Episode 3 of 3

Nickname 'Old Ironsides' after the victory

When: 19 August 1812
Where: Following the engagement off Nova Scotia
Part of: USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerriere

Constitution gained the nickname 'Old Ironsides' after her triumph over Guerriere, according to the supplied account of her restoration history.

Constitution's restoration history records that she gained the nickname 'Old Ironsides' after her triumph over Guerriere, with later restoration work replacing her upper sides so that she resembles her appearance following that victory. The legacy claim that British shot literally bounced off her sides is a legend; the supplied passages state only that the nickname followed the Guerriere victory, without describing shot bouncing off her hull.

Sources

USS Constitution Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.