USS Constellation (1797)
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USS Constellation was a nominally rated 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate of the United States Navy.
Design of the hull of USF Constellation, which was shared with USF Congress.
Scene depicting the engagement, with Constellation (left), firing upon the L'Insurgente (right).
Thomas Truxtun
The 1854 Constellation in 2012
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 the formative years of the United States Navy, on the recommendation of designer Joshua Humphreys for a fleet of frigates powerful enough to engage any frigates of the French or British navies, yet fast enough to evade any ship of the line.
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)