's anchor ahead of her and then reeling it in. At dawn on July 18, the wind freshened, and Constitution was far enough ahead of her pursuers to raise sail and show them her heels.
One month later, on August 19 1812, Constitution caught the British warship Guerriere alone about 600 miles east of Boston. The Royal Navy vessel bore a French name because she had earlier been taken as a prize of war from the hated French Navy, and ships were not customarily re-christened with new names when they changed ownership.
After considerable maneuvering, Constitution delivered her first broadside, and for 20 minutes the American and British vessels blasted away at each other in close and violent action. The British man-of-war was de-masted and rendered a wreck while Constitution escaped with only minimal damage. It was in this fight, Constitution earned her famous moniker, "Old Ironsides."
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8606/ladyluck8wj.jpg
USS Constitution v. HMS Guerriere, August 19, 1812
The unexpected victory of Old Ironsides against a British frigate helped unite America behind the war effort and made her skipper Commander Isaac Hull a national hero. USS Constitution went on to defeat or capture seven more British ships in the War of 1812 and ran the British blockade of Boston twice.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1662/h544223xp.th.jpg (http://img386.imageshack.us/my.php?image=h544223xp.jpg)
Commemorative poster published around the centennial of Constitution's commissioning depicting significant actions and events in her logs. Commander Hull is in center. From the National Archives.
After the war, Old Ironsides served as the flagship of the navy's Mediterranean squadron and in 1828 was laid up in Boston. Two years later, the navy considered scrapping Constitution, which had become unseaworthy, leading to an outcry of public support for preserving the famous warship.
The navy refurbished Constitution, and she went on to serve as the flagship of the Mediterranean, Pacific, and Home squadrons. In 1844, the frigate left New York City on a global journey that included visits to numerous international ports as a goodwill agent of the United States.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3640/graphi14wt.jpg
Painting depicts the moment when Pope Pius IX boarded Constitution off Gaeta, Italy, in August 1849. Because any commissioned warship is considered to be a piece of its nation's territory, this was the first time a pope set foot in America.
In the early 1850s, she served as flagship of the African Squadron and patrolled the West African coast looking for slave traders.
In 1855, USS Constitution was 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, she has been based at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/7229/constitution10226va.jpg
From her berth at the historic Charlestown Navy Yard, Constitution's bow with Boston skyline in the background.
Over the years, Old Ironsides has enjoyed a number of restorations, the most recent of which was completed in 1997, allowing her to sail for the first time in 116 years. Today, USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4323/flyover2ma.jpg
Sailors on board the destroyer USS Ramage (DDG 61) man the rails while escorting USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat underway in Massachusetts Bay in 1997 as the Navy's Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron fly over in salute.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4279/stickereagleofsea0uz.jpg
for more info:
Official US Navy "USS Constitution" website (http://www.oldironsides.com)
http://img324.imageshack.us/img324/785/insane7zo6hp.jpg
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3997/constit229ba.jpg
209 years ago, on this day in 1797, the infant United States launched the most famous of six frigates which would play an important role in US and US naval history.
USS Constitution was one of six frigates that Congress authorixed in 1794 to help protect American merchant fleets from attacks by Barbary pirates and harassment by British and French forces.
The design for Constitution was well planned. Even before he was contracted for by the Secretary of War, ship builder and naval architect Joshua Humphreys had been thinking about the warships America might need.
Britain's Royal Navy and other navies of Europe had thousands of vessels and hundreds of ships-of-the-line -- floating fortresses with double and triple decks bristling with guns. America had to catch up, but it could not afford to build the largest vessels.
Humphreys sought a ship that would be able to defeat the smaller vessels and escape the larger ones. He combined the best features of the larger and smaller vessels to create something new.
He designed a ship that had a hull as strong as the large ships and was 20 feet longer and two to three feet wider than the medium-sized ships in her class. Her extra heavy construction meant she could carry 15 percent more guns than other frigates, but because she was smaller and sleeker, she could escape the biggest and most destructive ships.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3169/ttttttttttttttttttttttttth64198ul0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Contrast Constitution with a "ship-of-the-line" of the period seen here. As you can tell, the largest warships of the British and French navies were much heavier and more powerful with almost twice the guns of an American frigate. As you can understand, Constitution would have avoided a stand-up fight with one of these behemoths. Fortunately, the saucy American frigates could easily avoid a fight with the slower, less manueverable monsters.
She was laid down in Boston, and the bolts fastening her timbers and copper hull sheathing were provided by the industrialist and patriot Paul Revere. USS Constitution displaced 2,200 tons, and was rated as a 44-gun frigate (although she often shipped as many as 50 guns).
