The United States Congress authorized the original six frigates of the United States Navy with the Naval Act of 1794 on March 27, 1794, at a total cost of $688,888.82. These ships were built during th
USS Constitution, the last of the original six frigates of the United States Navy still in commission
Carronade on the spar deck of Constitution
Painting of the October 30, 1812 Engagement between the United States and the Macedonian –Oil on canvas by Thomas Birch, 1813
Detail of USS Constellation (from Capture of the French Frigate, L'Insurgente –Watercolor by Admiral John W. Schmidt, 1981)
USS Constitution
Videos
USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the second oldest naval vessel still in commission, and the oldest still
Original six frigates of the United States Navy
…powerful enough to engage any frigates of the French or British navies, yet fast enough to evade any ship of the line. One of these original six, the USS Constitution, is still in commission and is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat. After the Revolutionary War, a heavily indebted United States…
Constitution, dressed overall, fires a 17-gun salute in Boston Harbor, 4 July 2014.
Constitution fires her cannons as she is towed through Boston Harbor in 2021.
Constitution c. 1803–04
Philadelphia burning in Tripoli Harbor