The majestic USS Structure set sail for its annual turnaround in Boston Harbor on the Fourth of July, together with a 21-gun salute at Fortress Island.
Previous Ironsides goes underway in Boston Harbor at varied occasions every year, together with on July 4 as she celebrated the US’ 248th birthday on Thursday.
The USS Structure is the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat. She performed an important function within the Barbary Wars and the Struggle of 1812, actively defending sea lanes from 1797 to 1855.
The ship earned the nickname of Previous Ironsides throughout the Struggle of 1812 when British cannonballs had been seen bouncing off the ship’s picket hull.