Crew Training

Interpreting Constitution is a year-round series of monthly training classes related to the history and public presentation of USS Constitution. This program is conducted by the USS Constitution Museum with partnership from the Naval History and Heritage Command Detachment Boston.

Below is a schedule of topics with available resources for each topic.

INSTRUCTORS

Carl Herzog, Public Historian, USS Constitution Museum
617-286-5026
cherzog@usscm.org
Emily Bryant, Education Manager, USS Constitution Museum
617-426-1812×131
ebryant@usscm.org

Jennifer Zanolli, Manager of Interpretation & Visitor Services, USS Constitution Museum
617-426-1812×106
jzanolli@usscm.org

Sarah Dunbar, Assistant Education Manager, USS Constitution Museum
617-426-1812×113
sdunbar@usscm.org

Margherita Desy, Historian, NHHC Detachment Boston
617-337-2391
margherita.desy@navy.mil

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES
Interpreting Old Ironsides: An Illustrated Guide to USS Constitution
Charles E. Brodine, Michael J. Crawford, and Christine F. Hughes (Naval Historical Center)
Men of Iron: USS Constitution’s War of 1812 Crew Matthew Brenckle, Lauren McCormack and Sarah Watkins (USS Constitution Museum)
Against All Odds: U.S. Sailors in the War of 1812 Charles E. Brodine, Jr., Michael J. Crawford, Christine F. Hughes
200 Years of Change: An Illustrated Tour Handout Margherita Desy
USS Constitution Museum Website www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org

MONTHLY TOPICS AND RESOURCES

August 2019: Gunnery and Constitution’s Legacy and Role
 
Oliver Wendell Holmes’ poem, “Old Ironsides”
Marshall, G. (1822). Marshall’s Practical Marine Gunnery: Containing A View Of The Magnitude, Weight, Description & Use, Of Every Article Used In The Sea Gunner’s Department, In The Navy Of Age Of Sails. (2013, June 6).
HMS Victory Broadside! video
Llaneza, Michael. (2007, March 26). USS Niagara Live Fire Demonstration video

September, 2019: Anniversary of Launch; Ship Design and Construction
 
USS Constitution Museum. (2013 November 6) – Birch and Oak
USS Constitution Museum. (2014 Dec. 12) Should her ways have better laid
NHHC Detachment Boston/USS Constitution Museum. (2016 September 9) Keel Hauled
USS Constitution Museum. (2013 Oct. 16) Madeira Mystery

October, 2019: Constitution’s First Conflicts – The Quasi-War and Barbary War
 
Introduction and Conclusion from Stoddart’s War, by Michael A. Palmer (1987)
“Barbary Wars, 1801–1805 and 1815–1816” U.S. State Dept.

November: Java Review; Building a Tour
 
Brenckle, M., McCormack, L., & Watkins, S. (2012) Men of Iron: USS Constitution’s War of 1812 Crew. “Chapter 5: Returning Home” (pp. 46-55).
USS Constitution Museum. (2010). War of 1812 Overview
Charles Waldo battle plan USSC vs. Java – USS Constitution Museum Collections
Brenckle, M., McCormack, L., Watkins, S. (2012) “Forging a Fighting Team”, “Testing the Crew in Battle” in Men of Iron: USS Constitution’s War of 1812 Crew. (pp. 33-45)
Desy, M. M. (2016). The Armament of USS Constitution, 18th – 21st Century. Naval History and Heritage Command Detachment Boston.
USS Constitution Museum. (2015, November 12). Constitution’s Guns: A Snapshot
USS Constitution Museum. (2015, April 30). Carronades for the Tops: A New Interpretation
Constitution’s Guns: Today vs. 1812 (pdf)

December, 2019: The World of Command
 
McKee, Christopher. A Gentlemanly and Honorable Profession. Ch. 2, “A Ranked Society” (pdf)
USS Constitution Museum. (2014 February 28) – All the Comforts of Home
USS Constitution Museum. (2015 October 29) – Tumbler Home

January, 2020: Cyane and Levant, Battle Tactics under Sail
 
USS Constitution Museum. (2016 July 19). Canvasing the Navy
NHHC Detachment Boston/USS Constitution Museum. (2016 July 29). Suit of Sails
NHHC Detachment Boston/USS Constitution Museum. (2016, October 6). Ropemakers for the Navy: Part I
NHHC Detachment Boston/USS Constitution Museum. (2016, October 21). Ropemakers for the Navy: Part II

February, 2020: Life of the Average Sailor, Uniforms

Brenckle, M., McCormack, L., & Watkins, S. (2012) Men of Iron: USS Constitution’s War of 1812 Crew. Chapter 1: Recruiting a Crew” (pp. 2-14), “Chapter 2: Joining a Seafaring Community” (pp. 15-32). USS Constitution Museum, Boston, MA.
National Park Service. The War of 1812. “Fighting for Freedom: Africa American’s and the War of 1812,” Gene Allen Smith.
USS Constitution Museum. (2015 December 16) – Red Flannel Forever
USS Constitution Museum. (2013 November 1) – Pea Jackets
USS Constitution Museum. (2014 November 18) – Frock On!
USS Constitution Museum. (2014 February 7) – Slip-shod: The Truth About Early Navy Shoes

March, 2020: Naval Armament Act; Bridging the Freedom Trail

“Timeline for the Creation of the Navy”. USS Constitution Museum (pdf)
Brodine, C. E., Crawford, M. J., & Hughes, C. F. (2007). “Re-establishment of the Navy” in Interpreting Old Ironsides: An Illustrated Guide to USS Constitution (pp. 3-4). Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center.
Taylor, A. (2013) “From the American Revolution to the War of 1812” in The War of 1812 (pp. 16-27). The National Park Service. Virginia: Donning Company Publishing.

April, 2020: Mayflower; Ship design and Function
https://mayflower.plimoth.org/restoration-videos/

May, 2020: Food and Messing
USS Constitution Museum. (2016 May 4) Sick Bay: Where Away?
USS Constitution Museum. (2015 March 5) Whitewashing Constitution
USS Constitution Museum. (2014 July 16) Some Notes on Navy Biscuits
USS Constitution Museum. (2014 April 25) Water, water, everywhere
USS Constitution Museum. (2014 February 13) Hot Stuff: Chocolate and the U.S. Navy
MacDonald, J. (2014). “Chapter 6 “What Other Navies Ate” in Feeding Nelson’s Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era. (pp. 140-143). Yorkshire, England: Frontline Books

June, 2020: Marine Corps

The Incredile Life of Henry B. Joslin
The Incredible Life of Heny B. Joslin, part 2
From the Desk of a Marine
Chesapeake, Shannon, and Constitution’s Marines

July, 2020: Guerriere and the Great Escape
USS Constitution Museum. Escaping a British Squadron