The world’s oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat has gained its newest commanding officer, who says he will continue to build on Old Ironsides’ legacy with his crew.
Cmdr. Jon-Andrew D. Anderson has taken command of the USS Constitution as the ship’s 78th commanding officer, succeeding Cmdr. Crystal L. Schaefer following her two-year tour aboard.
“It takes a city to build, rebuild and sustain a ship such as this, keeping her 229 years young,” Anderson said aboard the ship during a change-of-command ceremony on Thursday. “A ship like this stays commissioned because an officer is entrusted to become its captain. She only becomes a warship and only builds a legacy because of her crew.”
Before taking over as the leader of Old Ironsides, Anderson held key roles on other warships, including serving as commanding officer of the USS Chinook, chief engineering officer aboard the USS Wayne E. Meyer, and navigator and electrical safety officer aboard the USS Momsen.
The USS Constitution officially launched on Oct. 21, 1797, at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard in Boston’s North End, as one of six original heavy frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794 to protect American merchant shipping.
The frigate earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” after defeating multiple British warships during the War of 1812.
Schaefer, completing her two-year command, thanked supporters for an “extraordinary commitment to the ship and the crew.”
“Your continued support, enthusiasm and pride in America’s Ship of State have made this tour especially meaningful,” Schaefer said in a statement, “and has helped to preserve and promote the legacy of Old Ironsides for future generations. It has truly been an honor to serve alongside a community that embraces the ship as its own.”
The USS Constitution led the Parade of Sail earlier this year, sailing both ways across Castle Island as dozens of tall ships and international vessels followed into Boston Harbor.
“When this parade of tall ships comes into the Boston Harbor, everybody can get a feel of what Boston and our country was like back in the late 1700s and 1800s,” Schaefer told the Herald ahead of the spectacle. “We didn’t have nuclear power, we didn’t have steam power—it was all wind power. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
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