Malcolm Rivera
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is the world's oldest naval warship still afloat. It was launched in 1797 and built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts. The USS Constitution was constructed with timbers sourced from live oak trees, which were strong, durable, and rot-resistant. However, the use of enslaved workers to harvest these timbers has been a little-known aspect of the ship's history. Recent research conducted by the USS Constitution Museum has shed light on the involvement of enslaved people in the ship's construction, highlighting the paradoxical role of the Navy in using slave labour to build ships that would defend American freedoms.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of construction | 1794 |
| Materials used | Pine and oak |
| Type of oak | Southern live oak |
| Oak source | Gascoigne Bluff and St. Simons Island, Georgia |
| Involvement of slaves | Enslaved workers were used to harvest the oak used for the ship's construction |
| Number of slaves | At least 7 |
| Names of slaves | Sarah, Hannah, Billy, Peter |
| Other uses of slaves | Likely used as household servants |
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What You'll Learn
- Enslaved workers harvested the oak used for the USS Constitution's construction
- The US Navy's need for live oak entangled the federal government in the plantation slave economy
- Enslaved people were hired from enslavers to cut down live oak trees
- The USS Constitution Museum is researching the identities of enslaved people who worked on the ship
- The role of slavery in the creation of the USS Constitution has been largely overlooked
Enslaved workers harvested the oak used for the USS Constitution's construction
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. It is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat. The ship was launched in 1797 and was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts. Its first duties included providing protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and defeating the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.
The ship's keel was laid down on 1 November 1794. Constitution's hull was built 21 inches thick, with a length of 175 feet and a width of 43 feet 6 inches. A total of 60 acres of trees were needed for its construction, with primary materials consisting of pine and oak. This included southern live oak, which was cut from Gascoigne Bluff and milled near St. Simons Island in Georgia.
Enslaved workers were used to harvest the oak used for the ship's construction. USS Constitution Museum historian Carl Herzog stated that "the forced labor of enslaved people was an expediency that Navy officials and contractors saw as fundamental to the job". The enslavers living on the land where the trees were located were eager to clear the land to enter the lucrative cotton trade in the region. Finding a market for the trees while also collecting payment for the stolen work and skills of the enslaved people cutting the trees made the proposition even more financially attractive for the enslavers.
The USS Constitution Museum has recently been awarded a grant to fund original research into the history of enslaved people in live oak harvesting for the Constitution and other early U.S. Navy ships. The identities of the enslaved people who did this work, the relationships between enslavers and the navy, and the role of slavery in the creation of the USS Constitution are among the topics the museum hopes to shed more light on.
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The US Navy's need for live oak entangled the federal government in the plantation slave economy
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. It was launched in 1797 and is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat. The ship's hull was built 21 inches thick, and its length between perpendiculars was 175 feet, with a width of 43 feet and 6 inches. In total, 60 acres of trees were needed for its construction, including pine and oak.
The Navy then turned to enslaved workers to harvest the live oak from the densely wooded coastal islands of Georgia. The enslavers living on the land where the trees were located were eager to clear the land to enter the lucrative cotton trade. They were paid by the Navy for the stolen work and skills of the enslaved people cutting the trees, making the proposition lucrative for them. The Navy's urgent need to source, harvest, and transport live oak to shipyards along the East Coast thus entangled the federal government in the plantation slave economy of Georgia.
The USS Constitution Museum has recently been awarded grants to fund original research into the history of enslaved people in live oak harvesting for the ship and other early U.S. Navy vessels. The Museum seeks to uncover the identities of the enslaved people who performed this work, the relationships between enslavers and the Navy, and the role of slavery in the creation of the USS Constitution and the early U.S. Navy.
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Enslaved people were hired from enslavers to cut down live oak trees
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat. It was launched in 1797 and built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts. The ship's construction required 60 acres of trees, primarily pine and oak, including southern live oak.
The process of sourcing live oak trees for the USS Constitution was fraught with complications. Live oak timber was only available along the coast in the southern states, making it challenging to access and harvest. The Navy's decision to use live oak from further south, closer to the ocean, added to the complexity. This choice was made based on the belief that the timber in those regions would be of superior quality.
To address the challenges of sourcing live oak, the Navy became entangled in the plantation slave economy of Georgia. Enslaved people were hired from enslavers to cut down live oak trees, and their labour was exploited for the ship's construction. The enslavers were eager to clear the land for the lucrative cotton trade, and the Navy's demand for timber provided an opportunity to monetize the stolen skills and labour of the enslaved people.
The USS Constitution Museum has been conducting research to uncover the identities of the enslaved people involved in live oak harvesting and to understand the relationships between enslavers and the Navy. The museum aims to shed light on the connection between slavery and the ship's creation, providing a deeper understanding of the role of slavery in the early United States Navy.
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The USS Constitution Museum is researching the identities of enslaved people who worked on the ship
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is the world's oldest naval warship still afloat. It was launched in 1797 and built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts. The ship's hull was built using oak sourced from Gascoigne Bluff and milled near St. Simons Island in Georgia.
According to USS Constitution Museum historian Carl Herzog, the forced labor of enslaved people was seen as fundamental to the job by Navy officials and contractors. Enslavers were eager to clear their land of live oak to enter the lucrative cotton trade, and the Navy was in urgent need of live oak to build its ships. The federal government became enmeshed in the plantation slave economy of Georgia, and the labor of enslaved people was frequently used to complete government projects that were foundational to the new United States.
The names of some of the enslaved people who worked on the ship have been discovered through records. For example, Richard Leake's records indicate that he sent two women, Sarah and Hannah, and three men, Billy, Peter, and one other whose name is unclear, to work for Charles Morgan, the naval constructor. These individuals were likely hired for short-term tasks and household service.
Through this research project, the USS Constitution Museum seeks to bring to light the story of the enslaved people connected to the ship's creation and to delve into the difficult history of slavery in the early United States Navy.
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The role of slavery in the creation of the USS Constitution has been largely overlooked
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is the world's oldest naval warship still afloat. It was launched in 1797 and was one of six frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. The USS Constitution was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts. Its hull was built using pine and oak, including southern live oak sourced from Gascoigne Bluff and milled near St. Simons Island in Georgia.
The USS Constitution Museum has recently received funding to conduct research into the history of enslaved people in live oak harvesting for the USS Constitution and other early U.S. Navy ships. The identities of the enslaved people who contributed to the ship's creation, as well as the relationships between enslavers and the navy, are among the details that the museum aims to uncover.
The story of the USS Constitution's construction is intertwined with the history of slavery in early America and the building of the U.S. Navy. The decision to build six frigates for the Navy led to a massive procurement program for the federal government, with live oak timber being a particularly expensive and difficult resource to obtain. The success of live oak in the construction of early ships prompted the Navy to make it a central component of their fleet, despite the ethical implications of its procurement.
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Frequently asked questions
The USS Constitution was built using live oak timber sourced from St. Simons Island in Georgia. The trees were cut down by enslaved workers and transported to the shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts.
The U.S. Navy needed to quickly source live oak, a strong and durable timber, for the construction of its new frigates. Live oak timber was difficult to access and harvest, and the use of slave labour was seen as a way to expedite the process.
The identities of the enslaved people who worked on the USS Constitution are not well documented. However, records from Richard Leake, one of the primary landowners, indicate that two women, Sarah and Hannah, and three men, Billy, Peter, and an unnamed third man, were hired for timber harvesting.
The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, was one of the first frigates of the United States Navy. It was built to protect American merchant shipping and to defend against threats such as the Barbary pirates.
The USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat. It is now a museum ship and a living symbol of America's first generation of warships.
