ILLUSTRATION BY THEODORE C. EWEN
r THE "COFSTELLATION" The '
Ship America Forgot
This frigate fought some of our
greatest naval battles, then sank into obscurity; now Americans
are restoring her as another link with our proud past
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By ADM. ARTHUR W. RADFORD as told to Alfred Balk
Admiral Arthur W. Radord,
nolo retired, serucd in three
tonrs during his 45 years 0 ac
tive naval duty and was the
Pentagon's chairman 0 the
Joint Chiefs of Staff on his re
tirement in 1957. Born in Chi
man. he has been associated
with tioo firms as a consultant and three as a di
rector since his retirement. Admiral Radord liues
in Washington, D.C.
Each year thousands of persons climb aboard the
U.S.S. Constitution ("Old Ironsides") in Bos
ton. They pause to admire her cannon, look skyward
along her majestic masts, and feel a surge of patri
otic pride. Meanwhile, some 400 miles southwest,
a sister craft older than the Constitution and now
the Navy's oldest warship floats in relative ob
scurity, its stirring history unknown to most of us.
The name of the gallant ship that 162 years ago
was winning the U.S. Navy's first great sea victory
is the V.S.S. Constellation.
Her commander was Thomas Truxtun, often
called "The Father of the U.S. Navy."
How did he and the Constellation come to win
one of the first of our Navy's notable triumphs?
After the American Revolution, the few war
ships we owned had been sold or scrapped. And as
inevitably happens when defenses are weak, other
powers began humiliating our young nation and
exploiting its interests abroad. President George
Washington asked for authority to form a navy,
and in 1797 three frigates were launched: the
United States, the Constellation, and last by six
weeks, the Constitution.
Tiuxtun himself had helped supervise the Con
stellation's construction. Short, stocky, one of the
most respected sailors in the world, he had gone
to sea at 12, served briefly in the British navy, cap
tained an American merchant ship during the Rev
olution, and later formulated navigational, train
ing, and command procedures which were the basis
for our navy's greatness.
His ship, 170 feet long, with three masts, square
rigged, and 38 guns, was far from being a giant of
the sea. Britain and France had several 100-gun
sailing dreadnoughts. But the Constellation was
speedy, maneuverable, and solidly built.
On her first cruise. Tiuxtun molded his 360
man crew into a skilled, fearless fighting team. Late
in 1798, orders came to venture into the Caribbean,
where dozens of French privateers were intercept
ing our ships and seizing their cargoes. On Feb. 9,
1799, while cruising just oil the small islands south
east of Puerto Rico, Tiuxtun sighted an unidenti
fied vessel some 15 miles away.
"Hoist all sail!" he commanded. "This may be
our opportunity."
1 ivza
The Constellation's speed already had won her
the name "Yankee Race Horse." At first she gained
little ground in the chase. Then the gap began
closing. The mystery ship, Truxtun concluded, was
not only a French privateer but speeay ana wun
armed at that.
"Battle stations!" he commanded from the quarter
deck. Immediately, seamen raced up from the frig
ate's interior: "topmen" swarmed aloft into the rig
ging, marines mustered to prepare for snapshooting
duty and possible boarding of the enemy, gunners
edged their stubby cannon through open ports.
A fresh wind began whipping up spray. But the
Constellation, her sails bulging, pressed the pur
suit to within a mile of the other ship, which did
turn out to be French.
Then a squall hit. The storm-driven sea shook
the Constellation to her innermost beams. Wind
made her sails snap like pistol shots. But the ship
weathered it.
The French craft, however, responded too late.
The sea broke heavily over her wood decks. Then,
with a splintering snap, her main topmast crashed
down and into the heaving waves.
Tiuxtun pressed his advantage. Soon the Con
stellation pulled almost abreast of the enemy. Not
a shot had been fired. When the ships were little
more than 100 yards apart, Truxtun's order
crackled across the Constellation's gun deck:
"Fire!"
Smoke, flame, and iron balls erupted in a shat
tering broadside. The French began returning the
fire. But the Constellation's gunners were smashing
at the enemy frigate's hull while the French can
nonades went higher, into the sails and rigging.
For more than an hour, the two ships sent shots
crashing toward one another. Then one sail fell
from the French ship in tatters, followed by an
other. Her mizzen topmast was splintered. At least
70 casualties lay on the decks, and her wheel now
was unattended.
At 4:30 her captain made his decision.
"Strike the colors!" he ordered. "The Americans
have won!"
Thomas Truxtun learned only later the true di
mensions of his victory. Not only had he and his
crew outmaneuvered seamen of a power that
ranked alongside Britain in that day, but they had
captured what was considered the fastest and one
of the most feared ships in the world, the formid-
able, 40-gun L'Insurgente.
Three weeks elapsed before courier ships car
ried the news to the United States. For days, it
overshadowed all other topics in every community.
In Boston, citizens celebrated for an entire day.
A special play and song were introduced in Phila
delphia. Congress created a special gold medal for
hero Truxtun.
American trade again began to thrive, ship in
surance rates were reduced to reasonable levels,
the French government and others began to re
ceive U.S. diplomats with new respect.
This, however, was only the first chapter of the
Constellation epic. She went on to capture other
privateer ships, fought heroically in the War of
1812, and sailed around the world to help inaugu
rate the "Open-Door" policy in China.
More than a half-century after her launching,
she was capturing illegal slave-trade ships oil
Africa. During the Civil War, she was on blockade
duty in two hemispheres and today is the only
sea survivor of action in that war.
Hundreds of our most distinguished naval of
ficers, including Admirals William Leahy and
Ernest J. King, underwent part of their training
aboard this grand old ship. In World War II, be
cause President Franklin D. Roosevelt remembered
her so fondly, the Constellation was recomissioned
as auxiliary flagship of Admiral King's Atlantic
Fleet. She has taken part in famine relief in Ire
land, four world fairs, the centennial celebration of
the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and
in many other historical events.
Five years ago, it appeared that her last battle
had begun the battle for survival and that it
might be lost. Still sound of beam but without
masts and critically in need of repair, she lay
neglected in Boston alongside her handsomely re
stored sister ship, the Constitution. But citizens
of Baltimore, where she was built, towed her home.
Now, the nonprofit Star-Spangled Banner Flag
House, Inc., already with some funds in hand,
hopes to raise $200,000 needed for her restoration.
Admiral Nimitz, in retirement in California, is
honorary chairman. To everyone contributing $1
or more, the sponsors are offering medals made of
copper from the Constellation's original spikes, and
a lifetime boarding pass. (The address: "Constel
lation," Dept. FW, Baltimore 2, Md.)
The Constellation may even become flagship of
the 1961-1965 Civil War Centennial, a floating mu
seum of all U.S. history to date. It would be sent
to Atlantic Coast and possibly Mississippi River
ports before permanent berthing alongside Fort
McHenry in Baltimore, home of "The Star-Span-
gled Banner" for whose constellation of stars she
was named.
To those of us who have devoted our lives to
naval service, nothing would seem more fitting.
Decades from now, youngsters may climb aboard
our oldest ship, feel her planking, explore her
decks, and say:
"Here was courage and dedication when our na-
1,1 ; ,r,cl Maw wo nil hp worthv of the
UUIl IKWitu it i..-v.
freedom the Constellation so gallantly helped to
preserve and extend."
Family WW, Fcbruaru 5. 1961 I'