On This Day: Old Ironsides and the War of 1812

On August 19, 1812, the United States Navy frigate Constitution emerged from one of the most celebrated naval engagements of the War of 1812. Three weeks after the declaration of war between the United States and Great Britain, Constitution encountered HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. The ensuing battle lasted less than half an hour, but its significance extended far beyond the brief exchange of cannon fire. When British shot appeared to bounce from the frigate's heavily built hull, a member of the American crew reportedly exclaimed, “Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron.” The remark gave Constitution her enduring nickname “Old Ironsides” and transformed the vessel into one of the most recognizable symbols of early American naval power.

Launched in Boston in 1797, Constitution was one of six frigates authorized under the Naval Act of 1794, legislation intended to establish a permanent American navy capable of protecting the nation's expanding maritime commerce. Designed by Joshua Humphreys and constructed at Edmund Hartt's shipyard, the three-masted frigate was built with a combination of live oak and white oak that gave her unusual strength. Paul Revere supplied the copper fastenings used in her construction. Prior to the War of 1812, the frigate Constitution saw service during the Quasi-War with France and the Barbary War. Her victories during the War of 1812, however, secured her place in American history.

The vessel's historical significance continued long after the War of 1812. By the 1830s, the USS Constitution was threatened with dismantling, but public opposition helped preserve the ship. Oliver Wendell Holmes's 1830 poem “Old Ironsides” became an important expression of that popular sentiment. After subsequent periods of service, restoration, and preservation, Constitution was recommissioned in 1931 and undertook a 90-port tour of the United States. Today, the ship remains permanently moored at Pier 1 of the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, open for public tours.

The memory of Constitution and the War of 1812 also survived in our material culture. Our vintage “A Trifle from Boston” decorative plate, produced by Mottahedeh for Boston jeweler and silversmith Shreve, Crump & Low, depicts U.S.S. Constitution at its center in sepia tones, surrounded by a blue and yellow oval border and a rim of red and yellow stars. The plate was issued as part of a series devoted to historic American vessels, transforming historic warships into decorative objects of remembrance.

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"Battle Between the United States and the Macedonian" Engraving, Published by Johnson, Wilson & Co., after Alonzo Chappel, 1874