[August 19, 2019] A few years ago, I wrote an article about the U.S. Congressional leadership authorizing attacks on British vessels in 1776. That strategic decision helped win the War of Independence. Later, with the U.S. Naval Act of 1794, Congress authorized the building of six frigates; one of the six built was named the USS Constitution. It earned its place in history during the War of 1812 when its crew defeated the British frigate HMS Guerrière in a furious engagement.
Witnesses claimed that the British shot merely bounced off the Constitution’s sides as if the ship were made of iron rather than wood.1 By the war’s end, “Old Ironsides” destroyed or captured seven more British ships. These successes against the supposedly invincible Royal Navy provided a major boost in morale for the young American republic.
Good, old fashioned leadership made this happen. While leadership is accomplished in a variety of ways and using many techniques, the basics of leadership never go out of style. A combination of the U.S. Congress recognizing a need and funding the building of those original frigates, Joshua Humphrey’s ship design and construction, and the ship’s captain and crew, made for one of the most advanced warships on the seas at the time.
Most people are not aware that the United States had no Navy from 1785 after the War of Independence had been won to the Navy Act of 1794; nearly a decade. During this time, U.S. maritime merchant ships were subjected to a series of attacks by the Barbary pirates. The history of this period was fully addressed in Ian W. Toll’s book Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy and my review can be found here (see link).
The tremendous importance of the USS Constitution to the United States both in war and peace has never been overlooked. Many times, the ship was destined for the scrapyard but public outcry saved it. Today, amazingly, the ship is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat and retains a crew of 60 U.S. Navy active-duty personnel.2,3,4
The Battle of Guerriere was fought on this date, August 19, 1812, off the coast of Nova Scotia. It was commanded by Isaac Hull, who had served as a lieutenant on the ship during the Tripolitan War. In 1855, the Constitution retired from active military service, but the famous vessel continues to serve the United States and remains one of its most important historical treasures.
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- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/old-ironsides-earns-its-name
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution
- The USS Constitution was built in an era when a ship’s expected service life was 10 to 15 years.
- As an interesting side note, when it was claimed the U.S. Navy was about to scrap the ship in 1830, Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a poem about “Old Ironsides” in an effort to save the ship. His poem can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ironsides_(poem)
Another well-written blog article by Gen. Satterfield and why I keep coming back to this leadership website.
You got that right. Plus the fact he makes the articles interesting to boot.
Like so many others here, I liked this article. Not sure why I liked it so much. Maybe it’s a feel good type of article that also made me THINK. That’s why I come to this website; to be forced to think (and a little entertainment helps).
In school, I was bored with history. It was about memorizing things, dates, people’s names, etc. Then after I started to get interested in college when I took a few history courses, the college professors started getting political. Those professors went off the deep end and started railing against anything conservative. Like they have some special moral standing.
I had a similar experience that really turned me off to learning history. Great historically informative article. Thanks.
Me too. My history classes were PC. I dropped all humanities courses long ago. Glad I did.
So true and so sad what colleges/universities have come to these days. Pandering by the college/univ leadership and a lack of moral courage is the problem.
Bryan, so many of us were thinking the same thing. ?
An interesting tidbit about the US Navy being disbanded for almost 10 years. I never knew that.
This is why the US Navy flag is after the US Marine flag in order of precedence.
http://www.usmc1.us/order-of-precedence-when-displaying-miltitary-flags-together
Yes, and that has sparked a little inter-service rivalry between the USN and USMC on occasion. What is important here is that these services, all of them, have been around for many many years and it takes a continuous line of great leadership to make that happen. Don’t overlook this major feat.
… a continous line of GREAT leadership.
You go girl. Right comment; great leadership matters. Respect and trust of others makes this happen. Only in a society like the United States is this allowed to happen. However, I find that the new crop of politicians are not on track to keep this as an important value.
I completely enjoyed your article this morning. A little bit of history, a little storytelling, and great info on leadership.
Multiple strategic decisions were made. I wonder if anyone was able to link them together or they just by happenstance came together?
A very thoughtful question and one that I myself was wondering about. Was this all part of an overall meta-strategy or was it something else? That we may never know but the fact it worked says a lot about those involved.
Some excellent insight with your question. I think there was an overall strategy that allowed the US to move slowly along with a single objective of surviving in a tough world. If one of our snowflake college students had been in charge, the US would not exist today.
You are just too funny, Xerxes. Great name by the way.
Good point. 🙂 Thanks Eric.
Good, old-fashioned article. Ha Ha. Great work here on a very informative article on a major historical event.
You made me laugh. Thanks Drew. Keep those word twists coming our way.
Good to see you on today, Lynn. I always appreciate you comments on Gen. Satterfield’s blog.
Thanks Drew!!!
That is why so many of us keep reading his posts. I have been one of the original readers and one who has posted many times here.