Aye tare 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 rang the battle shout and burst the cannon’s roar. The meteor of the ocean’s air shall sweep the clouds no more …

Those lines from Oliver Wendell Holmes’ stirring poem about the USS Constitution came to mind while watching “All Hands on Deck,” an educational video produced for the USS Constitution Museum in Boston. Northern Light Productions, the Boston-based company that made the film, took a second-place award for it at this year’s U.S. International Film and Video Festival in Chicago. The film is available for free to Maine teachers and other educators in the United States.

“All Hands on Deck” tells of the repair and restoration work done on “Old Ironsides” through the years. Although the historic ship was not defeated in battle, it nearly was by neglect. Oliver Wendell Holmes composed the poem when “Old Ironsides” was about to be scrapped. The poem and donations from the American people helped save it.

Many things about “All Hands on Deck” were interesting to me. I am a seafaring man, born and raised on Little Cranberry Island. I remember the USS Constitution being restored during the 1930s. Soon after, the ship made a visit to Bar Harbor. A schoolmate of mine, Melvin Spofford, served in the Navy during World War II and later was a crew member aboard the Constitution in Boston.

I grew up around boats and and later attended and graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, N.Y. Part of my sea training was aboard a square-rigged training ship, the Emory Rice. We cadets, or midshipmen, slept in hammocks, as they did aboard “Old Ironsides.” We polished the brass, swabbed, or “holystoned,” the decks, including the good old ship’s bell, and climbed the rigging to set the sails. We didn’t get to “splice the main brace once all around,” which meant all hands got a measure of grog (a mixture of rum and water), as the seamen were allowed to do in earlier days sometimes for a job well done.

“All Hands on Deck” can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The format reminds me a bit of the ghosts of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It tells the tale of a young girl, Julie, who steps aboard the Constitution on the ship’s recent historic sail to celebrate its 200 years as a commissioned naval warship.

While on board, Julie goes below and meets several people, appearing as ghosts, who played a part in “Old Ironsides”‘ glorious past. One is a midshipman, who tells of his experiences during the ship’s earliest history while under the command of Commodore Preble, who led a squadron to the Mediterranean and to the shores of North Africa. The vessel fought the Barbary pirates in their home waters and shelled the shore batteries, finally forcing the corsairs to cease preying on America’s shipping and to sign a peace treaty.

Soon after meeting the midshipman below, Julie meets another ghost from the frigate’s past. Will, a young chap of 17, served as a “powder monkey.” He informs her his task was to bring powder up from below to the men who fired off the ship’s great guns.

Another apparition is Jess Williams, a black sailor who served on the Constitution during the War of 1812. He tells of how the Constitution closed with the British ship, HMS Java, off Brazil, and the fierce sea fight that followed and the Constitution’s victory.

It was in this battle, Jess says, that a sailor noticed a cannonball from the “Britisher” striking the stout, oaken hull of the American ship and then bouncing off and dropping into the sea. He remarks that “she is Old Ironsides,” explaining the origin of the ship’s nickname.

Last, but not least, Julie meets Mrs. Maria Percival, who is the wife of Capt. John “Mad Jack” Percival. This is the skipper who, later in the 1840s, took “Old Ironsides” on a goodwill tour around the world. The good woman speaks of her husband’s long sea voyages, her loneliness, and the hardship of being left to handle the household and accounts.

“I wonder which is the harder life,” Percival’s wife asks, “being a sea captain or being his wife?”

I think teachers will find “All Hands on Deck” a good teaching tool. I, however, would have enjoyed seeing “Old Ironsides” on her recent historic sail, going along under a full press of canvas. But I realize that it would have been difficult to put together a crew experienced enough to do this properly.

Capt. Ted Spurling Sr. lives on Little Cranberry Island. He served for a decade, attaining his unlimited master’s license, in the U.S. Merchant Marines. He sailed, mostly as chief mate and second mate, to Cape Town, Buenos Aires and other far-flung ports. He also lobstered for 40 years. Teachers can obtain “All Hands on Deck” by contacting the USS Constitution Museum at 1-617-426-1812 or at www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org.