Old Ironsides

She weighs in at 1,576 tons, carries 60 guns, and is made from the wood of roughly 1,500 trees. She's the largest, fastest fighting ship of her class...the Constitution. The beginnings of a fledgling country's navy took shape in the graceful lines of the frigate whose strength under fire earned her the nickname Old Ironsides.

Follow young John Aylwin as he watches and helps in the construction of one of the most remarkable sailing ships ever built, from the selection of oaks for the masts to the casting of her three-ton cannon to the sewing of more than two acres of sail. The story of the birth of the Constitution is accompanied by drawings that are stunning in their elegance and detail, a fitting tribute to a majestic vessel.