I was a sailor, a soldier, and the man who rowed Washington to victory.

I was born on November 5, 1732, in Salem, Massachusetts. When my father died, I was just four years old. My mother moved our family to Marblehead, where I grew up among fishermen, dockworkers, and sailors. The sea shaped my life. I became a fisherman, then a merchant, eventually owning my own ship and building a successful business. That success gave me influence, and when tensions with Britain rose, I stood with the Whigs. In 1775, I took command of the Marblehead militia.

When war broke out, we marched to Boston to support the siege. General Washington soon chartered my ship, the Hannah, to raid British vessels — one of the first ships in what would become the Continental Navy. But it was my men, the Marblehead Regiment, that would make the biggest difference. Fishermen, sailors, mariners of all backgrounds: Native, Black, Spanish, Jewish. We were known as the “amphibious regiment,” bred to the sea and ready to row, march, or fight.

At the Battle of Long Island, our regiment saved the entire Continental Army. Under the cover of darkness, we ferried Washington’s troops across the East River, escaping British encirclement. Had we failed, the Revolution may have ended then and there.

Then came our most famous mission — Christmas night, 1776. We rowed Washington and his army across the icy Delaware River to surprise the Hessians at Trenton. That victory reignited the Revolution. It was the last major campaign for my regiment, but my service didn’t end there.

After tending to my wife and business back home, I rejoined the army in 1777 at Washington’s personal request. I fought in the Saratoga campaign, helped oversee British prisoners, and later joined Washington at Valley Forge. I spent the rest of the war at West Point, building up its defenses and briefly taking part in the Battle of Rhode Island.

After the war, I retired to Marblehead. I stayed active in public life, serving as a town selectman, a delegate at the Massachusetts convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and a member of the state legislature. I passed away on January 30, 1797. To this day, reenactors still march in my name as Glover’s Regiment, remembering the rower, the general, and the man from Marblehead who helped carry a nation forward.