The salute began precisely at noon, and at the sound of the first cannon from Old Ironsides, visitors at the Charlestown Navy Yard looked up from their maps and raced to try to get a good view.

As people plugged their ears and hoisted kids on shoulders to get a better view, the USS Constitution’s crew fired cannons on Tuesday as a part of a 21-gun salute.

Smith said this is her family’s last Fourth of July in Massachusetts before they move to the Britain.

“Boston is a symbol of America,” Smith said. “We wanted to come here and savor the Fourth of July, the USS. Constitution and what it stands for.”


Jan Quiram, who was on a walking tour that led to the USS Constitution, said she has lived Jamaica Plain for 44 years but has never spent the day of the Fourth in downtown Boston until now.

“This is where it all began,” she said, adding that exploring the North End was her favorite part of the day so far.