Visiting the U.S.S. Constitution

[caption id="attachment_929" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Boston Harbor View"][/caption]I had never seen the U.S.S. Constitution before, but my husband told me it was a must-see. One of the treats of having the Trolley Pass in Boston is that you get a free Harbor Cruise. So we enjoyed the sights from the waterfront.

I think one of those might have been the site of the Boston Tea Party, but I can’t be sure. Even so, one of the nicest things about this city is the mixture of history and modern city. I think I could live in the suburbs of Boston and be happy.
The cruise ends with its first stop at the naval yard, so we disembarked and decided to go for the self-guided tour since it was late in the day. Had it been earlier, I would definitely have gone on the guided tour because then you get to go below deck. Even so, there were some lovely sights to see. Oh, wait. You thought I meant the boat?

The story goes that the U.S.S. Constitution was commissioned in 1794 and set sail in 1798. It’s the oldest navy ship, and it was pretty amazing to walk on deck. The full history of the boat is here.

Its most famous battle took place in the War of 1812. According to the Navy: “Constitution sighted five ships off Egg Harbor, N.J., July 17. By the following morning the lookouts had determined they were a British squadron that had sighted Constitution and were giving chase. Finding themselves becalmed, Hull and his seasoned crew put boats over the side to tow their ship out of range. By using kedge anchors to draw the ship forward, and wetting the sails down to take advantage of every breath of wind, Hull slowly made headway against the pursuing British. After two days and nights of toil in the relentless July heat, Constitution finally eluded her pursuers.

But one month later, she met with one of them again — the frigate Guerriere. The British ship fired the first shot of the legendary battle; 20 minutes later, Guerriere was a dismasted hulk, so badly damaged that she was not worth towing to port. Hull had used his heavier broadsides and his ship’s superior sailing ability, while the British, to their astonishment, saw that their shot seemed to rebound harmlessly off Constitution’s hull — giving her the nickname ‘Old Ironsides’.”

Oh, and the sailors were active-duty Navy, not reenactors. Very cool.