USS Constitution

we dedicated a whole episode to the history of hannah the history probably be our most downloaded episode my mom would just have it on loop yeah

so anyway speaking of uh constitutionally a night owl uh we're doing the uss constitution

you promised me a black hole but um

i yeah i i also uh lied okay okay uss constitution yes old ironside yes So.

I do know a thing about it.

What thing? The lumber came from Abington slash possibly Whitman.

Yeah.

You know about Frygate.

this victory produced a profound sensation in england and the united states in the former it created astonishment and gloomy forebodings for it appeared as if the republic of the west was about to snatch the sceptre from the acknowledged mistress of the seas and that they might no longer sing as they had for a century rule britannia britannia rules the waves hold generously retired from the constitution after his victory to give some brother officer a chance to win fame on the lucky vessel bainbridge succeeded him in command and was put in charge of a small squadron with the constitution and hornet he sailed from boston late in october eighteen twelve and at the close of december encountered the british frigate java off the coast of south america not far from bahia they had a most desperate battle which lasted about two hours when the java which had lost her three masts and her bowsprit in the fight and was leaking badly was surrendered to bainbridge she was one of the finest frigates in the royal navy and was conveying the governor-general of bombay and his staff with more than a hundred officers and soldiers to the east indies like hull jones and decatur bainbridge received unstinted honors from his countrymen The hulk of the Java was not worth saving, and after transferring the passengers and surviving crew to the Constitution, she was fired and blown up.

From that time the Constitution was called Old Ironsides.

This fourth brilliant naval victory in the course of a few months caused much exultation of the United States.

Meanwhile, there had been minor victories and some defeats.

I will not be taking questions on the lobster roll, by the way.

Mid-afternoon, the USS Constitution, the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Old Ironsides launched 1797, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world.

Free to board, active duty, Navy sailors give the tour.

She has never, not once in the entirety of her long and extraordinary life, been defeated in battle.

Her name is USS Constitution, and she has earned every syllable of it.

To understand why this ship matters, why historians return to her again and again, Why sailors who have never set foot on her decks feel something stir when they hear her name, you have to understand the world she was born into.

It was a world of almost incomprehensible violence at sea.

They authorized the construction of six frigates.

Not just any frigates, the finest frigates the world had ever seen.

USS Constitution would be the third of those six, but she would become the most legendary.

Before we continue, if these stories have become part of your nights, consider following our show as we prepare another story for you.

Okay.

So, I was actually commissioned on the USS Constitution, believe it or not, in Boston.

I joined the Marine Corps in 10 years, went by.

It was unreal to do that.

That's

the USS Constitution.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

No.

You stole the naval cog from the USS Constitution.

You broke into a Proteus Energy Systems lab.

You overloaded the reactor there.

Absolutely.

It's actually called the USS Constitution.

Yeah, I don't, I don't mind doing that, like a day trip into the city or whatever-

I wouldn't do a day

So it's a really interesting aspect where Jackson's waiting for reinforcements and he's waiting for what the British are going to do next.

And when Dan talks about fleet, we're not talking about the USS Constitution.

We're not talking about some of the other warships we had at the time, like the USS Philadelphia.

These are small gunboats.

No, no. [laughs] Well, it's a time for a cool change in this late summer.

The USS Constitution gets underway from the Charlestown Navy Yard this morning to mark Chief Petty Officer week.

Sun's out, guns out for Old Ironside.

Well, the sun may not be out, but Old Ironsides will be, which performs a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence on Castle Island around 11:30, and then a 17-gun salute as it passes the US Coast Guard Base Boston, the former site of the shipyard that built and launched the vessel in 1797.