Reliving History Fall 2018

Negotiating

the Ideologies of the

Proclamation

of

1763

Reliving History

Vol I Issue III Fall 2018

the average & extraordinary of the 18th century

$

6.00

Smallpox Inoculation The Headless Hessian Pirate Safe Havens Reliving History Magazine Fall 2018 $6.oo ISSN 2578-3386

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772578

338007

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Dey Mansion Museum Washington’s headquarters

D

1780

ey Mansion is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of the Dey Family and the important role that their home played as General George Washington’s Headquarters during the summer and fall of 1780. Through tours, lectures, and special events the Dey Mansion promotes the exploration of life in Colonial America, the events and people of the American Revolution and the need for Historic Preservation.

Visit our website for more information about our site; including daily tours, on-going projects and a full list of public programs and events.

www.deymansion.org

The Dey Mansion Museum 199 Totowa Rd Wayne, NJ 07470 973-706-6640

Reliving History EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

From the Desk of the

ABBIE SAMSON

EDITOR MATT GRILLS DESIGNER

CASEY SAMSON

Email

INFO@RELIVINGHISTORY.US

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Printed in the United States of America Copyright 2018 by Samson Family Leather, LLC All Rights Reserved

Dear Readers,

Editor

Thank you for all of the suggestions and feedback you have given us over the last two issues. We are over halfway through our first year and I hope you see the rapid growth we have achieved thus far.

Since the summer issue, we have welcomed a new editor to the team, Matt Grills. I am glad to welcome his over 20 years of experience as both a writer and a professional editor.

I have every confidence that his input will make this the most enjoyable issue yet and help Reliving History to constantly improve.

In this fall issue we have included several articles detailing different points in relations between Natives and colonists or the British government during the 18th century. It is a great responsibility to maintain a neutral and factual approach when talking about these incidents that were formative in later years. I want to assure our readers that we do not take this lightly.

Also in this issue, learn the origins of a spooky fall favorite, The Legend of Sleepy Hallow.

This is written more like the oral tale we have all heard growing up. From pirate havens, to a funeral ballad there is a little something creepy for everyone to enjoy over the Fall.

I have added a travel spread this issue talking about how to access some of the Midwest’s oldest history. The French colonial period shaped much of the Missouri and Southern Illinois landscape and much of it is being preserved. This includes a little town that is now a National Historic Park. Parts of our history cannot be found in neat little boxes, but are ingrained in the years that followed and the places that they still influence.

I hope you continue to enjoy learning new facts and gaining an ever broader picture of some of the most formative years in American history. Thank you for making Reliving History a part of your day and as always we welcome your ideas.

Thank you for sharing in this adventure with us,

Abbie Samson

Editor-in-Chief

Fall

2018

Contents The Legend of the Headless Hessian The Walking Purchase Time Capsules in Print A Cursed Clamor: Smallpox Chained Together: Surveying Marks of Distinction The Conner Home Negotiating the Proclamation of 1763 A Second Hand Hymn Pirate Safe Havens The Harpsichord Artisan Highlight The Continental Navy All of the sources and primary documentation for the articles in our publication are listed in appearance order on pages 90. If you have any questions about these sources or accessing them, please contact us directly at: 317.688.1038

6 10 14 18 28 34 42 46 60 64 70 76 82

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Almanacs are a kind of printed time capsule; from colonists’ sentiments on the Revolution to their senses of humor to their daily diets and medicines, much is recorded for the smallest glimpse of their lives.

82

Even with the ill-fated first Continental Navy, our young country learned the importance of naval warfare and ingenuity -- a humble beginning for the behemoth that is the United States Navy we know today.

On The Cover

“Friendship: A Common Ground” - John Buxton

In this painting, we see a gentler side of the rough eighteenth century frontier. Here we see young Mary Means bidding farewell to her friend, Maiden Foot. The following is an excerpt edited from the historical text. The story of Maiden Foot is among the most touching to come out of the American frontier experience, set against the turmoil and bloodshed of Pontiac's war. A young Delaware warrior known as Maiden Foot took a liking to Mary Means, the eleven- year- old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Means who lived in the Fort Ligonier Valley in the late 1750s. Mary reminded Maiden Foot of the sister he had recently lost of approximately the same age. Upon one of their encounters at Fort Ligonier, Maiden Foot gave Mary a small string of beads.

Time passed and in 1763, the frontier again erupted in bloody warfare as Pontiac's war struck the Ligonier valley. Upon receiving word of the approaching war parties, Mrs. Means packed up the young 4

Reliving History | Fall 2018

34

Whether marks of distinction and taste, pledges of political allegiance, or signs of vulgarity and vice, patches are small pieces of material culture that reveal more than they conceal about the social fabric of 18th-century society.

46

WHEREAS it is just and reasonable, and essential to our Interest, and the Security of our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of Indians with whom We are connected, and who live under our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of Our Dominions and Territories as ....

76

70

The harpsichord brought European music into the homes of the American elite and delighted the ears of 18th century concert-goers.

Our featured artisan, Brandon Vigliarolo shares his passion for 18th century bookbinding and reproducing entirely handmade books and journals.

Mary and rushed for the safety of Fort Ligonier only to be caught in route. They were tied to saplings and later a warrior appeared sent to kill and scalp the unfortunate Means. The warrior in question was Maiden Foot.

He quickly recognized the family and set them free. Maiden Foot escorted them to their home where they met Mr. Means, then led them to a secluded place in the mountains until the end of the hostilities. As the family parted with Maiden Foot, young Mary gave him her handkerchief upon which she had embroidered her name, Mary Means, believing they would never meet again.

Mary grew to a young woman and married an army officer named Kearney, eventually living near present day Cincinnati.

After the close of the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1796 where Mary's husband fought, Kearney found an old Indian sitting on a log. The weary Indian stated he had fought his last battle then drew from his pouch a small tattered handkerchief with the name of a friend embroidered on it. Kearney, who had heard the story of Maiden Foot many times from Mary immediately recognized the old man as the long lost friend of his wife and mercifully escorted him to their home. Maiden Foot was to remain there until his death four years later, among friends and the little girl he had seen so many years before.

Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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The Legend of the Headless Hessian

The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane (1858) - John Quidor 6

Reliving History | Fall 2018

W

by Jeff Williamson

ashington Irving (17831859) first visited Tarrytown in 1798 to escape an outbreak of yellow fever around his home in New York City. The area was rife with folk tales, inhabited as it was already for two centuries by Dutch colonists, and for generations before that

by Native Americans who had their own stories of the supernatural. Even during the Revolutionary War, tales of ghosts and strange goings-on sprang up: Loyalist and Patriot irregulars alike operated in the area, and it was not unusual for someone to disappear. John AndrĂŠ, the British officer complicit in the Benedict Arnold plot to hand over West Point, was caught nearby and executed just across the Hudson River; his spirit too was assumed to be restless.

Among the Dutch wheat farms of the larger district of Tarrytown and hills that sloped down to the Hudson River, young Irving met some of the characters, or at least the names, of one of his most famous tales -- and in turn gave the small area the name for which it is known: Sleepy Hollow.

Ichabod Crane, the story’s nervous yet dapper schoolteacher from Connecticut, might be an amalgamation of several individuals, including an Ichabod of the New Jersey Cavalry or any of the Cranes of Morristown, New Jersey, another place Irving visited in his youth. There were also several Cranes in New York City who Irving may have known.

However, the most common view is that Ichabod Crane is someone with whom Irving served in the War of 1812.

Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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who occupies such a central role in the tale. Irving himself only gives a vague source of the unfortunate: “the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannonball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War.” For a bit more detail, there is a version of the tale told by Bill Lent, a long-time historic interpreter and caretaker of the old churchyard who died in 2013. His version, as relayed to a visitor of the churchyard in 2010, starts in the late summer of 1776.

Portrait of Washington Irving (1809) - John Wesley Jarvis BELOW: The gravestone of Irving is placed at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

The character of Katherine Van Tassel -- Crane’s romantic interest, or at least objective, in the story -- appears to be based on two women: Eleanor Brush nee Van Tassel (1764-1861) and her aunt Catriena nee Ecker Van Tassel (1736-1796). Irving may have based his character on Eleanor the person, but Catriena’s monument bears a bit more telling. Her gravestone stands in the Old Dutch Churchyard, the cherub face still intact and, according to some, appears to watch visitors -- a play of the shadows as the sunlight moves across the sky. Not only does the stone itself represent an important relic of the past, it also helps mark the position of another character in the story.

Using Catriena’s grave as a point of reference, it is possible to then see the grave of the star of the story: the Headless Horseman. More specifically, the Headless Hessian, who seems to have been based by Irving upon a very real individual indeed.

There are several contenders for the nameless mercenary 8

Reliving History | Fall 2018

The British, after taking up station on Staten Island, proceeded to Long Island and Manhattan, as the Continental Army under George Washington continued to evade north through Harlem and White Plains before slipping across the Hudson to northern New Jersey. As the British and their Hessian mercenaries consolidated their position in and around New York City, they issued orders that all privately held firearms should be turned in; anyone found with a firearm in their home faced destruction of their property as a potential threat to the soldiers of the Crown.

At some point that fall, a local home, perhaps of the Cowenhoven family, was found to have a fouling piece – though another version has it that the farm of Cornelius and Elizabeth Van Tassel was raided by the British and offered some resistance. In either case, true to the standing command, the house was put to the torch. However, in the rush, everyone failed to notice that a young girl was still in the home as flames began to devour the first floor. As the family wailed helplessly, a Hessian trooper ran into the inferno and rescued the girl. Whether there was a sense of kinship or regret, or maybe a linguistic

understanding between the Dutch and the soldiers from even before the war, and with the effect of martial law, Hesse-Kassel, is unknown. feelings on their presence ran strong. Yet, along the east side of the graveyard, a plot was prepared and the soldier What is known is that as British General William Howe was laid to rest, far from home in a hostile land. tried in vain to bait Washington into a pitched battle, the British and Hessians continued to engage only against Returning to Lent’s tale, the Hessian’s grave -- while unmarked rear-guard actions -- short, fierce but ultimately indecisive -- is easy to find. Irving obviously gained information for skirmishes. In any number of these, at least several Hessians his tale. While inspecting the face of Catriena’s stone, had the opportunity to lose their heads to cannonballs: the looking towards the east boundary of the churchyard -Battle of White Plains or even later as the Royal troops just above where the old bridge crossed the Pocantico pursued Washington River (today a new across New Jersey wooden bridge crosses (Morristown, Battle a hundred yards or of Bound Brook, more upstream) -- one an engagement near spots a small patch of The earliest form of the headless horseman Pluckemin).

Some ground bereft of any story comes in the sixth century just after are discussed in Peter marker. The tale of the Christian Missionaries forbade the worship of Lubrecht’s “New Headless Horseman Crom Dubh.

Crom Dubh was the Celtic god Jersey Hessians: has no stone to of fertility who demanded human sacrifices each Truth and Lore in the verify his position in American Revolution”. the cemetery or even year. The preferred method for these sacrifices in real life. Irving, was decapitation. With this god being forbidden, One of the favorite it seems, made his the local population quickly adapted the stories candidates was a story the epitaph of to make the god into a spiritual being that still few days after White a mercenary whose had a craving for corpses.

The stories slowly Plains, however, when legendary martial grew and changed to virtually eliminate all Major William Heath skills in combat were recorded in his report secondary to what reference to Crom Dubh. Instead, they called after a brief holding may have been an act this horseman “the dark man" and the dark man action on November of kindness in saving eventually became the dullahan.

1, 1776, that a cannon a little girl -- an act shot took off the head that planted a seed of of a Hessian trooper rich work of literature and killed a horse. This specificity explains why it is a on a bare patch of earth. Yet, there is where the headless favorite.

Hessian reposes, unnamed, still longing for his lost head.

Headless “Facts”

There is no way to know if this hapless soldier was the same who saved the girl from the burning house, but nine miles away, back in Sleepy Hollow, the mother of the saved girl, as the story goes, heard of this soldier and appeared duty-bound to repay him with an act of respect. The dead Hessian was brought to the Old Dutch Church and buried in an unmarked grave. Hessians were not terribly popular

When visiting the Old Dutch Church in Tarrytown, the grave of one other resident from this tale is worth a stop.

Just a bit further up the hill from Catriena is the Irving plot and vault where Washington Irving was laid to rest after his death in 1852.

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T

he reputation of the Quakers, and William Penn specifically, for religious toleration and fair dealings with all people are well established, and a proud part of Pennsylvania history. The series of treaties and understandings between Penn and Chief Tamanend, or Tammany, of the Lenape Indians begun in 1683 epitomizes the goodwill between two groups that

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too often have since been characterized by mistrust and violence. Sadly, this camaraderie did not long outlive either Tammany or Penn.

Penn’s successor as proprietor of Pennsylvania was his son Thomas, who perpetuated one of the largest frauds and betrayal against the Native Americans. His father’s efforts

The

Walking Purchase

by Jeff Williamson

The Treaty of Penn with the Indians (1771) - Benjamin West to create a prosperous colony built on mutual respect and cooperation was noble but left him nearly penniless upon his death in 1718. By the 1730s, the Penn family was deep in debt. Thomas’ solution was to sell more land to incoming colonists. However, the original tracts purchased by his father from the natives even after being awarded the charters by the English crown were all claimed. He

had to get more land. In 1737, with the cooperation with his agent, James Logan, Thomas claimed to find a treaty created by the elder Penn and several chiefs of the Lenape and Delaware tribes of 1686. The treaty claimed to have sold land from the Tohickon Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River across from Frenchtown, New Jersey, to as far as a man may walk in a day and a half. It Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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just so happened that the treaty apparently lay forgotten, but of course was paid for without the land being claimed.

While the Lenape tribes who resided in this land, led by Chief Nutimus, agreed that the treaty was probably a forgery, they could not gain enough native allies to contest the document.

The Iroquois League, which claimed authority over them, would not support opposition to Penn’s claim. Therefore, Logan produced a doctored map that suggested an abbreviated path and distance a man might reasonably be supposed to be able to travel in the allotted time. While this did not appease Nutimus, it was enough to split opposition between those closest to the starting point and those beyond what could be reasonably be expected. Further, without enough leverage from the Iroquois, all the chief could do was accept it and hope for the best.

The best was not good. Three colonists -Solomon Jennings, James Yates and Edward Marshall -- were selected and trained to cover as much distance as possible in the time allowed.

On September 19, 1737, they were joined near the modern town of Ottisville on the Tohickon by three Delaware tribesmen who agreed to witness the walk under the supervision of Bucks County Sheriff Timothy Smith. Nutimus’ hope that the “walk” would at most cover 20 miles was quickly dashed when from the start the three chosen “walkers” began sprinting.

Further, they progressed along a route prepared for them with waiting boats to ferry across streams and rivers. Drops of food had been placed so they would not have to stop, and the witnesses had to hurry to keep up.

Within the first three hours, they managed to cover almost 19 miles before Jennings dropped out. The witnesses too demanded a halt to the 12

Reliving History | Fall 2018

ABOVE: The original Walking Purchase document, an agreement between the Lenni Lenape and the Penn family.

RIGHT: A wampum belt presented to William Penn by Chief Tamanend upon the signing of the original treaty.

Traditional accounts say William Penn’s peaceful treaty with the Lenni Lenape was negotiated on land now occupied by Penn Treaty Park.

progress, but there was still time left according to the terms of the “treaty.” By the start of the second day James Yates too dropped out; he died three days later.

The witnesses too had enough and quit, refusing to go further in the face of obvious shenanigans. Smith and other agents for Penn approached local villages to replace the witnesses, but they appear to have been told quite plainly what they could go do with themselves – and perhaps their horses too, for that matter. Undeterred, Marshall and Smith pressed on, reaching Mauch Chunk (modernday Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, on the Lehigh River) by deadline. A distance of some 66 miles had been covered.

Smith quickly produced a map and drew a line not east as expected but northeast back to the Delaware, claiming it as the expanse “purchased” by the terms of the “treaty.”

This led to a claim of some 1.2 million acres of land encompassing all or part of seven modern counties of eastern Pennsylvania.

brazen advantage of natives, applying force and the threat of force where facts and truth were insufficient to gaining more land, especially for profit. Other natives played the role of villain, too: the Iroquois. In 1742, another conference was held at the forks of the Delaware, the site of present-day Easton, Pennsylvania, where the Lenape made a final appeal to the protection of their land rights. The Iroquois ambassador, Canasatego, dismissed their complaints: “We conquered you. You are women, we made women of you. Give up claims to your old lands and move west. Never attempt to sell land again. Now get out.”

In the long run, the displaced Delaware were ripe to side with the French in King George’s War (1744-1748) and again in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). At the start of that conflict, natives attacked Edward Marshall’s cabin and murdered his wife. The goodwill Penn worked so hard to foster dissolved in a bitterness that did not simply Not surprisingly, the Lenape objected. Ultimately it was go away as the colonists anticipated. Instead it became decided to again to ask the Iroquois League to judge the a hallmark of American-Native American relations that merits of the treaty. Located predominantly in the Finger continues to this day.

Lakes region of New York, the Iroquois had enjoyed their position of power brokering achieved through conquest of neighboring tribes during the 16th and 17th centuries as well as diplomatic and economic maneuvering between the French and English colonies. The Iroquois were also eager to snatch up the opportunity to assert their dominance over their “client” tribes and have said authority legitimized by the English. The fact that land claimed in the “Walking Purchase” north of the Blue Mountains was pledged by Penn to the Iroquois probably had a little to do with where the loyalties lay. The Lenape Delaware were sacrificed as pawns to the political and economic greed of others; they faced eviction from their chosen lands to land that was literally unworkable, leaving them to fade into poverty Quality th 18 Century working for colonists or pack up and move west to the Clothing & Accessories Wyoming Valley or even as far as to the Ohio.

