BOSTON (AP) — Old Ironsides took one last trip around Boston Harbor on Friday ahead of a major, multi-year restoration project, firing its cannons while the Dropkick Murphys punk band and a Boston Pops quintet entertained hundreds of special guests and dignitaries on board.
The USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, was pushed along by a tugboat, its sails already taken down as it prepares to enter dry-dock for the repairs, which the Navy says could take about three years.
The three-mast frigate, which earned its nickname after winning battles during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, gave a traditional 21-gun salute to Fort Independence on Castle Island, one of the oldest fortified sites in the country. It also gave a 17-gun salute at the Coast Guard's Boston base and it's all active-duty Navy crew laid a wreath in the harbor to honor the armed forces branch, which turned 239 years old this week.