 Several towns and military installations have been named for Standish , and monuments have been built in his memory . One of the best known depictions of Standish in popular culture was the 1858 poem The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . The highly fictionalized story presents Standish as a timid romantic . It was extremely popular in the 19th century and played a significant role in cementing the Pilgrim story in US culture . 
