It was another day and time.USN

[CourierDriver]

A TIDBIT OF NAVAL HISTORY




The U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides)as a combat vessel, carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 officers and men. This was sufficient to last six months of sustained operations at sea. She carried no evaporators (I.e. Fresh water distillers).


However, let it be noted that according to her ship's log, "On July 27, 1798, the U.S.S. Constitution sailed from Boston with a full complement of 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of fresh water, 7,400 cannon shot, 11,600 pounds of black powder and79,400 gallons of rum."


Her mission: "To destroy and harass English shipping."
Making Jamaica on 6 October, she took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum.


Then she headed for the Azores, arriving there 12 November. She provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.


On 18 November, she set sail for England ... In the ensuing days she defeated five British men-of-war and captured and scuttled 12 English merchant ships, salvaging only the rum aboard each.


By 26 January, her powder and shot were exhausted. Nevertheless, although unarmed she made a night raid up the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Her landing party captured a whiskey distillery and transferred 40,000 gallons of single malt Scotch aboard by dawn. Then she headed home.


The U.S.S. Constitution arrived in Boston on 20 February 1799, with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum, no wine, no whiskey, and 38,600 gallons of water.

Go Navy

 

[Astro14]

Great Story!

It's too bad it doesn't actually line up with any historical fact...

We weren't at war with Great Britain during those years. In fact, we were fighting the same enemies: France and the Barbary Pirates. So, the powder and shot wouldn't have been used up, and she didn't sink those British ships...and with nearly every fact and date in error...

Kinda' makes you wonder about the rum part, too...doesn't it?

Now, had one made up a story in 1798 about the quasi-war with France, or perhaps the Barbary pirates...it might have been a bit more believable...

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

So does this mean that in two weeks my father-in-law will forward this story to me via chain email but the story will somehow also blame Obama?

 

[suspiciousmind]

Some quick math reveals over 3.5 gallons per sailor, per day....not including the captured booty liquor.

Not likely.

 

[gman2304]

Where did you come up with those dates and numbers? At roughly one million lbs of rum and water alone, she probably wouldn't even float.

 

[kschachn]

http://hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com/2010/12/deleting-urban-legend-on-uss.html

Five seconds or less on Google is your friend.

 

[Wolf359]

Its a little bit off. Here's a bit about that time from the Wiki:

President John Adams ordered all Navy ships to sea in late May 1798 to patrol for armed ships of France, and to free any American ship captured by them. Constitution was still not ready to sail, and eventually had to borrow sixteen 18-pound (8.2 kg) cannons from Castle Island before finally being ready.[3] Constitution put to sea on the evening of 22 July 1798 with orders to patrol the Eastern seaboard between New Hampshire and New York. A month later she was patrolling between Chesapeake Bay and Savannah, Georgia, when Nicholson found his first opportunity for capturing a prize: off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, on 8 September, she intercepted Niger, 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.[32] Perhaps not understanding his orders correctly, Nicholson had the crewmen imprisoned, placed a prize crew aboard Niger, and brought her into Norfolk, Virginia. Constitution sailed south again a week later to escort a merchant convoy, but her bowsprit was severely damaged in a gale; she returned to Boston for repairs. In the meantime, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert determined that Niger had been operating under the orders of Great Britain as claimed, and the ship and her crew were released to continue their voyage. The American government paid a restitution of $11,000 to Great Britain.[33][34]

After departing from Boston on 29 December, Nicholson reported to Commodore John Barry, who was flying his flag in United States, near the island of Dominica for patrols in the West Indies. On 15 January 1799, Constitution intercepted the English merchantman Spencer, which had been taken prize by the French frigate L'Insurgente a few days prior. Technically, Spencer was a French ship operated by a French prize crew; but Nicholson, perhaps hesitant after the affair with Niger, released the ship and her crew the next morning.[35][36] Upon joining Barry's command, Constitution almost immediately had to put in for repairs to her rigging due to storm damage, and it was not until 1 March that anything of note occurred. On this date, she encountered HMS Santa Margarita,[37][38] the captain of which was an acquaintance of Nicholson. The two agreed to a sailing duel, which the English captain was confident he would win. But after 11 hours of sailing Santa Margarita lowered her sails and admitted defeat, paying off the bet with a cask of wine to Nicholson.[39] Resuming her patrols, Constitution managed to recapture the American sloop Neutrality on 27 March and, a few days later, the French ship Carteret. Secretary Stoddert had other plans, however, and recalled Constitution to Boston. She arrived there on 14 May, and Nicholson was relieved of command.[40]

 

[Pop_Rivit]

That's so full of errors that it's beyond ridiculous.

