The construction of four forty-four-gun ships and two thirty-six-gun ships became provided for with the passing of the Naval Act of 1794 (which would become The United States Navy). The USS Constitution was among the forty-four-gun ships, and was the second ship to be completed. The name was chosen by none other than the President of the United States at the time – George Washington. On November 1, 1794, the keel was laid down at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard located in Boston, Massachusetts. This shipyard in particular was under the watchful eyes of Captain Samuel Nicholson and naval constructor George Claghorn.
While construction trudged along at a snails pace, a peace accord was reached between the United States and Algiers by March 1796. Due to this, and in accordance with the Naval Act of 1794, construction the USS Constitution, among others, was frozen. Debate ensued, and President Washington, along with Congress, decided it was in the country’s best interest to continue to fund and construct the three closest ships to completion. These ships were: USS United States, USS Constellation, and USS Constitution.
The materials used to construct the USS Constitution were white pine, long leaf pine, white oak, and southern live oak most of all. All of which was cut and milled at Gascoigne Bluff in St. St. Simons, Georgia. In total, about 60 acres of trees were used for the USS Constitution’s construction. The weight of the southern live oak is unusually dense, as it can weight up to 75 pounds per cubic foot. The USS Constitution’s hull was a thick one in its era, 21 inches, a step higher than the standard 18 inches. The other dimensions of the USS Constitution was 175 feet between perpendicular angles, 204 feet in length, and 43 and a half feet in width. Paul Revere was responsible for the forging of the copper bolts and breasthooks. Also, in order to protect from shipworm, which was a particular devastating nuisance, copper sheathing from England was installed on the parts of the ship that would be submerged.
The launching ceremony took place on September 20, 1797, and saw the then President John Adams and Massachusetts Governor Increase Sumner in attendance. The ceremony was short lived, however, when the USS Constitution only slid 27 feet before her weight caused her ways to dig into the ground. Another try two days later only increased her movement by 31 feet. Finally, after the ways were rebuilt, and a month later (October 21, 1797), the USS Constitution finally slipped into Boston Harbor with Captain James Sever christening the ship with a bottle of Madeira wine.
