Navy's oldest commissioned warship to sail again

AP via Tampa Bay Online ^ | Aug 17, 5:26 PM EDT | JAY LINDSAY

[ConorMacNessa]

BOSTON (AP) -- The U.S. Navy's oldest commissioned warship will sail under its own power for just the second time in more than a century to commemorate the battle that won it the nickname "Old Ironsides."

The USS Constitution, which was first launched in 1797, will be tugged from its berth in Boston Harbor on Sunday to the main deepwater pathway into the harbor. It will then set out to open seas for a 10-minute cruise.

The short trip marks the day two centuries ago when the Constitution bested the British frigate HMS Guerriere in a fierce battle during the War of 1812. It follows a three-year restoration project and is the first time the Constitution has been to sea on its own since its 200th birthday in 1997.

[ConorMacNessa]

To the amazement of Dacres and his crew, the 18-pound iron cannonballs launched by Guerriere bounced harmlessly off the American frigate’s 24-inch triple-layered hull, which was made of white oak and live oak sheathed in copper forged by Paul Revere. One British sailor supposedly yelled out, “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron!” Thus, Constitution was christened “Old Ironsides.”

From the History Channel:

http://www.history.com/news/how-uss-constitution-became-old-ironsides-200-years-ago



Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Talisker]

I made a diorama of the Constitution defeating the Guerriere for show-and-tell in 5th grade.

Funny how memories come up.

[Joe Marine 76]

You wrote: “I knew a Charlestown Townie (and possible wiseguy) who often joked about how they (U.S. Navy) were taking the Constitution out on joy-rides on a regular basis.”

I am a Townie. The only taking of the Constitution out on a “regular basis” is the yearly “turn-around” so the ship, when berthed again, is in the opposite position so it will “weather” evenly throughout the year. The turn-around is normally done with the assistance of tugs and there is normally a lottery for folks to win a ride... that’s the only “joy-ride.”

The “wiseguy” didn’t know what he was talking about.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Oh me too.Damned shame really.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks ConorMacNessa. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[NonValueAdded]

ping

[onedoug]

You Corpsman were good.

Thanks for your service.

[Ray'sBeth]

We all memorized the poem in 6th grade!

[ConorMacNessa]

Semper Fi, Brother!





Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[tanknetter]

Wrong. The hull was built of white oak. The wood was so strong that enemy shot was indeed observed to bounce off as if she were made of iron; hence the nickname “Ironsides”.

Southern Live Oak, actually. Mostly from Georgia iirc. Much sturdier than White Oak, which was used for her planking, ceilings and other areas.

And it wasn't just the Live Oak: that contributed more to her longevity than survivability in battle. What really mattered when it came to shrugging off cannonballs when going up against other warships was her framing. The five "Humphries" frigates (not counting "sixth"; the poor, lamentable Chesapeake, which was built to a much different design by one of Humphrey's former students turned rival) had very narrow spacing between their frames. The result was what amounted to an armored wall of wood that was at least 2 1/2 feet thick.

[tanknetter]

The Constitution was the inspiration in design and description for the Acheron in Master and Commander, Far Side of The World.

Yup, in the movie anyways, which was based on two of the Jack Aubrey books; "Master and Commander" and "Far Side of the World".

It would have just been bad form for a movie aimed significantly at American audiences to feature an Australian portraying an Englishman taking on and defeating an American frigate. So the two books were merged and the "Acheron" was explicitly described as a "Yankee 44 Gun frigate", IOW of the same design as United States, Constitution and President (Constellation and Congress were smaller) that was built for the French. There's one scene where one of the sailors, who saw "Acheron" being built, presents Aubrey with a hand-made model showing the ships' extremely close framing.

[Vermont Lt]

Poor ship. Every few years it tries to get out of Charlestown, but the tie it up with a rope and drag it back.

[redlegplanner]

Sailing on her during the annual turn around is a bucket list item for me. To do so while she was under her own power, even if for only 10 minutes, would be unimaginable.

[ConorMacNessa]

Man it with a stout and squared-away crew and it could make that escape good. I have no idea how much of the original wood, copper, etc. is still there - probably not much. Probably better materials in place now. It may be more seaworthy now than when it was launched over two centuries ago.



Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[wardaddy]

Hail carronades!

War of 1812

Most underrated war ever....but oh so pivotal

[ConorMacNessa]

Wardaddy, as far as I'm concerned it was a great victory for the young Nation. I have spoken to posters on this forum who disagree with me, but I point to the exploits of the USS Constitution, the Battle of Lake Erie and the Battle of New Orleans in support of my argument. Before the War, the Brits were impressing American lads into the Royal Navy as though they were British subjects. After the war, that never happened again. Before and during the War, they sought to undo the Revolution, and very nearly succeeded. After the war, there was never another such attempt.

Now our British cousins are our most stalwart allies in the defense of democracy. Despite the antics of the Obama REgime, may it remain forever so!



Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Telepathic Intruder]

Live and learn.

[Conan the Librarian]

Besides our good Georgia Live Oak, the Guerriere guns were indeed strong enough to blast a hole through the Constitution and out the other side.

A properly charged cannon of that era, could shoot 200 yards through the air and then through 4 feet of wood, go through the ship, and then another 4 feet of solid oak.

The problem was that the first shot was undercharged, the idea was to get the shot to go through the nearer side, but, bounce off the far side and ricochet around inside the boat.

The Constitution’s first shot did just that, and more. The Guerriere didn’t stand a chance after that already being out gunned.

[ROLF of the HILL COUNTRY]

“Southern Live Oak, actually. Mostly from Georgia iirc. Much sturdier than White Oak..”

Quercus Virginius (AKA “live oak”) IS a white oak.

During the refurbishment in the 1990s, much of the live oak used came from Texas, where we had lost many trees due to oak blight.

[Stonewall Jackson]

I remember reading an interview with the head of the Enterprise veterans group in which he said that they'd already secured enough pledges to fund purchasing and restoring the "Big E". They were stunned to learn that she'd been sold to the breakers without even being offered to the group.

Sad, very sad.