She was built in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts at Edmund Hartt's shipyard.

Her first duties were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.

She was patrolling between Chesapeake Bay and Savannah, Georgia a month later when Nicholson found his first opportunity for capturing a prize.

They intercepted Niger off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina on 8 September, a 24-gun ship sailing with a French crew en route from Jamaica to Philadelphia, claiming to have been under the orders of Great Britain.

The design called for a diagonal scantling (rib) scheme intended to restrict hogging and sagging while giving the ships extremely heavy planking.

This design gave the hull a greater strength than a more lightly built frigate.

Constitutions stated mission today is to promote understanding of the Navy's role in war and peace through educational outreach, historical demonstration, and active participation in public events as part of the Naval History & Heritage Command.

As a fully commissioned Navy ship, her crew of 60 officers and sailors participate in ceremonies, educational programs, and special events while keeping her open to visitors year round and providing free tours.

She put to sea on the evening of 22 July 1798 with orders to patrol the Eastern seaboard between New Hampshire and New York.

USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy named by President George Washington after the United States Constitution.

She is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat.

Humphreys' design was based on his realization that the fledgling United States could not match the European states in the size of their navies.

This being so, the frigates were designed to overpower any other frigate while escaping from a ship of the line.s launching ceremony on 20 September 1797 was attended by President John Adams and Massachusetts Governor Increase Sumner.