X

It is not surprising that European colonists took such

www.SamsonHistorical.com

(765) 481-2662 Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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Time Capsules in Print: Almanacs in Colonial America

by Kathryn Morgan

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Reliving History | Fall 2018

Two Men in a Library (1896) - Carl Seiler

Time Capsules in Print:

Almanacs in Early America

by Kathryn Morgan

C

olonial Americans’ version of a search engine was portable and could fit in a coat pocket.

Like people today, colonials enjoyed weather predictions, proverbs, poems, horoscopes, trivia, and advice. They found them through their trusted device: the almanac. Often accompanied by editions of Pilgrim’s Progress and the Bible, almanacs were essential reading material in many 18th-century homes. Printed annually, these booklets helped families keep track of days through calendars, assisted farmers’ understanding of weather for optimal planting and harvesting, and kept the general public entertained with anecdotes and riddles. Almanacs occupied a space outside the home as well for their size and portability, usually measuring 4 by 7 inches with 24 to 36 pages of the aforementioned information.

Almanacs are still a useful tool today; Old Farmer’s Almanac was first published in 1792 and is still in circulation. It is the oldest almanac in North America to still be in business.

The first almanac printed in the United States, however, dates even farther back, to 1639. From there, almanacs grew in popularity in America well into the 18th century.

Penned by Benjamin Franklin under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, Poor Richard’s Almanac was a popular choice beginning in the mid-1700s. While Franklin was considered a member of the elite class, he related his wit and knowledge to the common people.

“You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or a little punch now and then, diet a little more costly, clothes a little finer, and a little more entertainment now and then can be no great matter but remember what Poor Richard says ‘Many a little makes a mickle; beware of little expense for a small leak will sink a great ship.’”

--Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard’s Almanac: The Way to Wealth Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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Almanacs’ audiences were not exclusive. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, literate and not -- all found enjoyment within their pages. Franklin believed almanacs were literature for the masses, as many could not afford bound books. Since literacy rates were rising and almanacs affordable in the 18th century, the books became essential in the everyday lives of colonial Americans. With an outlet to consume culture, readers conversed, reacted, and debated current topics and events. Almanacs thus reveal a wealth of information about the time, agriculture, science, and habits of early Americans, helping us piece together their experiences.

Time

and

Space

Almanacs in the 18th century included various charts for calculations, from accounting tables to charts to calculate the local time. Prior to the digital age, the analog world was weary of the lack of reliability in mechanical timepieces.

As an alternative, colonial Americans calculated the time by adding or subtracting the time read on a sundial with the number of minutes recorded in the almanac for a more accurate reading. Almanacs also measured time on a larger scale. They included calendars and astrological information that helped readers navigate the natural world. Colonial Americans were enthralled by scientific inquiries of the environment. They understood that weather patterns, the alignment of the planets, and other physical processes had an effect on their daily lives, from health to farming. In particular, American farmers used almanacs to track and predict the weather, and the placement of the planets to increase the yield and grow the best crops.

Agriculture

and

Weather

Farmers used astrological signs to determine weather patterns. By understanding the weather, farmers were able to plant and harvest their crops for the most fruitful bounty.

While readings of the stars and planets were not necessarily accurate in all instances, the astrological predictions were the closest thing colonial Americans had to a weather tracker. Many farmers owned a copy of the most current almanac for this reason. Scientists, too, experimented with data found in almanacs for investigations into geology, agricultural chemistry, and the history of the natural world.

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Science

and

Health

The field of science did not have a clearly defined community in the early republic. While there were a few expert scientists in colleges and other academic institutions, science was largely a hobby for the elite, such as Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson. Most scientists’ findings could be found published in journals, yet this was not an easily accessible source of information for the general public. Almanacs were an opportunity for scientists to deliver their results and conclusions to the masses to include them in the larger scientific conversation. Colonial Americans debated these published ideas amongst themselves, contributing to the larger body of knowledge.

Readers even shaped scientific inquiry through their continuous dialogue. Some colonial Americans practiced astrological medicine that related natural events to effects on people. Other times, readers took guidance from seemingly scientific suggestions and tried home remedies.

For example, an almanac in 1782 suggested a cure for baldness. The prescription read, “Rub that part morning and evening with onions ’till it is red and rub it afterwards with honey.” Commonly advertised were medicines for sale, further demonstrating the wide range in audience. Almanac readers heeding medical advice could potentially not afford the care of a doctor. Yet almanacs gave readers the opportunity to consume new knowledge and inspired them to produce their own therapies, words, and understandings of scientific information.

History

and

Testimony

August Stand forth the Champions of your Country’s cause, Nor fear the traitors aided by their laws, Aided by heav’n, no human prowess fear, For those who, in the front of battle, dare Fight hand to hand, and bear the brunt of war This is evidence that Ames had readers of diverse opinions and used the printed word to persuade non-supporters of the war otherwise. Not only did almanacs illuminate events that would become history but, in some cases, they wrote history. In his first issue of Poor Richard’s Almanac, Benjamin Franklin was already trying to quite literally kill the competition. Franklin predicted the death of a fellow almanac writer and publisher, Titan Leeds, on October 17, 1733, at exactly 3:29 p.m., when the astrological occurrence of the sun and Mercury aligned. The day came and went without Leeds’ death. Franklin published his obituary anyway. For many years, no one knew whether or not Leeds had actually died. More confusion followed as Franklin continued to uphold Leeds’ passing until his actual death in 1738.

Almanacs also act as historical records. These primary sources documented contemporary accounts and revealed popular sentiments of the colonists. This can be observed in the works of Nathaniel Ames, a contemporary of Benjamin Franklin. In 1775, Ames published monthly vignettes portraying the feelings of the people. After a month of fighting in May 1775, the foundations of American Almanacs were dually satirical and informational. The inclusion of essays, stories, and jokes provide a glimpse nationalism could be seen within these six printed lines: into colonists’ thought processes throughout the 18th century and beyond as they formed a new nation.

May Who never from the field of battle flies, But for his children and his country dies Ne’er shall his glory fade, or cease his fame Tho’ laid in dust, immortal in his name.

But if the sable hand of death he shun, Returning victor with his glory won.

Ames’ Almanac was arguably the most important almanac published in the 13 colonies. With such a large readership, his writings would reflect his consumers’ thoughts. This is not to say that Ames’ audience was solely comprised of people sympathetic to the colonies’ freedom from England; however, Ames was a known patriot. In a later publication, he implored his readers to join in the war effort:

Almanacs Now

For historians and history enthusiasts alike, almanacs say volumes about class, race, and gender in 18th-century America. Through their proverbs, poems, essays, trivia, and facts colonials considered important, we are able to better comprehend their experiences. Almanacs are a kind of printed time capsule; from colonists’ sentiments on the Revolution to their senses of humor to their daily diets and medicines, much is recorded for the smallest glimpse of their lives hundreds of years later. Nevertheless, almanacs -print as well as digital -- continue to be a tool for modern Americans, primarily in predicting weather patterns.

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A Cursed Clamor: Epidemic, Inoculation & Invective in 1721 Boston

by Matthew Witzig

A

young man rested in a house, recuperating from a medical procedure, when a small bomb shattered the window and his calm. The house’s elderly owner and his family rushed to the commotion, finding the weapon unexploded and wrapped in a crude note: “Cotton Mather, you dog, dam you! I’ll inoculate with this; a pox to you.” Apparently someone disagreed with the Reverend Mather and had decided to forgo subtlety.

inoculation. Alongside Mather stood the ministers of Boston and a single doctor actually performing experimental inoculations on the populace, Zabdiel Boylston.

Opposing them was the only physician in Massachusetts to actually have a Doctor of Medicine degree, William Douglass, a man described as “always positive and occasionally right,” along with the other doctors of Boston and much of the citizenry. The grenade was not the only The dud grenade was the most violent but hardly the most instance of violence, and the marginally more civilized incendiary ordnance launched at the Mather’s home that “War of the Pamphlets” of 1721 was a maelstrom of year, and he had returned the favor with his own share personalities, fear, slander, and conflicting authorities. of verbal brickbats. The casus belli was the dreaded smallpox, the epidemic that had menaced Boston since the The battle lines in the inoculation clash seem counterintuitive HMS Seahorse brought infected passengers to its shores at first glance: the old, conservative Puritan and firm in April of that year. In a city of 11,000, nearly 6,000 believer in predestination backing a technique that could were infected. Many would not survive. potentially save thousands from a disease thought to be God’s wrath brought down upon the sinners, with a young, To the people of Massachusetts, smallpox was the reaper’s ambitious doctor only recently arrived in Boston playing scythe. Cotton Mather, the aging, scarred and unyieldingly his foil, attacking the new medicine as dangerous quackery conservative Puritan leader, offered a potential salvation and its proponents as fools, fanatics, and liars. In fiction, from this blight: the radically new, untested practice of their roles would be reversed, with the young newly 18

Reliving History | Fall 2018

immigrated doctor saving lives over the superstitious objections of hidebound old men who decried the blasphemous defying of the Almighty’s will.

The reality was more complicated.

A companion to Yae - - - ough (1764) - Sold by Hen Parker It mirrored the boilerplate science Smallpox rarely left the person unscarred. If the person manged to survive, thriller in that success ultimately deep pitted scars, disfigurement, and even blindness were common results vindicated advocates of the new from the infection. discovery.

The inoculation procedure practiced by Boylston at Mather’s urging did indeed render its recipients immune the throat and mouth, making it painful to swallow as the to the disease and probably saved their lives. But the skin gave off a stench like rotting flesh. In the worst cases, reversal of roles in this tale demonstrates the shifting, the blood vessels beneath the skin ruptured; victims bruised overlapping spheres of authority in colonial Boston, as to death, or their skin would slough off as the pustules ran personality and professionals created a conflagration together. It was a gruesome, agonizing way to die, killing around the roles of the cleric and doctor and the emerging one in three infected. Entire families were wiped out. sovereignty of medicine.

Even survivors did not walk away unscathed. The pustules left disfiguring scars on the face and skin, sometimes even The colonists lived in abject terror of smallpox, and rightly on the eyes, rendering victims blind. Infected pregnant so. Fluid-filled pustules erupted from the skin and inside women could miscarry while men risked sterilization.

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The worst part, though, was its stealth. Smallpox had an incubation period of up to two weeks, during which a victim showed no symptoms but was still highly contagious.

Dozens could be infected during this time, causing it to spread like wildfire. The one dubious mercy was that a person never had to endure smallpox twice. The infected either fought it off and became immune or they died.

attempts at preventative measures. By 1720, there was a regular quarantine system with provided facilities, but they were crude and so cumbersomely administered as to be of limited service. Any ship carrying the contagion was ordered to anchor at the quarantine hospital on Spectacle Island, where any potentially infected passengers were offloaded and contained.

There was a crew of 111 men on the Seahorse when it arrived in Boston. There were only 15 on board when it departed.

This horror visited Boston five times between 1649 and 1702.

Many adults, including Cotton Mather and Zabdiel Boylston, carried its scars.

Smallpox in Boston meant hundreds dead, families cut down, and terrified citizenry fleeing what they believed to be the wrath of God. Even the contemporary scholars noted it tended to occur about every 12 years, and that by 1721 it was six years overdue. Prior outbreaks had led to some 20

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Problems arose when a ship’s master failed to report infection, as happened on April 22, 1721.

The HMS Seahorse arrived in Boston from the West Indies, its captain claiming to have no infected crew.

He was tragically mistaken, with one member infected and coming ashore. The Boston Selectmen posted guards at the houses holding the infected men and ordered the Seahorse to Bird Island, but it was too late. On May 26, 1721, Mather recorded in his diary,

“The grievous calamity of the smallpox has now entered the town.” Mather had been a key figure in the Salem Witch Trial debacle, responsible for justifying the use of “spectral Strictly speaking, the practice of inoculation by variolation evidence” on which the trials centered, so it is possible was not new in 1721. It had been conducted in parts of doctors did not consider his opinions worth hearing. A Africa and Asia for centuries. The physicians Emanuel more likely explanation is that they did not wish to cross Timonius and Jacobus Pylanius observed the practice Douglass. The doctor’s ire at Mather had already been in Turkey in 1714 and 1716 and described it in letters raised with the borrowed book, and his prestige among published in the Royal Society of London’s Philosophical Boston physicians was such that they deferred to him.

Transactions, recommending that it would diminish the Possibly they feared his volcanic temper. gravity and toll of the disease. An incision was made and fluid from a live smallpox pustule introduced into With no other responses, the disease continuing to rage, the wound. Lady Mary Montagu, wife of the British and guards being removed from the quarantined houses, ambassador to Turkey in 1718, observed the procedure Mather considered it his Christian duty to act further. and only a few weeks before the Seahorse arrived in On June 24, 1721, he wrote another letter to his neighbor Boston had her own children inoculated. The success and one of Boston’s 10 physicians, Zabdiel Boylston, of the procedure and later experiments on prisoners at persuading him to conduct the experiment.

Newgate prison famously lead to the royal granddaughters’ own inoculation and many of the children of the English aristocracy in the 1720s.

Mather responded to the outbreak in 1721 by approaching the medical community of Boston. He circulated abstracts of the Timonius and Pylarinius accounts on June 6, suggesting the practice. Despite his position as a leader, he believed he was giving the experts their due. “My request is that you would meet for a Consultation upon this Occasion,” he wrote, “and so deliberate upon it (the operation) that whoever first begins the practice, (if you Approve it should be begun at all) may have the countenance of his worthy Brethren to fortify him in it.”

Though he did not urge inoculation, he did propose its discussion.

The only response came from Douglass, who had lent Mather his copy of Philosophical Transactions as a social gesture and considered it an insult that a clergyman should recommend a medical matter to doctors. Douglass demanded the immediate return on his book and, demonstrating his professional territoriality (or perhaps pettiness), refused to ever lend it again, even at the request of the governor.

Cottonus Matheris {Cotton Mather} (1728) Engraved, painted and published in Boston

by Peter Pelham

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Boylston did so two days later, inoculating his 6-year-old son and two of his slaves, and by July 19 had inoculated 10 people.

Mather with “a Pious & Charitable design of doing good,” he called Boylston an ignorant, illiterate quack who could not comprehend the operations of The public reacted Timonius and Pylarinos with outrage. Within he had tried to copy. four days it “raised an Philanthropos was horrid Calmour.” On William Douglass, July 21, the selectmen of course, and fooled met with justices of the no one with the peace and members of pseudonym. Though the medical profession. published July 24, the Disregarding Boylston’s letter was dated July Lancet owned by Edward Jenner, England, 1720-1800 invitations to observe 20, one day before the progress of his the meeting with the Physicians did not do surgery. They were separate patients, the other selectmen.

That he and superior to the mere workman of the surgeon. physicians instead had begun writing his While a physician was a trained, educated top-tier accepted the report of deeply unprofessional professional, a surgeon was merely a skilled craftsman -Dr. Lawrence Dalhonde attack in advance was a technician compared to a scientist. that he had seen typical of Douglass’ inoculation in Italy, style. That his target Spain, and Flanders while in the French army and that it was a respected colleague, senior to him in age and “has proved the Death of many Persons.” experience by 12 years, and a lifelong colonist compared to Douglass’ mere few years, was irrelevant. Douglass Dalhonde luridly described instances of alleged inoculations perceived his position as Boston’s foremost medical in which patients suffered from tumors, ulcers, and madness. authority as under attack by this meddling cleric, setting a In all likelihood he was either mistaken or lying, and country doctor to work “that he might have the honor of Boylston himself later described the report as believable as a Newfangled notion.” “if Dr. Dalhonde had said that … inoculation had changed men into women or any other strange thought that might The strength of Douglass’ reaction to the perceived intrusion have come into his head.” The selectmen did not share on his authority was a combination of his own personality, Boylston’s skepticism, reprimanding him for spreading the background, the nature of colonial medicine and a growing disease and warned him against continuing his experiment. concern for professionalism. In England the first Medical Act of 1511-1512 by Henry VIII had started the slow process Three days later on July 24, 1721, a “William Philanthropos” of increased regulation and training for practitioners with published a letter in the Boston News-Letter blasting required licensure, training and examination.

Boylston for “his mischievous propagating the Infection in the most Publick Trading Place of the Town.” The author By the 18th century, the English medical establishment raged not just against inoculation, but heaped personal had three classes, each with its requirements for licensure. insults and abuse upon Boylston. While faintly praising First were the physicians, the elite with education in both 22

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experimental science and the liberal arts and welcomed at the state of the colonial professional medical establishment the “front door” of their wealthy patients. infuriated him. Simply put, there was no professional medical establishment or structure in Massachusetts. In Second were the surgeons, associated with the guild of a city of about 10,000, there were about 10 doctors. A barbers and largely trained through apprenticeships like man called himself a doctor because he did what doctors craftsmen. Third were the apothecaries, tradesmen, at universities did rather than because of any special and itinerant peddlers, trained in “botanics” through credentials. Any manner of people, trained and untrained, apprenticeships. engaged in “domestic medicine.”

In practice these lines were blurred, especially in rural areas, and there was still a strong leaning towards folk and home remedies before summoning a doctor, but it was a framework for promoting professional exclusivity, expertise and maintaining social class distinctions.

Laymen and self-taught amateurs advised, prescribed, administered, and even cut. The limited oversight depended completely on community sentiment, leaving regulation hampered by apathy and tradition. Medical licenses were inclusive rather than exclusive, foiling any attempt to use them to bar incompetents. Licenses in the colonies were more intended It is estimated that there to “single out certain people with colony-wide reputations was about one doctor for for official commendation, to every thousand people in encourage rather than discourage Massachusetts in the early 1700s. practice.”

Unlike his adversaries, Douglass was a product of this world.

Born in Haddington, Scotland, in 1691, he had been trained in medicine in Edinburgh, Leyden, and Paris, where he acquired a medical degree, a respect for modern education and standards, and a taste for exclusiveness, professionalism, and rank. For a young man fresh from his clinical training with an aristocratically leaning personality, Boston was quite the shock to Douglass when he immigrated to the New World in 1716.

Accustomed to the highest levels of European academics, he found colonial medicine primitive and almost barbaric.

