Some people live beautifully circular lives. They choose their life's work at an astonishingly early age, and then they proceed with skill, tenacity, courage and grace to achieve their goal. Only a few, however, have the privilege of weaving themselves into the historical fabric of our country while they are doing their job. Fewer still, have the imagination and the

commitment to complete the circle of their life's work by making a little history of their own.

When David Cashman was ten years old, his dad built him a boat. Soon thereafter he took him on a tour of the USS Constitution. That day he unwittingly set his young son on an impressive 27-year journey of service in the U.S. Navy, one that would ultimately return him to that very ship as its 62nd commander. "I never forgot about it," Commander Cashman explains from his Marblehead home. "When I went into the Navy, I realized that maybe I could get command of that ship. As soon as I made commander, I always put down the USS Constitution as my first choice."

David Cashman entered the "surface" navy after college. He served six half-year tours of duty on six different ships off the coast of Viet Nam. "The tempo was fast, we worked twenty hours a day, for 45-60 days at a crack," he remembers. "I can remember the first time I put in at Subic Bay for an R & R. I took my shoes off and walked through the grass. It felt so good after being on a steel destroyer for two months."

Commander Cashman had many assignments after the Viet Nam war. He was involved in the early development and testing of the AEGIS surface weapon system, and in 1986 became the first Executive Officer of the new AEGIS Training Center in Virginia. AEGIS is a surface missile system which can be launched from cruisers and destroyers and subsequently directed to the most threatening aircraft by shipboard computers. AEGIS is now on board many ships and is considered state of the art technology.

So it may seem odd, in light of Commander Cashman's high-powered, high-tech naval career, that his goal was to command the oldest commissioned warship afloat. Not so odd, however, when one is a naval historian with a deep respect for an historic warship that was considered state of the art 194 years ago.

"It was high-tech back then," he points out. "Instead of the masts being solid pieces of wood from huge trees, like the Brits, the Americans decided to make them in four quarters using four different trees about 40-44' in length. They staggered them up," he continues, "so that if you took a cannonball hit to the mast, as in the December 29, 1812 Battle of the Java, the cannonball shattered just a quarter of the mast. The crew carried extra pieces with them so that they could feather in a new quarter of the mast at sea. Soon after, the Brits changed their design!"

The Constitution 's hull," he continues, "is 21 inches thick. Most of the ships of that vintage were only 18 inches thick. Those extra 3 inches made a difference, perhaps that's why she's still afloat today. She was in 42 battles and never lost one in three major wars!"

Her 21 inch hull is most assuredly the reason she earned her nickname "Old Ironsides." On August 19th, in the War of 1812, the Constitution withstood fire from the British ship, the Guerrier. The sight of cannonballs bouncing off the Constitution's side prompted a British sailor to shout, "Huzza, her sides are made of iron!" The poem entitled "Old Ironsides," written by Oliver Wendall Holmes in 1830, assured that the apt nickname stayed with her.

Old Ironsides

In addition to sides of "iron," her remarkable maneuverability, her 44 gun capacity, and 440 man crew, the Constitution was often commanded by military strategists who used psychological warfare to their advantage. On July 17, 1812, one month after Congress had declared war on Britain, the Constitution found itself stuck in a calm off the coast of New Jersey as six British vessels bore down on her. Commander Isaac Hull ordered his crew to begin "kedging." Kedging is a method for moving a ship by carrying out an anchor and then drawing the vessel up to it. Commander Cashman explains, "The crew would bring out the anchor by boat, and then pull the ship toward it to move it down the coast and away from the Brits. That went on for two and one-half days while they were being fire upon."

"Finally, the Brits began kedging to keep up with the Constitution. There was a storm coming," the Commander continues, "and the sails were down. Commander Hull raised the sails up to the yardarms. The Brits couldn't understand why he would do that, but they were so impressed with his kedging maneuver that they did the same thing." When the storm hit, Commander Hull quickly dropped the sails and sailed off. The British ships couldn't get their sails down and remained caught in the storm!

Of the 42 battles the Constitution fought and won, the one which took place on April 3rd, 1814 is particularly meaningful to those of us on the North Shore. Once again, the Constitution was the victim of a light breeze which fell to a dead calm just as two 38-gun British frigates approached. The ship was trapped against the rocky North Shore of Massachusetts, with no sea escape possible. The only negotiable harbor available to the Constitution was that of Marblehead. So Captain Charles Stewart took a chance, ordered all dispensable goods jettisoned (including fresh water and spirits), and sought refuge in the little harbor. The guns of Fort Sewall protected the Constitution as militia from nearby coastal towns rallied to her defense. The British were discouraged, decided not to further test her impressive military defense, and sailed away.

