Friday, February 02, 2007


My dad sent this information about Thomas Jefferson's fight against pirates in the Mediterranean Sea, as follow up on the previous post.

The episode regarding Jefferson concerned the Barbary Pirates. They were raiding US and other ships in the Mediterranean. Jefferson persuaded the early congress to authorize and fund the construction of six frigates (wooden ships of war at the time). They were built and sailed to Tripoli and defeated the Barbary Pirates. One of those original six ships of the US Navy exists today. It is in the Boston Navy yard and is still a commissioned warship in the US Navy. It is the USS Constitution, otherwise known as Old Ironsides (as cannonballs were said to bounce of her oak plank sides). Once a year they tow it out into the harbor and turn it around to equalize weathering.


Here, from Wikipedia, is a picture of the annual turning around,



Thanks, Dad.

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