Douglass’ frustrations, as well as his opinion of himself, are evident in his actions upon arriving in Boston. In February 1721 he wrote to his friend Cadwallader Colden of New York, “we abound with Practitioners tho no other graduate than my self.” He never tired of reminding the “abounding practitioners” of his unique qualification, either.

Though evacuation was a common treatment for many ailments, his personal writings reported with dismay a special fondness among New England practitioners for “(b)leeding, vomiting, blistering, purging, Anodyne, &c,” and that they tended to assume that when these did not work to redouble their efforts. He described them as “playing fast and loose” with medicine. It was a mixture of folk art, magic, old wives tales, spotty empirical data, and scattered scraps of chemistry and biology. The Harvard library in 1723 held maybe 50 or 60 books on medicine, and it is unlikely that people outside of Boston or Cambridge would have easy access to them.

If the crude state of colonial medicine disturbed Douglass,

Despite being surrounded by inferiors and disliking the local weather and citizenry, Douglass resolved to stay. Believing himself to be the city’s medical authority, he set about establishing some semblance of order and professionalism to the mobs. The newspapers of 1721 indicate that he had been busy, with mention of a recently formed “Physicians’ Club” and that the “College of Physicians” had recently “ordered Prosecutions against several Quack Doctors in Town, who practice Physick without license.”

It appears that Douglass moved quickly to establish himself as the centerpiece of Boston medicine, with all medical matters ultimately deferring to him. His actions later in life support this interpretation. A visitor in the 1740s to Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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the Boston medical society Douglass founded caustically described it as a group of men spending most of their time listening to Douglass rant. It was not just authority he craved, but to be the center of it. “He is loath to allow learning, merit, or a character to any body,” Dr. Alexander Hamilton said.

To the arrogant and class-conscious Douglass, Boylston was a social and professional inferior. Boylston’s grandfather had arrived in 1635, while Douglass remained a foreigner and outsider. The colonial doctor’s father had also been a physician and surgeon of some skill, under which the junior Boylston had spent part of his apprenticeship. In his July 24 missive, “Philanthropos” described Boylston as, among other things, a “Cutter of the Stone.” This expression was a direct reference to the line from the Hippocratic Oath, “I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.” Cutting for the stone refers to lithotomy, the surgical procedure to remove kidney and gallbladder stones, a task reserved for surgeons.

disregarding Douglass, it should be noted that Boylston was 12 years Douglass’s senior, more experienced, and a father. His first subject was his 6-year-old son, the only of his children not to leave Boston with their mother after the outbreak started. Whatever his reasons, he did not consider it worth his time to respond to Douglass’ July 24 “Philanthropos” letter.

The conflict might have even died there, but others felt it necessary to defend Boylston’s honor. Five days later on July 31, six ministers published a reply in the Boston Gazette. Signed by Mather and his father, Increase, along with Benjamin Colman, Thomas Prince, John Webb, and William Cooper, it defended Boylston’s professional skill and declared that if inoculation could save lives then they should “accept it with all thankfulness and joy as the gracious Discovery of a Kind Providence to Mankind for that end.”

The continued combativeness of Mather and the ministers of Boston was typical of New England pastor-physicians, as colonial preachers often carried both the cross and the Rod of Asclepius. As the third Physicians did not do surgery. They William Douglass reports about generation of Mather ministers, were, in both the Oath and the 300 small pox attributed deaths he and his family had long seen professional framework Douglass themselves as shepherds of their in 1702, though this number was familiar with in England, flock. There were few doctors, excludes non-whites. separate and superior to the mere degreed or otherwise, in the workman of the surgeon. While colonies, but ministers were a physician was a trained, educated top-tier professional, educated and often willing to do the work of the healer. a surgeon was merely a skilled craftsman -- a technician compared to a scientist. By invoking the Hippocratic A man of broad interest in natural philosophy and health, Oath, Douglass was accusing Boylston of not only being Mather was hardly the first minister to have an interest in an illiterate moron, but not even a doctor. The truth is physical as well as spiritual health. The practice of clerical that Boylston did not take William Douglass too seriously. medicine was especially common in rural communities, far Writing five years later, he said of his adversary, “Douglass from urban practitioners, throughout the century. The favour’d them with his pretend wonderful Knowledge of rector of Trinity Church in Newark, for example, not only things he knew little of.” While he wrote after the fulfilled his ecclesiastical obligations but those of an active events of 1721 and his memories were no doubt colored member of the Medical Society of New Jersey. by bitterness, it does indicate that he did not kowtow to the younger doctor’s medical degree like other physicians. With the outbreak of smallpox, Mather believed he had personal responsibility to act. He had, as the shepherd Though he never explicitly stated his reasons for of his followers, the authority and duty to do so, and ran 24

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roughshod over social and professional niceties to achieve He considered the text as fulfilling the “Duties which I his objective. owe to the Sick.” In it, he stated his medical philosophy as it existed at the turn of the century: stereotypically A complicated man, Mather is best described as someone Puritanical and almost damning. “Let the whole family with rock-solid faith in his own righteousness. He was acknowledge,” he wrote, “[that the] Sickness of any one also pedantic, tactless, egotistical, overbearing, compared in the Family is by the Providence the Great God has himself to Jesus and St. Stephen, and often thought those bro’t upon them.” People got sick and died because they opposed to him were demonically possessed. Mather saw were wicked and struck down by God, and such was His himself as God’s will manifest, and to defy him was to ineffable will and wrath. also defy Him. By 1713, however, Mather was advocating moderate and Compounding this unshakable self-assigned obligation healthy living habits instead of prayer as a ward against was a subtle shift in Mather’s views over the previous sickness, and in 1721 he was pushing inoculation. decades. In 1703 he published Wholesome Words, a Something had changed. Mather’s new motivation heal small essay written during that year’s smallpox epidemic. the sick, rather than simply curse them as sinners, resulted Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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from a situation that did not fit into his self-righteous worldview. In the measles outbreak of 1713, his wife, his three youngest children, and a servant died. To a man as pious as Mather, one of the select and predestined for paradise, the obliteration of half his family could have only one meaning: God had expressed His divine displeasure with Cotton.

sometimes profusely DULL, to accommodate some of his Acquaintance.”

Douglass had set the tone of the debate, and the anonymous short pieces that appeared were sarcastic, ludicrous, and typical of the mudslinging used by “Philanthropos.” The ministers and their allies responded in kind, using the Gazette and New England News Letter to launch their own insults, and the journalistic brawl became increasingly Yet Mather was a virtuous man, he knew. He reconciled histrionic as Boston’s cemeteries filled. this dilemma by beginning to display more sympathy for the ill. Prayer alone would not suffice, and he called for Mather contributed to the furor, often writing anonymously more practical measures. or ghostwriting the pro-inoculation missives of others. He referred to his encouragement of retaliation in his diary, This shift, as well as Mather’s personal stake in the conflict, “Tho my poor Hand is the doer of them, they must pass was evidenced early in the inoculation conflict. After the thro other Hands, that I may not pass for the Author of July 21 meeting, Boylston halted further inoculations. them.”

Just over a week later, Mather’s son Samuel rushed home from Harvard in mortal terror. Samuel’s roommate and As the War of the Pamphlets raged, Boylston continued friend had just died of smallpox, and the young man his work. Often forced to operate discreetly because his begged his father for Boylston’s patients feared their neighbors’ procedure.

Often forced to operate wrath, he inoculated 281 patients over the course of the eight-month discreetly because his patients Mather’s diary entry indicates that outbreak. Despite being trapped August 1, 1721, was a long night. feared their neighbors’ wrath, between the fury of two arrogant If he refused his son, and he died Boylston continued to men, and using crude methods, he of the disease, he would have failed saved hundreds of lives. inoculate 281 patients during yet another member of his family. the eight-month outbreak.

At the same time, he worried that Of the 281 inoculated, only eight “(i)f I suffer this Operation upon died, while of the 5,759 natural this Child, and be sure, if he should happen to miscarry infections in Boston (total population approximately under it, my Condition would be insupportable.” His 10,700), the death tally stood at 842, or about one in six. prestige, authority, and credibility, not to mention his The reduced death toll among the inoculated, apparent to son’s life, hung in the balance. Ultimately, he heeded his all observers, made headway with the people, and by midfather’s advice and had the operation performed secretly. 1722 the clamor died down as the epidemic sputtered out.

Boylston resumed his inoculation of Bostonians, and his open defiance of the selectmens’ orders ignited what became known as the “War of the Pamphlets.” On August 7, James Franklin, elder brother of Benjamin, began printing the New England Courant, whose “chief design … was to oppose the doubtful and dangerous Practice of inoculating the Small Pox.” The Courant invited “some short Pieces, Serious, Sarcastic, Ludicrous, or other ways amusing, or 26

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The procedure, while new and strange, worked. Vindication can take many forms, but for Boylston it must have felt gratifying nine years later to see Douglass performing inoculations in the 1730 smallpox outbreak.

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Apple Cart Creations Linsey Woolsey Fabric Handwoven Towels Handspun Woolen Clothing & Accessories www.AppleCartCreations.com Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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Photo of Tony Holbrook, A Surveyor, Member of the Brigade of the American Revolution (2016) - Bill Shultz, MD 28

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Chained Together

Surveying the American Frontier

by Austin Stewart

O

n July 20, 1749, a 17-yearold British American named George Washington received a commission to become the surveyor for Culpeper County in Virginia. Although young men his age did not usually become county surveyors without training or experience, Washington’s close association with the powerful Fairfax family allowed the future founding father to obtain the surveyorship based on the recommendations of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, and William Fairfax, who held a position on the governor’s council. The job suited certainly suited any ambitious

person such as Washington. By the mid18th century, professional surveying had become a respectable position among young Virginians, especially those who did not receive any inherited land. Frontier surveyors could earn more than £100 while working on surveys that lasted only a few months out of the year. Moreover, surveyors could and often did patent tracts of land in their own name and acquire thousands of acres of land holdings. From an early age, Washington studied the art of surveying and began measuring the fields on the Mount Vernon plantation where he grew up with a compass Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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and Gunter scale. By the time of his appointment as the to measure elevations and horizontal angles and to mark professional surveyor of Culpeper County, Washington had off distances. Colonists relied less on custom and more completed a few surveys of the Virginia frontier in 1748 on geometrical precision when measuring the dimensions for Lord Fairfax, who was pleased with Washington’s of parcels of land. Early 17th-century colonies, such as maps, and gladly recommended Washington Massachusetts Bay and Virginia, did have surveyors and for the position. were very interested in marking boundaries, but it

The life experiences of a was not until the 18th century that independent, young George Washington are professional surveyors emerged at the a reminder how surveying forefront of property making. gradually became an Gunter’s chains, also acceptable and rewarding known as surveyor’s chains, were a 18th-century profession as land standard instrument in a professional charting became an increasingly surveyor’s tool kit used to map out the 18thubiquitous practice throughout century American landscape. In Geodaesia, Love mentions Britain’s North American colonies. With the growth Gunter’s chains as both the best and most commonly used of the British colonies came an increasing desire for land type of instrument used to survey distances. Along with that was legally unowned by British colonists. Indeed, as other tools such as the magnetic compass, circumferentor, land became the dominant commodity British colonists theodolite, and plain table, surveyors relied on Gunter’s desired, there was also a greater yearning to acquire chains to measure plots of land and lay out towns and property rights to any available parcel of land bordering villages, including city blocks. Over time, Gunter’s chains landed property. As a result, geographic literacy among have been ridiculed for their arbitrary measurements British colonists grew significantly during the 18th century. and inaccuracies despite being a fundamental tool used Colonists became immersed in the technicalities of land in surveying for nearly 300 hundred years. In the 18th surveying, or geodesy, which is the art of land surveying century, however, Gunter’s chains were on the cutting or measuring of the land. They began reading surveying edge of surveying land boundaries, having more accuracy manuals describing how to measure out private property and precision compared to other mapping with mathematical and scientific precision. techniques.

John Love’s Geodaesia, first printed in

Gunter’s chains are named after 1688, was one of the most popular and the English clergyman, mathematician, readily available manuals that taught geometer, and astronomer Edmund British colonists the methods of Gunter (1581-1626). The English measuring with land with a compass developed his surveying instrument in and chain, and the art of drawing a plat, addition to other tools and instruments used for which was a document containing both a map mathematical, trigonometrical, and astronomy and verbal account of the land being surveyed. calculations. Gunter also invented an object called

By the 18th century, British American Gunter’s scale or simply the “Gunter,” which colonists applied geometric surveying much was a 2-foot long scale on which logarithms more frequently than in Europe, which led could be multiplied and divided. Because to a radical redefinition of landed property of its quick calculations and functionality, across the American landscape. More Gunter’s scale helped speed up the process and more, colonial American surveyors of mathematical results. Gunter’s scale is became experts in plane geometry, viewed as the direct precursor to the slide An 18th Century Plaine Table using a variety of ingenious devices rule, and became a standard tool used by 30

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Inch Inch 1 Links 62.726 Feet 144 Yards 1296 Pace 3600 Perch 39204 Chain 627264 Acre 6242640 Mile 4014489600

Links 1 2.95 20.755 57.381 625 10000 100000 64000000

Feet 1 9 25 272.25 4356 43560 27878400

Yards 1 2.778 30.25 484 4840 3097600

ship navigators, including those in the British Royal Navy, until the end of the 19th century. Thus, a Gunter scale now has scales for tangents, cotangents, chords, rhumb and line of equal parts. Another of Gunter’s navigational tools, Gunter’s quadrant, is a brass or wooden instrument with a scale of 0 to 90 degrees. Navigators and some surveyors used the quadrant to determine the hour of the day, the sun’s azimuth, and the altitude of an object in degrees.

Gunter’s quadrants are typically used to measure latitude, which occasionally limited their usefulness when navigating on the high seas.

In 1620, Gunter re-imagined how to accurately measure land distances through his invention of Gunter’s chains. The rudimentary measuring instrument replaced the less exact tools on which English surveyors relied, including poles and cords. Gunter’s chains comprised exactly 100 iron links that were connected by round or oval rings and equaled about 66 feet in length, or four poles (also called perches). One pole equals 16 ½ feet or about 5½ yards, so two poles equals 11 yards and four poles equals 22 yards. Thus, Gunter’s new unit of measurement was called a chain, and 80 chains are equal to one mile or 5,280 feet. When measuring rectangular plots of land, both professional and amateur surveyors could easily correlate the number of chains with the number of acres within a given territory because a rectangular area measured at one chain by 10 chains equaled one square acre. The ratio of chains per acre, of course, could be used to measure the length of larger areas. For example, a rectangular plot of land measuring 10 chains by 20 chains would be multiplied to equal 200 square chains, or 20 square acres. A good

Pace 1 10.89 174.24 1742.4 1115136

Perch 1 16 160 102400

Chain 1 Acre Mile 10 1 6400 640 1 M

surveyor could use Gunter’s chains and other technologically advanced surveying instruments to calculate elevations and distances, and develop a more accurate plat, or drawing of a given area. Gunter’s chains created a standard means of dividing unclaimed territory into private property, which allowed land surveyors to efficiently and more accurately, although not perfectly, measure land boundaries, especially on the colonial American frontier.

Chainmen or chain-bearers assisted the surveyor in recording land measurements when using Gunter’s chains.

For any basic land survey, the surveyor typically ensured the chains followed a straight line while two assistants, the chainmen, alternately anchored the trailing end of the chain and walked forward with the advancing end before stretching it to its full length. In some cases, chair bearers also cut a straight line through the woods before stretching out Gunter’s chains and placing poles at the end of a specific measurement that a surveyor was attempting to obtain. After a surveyor used a compass to find the specific direction and angle of the next bearing, the chainmen took the trail end of their Gunter’s chains and moved it in the direction as stated by the surveyor. Chainmen often marked trees when a specific measurement changed directions to define a particular land boundary. Most surveyors, however, preferred to employ more chainmen so that a surveying project could be accomplished more quickly and accurately, and so they did not have to carry their own instruments around the surface area being measured. For example, Robert Erskine (1735-1780) fellow of the Royal Society, the first geographer and surveyor general of the Continental Army, sent a request to George Washington Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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for six attendants instead of two chain-bearers per survey.

According to Erskine, the extra men would be used to assist in carrying instruments and polemen would hold flag staffs to accurately measure straight boundary lines.

There is some evidence that Gunter’s chains were a prominent part of 18th-century American material culture.

Before 1750, colonial Americans typically imported Gunter’s chains, like many other everyday items, from England. Gunter’s chains and other surveying instruments were inexpensive and affordable for most landholders, especially prominent men such as Thomas Jefferson.

Colonists did not purchase Gunter’s chains simply because they were commissioned as professional surveyors; rather, they bought Gunter’s chains for their own private use, often to confirm the boundaries of their property and to lay out fields and buildings located on their landed property. A study of 325 probate records in Virginia and Maryland 32

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from 1740 to 1810 has revealed that 48 people included surveying instruments among their possessions at the time of their death. Regardless of whether they owned Gunter’s chains, many landholding colonists were familiar with the “Gunter system” by the end of the Revolutionary War. In particular, land-hungry colonists and land speculators counted on professional surveyors to accurately mark out boundaries on unsettled lots within the colonies and on western lands still owned by the British crown or lands granted to American land companies. In 1784, the new states of Massachusetts and New York adopted a new system of surveying when insisting upon making square or grid-like townships. Land surveyors also created new grid-like patterns for townships and individual parcels of land gifted to discharged American soldiers within new “military townships.” As a result, Gunter’s chains became the standard and only measuring instrument used

Mapp of the Improved Part of Pennsylvania in America (1687) - Thomas Holme throughout the newly independent American states. The federal government also insisted upon making Gunter’s chains the standard unit of measurement in the Northwest Territory. After rejecting Thomas Jefferson’s scheme to use geographic miles rather than the statue miles on which Gunter’s chains are based, Congress enacted a law on May 20, 1785, that required new western townships six statute miles square to be divided into 36 lots of 640 acres each. The American territorial system ensured that Gunter’s chains remained a central part of the surveying of the United States well into the 19th century.

