The USS Constitution is under attack. In spite of the history that surrounds the waterfront in Charlestown, Massachusetts, a Boston neighborhood, residents who live in the new tawny waterfront development that extends along what was once the Charlestown Navy Yard are trying to silence or muffle the cannon blasts fired twice a day -- at dawn and sunset -- from the decks of "Old Ironsides."

Oh, and for good measure some want the volume turned down during the morning playing of the National Anthem, according to excerpts of the anonymous letters published in The Boston Herald.

"It seems to us, that the cannon charge/noise is excessive," one of the residents said in a letter to the ship's commander, Capt. Timothy Cooper. "Over the summer, we have entertained several times, and we have had guests sit up in shock when the cannon goes off."

Another writer suggested she and her husband could invite Cooper over for a glass of wine "to experience the sunset blast. We are confident you will agree that it is much more disruptive to the neighborhood than you might have imagined."

Really? Well perhaps these writers haven't considered that what they call ‘excessive noise' is a joyful reminder to Boston-area citizens who remember the shipyard before it was an upscale address, and on a larger scale, a reminder of what it took (and continues to take) to keep the nation free.

I grew up in Charlestown. As a kid my parents took me and my siblings every year to the open house at the shipyard where we walked the decks of the Constitution. During World War II both my parents worked at the yard, where my mother learned to weld. I worked there part time while in high school.

Charlestown is a tough and still-mostly Irish-Catholic working-class community. And there has always been resentment for what they see as the "Yuppie" takeover of parts of the town – including the shipyard. And anyone there will admit the town has turned out far more sinners than saints over the years.

But whether cop or robber or something in between, Townies never had a problem with flag and country. Charlestown's legacy is the Battle of Bunker Hill, an event to which generations of Townies have felt a direct personal connection. It's still commemorated every June with a parade and beer chasers.

As far as these folks are concerned, the Constitution can keep firing.

"When you activate Charlestown people they friggin' move," Daniel Manning, who set up the Facebook page "Old Ironsides Should fire 2 Cannons at a Time," told me. The page already has more than 2,000 members – and not only Townies, but people from around the world.

USS Constitution commander Cooper, like his predecessors dating all the way back to the Barbary Wars, is trying to deal with the complaints diplomatically.

"What we really want to do is maintain the longstanding traditions and at the same time be good neighbors," his spokesman, MC1 Eric Brown, told me. He said Cooper would soon be taking the ship out for its annual harbor sail, and when it returns to port its cannon will be facing out toward sea instead of inland. That alone should diminish the sound, he said.

Cooper also tried using a less powerful charge – dropping from the 200-gram charge to 50-gram, but that proved unsuitable.

"It just didn't sound the same," Cooper told The Boston Herald. "It was more like a sharp crack as opposed to a boom."

And so, just as it was in 1775, the line has been drawn in Charlestown. The "Townies" and their supporters have run their banner up the Facebook mast. "The good citizens of Charlestown (old and new) have lived with . . . or learned to live [with the cannon fire]. Snobs go back where you came from if you don't like it."

Oh, and if that's not enough to put the Yuppie campaign to rest, how about this: Congress recently officially designated the USS Constitution a Ship of State – meaning it may be used by the President to host visiting heads of state and for signing legislation related to the military and for maritime treaties.

Those annoyed with the cannon fire should themselves keep quiet and learn to live with – no, appreciate and honor – the morning and evening blasts. That ship has served all of us well in war and peace. For my part, I think its designation as a Ship of State calls for a special cannon salute – maybe all 44 guns, if possible – preferably toward the condos.