Whether or not you’re interested in the Age of Sail, I hope you’ll like these photos of “Old Ironsides,” USS Constitution, which I took from my office last week. The ship, the oldest commissioned warship still afloat, is berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard, which is just out of view from my window. She is famous for her victories over HMS Guerriere and HMS Java in the War of 1812. She got her nickname when the sailors realized that the British canon balls were bouncing off of the hull. “Huzzah!” one of the sailors cried, “her sides are made of iron!”

I wish I had gotten to see the ship moving under her own power—I think the last time that happened was 2012, for the two hundredth anniversary of the war. It’s a beautiful sight. Here is a photo from 1997, taken off Cape Ann.