The deeper one digs into the origins of the frigate Constitution, the more one is struck by a glaring absence in the record of her early days. The documentary record of her design and birth is fairly complete, for many of the letters between the War Department, her designer, and her builder still exist. But what we lack are visual representations of the ship when she was new. The now famous portrait of the ship executed by Michele Felice Corne about 1803 is the earliest known depiction of Constitution, and yet this reflects her appearance after substantial alterations.
It is remarkable, and not a little maddening, that no sketches, drawings, engravings, or paintings of the ship in her earliest form have survived. In a town filled with amateur and professional artists, someone must have delineated the graceful form of what the Boston press called, “one of the finest vessels that ever floated.” It may be that such a work still exists out there in the world, mislabeled, or unrecognized for what it is, waiting to be rediscovered.
In the meantime, our searches have uncovered two interesting and early images of the frigate United States. Built by Joshua Humphreys in his Philadelphia shipyard, the United States was, like Constitution, designed as a 44-gun frigate. During her construction her form was somewhat altered by the addition of a “round house” or poop cabin that gave her stern a lofty profile and, as it turned out, severely hampered her sailing ability. This additional structure was probably removed or significantly altered during the ship’s 1805-1806 refit.
Historians and modelers (those students of the particular), have long argued about and guessed at what this structure looked like, and how it was integrated into the ship’s overall form. Two engravings, published about three years apart, and seemingly hiding in plain sight, might finally provide some answers.
In July 1797, the short-lived American Universal Magazine published a new engraving by Thomas Clarke titled “Frigate United States.” This was two months after the ship’s launch, so presumably the Philadelphia-based artist had the opportunity to see the completed ship. Interestingly, the masting as depicted in the engraving mirrors the print of a frigate published in the appendix of Capt. Thomas Truxton’s 1794 work titled Remarks, Instructions, and Examples Relating to the Latitude & Longitude, and carries nothing higher than topgallants on the main and fore masts, and only a topsail on the mizzen. Most interesting of all is the depiction of the stern. We can just make out a gallery of two levels separated by a balustrade. A large, almost semi-circular and heavily-carved sternboard unifies the two levels. The quarterdeck bulwarks are planked up, and the poop is surrounded by a high rail. A loose-footed spanker makes room for an ensign staff.
“The Frigate United States,” engraved by Thomas Clarke, from the American Universal Magazine, July 1797. Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-109.
The rest of the vessel appears similar to what we know of Constitution’s early appearance, with an open railing around the forecastle and waist and a broad gun streak.
In 1800 William Birch published his The City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania North America; as it Appeared in the Year 1800, Consisting of Twenty Eight Plates. One of the plates is a view of the Arch Street Ferry. In the background, a large ship lies moored to the wharf, looming over the surrounding buildings. This vessel bears a striking similarity to the frigate depicted three years earlier by Thomas Clarke. She carries the same rig and ensign staff. Here, however, we get a much better look at the ship’s stern. We can see the two levels of the stern gallery and the turned balustrade. The sides of the roundhouse exhibit some extreme tumblehome and terminate in posts that support the poop railing. Most remarkable of all is the deeply carved sternboard that seems to almost float free of the structure.
In this detail from William Birch’s engraving titled “Arch Street Ferry, Philadelphia,” a large ship lies beside a wharf, her lower yards cockbilled so they don’t interfere with the buildings on shore or the shipping in the river. John Carter Brown Archive of Early American Images, Brown University.
A close-up of the stern.
Is this the US frigate United States? We can’t say with absolute certainty, but the fact that both engravings feature a ship with the same overall form is a strong indication that it is. In his other plates, Birch depicted many of the buildings occupied by the Federal Government. Why not depict the Philadelphia-built ship that was the very embodiment of Federalism?
Did Constitution have a ship’s number (i.e. the carrier Enterprise was CV-6)?
If so, can you tell me what it was. And was it the first, second, or what of the six frigates buiilt?
Thank you.
Constitution did not have a hull number for most of her career. Only in the middle of the 20th century did the ship carry the designation IX-21, which signified that she was a “miscellaneous, unclassified vessel” The first six frigates were started at about the same time, but construction halted on three of them in 1796. The United States, Constellation and Constitution were launched in 1797. Constitution was the third ship to be launched.