Commander Cashman would like to commemorate the battle at Fort Sewall on the occasion of the Constitution's bicentennial. "It is my dream to put sails on the ship and bring it to Marblehead on her birthday," he explains. "In 1992, she's going into drydock. At that point we can determine if we can get her into such a material condition that we can take her outside Boston Harbor."

The Constitution carried thirty-six sails (approximately one acre). For the bicentennial celebration, Commander Cashman hopes to put up ten or twelve sails. The last time she

"We are very fortunate to have the oldest commissioned warship afloat," Commander Cashman believes. "I think it's our turn to give her a proper bicentennial and get her ready for her third century of service." He continues, "October 21,1997 is the 200th birthday of her launching. We'd like to start the bicentennial on that date, and have it run at least until July 27,1998 when it sails to Marblehead during race week."

Commander Cashman's dream of sailing the Constitution to Marblehead has been preliminarily endorsed by his superior in Washington D.C., and has been received with enthusiasm by local rotary and yacht clubs. But such a vast and costly undertaking requires that a very ambitious and complicated plan falls together. However, if David Cashman's commitment, affections for his ship, and infectious enthusiasm count for anything, the Constitution will sail on its birthday.

The USS Constitution is open every day of the year from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM and receives over one million visitors a year. Commander Cashman suggests that visitors remember that "our forefathers fought some very significant battles on this ship. Here is where they got maimed when those cannons would jump back and crush their legs. They had no operating rooms so they had to amputate limbs."

The commander continues, "In addition to 450 officers and men, plus 55 marines who fought from those platforms on the masts, the ship carried 30 small boys ages 8 -14, called

The Revolutionary War had left this country in a very unsettled condition. The new States still thought and acted as Colonies. There were loose notions of cooperation but no real central government with power and money to provide for the Nation's many needs.

In such a state of affairs, no one thought of dealing adequately with a naional defense, still less with that part of belonging to the sea.

Remember, also, that while the American Colonies had many Merchant vessels sailing the oceans before the War of the Revolution, all protection for these ships was by the British Navy. Now, in 1785, all that was left of the Continental Navy had been sold. By the Fall of 1785, not one armed vessel remained in the possession of the United States. Every State had its own Custom House and, to a large extent, made its own Revenue and Navigation Laws. Several States maintained armed vessels for defense and revenue services, but this did not constitute a Navy or even an organized force. During this period, Europe was on the eve of a great upheaval in which, despotic power, as represented by Napoleon, was to engage in a death struggle with the real democracy for which England stood.

Our path was destined to be a thorny one for nearly a generation because we were allied to one nation (England) by blood and tradition, and obligation to the other nation (France) for comfort and aid in our recent war. To make it even more painful, we were forced into a fight with each of these great powers in turn because we lacked the ability to maintain neutrality between them. Our domestic and foreign debt pressed so heavily that we were obliged to submit to many humiliations rather than to spend money on a navy, the only arm capable of earning us a position among nations.

To add to the bitterness of this situation, the Barbary Powers, on the north west coast of Africa, in Algeria, Morocco and Libya, as we know them today, found a new flag upon the high seas, following our peace with Great Britain. In 1785, two American ships were taken by the Moslem Algerian Corsairs. The crews were sold into slavery. It was a clear case of piracy and our country rang to cries of indignation, but we were powerless to extract reparation and had to submit.

In accordance with the well established practice of Christian nations, we attempted the often fatal policy of negotiation and ranson for these crewmen who were now slaves of the Dey of Algiers. Agents were sent to bargain, but the money was too little. The Dey demanded $59,496.00 for twenty-one men or about $2,833.00 each. The agents sailed home.

A religious Order, the Mathurins, was commissioned to negotiate for the captives. The Head of the order was afraid to bid too high for each seaman; he feared that the market value of the Ameriacns would rise and the pirates would seek more American ships. He offered $500.00 each, but to no avail. Years passed and still we haggled over the price of redemption. In 1790, President Washington had the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, give a full report to Congress about the captives in an attempt to get Congress to appropriate money for a Navy, but Congress did nothing. After all, other large maritime nations, such as England, Holland and Russia, paid annual tributes to these pirates. Why should United States be different?

