Remembrance Day is a time dedicated to the fallen Americans who served their country. One eternally- young overlooked hero’s sacrifice, although generally forgotten, was critical in realizing the idea of liberty in a country yet to be born.
The death of the newly established British society depended many times on the right individual arriving at the right time, just like the gallant 26-year-old Marblehead commander James Mugford Jr., who won the largest reward of the Revolutionary War, the Hope. Mugford captained Franklin, one of Washington’s ships, the ship happily flew one of America’s earliest colors:” Appeal to Heaven”.
On May 10, 1776, five weeks into her voyage across the Atlantic, the Hope, a European 282- ton transport ship carrying a remarkable 1, 500 barrels of magnificent gunpowder, suddenly separated from her eleven- ship escort in a heavy fog. Her departure was even more cautious because the flotilla captain had received an anonymous letter questioning Alexander Lumsdale’s loyalty before they left Cork.
Seven days later, Captain Mugford, an American privateer, spotted the hapless vehicle creeping toward Boston through his binoculars. His buccaneer, the Franklin, had set out from Beverly, Massachusetts, two days earlier with just a skeleton staff of twenty- one people because of the problems of recruiting sailors, as newly established reward authorities had been holding up their wages. Mugford had only been able to secure his recent crew because he had privately secured wages for a dozen core employees.
With the Hope in view, the Marbleheaders , put the boats of the Franklin to the weather and caught up with the big British fleet. ” Appeal to Heaven” fluttered in the weather. The emblem represented something truly amazing. In October 1775 immediately after the first of Washington’s ships left port to strike the Royal Navy, Joseph Reed suggested to John Glover,” What do you think of a Flag with a White Ground, a Tree in the Middle, the Motto ‘ Appeal to Heaven'”? In authorizing ships, Congress and Washington were now taking an extraordinary step toward independence and sovereignty. A significant step forward toward freedom was flying a distinct flag.
This amazing tale and lots of others are told in the bestselling guide The Indispensables: Marblehead’s Unique Soldier- Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware. A Band of Brothers-style care of the unit from Marblehead, Massachusetts, a special largely unknown group of Americans who changed the course of history, is the subject of the recently released book in print.
They bravely boarded the larger vehicle and were shocked to find themselves equally matched to the Hope’s eighteen-member crew, who had been ignoring the Hope’s four and six-pound wobble weapons. When Captain Mugford demanded her present from Captain Lumsdale, they were even more taken aback. The award carried one thousand carbines, stacks of bayonets, five cannon carriages, piles of bullet boxes, and an amazing 1, 500 barrels of gunpowder–enough powder to offer either army’s needs for a month.
Adding to the appearance of divine providence, the Hope, escorted by the Franklin, ran aground just outside Boston harbor. Two months earlier, Congress had declared a day of prayer and fasting. On May 17 the designated afternoon of May 17, colonial church members stepped out to view the captured ship in the harbor in apparent response to their prayers. When they realized she was pregnant, they immediately began dispersing and stealing her valuable cargo.
Mugford intended to go hunting again in the sea with Lady Washington and more British ships. However, Franklin grounded near the same location as the Hope as the two American ships sailed out of Boston Harbor.
Two British warships still lurking outside Boston Harbor witnessed Mugford’s stranded vessel despite the Crown evacuating it a month earlier. A boarding party was given the order to attack the disabled ship by the British captain. The British sailors rowed silently toward the Franklin and the Lady Washingtonin at least five boats that night between nine and ten o’clock, led by Lieutenant Johnathan Harris and carrying a silver-hilted sword.
As the boats slithered toward his vessel across the murky waters, Mugford yelled out in greetings. In answer, they called back that they were from Boston. Mugford warned the boarding party,” Keep off, or I will fire upon]you]” as he simultaneously commanded his men to ready the guns and ordered his anchor cut so that the Franklin‘s broadside, and her guns, faced the oncoming row boats. Ignoring their pleas, for God’s sake, not to fire, Mugford fired his musket, and the crews of Lady Washington and Franklin followed suit. The men on the small boats and the flesh and bones of the men aboard them were torn between the musket and cannon balls as they sailed across the water. They managed to sink two small boats, but before the Franklin‘s cannon could discharge another deadly blast, some of Lieutenant Harris’s men were already aboard Mugford’s ship. Mugford and his men used harpoon spears and small arms to attack the boarders, even slitting the soldiers ‘ hands as they laid them on the gunwale.
Old Burial Hill Cemetery, Marblehead, MA, Patrick K. O’Donnell.
Mugford was described” with outstretched arms… righteously dealing death and destruction” before he received a mortal wound to his chest. He cried out,” I am a dead man, do n’t give up the vessel, you will be able to beat them off”. And beat them, they did, causing the rest of the combatants to limp back to their British warships despite losing their dearly missed captain. His crew sailed his body back to Marblehead, where thousands thronged to pay their respects, and he was buried with highest honors as the first captain in Washington’s navy to die in combat. The priceless cargo he seized would help secure our freedom, which is never free, but James Mugford, who was 27 years old on the day of his death, would never see America declare independence a month and a half later. We honor him and many other Americans who dedicated their last ounce of their full support to the cause of liberty under the banner of” Appeal to Heaven” today.
Old Burial Hill located in Marblehead, MA, the main tombstone is Captain Mugford, Patrick K. O’Donnell
Patrick K. O’Donnell is a bestselling, critically acclaimed military historian and an expert on elite units. He is the author of thirteen books, including , his new bestselling book on the Civil War The Unvanquished: The Untold Story of Lincoln’s Special Forces, the Manhunt for Mosby’s Rangers, and the Shadow War That Forged America’s Special Operations, currently in the front display of Barnes and Noble stores nationwide. His other bestsellers include: The Indispensables,  , The Unknowns, and Washington’s Immortals.  , O’Donnell served as a combat historian in a Marine rifle platoon during the Battle of Fallujah and often speaks on espionage, special operations, and counterinsurgency. He has provided historical consulting for DreamWorks ‘ award- winning miniseries , Band of Brothers , and documentaries produced by the BBC, the History Channel, and Discovery. PatrickKODonnell.com , @combathistorian
