Must-see
USS Constitution
The oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world
The story
Before you is USS Constitution, the oldest warship in the world that is still afloat and in commission. While the colonies were British, the Royal Navy protected them from pirates and foreign fleets. After independence the young country had to defend itself. In 1794 Congress decided to build six warships, and so the United States Navy began. Constitution was built at Hartt’s shipyard in Boston’s North End and launched on the twenty-first of October 1797. The next year she sailed on her first cruise, during the undeclared Quasi-War with France. Later she fought the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean. Her greatest glory came in the War of 1812: her crew defeated four British frigates in three battles. That is when she earned the nickname “Old Ironsides,” because enemy cannonballs seemed unable to pierce her strong oak hull. Almost all her repairs were done here, at the Charlestown Navy Yard, and she is still berthed at this pier. Active-duty US Navy sailors serve aboard. Every day at eight in the morning and at sunset, a cannon is fired from the ship. On special occasions, tugboats help her out into Boston Harbor, to Castle Island, where she fires a cannon salute. Across the pier is the ship’s museum, which tells how she was built, how sailors lived aboard and how she is preserved.
Visiting
Charlestown Navy Yard. Boarding the ship is free, with a security check; visitors 18 and older need a valid photo ID. The USS Constitution Museum is in Building 22 across from the ship, admission by donation. Hours at navy.mil and ussconstitutionmuseum.org. On foot from the North End, follow the Freedom Trail across the North Washington Street Bridge.
Photos
Sources
This text was written by AI from open sources. An expert will still check it. Found a mistake? Write to us. Support
.jpg){kind=link}