Background
Glover was born on November 5, 1732 in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of a house carpenter.
fisherman merchant trader Cordwainer
Glover was born on November 5, 1732 in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of a house carpenter.
Glover began his career as a shoemaker, amassed enough money to become a shipowner, and eventually became an important merchant in the fishing industry.
His political career began in the early 1770's, when he sided with the radicals over British restrictions on trade. Becoming a member of the Marblehead committee of correspondence in 1772, Glover soon was one of the patriots around whom the townspeople rallied. When fighting broke out in Massachusetts in 1775, Glover was commissioned colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment. The unit he recruited was known as the "amphibious regiment" because it was composed almost entirely of Marblehead sailors. General George Washington quickly capitalized on their seafaring ability by using them in the summer of 1775 to man some armed vessels that preyed on British supply ships off the New England coast.
In 1776 Glover's regiment was reorganized as the Fourteenth Continental and participated in two of the most brilliant amphibious operations of the war. In August the regiment helped to evacuate the American army by water from a precarious position on Long Island, and on a cold Christmas night four months later, Glover's men ferried Washington's force across the Delaware to launch a surprise attack against Trenton.
Glover was made a brigadier general in 1777 and participated in the successful campaign against General John Burgoyne. He was placed in command of Providence, R. I. , in 1779, and in 1780 he was a member of the court which condemned the spy Major John André. Andre. During the war Glover fought at the battles of Pelham Bay, Saratoga, and Quaker Hill.
He retired from the army in 1782 because of ill health and returned to Marblehead. In 1788 he was a member of the Massachusetts convention which ratified the constitution.
On November 20, 1783, John Glover was awarded the charter for the town of Glover, Vermont, as its prime proprietor, in honor of his service.
The frigate USS Glover was named for him.
Glover's Rock in the Bronx is a memorial to him.
Glover School in Marblehead was named after him in 1916.
There is a statue of Glover on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.
The General John Glover House is located in Marblehead.
Glover Field in Pelham, New York is named for him.
He married Hannah Gale in October 1754.
