BOSTON (AP) – Cmdr. Lewin C. Wright took over as the 68th commander of the USS Constitution Saturday.

Wright is a surface warfare officer who has served on five ships. He came to Boston from Washington, D.C. where he worked on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations.

Wright takes over from Cmdr. Randall A. Neal, who had served since August 2001. Neal plans to work on future ship development for the Pentagon.

Under Neal’s leadership, the Constitution was the first major national monument to open after Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, half a million people have visited the ship. For the handoff ceremony, the Constitution was towed around Boston’s harbor, while the commanders read naval orders. Seaman Anthony Tornetta said ceremonies also included replacing the flag for Neal’s alma mater, University of Texas, with that of Wright’s, Brandeis University in Waltham.

The Constitution, commissioned in 1797 and known as “Old Ironsides,” docks at Boston’s historic Charlestown Naval Yard, a national park. The ship never lost a battle, from fighting pirates in the Caribbean to British in the War of 1812. Active-duty sailors dressed in vintage 1812 uniforms lead free tours of the ship.

The ship earned its “Old Ironsides” nickname during an 1812 battle with a British ship when someone reportedly saw a cannonball bounce off its sturdy hull. The hull had been reinforced by American-made copper sheets built by a Paul Revere-owned company.

AP-ES-07-19-03 1646EDT

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