Sunday, July 10, 2011

Old Ironsides


Old Ironsides - Commissioned in 1798, the Constitution fought in 1803 and 1804 in the Tripolitan War (1801-1805). During a famous battle with the British warship Guerrière in the War of 1812, a cannon shell bounced off the hull of the Constitution, earning the ship the nickname “Old Ironsides.” The commemorative poem “Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell Holmes later saved the ship from dismantling. It is still in commission, the oldest warship in any navy.

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