Editing USS Constitution (section)

==Construction==
{{Main|Original six frigates of the United States Navy}}

In 1785, [[Barbary pirates]], most notably from Algiers, began to seize American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1793 alone, 11 American ships were captured and their crews and stores held for ransom. To combat this problem, proposals were made for warships to protect American shipping, resulting in the [[Naval Act of 1794]].<ref name="Allen4142">Allen (1909), pp. 41–42.</ref><ref name="Beach2627">Beach (1986), pp. 26–27.</ref> The act provided funds to construct [[Original six frigates of the United States Navy|six frigates]], but it included a clause that the construction of the ships would be halted if peace terms were agreed to with Algiers.<ref name="Beach29">Beach (1986), p. 29.</ref>

[[Joshua Humphreys]]' design was unusual for the time, being deep,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars |last=Gardiner |first=Robert |date=2000 |publisher=Chatham |isbn=1-86176-135-X |location=London |page=56 |oclc=43456786}}</ref> long on [[keel]], narrow of [[beam (nautical)|beam]] (width), and mounting very heavy guns. The design called for diagonal
riders intended to restrict [[hogging and sagging]] while giving the ships extremely heavy planking. This design gave the hull a greater strength than a more lightly built frigate. It was based on Humphrey's realization that the fledgling United States could not match the European states in the size of their navies, so they were designed to overpower any other frigate while escaping from a [[ship of the line]].<ref name="Toll4953">Toll (2006), pp. 49–53.</ref><ref name="Beach2930">Beach (1986), pp. 29–30, 33.</ref><ref name="Allen4245">Allen (1909), pp. 42–45.</ref>

The ship's keel was laid down on 1 November 1794 at [[Edmund Hartt]]'s shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts, under the supervision of Captain [[Samuel Nicholson]], master shipwright Colonel [[George Claghorn]] and Foreman Prince Athearn of the Martha's Vineyard Athearns.<ref name="Hollis48">Hollis (1900), p. 48.</ref><ref name="nvr">{{cite web |title = USS Constitution| work = Naval Vessel Register |url = {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=constitution}}}}</ref> ''Constitution''{{'}}s hull was built {{convert|21|in}} thick and its [[length between perpendiculars]] was {{convert|175|ft|abbr=on}}, with a {{convert|204|ft|abbr=on}} [[length overall]] and a width of {{convert|43|ft|6|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="USNFF">{{cite web |title = US Navy Fact File – Constitution |publisher = United States Navy |date = 7 July 2009 |url = http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=100&ct=4 |access-date = 3 March 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170701203833/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=100&ct=4 |archive-date = 1 July 2017 |df = dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Hollis39"/>   In total, {{convert|60|acre}} of trees were needed for its construction.<ref>Jennings (1966), pp. 10–11.</ref> Primary materials consisted of pine and oak, including [[Quercus virginiana|southern live oak]] which was cut from [[Gascoigne Bluff]] and milled near [[St. Simons Island, Georgia]].<ref name="Hollis48"/> [[Slavery in the United States|Enslaved workers]] were used to harvest the oak used for the ship's construction, and [[USS Constitution Museum]] historian Carl Herzog stated that "the forced labor of enslaved people was an expediency that Navy officials and contractors saw as fundamental to the job... enslaved people were essential to the construction of naval warships built to secure the very American freedoms they were denied."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2023/07/19/the-history-of-enslavement-at-bostons-freedom-trail-sites-is-beginning-to-be-told | title=The history of enslavement at Boston's Freedom Trail sites is beginning to be told | date=19 July 2023 }}</ref>

