225 years of Old Ironside

The world's oldest warship in service celebrates its birthday

After almost a decade without an American navy, Congress very reluctantly authorised the construction of six armed frigates in March 1794 as the centrepiece of a new US navy. The ships, designed under the direction of Joshua Humphries, an experienced shipbuilder from Philadelphia, were each built in a different seaport. A method of involving shipyards that has apparently not been forgotten to this day. The three smallest were the Chesapeake (36 guns; built in Norfolk, Vancouver), the Congress (38 guns, built in Portsmouth, N.H.) and the Constellation (38 guns; built in Baltimore). Humphries' masterpieces, however, were the three larger frigates - President (built in New York), United States (built in Philadelphia) and Constitution (built in Boston). Each of them displaced 2,200 tonnes and had an impressive 44 guns. They were designed to stand up to the great naval powers. The keel of the Constitution was laid on 1 November 1794, she was launched on 21 October 1797 and completed her maiden voyage on 22 July 1798.

The three large American frigates, which were initially underestimated abroad as oversized, had their successes and set the standard for the next generation of sailing frigates after 1815. The Constitution proved to be the outstanding ship. It was aboard the Constitution that representatives of the United States and Tripoli signed the treaty ending the First Barbary War in 1805. During the War of 1812, the Constitution sank the British frigates Guerrière and Java and captured the light frigate Cyane, the six-class Levant and the schooner Pictou. Her last capture was the American illegal slave ship Gambril in 1853. From 1860 to '71, the Constitution served as a training ship for the U.S. Naval Academy. The Constitution, which was restored in 1877, 1907, 1931, 1976 and 1995, is the oldest warship still sailing in the world and is a museum ship in the historic Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.