That interesting and thrilling News. So many modellers eager to build a model of US Frigate United States with her very special appearance.
What strikes me is the number of guns (16 if my eyes do not fool me?) which is an a strange contrast to Charles Wares´s 1820 deck plans. Isn´t that strange?
Do you have an idea about the original size of those two engravings? I suspect they are really small?
I am thinking about the timeline. The ship was launched in May 1797 (probably without 90 % of the rigging – maybe only lower masts stepped in) and commissioned in July the same year – parallel to the publishing of the first engraving by Thomas Clark. Now my question: how much time would an engraver in those days need from doing his sketches until the engraving is ready printed in a book? Would Clark really have had a chance to be able to see the real rigging and have it published the same month, the ship was first time ready? Does someone know how quick in those days engravings could be finalized?
Another thing which of course is interesting: stern shows in both engravings 7 window-panes on gun deck level. What does that help us for the famous “Constitutions-stern-window-question”? .. well, at least we see there is a certain likelyhood that at least one of the big frigates had a pattern, which fits to later Constitution´s pattern with 5 windows .. which in my thinking automatically lead to todays 3 openings – by just having the outer 2 windows closed (if they ever where real windows ;-) )
Thank you thousend times for showing these interesting engravings.
Thanks for your interest. We thought a number of people would be excited to see these images. The number of guns on the gundeck of the Clarke engraving is curious. We suspect the artist saw the ship before her armament was placed and may have thought the bridle ports were gunports and so added a gun there. The Ware drawing you reference have these bridle ports, but we don’t know at this time whether these were original to the United States’ design, or added later. Constitution did not have bridle ports cut until September 1812, for instance.
The Thomas Clarke engraving is quite small, only 3.5 by 5.2 inches. The Birch engraving is considerably larger at 21.8cm by 28.7 cm.
Common practice was to launch the ships without any of the masts stepped. Since the engraving appeared in a magazine, we can only surmise that the artist and engraver had to work quickly.
As for the stern window question- well, here’s more food for argument!
Does anyone know what ship is depicted on the Seal of the Dept. of the Navy?
I have a coin silver spoon engraved Constitution which came with a pen and ink note stating that this spoon came from Albert Perrys barn and that the vessel was said to have sailed around the horn. I have the spoon and the note in a shadow box for preservation. Tried to contact the museum regarding this item. No answer.
Hi Carol! Is there a makes mark on the spoon? And is the engraving on the top of the handle or inside the bowl?
The maker would date the spoon. Where the engraving is placed on the spoon might determine if it was part of a silver service on the Constitution or just a souvenir piece. It’s hard to say without looking at it. Can you post some images of the spoon or a link to online pictures of it?
Does your museum or the National Arcives possess the original or reproduction images from the Bureau’s File of the original 1790’s shipbuilder’s plan (technical sketch) of the USS United States? Or of the USS Constitution?
The National Archives holds the Records of the Bureau of Ships (https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/019.html), as well as the original sail plan for USS Constitution (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7369032).
The United States may well have been influenced by French design practice, where a second poop deck and roundhouse on large frigates was common practice. The French were thinking about 24 pound super-heavy frigates in the last quarter of the Eighteenth Century, but the concept suffered pre-revolution because their principal backer was an able man (Boux) who had originated on the gun deck, and post revolution by general chaos. The United States and France were allies during the most active period of pre-revolutionary French super-frigate development.
Nevertheless, the French did launch the World’s first 24 pound super-frigate, the Forte, in 1794, followed by two sisters. All had roundhouses and were equipped for distant service. The Forte had a moderately successful career as a blue water commerce raider, and was finally captured in the far East by HMS Sybille in 1799. A contemporary picture of her capture (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Forte_(1794)) shows her with a remarkably similar hooped stern board without side galleries on the upper level raised over the roundhouse as the United States in these two engravings, but without the stern windows (The French often put them in the sides of the roundhouse like miniature gun ports). The french were of course generally very fond of this hooped stern style.
This French style hooped stern is also consistent in some ways with the well known picture by Birch of the United States capturing the Macedonian. The Birch picture only shows a single row of stern windows under the hoop- It is tempting to think that the (expensive) gingerbread work on the hoop was simply opened up or closed in to accommodate the roundhouse when it was added or removed – a potential money saver!!