Gunter’s chains left a lasting imprint on the American landscape. In Iowa, for example, the 19th-century American township and range survey system created townships that contained 36 one-square mile blocks and a parcel of land within the township was still measured by the English acre, or 10 square chain blocks. Present-day

townships in Iowa are still mainly measured according to the original surveys measured in Gunter’s chains. Take one look at a map of Iowa and you can see the blocklike or grid-like pattern in which townships were measured and surveyed during the process of western expansion.

Moreover, Iowans still commonly buy and sell land in 40-acre blocks based originally on measurements using Gunter’s chains.

The American territorial system, or preference for the surveying and marking of geometric boundaries, which has shaped the American landscape for more than 300 years, owes a lot to Edmund Gunter’s invention of a new type of land measurement and accompanying surveying instrument, Gunter’s chains.

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Mark< of Distinction:

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The Fair Nun Unmaskâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d (1766-1784) - Henry Morland

Beau ty Pa tches, Pa tch Boxes & Sta tus

by Deidre Rose rench sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s classic Distinction: A Social Critique F of the Judgement of Taste focuses on the French bourgeoisie. However, his observations about the role of “taste” and fashion in the forging of an emerging modern-class identity are relevant to the discussion of patches and beauty boxes in 18th-century America.

Beauty patches, or mouches as they were called in France, were made with fabrics ranging from fine silks and velvet to humble mouse skin. Small patches the size of a pea up to a half dollar coin were coated with adhesive and affixed to the faces of their wearers. Their position and shape broadcast coded messages of playfulness, seduction, or political affiliation. Other times they had a more dubious distinction: disguising blemishes and scars caused by diseases such as smallpox. Tensions between colony and metropole, and distinctions between elite, aristocratic, and common classes, played out in the sporting of these patches and the significance attached to their wear. The boxes, too, were more than their contents. As signs of wealth, their display gave an air of distinction to their owners.

P atch B oxes

snuff, or beauty patches. Associated with class and style in 18th-century England and France, they were also esteemed in the colonies. Drawing on journals, diaries, and literature of the period, Madelaine Siefke Estill says such boxes were considered part of the “ornaments of life” required for a distinguished appearance. The ability to present and use these accoutrements of distinction contributed to the overall presentation of genteel comportment. In the colonies, boxes signified “knowledge of courtly behavior and promoted a cultural continuity within the Anglo-American world” of the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, they signified class, continuity, and cosmopolitan worldliness. Their form, material, and use cemented social distinction and bonds among the elite classes in Europe and abroad.

The boxes were sometimes imported from England and probably also manufactured or engraved in the colonies. They were sold by goldsmiths, silversmiths, and jewelers. A 1763 advertisement from a Philadelphia newspaper reads:

Edmund Milne, Goldsmith and Jeweller. At the Sign of the Crown and three Pearls, next door to the corner of Market street in Second Street, begs leave to inform the Public, that he has just imported in the last vessels from London, an elegant Assortment of Goldsmiths and Jewellry ware.”

As manifestations of gentility, and as gifts exchanged within select circles, colonial silver tobacco, snuff, and patch boxes were powerful objects of 17th- and 18th-century social hierarchy Among Milne’s list of some 200 items were an and patterns of interaction. The boxes’ layers of assortment of snuff boxes in the shape of birds, meaning were potent during the colonial era, and fruits, and flowers, “and some shoe fashion continue to instruct modern students of and others of paper.” He also mentions early American material culture and ivory and enamel patch boxes. social history.

The handling and display of boxes Elegant boxes fashioned from indicated social rank. Their design wood, ivory, brass or silver were had to be very precise regarding the used to store and carry tobacco, lid to ensure the user would be able to Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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handle the container with grace and elegance. Most boxes were created from wood, but the more elaborate were made of silver or enamel and often engraved with the owner’s name, family crest, and the name of the manufacturer or engraver.

The Smithsonian Institute has a selection of boxes in its collection, including some with intricate and delicate enamel designs. These date from the late 18th century, when the art of painting on enamel had spread to England and flourished.

A French jeweler, Jean Toutin, developed a new technique for painting on enamel, in which a gold base was covered first with white enamel, then painted with a design. This craft soon spread to England, where it was adopted by jewelers and goldsmiths.

Their intricately painted boxes and curios were fashionable with the wealthy, who often bought them as souvenirs from their travels. Popular items included small boxes, which were used to carry snuff or “patches” (beauty spots); bonbonnieres, which contained sweets; and etuis, which might carry a lady’s scissors, tweezers, or pencil.

More functional items were also popular, including watches, candlesticks, and tea caddies.

In the late 18th century, an enamel box was a novelty and signified mobility and travel. Again, boxes were also made from ivory, and 36

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metals like brass and silver. Of silver boxes, Estill writes: Thus, colonial silver tobacco, snuff, and patch boxes transcended their manifest function as containers to embrace latent functions as indices of gentility and tools for social interaction. They were used to create social distance and to create and affirm social bonds. Their graceful use demonstrated their owners’ knowledge of courtly behavior. Their very material transformed the boxes, lending them increased importance; they represented tangible wealth.

If elaborate boxes marked social distinction and rank, the patches they sometimes held had a wider range of meanings.

B eaut y P atches

Beauty patches, or mouches, were small decorative pieces of material coated in a gum adhesive and applied to the face. Worn in some contexts by both women and men, the patches were made from costly fabrics such as satin, silk or velvet -- and for those in lower stations, from mouse skin. In France, ladies at court arranged their patches into patterns such as trees or birds, hoping to attract male attention with their artifice and design.

These were worn on a cheek or forehead. Like the boxes, patches were, in some circles, material expressions of class and taste, associated with posh society in England and in the colonies.

In England, enamel, rouge, white powder, masks, and beauty patches were instruments of fashion that covered pockmarks, drew

indicate that Americans followed the British lead in fashion. The English government in the colonies contributed to its spread as well, with officials and delegates helping set the standards of tasteful dress and decorum.

Members of the Penn family, for example, were noted for their stylishness. In 1655 Samuel Pepys of London wrote in his famed diary that he had seen Sir William Penn’s daughter Pegg, then only 13 years old, wearing patches for the first time. One may suppose that the Penn family brought their refined taste in dress with them to the colonies.

Indeed, American colonists admired leaders who lent a sense of polish and dignity to their offices.

In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the pamphlet Further Quaeries Upon the Present State of NewEnglish Affairs (circa 1690) advised voters to elect officials “of good Fashion and Quality, and such as maintain the due Grandure of a Government.”

attention to good features, and served as props in the spectacle of court society and posh urban life.

Elite colonists of both sexes imitated the aristocratic style and sought the grooming aids of apothecaries and hair dressers. Powder and paint proclaimed mobility and social prestige, as essential to high culture as ornamental clothing and tea drinking.

Black patches were often favored, as it was believed they further enhanced the whiteness of the wearer’s skin. White skin was prized among the elite, as it contrasted with the darker skin shades of people who had to work outdoors, including various laborers and slaves.

Patches were cut into shapes like crescents, hearts, or stars, with strategic placement signaling capriciousness or seductive intent. They were, at times, a mark of high social status and fashion sense. They grew in popularity among both women and men in fashionable circles in England by the mid-1600s, and their popularity continued through the late 18th century. They were also popular in France and in colonial America. Advertisements for both patch boxes and patches in colonial newspapers

The patches were also called court patches, and in some contexts were signs of aristocratic sophistication. But the practice of sporting decorative patches on one’s face was sometimes met with social derision in both England and colonial America. The sporting of a patch had its down side, perhaps because in addition to being worn for decoration and fashion, patches were also used to cover up facial flaws.

previous:

A patch box depicting top right: Joshua Reynolds’ two young lovers hiding their portrait of Charles, 9th Lord identities with masks.

Cathcart wearing a large face patch, c. 1753-1755. top left: It was common to find a custom painted box center: Simple geometric decorated with a portrait like shapes like the ones shown were this one. common as patches, though images like the tree can also be bottom left: A porcelain patch found. box in the shape of a fashionable woman’s face, replete with her following: The top two images own beauty marks, c. 1749-1760. poke fun at older women over Victoria and Albert Museum, using patches to disguise age London. while the other image shows a young woman applying just one.

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P atches

and

S ocial M oralit y

“… they that suppresse and smother [their sins] by paintings, and unnaturall helps to unlawfull ends, do not deliver themselves of the plague, but they do hide the markes and infect others, and wrastle against Gods notifications of their former sins.

The invention of which Act of Palliation of an ascititious deformity against Gods indigitation of sin, is imagined one reason of the invention of black Patches, wherein the French shewed their witty pride, which could so cunningly turne Botches into Beauty, and make uglinesse handsome; yet in point of Phantasticalnesse we may excuse that Nation, as having taken up the fashion, rather for necessity than novelty, in as much as those French Pimples have need of a French Plaister.”

-- John Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis: Man Transform’d or, the Artificiall Changling (1652)

or playful flirtation, patches had other, more practical uses that were associated with less lofty or frivolous circumstances and situations. Roy Porter claims in Bodies Politic that many beauty products, particularly the fashionable patches, were made to mask the signs of disease, smallpox and syphilis in particular. According to N.F. Lowe, some medical treatments required skin plasters to hold a curative unction in place. He suggests that the treatment for the French pox was often mercury-based, and it could be mixed with turpentine in a mortar until it formed a brown or black powder; when applied to the sore it could resemble a beauty spot. The patches were sold by perfumiers, peddlers, and apothecaries.

From the onset of their popularity, ministers objected to women wearing patches, which they believed were worn with the intent of inspiring lust in men. In The Loathsomnesse of Long Haire (1654), Englishman Thomas Hall objected to the wearing of patches and blamed the wearers for both their own damnation and that of the men they enticed. For Hall, patches were the “badges of harlots.” They connoted a lack of respect and a lack of reverence for God’s creation. In 1647, Nathaniel Ward, the minister of Ipswich, Massachusetts, reprimanded colonial women for following the vagaries of courtly fashion and dressing above their station. As members of a church-state intended to be a model for all Christian communities, Massachusetts women should not fritter away their colony’s material and spiritual resources by indulging in luxurious fashions.

In her article“Beauty Spots and the French Pox,” Katie Aske explains that patches were also used to cover blemishes, smallpox scars, and other flaws, such as the marks caused by syphilis. They were worn by women of high birth and women engaged in prostitution. As such, their meaning was as varied as their shape and fabrics used in their These attitudes continued into the 18th century, manufacture. As the title of Aske’s article hints, as evidenced by preacher George Whitefield’s not only did they signify class and sophistication, comments during his visit to Boston in 1740: 38

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“Boston is a large populous Place, very wealthy … Ministers and People are obliged to confess, that Love of many is waxed cold. Both, for the Generality, seem’d too much conform’d to the World. There’s much of the Pride of Life to be seen in their Assemblies.

Jewels, Patches, and Gay Apparel, are commonly worn by the female sex; and even the common People, I observed dress’d up in the Pride of Life.”

Patches figured specifically in what Whitefield saw as the failings of the colonials and the colonies. A moralist, he condemned extravagant dress as frivolous and vain at the best of times, but he found it particularly offensive when worn by the lower classes. It was conceited and disrespectful to dress above one’s own station.

a lean, angular woman of some years wandering through Covent Garden. Her image is contrasted The association of patches with seduction, sexuality, with a fair young woman, and the patch high on her and questionable morality appears in artwork and face seems somehow out of place. literature of the time as well. Patches appear in many pieces of Georgian art -- perhaps most famously Patches had a language of their own, too, with in William Hogarth’s A Harlot’s Progress, a series their location sending messages of seduction or of paintings and engravings in which heroine Moll caprice. According to Morag Martin’s 2009 book on French cosmetics, Hackabout’s face – once Selling Beauty, mouches fresh and pretty – takes had various names and on more and more patches meanings depending on until she resembles the the position on the face. haggard brothel madame who initiated her into Each “name” also London brothel life. For Moll, the patches no doubt suggested a message about covered the telltale signs the wearer, associated with of diseases such as syphilis a form of flirtation. Her – a world away from the inventory of these includes fashionable ballrooms of the “assassin” (forehead), France where a patch might “gallant” (cheek) and mean flirtation, seduction “coquette” (lips). “One and intrigue. perfumer ordered an assortment of patches, Another example is found varying from the size of a in a 1738 engraving by the pea to the size of a half same artist. The piece, dollar,” she adds. titled Morning, shows In England, patches were Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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worn to express political affiliation, a point varied, as did the significance attached to them remarked upon in a 1711 satirical piece written by wearers and observers. Contemporary social critics, Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele: moralists, artists, and satirists all had something to add to the rich history of these small pieces of About the middle of last winter I went to see an fabric and the people who wore them. opera at the theater in the Haymarket, where I could not but take notice of two parties of very fine A Patchy History Material culture leaves traces women that had placed themselves in the opposite that can reveal a great deal about the lives and side boxes, and seemed drawn up in a kind of battle manners of peoples from the past. The objects array one against another. After a short survey of carry meaning beyond their functionality, and them, I found they were patched differently; the although their manufacture and use are also part faces, on one hand, being spotted on the right of the story, we also learn of them through artistic side of the forehead, and those upon the other on representations, satire and commentaries of the the left. I quickly perceived that they cast hostile times, and through research done by historians of glances upon one another; and that their patches material culture. All of this is certainly true of were placed in those different situations as party beauty patches, or mouches, and the elegant patch signals to distinguish friends from foes. In the boxes where they were stored. The patches and their middle boxes, between these two opposite bodies, boxes cross borders of nation, class, and gender, were several ladies who patched indifferently on and at times their usage created a bit of a stir. both sides of their faces, and seemed to sit there with no other intention but to see the opera. Upon Whether marks of distinction and taste, pledges inquiry I found, that the body of Amazons on of political allegiance, or signs of vulgarity and my right hand were Whigs; and those on my left, vice, patches are small pieces of material culture Tories; and that those who had placed themselves that reveal more than they conceal about the social in the middle boxes were a neutral party, whose fabric of 18th-century society in the Old World faces had not yet declared themselves. and the New, along with their boxes.

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Reliving History | Fall 2018

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The Conner Home A Victorian Trea<ure in the Heart of New France

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by Abbie Samson

I

the pursuit of our countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, we often find time periods overlap and the history we seek is entrenched in layers. One such stroke of fate brought me to the Conner Home, a Victorian mansion, on a trip to the 1753 Fort De Chartres. We were afforded the opportunity to experience the history and hospitality of the home and explore the rich French Colonial heritage that shaped the area.

The home is easily recognizable by the large wrap around porch, and cedar shake roof. Opening the front door and walking in takes you back to a time of tea parlors and classic elegance. In the foyer is an original ornate wooden staircase that leads to the guest rooms upstairs. In fact, all of the woodwork in the home is original. To the right is the sitting room. Up the stairs are the four guest rooms, each with a private bathroom.

Dan Hassard is the reason no one sleeps through breakfast in the morning. Everything we and the other guests were served was a balance of fresh flavors and overall wonderful. A trained chef, Dan considered any dietary needs and was more than happy to accommodate. We woke up to the smell of fresh waffles wafting up the back staircase from the kitchen. The dining room was all set with matching china and crisp linens. Fresh fruit and berry muffins awaited us on the side table. The muffins were so melt in your mouth buttery we were almost too full for the actual breakfast. I say almost because who can resist fresh butter pecan waffles and homemade hot chocolate. A traveling tip, if asked if you want whatever creation Dan has made, always say yes.

The intimate dining room makes getting to know the fellow guests like sitting down to a family meal. It was a unique opportunity to get to know the others who were calling the house â&#x20AC;&#x153;homeâ&#x20AC;? for the weekend.

Not a soul went hungry, in fact, most of us couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even manage seconds though we wanted to.

T

he Conner Home is so named for the family who built it and had a major hand in developing the surrounding area. The family owned a successful lumber mill and used much of their own lumber to build the home. During the restoration and renovation extra lumber bearing the stamp was found in some of the walls and the attic. The home remained inhabited by the Conner family until it was sold and turned into a boarding house.

Throughout its existence the home has only sat empty for a total of about a year until the Steible family purchased it and returned it to its former glory. Every wall, drape, and bedspread pops with warm rich tones perfectly suiting the elegance of the house. Many of the furnishings are beautiful antiques and while The Conner home sits near the center of Prairie Du Rocher, grand, feel comfortable and seem right at home. a little village just east of Fort De Chartres. The area as a The House is changing hands from the Steibles to Connie Stelhorn and Dan Hassard. Though they put much love and care into the restoration, they are ready to enjoy retirement.

Connie and Dan have a vision of making the Conner home even more accessible. Though the home changed hands just this year, they have already started hosting events such as bridal showers in the parlor. Connie shared with us the dream of having local musicians and poetry nights on the veranda and weddings out on the lawn. A vision that she has worked hard to put into motion.

The Conner Home

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315 Main St. Prairie du Rocher, IL 62277 1-618-284-8752

Reliving History | Fall 2018

whole is deeply tied to French colonial roots. The village also has what the locals refer to as the old Creole House built in the late 18th century. This is one of the 12 surviving 18th century homes in the area. The home of Pierre Menard, who was influential in brokering the fur trade in the region, is only minutes away and open for tours seasonally. Fort Kaskaskia is also easily reached from this point. For those who drive through and don’t take time to stop and read, it would be easy to miss the story of how this Fort shaped and developed the area. Originally a native settlement in 1703, the village here grew into a significant hub through the fur trade. It was later occupied by the British in 1765 and Reclaimed by George Rogers Clark in 1778. The once thriving port is reduced to monuments and headstones now as the village itself was washed away in the flood of 1881.

