It was a chilly and clear night for Glover’s Marblehead Regiment’s annual march from the Old Town House to Old Burial Hill to pay homage to Gen. John Glover.
As the sun retreated, Capt. Seamus Daly led the march as a banner-year crowd of about 150 people trailed behind the single-file line of reenactors.
The Old Historic District came alive. People stepped out of their front doors. Children and parents pulled back the curtains to take a peek at the passing contingent. Some joined in the march.
Robert and Zoey de Saint Phalle brought out their son, Leo. The little boy repurposed his Revolutionary War uniform.
“He was George Washington for Halloween, but he is often in costume,” said Zoey de Saint Phalle. “We generally do turn out for all the fun, wacky Marblehead stuff.”
Once at Old Burial Hill, Daly stood in front of Glover’s tomb, illuminated with lanterns placed atop it. He offered a brief eulogy. His fellow reenactors flanked him to the left and right as a wall of people fanned out in front of Daly, who spoke not only of the general’s leadership during the Revolution but also the sacrifice of Marblehead men and families in their pursuit of liberty.
Daly gave a bit of a history lesson, too, about the New York campaigns in which Glover’s military knowledge proved important to Washington. Glover’s men evacuated the Continental Army from Brooklyn to Manhattan and fought against the British during the Landing at Kips Bay and the Battle of Pell’s Point in 1776.
Glover’s regiment also carried out the military operation that ferried Washington and his army across the Delaware River on Christmas Day in 1776. The Delaware crossing allowed the Continental Army to launch a sneak attack against sleeping Hessian soldiers and secure its first major victory in 1776.
“Most importantly, this defeat of the Hessians reinvigorated the colonials’ confidence in their pursuit of war after almost four months of constant retreat and defeat,” Daly said. “His men were key to this turning point of the Revolution. Their success saved the Revolution.”
Glover’s public service did not end with the wartime effort. He served six terms as a Marblehead selectman.
Before they left Old Burial Hill, reenactors fired their muskets three times and offered one of the march’s hearty “huzzahs.”
Reenactors retreated back into the Old Historic District’s downtown area and capped the ceremony with a musket firing in front of Glover’s former house at 11 Glover Square.
Meaghan Walsh, whose family lives in the home now, stood in the door cradling her son, Jackson, as the reenactors approached to render honors.
“It’s pretty cool that they carry on this tradition,” Walsh said. “They are keeping Glover’s spirit alive.”
