United States on 16 January 1879, but poor navigation ran her aground the next day near Bollard Head, Dorset, United Kingdom. She was refloated with the assistance of the tugs Commodore, Lightning, Lothair, Royal Albert, Malta and Telegraph. She was towed into the Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, Hampshire, England, where only minor damage was found and repaired. Her problem-plagued voyage continued on 13 February when her rudder was damaged during heavy storms, resulting in a total loss of steering control, with the rudder smashing into the hull at random. Three crewmen went over the stern on ropes and boatswain's chairs and secured it. The next morning, they rigged a temporary steering system. Badger set a course for the nearest port, and she arrived in Lisbon on 18 February. Slow dock services delayed her departure until 11 April and her voyage home did not end until 24 May. Carpenter's Mate Henry Williams, Captain of the Top Joseph Matthews, and Captain of the Top James Horton received the Medal of Honor for their actions in repairing the damaged rudder at sea. Constitution returned to her previous duties of training apprentice boys, and Ship's Corporal James Thayer received a Medal of Honor for saving a fellow crew member from drowning on 16 November. Over the next two years, she continued her training cruises, but it soon became apparent that her overhaul in 1876 had been of poor quality, and in 1881 she was determined to be unfit for service. Funds were lacking for another overhaul, so she was decommissioned, ending her days as an active-duty naval ship. She was moved to the Portsmouth Navy Yard and used as a receiving ship. There, she had a housing structure built over her spar deck, and her condition continued to deteriorate, with only a minimal amount of maintenance performed to keep her afloat. In 1896, Massachusetts Congressman John F. Fitzgerald became aware of her condition and proposed to Congress that funds be appropriated to restore her enough to return to Boston. She arrived at the Charlestown Navy Yard under tow on 21 September 1897 and, after her centennial celebrations in October, she lay there with an uncertain future. Museum ship In 1900, Congress authorized the restoration of Constitution but did not appropriate any funds for the project; funding was to be raised privately. The Massachusetts Society of the United Daughters of the War of 1812 spearheaded an