Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Even the Six Frigates had a hard road. At least two of them captured by the British. Constitution and Constellation served well, however.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGTsVUSiM1g
I was a bit rushed on that and didn’t get to finish. But, now that I’m back, I can’t remember what I wanetd to say. So, I’ll just leave it as it stands.
…the Constitution…a must see on everyone’s bucket list. Best
Snake…..I sailed her as a member of the 1997 crew…..first time she sailed free in over 116 years….rode her mainmast in & out of Boston and Marblehead Harbor…..It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us on the crew. Boston’s Victorious Lady 42 wins, no losses.
SK1…it was the right time and you were in the right place…good for you…
…correct me here if I’m wrong…but I recall that the old girl was towed during that 1997 “sail”… she not being physically up to the stress actually sailing…no matter she was then and still is an awe inspiring misty-eyed sight to behold. Best
Snake,
We were tethered to the tug but USS Constitution moved under her own sails….the line between the escort tug was slack….she sails wonderfully as they invested 13 million in repair from 1995-1997…they measured her and she didn’t hog an inch…Bravo Zulu.
I think this is an illustration of “Timing is everything.”
Didn’t work then. Doesn’t work now. Some people never learn.
This was back in the day when the concept was that it was the job of a head executive to make decisions.
And local political fortunes, no doubt.
The earlier predictions of Henry Knox regarding costs of the frigates came to a head in early 1797. Of the original appropriation of $688,888.82, only about $24,000 remained. Secretary of War James McHenry requested of Congress an additional $200,000, but only $172,000 was appropriated. The additional funds were enough to finish the three frigates’ construction, but did not allow them to be manned and put to sea. … Secretary McHenry reported that an additional $200,000 would be required for this stage of construction, touching off grumbling in Congress over the escalating costs. … When the next session of Congress convened in November, Secretary McHenry again requested funds to complete the three frigates. Though upset over the escalating costs, Congress approved an additional $115,833, but simultaneously launched an investigation into possible waste or fraud in the frigate program. On 22 March 1798, McHenry turned over a report outlining several main reasons for cost escalations: problems procuring the live oak; the logistics of supplying six separate shipyards; and fires, yellow fever, and bad weather.[54] Additional inquiries prior to McHenry’s report revealed that the War Department used substandard bookkeeping practices, and that the authorized funds had to be released by the Treasury Department, resulting in delays, causing waste.
Truly there is nothing new under the sun.
The description of the armament and gunnery practices on these ships in the Wiki entry brings to mind my last tour of the Constitution. The first few sentences out of the mouth of the Navy seaman giving the tour made it obvious that he had been born within 20 miles of the ship. In fact, it turned out he was from South Boston, which put him having been born within about 2 miles of the ship. We were examining the guns when I saw that an broadhead arrowhead was cast near the rear of the gun, pointing towards the muzzle. “What is this for?”, I asked.
“Are there any Marines present?” our guide asked.
No one answered, so he continued. “Well, there’s two reasons for that. The first is that the guns were produced in Britain. The arrowhead shows that the gun had been produced for export. If your ship was captured and the guns did not have that arrowhead on them you’d be prosecuted for theft.”
What’s the second reason?
“If the gunners’ mates were all killed and the Marines had to take over the guns, the arrowhead told them which end of the gun to point at the enemy.”
I’m thinking that’s one very old joke. Good thing my Dad wasn’t there to hear it.
That’s a very old joke.
…an old but very good joke…and in this case unfortunately there’s a large grain of truth in it. Best
I had a friend when I was at OHDOT back in the 90s. He was retired from the Air Farce, but did his first hitch in the Marines. He was sent to a rifle company in Vietnam and was immediately made company clerk as he was the only junior enlisted that could read proficiently.
A friend at chruch was a Marine Captain at that same period, and he confirmed that situation was not uncommon.
Great humor, but the Broad Arrow was the mark applied to mark items as British military property.
I have to throw a flag on this story.
If he was truly from South Boston, you couldn’t have understood a word he said.
And why did we build them? Libya. Tripoli. Hostages. Muslims. Same old crap, different century. Some things never change, and we never learn.
I’ve been fortunate to have received the grand tour of both the Constitution and Constellation, even stood on the keel of both. Not much to write home about, being in the bilge, but interesting to see the construction techniques. As was previously noted, defiantly should be the bucket list of anyone remotely interested in American history. If you haven’t seen them, I would go to Baltimore first. If you tour the Constitution first, the Constellation pails in comparison. It doesn’t get the same funding unfortunately.
Let’s set the record straight – USS CONSTITUTION is the sole ORIGINAL Frigate – Oldest Commisioned War Vessel in the world.
USS Constellation is not – It is a recreation built in the late 1800s. The original ship was lost.
They may look alike but there is no comparison…USS CONSTITUTION is the Flagship of our Navy, undefeated in Battle…Baltimore has a nice ship, but that is about it.
I didn’t mean to slight “Old Ironsides” in the least, she is a beautiful testimate to the United States and the Navy. I was not aware she is still THE flagship. As far as the record goes, I believe HMS Victory is the oldest commissioned war vessel in the world, but shes been laid up in dry dock for decades.
Joe – I appreciate you were not slighting the old girl…no worries.
HMS Victory is older but not active, just a museum piece. USS Constitution is still active and part of our fleet. I love that old Girl.