Shipwrecks and Lifesaving in Boston Harbor

Join us for a discussion on Shipwrecks and Lifesaving in Boston Harbor by Victoria Stevens. Captain Joshua James is among America’s most renowned lifesavers. First as a Massachusetts Humane Society volunteer, and later as Keeper of the Point Allerton US Lifesaving Station, Captain James led the Hull, Massachusetts crews in saving more than 540 lives from shipwreck at the treacherous mouth of Boston Harbor. Following the devastating Great Storm of 1888, Joshua James and his Humane Society volunteer crew were awarded gold lifesaving medals for “their humane exertions in saving twenty-nine persons from 5 wrecked vessels.” Today, the United States Coast Guard looks to Captain James as a model of courage, leadership and longevity. In August, 2015 an new National Security Cutter JAMES was commissioned in his honor. The preserved Point Allerton US Lifesaving Museum tells the story of Captain James and his crew and Shipwreck & Lifesaving in Boston Harbor.