Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-12-24
'OId IrOBsides" Unworthy to be
Repaired.

Lying st the Brooklyn navy yard, set
aside IS unfit for further use, is the frlgate
Constitution. Old IrOnsides" On Sunday
last she was tOwed from the Newport train
ing ship squadron, and orders were received
by Admiral George II. Cooper, command
ant Of the navy yard, 10 put her out Of COM
mission, as she was unseawOrthy and too
worthless to be repaired. Iu few days the
Constitution will take her place among the
old hulks in WallsbOut cree k, where, prob
ably, she viii be allowed to slowly drop to
pieces. Several years ago the navy depart
ment concluded TO break her up, but the
republication at the time OF the old poem OF
Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Aye, tear her tat
tered ensign down." aroused a popular pro-
test, and she was repaired and converted
fn.O a school ship.
The Constitution was one OF the largest
% six frigates whose construction was or
dered b Congress on March q, 1874 She
was launched in October, 1897. She was
built IN Boston, Of the best live oak, and
COS. 1902, us.
She began her career in the Tripolitan
war in 1904, engaging against batteries
mounting lis guns, in TripOh, and her
brOadsides assisted in reeaptuTiug 300
American sailors who had been captured by
the TripOlitans from on board of the frigate
Philaielphis In the war against Great
Britain in 1912, she gained her famous vic
tory over the British frigate Guerriere on
August 18th. On December 26ih following
the Constitution had an engagement with
the British frigate Java, and after hot con-
test took her a prize. The follow
ing year, on a cruise on the coast of Guiana
aud among the Windvard Islands, she cap
tured the British slOOp-Of war PictOu, let
ter OF mar0ue, and several merchant vessels.
She barely escaped heing captured nv the
British Il eet in 1914 by taking refuge In the
/ barber OF Salem, Mass. On February 20,
| 1915. during another cruise, she captured,
after an action OF forty minutes, at night,
| the British fTigate Cyane and the British
slnOp Levant The latter was recaptured by
A British squadron off the harbOr of Porto
| Prays, ard Captain Stewart of the COnstitu
tiOn, fearing that the neutrality OF the port
would not be observed, ran away with his
| oiher prize. The CYSne arrived in New
York in April, 1915, and the Constitution a
moBth later.
During the administration OF President
jackson, while the Constitution was mOored
I'm New York harbOF, . curious incident
occurred. A figure head OF President Jack
son had been put on the PROV, and. the cir
cumstance srOusing the indignation Of a
LieuteuSnty he determined that jackson
should not 90 before the Constitution" I"
He therefore behssded the figure
The head was recovered and replaced
by Commodore Elliott. 1t remained
on the PROV until the vessel was repaired
for Centennial duty, when the effigy
was removed Snd placed on a pedestal on
the grounds OF the annapolis Naval Acsde-
nv. The picture OF Captsin Isaac Hull,
who first commanded the Constitution in
the war of 1919, hangs in the Governors
room in the City Hall. The late Beekman
Won Hoffman, OF this city, WAS one OF her
Lieutenants, and Ogden Won Hoffman, who
died about five years sgO, was one OF her
midshiPmep in 1912.