Important archive of material relating to the USS Constitution, including five war-dated letters from the naval heroes of the War of 1812, all of whom commanded the Constitution at some point. The letters are trimmed to approximately 8 x 10 and carefully affixed within a scrapbook along with other Constitution ephemera. Autograph material included as follows:
ALS by Edward Preble, one page both sides, January 5, 1804. Letter to Lt. Comm. G. Stewart, written from the USS Constitution stationed in Syracuse Harbour. In part: "You will prepare the Syren for a cruise as soon as possible, with six weeks full allowance of provisions & Stores; and wait in this port my further orders." Preble was the third officer to command the Constitution, from May 1803 to October 1804.
ALS by Isaac Hull, one page, 8 x 10, December 19, 1810. Hull writes to Lt. Comm. Oliver H. Perry from the US Frigate Constitution in New London. In part: "In pursuance of orders I have today received from Commodore John Rodgers to convene a court martial on board this Ship, (in which order you are named as a member) I have to direct that you give your attendance at 10 o'clock tomorrow." Hull had received command of the USS Constitution in June of 1810, just shortly before this letter, and would see important action at the outset of the War of 1812. On August 19, 1812, the Constitution battled the British frigate HMS Guerriere at sea and handily defeated it; this was the battle that earned the ship the nickname ‘Old Ironsides.’
ALS by Stephen Decatur, signed "Stephen Decatur," one page, 8 x 10, August 30, 1813. Report to Commodore William Bainbridge, written at the conclusion of manuscript letters regarding a request submitted to an enemy ship captained by Thomas Hardy. In part: "Lieut. Nicolson informed the officer who delivered him this letter that he was directed to bring the paper he had carried out back…from this it would appear that Captain Oliver does not intend to yield to our wishes." The manuscript copy preceding Decatur's letter reads, in part: "For two days after the receipt of your letters the Enemy kept under night, & at such a distance that I could not communicate with them—yesterday I sent a flag out in charges of Lieut. Nicolson. It appears that Sir Thos. Hardy has been relieved by Captn. Oliver. The letter you wrote with its enclosure I sent out directed to Sir T. Hardy, or the commanding naval officer, I gave directions to Lieut. Nicolson to bring it back, with, or without the desired endorsement, on his approach to the Enemy's ship." Decatur held command of the Constitution only briefly, from October 28 to November 9, 1804, when he relinquished command of the ship to his senior officer, John Rodgers.
ALS by Admiral Thomas Macdonough, one page, 8 x 10, May 9, 1814. Macdonough writes to Capt. Oliver H. Perry from Vergennes, Vermont. In part: "Mr. Ten says you could send me 50 men provided I wanted them. I am much in want of men particularly good ones & if you can, I hope you will send me as many as practicable. I am short by 200 & were they here we could enter the Lake in a few days with a force I think sufficient." Within a week of this letter, Macdonough blasted away a British squadron with his guns planted on the shoreline, sending the enemy back to Canada badly damaged; he followed this up by defeating the British navy at the the Battle of Lake Champlain, which brought him great fame. He was later appointed to command the USS Constitution in 1824 but health issues forced him to relieve himself of command in 1825.
ALS by William Bainbridge, signed "Wm. Bainbridge," one page, June 7, 1814. Letter to Oliver Perry, written from the Charlestown Navy Yard. In part: "I have to direct in pursuance of orders from the Secretary that you order Lt. Nicholson to repair to this place without delay, to sit as a member on said Court." Bainbridge succeeded Isaac Hull as commander of the Constitution, during which time he captured the 49-gun British frigate Java; President Madison would go on to award him with the Congressional Gold Medal for his service aboard the Constitution.
AQS by Oliver Wendell Holmes on a 5 x 3 album page, November 27, 1856. A stanza from his poem 'Old Ironsides,' in full: "Nail to the mast her holy flag, / Let every thread-bare sail, / And give her to the god of storms, / The lightning and the gale!" Holmes wrote this poem in 1830 to oppose the US Navy’s plans to dismantle the historic warship, which quickly brought national attention to both Holmes and the USS Constitution. The public sentiment generated from this poem was a large factor in the decision to preserve the USS Constitution, which today remains the oldest commissioned ship in the world still afloat.
Also included are a contemporary Boston newspaper broadside from February 16, 1813, describing the USS Constitution’s encounter with the frigate Java off the coast of Brazil; a printed circular from February 22, 1813, calling for a meeting to honor the “gallant conduct of Hull, Jones, Decatur, Bainbridge &c”; three 1929 letters concerning donations for the preservation of the ship; a 1932 booklet published by the US Government Printing Office entitled 'United States Frigate Constitution,' which includes several extremely detailed diagrams of the ship; and an abundance of magazine and newspaper clippings related to the ship. In overall very good to fine condition, with various toning, staining, and small tears to some letters.