A [[Treaty of Tripoli|peace accord]] was announced between the United States and Algiers in March 1796, and construction was halted in accordance with the Naval Act of 1794.<ref Name="NA1794-2">{{cite web
| title = A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875 | publisher = Library of Congress
| url = http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001/llsl001.db&recNum=474
| access-date =17 September 2011 }}</ref> After some debate and prompting by President Washington, Congress agreed to continue funding the construction of the three ships nearest to completion: {{USS|United States|1797|2}}, {{USS|Constellation|1797|2}}, and ''Constitution''.<ref name="NationalArchives-1">{{cite web|title=Launching the New U.S. Navy|publisher=National Archives|url=https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/new-us-navy/navy-bill.html|access-date=17 September 2011}}</ref><ref name="Allen190947">Allen (1909), p. 47.</ref> ''Constitution''{{'}}s launching ceremony on 20 September 1797 was attended by President [[John Adams]] and Massachusetts Governor [[Increase Sumner]]. Upon launch, it slid down the ways only {{convert|27|ft}} before stopping; its weight had caused the ways to settle into the ground, preventing further movement. An attempt two days later resulted in only {{convert|31|ft}} of additional travel before the ship again stopped. After a month of rebuilding the ways, ''Constitution'' finally slipped into [[Boston Harbor]] on 21 October 1797, with Captain James Sever breaking a bottle of Madeira wine on its bowsprit.<ref Name="Hollis55-58">Hollis (1900), pp. 55–58.</ref><ref Name="Christening">{{cite web | last = Reilly | first = John | title = Christening, Launching, and Commissioning of U.S. Navy Ships | publisher =Naval History & Heritage Command|date=31 May 2001|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/christening-launching-and-commissioning-of-u-s-navy-ships.html | access-date=14 October 2015}}</ref>

===Armament===
{{See also|Naval artillery in the Age of Sail}}
[[File:USS Constitution fires its cannons as it is tugged through Boston Harbor. (51200023793) (cropped).jpg|thumb|''Constitution'' fires its cannons as it is tugged through Boston Harbor in 2021.]]

''Constitution'' was rated as a 44-gun frigate, but it often carried more than 50 guns at a time.<ref>Jennings (1966), p. 7.</ref> Ships of this era had no permanent battery of guns such as those of modern Navy ships. The guns and cannons were designed to be completely portable and often were exchanged between ships as situations warranted. Each commanding officer outfitted armaments to his liking, taking into consideration factors such as the overall weight of stores, complement of personnel aboard, and planned routes to be sailed. Consequently, the armaments on ships changed often during their careers, and records of the changes were not generally kept.<ref name="Jennings1719">Jennings (1966), pp. 17–19.</ref>

In a letter dated 14 November, 1804 she is listed as having 30 24-pounders, 14 12-pounders, and 8 32-pounder carronades, a total of 52 guns.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://ibiblio.org/anrs/docs/E/E3/nd_barbarywars_v05p01.pdf |title=Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers Volume V Part 1 of 3 September 7 1804 through April 1805 |pages=141 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |via=Ibiblio |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref>

During the War of 1812, ''Constitution''{{'}}s battery of guns typically consisted of 30 long 24-pounder (11&nbsp;kg) cannons, with 15 on each side of the [[gun deck]]. Twenty-two more guns were deployed on the [[Spar (sailing)|spar]] [[Deck (ship)|deck]], 11 per side, each a short 32-pounder (15&nbsp;kg) [[carronade]]. Four [[chase gun]]s were also positioned, two each at the stern and bow.<ref Name="Gundeck">{{cite web| last=Reilly | first=John C Jr. |title=The Constitution Gun Deck |publisher=Naval History & Heritage Command |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/c/the-constitution-gun-deck.html |access-date=17 September 2011 |pages=1–13}}</ref>

All of the guns aboard ''Constitution'' have been replicas since its 1927–1931 restoration. Most were cast in 1930, but two carronades on the spar deck were cast in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections/FAQs/FAQ_guns.htm |title=FAQ&nbsp;– Guns on board USS ''Constitution'' |website=USS Constitution Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728120754/http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collections-history/faq/ |archive-date=28 July 2012 }}</ref> A modern {{convert|40|mm|abbr=on}} saluting gun was hidden inside the forward long gun on each side during its 1973–1976 restoration in order to restore the capability of firing ceremonial [[Gun salute#Naval cannon fire|salutes]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Cannon Misfires at Boston Pier|work=Chicago Tribune|date=2 February 1995}}</ref>