The main road through the park offers a spectacular view of the river and a peaceful place to imagine the lives that were lived out here.

are no bridges over the Mississippi in the area so the local ferry is the way to go. The main talk of the town is the new status as a National Historic Site. The status is well deserved and one that every person in the oldest settlement West of the Mississippi is eager to talk about. Many of the homes have signs with the family name and date. The oldest confirmed home being a 1790 “Poteau sur sole” construction. If you aren’t sure about the history and different architecture, ask your guide while you tour the six different historic buildings and a small museum while you are there. We decided to take a drive around and see what we could find. Be sure to check out the memorial cemetery and Our trip to this French Colonial haven offered a welcome the Ste. Genevieve Catholic Church for the beautiful masonry change of pace. A change that was noticeable when we took and sculptures while you are there. a trip to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri just across the river. There With so many sites to see, I suggest planning a long weekend so you have plenty of time. We were lucky enough to stay in the Conner Room. A bubble bath in the original claw foot tub was an incredibly relaxing way to warm up after a cold day of history hunting. The piece that struck me as the most charming is the room key. The locks use the original iron door keys. A touch that helps drive home the authenticity of the accommodations. I picture the Conner family living in the home and think about if those keys could talk, what would they be able to tell us about this grand home and the town in which it resides.

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Negotiating the Ideologies of the Proclamation:

Native Autonomy, Frontier Authority and the Standardization of British-Indian Relations in the American South

by Austin Stewart

T

he Royal Proclamation of 1763 changed how British officials managed their relationship with Native Americans following the end of the Seven Yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; War (1754-63). The royal decree, issued by King George III on October 7, created new policies designed to regulate the British Indian trade and maintain a boundary line between Indian territories and the British colonies, known as the Proclamation Line. This essay proposes that the language within the Proclamation inspired ideologies that guided Southern Indian policy during the mid-1760s: on one hand, the geographic and social segregation

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of Natives and colonists, and on the other, the political and economic integration of the Indian nations into the British Empire. In the colonial south, British officials aimed to separate Natives and colonists by expropriating southern Indian land claims within colonial boundaries, creating permanent boundaries, and establishing laws that policed inter-cultural violence. Britons also sought to integrate southeastern Indians into the empire by promising to regulate the Indian trade and provide protection for their Native dependents if the Indians accepted their subordination to imperial authority.

In the mid-1760s, John Stuart, the

Southern Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and other British officials consistently approached diplomatic negotiations within an ideological framework intended to limit or even eliminate Native autonomy and create imperial order by controlling violence on the southern frontiers of British North America.

The economic and political integration of Native Americans into the British Empire emerged as the more contentious ideology because Britons claimed social and political superiority over all Native Americans east of the Mississippi River. The Proclamation linked British assertions

of imperial superiority over the Indian obtaining a trading license from colonial improved reciprocal acceptance of how nations living within British jurisdiction governors within the traders’ place of British-Indian relationships functioned, to British law. The document’s trade origin. The British Board of Trade which closed the gap between policies and land policies intended to heighten believed that the allegiance of the Indian and practices, and balanced contrasting Native economic dependency and nations living within British dominion ideological expectations with political convince Native Americans of Britain’s could be bought for a fair price and and economic realities. By 1768, it political supremacy. William Johnson, would lead to the subjugation of Native became clear that Southeastern Indian the Northern Superintendent of Indian Americans to imperial control. chiefs acknowledged their dependency Affairs, implied that the Indians only This study argues that the on British trade goods, but as politically occupied territories within British ideologies of the Proclamation created independent peoples that could not be domain; the language within the a framework that standardized actual subjected to British imperial authority.

Proclamation confirmed this perception. British-Indian relations in the late An analysis of the standardization The document stated that Indians living colonial south, but on terms that of British-Indian relations in the late under British “Protaction, should not be reflected negotiation rather than British colonial south challenges the basic molested or disturbed in the Possession domination and control. Between the assumption, made by Britons and many of such Parts of Our Dominions and Treaty of Augusta (1763) and the official scholars since, that the removal of Territories” not seceded to, or purchased elimination of imperial control over France from North America immediately by appointed British tipped the scales of officials.

Thus, imperial power too far ing eorge issued the the Proclamation in favor of Britain for roclamation of on ctober created an Indian Native Americans to th reservation in the resist subordination. reserving the lands west of west that was under The Treaty of Paris, the ppalachians for the native British “Sovereignty, signed February 10, inhabitants and forbidding colonists Protection, and 1763, significantly from settling in the area Dominion, for the Use enlarged Britain’s of the said Indians.” imperial holdings east In a European legal sense, imperialists the Indian trade in 1768, southeastern of the Mississippi River through the issued Native Americans a form of Indians and British officials implicitly elimination of their colonial rival, ill-defined de jure nationhood, which negotiated the ideals of the Proclamation France, from the continent. More granted Indian nations a certain degree in conjunction with the treaty policies portentous from a Native American of legal autonomy, but limited their established at Augusta and the Plan standpoint, Britain received Spanish authority and political independence. for the future Management of Indian Florida and Spain took control of The Proclamation essentially made a Affairs (1764). The Proclamation and French Louisiana. The inability to suzerain out of Great Britain—providing its ideals acted as reference point for balance the British-French imperial protection to dependent nations who British-Indian diplomacy, which is rivalry threatened Native political and controlled their own territory and traceable through an examination of economic independence, and their internal matters. For imperial officials, the evolution of British Indian policy, lands. Southeastern Indians, however, Native Americans could be brought treaty-making, frontier violence, and continued to adapt to new historical further under British control through other diplomatic discussions that circumstances and attempted to interact economic dependency if British traders occurred between Native authorities and with Britons on their own terms as they treated them fairly. Consequently, the their British counterparts. Within this had throughout the colonial period.

Proclamation subjected all Indian diplomatic framework, John Stuart and Four large Native groups in the south— traders to regulations, which included southeastern Indian chiefs developed an the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and

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Chickasaws—did so by incorporating the ideologies of the Proclamation into their own diplomatic framework.

Southeastern Indian chiefs adopted the same ideals meant to eliminate their autonomy as a means of pressuring John Stuart to address their political and economic complaints in actions rather than by words or treaty agreements. In fact, historians have demonstrated that John Stuart’s partiality towards Native interests, especially the implementation of permanent boundaries between Indian territories and colonial lands, created tension between the superintendent and colonial governors, and caused frontiersmen, British traders, and eastern colonial elites to become disillusioned with imperial governance.

By negotiating the ideologies of the Proclamation, southeastern Indians counterbalanced the inability to play off imperial rivalries by competing with the interests of local settlers, British Indian

traders, and colonial governors instead.

The unstable transition from the old imperial system to the new imperial order allowed southeastern Indians to leverage the instability of imperial authority and British Indian policy to demand good treatment, maintain their authority, and serve their own interests.

Scholars have concluded that the instability of British imperialism created inconsistencies in Indian policy during the mid-1760s, but have not specifically analyzed how the complexity of frontier authority exposed the weakness of British imperial power in the postSeven Years’ War period. Imperial officials such as John Stuart struggled to establish a coherent Indian policy and introduce order unto multiple American frontiers—zones of contested space and inter-cultural contact. Competing levels of authority in British America and the traditional decentralization of authority in the Native southeast

collectively compromised any tangible claims of imperial control, especially over frontier violence. John Stuart confronted these realities by building the illusion of imperial power around the ideas that the Indian nations in his district were dependent on Britain for trade, protection from inter-tribal and inter-cultural violence, and for protection of their land claims. The differences between British ideological claims of imperial superiority and the weakness of imperial control created space for negotiation and a more balanced understanding of how BritishIndian relationships functioned in a late colonial south.

The guiding principles of the Proclamation dominated the Treaty of Augusta in early November of 1763.

When John Stuart and the southern governors met with southeastern Indians at the Augusta Congress, they explained the terms of the Proclamation

General Thomas Gage

John Singleton Copley c. 1768

Gage was sent to North America with General Braddock’s forces to gain control of the trade in the Ohio Valley and push back the French. The Natives and their French allies ambushed the British at the Battle of Monongahela. George Washington and Gage both were involved but it was Gage that was blamed for the failure on behalf of the British. He and Washington remained friendly acquaintances until Gage persisted in asserting British Rule over Massachusetts.

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within a framework guided by British notions of Native inferiority. John Stuart immediately clarified to the Indian nations that the Treaty of Paris made Britain the unrivaled European empire in North America and that the “mischievous Practices of the French” led to many lies advocating English intent to destroy their Indian neighbors. Stuart suggested that Anglo-Americans and the Indians would “live in Peace and brotherly Friendship” by the command of “your and our Common Father and Protector” King George III. He conditionally offered justice and a steady supply of trade goods “by White People who alone can supply you” if the Indian nations provided for the security of British Indian traders that resided in Indian towns. Stuart promised that the British would take over French forts for the “Protection assistance and convenience” of the Indians “and for the better carrying on Trade.” British overtures included promises of protection, the Native retention of land rights beyond the Proclamation Line, and the supplement of trade goods—providing the Indian nations refrained from murdering and driving off British traders. Stuart expressed British expectations of the Indian-Anglo relationship and made assurances from a supposed position of superiority framed by the language within the Proclamation.

Due to different interpretations of British overtures, misunderstandings

led to the antagonistic socio-political expectations of Britons and southeastern Indians. Neither British officials nor Indian emissaries altered their viewpoint on how the British-Indian relationship was supposed to function. At the treaty, British officials used familiar kinship

did not convey ideas of obedience as the British hoped. Southeastern native groups swore their allegiance to the British (except the Creeks), however that loyalty only traveled as far as British goods and protection from other Indian groups and Anglo-American colonists in a reciprocal alliance between friends. In contrast, British officials assumed the Indians accepted the unequal relationship between British patrons and Native dependents, thus helping to politically integrate southeastern Indians into the empire and limit their autonomy. In other times and places, creative misunderstandings aided in the construction of alliances of mutual accommodation, but in the late colonial southeast purposeful misunderstandings only created contests for power and authority.

British assumptions about their superiority made frontier authority a critical issue at the Treaty of Augusta.

Power, defined as strength, force, and might within a set of relationships, intersected with authority, which required sanction, negotiation, and justice. Extending imperial authority over Native Americans implied a responsibility for administering justice among the Indian nations, which could either be accepted or rejected by Native Americans because obligations flowed both ways. Moreover, eighteenth-century Europeans often extended imperial sovereignty to the exercise of legal authority rather than territorial claims

Though the Proclamation prohibited North American colonists from purchasing land from American Indians and limited trade with the American Indians to licensed traders, enforcement was not common. metaphors in cross-cultural negotiations in the colonial Southeast, but did not fully understand how Natives received the promises of protection and trade.

British negotiators deployed their own patriarchal understanding of fictive filial relationships by making the “Great King” father over both his red and white children, who would “live like Brothers,” thus claiming both authority and sovereignty over Indian country in the name of the king. Some Indian leaders appeared to have bought into the rhetoric, but the Chickasaw headman Paya Mattaha spoke in terms familiar to southeastern Indians. Paya Mattaha looked upon the British and Chickasaws “as one,” they were essentially “good Friends as if they sucked one breast.”

Whether southeastern Indians described British peoples as friends, brothers, or elder brothers, they understood these relationships through the gendered lens of matrilineal fictive kinships; to be brothers of the same mother were binding relationships between allies, but

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alone, and the only civil jurisdictions the Proclamation validated to operate beyond the Proclamation Line were those of the Indian superintendents, William Johnson and John Stuart.

Although the Proclamation authorized imperial officials with the power to prosecute Euro-American criminals residing in Indian territories, it provided no legal basis for extending imperial authority over Native Americans. To project imperial sovereignty, John Stuart needed to control cross-cultural violence in order to enforce his discretionary authority in overlapping imperial, colonial, and Native jurisdictions on the different frontiers of colonial south via the Treaty of Augusta.

On November 10, 1763, headmen of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Catawba nations signed the Treaty of Augusta in Georgia alongside Stuart and the governors or lieutenant-governors of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The treaty theoretically solved the legal quagmire of the Proclamation by placing Native authorities under the purview of imperial authority and extending them the power to prosecute Indian criminals in John Stuart’s civil jurisdiction, which only operated in Indian country.

Article three of the treaty specifically dealt with issues of violence and justice. British officials promised “full and ample justice” for the Indian nations if they used the “full Right and Power which they shall have” to prevent future inter-cultural hostilities and reciprocate that justice. Indians who did any damage to neighboring 50

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white settlements would be prosecuted to give “satisfaction” and any offender who murdered a white person “would [be] immediately put to death in a public manner in the Presence of at least two” Englishmen “who may be in the neighborhood.” Likewise, any white man who murdered an Indian would be tried as if he killed a white man and “if found guilty shall be executed” within the jurisdiction of the colonial governors. Article three acted as a preventative for physical retribution that consistently pervaded the porous boundaries between colonial lands and Indian territories. The treaty carried the weight of the legal expectation that Indian chiefs and British governors would enforce treaty laws and imperial officials would mediate the execution of treaty policy in both jurisdictions.

John Stuart and the governors knew that all of the prominent southeastern Indian chiefs did not attend the Augusta Treaty to sign the treaty, but did not anticipate the immediate repercussions.

In early January of 1764, seven Lower Creek young men murdered fourteen backcountry settlers near the Savannah River and Long Canes region in South Carolina. Stuart told Creek headmen that the murders were an insult to their authority and a violation of the rules of proper justice established by the Treaty of Augusta. Both the Upper and Lower Creeks claimed that the Cherokees incited the young “Runagadoes” to commit the murders, yet Stuart remained convinced that the leader of the Upper Creek “French party,” Mortar (Yahatatastonake), instigated the murders in contempt of the growing influence of the “English

party” over the nation following the French evacuation of forts at Toulouse and Mobile. Mortar and other principal leaders of the Upper faction distrusted the British, especially during the Seven Years’ War, and did not attend the Treaty of Augusta. Another Upper Creek chief, Emistisiguo, did attend the treaty. He claimed, however, that his status as a lesser chief prevented him from speaking with the same authority reserved for other headmen.

As a result, the Upper Creeks ignored the incident by arguing that the Lower Creeks “made the Law” at the treaty and should “kill the Murderers” themselves. The Lower Creek chiefs eventually condemned the murderers, including two sons of a Lower Creek headman, to death.

Upper Creek chiefs reminded Stuart they had not yet agreed to British terms and that the superintendent had little power to persuade the Creeks to alter their own protocols for demonstrating power and authority. The power and prestige bestowed upon imperial officials such as Stuart or colonial governors such as William Bull of South Carolina and Francis Fauquier of Virginia made little sense to Native Americans that organized into matrilineal clans with the locus of authority centered on towns rather than larger political units. It is likely that Mortar’s Bear clan possessed more political influence than Emistisiguo’s Tiger clan, which caused Emistisiguo’s silence at the Augusta Congress. Especially among the Creeks, clan identity acted as a source of power for town and regional headmen. The responsibility of

punishing the murderers fell to clan controlling the flow of goods without struggle to socially and geographically leaders. British peoples observed that gifts from their European trading separate Indians from colonists. the murderers came from the powerful partners. Moreover, the younger John Stuart carefully observed Bear clan, but Mortar’s rejection generations within southeastern Native how the unregulated Indian trade of British laws with and the Indians’ which he did not agree decentralized political placed pressure on the structures created members of the Bear disorder that threatened clan among the Lower the application of Creeks to make peace.

Proclamation ideals and The hierarchies of treaty laws. For Stuart, authority that funneled the Plan for the future throughout the British Management of Indian Empire did not apply in Affairs (1764) ideally the Native southeast. altered the organization The British trading of frontier authority and system had a more placed him in position to immediate impact on increase imperial control the balance of authority over British-Indian in the Native southeast. relations. The Board The new imperial of Trade proposed the order reinvigorated plan as reinforcement generational tensions for the trade and between young men land regulations of and town elders. The the Proclamation, absence of France as a yet it also extended Proclamation Line of 1763 trading option limited the authority of the The proclamation organized new British territories in America— the Indians’ ability Indian superintendents the provinces of Quebec, East and West Florida, and Grenada to seek better deals by placing the Indian and a vast British-administered Indian reservation west of the that included presents trade under their direct Appalachians, from south of Hudson Bay to north of the Floridas. because market-driven supervision.

Article British trade ignored fourteen granted the traditional gift-giving protocols groups usurped the authority of the superintendents and Indian agents that guided French-Indian alliances. chiefs by ignoring chiefly jurisdiction exclusive power to regulate the conduct Southeastern chiefs adjusted to over trade and committing acts of of subordinate officers at forts and absence of gifts and respect British violence against traders or colonists trading posts in Indian country. The traders had shown throughout the in Indian country. In fact, the lack of document theoretically empowered the eighteenth century, but the lack of gifts and personal abuses committed superintendents, deputies, and Indian trade regulations within the British by British traders provoked young commissaries to act as “Justices system after 1763 created chaos. men to attack British colonists and of the Peace” in Indian country to Choctaw chiefs, for example, could not resort to banditry. Britain’s customary prosecute “Offenders in capital cases” perform their traditional authoritative trading policies disrupted traditional or civil actions involving the Indian duties of redistributing presents and Native leadership and deepened the trade. According to the plan, “every Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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Coronation (1762) - Allan Ramsay

When King George III assumed the British throne in 1760, he inherited a troubled empire in the middle of a world war. Great Britain had been fighting a war with France, Austria and Russia. In 1754, a skirmish at Fort Duquesne involving George Washington sparked the conflict along the frontier in North America.

Tribe in the southern District” was to “choose a beloved Man…to take Care of the mutual Interests, both of Indians & Traders” in each town, and those headmen would elect “a Chief for the whole Tribe” to reside with the commissary of each nation and “be present at all Meetings and upon all Hearings and Trials relative to the Indians.”

The guidelines of the Plan for Indian Affairs fit neatly with the Proclamation ideals of social 52

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segregation, and political and economic integration. Although it was still being debated by the Board of Trade, Stuart believed that the Plan would help preserve peace between colonists and Indians—one ideological goal of the Proclamation—and introduce good order among the Indian nations. The plan created a hierarchical system of authority among southeastern Indian nations, and placed elected headmen and British officers in a subordinate position to British

Indian commissioners that held the authority to administer frontier justice and regulate the British Indian trade.

Stuart willingly put these policies into practice because they promised to centralize Native authority around favorable chiefs that would serve British interests, adhere to treaty laws, and become integrated into the political fabric of the empire.

