This is part of my "Learning something new...." history series using United States postage stamps as our history book.

To read previous posts in this series, simply click here.

Old Ironsides was christened on this date in 1797. Interestingly, he is still alive.

Huh?

Yep. Old Ironsides is the United States Ship (USS) Constitution:

The U.S.S. Constitution was named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States, and is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world that is still afloat. The HMS Victory is the oldest commissioned vessel but it is permanently drydocked. The oldest ship that still sails under its own power is the Star of India based in downtown San Diego, California.

During the War of 1812, the USS Constitution earned her nickname "Old Ironsides" in a battle with HMS Guerriere when cannon balls from the Guerriere bounced off the sides of the Constitution.

Old Ironsides last sailed under her own power in 1997 for her 200th birthday. She is now permanently docked in the Boston harbor, but since she still is a fully commissioned naval vessel, she has a crew of 60 active-duty officers and sailors who keep the ship open year round for the public. Being assigned to Old Ironsides is considered "special duty" in the Navy. Duh!

Other interesting facts about the USS Constitution:

1. Her keel was laid on November 1, 1794, at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston.
2. She is a wood-hulled ship constructed of white pine, longleaf pine, white oak, and southern live oak.
3. 60 acres of trees were needed for her construction.
4. The privately run USS Constitution Museum opened on April 8, 1976.
5. "Constitution Grove" at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indiana provides most of the white oak required for regular maintenance.
6. On July 10, 1976, Old Ironsides led a parade of tall ships into Boston Harbor, firing her guns at 1-minute intervals, the first time in over 1oo years that her guns had been fired.
7. During her three-year, $12 million renovation from 1992-1995, Charleston, South Carolina, donated live oak trees that had been felled by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
8. She is berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard, at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail. (If you have never walked Boston's Freedom Trail, put it on your bucket list!)
9. In order to ensure that the Constitution weathers evenly, she does a "turnaround cruise" each year. Although she is towed rather than sailing under her own power, the turnaround cruise is open to the public based on a lottery drawing of interested persons.
10. The fictional French frigate Acheron from the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is based on hundreds of digital computer scans of the Constitution.
11. Commander Thomas C. Graves was relieved of command of the Constitution in 2007 and reassigned after being accused of abusing his subordinates.
12. Old Ironsides is currently undergoing repairs expected to be completed in September 2010. During repairs, she is still open to the public.
13. Copper fittings for the Constitution were originally purchased from Paul Revere's Revere Copper Company. The U.S. Navy still buys copper for maintenance and restoration purposes from the Revere Copper Company.

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Sources:

1. "Tattered Ensign: The Story of America's Most Famous Fighting Frigate, U.S.S Constitution," by John Jennings.
2. A Most Fortunate Ship: A Narrative History of Old Ironsides," by Tyrone Martin.
3. "The Naval War of 1812 or The History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain," by Theodore Roosevelt.
4. Wikipedia
5. Arago: People, Postage, and the Post
6. 1847USA: Knowledge is Power

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