The Three Attempts to Launch the USS Constitution

In the last post, I mentioned that the Democratic papers made fun of the USS Constitution because of the fact that it had taken three tries to get the ship into the water.

From Wikipedia.

The ship's launch on September 20, 1797, was attended by President John Adams and Massachusetts Governor Increase Sumner.  Upon launch, the ship slid down the ways just 27 feet before stopping.  It turned out that her weight had caused the ways to settle into the ground, preventing further movement.

Work on it was hasty, and a second attempt two days later resulted in just an additional 31 feet.  People were wondering if the ship would ever get launched.  After a month of rebuilding the ways, the third time was the charm and on October  21, 1797. the Constitution finally reached the water.

Captain James Sever christened her by breaking a bottle of Madeira on her bowsprit.

--Brock-Perry