A Plumfield Kids Book Review by Jack, age 12

“During the fighting an American seaman whose name nobody remembers spoke words that have been famous for nearly a century and a half. A cannonball from the Guerriere struck a side of the Constitution and bounced off into the sea. ‘Hurrah!’ he cried, ‘Her sides are made of iron.”

—Old IronSides, By Harry Hansen, page 67

Old Ironsides, with its 21 1/2 inch thick side walls, its over forty thousand square feet of sail, forty-four cannons, and its 400 officers has defended us since September 20, 1797. That was the day her sails first caught the wind out of Boston Harbor. From then until now, this ship has served us in many wars;  against the Barbary Pirates, in the War of 1812, and many more.

The Constitution was first created with two other battleships. These three ships were made by the young country, America. Three more would later be built. When the Colonies split from our mother country, England, this made them vulnerable, because England had a massive navy at the time. When we split, we no longer had that navy to defend our merchant vessels when traveling to foreign ports. Without that navy, pirates could easily destroy our merchant ships. Thus we made three massive battleships: United States, Constellation, and Constitution.

This Landmark book by Harry Hansen was fascinating, exciting, and engaging, from the first page to the last. I was surprised to learn that Old Ironsides has more than twenty times the square feet of my house. If you would like to know more about this Landmark book at Biblioguides, click here.