The USS Constitution fires a 17-gun salute in Boston Harbor, on July 4 2014. The Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,’’ is the world's oldest ship still afloat. She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed.
The ship is most noted for its effectiveness against the British during the War of 1812.
She is now a museum ship, albeit fully commissioned by the Navy. Her crew of 75 officers and sailors participate in ceremonies, educational programs and special events while keeping her open to visitors year round and providing free tours.. She is usually berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail. Go see her.
Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar;—
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more!
Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee;—
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
O, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every thread-bare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,—
The lightning and the gale!
— “Old Ironsides,’’ by Boston physician, poet and essayist Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809-1894)
