Marblehead Men

Sailors become Soldiers who become Sailors

One of the least appreciated units in the Continental Army also played a crucial role in saving the American cause, setting the stage for several iconic commemorative paintings.

The folks who live along the rocky New England coast are as tough and rugged as the landscape itself. At least, they were during the era of the Yankee Doodle Spies. Hard and gritty men and women were the first to take meaningful action against what they considered injustices of British rule. I suppose carving out a civilization from a weather-beaten wilderness requires folks of tough mettle and stubborn ways.

New England's coast bred tough people

Among the toughest and most resourceful of that group were the men who sailed the cold and stormy waters along the North Atlantic coast, fishing, trading, and smuggling in both fair and foul weather. It is only natural that a militia regiment drawn from such stock would prove to be one of the go-to units of the struggle.

Marblehead Militia

All counties and some towns in New England had militia units that established a long-standing tradition dating back to at least the late 17th century. These units had experience from several wars fought against native tribes, Canadian neighbors, and their French rulers.

At the start of the fight against Britain, the Marblehead militia was among these. Because it was formed along the rugged New England coast, it was naturally composed of men who spent their civilian lives at sea.

Marblehead Militia

As tensions peaked in April 1775, the regiment was lucky to get a commander who proved to be as tough and resourceful as the men he led – Colonel John Glover. Under Glover, the regiment marched to Cambridge, where they joined the New Englanders besieging the British at Boston.

During the siege, Congress established the new Continental Army under the command of General George Washington. The Marblehead Militia, nicknamed “Glover’s Regiment,” joined the Continental Army in June. It was initially called the 23rd Massachusetts Regiment. Only the finest militia units were integrated into the Continental regiments, forming America's first “professional” army.

The Continental Line

With their new status, they also received a new name, and the Marblehead militia was quickly renamed the 14th Massachusetts Continental Line. As a continental regiment, they would now be required to march and fight wherever the army moved, and wherever George Washington led them. He soon took them south to face new dangers and seek new opportunities for glory.

Nevertheless, the regiment of about 750 sailors never fully shed their heritage. Unlike other continental regiments, which began to wear similar uniforms of dark blue tunics, white or buff breeches, and leggings topped with a cocked hat, the Marblehead sailors dressed more like sailors. The Marbleheaders wore distinctive blue jackets, white pants, and white caps. But it was the skill, not the appearance, of these hardy sailors that would be their greatest trait.

Washington’s Navy

As the siege of Boston continued, Washington decided he needed a naval force to stop the flow of supplies to the British garrison. He tasked the 14th Massachusetts Line with outfitting and crewing four schooners for the effort. Glover even provided his own schooner, the Hannah. His port at Beverly became the headquarters of “Washington’s Navy.” Operating on a tight budget, the small flotilla of five schooners managed to disrupt the British supply line while bringing in captured supplies to aid the Americans. The sailors from Marblehead also built most of the defenses that kept the British from capturing the base.

Washington's Navy consisted of
fast schooners manned by experienced sailors

The Miracle on Long Island

Long before it became a traffic nightmare, Long Island was the scenic and rural breadbasket of New York. In the summer of 1776, it became the focal point of the British plan to crush the American rebellion.

Driven from Boston earlier that year, Lord William Howe’s reinforced army of over twenty thousand sailed into New York Harbor and landed at Staten Island. Soon, he moved his troops across the water and quickly encircled George Washington’s forces along the heights of Brooklyn. Although there was fierce fighting, the British numbers and well-positioned guns made Washington’s hold on the island a dangerous liability. He faced a grim choice: defend with little hope or attempt to escape.

British Landing at Long Island would soon threaten the
American Army and the cause

In some ways, the latter was the hardest decision. The British naval power was even more formidable than their land forces. Crossing despite these two obstacles would almost certainly lead to disaster. But when a sudden fog rolled into New York harbor on the night of August 29th, Washington took a brief opportunity to act.

