Rhett Steele, forester of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Midwest’s Public Works Department Crane, and Dwight Demilt, Ship Restorer Foreman of Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston, assess one of 150 white oak trees designated for use in repairing USS Constitution. Trent Osmon and Rhett Steele, foresters of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Midwest’s Public Works Department Crane, and Dwight Demilt, Ship Repairer Foreman of Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston, and Robert Murphy, Production Manager, assess mature white oak trees dispersed around the third largest naval installation in the world. Murphy and Demilt chose 35 trees that will replace 30-40 foot-long rotted hull planks. Of the 150 GPS-located mature oaks set aside, 70 were examined. In April 2012, Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston Production Manager Robert Murphy and Ship Restorer Foreman Dwight Demilt visited NAVFAC Crane to assess trees for Constitution’s 2015-2017 restoration. Martin of USS Constitution dedicate the ceremonial “Constitution Grove” at NAVFAC Crane, IN on May 8, 1976. Robert Freneau, Secretary of the Navy Special Assistant, and CDR Tyrone G. One hundred and fifty white oak trees spread over the 64,000-acre base were designated for Constitution. Robert Freneau, Secretary of the Navy Special Assistant, dedicated the ceremonial “ Constitution Grove” at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Crane, Indiana. Martin, Constitution’s commanding officer, and H. Klemm, USN, suggested that the Navy grow its own white oak for Constitution. Navy noted: “Seasoned white oak,…needed in the…overhaul of…CONSTITUTION, was difficult to…procure.” Capt. At the time, as the 1973 work on the ship began, the U.S. Plate 18, lithograph by Henry Stone, in Peter Guillet’s Timber Merchant’s Guide (1823) Nearly two generations and three restorations ago, white oak trees at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), in Crane, IN, were designated for USS Constitution.
With each 20 th century restoration, obtaining solid wood hull planks and ships’ knees has become increasingly challenging. Since 1797, when USS Constitution was launched, “the best white oak” (as stated by Secretary of War Knox) of sufficient size and clarity has been a paramount concern for the survival of the ship. “…few or no materials of any sort…, for construction…, existed….the wood…was standing in the forests the iron for the cannon lying in its natural bed and the flax and hemp…, in their seed.” Secretary of War Henry Knox to the House of Representatives, concerning the construction of the six frigates, 29 December 1794.