On this date in 1797, one of six frigates authorized by the Naval Armament Act of 1794 was launched in Boston. Safe to say, it outlasted the other five. The frigate Constitution entered service to battle pirates and protect a young country’s global maritime concerns, but its success during the War of 1812 began a legacy that’s lasted more than two centuries. It’s impossible to sum up the history of the world’s oldest active commissioned warship afloat in a few words, but this passage from the London Times, courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command’s Constitution website, comes pretty close.…