Thousands wait in line to view the USS Constitution on Mare Island's north waterfront in 1933.
When “Old Ironsides” Came to Mare Island
There are moments when history doesn’t sit quietly in a museum, sometimes it sails into port. In 1933, during the darkest years of the Great Depression, one of the most famous ships in American history entered the Mare Island Strait. The legendary frigate USS Constitution, better known as “Old Ironsides.”
And the city of Vallejo erupted.
More than 15,000 visitors in a single day came to see her. Restaurants ran out of food, and crowds stretched for blocks along the waterfront.
For a struggling nation, she wasn’t just a historic ship, she was proof the country had survived hard times before and would again even though country was in the depths of the Great Depression.
The Warship That Helped Create the U.S. Navy
Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of the original six frigates that formed the foundation of the United States Navy. She fought in conflicts across the Atlantic and Mediterranean, from the Quasi-War with France to the Barbary Wars. But it was during the War of 1812 that she became a legend.
In battle with the British frigate HMS Guerriere, British cannonballs were seen bouncing off Constitution’s thick oak hull. A stunned sailor reportedly shouted: “Her sides are made of iron!”
And the nickname Old Ironsides was born.
Vallejo in Its Sunday Best
When Constitution visited Mare Island Naval Shipyard during her 1931–1934 National Good Will Cruise, the response was extraordinary. Families arrived dressed in their best clothes. People waited patiently for hours just to step aboard.
Look closely at photographs from that day:
Hats.
Coats.
This wasn’t tourism. It was a pilgrimage. Americans were coming to see a living symbol of their Navy. We found a photograph of the crowds waiting to board her in my wife’s grandfather’s records. He would have driven down to Vallejo at the height of the depression, a minimum 12-hour journey.
The drive from Fort Bragg to Vallejo was an all‑day trek: a slow descent through the redwoods on the rough Fort Bragg–Willits Road, then south along the two‑lane Redwood Highway as it wound through Ukiah, Hopland, Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, and Petaluma, each town forcing drivers to idle down its main street before continuing on. Beyond Ignacio, the pavement thinned into county roads leading toward Napa Junction, and the final miles into Vallejo were bumpy and slow, ending at the busy waterfront where Mare Island’s cranes signaled the journey’s end.
The Gun Deck That Won a War
The guns visitors saw on the gun deck were not replicas. They were the very type that had shattered British warships during the War of 1812. From this deck HMS Guerriere was blasted into a burning wreck.
In 1933, those same timbers and cannons sat quietly tied to the Mare Island waterfront. History wasn’t something in a textbook. It was right there on the pier.
A Passing of the Torch
One photograph from the visit captures something remarkable. As Constitution departed Mare Island, another warship sat tied up behind her: The heavy cruiser USS San Francisco (CA-38). Unlike Constitution, she was made of steel and powered by modern engines, And she had been built right here at Mare Island.
Nine years later, during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942, San Francisco would endure 45 direct hits and lose 106 sailors in what Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King called: “The most furious sea battle fought in history.” In that photograph, the old Navy of sail and the modern Navy of steel share the same harbor. A passing of the torch of freedom.
When a Queen Stepped Aboard an Enemy
In 1976, during America’s Bicentennial celebration, an extraordinary moment occurred. England’s Queen Elizabeth II stepped aboard USS Constitution.
Think about that for a moment.
This was the very ship that had destroyed a British warship in battle nearly two centuries earlier. Yet here stood the British monarch walking the deck as a welcomed guest. The moment captured something powerful about history: Former enemies can become allies.
And the ships that fought each other can become shared symbols of heritage.
Why Constitution’s Visit Mattered
Warships usually live far away. Out on the horizon. But at Mare Island, history came close enough to touch.
This wasn’t just any port visit, so for a short time in 1933…
The most famous warship in American history lay quietly in the waters of the Mare Island Strait.
Dennis Kelly
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England is welcomed about the USS Constitution by CDR. Tyrone G. Martin, Commanding Officer during America’s centennial celebration in 1976. It was from the decks of the Constitution that the British warship HMS Guerriere was reduced to a smoking hulk prior to sinking. It was during this battle that the Constitution earned her nickname “Old Ironsides” as Guerriere shot was observed bouncing off the sides of the Constitution.
The Constitution and Guerriere in battle during the War of 1812.
The Constitution arrives at Mare Island in 1933 for a month-long visit.
View of Constitution’s starboard battery run out in firing position.
The Constitution departing Mare Island in 1933 following her goodwill visit. The ship tied up to the quay wall behind her stern is the Mare Island built cruiser USS San Francisco (CA-38). Like the Constitution, the USS San Francisco would pay a heavy price in battle. On the night of Friday, November 13, 1942, the USS San Francisco attacked a vastly superior Japanese force off the coast of Guadalcanal. It was the most brutal close-quarters naval engagement of World War II. The San Francisco took 45 direct hits and sustained heavy damage while sinking one Japanese ship and seriously damaging two others (including a battleship). With half her crew killed or wounded, the remaining crew members performed valiantly as they tended to the casualties and performed damage control. One hundred and six sailors, including Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan (for which Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo is named), were killed and 131 more wounded in what Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King called "…the most furious sea battle fought in history."
