USS Constitution

In the 1790s the United States, its merchant ships preyed upon by pirates and foreign powers, decided it needed a real navy, and Congress authorized the construction of six frigates. Constitution was one of them, built in Boston and launched in 1797. Her designers made her larger and more powerfully built than typical frigates of the day, with an unusually thick hull of live oak, a dense and heavy American wood.

That sturdy construction was not just for show. The idea was to create ships that could outfight anything they could not outrun and outrun anything they could not outfight. Constitution's live-oak sides, in places nearly two feet thick, would soon prove their value in a way that gave her the enduring nickname the whole country would come to know.

The nickname was born in August 1812, early in the War of 1812, when Constitution met the British frigate Guerriere in a fierce Atlantic duel. As the two ships hammered each other at close range, sailors watched British cannonballs strike Constitution's hull and seem to bounce off. One of her crew is said to have cried out that her sides were made of iron, and the name Old Ironsides stuck.

The victory over Guerriere was the first of several. During the war Constitution defeated multiple British warships, and each triumph was a tonic for a young country that badly needed good news at sea against the world's most powerful navy. Those wins turned the ship into a national symbol, and she carried the pride of that era for the rest of her long life.

By the 1830s the aging ship was slated for scrapping, and word of her fate stirred public outrage. A young writer named Oliver Wendell Holmes published a poem called Old Ironsides that captured the nation's affection for her, and the outcry helped save the ship from destruction. It would not be the last time popular feeling rescued her.

Over the following century Constitution was repaired, rebuilt, and at one point restored with money raised in part by American schoolchildren who sent in their pennies. Kept in commission and periodically overhauled with as much original-style craftsmanship as possible, she has survived long enough to become the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, a rare object that connects the founding era directly to the present.

Today Constitution is berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard, part of Boston National Historical Park and a stop on the city's Freedom Trail. She is still an active Navy vessel with a crew of sailors who maintain her and share her story, and boarding her means stepping onto the deck of a genuine fighting ship of the age of sail. Because she is a working vessel, a brief security screening may be part of the visit, and she occasionally leaves her berth for maintenance or short harbor cruises.

Right beside the ship, the USS Constitution Museum tells her story in depth and welcomes visitors on a donation basis, with hands-on exhibits about sailors' lives and the ship's battles. Just up the hill stands the Bunker Hill Monument, marking the famous Revolutionary War battle, so the whole area rewards a walk. Being on the harbor, it can be breezy, so dress accordingly whatever the season.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.