Editing USS Constitution (section)

===Mediterranean and African Squadrons===
{{further|Anti-Slavery operations of the United States Navy}}
[[File:General Jackson - Harpers Weekly, news media image (1875c).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A wooden representation of President Andrew Jackson|The Andrew Jackson figurehead as depicted by ''Harpers Weekly'' in 1875]]

''Constitution'' began a refitting in 1847 for duty with the Mediterranean Squadron. The figurehead of Andrew Jackson that caused so much controversy 15 years earlier was replaced with another likeness of Jackson, this time without a top hat and with a more Napoleonic pose. Captain [[John Gwinn]] commanded her on this voyage, departing on 9 December 1848 and arriving at Tripoli on 19 January 1849. She received [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies|King Ferdinand II]] and [[Pope Pius IX]] on board at [[Gaeta]] on 1 August, giving them a [[21-gun salute]]. This was the first time that a [[Papal visits to the United States|Pope set foot on American territory or its equivalent]].<ref name="auto">Martin (1997), p. {{page needed|date=August 2017}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2001/december/popes-first-american-visit|title= The Pope's First American Visit|first= Tyrone G.|last= Martin|date= December 2001|website= www.usni.org|archiveurl= https://archive.today/20250415213754/https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2001/december/popes-first-american-visit|archivedate= 15 April 2025|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= The occasion was the first time a pope set foot on U.S. territory. (A commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy has the same legal status as a piece of U.S. soil, in the same way any of its embassies around the world does.)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/2015/09/23/the-pope-deck/|title= The Pope Deck|first= Matthew|last= Brenckle|date= 23 September 2015|website= ussconstitutionmuseum.org|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20250312185719/https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/2015/09/23/the-pope-deck/|archivedate= 12 March 2025|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|quote= While Pope Paul VI’s whirlwind trip in 1965 was the first time a pontiff set foot in the United States proper, he was not the first to traipse on American territory. Thanks to a bit of legal contortionism that honor goes to Pope Pius IX in 1849! You see, a nation’s warships are considered sovereign territory, and so to walk the decks of an American naval vessel is to tread on American “soil.”}}</ref>

At [[Palermo]] on 1 September, Captain Gwinn died of chronic [[gastritis]] and was buried near [[Lazaretto]] on the 9th. Captain [[Thomas Conover]] assumed command on the 18th and resumed routine patrolling for the rest of the tour, heading home on 1 December 1850. She was involved in a severe collision with the English brig ''Confidence'', cutting her in half, which sank with the loss of her captain. The surviving crew members were carried back to America, where ''Constitution'' was put in ordinary once again, this time at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]], in January 1851.<ref>Martin (1997), pp. 291–299.</ref>

''Constitution'' was recommissioned on 22 December 1852 under the command of John Rudd. She carried Commodore [[Isaac Mayo]] for duty with the [[African Squadron]], departing the yard on 2 March 1853 on a leisurely sail towards Africa and arriving there on 18 June. Mayo made a diplomatic visit in Liberia, arranging a treaty between the Gbarbo and the [[Grebo people|Grebo]] tribes. Mayo resorted to firing cannons into the village of the Gbarbo in order to get them to agree to the treaty. About 22 June 1854, he arranged another peace treaty, between the leaders of Grahway and Half Cavally.<ref name="auto"/> On 31 July 1854, he arranged a compact with the King of [[Lagos]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ardhi.unl.edu/item/ardhi.treaty.00003|title=Compact by King and Chiefs of Lagos, 1854|publisher=ardhi.unl.edu|access-date=10 November 2022}}</ref>

''Constitution'' took the American ship [[H.N. Gambrill (ship)|''H.N. Gambrill'']] as a prize near [[Angola]] on 3 November. ''H.N. Gambrill'' was involved in the slave trade and proved to be ''Constitution''{{'s}} final capture.<ref Name="AfricanSquadron">{{cite web
 |title=Seizing a Slaver, 1853
 |publisher=Naval History & Heritage Command
 |date=25 October 1999
 |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/uss-constitutions-battle-record0/seizing-a-slaver-1853.html
 |access-date=4 August 2011
}}</ref> The rest of her tour passed uneventfully and she sailed for home on 31 March 1855. She was diverted to [[Havana, Cuba]], arriving there on 16 May and departing on the 24th. She arrived at [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard|Portsmouth Navy Yard]] and was decommissioned on 14 June, ending her last duty on the front lines.<ref>Martin (1997), pp. 301–310.</ref>