When Naval History and Heritage Command ran a contest last year asking sailors and civilians alike to submit ideas for a new logo, command officials were careful to make clear that the winning logo wouldn’t actually be the NHHC logo, but it would influence the final design. The contest winner’s design focused heavily on the frigate Constitution, with a compass rose in the background. The runner-up’s work involved a quill, symbolizing how the sea service recorded its important information in the days before multiple databases, dozens of logins and passwords, and the occasional moth. So it should come as no…
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Old Ironside’s first underway of 2013 honored heroes, past and present. The USS Constitution sailed in Boston Harbor on June 4 to honor those who responded to the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15 as well as to pay tribute to those who fought in the Battle of the Midway in 1942. More than 375 Boston first responders took part in the three-hour cruise, which included a wreath-laying ceremony for victims of both the bombing and the battle, as well as a 21- and a 17-gun salute. The first responders onboard came from the FBI, Boston Fire and Police Departments,…
Have your USS Constitution, and eat it too. Boston Harborfest began June 28 with a celebration in Faneuil Hall that involved a cake cutting of epic proportions. The cake-replica of Old Ironsides to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 was made by Montillo’s Confections in Brockton, Mass. The bakery has been designing Harborfest kickoff cakes for 25 years, according to a Boston Harborfest press release. The cake, a mixture of devil’s food cake and white cake, used 100 lbs. of flour, 80 lbs. of butter and 10 gallons of milk. Boston Harborfest continues through July 4 with events…
An interactive exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy lets visitors learn about all the sailors who have commanded the USS Constitution. The exhibit, which will soon be available in the USS Constitution Museum in Boston and online as well, includes a timeline, a quiz and biographies of former commanders of the ship. The timeline also includes major events in naval history and how Old Ironsides played a part in them, said Jennifer Marland, assistant curator at the museum. “This ship covers almost all of our Navy’s history, so the biographies provide a way of looking at 215…