MARBLEHEAD — She was just passing through. But three visits were more than enough for Marblehead to fall in love with the USS Constitution.
Tomorrow at 4 p.m., town officials will gather to unveil a plaque at Fort Sewall celebrating a trio of encounters with the oldest commissioned warship in the world. Fred Goddard, a descendant of the ship's victorious Capt. Issac Hull, along with former Selectman and Town Clerk Tom McNulty, spearheaded the effort.
Also invited is any resident who wants to attend the low-key ceremony.
"We're not playing it big time," Goddard says. "Absolutely not." He expects selectmen Chairwoman Jackie Belf-Becker to say a few words. A reproduction of the 1797 to 1819 American flag will be flown.
Among those invited is Marbleheader Stephen Decatur, who traces his bloodline back to Commodore Stephen Decatur, hero of the war with the Barbary Pirates in 1804.
"Anybody who lives in New England is attached to the Constitution," Goddard says. But in Marblehead, the links are stronger, and at least two of her stops here were consequential.
"We saved her," former state Rep. Doug Peterson says.
In April 1814, the Constitution sought protection here from two larger British vessels during the War of 1812. "Old Ironsides," as she was called, would have been a particular prize for the British. She had stunned the world in two encounters with Her Majesty's Navy, sinking the frigates Guerriere and later the Java.
Salvation came in Marblehead when Constitution slipped through the tricky harbor entrance — thanks to a Marblehead-born pilot — and sheltered under the guns of Fort Sewall.
Years later, following the great ship's rescue from the scrap heap, she was a floating museum. Taken from city to city in 1931 as part of an effort to raise funds for maintenance, Constitution included Marblehead on her itinerary.
That visit pales in memory, however, to the ship's return in July 1997, part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of her launch in Charlestown. In preparation for her first unassisted sail in more than 100 years, Constitution was towed to Marblehead and berthed overnight at the mouth of the harbor.
"I was on the Constitution when it came into Marblehead," Peterson says. "You're on living history. Everybody was extremely excited."
Thousands lined the harbor, perched on rocks at Chandler Hovey Park at the point of Marblehead Neck and filling every square inch of Fort Sewall across the harbor. An armada of pleasure boats jockeyed for good vantage points. The weather was glorious.
"That vessel coming around the point in Marblehead — incredible," said then-Selectman Bill Conly, who was waiting to greet the ship. He compares her arrival to a religious experience. Wild cheers went up. "You couldn't see the land for the people."
All eyes were on Old Ironsides, Peterson recalls. "The throngs of people were just transfixed."
"From my family's perspective, it was awesome," says Wayne Attridge, health director for the town then and now. All his life, he'd heard tales of the Constitution's visit in 1931. "And to see it again in my own lifetime. To have my kids see it, to have something for them to remember all their lives was wonderful."
Emotions ran highest when the ship rounded Marblehead Light, Attridge says. "I think we left a mark on Marblehead history."
Meanwhile, Marbleheaders were joined by thousands from all over the North Shore, New England and even beyond. Deb Greel had come from Salem.
"I still remember it to this day," she says. "The Navy band played. It started to get dark and the lights came on aboard the Constitution." The patriot music, the fact that her brother had been inducted into the Navy aboard Old Ironsides, had an impact.
"Tears came to my eyes," she says. "You just stood there and felt the connection between the ship and the fight for freedom."
The event brought nationwide television coverage. For her sail the following day, Constitution carried an array of celebrities, including Sen. Ted Kennedy, Virginia Sen. Chuck Robb and his wife, Lynda Johnson Robb, daughter of former President Lyndon Johnson. High ranking naval officers were everywhere. Marbleheader David Cashman was one of several former Constitution commanders to climb aboard.
At the climax, a small fleet of U.S. Navy vessels looked on and the Blue Angels flew in formation a short reach over the mainmast.
With the installation of the plaque, Goddard says, he keeps getting the same question from Marbleheaders. "When is the Constitution going to come back?"
He chuckles, "Well, who knows? It's up to the Navy. But," a twinkle comes to his eye, "people have suggested that 2014 will be the anniversary of that first visit."
