See Old Ironsides at the
Charlestown Navy Yard

Named the USS Constitution by George Washington in 1797, Old Ironsides earned it's nick name after a combat with the British Frigate Guerriere, in the War of 1812.

In July 1812 USS Constitution was on the way to New York Harbor to join up with one of the naval squadrons when Captain Isaac Hull spotted British ships off shore near New Jersey.

He took the ships on a slow-speed chase upwards to 600 miles off the shores of Nova Scotia.

The USS Constitution was able to out maneuver the Britons, coming at last to a wailing 20 minutes barrage, ship upon ship.

The battle between these ships still lives on in history today as one of the greatest Naval battles ever fought!

During the battle with the British, the barrage of cannon balls fired from "Guerriere" seemed to just bounce off the rugged oak sides of the the Constitution, leaving crewmen to shout "Her Sides are Made of Iron", and the Old Ironsides nick name was born.

The USS Constitution fought throughout, and long after, the War of 1812 and her accolades accumulate and impress even farther!

She would go on to destroy the HMS Java, Cyane, and Levant.

In the 1820s she would go on to the Mediterranean to fight again for Country, would cruise around the world in the 1840s and meet up with the fleet in Africa to be a flagship once again in 1853-55.

War stories run far and wide about Old Ironsides and her tenacity to fight for America to win!

By the late nineteenth century she was a training ship for the Navy, allowing to sail once again for Boston's 100th birthday in 1897.

Now USS Constitution is on display in Boston's Harbor, at the Charlestown Navy Yard, ready to greet visitors from around the world and tell her tale of wonder, awe and war to any who will listen.