The Anchors Aweigh series was placed in honor of the men of the
US Navy who have served in the defense of our country. Each cache
is dedicated to one of the warships involved in battle. If you find
all the caches in the series, you’ll reveal some nice GeoArt
on your cache map. These are not difficult caches to find. If you
cannot find a cache easily, it’s probably missing. Send me a
picture (by email, not in your log) of where you think the cache
should be, and I’ll accept the find and replace the
cache.
Because of the difficulty in finding suitable locations for some
of the caches, some puzzle caches were used (not this one) so that
the find icon could be in a location separate from the cache. You
should be able to solve the puzzles with information on the cache
page. I suggest you solve the puzzles before you make your cache
run, to help optimize the route.
USS Constitution
The USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted
heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George
Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America,
she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel.
Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of six original
frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794:
Chesapeake - 44 guns - constructed at Gosport,
Virginia
Constitution - 44 guns - constructed at Boston,
Massachusetts
President - 44 guns - constructed at New York, New
York
United States - 44 guns - constructed at Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Congress - 36 guns - constructed at Portsmouth, New
Hampshire
Constellation - 36 guns - constructed at Baltimore,
Maryland
Constitution is most famous for her actions during the
War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she captured numerous
merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS
Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane and Levant. The battle with
Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and
public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She
continued to actively serve the nation as flagship in the
Mediterranean and African squadrons, and circled the world in the
1840s. Retired from active service in 1881, she served as a
receiving ship until designated a museum ship in 1907. In 1931 she
started a three year 90-port tour of the nation, and in 1997 she
finally sailed again under her own power for her 200th
birthday.
USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere
When the United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812,
the Royal Navy had eighty-five vessels in American waters. By
contrast, the United States Navy, which was not yet twenty years
old, was a frigate navy that had only twenty-two commissioned
vessels. On the outbreak of war, the Constitution was at
Annapolis, collecting a fresh crew, and was unable to sail for
three weeks. When her captain, Isaac Hull, was able to put to sea,
he headed for New York in accordance with orders. Near New York, in
the late afternoon of 17 July 1812, Hull saw four ships sailing
west, and another one heading straight towards the
Constitution.
The strange ship proved to be the Guerriere, whose crew
recognised Constitution at about the same moment. Both ships
prepared for action, and shortened sail to "fighting sail", i.e.
topsails and jibs only. As the Constitution closed, Captain
James Dacres of the Guerriere first hove to to fire a
broadside, which fell short, and then ran before the wind for three
quarters of an hour with the Constitution on her quarter.
Dacres yawed several times to fire broadsides at the
Constitution, but the Guerriere's broadsides were
generally inaccurate, while the few shots fired from
Constitution's foremost guns had little effect. After one
cannon-ball bounced "harmlessly" off the side of the
Constitution, a crew member is said to have yelled "Huzzah!
Her sides are made of iron!"
Once the range had closed to within a few hundred yards, Captain
Hull ordered extra sail (the foresail and main topgallant sail) to
be set, to close the distance quickly. Dacres did not match this
manoeuvre, and the two ships began exchanging broadsides at "half
pistol-shot". After fifteen minutes of this exchange, during which
Guerriere suffered far more damage than the Constitution,
Guerriere's mizzenmast fell overboard to starboard, slowing
the ship and dragging her around. This allowed Constitution
to cross ahead of Guerriere, firing a raking broadside which
brought down the main yard. Hull then wore ship to cross
Guerriere's bow again, firing another raking broadside, but
the manoeuvre was cut too close and the Guerriere's bowsprit
became entangled in the rigging of the Constitution's
mizzenmast.
On both ships, boarding parties were summoned, while musket fire
broke out from each ship. Lieutenant Charles Morris and Captain
Dacres were both wounded by musket shots. Only the narrow bowsprit
provided a way between the ships, and in the heavy sea, neither
side could venture across it. Some of the gunners aboard
Guerriere fired at point-blank range into Hull's stern
cabin, setting the American ship on fire briefly. The two locked
ships slowly rotated clockwise until they broke free. The
Guerriere's foremast and mainmast both then fell "by the
board" i.e. snapped off at deck level, leaving her helpless and
rolling heavily. The Constitution meanwhile ran downwind for
several minutes, repairing damage to the rigging, before once again
wearing and beating upwind to return to battle.
As Constitution prepared to renew the action, the
Guerriere fired a shot in the opposite direction to the
Constitution. Sensing that this was an attempt to signal
surrender, Hull ordered a boat to take a Lieutenant over to the
British ship. When the Lieutenant walked onto the Guerriere
and asked if Guerriere was prepared to surrender, Captain
Dacres responded "Well, Sir, I don't know. Our mizzen mast is gone,
our fore and main masts are gone-I think on the whole you might say
we have struck our flag."
Captain Dacres was escorted aboard the Constitution. Hull
refused to accept Dacres' sword of surrender, saying he could not
accept the sword from a man who had fought so gallantly. He also
ordered that Dacres' mother's Bible be returned to him. The
Guerriere was clearly sinking, and the wounded were
transferred to the Constitution. Hull wanted the
Guerriere towed in as a prize ship. The Constitution
lay by the Guerriere during the night but at daybreak it was
obvious that the Guerriere could not be salvaged. The
prisoners and the American salvage parties were brought aboard
Constitution and at three o'clock in the afternoon, the
Guerriere was set on fire, and soon blew up.
Although Constitution was capable of continuing its
cruise (it was substantially undamaged and still had two thirds of
its ammunition), Hull wanted the American public to have news of
the victory. He reached Boston ten days later, and his news (with
the obvious proof of more than two hundred prisoners of war) caused
rejoicing. The Guerriere had been one of the most active
ships of the Royal Navy in stopping and searching American merchant
vessels, and the news of its defeat was particularly satisfying to
the American seafaring community. Ironically, Hull was never to
hold another fighting command.