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7629/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt091918802pn7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Named for Constitution's designer and builder, T-AO-188 USNS Joshua Humphreys is a fleet oiler of the Kaiser Class. She is seen here underway at Norfolk, VA
She was the product of a truly national effort. Towering white pine for her masts was found in Unity, Maine, (which then was part of Massachusetts). New Jersey and Massachusetts contributed white oak for her spars, hull and ribs. Flax for Constitution's sails was harvested in the fields of Rhode Island. Hardware to outfit and arm her came from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey. She also incorporated massive live oak from islands off the coast of Georgia. From South Carolina and Georgia came yellow pine.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6326/tltttttttookup2ls7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
When Constitution's hull was complete, it had four decks: the top deck open to the weather called the spar deck; the next with gunports for the cannon called the gun deck; a third called the berth deck where, among other things, the crew slept; and, at the bottom, the orlop deck, used mostly for storage.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4240/ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttphila2lg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
US naval shipbuilders, c.1800.
From end to end, Constitution is 204 feet long and at the beam 43 1/2 feet wide. Her hull is 25 inches thick at the waterline. Her mainmast is 220 feet high.
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/4859/constitutionpostersm8tt.jpg
More than a few men joined the Navy inspired by this popular recruiting poster featuring "Old Ironsides" widely used in the 1960's and 70's.
In July 1798 she was fully outfitted and put to sea with a crew of 450 to cruise the West Indies, protecting U.S. 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.
Previously, maritime nations whose ships either transitted or called on ports in the southern Mediterranean, paid bribes to North African pirate lords in order to keep their merchant vessels safe from harm in that part of the world. President Jefferson rightly decided the US would not abide such Tripolitan extortion and sent the Constitution task force, including a sizable detachment of US Marines, to communicate America's unwillingness to pay "protection" money to the Libyan warlords.
[ It is not known if there were domestic protests by folks carrying signs and shouting "No Blood To Stop Barbary Bribes" ]
The task force performed commendably during the conflict, and in 1805 a peace treaty with Tripoli was signed on Constitution's quarterdeck.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/7748/ship8a0bu.jpg
Constitution squadron off "the shores of Tripoli" dealing with Arab piracy
When war broke out with Britain in June 1812, Constitution was commanded by Isaac Hull, who served as lieutenant on the ship during the Tripolitan War. Scarcely a month later, on July 16, Constitution encountered a squadron of five British ships off Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
Finding herself surrounded and seriously outgunned, 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 36 hours, Constitution's crew kept her just ahead of the British by towing the frigate with her oar powered longboats and by tossing the ship's anchor ahead of her and then reeling it in. At dawn on July 18, the wind freshened, and Constitution was far enough ahead of her pursuers to raise sail and show them her heels.
One month later, on August 19 1812, Constitution caught the British warship Guerriere alone about 600 miles east of Boston. The Royal Navy vessel bore a French name because she had earlier been taken as a prize of war from the hated French Navy, and ships were not customarily re-christened with new names when they changed ownership.
After considerable maneuvering, Constitution delivered her first broadside, and for 20 minutes the American and British vessels blasted away at each other in close and violent action. The British man-of-war was de-masted and rendered a wreck while Constitution escaped with only minimal damage. It was in this fight, Constitution earned her famous moniker, "Old Ironsides."
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8606/ladyluck8wj.jpg
USS Constitution v. HMS Guerriere, August 19, 1812
The unexpected victory of Old Ironsides against a British frigate helped unite America behind the war effort and made her skipper Commander Isaac Hull a national hero. USS Constitution went on to defeat or capture seven more British ships in the War of 1812 and ran the British blockade of Boston twice.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1662/h544223xp.th.jpg (http://img386.imageshack.us/my.php?image=h544223xp.jpg)
Commemorative poster published around the centennial of Constitution's commissioning depicting significant actions and events in her logs. Commander Hull is in center. From the National Archives.
After the war, Old Ironsides served as the flagship of the navy's Mediterranean squadron and in 1828 was laid up in Boston. Two years later, the navy considered scrapping Constitution, which had become unseaworthy, leading to an outcry of public support for preserving the famous warship.
The navy refurbished Constitution, and she went on to serve as the flagship of the Mediterranean, Pacific, and Home squadrons. In 1844, the frigate left New York City on a global journey that included visits to numerous international ports as a goodwill agent of the United States.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/3640/graphi14wt.jpg
Painting depicts the moment when Pope Pius IX boarded Constitution off Gaeta, Italy, in August 1849. Because any commissioned warship is considered to be a piece of its nation's territory, this was the first time a pope set foot in America.
In the early 1850s, she served as flagship of the African Squadron and patrolled the West African coast looking for slave traders.
In 1855, USS Constitution was 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, she has been based at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/7229/constitution10226va.jpg
From her berth at the historic Charlestown Navy Yard, Constitution's bow with Boston skyline in the background.
Over the years, Old Ironsides has enjoyed a number of restorations, the most recent of which was completed in 1997, allowing her to sail for the first time in 116 years. Today, USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4323/flyover2ma.jpg
Sailors on board the destroyer USS Ramage (DDG 61) man the rails while escorting USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat underway in Massachusetts Bay in 1997 as the Navy's Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron fly over in salute.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4279/stickereagleofsea0uz.jpg
for more info:
Official US Navy "USS Constitution" website (http://www.oldironsides.com)
http://img324.imageshack.us/img324/785/insane7zo6hp.jpg