USS Constitution sails Boston Harbor

21 gun salute, USS Constitution 8/19/12

On Sunday August 19, 2012, exactly 200 years after a key sea victory during the War of 1812, we were able to watch the USS Constitution sail under her own power off Castle Island* in Boston Harbor. It was a stirring sight! Loved the loud booms of the ship's 21 gun salute - the incredible noise helped give a sense of what a full blown battle at sea must have been like 200 years ago.

Excerpt from the 8/20/12 Boston Globe: The USS Constitution set sail for the first time since 1997 to mark the 200th anniversary of its victory over the HMS Guerriere, a Royal Navy frigate, during the battle of the War of 1812 that earned the ship her “Old Ironsides” nickname, officials said in a statement. The ship was tugged just before 10 a.m. with 285 people on board. Once Old Ironsides reached President Roads in the Boston Harbor, crews set three sails and detached the ship from the tugboats, officials said. The ship sailed under her own power for 17 minutes at a maximum speed of 3.1 knots.

*Castle Island is in South Boston, formerly Dorchester's cow pasture, where a key Revolutionary War victory led to the British evacuating Boston.