The Plan for Indian Affairs predominately influenced BritishIndian negotiations at the Treaty of Mobile in late March of 1765 with the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and the Treaty of Pensacola with the entire Creek nation later in May. At Pensacola, Mortar identified the lack of trade regulations as the key expectation that British officials failed to address since the Treaty of Augusta. He scrutinized British traders “who dread[ed] the Introduction of Order, Regularity and Laws.” Despite these complaints, British officials still negotiated from the supposed position of political and economic superiority. For example, Stuart told the Choctaws that forfeiting the king’s “Royall and Paternal Protection” would only bring “inrretrievable Misery” because the Choctaws and Chickasaws were “dependant upon the Generosity and Benevolence of the Great King George” for trade goods.

To eliminate any remaining vestiges of the old imperial system, Stuart and Governor Johnstone of West Florida persuaded the Choctaws to give up their French medals and appointed Great Medal and Small Medal Chiefs, and “Captains with Gorgetts” that would protect and support the

authority of trade commissioners that were “Authorized and Instructed” to regulate the conduct of white traders.

At the Pensacola Treaty, the Southern Indian superintendent made a similar speech and promised to send a trading commissioner into the Creek nation to settle disputes between the Creeks and traders. John Stuart negotiated the new terms of the British-Indian relationship “governed by the Idea of their Lordships contained in their Plan for Regulating Indian Affairs,” which he “pursued in every Transaction.”

Southeastern Indian chiefs rejected British assumptions that economic necessities could be equated with political subordination. Creek chiefs wanted lower trade tariffs and better regulations, but they also worried by how the commissary “might affect their Independency.”

At Mobile, Choctaw chiefs defended their right to determine titles based on their own customs, thus rejecting Stuart’s supposed right to choose Indian leadership after he threatened to appoint new chiefs that accepted British terms. Choctaw headmen also expected gifts—like those distributed

by French officials—in return for accepting the Indian commissioner into the Choctaw nation. Choctaw chief Alibamon Mingo told Stuart “we Should bear the Same Authority and be entitled to the Same presents.”

Stuart’s eventually agreement of the terms included an obligation among the chiefs to restrain youthful militants from “acts of Violence and injustice against the Traders…or any other of His majesties Subjects” in return for the distribution of gifts.

British-Indian negotiations produced a set of compromises in which Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek medal chiefs pledged to limit intercultural disturbances as long as Stuart guaranteed trade, gifts, and protection.

Although these expectations were similar to the Treaty of Augusta, the new treaties increased British awareness of the southeastern Indians’ rejection of imperial authority and heightened

trader Dougherty. He was right; the Proclamation stated that only colonial governors were authorized to “grant such Licence” and void them if traders “refuse or neglect to observe such Regulations.” Stuart correctly assumed that those laws applied to traders who incited hostilities among the Indian nations. Colonial governors exercised their own discretionary authority and defied Stuart by not prosecuting

Despite the treaty agreements at Mobile and Pensacola, southern colonial governors and British traders used the unlawfulness of the Plan for Indian Affairs to repeatedly ignore Stuart’s rhetoric of justice in matters of trade and protection. the Native Americans’ consciousness of Proclamation ideals.

Despite the treaty agreements at Mobile and Pensacola, southern colonial governors and British traders used the unlawfulness of the Plan for Indian Affairs to repeatedly ignore Stuart’s rhetoric of justice in matters of trade and protection. In fact, the Proclamation legally allowed them to reject the plan outright. Traders such as Cornelius Dougherty, a principal trader among the Cherokees, perceived Stuart’s Attempts to undermine their own autonomy and reacted negatively by inciting opposition to British rule.

Stuart alerted the Board of Trade of the “extreamly criminal” behavior of Dougherty, but warned imperial administrators that he was not “vested with any Jurisdiction or Authority” to dismiss the licensed Cherokee

such offenders. In the south, the Proclamation interfered with the customary authority that had deferred to colonial governors since they largely controlled treaty negotiations and the Indian trade prior to 1763.

Ironically, southern colonial governors often protected their own political interests and authority by appealing to the legality of the Proclamation.

The struggle between different levels of British governance allowed British traders and discontented Indian factions to grow bolder in their defiance of imperial authority. In Chickasaw country, traders Alexander McIntosh and John Buckles incited factionalism and “worked upon their Indian friends” in the attempt to kill Commissioner John McIntosh (no relation), whose faithfulness in enforcing regulations irritated traders Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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and colonial governors alike. The British traders even allied themselves with a Chickasaw faction that rivaled the authority of the British-appointed medal chief, Paya Mattaha. Despite John Stuart’s complaints to Whitehall about several incidents, the Earl of Shelburne reminded the superintendent near the end of 1766 that the Plan for Management of Indian Affairs was still “under Consideration” and that Stuart “too hastily adopted” the plan in West Florida. Shelburne never authorized Stuart to take action against unscrupulous traders under the immediate authority of the governors.

At the same time, Governor George Johnstone of West Florida wondered why British dependents should be treated fairly, meddled with inter-tribal relationships, and served local interests rather those of the British Empire.

Johnstone ignored the imperial authority vested in John Stuart by helping ignite the Choctaw-Creek war.

While the Choctaws were at Mobile in 1765, a party of Creek Indians raided a Choctaw village, killing men and taking women and children as prisoners. The Creeks “refused to deliver up the Prisoners, and would not hear of putting the Aggressors to Death,” which reinforced the limits on British legal jurisdiction outside of colonial bounds. Because of Creek perfidy, Governor Johnstone encouraged Choctaw raids and pushed for a colonial war against the Creeks. The members of Johnstone’s provincial council agreed, but John Stuart did not. By the summer of 1766, Stuart admitted the advantages of a divide and rule policy that pitted 54

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the Choctaws and Creeks against one another, but argued that it would be “bad policy” and the British would “infallibly lose the confidence of all the Indian Nations.” A frustrated Johnstone sent a contemptuous letter to Stuart in September of 1766 citing the “Imbellicity of Our Government” and Stuart’s power for permitting “the Murder of her Subjects by Dozens from a Nation who actually exists by her bounty.” Stuart replied by telling Johnstone that the other southern governors agreed with him that a general rupture with the Creek would place pressure on the Carolina and Georgia frontiers, and an effective war against the Creek would come with a great military cost that colonists would be expected to pay. Johnstone’s “impolitick” warmongering eventually saw him dismissed from office, but the disagreement illustrated how competing levels of British authority crippled Stuart’s efforts to pacify the Indian nations within his imperial jurisdiction.

Stuart grew weary of the divide-and-rule Indian policy practiced

by British officials because Indian geopolitics threatened the illusion of legitimacy the superintendent built for imperial authority. Throughout the early 1760s, the Cherokees sent raiding parties northward—led by warriors of high standing such as Oconostota and Osteneco—at the behest of Stuart to pacify the western frontier, which created fear among the Illinois Indians and irritated other Indian nations.

When northern Indians, particularly the Iroquois, struck back against Cherokee incursions, the Cherokees

consistently pressured Stuart to make peace. William Johnson thought it might be in the British interest to allow the warfare to continue, but Stuart reminded Johnson and Lieutenant Governor William Bull of South Carolina that the Southern Department of Indian Affairs could not afford to have the Cherokees too weakened. In fact, Britain needed the Cherokees to remain “upon a Par” with the Creeks in terms of military and political power, especially in light of the Choctaw-Creek war. The longer inter-tribal warfare dragged on, the less legitimate imperial authority looked in the eyes of the Cherokees Indians, who also provided a crucial political counterbalance to their Indian neighbors, the Creeks.

Colonial authority faced a similar crisis of legitimacy when cross-cultural violence pervaded the

Virginia-Cherokee frontier. On May 8, 1765, the so-called Augusta Boys killed six of a party of ten Overhill Cherokees near Staunton, Virginia despite knowing that the Indians had obtained a pass to travel safely through Augusta Country on their way to “War against Ohio Indians.”

Governor Francis Fauquier of Virginia quickly issued a proclamation that condemned the “Violators of the Laws” and sent a copy of the decree to the Cherokee to “convince them” he was taking “every step to bring the Criminals to Justice and to give them satisfaction.” Although colonial authorities apprehended two of the murderers, James Clendening was rescued before he even reached prison, and “not less than one hundred armed men” aided in breaking Patrick Duffy from jail. Fauquier consequently warned the Board of Trade that there was not enough military “strength in our hands to enforce Obedience to the Laws.”

Powerless to impose the law by force, Fauquier appealed to William Johnson to make peace between the Cherokees and northern Indians to “prevent their taking Revenge on the White People.”

General Thomas Gage agreed it was “greatly detrimental to His Majesty’s Interest” to continue a divide and rule policy and Johnson eventually agreed to work for a general peace.

During the mid-1760s, different levels of British authority, often in tension and struggling with issues of power and legitimacy, deeply influenced the dialectical relationship between promises, policy, and practices.

Bickering between British officials enhanced the rift in British-Cherokee

relations. The Cherokees never forgot the lack of satisfaction received for the Augusta murders. Cherokee statesman Attakullakulla made peace with Fauquier in the summer of 1765, but by the next summer he wanted to go to England and directly address Cherokee grievances with the king.

The Cherokee diplomat asked “why the Governor and his beloved men, did not catch the rogues,” and if they could not be caught then the British must send “large presents for the relations of the murdered.” British administrators refused Attakullakulla’s request, and England and British officials failed to actively provide reparations despite discussing it repeatedly with each other. Instead, Britons laid blamed on the Cherokees for their own ineptitude. In the winter of 1766-67, the Cherokee supposedly

murdered no less than twelve traders from Virginia, which actions General Gage suspected were committed by “Relations of those Cherokees who were put to Death in Virginia two years ago.”

The Creeks also criticized the ineffectiveness of British trading policies and the British role in instigating the Choctaw-Creek conflict. When Creek medal chiefs met with Governor Johnstone in May of 1766 they complained that the English supplied the Choctaw and small nations on the Mississippi with guns and other necessities, and endeavored to fuel war “amongst the Indian Tribes,” thus, “setting them out to cut each others throats.” Indeed, British officials encouraged the Choctaw-Creek war that embroiled the Deep South after 1765, but this

Three American Cherokee Chiefs (1762) - Unknown This image was created for the British newspapers detailing negotiations taking place on the American Frontier. Interestingly, the Cherokees are depicted as coming ahead of the Englishman who is being held at bay by the dog in the bottom left hand corner.

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led Emistisiguo to question why the consult British traders about lowering it would destroy British friendship and British “scrutinize[d] so strictly into the tariffs in an effort to make the weaken traditional authority vested in [Creek] Affairs,” and incited jealousies European-Indian exchanges work on town elders. The imperial agent told among neighboring Indian nations. “Just and Equitable Terms.” To do Cherokee headmen that they must Moreover, Mortar (then called Otis so, the superintendent required Creek enforce the laws of proper justice Mico) symbolically resigned his leaders to restrain their peoples from established at Augusta if they expected English medal (before taking it injuring or murdering colonists who to receive trade goods, which without back) in protest of the lack of trade settled beyond the agreed boundary line they would “become despicable and regulations and lower tariffs on trade or rogue traders without first applying an easy prey” for their enemies. The goods. Making matters worse, he also to the established commissary who British mediator sent a white wampum claimed that Cornelius Dougherty would report directly to him. Stuart belt with seventeen black beads on told him the British colonized Mobile then instructed the commissary, the end for the supposed number of and Pensacola with the intent “to Roderick McIntosh, to “take off the murders the Cherokees committed on kill the Red People asleep” and take 7 black beads from the string” of the Virginians. Stuart told the Cherokees their lands. British to remove nine beads actions and words ohn tuart never fully respected the for people they lost in continued to cause Virginia and required autonomy of southeastern ndians or apprehension among retribution for the other Creek headman, the authority of their chiefs yet he eight Virginian deaths especially Upper learned that appreciating customary according to the “Great Creek chiefs. chiefly leadership and working towards King’s Command.” The Seeing his strengthening their authority served failure to address British imperial district grievances and make the oard of rade s expectations of fall into widespread “a proper Example” disorder, John creating and maintaining order on of the situation would Stuart recognized reflect badly upon the the southern frontier that the functionality ability of Cherokee of British policies and legitimacy wampum belt that he presented the chiefs to control their young people. of his own authority depended on Creeks once McIntosh confirmed that Moreover, British officials would re-negotiating the ideals of the the Indians gave satisfaction for the offer “Strict Justice and his Majestys Proclamation established at the murders of two British traders, Davies Royal Protection” if the Cherokee Treaty of Augusta. In December of and Goodwin. The Creeks could only complied. Stuart made it clear that 1766, he sent analogous messages to expect the king’s protection and the British promises of protection and the Upper and Lower Creek towns benefits of the Indian trade if they trade, which were fundamental to again reminding them of the “Great obeyed British laws established at Proclamation ideals, would strengthen King’s Intentions” made clear in the previous treaties. traditional Cherokee leadership if the Proclamation and British promises In February of 1767, the Cherokee abided by British laws. made at Augusta. Stuart sent black superintendent held a similar talk with Southeastern Indians reached beads on a wampum belt to the the Cherokees to demand satisfaction a similar conclusion that British Upper Creek because they murdered for the murders of Virginians, especially laws could be used to reinforce the many white colonists and the king the traders Mr. Ross and Mr. Boyd. power and authority of traditional expected that “Justice be reciprocal.” Stuart warned Cherokee leaders of the headmen. On October 1, 1766, At the same time, Stuart promised to consequences of the failure to comply; Deputy Superintendent Charles Stuart

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reported about the raiding party of Creek Indians that killed the English traders Davies and Goodwin while in Choctaw country. Unlike the murders at the Savannah River in 1764, the Upper Creeks immediately replied to the murders. Emistisiguo took responsibility for the affair because it happened in the district of the Tallapoosa chiefs. He abided by the Creek clan system of retribution— headmen of the clan of the offender were responsible for securing justice.

He told the military official on hand that though the Creek “meathod of punishing offenders Differs from that of Yours,” the “offender has been put to death agreeable to treaty.” In turn, each Creek headman at a talk with Johnstone professed hope that “The path between this and Pensacola was clear” so that the “traders shold pass as Usiall and supply” the Creek with ammunition and clothing. Creek chiefs punished the murderer of Davies and Goodwin according to their own custom and moral ethics, and demonstrated awareness of the connection between reciprocity and material needs. Playing by the rules of British justice acted as an acceptable trade off with the material benefits of maintaining a reciprocal relationship.

Choctaw chiefs also perceived the link between observing British laws and consolidating their own tribal authority. In February of 1767, Small Medal Chief Chocoulacta from a village in the Eastern Division killed a British colonist on the path from South Carolina to Natchez, which drew reaction from divisional headman. Eastern division chiefs

viewed the murder as a threat to their valuable attachment to the BritishChoctaw trading relationship. The Choctaw headman, Olacta Houma, acted as Chocoulacta’s “landlord,” thus the murder occurred under his authority and jurisdiction. The violation caused Olacta Houma to confiscate Chocoulacta’s medal despite the combatant returning the settler’s saddle and gun to British authorities at Fort Tombeckby. Olacta Houma demonstrated his power by confiscating the medal and legitimated his authority by keeping the trading path open between the Choctaws and British traders.

In contrast, the Cherokees leveraged imperial instability to demand better treatment and pressure Stuart to address their socio-political and economic interests. In the eyes of the Cherokees, if Britons could not deliver what they promised via the ideologies of the Proclamation—land boundaries to prevent encroachment, protection from colonists, and trade regulations—then imperial authority held no real power at all. In early spring of 1767, Cherokee headmen again blamed British officials for not sending adequate compensation for the Augusta murders. Cherokee chiefs from the Overhill and Lower Towns also denied that they murdered the Virginia traders. They sent their own wampum belt indicating that the path to other colonies was clear and straight, but the path to Virginia was not.

Although Cherokee headmen blamed Virginians, they took their grievances to Stuart because the superintendent assumedly had the authority to address

their complaints. They collectively explained to Stuart that they never forgot the solemn promises made at Treaty of Augusta or the assurances made by the Proclamation. When the murders could not be proved to have been committed by Cherokees, Stuart shifted his tactics to maintain the illusion of imperial power. The superintendent demanded Governor Fauquier give reparations to the Cherokees and set a firm boundary between colonial and Indian lands to limit further conflagrations. Stuart also issued a list of regulations among Cherokee and Creek traders that standardized the tariff prices on Indian goods. Stuart deciphered this was the best strategy, as he told the Earl of Shelburne, for complying with the Proclamation, addressing Cherokee demands, and imperial commands.

From 1763 to 1768, John Stuart and southeastern Indian nations balanced each other’s interests by closing the gap between policy and practice through the standardization of protocols for retribution. John Stuart repeatedly flaunted the British belief in their superiority by offering King George’s royal protection in exchange for Native obedience to imperial authority. The hierarchical system of authority that Stuart envisioned, however, did not replace the decentralized systems of power and authority that existed in the Native southeast. The Indian nations willingly negotiated Proclamation ideals except the terms of their political subordination. Southeastern Indian leaders demanded respect for their authority and treatment as allies rather Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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than dependents. This, in turn, shaped their responses when Britons ignored treaty agreements, instigated Native warfare, and left a long list of broken promises. The superintendent could not control the decentralized system of Native authority, but could persuade existing Native leadership that obeying treaty laws was beneficial to their economic well-being. In turn, Southeastern chiefs served their own interest by punishing murders that occurred within their territorial jurisdictions according to British laws. Indian headmen reestablished power over the younger generation and ensured that Britain continued the Indian trade unabated, thus reinforcing their authority and prestige on a local level. The development of a better reciprocal acceptance of the system of retribution helped standardize how British-Indian relations functioned in practice.

Adjusting to the geopolitical changes shaped by the Treaty of Paris required both imperialists and Indians in North America to construct an obscure balance between contrasting notions of power and reciprocity, authority and sovereignty. Southeastern Indians and John Stuart standardized how Britons and Indians were supposed to relate to one another in a political context in the preAmerican revolutionary south. The weakness of imperial rule and an increasing Native reliance on Britons for trade, gifts, and reparations mutually reinforced each other. Stuart lacked any real power to enforce his policies or treaty laws.

