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The Hero of the American Revolution You Don’t Know, But Should
George Washington didn’t win alone
The painting Washington Crossing the Delaware is one of the most iconic in American history, and with good reason. It immortalizes Washington’s daring attack on British-aligned Hessian mercenary troops at Trenton, NJ, on Christmas night, 1776. And as you can see above, Washington is the clear focal point of the painting.
Washington and his Army won the victory, but without General John Glover and his Marblehead, Massachusetts militia (made up New England fishermen) he never would have gotten across the river in the first place. You have probably never heard of John Glover (I hadn’t until recently); he is one of the countless men and women who played a crucial role in events that shaped history who was then essentially forgotten by history, and he should be remembered.
John Glover was born on November 5, 1732, in Salem, Massachusetts. His family moved to Marblehead when he was still a child, and at a young age he did what many New England men from poor families did, both then and now: he went to sea. Over time, Glover became one of the leaders of the Massachusetts cod fishing industry.
Not radical by nature, Glover was radicalized by the Boston Massacre in 1770 and took charge of the local Marblehead…
