Fresh from Dry Dock, the Constitution Reopens to Visitors
The frigate USS Constitution returned to the waters of Boston Harbor on the night of 23 July after a two-year restoration in historic Dry Dock 1 of the Charlestown Navy Yard at Boston National Historical Park.
Beginning Labor Day weekend, the Constitution’s crew is welcoming visitors once again to the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat for tours and stories of the nearly 220-year-old vessel.
The historic ship’s preservation and restorations are executed by the staff of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Detachment Boston. DET Boston is the descendant of the hundreds of Charlestown Navy Yard workers who have cared for the ship since her return to Boston in 1897, in time for the 100th anniversary of her launch.
Her latest restoration began when she entered dry dock in May 2015. Dry Dock 1 in the Charlestown Navy Yard is the second oldest operational naval dry dock in the country. The Constitution was the first naval vessel to enter the dock, on 24 June 1833.
In the modern era, “Old Ironsides” is dry-docked every 20 years or so; the last docking was 1992–95.
One of the biggest tasks of the latest restoration was the replacement of the frigate’s copper sheathing below the waterline. The Constitution’s crew helped the NHHC’s restorers replace 2,200 sheets of copper and the felt installed behind it. As part of the copper replacement, all the cotton wadding and oakum caulking between the below-the-waterline hull planks was removed and replaced with thousands of feet of new caulking.
In addition, 100 white oak hull planks were replaced, mostly above the waterline. The restoration also saw the rebuilding of the ship’s cutwater on the bow; preservation and repair of the rigging, upper masts, and yards; and refurbishment of the replica guns usually displayed on the spar and gun decks.
As with modern warships, in which the maintenance work never ends, so it is with this 18th-century naval vessel. The Det Boston team will continue to provide ongoing preservation for the ship for years to come. Richard Moore, the detachment’s director, praised his staff’s work over the past two years.
“All of the Detachment Boston employees take great pride in the work accomplished,” said Moore. “The ship restorers, riggers, and blacksmith are a group of skilled craftspeople who have put their talents to great use during the Constitution’s dry dock restoration.”
Launched on 21 October 1797, the Constitution was one of the new U.S. Navy’s six original frigates. Larger and more heavily armed than European frigates, the Constitution and her sisters became formidable opponents on the high seas.
Undefeated in battle, the Constitution fought in the United States’ first three wars—the Quasi-War with France, the Barbary Wars, and most notably, the War of 1812. Her defining and most historic battle was against the British frigate HMS Guerriere on 19 August 1812, during which one of the Constitution’s sailors noticed that some of the enemy’s cannon shot appeared to fall harmlessly off her thick, oak hull. “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron!” the sailor purportedly shouted—and thus she earned her enduring nickname of “Old Ironsides.”
For more details on her latest restoration, visit www.usscm.org/restoration/blog. For additional background on “America’s ship of state,” go to www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/ships/uss-constitution-americas-ship-of-state.html.
Hattendorf Center Established at War College
Rear Admiral Jeffrey Harley, president of the U.S. Naval War College (NWC), has announced the establishment of the new John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research.The Hattendorf Center is charged with studying history for the purpose of educating and informing contemporary practitioners and Sea Service professionals about the fundamental historical functions of navies.
The center also will coordinate maritime historical programmingand will supersede the former Maritime History Center, which has been active at the college since 1919.
The Hattendorf Center will oversee NWC’s Naval Historical Collection, which includes rare books and archival material. In addition, the center will coordinate the historical missions at NWC with those of the Naval History and Heritage Command.“We will continue our partnerships in producing original documentary research for use in a variety of areas,” added David Kohnen, director of the new center, “including the future history exhibitions and educational programs of the Naval War College Museum.”
The center is named for Professor John B. Hattendorf, who served the school for nearly 50 years in uniform and in the classroom. Through his publications and original documentary research in archives, Hattendorf earned international acclaim for his scholarship in the globally focused field of maritime history. Recognizing these scholarly contributions, the faculty of Oxford University endorsed Hattendorf’s academic promotion from the D.Phil. to the higher Doctor of Letters degree in 2016.