In 1834, the venerable USS Constitution, launched in 1797, the standout vessel of the War of 1812, was destined for the scrap heap. Heeding a public outcry, Brother Andrew Jackson, then president, stepped in and saved the iconic ship. In gratitude the group charged with restoring the Constitution replaced its figurehead with a likeness of Jackson. The gesture infuriated Jackson's enemies who, three months later, sneaked aboard and decapitated the statue. The following year, a new head replaced the old one and that figurehead remained in place for fifteen years until a new statue of Jackson in a Napoleonic pose replaced it. The severed head resurfaced as a conversation piece in the taverns of New York until it was eventually returned to Mahlon Dickerson, Secretary of the Navy, but with the lower part containing the mouth missing. It was not until 2010 that the two pieces were reunited, when a Public Broadcasting crew rediscovered the missing lower section.Thursday, June 7, 2012
Andrew Jackson Decapitated!
In 1834, the venerable USS Constitution, launched in 1797, the standout vessel of the War of 1812, was destined for the scrap heap. Heeding a public outcry, Brother Andrew Jackson, then president, stepped in and saved the iconic ship. In gratitude the group charged with restoring the Constitution replaced its figurehead with a likeness of Jackson. The gesture infuriated Jackson's enemies who, three months later, sneaked aboard and decapitated the statue. The following year, a new head replaced the old one and that figurehead remained in place for fifteen years until a new statue of Jackson in a Napoleonic pose replaced it. The severed head resurfaced as a conversation piece in the taverns of New York until it was eventually returned to Mahlon Dickerson, Secretary of the Navy, but with the lower part containing the mouth missing. It was not until 2010 that the two pieces were reunited, when a Public Broadcasting crew rediscovered the missing lower section.