Eagle Feathers #274 –Our American Eagle

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Happy Birthday SOMERVILLE!

This past week on the third of March she turned a sprightly 181 years young. It is said that the Egyptians were the first to start the practice of honoring anniversaries and birth dates. Before that time, people didn’t always acknowledge the date of their birth. The Greeks were next to follow, adding religious candles to the day of remembrance, and the Romans later celebrated not only the birth of their gods but also the birth of the common man. The Germans later brought sweet treats to the party.

In this country and the world, the American Bald Eagle is unhesitatingly identified as a patriotic symbol of our nation’s independence and freedom. Its majestic image can be found in Somerville as in other cities on our government buildings and at patriotic celebrations. The eagle covers its terrain by displaying itself in our illustrations, on our coins and stamps, surmounting our statues, and perching itself atop our flag poles.

Many eagle-embossed memorials have been created throughout our city. They salute the sufferings endured and the sacrifices its citizens made throughout its history. These sacrifices were realized by men and women from native born to new arrivals and make up the international patchwork quilt that is who we are.

• The first Somerville Eagle sailed up the Mystic River in July of 1630. It carried the original governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop. The Eagle’s name was ceremonially changed to honor Lady Arbella Johnson, a member of Winthrop’s company, on this original voyage.
• The eagle-crowned United States Naval Academy’s Memorial is the oldest military monument in America and commemorates the sailors who died in the Tripolitan War. It has been alternately referred to as the Tripoli Monument, the Naval Monument, or the Somers Monument which honors our city’s namesake, Master Commandant Richard Somers.
• The tallest Somerville memorial is the eagle-clad Amelia Earhart Dam on the Mystic River. It honors both the famous aviator and women’s rights.
• The oldest Somerville memorial is the 1863 eagle-crowned Civil War Monument. This was the first Civil War memorial in the nation and is located at the Milk Row Cemetery on Somerville Avenue. The names of 68 Somerville volunteers who fought and died to keep our nation united are listed there.
• The greatest Somerville memorial, in my opinion, is the city itself. Its eagle-shaped border was created when it separated from Charlestown on March 3, 1842. It is 4.2 square miles, making it the largest eagle in America, soaring and greeting people from across the nation.