The USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides" was once saved as well.
On September 16, 1830, a young doctor in Boston, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. read in his newspaper that the USS Constitution, that legendary frigate from the War of 1812 was going to be sold for scrap. He immediately dashed off an indignant poem that many of us had to learn in elementary school and sent it to the paper.
I was one of those kids who had to memorize it, which I did in either 4th or 5th grade. I can see you, if you are of a certain age (I don't think they make kids memorize anymore), mouthing the words right now. You know: "Aye, tear her tattered ensign down/Long has it waved on high."
In case you're wondering, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was the father of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr..
That poem went viral. Children all over the United States sent in their pennies. Adults followed suit. Enough money was collected to save her. Today, she is berthed in honored glory at Pier One of the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, the world's oldest commissioned warship
After all, the Navy's official motto is "Don't Give Up the Ship."
Talk About a Great U.S. Navy Duty Station!! --Brock-Perrry
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