Workers in the rigging

The USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat. She was launched in 1797 from Boston, Massachusetts and participated in the the Quasi War with France (1798-1801), the Barbary Wars (1801-1805) and the War of 1812. She received her nickname of "Old Ironsides" when during a battle with the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812, a sailor exclaimed, "Her sides are made of iron!” after he saw 18-lb. iron cannonballs bouncing off her 25-inch hull.

For more information, see www.history.navy.mil/ussconstitution and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution.

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