Read this stanza from “Old Ironsides.” What does the word “thunders” in the third line refer to?

O, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every thread-bare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,—
The lightning and the gale!


The storms


The cannons


The flag


The crew