"Old Ironsides" Visits Oyster Bay
by Edward Magnani
[Ed.: Edward Magnani's article originally appeared in the Summer 1997 issue of the Freeholder. Our thanks to Mr. Magnani for permission to reproduce it here.]
This summer (1997), the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides", set sail and moved under her own power for the first time in over 100 years. For her bicentennial celebration, she made a short trip from her dock in Boston Harbor to Marblehead, Massachusetts. In 1931, however, she visited ports, under tow, along the Atlantic, Gulf, and West coasts. Among the places she visited was Oyster Bay, where she stayed for three days. Many people visited her while here but a large number were left disappointed due to the long distance from shore to the anchorage.
On August 25, 1931, under tow by the minesweeper Grebe, the USS Constitution came to Oyster Bay. The ship was anchored far out in Oyster Bay Harbor between Lloyd's Neck and Centre Island, a 35 minute boat ride from land. It was Captain Gulliver's judgment that water in the harbor was too shallow to navigate. The ship drew 23 feet of water but at the initially proposed anchorage, close to shore, the bay was only 19 feet deep (at low water).
Two launches with a capacity of 25 persons and a few speedboats holding a half dozen persons made runs at half hour intervals. The ship was greeted by a committee of Town of Oyster Bay officials, headed by C.E.K. Fraser of Quentin Roosevelt Post, American Legion of Oyster Bay. Each of the committee members received a picture 1 of the vessel autographed by Captain Gulliver. A planned demonstration of 2000 Nassau County Boy Scouts on the decks of the vessel was canceled because of the inaccessibility of the frigate. Upon leaving Oyster Bay the Constitution proceeded around Montauk Point and sailed along the South Shore to New York City. This longer route was required since the ship's masts could not pass under the East River bridges.
On the USS Constitution. Dignitaries pose on the deck of the USS Constitution at anchor in Oyster Bay Harbor, 1931. From the collection of the Oyster Bay Historical Society. The Constitution is almost as old as the famous document which was her namesake. In a response to attacks on American shipping by the Barbary pirates of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, George Washington, on March 27, 1794, signed an act to provide naval armament. This act eventually resulted in the construction of six frigates including the Constitution. Quaker Joshua Humphreys of Philadelphia developed the design for the 44 gun vessel. After two embarrassing attempts, where she stuck on the ways, she was launched at the Hartt Shipyard in Boston on Oct. 21, 1797. The 204 foot long ship, had a 43 1/2 foot beam, and a 220 foot mainmast. The Humphreys design produced frigates that were unusually fast and strong. Her speed was attained by the steep angle of her hull below the waterline, which enabled the vessel to move smoothly through the water. The ships were strong because their thick sides were stiffened by supporting beams known as "diagonal riders". These diagonal beams transferred loads from the forward and aft decks downward to the center of bending at the keel. Her internal structural arrangement along with her thick oak sides allowed her to carry more cannon than other vessels of her size.
The Constitution was never defeated and its hull was never holed. She destroyed or captured thirty-two enemy ships. Commodore Edward Preble commanded the frigate from May 1803 until October 1804 and led a series of successful attacks against the Barbary pirates at Tripoli.
Many of the junior officers in his command, "Preble's boys", later became famous commanders during the War of 1812. Included were Isaac Hull and Stephen Decatur. On August 19, 1812, Isaac Hull, by then the ship's captain, defeated the frigate HMS Guerriere, about 600 miles east of Boston. This was the first of a series of victories for the fledgling United States Navy over the "invincible" British naval forces. It was during this engagement that the Constitution earned her nickname, when a sailor saw a ball hit, make a dent, and fall into the sea. He cried out, "Huzzah! Her sides are made out of iron!" Due to his brother's death, Hull left the Constitution to settle his brother's affairs and provide for the widow and her children. He switched duties with Commodore William Bainbridge who was commandant of the Boston Navy Yard. With a crew comprised principally of Hull's men, Bainbridge met and defeated the frigate HMS Java on December 29, 1812, off the coast of Brazil. After this second one-on-one frigate fight, Britain ordered her frigates to avoid engaging their American counterparts when alone. The avoidance problem was solved by American Captain Charles Stewart near Madeira off the African coast on February 20, 1815. In a classic naval battle, the Constitution simultaneously defeated two British ships, the light frigate Cyane and the corvette Levant.
The Constitution spent most of the 1820s in the Mediterranean, ensuring the safety of Americans during the Greek Revolution. An unfounded newspaper report in Boston in 1831 indicated that the ship was ready for scrapping. Student Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a stirring poem of protest. It began "Aye, tear her tattered ensign down, Long has it waved on high." The popular response to this famous poem insured that the Navy should not even consider such a notion.
In 1845, the Constitution, under the command of Captain "Mad Jack" Percival, visited Vietnam and when in Danang tried to rescue a French missionary without success. With the coming of ironclads in the Civil War, the age of the wooden warship was almost over. After use as a school ship for U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen, and a brief ignominious stay at Portsmouth, she returned to Boston for her centennial in 1897. In the 1920s, the Constitution was in danger of sinking at her pier. $600,000 was raised for her restoration by popular subscription and the rest was added by Congress. Starting in 1931 she then spent three years, under tow, touring the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific coasts. It was during that tour that she visited Long Island. After leaving New London, Connecticut, she traveled to Montauk where she stayed for three days before moving on to Oyster Bay, and then on to New York City.
USS Constitution. "Old Ironsides" in Oyster Bay Harbor, 1931. The Constitution permanently resides in Boston as the Navy's oldest commissioned warship. It has been suggested that the Constitution will again tour the United States and may visit New York City for the 4th of July celebration of the next millennium. Hopefully, this national treasure will stop once again in Long Island waters.
1. It is hoped that persons in possession of photographs of this occasion will loan or donate these items to the Oyster Bay Historical Society and/or the Nassau County Museum Collection at the Long Island Studies Institute where copies can be made to preserve this event for future generations. Back to article.
