The 228-Year-Old Warship That Just Led 50 Tall Ships

Most warships end up in a museum, sold for scrap, or at the bottom of the ocean. USS Constitution is still doing her job.

She Never Actually Retired

Launched in Boston in 1797, USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat. She is not a static display.

She is a working US Navy vessel with a real crew of active-duty sailors, who stand watch, train aboard her, and lead free public tours.

The ship and her crew welcome more than 600,000 visitors a year at her berth in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Two Sails in One Summer

On July 4, 2026, Constitution got underway from her berth to mark America's 250th anniversary.

She fired a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence on Castle Island, then a 17-gun salute as she passed US Coast Guard Base Boston.

Leading 50 Ships From 21 Countries

A week later, on July 11, she was back underway for the biggest moment of the summer.

Boston was the final stop on the Sail250 tour, which had already passed through New Orleans, Norfolk, Baltimore and New York.

Constitution led the Sail250 Boston Grand Parade of Sail, followed by more than 50 tall ships from 21 countries, including the US Coast Guard's Barque Eagle and Germany's Gorch Fock.

Organizers expected millions of spectators along the waterfront over the six days of festivities, the first time tall ships had gathered in Boston since 2017.

Where the Nickname Came From

Constitution earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812, in a battle with the British frigate HMS Guerriere.

British cannonballs appeared to bounce off her thick oak hull, and a crewman is said to have shouted that her sides were made of iron.

The name stuck for more than two centuries.

More than two centuries after she was built, Old Ironsides was still firing her own guns and leading the fleet.