USS Constitution - Old Ironsides Still Afloat

USS Constitution - Old Ironsides Still Afloat

Photo: (U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Matthew R. Fairchild/Released), public domain (cropped)

A stop on Boston Freedom Trail, a free self-guided tour.

Launched in Boston in 1797 and named by George Washington, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat in the world. Active-duty U.S. Navy sailors serve aboard her to this day.

She earned her nickname in the War of 1812. During a battle with the British frigate HMS Guerriere in August 1812, enemy cannonballs seemed to bounce off her thick oak sides, and a sailor is said to have shouted that her sides were made of iron. The name Old Ironsides stuck.

Her crews were more diverse than you might expect. Historians estimate that roughly 7 to 15 percent of her sailors during that war were free Black men, who earned the same pay as their white shipmates at a time when that was rare on land.

Visitors can usually board for free after a security screening, but check the website for current hours. The USS Constitution Museum stands nearby.

Getting here: Walk down Hull Street to Commercial Street, cross the Charlestown Bridge, and follow the red line right into the Charlestown Navy Yard to Pier 1.

Did you know?: Constitution still sails under her own power on rare occasions, and she is turned around in the harbor each year so her hull weathers evenly.

Photo op: Walk to the end of the pier beside the ship and shoot back along her hull to capture her three masts and rigging.

More on Wikipedia: USS Constitution · USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere · Boston Navy Yard

Stops on this tour

  1. Boston Common - Where Cows Grazed and Redcoats Camped
  2. Massachusetts State House - The Golden Dome
  3. Park Street Church - Brimstone Corner
  4. Granary Burying Ground - Patriots at Rest
  5. King's Chapel - The Church That Ran Out of Money
  6. Boston Latin School Site - America's First Public School
  7. Old Corner Bookstore - Where Books Changed America
  8. Old South Meeting House - The Tea Party Starts Here
  9. Old State House and Massacre Site - Shots on State Street
  10. Faneuil Hall - The Cradle of Liberty
  11. Paul Revere House - Home of a Busy Silversmith
  12. Old North Church - Two Lanterns in the Steeple
  13. Copp's Hill Burying Ground - A View Across the River
  14. USS Constitution - Old Ironsides Still Afloat
  15. Bunker Hill Monument - The Battle on Breed's Hill