USS Constitution To Go Underway for 2022 Chief Heritage Weeks

USS Constitution is scheduled to go underway for the 2022 Chief of Naval Operations’ Chief Petty Officer Heritage Training Weeks on Friday, September 30, at 10 a.m.

USS Constitution will be open for free public visitation, Friday, September 30, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

USS Constitution Sailors, with help from 120 Sailors selected for the rank of chief petty officer, will drop Old Ironsides’ topsails while cruising in Boston Harbor.

During Chief Petty Officer Heritage Weeks, USS Constitution’s crew train over 220 newly selected chief petty officers in the same skills as 19th century Sailors such as gun drills, pike drills, sailing, and musket drills to foster meaningful leadership development.

For over 20 years, Sailors selected for advancement to chief petty officer have come to USS Constitution to spend a week living aboard Old Ironsides, immersed in naval heritage.

The underway will include a 21-gun salute viewable from Fort Independence on Castle Island at approximately 11:15 a.m.

USS Constitution will fire an additional 17-gun salute as she passes U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston, the former site of the Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard, where USS Constitution was built and launched on Oct. 21, 1797.

USS Constitution’s cruise will be viewable from the Boston Harborwalk, Castle Island, and Charlestown Navy Yard.

USS Constitution is open to free public visitation Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to  6 p.m.

The USS Constitution Museum is open to the public every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

USS Constitution is the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat, and played a crucial role in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, actively defending sea lanes from 1797 to 1855.

The active-duty Sailors stationed aboard USS Constitution provide free tours and offer public visitation as they support the ship’s mission of promoting the Navy’s history and maritime heritage and raising awareness of the importance of a sustained naval presence.

USS Constitution was undefeated in battle and destroyed or captured 33 opponents.

The ship earned the nickname of Old Ironsides during the war of 1812 when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off the ship’s wooden hull.

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