Yeoman Safford remarked, 'Our men have been doing some really extraordinary work at target practice.' As their proficiency grew, he added, 'Both our Captain and Executive have the confidence of the men.' As an ultimate testament to their readiness, while recognizing the limitations of their vessel, Safford proudly proclaimed: 'Our men were very eager for a fight. I do not know what we could have done with a steam ship, but before she had finished us they would have known they were in a fight!'

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Had they been 'in a fight,' the men of Constellation would have had to instinctively perform in the chaos and confusion of battle the skills they had mastered. As the gun decks filled with choking smoke and deafening noise that made sailors' ears bleed, men often stripped to the waist. Shot, shells, shrapnel, musket balls and splinters swept across open decks and pounded into the sides of ships, adding to the unholy din. Men would soon begin to fall, and they would be taken to the cockpit as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, amputating a mangled limb was usually the only hope for saving a wounded man's life.

One sailor on USS Hartford wrote of his experience in a naval battle: 'Shot after shot came through the side, mowing down the men, deluging the decks with blood, and scattering fragments of humanity so thickly that it was difficult to stand on the deck….A solid shot coming through the bow struck a gunner on the deck, completely severing his head from his body. One poor fellow lost both legs by a cannon ball; as he fell he threw up both arms, just in time to have them carried away by another shot.'

Constellation's crew did not see any fighting, but the hard work and drill of her sailors and Marines epitomize the efforts of all those who secured the seas for the Union. President Abraham Lincoln summed up the value of the Federal naval contribution when he said: 'Nor must Uncle Sam's web feet be forgotten. At all the watery margins they have been present. Wherever the ground has been a little damp they have made their tracks.'

Glenn F. Williams is the former curator and historian for USS Constellation.He currently works for the American Battlefield Protection Program.

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