Eagle Feathers #164 – The Cannon

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

The celebrated USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship in the world and the pride of our country, is berthed in the Boston Naval Shipyard at Charlestown. She received the nickname, Old Ironsides, while in battle during the War of 1812.

Made up of solid Georgia white oak, her sides stood up to enemy cannonballs while her own cannons swept away the decks of enemy ships. General George Washington, who raised the first American flag on Prospect Hill in Somerville and who was President of the United States, named the ship the USS Constitution after the law of our land in 1797.

In 1830, physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the poem, Old Ironsides that sparked national patriotism and saved the ship from being decommissioned and destroyed. He was only 21 years old.

In 1927 thousands of American children from coast to coast participated in a “Pennies for Old Ironsides Drive” which saved the grand old lady once more. Locally, in gratitude for the response of its children and its citizens, the National Park Service honored the City of Medford with a replica cannon from the Constitution’s deck.

In 1956 this replica that was forged in the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown was given to Tufts University in good faith from the Medford Historical Society. It was their hope that the university would honor, educate and remind us of our cherished freedom. With its panoramic view of Boston’s suburbs, it has nobly stood on the Medford/Somerville campus of Tufts. This naval monument is fittingly located above the fields where thousands of past college students and teachers trained for the country’s defense as far back as the Civil War.

How historic is the area that the cannon rests upon?

• Somerville’s Charles Tufts donated Walnut Hill with a vision to put a light upon it. That vision became Tufts University.
• The lower Medford side of Walnut Hill was part of Paul Revere’s path on his 1775 ride to Lexington and was the headquarters of General Charles Lee, Washington’s second in command.
• The Southern side lies in Somerville. Its namesake hero was Richard Somers, slain naval officer of the War with Tripoli. Captain Somers’ last hours were spent on the deck of the Constitution outlining the plans for his last battle.
• Somerville’s Marine Sargent Henry Hansen was an Iwo Jima flag raiser.
• Honorable Somerville Mayor John M. Lynch resigned his civil post to become a Naval officer during World War II.

Other cannons of the same group that were gifted to various cities, social clubs and veterans’ organizations across the country are proudly and appropriately displayed.

For several decades, Tufts students have repeatedly vandalized this historic replica. Very recently, it was restored to its original finish only to be violated once again. Why does the university allow this? Is it possible they are not aware of the historic value of this symbolic, replica cannon and its revered ship?