Along with another Marblehead native and naval Captain Samuel Tucker, General Washington's Fleet raided enemy British ships up and down the Massachusetts coast.

"With crews of experienced Marblehead seamen, these bold and highly skilled mariners captured enemy supply ships filled with ammunition and armaments that were crucial to the American cause of independence.

The fleet was believed to have flown the Revolutionary "Pine Tree Flag" with the less common motto "An Appeal to God" signifying the crews' loyalty to their New England woodlands and their religion.

[3] On one of the schooner's first voyages, it encountered the sloop Unity which was owned by John Langdon, a member of the Continental Congress from New Hampshire, but had been taken by the British Royal Navy.

[4] Hannah's brief naval career ended on 10 October 1775, when she was run aground under the guns of a small American fort near Beverly by the British sloop Nautilus.

While no imagery of the ship is known to exist, trading and fishing schooners like the model pictured above, as well as those painted below, are commonly thought to be accurate representations.

Alongside the plaque is a display detailing Marblehead's storied Naval history, especially focusing on the importance of the USS Hannah and the rest of the fleet that became the first of the United States Navy.

In the coming months though, the Continental Congress recognized the need for a Navy to accompany Washington's Army, smaller private boats such as Hannah fell out of favor.