USS Constitution Timeline
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“An Act to provide a Naval Armament,” signed by President George Washington, authorizes the purchase or construction of six frigates to create the United States Navy
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USS Constitution under construction at Edmund Hartt's Shipyard in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts
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First attempt to launch into Boston Harbor fails
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Second attempt to launch into Boston Harbor fails
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Third attempt to launch into Boston Harbor succeeds
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First cruise from Boston to the Caribbean
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Quasi-War with France
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West Indies Squadron flagship
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In ordinary and repair in Boston (to put a warship “in ordinary” was to decommission and temporarily lay up the vessel until it was again needed; while in ordinary, a vessel might have its rigging, masts, and guns removed and placed in storage. Today, a ship in a similar state is said to be “mothballed.”)
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Mediterranean Squadron flagship during First Barbary War
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Mediterranean Squadron flagship
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Repairs in New York
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Flagship of the “northern division of ships for the protection of the American coast”
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Northern Squadron under command of Captain Isaac Hull
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Special service cruise to France, England, and Holland
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War of 1812
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Escape from five British warships off the coast of New Jersey
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Battle with HMS Guerriere
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Battle with HMS Java
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Escape from HMS Junon and HMS Tenedos into Marblehead Harbor
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Battle with HMS Cyane & HMS Levant
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In ordinary and repair in Boston
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Mediterranean Squadron flagship
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Mediterranean Squadron
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In ordinary in Boston
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In response to a rumor that the U.S. Navy is going to scrap the ship, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. writes a poem in defense of “Old Ironsides,” rallying people to save the aging warship
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First dry docking of the ship in Boston for a significant rebuilding
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Local Boston captain Samuel Worthington Dewey beheads the wooden Andrew Jackson figurehead in protest
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Voyage to France with Minister to France Edward Livingston
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Mediterranean Squadron flagship
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In ordinary in Norfolk, Virginia
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Pacific Squadron flagship
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Home Squadron
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Sails a total of 52,370.5 miles during World Cruise
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In ordinary and repair in Boston
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Mediterranean Squadron
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Pope Pius IX and King Ferdinand II of Naples visit the ship at Gaeta, Italy
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Captain John Gwinn dies in Palermo, Italy, becoming the first captain to die while in command of the ship
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In ordinary and repair in New York
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Africa Squadron flagship
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Captures last prize, the slaveship H.N. Gambril
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In ordinary in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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Refit and conversion to a naval school ship in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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School ship for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland
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Relocated with the U.S. Naval Academy to Newport, Rhode Island for the duration of the American Civil War
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Returns with U.S. Naval Academy to Annapolis, Maryland
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In ordinary in Philadelphia Navy Yard
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Rebuild in Philadelphia Navy Yard
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Stationary training ship in Philadelphia Navy Yard
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Transports United States exhibitions to the Exposition Universelle in Paris, France
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Apprentice Training Squadron
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In ordinary in New York
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Receiving ship in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
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Returns to Boston
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100th Anniversary
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On exhibition in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston
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Restoration in Boston, marking the first time the U.S. Navy attempts to restore the ship to her War of 1812 configuration
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On exhibition in Boston
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School children across the United States raise over $154,000 as part of a “Pennies Campaign” to help restore “Old Ironsides”
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Significant restoration in dry dock in Boston
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Visits 76 cities along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts of the United States during the National Cruise
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On exhibition in Boston
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Along with USS Constellation, named the symbolic flagship of the United States fleet during World War II
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150th Anniversary
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Routine maintenance and repairs in Boston
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Congressional Act, Public Law 83-523 designates Boston as ship's official home port
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Repairs in dry dock in Boston
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Repairs in dry dock in Boston
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Dry docking and restoration in Boston
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On exhibition in Boston
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USS Constitution Museum opens in Building 22 in the Charlestown Navy Yard
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White oak trees at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Indiana are reserved for future restorations
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Leads parade of tall ships in Boston Harbor
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Queen Elizabeth II visits for the United States Bicentennial
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Rosemarie Lanam becomes the first female crewmember to serve on USS Constitution
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Dry docking and restoration in Boston
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A copper spike from USS Constitution is flown on the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis during her first rendezvous and docking with the Russian Space Station Mir
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Lieutenant Commander Claire V. Bloom becomes the first female executive officer assigned to USS Constitution
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USS Constitution sails her under own power for the first time in 116 years
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200th Anniversary
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International ships salute USS Constitution
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Restoration in Boston
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The National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2010, signed by President Barack Obama, designates USS Constitution America’s Ship of State
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Bicentennial of the War of 1812
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Sails in Boston Harbor in commemoration of the War of 1812
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Dry docking and restoration in Boston
