A New Interpretative Plaque Marks the American Humanitarian Mission to Ireland During The Great Famine, a Story Told in My Book, Voyage of Mercy
I’m excited that the Friends of the Boston Harborwalk have installed a new and beautiful interpretative plaque to commemorate the massive American assistance effort to Ireland during the Great Famine of 1846-47, a story I told for the first time in my book, Voyage of Mercy.
I was honored to edit the copy and captions for this sign, and my book and name are mentioned in the caption describing the USS Jamestown, which left from the Charlestown Navy Yard in March 1847 with food for the starving Irish. The Jamestown was the first of more than 150 ships that provided food to Ireland in 1847 and 1848, as the American people participated in the world’s first humanitarian mission!
The plaque is located directly opposite Pier 1 at the Navy Yard, which is where the USS Constitution is docked. Shout-outs to Steve Landrigan of the Friends sign team for creating the content; and to Jamestown Urban Management (whose name is totally coincidental), which leases the property from MassPort, for covering the cost of design, manufacture, and installation of the plaque, and expressed great enthusiasm about adding interpretive signage!
If you live in the Boston area, or are planning to visit, I hope you can make your way to the area and check out this great new addition to the history of Boston and the history of the United States!
