Born in 1809 in Massachusetts, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was a physician, poet, and military family member. The poem was a response to the U.S. Navy’s plans to decommission the ship USS Constitution (a.k.a. “Old Ironsides”) and tear it apart in 1830, which led to public support for keeping the vessel intact.
“Old Ironsides”
By Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon’s roar;—
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more!
Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o’er the flood
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
Or know the conquered knee;—
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
O, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every thread-bare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,—
The lightning and the gale!
Holmes, Sr., Oliver Wendell. “Old Ironsides”. Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, accessed on 28 November 2025.
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