During the 1998 refit of the U.S.S. Constitution, a number of interesting
artifacts were found; one was a provisioning record. When the ship left Boston
on July 22, 1798 with a crew of 475 officers and men, she carried 45,600
gallons of fresh water (enough for six months), 7,400 cannon balls, 22,600
pounds of black powder and 79,406 gallons of rum. Her mission was to harass
English shipping. Making Jamaica on October 6, she took on 828 pounds of flour
and 68,300 gallons of rum. Then she headed to the Azores, where she arrived on
November 12. She took on 550 pounds of beef and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese
wine. She then set sail for England on November 18. In the ensuing days she
defeated five British men-of-war and captured and scuttled twelve merchantmen,
but not before salvaging the rum.  On January 27, 1799, powder and shot
exhausted, Old Ironsides, undaunted, slipped up the Firth of Clyde, put ashore
that night a landing party, and captured a whiskey distillery, hauling away
40,000 gallons of what we now call Scotch.  Then she raised sail and headed for
home. She arrived in Boston on February 20,1799 with no cannon balls, no
powder, no food, no rum, no wine, no whiskey and 45,600 gallons of stagnant
water.  Length of cruise: 181 days.  Alcohol consumption: 252,000+ gallons, or
2.93 gallons per man per day (this does not include the unknown quantify of rum
captured from the 12 English merchant vessels in November).  Naval historians
say that the re-enlistment rate from this cruise was over 92%.
   -various sources, including the National Park Service