The USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat. It was undefeated in battle and, in the War of 1812, earned its nickname, Old Ironsides, when British cannonballs bounced off its wooden hull.
The acquired papers cover several topics, including the construction of the nation's first six frigates, which included the Constitution. Also, the strategic plans of the undeclared Quasi-War against France from 1798 to 1800.
The collection belonged to James Sever, the first commander of the USS Congress, another frigate constructed at the same time. These papers had been in his family ever since. James Sever was the naval officer officiating at the launch of the Constitution as I have written about before.
Sever supervised the construction of the Congress and was deployed withy the ship to the Caribbean Sea to protect U.S. merchant ships from French privateers. The Constitution served alongside the Congress.
The collection also includes correspondence from the Constitutions commander, Captain Silas Talbot, Henry Knox, Secretary of War under Washington, who oversaw appropriations for the construction of the Constitution and her sister ships; and Toussaint Louverture, the formerly enslaved leader of the Haitian Revolution, who corresponded with U.S. naval commanders about support for his government.
The documents will be archived at the museum and shared publicly via email newsletters and social media posts at first. They also will be digitalized and made available at the museum's website.
The More We Know. --Brock-Perry
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