If the USS Constellation in Baltimore is the ship people mix up most often, this is the one they’re usually thinking of: the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides”, tied up at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. The two are easy to confuse. Both are tall, black-hulled wooden warships with a white stripe along the gunports, and both have names starting with “Const”. But the Constitution is older, a heavy frigate launched in 1797, and unlike her Baltimore cousin she is still a commissioned ship of the United States Navy. Her ghost lore is much thinner than the Constellation’s, so this post is mostly history, with the legends kept to the end and clearly labelled.
One of the six original frigates
In 1794 Congress passed the Naval Act, which paid for six frigates to protect American merchant ships, mostly from pirates operating out of North Africa. Designer Joshua Humphreys made them bigger, more heavily armed and more strongly built than ordinary frigates of the day. The Constitution was built at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard in Boston’s North End, and she was launched on 21 October 1797. Her hull was made of live oak, an extremely dense timber, and some of her copper fittings came from Paul Revere’s foundry.
Her early service took her to the Caribbean during the Quasi-War with France, and then to the Mediterranean in the First Barbary War, where she served as a flagship against Tripoli.
The War of 1812 and “Old Ironsides”
The Constitution’s fame comes from the War of 1812 against Britain. In July 1812, off New Jersey, she escaped a British squadron in a long chase in light winds, partly by “kedging”: rowing an anchor ahead, dropping it and hauling the ship up to it.
Then, on 19 August 1812, under Captain Isaac Hull, she met the British frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia. In a short, fierce fight she reduced the Guerriere to a dismasted wreck so badly damaged that she had to be burned. During the battle, British shot was seen bouncing off the Constitution’s thick oak sides, and a sailor is said to have shouted “Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!” The nickname “Old Ironsides” stuck. It was the young U.S. Navy’s first major victory of the war, and it caused a sensation at home.
She went on to defeat HMS Java off Brazil in December 1812, and in February 1815 she captured two British warships, Cyane and Levant, in a single action. In all she took five British warships during the war, and she was never defeated.
Saved by a poem
By 1830 the old frigate was in poor shape, and a newspaper report suggested that the Navy planned to scrap her. A 21-year-old Harvard student, Oliver Wendell Holmes, wrote the poem “Old Ironsides” in protest. It begins “Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!” and it was reprinted across the country. The public outcry helped persuade the Navy to rebuild her instead. In 1833 she became one of the first ships to enter the new dry dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard, where she was repaired.
After that she served for decades more. She sailed around the world in the 1840s, patrolled off Africa against the slave trade, and trained midshipmen for the Naval Academy during the Civil War. She carried American exhibits to the 1878 Paris Exposition. She left active service in 1881, and from 1907 she was kept as a museum ship.
Pennies and restorations
Like the USS Alabama in Mobile, the Constitution was helped by schoolchildren. A major restoration in 1927–31 was partly paid for by donations from the public, including pennies collected by schoolchildren. Afterwards she was towed on a three-year tour of 90 ports around the country, including stops on the Gulf and Pacific coasts, and millions of people came aboard.
She has been dry-docked and rebuilt many times since. A big restoration in the early 1990s returned much of her original 1812-era structure, and in 1997, for her 200th birthday, she sailed under her own power for the first time in more than a century. She sailed again in August 2012 for the 200th anniversary of her victory over the Guerriere. Her most recent major dry-docking was in 2015–17, and the Navy plans for one roughly every 20 years.
Today she is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat anywhere in the world. Her crew of about 75 officers and sailors are all active-duty U.S. Navy personnel. They give tours, take part in ceremonies, and periodically take her out into Boston Harbor on “turnaround” cruises, turning her around so her hull weathers evenly.
The ghost stories
Here I have to be honest: I couldn’t find many specific, well-sourced ghost stories about the Constitution, and I’d rather tell you that than make some up. The tales that circulate come mostly from Boston ghost-tour companies and ghost-story websites, and they are general rather than detailed.
The main legend is of “spectral sailors”. Visitors and crew are said to have reported footsteps where no one is walking, doors and hatches slamming, objects moving, cold spots below deck, voices in the dark, and figures in early 19th-century naval uniforms on deck. These are usually linked to the men who died aboard over her long career. I haven’t found named ghosts, dated sightings or a famous photograph like the Constellation’s 1955 picture. In fact, some of the stories online appear to mix up the two ships, which seems fitting.
So treat this as an atmospheric legend rather than a documented haunting. Ghost tours of Boston sometimes include the ship and the Navy Yard in their stories, but the ship itself is a working Navy vessel, and she is not opened for overnight ghost hunts.
Visiting Old Ironsides
The ship is at Pier 1 in the Charlestown Navy Yard, part of Boston National Historical Park and the last stop on the Freedom Trail (GPS address: 1 Constitution Road, Charlestown, MA 02129). Boarding is free. Because she is a commissioned Navy ship, everyone goes through airport-style security screening, and visitors aged 18 and over must show a physical government-issued photo ID or passport. Digital IDs have not been accepted. Strollers aren’t allowed on board, and the ship isn’t fully accessible.
When I checked, the Navy listed tours Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on some holidays. Hours change with the season and the ship’s duties, and she can close at short notice, so check the official USS Constitution page on navy.mil before you go.
Don’t skip the USS Constitution Museum next to the pier. It’s a private, non-profit museum with hands-on exhibits about how the ship was built, sailed and preserved. Admission there has been by suggested donation in recent years, but check its website. You can also visit the World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young in the Navy Yard, and the Bunker Hill Monument is a short walk away. Parking near the yard is limited, so the Freedom Trail, the water taxi or the MBTA are easier.
My take
Whether or not spectral sailors walk her decks, standing on the Constitution is like standing in 1812. And if you’ve already visited the Constellation in Baltimore, seeing the two side by side in your memory is the best way never to mix them up again.
FAQ
Is the USS Constitution haunted?
There are general legends of “spectral sailors”, footsteps and cold spots, mostly told by ghost tours, but I couldn’t find well-documented or specific sightings.
What’s the difference between the USS Constitution and the USS Constellation?
The Constitution is a 1797 frigate in Boston and still a commissioned Navy ship. The Constellation is an 1854 sloop-of-war, a museum ship in Baltimore.
Why is she called “Old Ironsides”?
In her 1812 battle with HMS Guerriere, British cannonballs were seen bouncing off her thick oak hull, and a sailor reportedly shouted that her sides were made of iron.
Is it free to visit the USS Constitution?
Yes, boarding is free, but adults need a physical photo ID and everyone passes security screening.
Top image: USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. Photo: Ethan Long, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons