On the afternoon of August 19, 1812 a mortal combat took place between the USS Constitution and the British frigate Guerriere 750 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Barely fifty yards apart; each ship fired its twenty-two cannon point-blank into its opponent. The barrage from the British frigate seemed to be having little effect, however, as its cannon balls bounced off the Constitution's rugged oak sides. Seeing this, one of the Constitution's crewmen shouted: "Huzza, her sides are made of iron!" The Constitution's nickname was born.
Commissioned in 1797, the Constitution was one of the first six ships of the fledgling U.S. Navy. In 1803 she led the squadron of American warships dispatched to the Mediterranean to subdue the Barbary Pirates of Northern Africa who were harassing America's trade ships in the area.
