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Old Ironsides at 127 Years and the Battle That Made Her Famous
The piece recalls the 1812 duel between the Constitution and the Guerriere off Halifax on August 19, the first frigate fight of the war, and notes Captain James Richard Dacres and Captain Isaac Hull. It traces the ship’s history from launch in 1797 to later restorations, public support, and ongoing debates over federal funding and naval power. It mentions Oliver Wendell Holmes and the 1828 protest that saved the ship from decay, and details the ship’s design by Joshua Humphreys, its heavy armament, and its enduring symbolism for the U.S. Navy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Broke
Halifax
Constitution
James Richard Dacres
Dacres
Hull
Hue
United States
Charlestown
Mass
Harvard
Boston Daily Advertiser
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Portsmouth
Boston
Secretary of the Navy
United States Daughters of 1812
Curtis D. Wilbur
Navy Department of the United States
Boston Navy Yard
Congress
George Washington
English
Thames
Algiers
Joshua Humphreys
Philadelphia
Cleghorne and Hardy
France
Britain
United States Navy
New York
Isaac Hull
Philip Bowes Vere Broke
Shannon
Belvidera
Eolus
Guerriere
Joseph Hull
Jersey
Morris
Liall
William Hull
Detroit
Fort Dearborn
Chicago
Naval Academy
Annapolis
William Bainbridge
Java
Charles Stewart
Cyane
Levant