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"Old Ironsides Across the Nation" a Resounding Success in Kansas’ Capital By Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Brown TOPEKA, Kansas – FEBRUARY 3, 2008 – When USS Constitution’s weeklong educational outreach program “Old Ironsides Across the Nation” in Topeka wrapped up on Feb. 3, 2008, it ended with a “bang!” During the free public gun drills spanning the weekend of Feb. 2-3 at the Kansas Historical Society’s History Museum, more than a dozen USS Constitution Sailors demonstrated the loading and firing sequence of an 1812-era 5,600-lb. cast iron long gun, complete with the simulated blast of gunpowder, to the delight of hundreds of visitors.
The gun drills were just one of the highlights of “Old Ironsides Across the Nation,” which also gave the Sailors, and their counterparts from the USS Constitution Museum, the opportunity to visit students at more than 20 elementary schools, hold a teacher’s workshop, and present American flags flown over the ship to Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps high school students. “I am unbelievably proud of my Sailors, and how well they worked with the USS Constitution Museum and the Kansas Historical Society’s History Museum to bring our message to this city,” said Cmdr. William A. Bullard III, USS Constitution’s 70th and current commanding officer. “Our trip here was a great success because Topeka and the surrounding area strongly identifies with the military, and places great value on education, especially history. “It is important for all Americans to understand that 90 percent of all trade between nations moves by the sea. The U.S. Navy and the sea services have been protecting that trade, and ensuring the seas have remained free since the first Sailors aboard USS Constitution sailed out of Boston.” At 210 years old, the three-masted, wood-hulled frigate USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by a crew of more than 65 active duty U.S. Navy Sailors, and visited by nearly half a million tourists a year where she is berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Massachusetts. During her fighting years, from 1798 – 1855, she won all of her 33 engagements at sea, and played significant roles in the Quasi War with France, the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. Between gun drills at the Kansas Historical Society’s History Museum, visitors met “Old Ironsides” Sailors, handled replica artifacts (including 18th century tools and food), communicated with signal flags, learned knot-tying, and engraved their names on copper sheets that will be installed on the ship’s hull during the ship’s next dry dock period. The host museum’s staff was pleasantly surprised by the large number of visitors drawn to “Old Ironsides Across the Nation.” “Normally we would expect to see about 150 people come here during the course of a weekend,” noted Bob Keckeisen, director of the Kansas Historical Society’s History Museum. “However, USS Constitution more than quadrupled our attendance that weekend, so we were very glad to have them come here. Kansas is not very close to any coast, and our community welcomed this opportunity to learn about our country’s naval history, and we appreciate their visit here.” “Old Ironsides Across the Nation” is a collaborative effort between USS Constitution and the USS Constitution Museum that first took to the road in 2000, and has visited 21 cities and educated and entertained more than 110,000 people. Throughout the weekdays of “Old Ironsides Across the Nation” in Topeka, Sailors and USS Constitution Museum staff members visited 21 elementary schools, and more than 1,600 students, for hands-on learning activities and demonstrations focusing on early naval history, life at sea, and USS Constitution’s most famous victories.
Among the visitors to the weekend activities at the Kansas Historical Society’s History Museum was Earl Goheen, a Topeka resident and World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1946. Not to be outdone by the USS Constitution Sailors’ 1813-era naval uniforms, Goheen wore the peacoat and hat he was issued 65 years ago - both were still in excellent condition. “I was very impressed by the operation how the long gun is set up to shoot it, and how they loaded it, which I’d never seen before,” the 83-year-old said. “It was magnificent, and its operation is very different from the 14-inch guns we fought with, aboard USS Tennessee (BB 43).” While “Old Ironsides Across the Nation” usually visits two or three cities each school year, Topeka is the only stop scheduled for 2007-2008. Possible sites for visits in the 2008-2009 schoool year include cities in Colorado, California and Texas.
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