I thought with the United States celebration its 250th anniversary doing a story on the USS Constitution would be appropriate. The photo in this article was taken in Boston on July 4, 2014 when the ship fired a 17-gun salute to celebrate Independence Day. There were 300 guests onboard that day and because I worked as a photojournalist for NBC Boston I was one of them.
The USS Constitution was launched in 1797 and is the oldest commissioned warship in the world still afloat. She was one of six original heavy frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. The name Constitution was one of ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering. The ship holds a spotless 33-0 combat record, most notably defeating the British warships HMS Guerriere and HMS Java.
Designed by Joshua Humphreys, the U.S. frigates were larger, more heavily armed, and more heavily built than standard frigates. This made them able to defeat any ship except British ships of the line but these she was designed to be able to outrun. She was built in the North End of Boston at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard with live oak frames and white oak planking two feet thick.
Her principal dimensions are waterline 175 ft., length on deck 207ft., beam 43ft. 6in., displacement, and fully loaded in 1812, was 2200 tons and carried a crew of 480 men. She carried 44,000 sq. ft. of sail and made 13 knots. Her armament was equally impressive carrying 54 guns, 30 × 24-pounder long guns, 20 × 32-pounder carronades, and 2 × 24-pounder chase guns. She was a much larger ship than frigates of the Royal Navy which the British were to learn to their detriment.
Her long service history included serving as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, circling the world in the 1840s, and serving as a training ship for the U.S. Naval Academy during the Civil War. She carried American artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878 and was finally retired from active service in 1881. She then served as a receiving-ship until being designated a museum-ship in 1907. In 1934 she completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation and sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997 and again in August 2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over the British frigate HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812.
The famous battle between the USS Constitution and the British frigate HMS Guerriere took place 400 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Guerriere was sailing to Halifax for a refit, having just been detached from the squadron that had failed to capture the Constitution. Captain Isaac Hull of the Constitution sighted the Guerriere, under the command of Captain James Richard Dacres, on the afternoon of August 19, 1812. As Guerriere closed to within a mile of Constitution, the British hoisted their colors and released a broadside, but the cannonballs fell short. The crew asked Hull for permission to return fire, but he refused so as not to waste the first broadside. Soon however, Constitution slid alongside her opponent and Hull gave command to fire. The battle commenced. Constitution’s thick hull, composed of white oak planking and live oak frames, proved resilient to enemy cannonballs. During the engagement an American sailor was heard exclaiming, “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron! See where the shot fell out!”
Boarding parties were summoned as the ships came together and Lieutenant William Sharp Bush, commander of Constitution’s marine detachment, took the initiative. Jumping on the taffrail, sword in hand, he called to Hull, “Shall I board her?” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a musket ball hit him in the cheek, instantly killing him. Seeing Bush fall, First Lieutenant Charles Morris leapt to take his place, but he too fell, seriously wounded with a ball in the abdomen. Aboard Guerriere, Captain Dacres was gravely wounded when an American musket ball struck him in the back. Before either side could reorganize, the two ships wrenched apart. The severely damaged Guerriere was forced to surrender. In the exchange of broadsides Guerriere’s masts were felled, and the ship reduced to a sinking condition.
Constitution’s crew took the British sailors on board and set Guerriere on fire, then returned to Boston with news of the victory. Although the battle was, arguably, inconsequential from a military perspective, as the loss of Guerriere was insignificant to the 600 ship Royal Navy, it was a pivotal moment in American naval history. The American public became galvanized by the pride in defeating the vaunted Royal Navy in a “fair” fight.
Standing on the deck that 4th of July day in Boston I felt an immense sense of pride in this ship and the American values that she stands for. The USS Constitution is an important part of our country’s maritime history and a symbol of freedom for all of us.
To learn more about the USS Constitution you can visit USS Constitution Museum’s website at https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/about-us/