With the recent retirement of the guided missile frigate USS
Simpson, there remains only one ship in the United States navy that has ever
sunk an enemy vessel. That ship is the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides.” And that only because of a technicality. The
Constitution is a three-mast wooden frigate that was retired from active
service in 1881 but has remained a part of the navy and was designated a
“floating museum” in 1907. It fought in the First Barbary War in the early
1800’s, but is best known for destroying the HMS Guerriere off the coast of
Nova Scotia shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812.
In a
sad ceremony mirroring the current path of the country it proudly served, the
Simpson’s flag was lowered for the final time last week at Naval Station Mayport
in Jacksonville, Florida. Ironically, the ship will eventually be towed to
Philadelphia, birthplace of the Constitution and home to the Liberty Bell, and
sold to a foreign military.
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