Charlestown, Massachusetts: Sawed-Off Head of Andrew Jackson
President Andrew Jackson's head was the figurehead on the USS Constitution -- until it was sawed off by a man who didn't like Jackson.
USS Constitution Museum
- Address:
- Baxter Rd, Charlestown, MA
- Directions:
- USS Constitution Museum. Building 22 in the Charlestown Navy Yard, at the corner of 1st Ave. and Baxter Rd.
- Hours:
- April-Oct. daily 9-6. Nov. Mar. 10-5 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 617-426-1812
- Admission:
- Suggested donation: $5.
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Sawed-Off Head of Andrew Jackson
In 1833 the ship USS Constitution was fitted with a figurehead of the sitting president, Andrew Jackson. That decision was largely unpopular with Bostonians, who tended to favor the opposing Whig Party. One man, Captain Samuel W. Dewey, had the gumption to address the issue. On the evening of July 2, 1834, in the midst of a thunderstorm, Dewey rowed out to "Old Ironsides" and sawed through the wooden president's head at its nose.
A friend of Dewey's made a plaster cast of the decapitated Democrat, which is now exhibited at the USS Constitution Museum. A portion of the lower part of the wooden head, long thought to be missing, was positively identified in 2010 on the PBS program "History Detectives." The original fragment is now displayed below the plaster cast.
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