On July 22, 1798 the Constitution put to sea with orders to patrol the eastern seaboard of the US between New Hampshire and New York.

In 1799, the United States was war with France, not England. Why would the Constitution scuttle English merchant ships and defeat man-of-wars that belong to a county who by that time was an ally?

The ships log for February 21, 1799 states the following: "Arrived at Prince Rupert's Bay, Dominica I., and sailed again." If your story were to be believed the ship arrived in Boston on February 20, then managed to get to Prince Rupert's Bay the next day.

It takes 30 seconds to go look that information up in the actual logs of the USS Constitution (yes, they are available on line).

 

[hotwheels]

Originally Posted By: gman2304
Where did you come up with those dates and numbers? At roughly one million lbs of rum and water alone, she probably wouldn't even float.


She most certainly wouldn't be able to sail straight.

hotwheels

 

[440Magnum]

I get that the whole story is a ridiculous mix and mash of dates and facts.

But the underlying point about the sailors consuming far more rum and wine than water does ring true.

Would YOU want to drink water stored for weeks or months in old wooden casks in the sweaty bowels of a wooden ship in the tropics with no chlorination?

The rum and wine were the equivalent of chlorination. Rum or wine mixed with the water and citrus juices (the mixture the Royal Navy called 'grog') used the alcohol to kill the worst of the bugs in the water, gave the sailors enough water to stay hydrated, enough alcohol to make the stale citrus juice appealing enough that they avoided scurvy, and watered down the alcohol enough so they remained at least mostly functional.

 

[stockrex]

This reminds of something our wise founding fathers warned us about:

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. - Thomas Jefferson, 1820.

 

[bubbatime]

It must have been brutal in those days to be a sailor. Cramped, uncomfortable, hot, smelly, terrible food, terrible water, threat of piracy, threat of sinking and drowning at sea.

You'd have to be a drunk to endure those conditions. As said above, alcohol mixed with water would make most water somewhat safe to drink and improve the musty taste.

 

[hotwheels]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
It must have been brutal in those days to be a sailor. Cramped, uncomfortable, hot, smelly, terrible food, terrible water, threat of piracy, threat of sinking and drowning at sea.

Don't forget the risk of fire on any, ship but especially on a wooden sailship.

Quote:
You'd have to be a drunk to endure those conditions.

Ironically, this increases the chance of an accidental fire, or of falling overboard.

hotwheels

 

[cjcride]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
So does this mean that in two weeks my father-in-law will forward this story to me via chain email but the story will somehow also blame Obama?

Pretty much.

 

[djb]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
This reminds of something our wise founding fathers warned us about:

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. - Thomas Jefferson, 1820.


That's wrong. He recorded that in 1832, but the typewritten label was misread when it was transcoded to MP3 in 1867 by Teddy Roosevelt.

 

[CourierDriver]

If the ships company was drinking that much, the officer or enlisted guy may have written stuff down wrong in the ships log. I really do not know if this was a true story, but a humorous read anyway.

Being a former Navy guy, I can relate to the drinking part and yes there was booze on the ship,, but usually hidden and no I did not drink aboard ship. My job on the flight deck was difficult enough, drinking would be brig time or worse.

 

[CourierDriver]

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/gallery...pes=og.comments

Where I worked at one time.....

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
So does this mean that in two weeks my father-in-law will forward this story to me via chain email but the story will somehow also blame Obama?
And Obama will blame GW Bush.

 

[LoneRanger]

Dammit why you burst my bubble, I was lovin' that story. Was ready to say the crew must have been some drinkin' mofo's.

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Great Story!

It's too bad it doesn't actually line up with any historical fact...

We weren't at war with Great Britain during those years. In fact, we were fighting the same enemies: France and the Barbary Pirates. So, the powder and shot wouldn't have been used up, and she didn't sink those British ships...and with nearly every fact and date in error...

Kinda' makes you wonder about the rum part, too...doesn't it?

Now, had one made up a story in 1798 about the quasi-war with France, or perhaps the Barbary pirates...it might have been a bit more believable...

 

[hattaresguy]

What will we do with a drunken sailor...