The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is the oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy. First launched in 1797, she was built in the North End and named by President George Washington. She earned her nickname during the War of 1812 when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off the ship’s wooden hull.
Commemorating the Battle of Bunker Hill
Constitution sails out into Boston Harbor several times each summer for turnaround cruises, during which she fires her guns in salute. During this sail, her crew rendered two traditional salutes: a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence on Castle Island, followed by a 17-gun salute as she passed U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston.
The base is the former site of Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard, where the Constitution was built and launched. The crew of the USS Constitution has been training for months to sail with sails, which will be unfurled on July 4th and then again for Sale Boston 250.
Original reporting: WLKY Louisville — read the source article.