So under the cover of darkness and a shroud of fog, he took a risky move and sent his army forward against the enemy. His tool was the 14th Massachusetts’ sailor-soldiers. For hour after hour, Glover’s men rowed boat after boat, carrying soldiers, horses, and what equipment they could manage without alerting the British, who waited just a few hundred yards away.

Glover worked his men through the night to save an army

Despite the darkness and fog, the Marblehead men moved smoothly and silently. A splash or the bumping of a boat against another could easily have alerted the Royal Navy, whose warships lay anchored nearby. By the next morning, they had evacuated around 9,000 men from the jaws of the British lion to the safety of Manhattan.

The miracle retreat from LI saved the army and the cause

A War of Maneuver

The regiment’s utility was displayed throughout the “war of maneuver,” which had Washington scurrying from one position to another to avoid destruction by the British. Glover’s men delayed the British advance at Kips Bay, buying time for the rest of the army to escape to the safety of Harlem. As the campaign shifted north to Westchester, the regiment once again played a critical role – this time as soldier-sailors.

Glover's sailor-soldiers stymied the British at Pelham

On October 13th, around 4,000 British and Hessians pushed inland from Pelham Bay. However, along the stone walls crossing the farmland, 750 men of the 14th Massachusetts and John Glover’s forces awaited. They held the British at bay, trading space for time and giving the Continental Army a chance to ready itself for the new attack. Glover’s men, skilled in scouting and raiding, proved they were just as comfortable with stone and earth as they were with the decks of their schooners. They captured supplies and enemy prisoners, then helped operate the artillery when Washington and Howe clashed at White Plains.

The Crossing that Shocked the World

By December of that year, a battered and severely diminished Continental Army reached its limit as it gazed across the Delaware River. Just hours behind the advanced guard of a British column led by Major General Charles Cornwallis was closing in quickly. The men from Marblehead gathered anything that floated for miles along the river and quickly ferried the ragtag army to safety.

Gen Charles Cornwallis nearly bagged
Washington, but for the Marblehead Regt.

But their greatest challenge lay ahead. With enlistments dwindling as a new year was just days away, Washington had a short window to do something with his army besides hightail from the redcoats. General Howe gave him the opportunity. Thinking the Americans beaten, he scattered his army into winter quarter garrisons, leaving just a few isolated brigades in West Jersey.

The Glover Regiment brought Washington to destiny

Washington turned to Glover’s men once again. In another secret nighttime operation, Washington called on the seasoned sailors to operate a different kind of boat. Long and sleek, the Durham boats were propelled by pushing long poles into the river bottom. On a night of snow mixed with rain, file after file of Continentals, poorly clad, poorly fed but determined, silently boarded the boats under the watchful eyes of the sailors. Throughout the night, powerful arms pushed staffs into the swirling water. Strong legs and backs moved the boats, filled with men and equipment, across the fast-moving current toward the dark and dangerous Jersey side. Despite the ice flows, Glover’s sailors managed to ferry over 2,000 troops and 18 guns.

Sailors to soldiers as Glover's Marblehead Regiment
 joins the night march on Trenton

But their work was not finished. The sailors then became soldiers and marched the harrowing nine miles to Trenton, fighting valiantly in the short battle that shocked the world and saved the cause. Their final act was to lead the army back across the river, as their enlistments had expired and the regiment was disbanded.

Down to the Sea in Ships

Glover remained with the Continental Army, but his men went home. New England was never a major battlefield for the rest of the conflict, but it still played a vital role – providing support and attacking the British at sea. Glover’s experienced soldiers now became sailors again, in a different kind of war, less flashy but just as damaging to the British.

Privateers devastated British merchant shipping and tied down
the Royal Navy

Some people took up smuggling, a vital way of supporting the war effort. Others went further and turned to privateering, attacking British merchant ships in a war that robbed the British of wealth and supplies, while boosting America’s limited resources. The Marblehead men played an important role in capturing more than 3,000 vessels during the war.