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Happy Anniversary, “Old Ironsides”! July is a multiple-anniversary month for USS Constitution: The 44-gun frigate began her first cruise the evening of July 22, 1798, under ideal sailing conditions: Steady Breezes fine & Pleasant Weather. At 8 P.M. Took my departure from Boston Light. [Samuel Nicholson, first captain of USS Constitution, as quoted in ARead more

Preservation Philosophies SHIP OF THESEUS Readers may be familiar with the thought experiment known as the “Ship of Theseus.” It is a philosophical conundrum from antiquity and first appeared in Plutarch’s Life of Theseus: The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians…they took away the oldRead more

USS Constitution is living history, captured in drawings, paintings, and photographs. The legacy of “Old Ironsides’” victories and the men of iron who served aboard her are chronicled in countless annals. Over the course of Constitution’s 221 years, through wartime and peace, many have lyricized her glory; from broadsides celebrating her War of 1812 victoriesRead more

USS Constitution during her final visit to the Washington Navy Yard in September, 1932. USS Constitution Museum. 1999.1. By David F. Winkler, Guest Contributor Today, USS Constitution is closely associated with the Charlestown Navy Yard, where the ship has spent most of the last 120 years and undergone numerous restorations. But during her active sailingRead more

Join USS Constitution‘s Commanding Officer and Crew on February 20, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. on the decks of “Old Ironsides” to commemorate the 203rd anniversary of the battle with HMS Cyane and HMS Levant.  The world of the museum curator or historian is akin to that of a detective’s world. Just like detectives, curators andRead more

USS Enterprise in 2004. Like Constitution’s live oak timbers, CVN-65’s nuclear power plant gave her an advantage of indeterminate value. [Photo courtesy U.S. Navy]By David F. Winkler Guest Contributor   As warfighting platforms go, the 18th-century frigate USS Constitution and 20th-century nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise seem as far different as can be imagined. The wood-hulled Constitution maneuvered under sailRead more

Happy New Year! Since the beginning months of USS Constitution‘s 2015-2017 dry docking and restoration project, we have taken the time at the turn of each new year to review the past year’s work and to look ahead to coming projects.  2017 was momentous in the ship’s restoration as it saw the final days of “Old Ironsides” in theRead more

In October, the USS Constitution Museum hosted a reunion of Constitution crew that had participated in sailing the ship to Marblehead, MA for her 200th anniversary in 1997. That event 20 years ago, was the last time Constitution left Boston harbor. The voyage followed a four-year restoration that had strengthened the hull enough to allowRead more

What a busy time the past six months have been for USS Constitution! As readers of “Restoring an Icon” know, the ship’s 26 months in dry dock came to an end in a dramatically lit, late-night refloating on July 23, 2017. Constitution‘s summer at Pier One in the Charlestown Navy Yard included the reinstallation of theRead more

It was a cold and overcast day in Boston on October 21, 1797. The dismal weather must have been well matched to the anxiety of George Claghorn as he stood on the wharf of Hartt’s Shipyard in the North End of Boston, waiting for high tide. Nearby, the newly completed hull of the US NavyRead more