St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-10-12
DEAR "OLD IRONSIDES,"

THE OLD WARsHIP TO LEAVE KITTERY-
SKETCH OF A FAMOUS VESSEL.
The proposed transference of the famous
old war frigate Constitution from Kittery
to Washington revives memories of the
heroic age of the American navy; of the
days when the skillful seamanship, the
sound judgment and the dauntless gallan-
try OF American sailors made the stars and
stripes known and respected all over the
world. Our little navy has been prolific
in famous vessels, and still more cele-
brated for gallant and skillful officers, but
the pet and pride of all our ships is the
Constitution.
Both as a sailor and fighter none of our
modern heroes, not even Farragut, have
ever surpassed the famous old captains
under whom the Constitution earned her
later laurels, Hull, Bainbridge and Stewart.
The old ship gave luck to every one who
sailed her. to every one aboard, from cap
tain to cabin boy. All things being taken
into consideration, she is the most famous
warship that ever foated national flag or
danced upon the tide.
a brief sketch of this glorious old yes
sci, still true to the heart of every true
American, will not come amiss just now.
The old revolutionary navy having been
gotten rid of through various causes, con-
gress on March 81, 1894, authorized the
building of six new vessels. three rated as
fifty four gun and three as. thirty eight
gun frigates. One of these vessels, the
Constitution, was laid down at Boston, and
launched Sept. 20, 1897. She would have
been the first of the six new vessels gotten
into the water under the new organization
of the navy had she not stuck in an abortive
attempt to launch her at an earlier date
She got under way July 90, 1898, and
under command of the famous Captain
Samuel Nicholson, of revolutionary fame,
proceeded on a cruise to the southwark of
Cape Henry.
During the short lived troubles with
France, in the latter part of the last CEN
fury, she performed good service, although
it was the Constellation that was the
dandy of that war.
But it was in the trouble with the Bar
barry States, several years later, that the
Constitution began that series of wonder
full exploits and met with the beginning
of that extraordinary good luck which en-
titledsher to the name of "Old Ironsides''
and made her the pet of the navy.'e
In 1903, under command of the cele-
brated Preble, she bombarded the fortii-
cations at the city of Tripoli, and lying to
close under the heavy guns of the corsairs,
silenced each battery, one after another,
most effectually instilling into the minds
of the TURKS wholesome opinion of
American p-owess. When the war of 1912
occurred, the Constitution was lying at
Annapolis, Nd. She was very hastily pre-
Pared for sea. +
So rapidly was her equipment procured
that her first lieutenant joined her only
fortnight before she sailed, and draft of
| 100 men was received the day before she
weighed anchor.
Her crew, it will be remembered, on this
cruise, and during the whole war, in fact,
was composed altogether of men from the
Chesapeake country, from Marblehead,
| Cape Cod and Nantucket, Americans of
the old stock, of whom 1t has been well
said each ore was well competent to sail
and fight the ship if there had not been
an officer on board.
She sailed from Annapolis on June II,
1872 One June II, 1912, began that cele-
| brated chase, the most famous in marine
annals, which has never been eXcelled in
the records of any day. Pursued by five
heavy frigates, Is gun ship of the line,
| a brig and q schooner, the Constitution,
| which the British had previously singled
out of other American vessels to designate
as "a bunch of pine boards sailing under
| bit of striped bunting" eluded her pur-
| suers, and short time afterward, in
August, meeting one of these same pur-
suers, the Guerrero, Captain Dacres, de-
livered that famous and terrific battle that
shattered at one gigantic blow the COM
mon idea of the invincibility of England
upon the seas and demonstrated to the
world that the naughty little island had at
last met more than her match on her
chosen and favorite element.
The effect of this battle upon the senti-
nent of the world was absolutely start
ling. It was so sudden, SO crushing, SO
unexpected, that the world was absolutely
taken by surprise. And none were more
thoroughly astonished than the English
themselves
/ After capturing the Guerrero she vas
put under the command of cambridge,
and distinguished herself by capturing the
heavy armed frigate Java, another feat
which humbled England and correspond
ingly elevated the Americans By this
time she was pretty well fused up" and
was repaired in 1918, wf9n she again
sailed, this time under the command oil
Stewart. She made good cruise and
captured number of small vessels, and
made remarkable escape from two heavy
ships of the line, the Juno and the Tenedos.
In 1915 she overhauled and captured in
one fight the frigate Cyane and sloop-of-
war Ieyant, and few days thereafter
made her escape from Porto Praya in he1
second wonderful chase, inferior only te
her first, this time being pursued by two
ships Of the line. frigate and several
smaller vessels.
/ She had now won fame that was known
and repeated throughout the world, from