Marblehead to celebrate its connection to the USS Constitution

(Globe File Photo)

The stately Constitution drew crowds on its 1997 visit.

By Globe Staff

On an April Sunday in 1814, the people of Marblehead were alarmed by the appearance of three warships sailing as fast as they could toward the harbor. The USS Constitution was running for her life, pursued by two English frigates.

But with the assistance of seamen who knew the waters by heart, "she sailed swiftly and majestically into the harbor, as cheer followed cheer from the crowded headlands and housetops," according to an account in The Essex Antiquarian in 1897. The British ships couldn't follow.

That's one reason why there's a special connection between the Constitution, the US Navy, and the town, said Frederick H. Goddard. After all, he said, without Marblehead, "Old Ironsides," the ship that became famous during the War of 1812, might be lying at the bottom of the sea.

That connection will be memorialized in a bronze plaque unveiled this afternoon at the town's Fort Sewall Park. It was under Fort Sewall's guns that the Constitution sought refuge that day, said Goddard, a retired newspaper editor who is also a descendant of Isaac Hull, who captained the ship in one of its celebrated battles.

"Marblehead was always a friendly, friendly port for the American navy," said Goddard, who campaigned for the plaque along with Thomas McNulty, a former selectman and town clerk. "Marblehead and the Navy are tight."

The plaque reads, "Huzzah for Old Ironsides!" and also commemorates memorable peacetime visits in 1931 and 1997 by the ship to the town.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email