Humanitarian· Civil Aid and Humanitarian Operations
Great Boston Fire response
A second major fire-relief deployment, recorded by an officer who was present.
When the great fire broke out in Boston on the night of 9 November 1872 and began consuming the downtown, the commandant of the Navy Yard was asked for a force of Marines to help the police preserve order and protect property amid the chaos. The Marines reached the scene in the small hours of the morning, were joined by a party from the receiving ship Ohio, and remained on duty through the emergency. Captain Collum, who commanded and later wrote the account, praised his men for the steadiness and firmness with which they executed their orders in the confusion of the burning city. No casualties were suffered. Coming six years after the Portland fire, the Boston response confirmed the recurring pattern of Marines being called from the navy yards to guard a major city against looting and disorder in the wake of catastrophe.
Record no. 480