Competing agendas created the irregularities of the British Indian trade and frontier violence, both inter-tribal and intercultural, which threatened the integrity of the promises John Stuart consistently made during inter-cultural negotiations and destabilized the illusion of imperial power. Native Americans rejected imperial authority because Stuart neglected his responsibility towards administering different forms of justice on many occasions. In fact, Southeastern Indian chiefs continued to see themselves as true rulers of their peoples, especially because actual British-Indian relations did not always correlate with Proclamation ideals.

Traditional Native leaders, however, realistically could not avoid dealing with the impact the Indian trade and frontier violence had on their claims of authority and power. After the demise of the French empire in America, British-Indian relations destabilized the traditional structures of Native authority. John Stuart never fully respected the autonomy of 58

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southeastern Indians or the authority of their chiefs, yet he learned that appreciating customary chiefly leadership and working towards strengthening their authority served the Board of Trade’s expectations of creating and maintaining order on the southern frontier. Imperialists such as Stuart could not have expected create a peaceable and commercial empire in North America without addressing the grievances of the southeastern Indians and reluctantly acknowledge Native political autonomy. In the end, southeastern Indians replaced the British-French rivalry system by jockeying with the interests of local British colonists and colonial governors in the late-1760s and early-1770s, and Britain remained, if anything, more suzerain than sovereign over the southeastern Indians.

The Board of Trade essentially relieved Stuart of the task of balancing imperial, colonial, and Native interests and accepted full imperial control of the frontiers of America as an intangible reality. In fact, the superintendent’s push for trade regulations officially perished when the Board of Trade gave control of the Indian trade back to the colonies and eliminated Indian commissaries in 1768; the Plan for the future Management of Indian Affairs was officially dead. British policymakers in Whitehall decided against maintaining the financial costs of military support, gifts, and reparations needed to stabilize British-Indian relations.

As the Earl of Hillsborough told General Thomas Gage, if the colonies failed to enforce laws preventing encroachment on Indian hunting grounds or regulate the Indian trade, which could “bring on an Indian War, they shall bear the Expence of it.” Fortunately for the southern governors, John Stuart and the southeastern Indians at least created a template for avoiding larger conflagrations.

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A Second Hand Hymn

by Megan Steiner pon first seeing the 1770 Bostonian broadside “A Funeral Hymn,” a viewer is immediately confronted with the image of a black coffin, complete with skull and crossbones, looming over the text.

It is surrounded with a thick black border, stark against the white space surrounding it. The coffin itself appears a monument of sorts, wrought for “George Whitefield,” whose name stands huge and bold, second in size only to the title below which it sits: “A FUNERAL HYMN.” This hymn, the broadside declares, is “Composed by that eminent Servant of the Most High GOD, the late REVEREND and RENOWNED” Whitefield himself.

Whitefield was an English evangelist of great popularity and influence in America, where he preached in open air and attracted the admiration of such famous figures as Phyllis Wheatley and Benjamin Franklin. It is thus no surprise that his name earns top billing, so to speak, nor that a hymn was ostensibly printed in his honor. Queerly enough, this hymn is a reprint, originally published in a 1746 hymnal under the title “On the Corpse of a Believer” and widely attributed to Charles Wesley, Whitefield’s friend and fellow evangelist. What are we to make of this deliberately misleading broadside? I believe that the answer lies at the very bottom of the broadside, in fine print outside the bold borders of the Hymn: “Sold at Green & Russell’s, in Queen-Street”. This broadside was designed to sell. From its visual emphasis, to its willful mis-attribution, to the

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supposedly self-elegized preacher it names and the hymn’s religious content, this single sheet appears a masterpiece of both 18th century marketing and Evangelical propaganda.

The hymn itself is prefaced by a short introductory paragraph, which details Whitefield’s passing – and, in so doing, reveals why this homage to an English preacher is unquestionably American: Life in full Assurance of a Better, on Lord’s Day, the Thirtieth of September, 1770, at 6 o’Clock in the Morning, of a sudden Fit of the Asthma, at NEWBURY-PORT, in NEW ENGLAND. -------- This HYMN was designed to have been Sung over His Corpse, by the Orphans belonging to His Tabernacle in LONDON, had this great, pious, and learned Man died there. departed this

Whitefield, we are told, was meant to die in London; his funeral, this hymn, were meant to belong to English literature – and yet, the famous preacher who spurred on the “Great Awakening” in colonial America died on American soil. The phrasing resounds, in an odd way, with victory: yes, the great preacher was born in England, intended to die in England, yet his life ended in New England, where he chose to be buried, and where his grave remains today. On the eve of the American Revolution,

George Whitefield Preaching in Bolton, June 1750 - Thomas Walley at a time of great American-English tension, it seems extremely significant that this broadside essentially claims George Whitefield for New England.

A second purpose comes through in this passage. It is not merely said that Whitefield has “departed this Life,” but that he has done so “in full Assurance of a Better.”

Thus, is the stage well set for the Funeral Hymn itself, which is not a lamentation of Whitefield’s death, but an envious celebration of the deceased. Wesley’s hymn seems instructive, a call to Christians to prepare for and welcome death as salvation must surely follow. It comes across not as an elegy to a lost friend, but as a construct urging readers to look upon death as beautiful. It begins: Ah! Lovely Appearance of Death!

No Sight upon Earth is so fair!

Not all the gay Pageants that breathe, Can with a dead Body compare.

be, to our minds, of paramount beauty. From a modern perspective, this can be a strange reaction to a death.

By all accounts, including Wesley’s own, Whitefield was his friend. Sorrow for a lost friend is not the emotion that springs to mind with this ode to Death’s beauty, and this odd fetishization of the corpse. Perhaps it only stands to reason that Whitefield’s death would be made an opportunity to preach the glory of Death – not only to the Christian audience at the funeral, but to the masses who might encounter this printed broadside.

The hymn goes on in earnest, with Wesley proclaiming in the next stanza: With solemn delight I survey, The Corpse when the Spirit is fled In love with the beautiful Clay, And longing to lie in it’s Stead.

Though his pleasure at looking upon death is indeed Wesley deliberately draws our attention back to that neat qualified with solemnity, Wesley turns immediately to little coffin standing atop the broadside, to the almost cute love of the “beautiful Clay,” the lifeless substance of the skull and crossbones, and tells us that this sight ought to uninhabited human body. Here comes through once more Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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the decided artificiality of the hymn’s construction, the willful sublimation of any natural sorrow or solemnity at death in favor of a determined effort to embrace the departure from life. He goes so far as to insist that he is “longing to lie in it’s stead” – perhaps Wesley truly does envy the dead, but the rapidity with which he suppresses his emotions and the fervency of his wish for the corpse’s status rings with a message: that those who read this broadside ought to strive for this same open-armed acceptance of death.

The rest of the hymn seizes upon this envy of the dead and this proselytizing tone, becoming increasingly more persuasive, even beguiling. Wesley assures of death’s peace and the ease which it brings: How blest is our Brother, bereft Of All that could burthen his Mind!

How easy the Soul, that hath left This wearisome Body behind!

As with most religious tract of the time there are reminders of corporeal sin, and the denigration of Earthly life, and so the soothing address to the deceased gives way to acknowledgments of the relative safety of the dead. With the next stanza Wesley begins an evocation all of the hardships and perils of life: this fortunate “Body”—no longer “Brother”—is hailed, “Of Evil incapable Thou”; free of “Misery”; “No longer a Sinner like me”; neither blighted by “Sickness, or shaken with Pain.” By this point, Wesley has become mesmerizingly convincing – that brief acknowledgment of “solemn delight” seems to have given way to wholehearted jealousy of the dead.

The fact that this is a printed broadside, intended for dissemination and public viewing, is inescapable. Wesley’s religious agenda is undeniable, thus however genuinely felt his assertions may be, one cannot help but read hypnotism in his carefully crafted exclamations. He appeals to the emotional state of his audience: “No Anger hence forward, or Shame, / Shall redden this innocent Clay; / Extinct is the Animal Flame, / And Passion is vanished away.”

Particularly considering the social and political unrest of the time, it seems telling that “Anger,” stained innocence, 62

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Portrait of Whitefield (1750) - James Moore animalistic impulses, and “Passion” are proclaimed vanquished in death – in the climate of the 1770s, anger and passion abounded. With war looming on the horizon, freedom from life’s troubles and anxieties must have sounded worthy of “longing” indeed – Wesley (and the broadside printers) knew his audience and took fullest advantage of the common feelings.

He woos his audience in the seventh through tenth stanzas utilizing blason of the corpse, glorifying death by demonstrating the liberation of each body part: This languishing Head is at rest; This quiet immovable Breast Is heav’d by Affliction no more This Heart is no longer the Seat Of Trouble and torturing Pain; The Lids he so seldom could close,

By Sorrows forbidden to sleep; The Tears are all wip’d from these Eyes, And Evil they never shall see.

Within these stanzas there is also a celebration of a cessation of motion: the Breast is no longer “heav’d,” the Heart “ceases to flutter and beat, / It never shall flutter again,” the eyes are “Seal’d up in eternal Repose.” By

this point, Wesley has utterly dehumanized the corpse of “our Brother” of the third stanza, not to mention the great George Whitefield, whose name the broadside bears so proudly. Death inherently dehumanizes, removes spirit from body, removes “person” from personage, until all that remains is in fact a collection of parts, a bit of “Clay,” as Wesley puts it. Phrased thus, death to some sounds unsettling and undesirable, to put it mildly. And yet, remarkably, Wesley has managed to transform this rather grim statement into something comforting. The cartoon coffin atop the broadside now appears appropriate rather than jarring and unseemly, a rather brilliant choice on the part of the printers.

It is only in the final two stanzas that Wesley reasserts himself, and emotions one might expect upon a death are brought to the forefront. “To mourn and to suffer is mine,” he states, but what might become an opportunity to mourn his lost friend is transformed into a final, impassioned lament for the continuance of life: XI. To mourn and to suffer is mine, While bound in a Prison I breathe, And still for Deliverance pine, And press to the Issues of Death.

rife with hyperbole, with religious sermonizing, with an overwhelming urge to persuade his audience that Death is indeed beautiful and ought devoutly to be wished.

Life is prison, the living body our jailer, and Death our “Deliverance”. Amidst this there are still hints that he did deeply feel for the loss of his friend, that death was not singularly occasion for celebration and exultation.

In its first printing in the 1746 hymnal, the piece was truly impersonal, meant to be used and reused upon any death. I cannot help but believe, though, that the choice to reprint and rebrand his hymn as “A FUNERAL HYMN” composed by and for “George Whitefield,” to place above it an explicitly detailed, false explanation of its province which describes Whitefield’s would-be funeral— complete with “the Orphans belonging to His Tabernacle in London”—is a sublimated expression of Wesley’s deep desire to grant his friend one final sermon, one final great oration, a lavishly wrought literary coffin. Judging from the broadside’s eight printings, spanning from 1770 to the 1790s, spreading throughout Boston, New York, Portsmouth, and Vermont, what could have been merely a secondhand hymn to an English preacher became an homage to an American moment, as well as to a man whom America has claimed as its own.

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XII. What now with my Tears I bedew, O! might I this Moment become!

My Spirit created anew, My Flesh be consign’d to the Tomb.

He does subtly acknowledge that he mourns the loss of his friend—in much the same fashion as the acknowledgment of his “solemn delight”—when he says that “now with my Tears I bedew [the corpse]” But he leaves thoroughly ambiguous the reason for his tears, in fact insists that his tears are not for the loss, but of jealousy – he cries looking upon the corpse from desire: “O! Might I this Moment become! / My Spirit created anew, / My Flesh be consign’d to the Tomb.”

Wesley’s ode to the “lovely Appearance of Death” is Portrait of John Wesley (1788) - William Hamilton Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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Capture of the Pirate, Blackbeard, 1718 (1920) - Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Pirate Colonies: Safe Havens on the North American Coastlines

by Sarah Fohmberg

Fifteen men <at on a dead man’< chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Drink and the devil had done for the rest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum he most recognized pirate T lyric was not even written by a pirate. Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island (1882), wrote this verse for his novel after reading about Edward Teach marooning his crew on an island called Dead Man’s Chest. Teach marooned 30 members of his crew there with only a bottle of rum, hoping they would kill each other. When he returned, 15 men were still alive.

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was infamous for his trademark fiery beard and brutality. He was one of many pirates to terrorize the western Atlantic coast and Caribbean during the golden age of piracy (1690 to 1730). Though their reputation of savagery was well-earned, Blackbeard

and his contemporaries were perhaps not as hated as their respective governments and enemies would want you to believe.

The Oldest Profession?

Piracy is as old as civilization. The word “pirate” comes from the Greek word meaning “to attempt” and has long been associated with thievery. Pirates plagued ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

As the world got smaller thanks to exploration and technological advances, traffic between the great powers increased.

Trade expanded between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Then the New World was discovered and suddenly men could circumnavigate the entire globe. As trade proliferated, so did piracy.

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commit acts of violence and thievery, pirates did not terrorize the coastal colonies of the western Atlantic or the Caribbean islands so much as provide necessities and luxuries, made cheaper than heavily taxed goods available through legitimate trade. For this reason, colonists supported piracy, or were at least unwilling to turn them into authorities. As settlements grew in the Americas and the Caribbean, so did pirate colonies.

Pirate Nests “Pirate colony” might be a misnomer. It was rare that pirates settled anywhere en masse. Without stigma in the early years, many settled individually or Pirate Captain on the African Coast, 1722 - Charles Johnson in small groups all over the world. It was common for RIGHT - An example of a gibbet. Made of iron, these devices men to temporarily leave their families for pirating before would hold a criminal imprisoned until only the bones remained. settling more permanently. It was also common for pirates They targeted Muslim and East India Company ships, to “retire” and settle down, often never returning to piracy. heavy with spices and silks, in the Indian Ocean. Spanish ships from the Americas, heavy with gold and slaves, were England had large populations of pirates, as well as the targeted in the Atlantic Ocean. Since the Spanish were the eastern coast of the Americas and the Caribbean. While earliest conquerors of the New World, they were the most New Orleans and Charleston, and even Boston and parts frequent victims of English and French pirates. In fact, of Maine, enjoyed some notoriety -- no small thanks to the pirates’ violent hatred for the Spanish was a root of their likes of Jean Laffite, Blackbeard, and Captain Kidd -- it is bloodthirsty reputations. the Caribbean that became notorious for pirates.

Although existing on society’s outskirts, piracy was not as • Tortuga Thanks to Hollywood, especially the Pirates stigmatized in early years. Pirates were often thought of as of the Caribbean film franchise, Tortuga’s association smugglers. Even Vikings contributed to the societies they with piracy is well known. Just north of Hispaniola attacked through exchange of goods. Viewed as savages (modern-day Haiti), Tortuga was first conquered by by their enemies, history often ignores that Norsemen the Spanish in 1492. Then the French and English were founding members of royal houses, including ones in arrived. From 1625 to 1654, the Spanish evicted Normandy and Russia. the French and British multiple times. They did not stay to keep them out, as the island was small and It wasn’t until the 1710s that European governments pursued considered insignificant. Spain’s eventual abandonment legal action against pirates as a whole enterprise. This is of the island allowed pirates to flourish. However, ironic since most of the best-known pirates actually started the height of Tortuga’s influence ended before as privateers -- mercenaries hired by a monarch to attack the golden age of piracy, when it became more and rob enemy ships. This was especially common during economically advantageous for pirates to find other wartime. Sir Francis Drake was one of many privateers forms of work. The final straw was when Tortuga commissioned by Elizabeth I. was abandoned for mainland Port-de-Pais as capital.

Once the wars ended, privateers were left to their own • New Providence New Providence was settled by the devices. Many chose to stick with what they knew best, Spanish, English, and French. Due to poor leadership, even if it meant living outside the law. While they did the island was rife with pirates like Charles Vane, 66

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Blackbeard, and Calico Jack Rackham. They used the Later, more than 40 pirates were executed in less than island’s prime location in the Bahamas to capitalize a month. Port Royal is also where Mary Read and trade between the Caribbean and North American Anne Bonny were arrested, tried, and imprisoned. They colonies. Calico Jack was more famous for sailing with escaped the noose, both claiming pregnancies. Read two women than for any merchant ship he seized. It was died at Port Royal; there is no record of Bonny’s fate. in New Providence that he met his lover, Anne Bonny.

Later joined by Mary Read, they enjoyed a few years of • Nassau Capital of the Bahamas and located on New notoriety together before being arrested in Port Royal.

Providence island, Nassau was probably the most infamous of pirate nests. Originally settled by the • Port Royal Originally settled by the Spanish, English and called Charles Town, it quickly succumbed Port Royal, Jamaica, quickly became to pirate control due to incompetent leadership. After the home base for English and the British failed to maintain power, the Dutch privateers hired to attack Spanish and French also lost Nassau.

Spanish galleons. Notorious By 1703, there was no governor, and for its flamboyant and raucous pirates outnumbered the inhabitants atmosphere, it became a haven 10 to one. They proclaimed Nassau for the same men, now pirates a “pirate republic” and even set up since privateering was no longer themselves as governors. Vane, state-sanctioned. Port Royal was Blackbeard, Rackham, Bonny, and the place to spend ill-gotten Read were just a few of thousands gains, especially on rum, to use Nassau as their home base. women, and gambling. It Thomas Barrow, one of the self-proclaimed was the stereotypical pirate’s governors, declared that he would paradise; for many years, the make Nassau a “second Madagascar.” vast majority of people living there were pirates, prostitutes, • St. Mary’s Island Located off the and violent criminals. Some even northeast coast of Madagascar, Ile Saintecalled it the “Sodom of the New Marie was a haven for pirates since 1685 World.” Port Royal was ideally due to its close proximity to trade routes, situated in the Caribbean, giving easy hideaways, and calm waters. The privateers and pirates easy mythical pirate colony, Libertalia, is access to Spanish colonies and rumored to have been on the island, trade. It was also big enough though no evidence of it has ever been to accommodate many ships to discovered. Like Nassau, Ile Sainteport as well as to repair. Famous Marie could accurately be described as privateers Christopher Mygns and a colony, since the population was almost Henry Morgan were among many who exclusively pirates who stayed for lengths used Port Royal to attack Spanish settlements like of time. Captain Kidd, Henry Avery (whose treasure Porto Bello, Panama, and Campeche. Despite the was rumored to be hidden in Libertalia), and Thomas notoriety of Blackbeard settling there with his family, Tew were just a few of the legendary pirates who lived Port Royal eventually lost its reputation as a haven and and started families on St. Mary’s Island. became the site of pirate executions. Gallows Point saw the end of Charles Vane and Calico Jack in 1720.

