The Story of America's Finest Ship As Told by Three of Her Finest Historians On October 21st 1797, the 44-gun frigate Constitution slid down the ramp at Hartt's shipyard and into the chilly waters of Boston Harbor. While the workmen were proud of their efforts, no one-but NO one-thought she would still be serving her country 210 years later. Yet the Constitution remains afloat, having survived three wars, service on numerous distant stations, duty as a receiving ship, extended periods of neglect and decay, and occasional brushes with the breaker's yard. She has survived all those tribulations to become the oldest commissioned ship still afloat in the world, and a symbol of the heritage and pride our country. Her story is told in a series of 34 short essays by three of the country's leading experts on the USS Constitution's history: Charles E. Brodine, Jr., Michael J. Crawford and Christine F. Hughes of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, DC. Originally published as: Old Ironsides: An Illustrated Guide to USS Constitution, it is brought to a much wider audience in this Fireship Press edition

This is the story of the oldest warship afloat in the world, the venerable frigate USS Constitution, the cornerstone of the nascent American navy created by act of Congress in 1794. Colonel David Fitz-Enz re-creates the world of sail, when seven knots an hour was considered blinding speed for a warship. In Old Ironsides, Fitz-Enz tells the story of the ship, from its construction to the ongoing restoration efforts that keep it active today.

The Constitution was one of the US Navy's first six original frigates, ordered as a counter to the Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean. Fast and heavily built, she was nominally rated as a 44 but mounted thirty 24-pdr and twenty-two 12-pdr cannon. Her most famous encounter, after which she became nicknamed 'Old Ironsides' due to British shot being seen bouncing off her hull, involved HMS Guerriere, which she smashed; the same treatment was meted out to HMS Java four months later. Now the oldest commissioned warship afloat in thw world, she is berthed in Boston Harbor. The 'Anatomy of the Ship' series aims to provide the finest documentation of individual ships and ship types ever published. What makes the series unique is a complete set of superbly executed line drawings, both the conventional type of plan as well as explanatory views, with fully descriptive keys. These are supported by technical details and a record of the ship's service history.

The captain of the USS Constitution during the US bicentennial augments his 1980 history of the country's most famous sailing ship with the fruits of additional research just in time for the ship's own bicentennial in 1997. He confirms that the diagonal riders were in the ship from the first, provides details and diagrams of battles the ship has taken part in, and includes a glossary without pronunciation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The history of the USS Constitution.

In her youth she was beautiful. Her fine lines and graceful sheer, her lightly upturned head, the classic quarter galleries and restrained carvings gracing her 18th-century transom stern--all flowed together flawlessly in this magnificent creature of the sea. Her loft rig spread more sail than any European frigate. In fact, she and her two sisterships were larger in every way than their contemporaries. She is the USS Constitution--the oldest warship afloat anywhere in the world. This proud old warrior has seen--and participated in--virtually all our nation's history. She fought in four wars; circled the world as a symbol of American power; was commanded by the superstars of American naval history: Preble, Decatur, Bainbridge, Rodgers, Hull, Stewart, MacDonough. Constitution is the definitive American icon--older than the Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore, the White House. But her age has been one of her greatest enemies, second only to bureaucratic indifference. The ship that rallied American in the second war of independence later found herself reduced to a floating classroom at Annapolis, and still later became a barracks for transient seamen. Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of the Navy even recommended that she be towed to sea for gunnery practice. In 1830, rumors that she was to be scrapped prompted Oliver Wendell Holmes to write his epic poem, "Old Ironsides." The ensuing public clamor brought Constitution a complete overhaul. She was rescued by the public again in 1876 for the American Centennial, and given a cosmetic makeover in 1907. In 1927, she received an extensive restoration, funded in part by collections from school children. Now, 200 years after her launching, this living link with our nation's beginnings is again preparing to sail. Old Ironsides is the story of this great ship, told by Professor Thomas C. Gillmer, the man the Navy chose to assess her structure and recommend procedures to restore her strength and form. Gillmer answers nagging questions surrounding the true identity of Constitution's designer, settles the controversy about the 1850s-era frigate masquerading as the original frigate Constellation in Baltimore, charts the history of Constitution's major and minor reconstructions, and provides a detailed analysis of her true condition today. Old Ironsides's pages are filled with drawings, plans, and photographs, many never before published, that are a treasure trove for maritime historians. The book includes a full-color section detailing Constitution's earlier triumphs by celebrated marine painter William Gilkerson, commissioned especially for this book. If ships may be considered living beings, Constitution is the last living link with our nation's beginnings--and Old Ironsides brings her to life.