"Boston, the Navy Yard, and the War of 1812" Sign

Sign titled, "Boston, the Navy Yard, and the War of 1812."

NPS Photo/MWoods

Quick Facts

Location:

Off the railroad tracks facing Dry Dock 1

Description

Low-profile wayside that is 42.5 x 24.5 inches. It has a black rectangular base with two rectangular pillars supporting the panel. The panel is framed in black metal. The sign is located off the railroad tracks on asphalt to the right of some gravel, facing Dry Dock 1.

Layout

At the top of the sign is a thin black banner with white text. Aligned to the left is “Boston National Historical Park – Charlestown Navy Yard.” Aligned to the right in order from left to right is the USS Constitution Museum logo, the text “National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior,” and finally the National Park Service arrowhead. The panel has a historic landscape painting as the background. Text and images are located in the top half of the painting where there is sky. The title of the sign is in large black font in the left top corner of the historic painting, below the black banner. Two columns of text are on the left half of the painting’s sky. Two side-by-side rectangular images are on the right half of the painting’s sky. Beneath each image are captions. A caption for the painting is in the bottom left-hand corner of the painting.

Title

Boston, the Navy Yard, and the War of 1812

Main Background Image

A landscape painting of the Boston skyline from a hill across the harbor. In the foreground are two women and one man standing in the middle of a grassy hill. The woman on the left looks out towards the water. She wears a white mobcap, white shawl, and a light blue dress. To her right, the other woman and man are standing arm in arm with their backs towards the water. The woman looks down towards the man. She holds a sunshade and wears a white mobcap and a light blue dress with black shawl. The man looks at the woman and wears a black hat, black waistcoat, black tailcoat, high lace collar, and tan pants that are tucked into all black boots. A dog to their right runs towards the water. The base of the hill flattens by the harbor, which is depicted in the mid-ground of the painting. A row of trees and bushes runs from left to right in this portion of the painting. The trees and bushes get increasingly smaller as they reach the water in the mid-ground of the painting. In front of the trees is a wooden split-rail fence that disappears as it gets closer to the water. Behind the trees and shrubs are four cows at the water’s edge. Just beyond the cows and past an inlet is a small boat. Water spans the middle ground of the painting, and tall ships are painted throughout the harbor. Above the water in the background, but under the text, is the Boston skyline circa 1809. The State House dome and various church steeples can be seen in the city.

Main Background Image Caption

This 1809 scene of the Boston skyline depicts all the landmarks familiar to mariners, including the high dome of the State House and many church steeples. [Courtesy The Bostonian Society]

Main Text

When the Federal government established a navy yard in Massachusetts in 1800, it naturally looked to Boston Harbor. A thriving town of more than 34,000 people, Boston was home to hundreds of skilled ship carpenters, riggers, caulkers, and other maritime tradesmen. With such a community close at hand, the Navy established the new yard just across the Charles River on Charlestown’s grassy tidal flats. During the War of 1812, many Boston tradesmen and laborers worked to build and repair US Navy vessels. Local merchants supplied hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of timber, paint, canvas, rope, clothing, and foodstuffs needed to send the ships to sea. Thousands of local men signed on as crew.

Left Image

A painting of workers in the shipyard. In the foreground, piles of lumber are scattered on the ground. Seven workers are also painted in the foreground, just behind the lumber. On the left, two men work on one pile of lumber. The leftmost man’s back is seen as he is bent over his work. He has on blue pants, an orange shirt, and brown hat. The man to his right faces him and wears blue pants, a red jacket, and brown hat. He is also holding a long pole pointed towards the ground and wood pile. To his right is another man who is standing and overseeing the workers. He faces towards the right and wears a black cocked hat, dark blue jacket, tan waistcoat, and breeches. The worker to his right, who is located in the center of the painting, appears to be chopping wood. He faces right and wears a brown hat, white shirt, and beige pants. Two workers to his right are kneeling on the ground and using a two-man saw to cut lumber. The man on the left faces right and wears a brown hat, blue shirt, and blue pants. The man on the right faces left and wears a brown hat, yellow shirt, and brown pants. In the middle ground is a raised wooden platform slanted slightly up from the mid-left side of the painting to the upper right corner of the painting. Workers walk across it from left to right. A wooden ramp to the platform is angled down towards the right middle section of the painting. On the left part of the platform, four men carry a log across the platform. The legs of another man are visible on the right portion of the platform. Beyond the platform and ramp in the background are a series of buildings. Trees are to the left and right of the buildings. A cabin sits on the right-hand side of the painting. A man in a black hat, black shirt, and black pants stands in the doorway. Six other workers are seen in the background. To the left, in front of the buildings, is a man facing left. In the center are two men walking towards the buildings while carrying wood across their right shoulders. To the right of those men is another man looking up towards the platform with his right arm raised. He wears a brown hat, brown shirt, and yellow pants. Two other men are to his right and are carrying a piece of wood between them. To their right and to the left of the man at the cabin is a man kneeling and facing left.

Left Image Caption

Workmen in a shipyard, 1800. Detail: “Preparation for War to Defend Commerce,” William Birch [Courtesy USS Constitution Museum]

Right Image

A black-and-white drawing of a man working on a ship, known as a shipwright. On the left is the front part of a ship’s hull. A man is standing to the right of the hull on a wooden platform in between two wooden posts. He faces the ship with his right arm holding a treenail (wooden peg) against the ship’s side and his left arm bent as he holds a mallet above his head. He wears a dark hat, light shirt, light pants, dark flat shoes, and a dark scarf around his neck. There is a sky in the background, as well as shrubbery to the right of the man. The entire drawing is surrounded by a white border. Shipwright is written in cursive and is centered on the bottom part of the border.

Right Image Caption

A shipwright at work, from the 1807 Book of Trades [Private Collection]