USS Commander Talks 'Old Ironsides' At Peabody's Camp Eastman

PEABODY, MA — Peabody's Camp Eastman campers got quite the enjoyable history lesson on Tuesday when Commander Billie J. Farrell of USS Constitution visited the YMCA of Metro North camp to share some tales of the sea and talk Old Ironsides on Tuesday.

Farrell is the first woman commander of the Charlestown-based USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy at 224 years old.

Farrell talked about the history of the ship and her role as the 77th captain of the ship commissioned in 1797.

Farrell told the campers she first became interested in joining the Navy while watching a graduation ceremony at 10 years old and later joined the service at 17.

"It's really important to find good mentors and surround yourself with positive people," she told the campers, "people who want you to do well."

Asked what her favorite part of being on Old Ironsides, Cmdr. Farrell responded: "Meeting the guests and sharing the story of the USS Constitution.

"I also like quiet time on the ship where I can look at the names of the past commanders and reflect on the history of the ship."

Old Ironsides earned its nickname during the War of 1812 when the ship stood up to the attack of four British frigates during three separate battles. It was said that the ship's oak sides were made of "iron" because of their ability to withstand the punishment of the British cannons.

Following her lecture, Cmdr. Farrell continued to answer questions from the Torigian Family YMCA campers.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)