Revolutionary War: General John Glover - Boston, MA

General John Glover

by

Martin Milmore

GPS: N 42° 21.178; W 071° 04.487

Short Description: 

A statue and plaque dedicated to General John Glover is located on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall between Berkeley Street and Clarendon Street in Boston's Back Bay.

 Long Description:

General John Glover, of Marblehead, MA, was the father of the United States Marine Corps. During the Revolutionary War his regiment of boats enabled Washington's army to retreat to Manhattan after the Battle of Brooklyn on Long Island, thus saving the army from certain defeat. General Glover and his men, using rowboats, ferried General Washington and his troops across the Delaware in 1776 to defeat the Hessian troops in Trenton, NJ. After the war, Glover was a Representative and a Selectman in the Massachusetts Legislature.

An 8' by 3.5' by 3.5' bronze statue of General Glover stands on an approximately 6.5' high and 6.5' by 6.5' square granite base. The statue was sculpted by Martin Milmore in 1875. It was cast at the Robert Wood & Company foundry. The W. Blake & Company did the fabrication. The statue was a gift to the City of Boston from Benjamin T. Reed.

General John Glover is depicted wearing his formal military uniform with cape, epaulets, ruffled shirt, and ascot. He is standing with his left foot on a the barrel of a cannon and holding a sheathed sword in his left hand. He is holding a second sword in is right hand which is broken off at mid blade.

A bronze plaque on the front of the base is inscribed:

JOHN GLOVER,

OF MARBLEHEAD,

A SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION.

-------------------------

HE COMMANDED A REGIMENT OF

ONE THOUSAND MEN RAISED IN THAT TOWN

KNOWN AS THE MARINE REGIMENT

AND ENLISTED TO SERVE THROUGH THE WAR;

HE JOINED THE CAMP AT CAMBRIDGE, JUNE 22, 1775,

AND RENDERED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN TRANSPORTING

THE ARMY FROM BROOKLYN TO NEW YORK, AUG. 28, 1776,

AND ACROSS THE DELAWARE, DEC. 25, 1776.

HE WAS APPOINTED BY

THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, A BRIGADIER GENERAL,

FEBRUARY 21, 1777.

BY HIS COURAGE, ENERGY, MILITARY TALENTS

AND PATRIOTISM, HE SECURED THE CONFIDENCE OF

WASHINGTON,

AND THE GRATITUDE OF HIS COUNTRY.

BORN NOVEMBER 5, 1732.

DIED AT MARBLEHEAD, JANUARY 30, 1797.

The back of the base carries the inscription:

THE GIFT

OF

BENJAMIN TYLER REED.

1875