Constellation, a United States frigate launched in 1797. It was the first commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy and was the first U.S. Navy ship to engage, defeat, and capture an enemy vessel.
The Constellation, named for the stars in the American flag, was launched nine weeks before the Constitution (Old Ironsides). The Constellation, authorized as a 36-gun vessel but usually carrying more guns, gained fame by defeating two French frigates, L'lnsurgente (1799) and La Vengeance (1800), in the West Indies during an undeclared war with France. Capable of reaching a speed of 14 knots, it gained the nickname "Yankee Race Horse." It was blockaded at Norfolk throughout the War of 1812, but was part of Stephen Decatur's fleet in his 1815 campaign against the Barbary pirates. Later the Constellation captured privateers and slave ships, was involved in wars against the Seminoles in Florida, and sailed around the world. In 1845 the aging frigate, which had been repaired and rebuilt many times, was berthed in Virginia. In 1854 it was dismantled at the Gosport (now Norfolk) Navy Yard.
Since 1955, a naval vessel called Constellation has been moored in Baltimore. For many years, it was widely believed that this sloop of war, which was launched from the Gosport Yard in 1854, was the original frigate rebuilt. By the 1990's, most naval historians had agreed that the 1854 sloop was a different vessel.
