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Article: Constitution
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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CONSTITUTION
CONSTITUTION,
an American forty-four-gun frigate authorized by Congress on 27 March 1794. She was designed by Joshua Humphreys, built in Edmund Hartt's shipyard, Boston, and launched 21 October 1797. In the naval war with France she served as Commodore Silas Talbot's flagship, and in the Tripolitan War as the flagship of Commodore Edward Preble, participating in five attacks on Tripoli from 25 July to 4 September 1804. The
Constitution
was victorious in several notable single-ship engagements in the War of 1812. During the fight with the British frigate
Guerri
è
re
on 19 August 1812, a seaman gave her the nickname "Old Ironsides" when, seeing a shot rebound from her ...