The ‘chip’ is a piece of oak taken from the hull of USS Constitution. It is about half the size of a brick, yet it feels heavier. With timbers this solid, it is no wonder enemy cannon balls bounced off Constitution, giving the rise to her nickname “Old Ironsides”.
The title of this article is one of the more hackneyed expressions in the English language. At the risk of sounding trite, however, I think it is an appropriate way to begin the story of one of the most remarkable ships in the history of the United States Navy. USS Constitution enters her 215th year as the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world still afloat.
Recently a friend gave me a present of the ‘chip’, from Constitution’s hull in the form of a paperweight with the following inscription engraved on a bronze plate. “This material was taken from the original hull of the U.S. Frigate Constitution, keel laid 1794, rebuilt 1927″. As someone with an interest in maritime history, I naturally became curious as to the details of this durable vessel’s past. Specifically, what was the secret of her incredible longevity in an age when wooden ships normally lasted 15-20 years?
In 2006 Ian Toll wrote Six Frigates, an excellent book about the founding of the U.S. Navy. At the end of the American Revolution our young republic was unable to protect its merchant vessels from attacks by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1794 Congress appropriated $688,888 for six big frigates to protect American’s interests around the world. In addition to Constitution, five other ‘super’ frigates, United States, Constellation, President, Congress and Chesapeake were launched between 1797-1800. And yet besides Constitution, only United States lasted until the Civil War, and she was broken up shortly afterwards.
The keel for Constitution was laid in 1794 at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard in Boston. Her hull was made of seven-inch thick live oak planks, held together by copper spikes and bolts forged by Paul Revere. In 1803 she served as flagship of the Mediterranean squadron under a renowned Maine sailor, Commodore Edward Preble from Portland. Preble instituted an aggressive campaign against the Barbary pirates who were harassing American shipping, forcing them to sue for peace. Constitution then patrolled the North African coast for the next two years to enforce the treaty. In 1807, following a refit, Constitution was designated as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron in 1809.
During the War of 1812 Constitution defeated five British warships and captured eight others. Her most dramatic engagement was the epic dual with the British frigate Guerriere, which was virtually destroyed in half an hour.
At this point most vessels in the navy would have been decommissioned, but not Constitution. Following the War of 1812 and another refit, she was appointed flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron, where she served throughout the 1820’s.
In 1830 a rumor circulated around the country that Constitution was about to be scrapped. Once again she was saved, this time by the public outcry stemming from the nostalgic poem written by Oliver Wendell Holmes. “Old Ironsides” clearly stirred the public’s imagination.
Responding to the furor, Congress passed an appropriation for reconstruction and in 1835 Constitution was recommissioned. The highlight of these years was a voyage around the world she made from 1844-1851. In 1849 she stopped in Italy, where the Pope came aboard for a visit.
At the start of the Civil War, Constitution was berthed at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. When she was threatened with destruction by pro-Southern sympathiers, she was quickly removed to Newport, RI where she served as a training ship until the end of the war. Her one remaining sister ship, United States, was less fortunate. She was captured by the Confederacy, and in 1862 scuttled, and used to block a Union advance up the James River. At the end of the war United States was dismantled and her timbers auctioned off to private buyers.
Constitution, almost 70 years old, carried on. Following another period of rebuilding, she was used to transport American goods to France for the Paris Exposition of 1877. On her return voyage she ran aground off the English coast until she was pulled off the rocks by a local tugboat.
Constitution’s centennial was celebrated in 1897 thanks largely to the efforts of Massachusetts Congressman John F. Fitzgerald “Honey Fitz”, JFK’s maternal grandfather. Then in 1905 Secretary of the Navy Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s grand nephew) decided that Constitution, now well over 100 years old, had deteriorated to the point where she was useful only for target practice. When this was reported to the press, public outrage forced Congress to earmark $100,000 to repair the ship.
By 1925 Constitution’s condition had once again become critical. She was filled with rot and water had to be pumped from her hold regularly to keep her from sinking. An estimated $400,000 was needed to repair what had become an American icon and a national campaign was launched. Schoolchildren were encouraged to contribute their pennies and $148,000 in donations poured in. Another revenue producer was the sale of memorabilia from the discarded parts of the ship. Among the items sold were ashtrays, bookends and paperweights.
Congress kicked in $300,000 to pay the final bill of $948,000, more than twice the original estimate. Constitution was recommissioned in 1931 and shortly afterwards began a 22,000-mile ‘thank-you’ tour. Ninety ports were visited beginning in Portsmouth, N.H., ranging as far north as Bar Harbor, Me. on the Atlantic coast and Bellingham, Wash. on the Pacific coast. More than 400,000 people visited “Old Ironsides” on her three-year cruise.
Since 1930 Constitution has had three more refits and a 1954 act of Congress made the Secretary of the Navy responsible for her upkeep. Today, the oldest U.S. warship still in commission welcomes 100,000 visitors annually as she sits at her berth in Boston Harbor, just across the water from where her keel was laid over two centuries ago.