BOSTON (AP) — Major repairs aren't stopping Old Ironsides from commemorating the 201st anniversary of its final major battle of the War of 1812.
The U.S.S. Constitution, in Boston, will be firing its cannons at noon Saturday to mark the start of its battle against two British ships near the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira on Feb. 20, 1815.
The ship's crew will be donning period uniforms and delivering accounts of the battle where the American frigate defeated the HMS Cyane and the HMS Levant.
The battle happened three days after the Treaty of Ghent ended the war, but the news hadn't reached the ships.
Built in 1797, the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat has been dry docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard since May for restoration work expected to take three years.