“Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunder shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave.”
This is an excerpt from a famous poem written by a famous American writer, Oliver Wendell Holmes. ‘Old Ironsides’ is the title of the poem and it actually saved a famous ship – The Constitution – from being junked.
The Constitution was a sailing ship with three masts. It was used by the United States Navy in the 1800’s. It got its nickname “Old Ironsides” during a battle with an English warship during the War of 1812. Shots from British guns seemed to bounce off the sides of The Constitution as though the ship had sides made of iron.
After many battles, the government decided that the ship was no longer seaworthy and wanted to destroy it. Then Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote his famous poem. The people of the United States became aroused and didn’t want the ship destroyed. So the government rebuilt it and restored it.
Tags: Constitution Ship, Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. Government
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