Forever Marbleheaders: Memories of growing up in Marblehead, Massachusetts (1)

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For ''Furreiners'' Only: Isolated and sea-girdled as it is, Marblehead has local idioms just for foreigners, the ''strangers in our midst." To the summer visitor, the expression goes, "Just passing through?" or "One way in, one way out.'' All true Marbleheaders (see item #1) know the story of the town fisherman who was tossed a silver coin by a passing Salem yachtsman whose boat's wake capsized the fisherman's catch. "To hell I pitch it,'' he responded. For state officials, the proper remark is: "What the hell have the laws of Massachusetts got to do with the town of Marblehead?" On the stormy night of August 29th, 1776, the Continental Army faced capture or annihilation after losing the Battle of Brooklyn. The British had trapped George Washington’s forces against the East River, and the fate of the Revolution rested upon the shoulders of the soldier-mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Serving side by side in one of the country’s first diverse units, they pulled off an “American Dunkirk” and saved the army by transporting it across the treacherous waters of the river to Manhattan.

Fort Glover in Marblehead, originally built for the Revolutionary War as the Huit's Head Battery, was named for him when rebuilt in the Civil War. [23] Years later, Edward Holyoke’s son, Edward Augustus Holyoke, became a physician and an advocate of smallpox inoculation. He, too, went to Boston for inoculation and took careful notes on the procedure. Sanborn, Natan P. (1903). Gen. John Glover and his Marblehead Regiment. Marblehead, MA: Marblehead Historical Society. Battle of Trenton [ edit ] John Glover's regiment rowed George Washington's troops across the Delaware leading to a victory at the Battle of Trenton John Glover (November 5, 1732–January 30, 1797) was an American fisherman, merchant, politician, and military leader from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. [1] He is most famous in American history for his regiment rowing Washington across the Delaware, the Battle of Long Island, and leading one of the first integrated regiments in the American Revolution. [2] Early life [ edit ]Rumors spread that some people – like Stephen Minot – planned to openly defy the ban. Emotions ran high. A mob formed, and 50 armed men threatened to tear down the homes of Dana and Minot.

A large number of Marbleheaders marched to Salem and surrounded the jail. At the signal they broke open the doors, overpowered the jailers, freed the prisoners and carried them home in triumph. Several days later the sheriff gathered 500 citizens to march to Marblehead and recapture his prisoners. The Marblheaders organized a mob equally as large. At that point, the hospital owners decided to abandon the prosecution and the sheriff disbanded his posse. On the stormy night of August 29, 1776, the Continental Army faced capture or annihilation after losing the Battle of Brooklyn. The British had trapped George Washington’s forces against the East River, and the fate of the Revolution rested upon the shoulders of the soldier-mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Serving side by side in one of the country’s first diverse units, they pulled off an “American Dunkirk” and saved the army by transporting it across the treacherous waters of the river to Manhattan.

Glover’s Regiment

Part of the reason may have to do with his personal friendship with the bold, burly John Glover, forged during the Siege of Boston. Glover, like Washington, exercised good taste and decorum. He dressed well, always with two silver pistols and a Scottish broadsword. The rest of the regimental leadership also came from some of Marblehead’s leading families — Ornes, Lees and Gerrys — tied together by blood and friendship. “The officers seem to have mixed with the world,” noted one observer. The tough, disciplined members of Glover’s Regiment had nautical skills that proved invaluable during the American Revolution.

On Christmas Day, 1776, the Americans had suffered a series of defeats since the debacle on Long Island. Washington’s army had grown tired of retreating. Washington desperately needed to motivate his men to re-enlist at the end of the year. Edward Holyoke advocated for smallpox inoculation, as did his influential parishioners: Richard Dana, Justice of the Peace Stephen Minot, merchant John Tasker and trader Joseph Blaney. Smallpox Inoculation Getting rid of the British did matter to them. During the war, the British Navy had closed down the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. The fishermen and sailors of Glover’s Regiment came from the fishing village of Marblehead, Mass., and some nearby towns. In August 1776, Washington and the Continental Army were in tatters after a furious siege by the British in New York. But they lived to fight another day largely because the Marbleheaders rowed 9,000 soldiers, along with their horses and artillery, across the East River to the relative safety of Manhattan under the cover of darkness.Rendered unemployed and angry by the strict trade measures imposed by British Parliament, virtually every able-bodied man in Marblehead, Massachusetts, rallied to fight against their common enemy. (Accounts vary significantly as to exactly how many men the group included at its inception.) The Origins of the Marbleheaders All Together Now: Deep down in their bones, true Marbleheaders (see item #1) know the chorus to "Marblehead Forever," sung to the tune of "The Lily of the Valley'': Then Marblehead forever! God bless the good old town! May she never shame her noble ancestry! She was first in Revolution, was first in '61, And from all dishonor we will keep her free! Around 6:00 PM on Christmas night, the Marbleheaders began shuttling soldiers, artillery, and horses across the river. The process would continue into the early morning, much of it in the face of a relentless Nor’easter.