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I've been trying to do some research on this subject for a fic I've been meaning to do. I've gone the Google route and have collected a wealth of material to root through, but I'd like to see if any of you have anything you can add - books, articles, and/or websites.

Specifically, I'm interested in the history of the Constitution from it's creation to shortly after it's retirement as a fighting ship. To be more specific, it's invovement with the Barbary Wars, the wars of 1812, and it's involvement in the Chinese tributary states(A Sad Want of Sound Discretion and all that).

Beyond just the Constitution, I'm also interested in the basic makeup of the navy and some of the more basic technical terms, along with the mechanics of naval warfare. I've got the basics of that down, but would like a more advanced view. I'm also interested in the correct ranks and terminology - have to write the fic so it looks like I know what I'm talking about, of course.

U.S.S. Constitution Builder-Claghorn, Boston
Laid down- 1796 Launched-Oct. 21, 1797 Commissioned-July 2, 1798
Displacement-1,607 Tons Length-175 feet Beam-44'2" Draft-23'6"
Complement-467
44 guns
The book I got this info from is Warships of the Civil War Navies, after your time of interest.Sorry.

Ask on the warships1.com US Navy forum.

I'd suggest picking up and reading a fe Hornblower books to get an idea of the flavor of life. Particularly Hornblower and the Hotspur and Beat to Quarters.

Also worth checking out are Patrick O'Brian's aubery/martin novels. It'll give you an idea of navy life in the Napoleanic era.

Look for the book A Most Fortunate Ship. It's research done by an ex-captain of the Connie, covering her history from construction to the modern day. Very good book.

For the general flavour of naval life in the Age of Sail, as well as some detail on sea-combat strategy of the time period, you might want to consult the volumes Nelson's Navy by Brian Lavery and published by the Naval Institute Press, The Victory Of Seapower: Winning The Napoleonic War 1806-1814 by Chatham Pictoral Histories, Hornblower's Navy: Life At Sea In The Age Of Nelson by Steve Pope (Welcome Rain Press), and Old Ironsides: The Rise, Decline, and Ressurrection Of The USS Constitution by Thomas C. Gillmer and illustrated by William Gilkerson (McGraw Hill). A good general technical history of sailing vessels which includes the great warships of the 18th and early-mid 19th century period is The Story Of Sail by Veres László and Richard Woodman (also from the Naval Institute Press).

You may also want to Google-search for websites detailing the history and restoration of the pre-Civil War era sloop-of-war USS Constellation (first commissioned 1854 and the last all-sail warship built for the U.S. Navy) Issue 47, April 1999 of the magazine Wooden Boat has an article detailing the rebuilding effort on this ship, which had deterioriated considerably in the years she was in Baltimore and being flogged-off as the War of 1812 frigate of the same name.