In 1792, the President suggested a plan for making a treaty of peace with Algiers and obtaining release of the American prisoners there. Congress approved. The sum of $40,000.00 was to be paid for the captives. $25,000.00 more was to be paid for the treaty and annually, $25,000.00 was to be sent as tribute. But the Dey of Algiers refused to see our ambassador. The Dey was afraid that if his pirates became unemployed, they might kill him for putting them in that condition.

During this time, the Portugese and the English were close to the Dey of Algiers and made treaties with him to freeze out this new nation, the United States, from trading in the Mediterranean. In October, 1793, eight Algerine ships appeared in the Atlantic and with a few weeks, had captured eleven American ships and one hundred-six American seamen.

The Masters of thirteen sailing ships petitioned Congress to do something about this situation. Yet, when the petition reached the House, it produced only a small majority in favor of equipping a Naval Force. The opposition was powerful and insistant. There was no idea of forming a permanent Navy, but President Washington finally squeezed through a bill with an eleven vote majority by making a compromise whereby the building if warships would cease if a treaty could be arranged before their completion. On March Z7, 1794, the bill passed "To Provide A Naval Force To Protect The Commerce Of The United States".

The bill, as passed, gave the President the option of building four ships of forty-four guns each and two ships of thirty-six guns each or of procuring an equivalent force by purchase. Officers and men were also provided for.

There was no Secretary of Navy yet in the Government, so the matter was referred to the Secretary of War, General Henry Knox, who consulted with several well known ship designers and shipbuilders about the properties and lines of the new ships. The ideas and plans of Joshua Humphries, of Philadelphia, were accepted and he was directed to prepare models of the six vessels to be built. Josiah Fox was designated to assist him.

It was decided to have six different shipyards, each in a different city, build the ships so costs, manning and quality could be studied. This is how it worked out:

Constitution 44 guns 1576 tons $302,719. Boston
President 44 guns 1576 tons $220,910. New York
United States 44 guns 1576 tons $229,336. Philadelphia
Chesapeake was changed-Chesapeake 36 guns 1244 tons $220,678. Gosport (Va)
from 44 to 36 guns.-Congress 36 guns 1268 tons $197,246. Portsmouth (NH)
Constellation 36 guns 1265 tons $314,212 Baltimore.

Notes from "The Frigate Constitution", Prof. Ira N. Hollis, Houghton-Mifflin Co. 1931.

The system of building CONSTITUTION and her sisters was radically different from today's practices. The hull materials and equipment were purchased by the U.S. Treasury Department and supplied to the builders. All labor and unimportant material were procured by Naval Agents, who received a 2.5% commission on approved bills. Her Naval Agent was Gen. Henry Jackson.

The Captain appointed to command the ship was ordered to superintend construction of the vessel and its equipment. Her Prospective Captain was Samuel Nicholson.

The Naval Constructor had the immediate responsibility for the workmen employed, of the material put into the ship, of the launching, and, in general, for all that went toward producing a frigate mechanically perfect and complete in accordance with the plans supplied by the Naval Architect, Mr. Joshua Humphries and his associate, Mr. Josiah Fox. The Naval Constructor was Col. George Claghorn, assisted by Mr. Hartley.

The Builder or Master Mechanic, in whose yard the vessel was constructed, had no responsibility beyond doing good work. The brothers Edmund (Master Builder), Edward and Joseph (Ship Designer) Hartt owned Hartt's Naval Yard, where the ship was built. The area is called Constitution Wharf and is the present site of Coast Guard Base, Boston, on Atlantic Avenue.

Edmund Thayer built the elm gun carriages in the South End of Boston. Issac Harris, who put new masts into CONSTITUTION during the War of 1812, worked as an apprentice in the mast-yard during her construction. The anchors were forged in Hanover, Mass. and her sails were sewn on the Old Granary Building at the corner of Park and Tremont Streets in Boston.

The Skillings Brothers did the wood carving of her figurehead of Hercules and of several onaments for other parts of the ship. Paul Revere supplied the brass, bronze and copper parts for the ship. His proposal to the Secretary of War offered to furnish copper and composition bolts, braces and other parts "as cheap as anyone" and subsequently received $3820.33 for payment. The copper bolts and spikes were forged by a process known only to him.

Notes from "The Frigate Constitution", Prof I. N. Hollis, Houghton-Mifflin Co. 1931 and "The American Sailing Navy", Howard I. Chapelle, Bonanza Books, 1949.