THE USS CONSTITUTION

Yes, this is "Old Ironsides" as it looked when it left Portsmouth Harbor in 1897 and returned to Charleston, MA. Hey, maybe we didn’t make it look good, but we kept the Old Gal alive for another couple of decades while she was here. Click to see colorized postcards.

JOHN PAUL JONES in BOSTON

Less than a dozen items belonging to John Paul Jones are known to exist today. Among them, very likely, is a pistol used in battle. One day a group of Jones fans from Portsmouth wen to check out the story. Here are the photos.

PORTSMOUTH SHIPYARD STORIES

May 4, 1985
Twenty years ago a local philanthropist had a wild idea. Why not move a huge submarine onto dry land? It would make a great museum. And it does today. But the haul-out of the USS Albacore was harder than anyone had imagined. Here are the photos of that amazing day.

PAUL JONES BODY
May 1905

Okay, if you don't believe us, will you believe Scientific American? The well-respected science journal issued a detailed report after the discovery of the lead coffing in Paris in 1905. As part of our detailed coverage of this historic event, we offer the complete text of the 1905 magazine article. Click for more.

USS CONSTITUTION ONLINE

Readers Ahoy! If you want to know more about Old Ironsides, this is the place to start. Because of our high rating in the search engines, we are often mistaken for the official USS Constitution web site. Not so. Our interest is largely focused on the 20 years when Ironsides was berthed in Portsmouth Harbor on the border of New Hampshire and Maine, Here's MORE.

May 1905
BODY OF JOHN PAUL JONES

A century ago the mummified body presumed to be naval hero John Paul Jones was discovered in France where he died in 1792. Thie began an eight year journey in which Jones returned to his current resting place in Maryland. These exclusive early images show the scene of the "big big" in Paris.

Lies, More Lies and Legends
JOHN PAUL JONES FLAG

Here is the complete text of the Portsmouth legend that refuses to die. It is the story of the "quilting party" of girls who reportedly sewed their silk dresses into the stars and stripes carried aboard the Ranger in 1777 by Captain John Paul Jones. It isn’t true. But here it is for your analysis.

OLD IRONSIDES IN NH

By sheer concidence we stumbled on two more fascinating photographs of "Old Ironsides" during her lengthy stay at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. One came from a Texas reader. The other turned up in a file in the local library a few years ago. Here are both images, published for the first time and available exclusively on your favorite history web site.

FLAGS OF JOHN PAUL JONES

The story of Helen Seavey's quilting party is among Portsmouth's most cherished stoires. Yet it is, as far as we can tell, totally untrue. Here Clara Lynn, the blind poet, puts the tale into rhyme for an early 20th century audience. Is there even an ounce of truth to this popular tale? So far, we haven't found it.

A Mystery Unravels
FLAGS OF JOHN PAUL JONES

Sometimes a post card can throw off your whole day. This one did. A SeacoastNH readers sent us this century old postcard reported showing the Bonhomme Richard. It took awhile to whittle the facts away from the fiction, Here’s how we pieced together the hoax.