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The Middle Passage until he received a chest of medicine, presumably The expansion of the slave trade did more to delegitimize to treat the venereal disease rampant on his ship. piracy than any anti-piracy act. Just as pirates were not all male, they were also not all white. As many as a third of • Ocracoke Island is where Blackbeard met his end. pirates could be identified as Negro or mulatto, no small Months after he ended his blockade of Charleston, thanks to slave ships that congested the Middle Passage, Blackbeard retreated to Ocracoke off the coast of part of the Atlantic that connected Africa to the Americas.

North Carolina. Virginian troops cornered him there, and legend says it took five bullets and 20 Slavery was not a new construct, even in 1492. However, sword wounds to finally kill the pirate. Despite as colonies in the New World grew, so did the demand Blackbeard’s death, Ocracoke remained a pirate for cheap labor. Slavery as a wholesale enterprise took haven until 1750, when pirates were gone for good. off in the early to mid-18th century. Slave ships were built to maximize space as well as speed, which made • Boston was less a haven and more just one of many them attractive to pirates. Although pirates were not slavers cities who benefited from pirate’s smuggled goods. (perhaps in part due to their own code of equality), they Captain Kidd was tried there for piracy. Found became intertwined with the slave trade. guilty and extradited to England, he was hanged three times. First time, the rope broke. Second time, Blackbeard’s flag ship Queen Anne’s his neck broke. The third time, his Revenge was originally a French slave corpse was displayed over the Thames ship. Despite his reputation for brutality, River for three years as a warning. he also had a reputation of setting free those who were on ships he seized. Since • St. Augustine, Florida, is unique as many black pirates were escaped slaves, being not only the oldest American city, it would not be surprising if one of the but also as one built to fight pirates. The reasons the British attacked piracy in the last time pirates burned the city down early 1700s was to mitigate some of their was 1702. Prior to that, St. Augustine losses. Previously, colonies had almost was attacked, conquered, and destroyed celebrated pirates for their Robin Hoodby Spanish, French, British and pirate esque “give discounted goods to the forces. It is also the supposed location of poor” modus operandi. Now that pirates Captain Kidd’s long-lost treasure. While were directly and negatively affecting their perhaps not a pirate, Kidd did acquire money flow, they were not so popular. much wealth, which he allegedly buried along the Atlantic coast, in particular, off Former havens like Charleston, Ocracoke, and Boston the coast of Maine and in Florida. Some of his wealth became more and more hostile to pirates. has been recovered, but much of it still rumored to be lost.

• Charleston had a long and illustrious relationship with pirates. There’s even a building still standing The swashbucklers are long gone, except in Hollywood in the French Quarter called the Pirate House, and at Halloween. As a way of life, piracy continues, allegedly where Blackbeard spent a lot of time though with significantly less romanticism. If history is drinking and gambling. It was also a hub for any indicator, the ebb and flow of piracy is dictated not trading goods smuggled into the colonies by by humanity’s capacity to steal, but rather opportunities to pirates. In 1718, Blackbeard blockaded Charleston steal without serious repercussions.

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The Old Fort at Fort Wayne, Indiana 2018 Event Schedule

April 7: 13th Pennsylvania Regiment Drill 1777 Sat. 10am - 4pm

July 14-15: The Three Rivers Muster Sat. 10am - 6pm, Sun. 10am - 4pm

April 14: Montcalm & Wolfe: School of the Soldier Sat. 10am - 4pm

July 28-29: Colonial America 1775-1783 Sat. 10am - 6pm, Sun. 10am - 4pm

April 21: Early Modern Muster of Arms: Soldiers of Pike and Shot 1580 - 1610 Sat. 10am - 5pm

August 25-26: Post Miamies 1754-1763 Sat. 10am - 6pm, Sun. 10am - 4pm

May 4: Education Day For grades 4 & 5, Pre-registration required May 5-6: Muster on the St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sat. 10am - 6pm, Sun. 10am - 4pm June 9-10: Siege of Fort Wayne 1812 Sat. 10am - 6pm, Sun. 10am - 4pm

September 9: Be A Tourist in Your Own Hometown Sun. Noon - 5pm October 20: Fright Night Lantern Tours Sat. 6pm - 10pm, Tickets required November 24: A Christmas Open House Sat. 11am - 5pm

The grounds of the Old Fort are a city park, and you are welcome to explore them at any time.

During listed events, the buildings are also open to the public and tours are available.

For More Information: PO Box 12650 Fort Wayne, IN 46864 260-437-2836 events@oldfortwayne.org www.oldfortwayne.org Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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The Harpsichord in th 18 Century America

by Kerry Dubyk

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Archduchesses Mariana and Maria Elisabeth with Emperor Francis I and Archduke Leopold (1763) - Martin van Meytens Reliving History | Fall 2018

efore the birth of the B modern piano the harpsichord reigned supreme as the keyed instrument of choice from the Middle Ages until well into the 18th century.

Rijks Museum Amsterdam 1690 The harpsichord was invented during Scenes similar to this are found decorating the instruments of the the Middle Ages, with the earliest wealthy throughout Europe and the American Colonies. known written references originating in the 1300s. The term harpsichord actually The manufacturing of harpsichords began in Italy, refers to a family of keyboard instruments, which includes smaller versions such as the virginal and spinet. Belgium, and Germany and later France, Spain, and However, the term most often refers to a singular grand- England. Germany, England, Belgium, and France piano-shaped instrument with a triangular base composed dominated harpsichord manufacturing in the 18th century. of long bass and short treble strings. There are both Most American harpsichords in the 18th century were single manual and double manual keyboards, the latter imported from Europe, such as from renowned English of which would allow greater control over the sound the harpsichord builders Jacob Kirkman and Burkat Shudi.

The main material used to make harpsichords was wood instrument can produce. such as spruce or pine, as well other materials such as In the harpsichord family, strings are plucked when the ebony, basswood, or ivory for the key tops. Where the player strikes a key, rather than in a piano, where strings harpsichord really stood out was its elegantly ornamented are hit by a hammer. The plucking of strings is done by cases that were often painted with beautiful, elaborate jacks, which are thin slips of wood that are set in motion designs. Many motifs depicted intricate landscapes or by the keys. Mechanisms made of quills or leather pluck scenes from classic literature. Harpsichords of this caliber the string when set off by the jack. The sound of the were most commonly built for the elite in society. Their harpsichord can be affected by levers or stops, such as powerful tone and decorative, ornate cases were sources knee levers or pedals like those used in an organ. The of pride and entertainment. keyboard mechanism allows several notes to be activated at once, although the player is limited to only one to two In early America the music and the instruments commonly played were heavily influenced by the popular European octaves of playable notes. composers of the day. The harpsichord was a staple Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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A Portrait of a Young Woman (1801) - Mather Brown In this portrait, the young woman is Playing on a Kirkman Harpsichord. in compositions during the Baroque era of music from approximately 1600 to 1750. The harpsichord could be played solo or as part of an accompaniment. For example, it was widely used as an accompaniment in the basso continuo style in concerts and operas. The most wellknown composers who wrote for the harpsichord were from Europe such as Domenico Scarlatti, Georg Friedrich Handel, and J.S. Bach. Some of Bach’s most popular solo works continue to be performed on the piano rather than the original harpsichords it was intended for. These works include the “Well-Tempered Clavier” and the “Goldberg Variations.” Bach was a forerunner of the harpsichord concerto, exemplified as its role in his “Fifth Brandenburg Concerto.” Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart also wrote music highlighting the harpsichord but abandoned it later in their careers when musical trends shifted towards the piano.

during the 18th century. In fact, the virginal was supposedly named for its soft, mild tone that was “like the voice of a young lady”. The virginal was commonly associated with young women. For example, in a large portion of Dutch art painted before 1800 depicting women or girls with instruments the keyboard is the choice. In 18th century portraits women are often shown seated at a virginal since it was the most “housebound of instruments”. The primary purpose of painting a woman playing the harpsichord upheld the image of her domestic accomplishment since it illustrated the social standard of modesty, beauty, and talent rather than necessarily the need for her to become a musical genius. Harpsichords and virginals illustrated desirable feminine traits such as delicate hands and nimble fingers. The harpsichord, therefore, was seen as much more of a suitable instrument for ladies than the cello, horn, or the trumpet. These musical practices maintained a status quo of male leadership and the woman’s place in the Harpsichords in the 1700s, although typically made in home. If nothing else, playing the harpsichord served as a England, were popular instruments found in the home typical hobby or pastime to keep a daughter busy at home of well-to-do Americans. Young women were encouraged before marriage. to learn how to play the harpsichord in the home and at school, often as a way to show off a domestic image and The daughters of several America’s founding fathers were musical skills to a potential husband. Women were limited taught to play the instrument. Most notably, all of Thomas in the types of instruments they could play in order to Jefferson’s daughter took lessons on how to play. One maintain a positive reputation. The harpsichord fit the bill of Jefferson’s most prized possessions was a harpsichord as a suitable instrument women could play to entertain that is still on display at his home, Monticello. Jefferson family and friends. ordered his instrument from Jacob Kirkman, one of the

most-well known harpsichord markers in London at the The virginal, which is a smaller rectangular version of the time. Jefferson wanted the best harpsichord made for his harpsichord, was a preferred instrument for women to play older daughter Martha, and even had a second instrument 72

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made for his younger daughter, Maria. Martha took instruction from Claude Balbastre, an organist at the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Jefferson would accompany his daughters on the harpsichord by singing or playing the violin.

Jefferson required his daughter to practice playing on it for three hours a day, stating that music â&#x20AC;&#x153;will be a companion which will sweeten many hours of life to youâ&#x20AC;?. Even George Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family held the harpsichord in high esteem. While Washington was not known to play any instruments himself, he did provide instruments and musical education to his stepchildren and step-grandchildren. The daughter of Martha Washington, Martha Custis, owned a book of harpsichord music. Washington also purchased a harpsichord for his stepgranddaughter, Nelly Custis.

Seven Songs for the Harpsichord or Forte Piano, was published in 1788 and dedicated to George Washington. The Seven Songs compiled here can still be heard today. They are frequently played now on a standard piano.

composers such as Mozart, might be played on the Beyond its use in the home, the harpsichord was also harpsichord. Musical concerts were widely popular in the 18th century whether they were featured in concert a common instrument played in halls, in the theater, or at church. Harpsichords were the musical entertainment of often featured at concerts, either in solos or part of the day. Dancing was popular an accompaniment. In 1736 a large concert featuring the pastime in 18th century harpsichord was advertised in New York City. In the later America. Formal dances half of the 18th century most concerts were including the minuet and held in large cities with a variety of the gavotte, used by compositions including the European harpsichord with many other instruments such as the violin, flute, and clarinet. During the early 1700s most concerts would have featured music from European composers.

The first native-born composer was Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a friend of George Washington. Hopkinson was a gifted harpsichord player, beginning lessons at the age of 17. He even experimented with improving the tone of the instrument by replacing the quill mechanism that plucked the strings with Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood.

Mozart from ages 7 to 10 toured Europe playing the Harpsichord and violin. Mozart wrote music before he could even write a word. It would take 8 days of non-stop playing to play every piece of music he ever composed during his lifetime.

Anonymous portrait commissioned by Leopold Mozart (1763)

metal tongues, leather, and velvet cork. One of Hopkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most well-known harpsichord compositions, Seven Songs for the Harpsichord or Forte Piano, was published in 1788 and dedicated to George Washington. Thomas Jefferson wrote of how his daughter played Hopkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music and it moved the room to tears.

business in favor of manufacturing pianos. Harpsichord music would lay dormant until the mid-20th century when a revival of the instrument took rise based on the construction methods of earlier centuries. The harpsichord, which brought European music into the homes of the American elite and delighted the ears of 18th century concert-goers is still being revived by musicians today.

At the beginning of the 18th century the piano had been invented but was slow to catch on due to the harpsichord already being situated as the dominant refined instrument of the day. In 1777 an instrument was invented that was both a harpsichord and a piano, the change could be engaged by pressing a pedal.

However, by the mid-to-late 1700s the harpsichord declined in popularity.

The piano gained momentum, taking precedence in musical trends due to its wider musical range. By 1800 the abandonment of the harpsichord was well under way. Some companies halted production of harpsichords all together. John Broadwood, son-in-law The Shudi Family Group (1742) - Marcus Tuscher to the celebrated harpsichord maker Burkat Shudi playing the harpsichord with his wife and sons.

Burkat Shudi, adapted his harpsichord Burkat harpsichords were among the most renowned instruments of the kind produced in England.

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B

randon Vigliarolo, proprietor of Strano Books, is turning more than pages with his beautiful craftsmanship. Though he has only been practicing the craft a short while, his talent and dedication are evident. Each one of his creations is made by hand, start to finish, utilizing the exact same methods and materials as in the 18th century. In handling one of his books, you can feel the quality that cannot be found in modern bindings. Over the course of the last year he has begun selling his books at historical events. On his

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table you can find journals, as well as the occasional classic, bound in a variety of sizes and colors.

If a favorite novel or an heirloom cookbook is what you desire, Brandon can customize every detail.

Humble and eager to share his knowledge, this rising craftsman is soon to be known throughout the historical community for his beautiful creations. They say you should not judge a book by its cover. However, the cover can add so much to the enjoyment of a great book.

Artisan Highlight Brandon Vigliarolo

Can you tell me how you got started in book binding?

I have always been interested in historic bookbinding as a process and as a reenactor I wanted to find a way to get books that were appropriate and looked new. A lot of times you see reenactors have an antique copy of a book and it looks old it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look like something that is contemporary to the period they are portraying or a lot of times they have books that are simply not correct. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to fall into that trap so I decided to bind my own books. I started investing into the process and looking into what I needed and I found that the biggest cost seems to be the presses and the wood equipment that I would need. I have some woodworking experience, at least enough to build the basic equipment. So I decided to experiment with some scrap wood I had in my garage, put together some presses and a sewing frame and started trying. And it worked and I was thrilled that it turned out really well and so I decided to try to expand my library of equipment. Started buying more tools and realized it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be that big of a leap to start doing it as a business.

How long have you been working on the bookbinding process?

For about a year and a half. So not really that long although I have had a couple of other bookbinders tell me that my workmanship is good for being as new to the trade as I am. Which is encouraging because I am always kind of unsure because I leapt into it pretty fast but it seems to have worked.

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How many books do you think you have made?

Oh my gosh I have no idea. Probably over a hundred books. I have been producing them pretty consistently over the entire year for myself, friends, and customers. Yeah it keeps me busy.

What was the first book you bound?

The first one I did was a little 3â&#x20AC;?x5â&#x20AC;? notebook. It just had a thin cover that never quite laid flat. It was cloth bound and it was sewn on a really rickety frame I made myself, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even round or back it. It was square. It was structurally not quite right but in terms of methodology I was trying stick to conventional methods. So it was very plain, very simple and I think it is stashed in a drawer somewhere and I never touch it anymore.

What is your favorite part of the process?

My favorite part of the process is starting. It is a lot of fun to start making signatures, folding them over, putting the cords on the frame. Doing the actual sewing is kind of relaxing. It is not very high stress and not as demanding in terms of perfection or appearance because the book is going to go through a lot of transformation and refining at that point. So the amount of pressure at that point in the process is very low and it is kind of relaxing.

Bespoke Orders A book from Brandon customized in nearly every detail. Leather color, marbling of the paper, size, text, monogram, etc. left: Brandon uses a brass Porte Crayon to take down notes of a bespoke order given to him in person at an event in Louisville, KY. 78

Reliving History | Fall 2018

Is it easier to bind thicker or thinner books?

I think it is easier to bind thicker books. I get more room to round the back of the book and really give it that nice shape. The thicker books give me more to work with which makes it easier.

What are you doing there and what is the purpose?

I am wrapping the headband of the book. In the 18th century there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tape like we have now or even in the Victorian era so the all had to be sewn. Headbands are designed to prevent damage to the top and bottom of the book. If you have ever walked up to the bookshelf with a whole bunch of books and reached up and tipped the book down, over time that can damage the book. So this is to prevent that from happening.

Historically were there a lot of colors on the books?

I believe so. I know there are the basic leather dyes and basic colors of the leather that you can find in leather goods of the period. I have seen books that have different colors. Most of them have brown spines but there were definitely books that were pretty bright.

Do you do all of the steps yourself?

I do. From start to finish it is all me. I have requisitioned my wife a couple times to help with some sewing when I have been behind schedule but 99% of the time it is all me.

Brandon prepares to trim the edges of a book.

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I thought I heard you mention you even make your own glue.

I do. I use animal hide glue and wheat paste starch. Those are the same glues they used in the period. So the animal hide glue, when I say I make my own, I more prepare it. It comes in a crystalline form a lot like Jello. So you buy it and reconstitute it in water. Once it solidifies in a gelatin you scrape it into a double boiler and heat it until it liquefies again. Same with the wheat paste.

What is the oddest copy you have bound, the oddest text?

What I have always found interesting is the old occult books from the medieval period. So I have bound a few copies of like, really old books from Agrippa. Most of that stuff is for me. Most of the time I get asked to bind books it is like Hannah Glasse or novels or books of philosophy. So most of the stuff I bind for people is pretty standard.

What are you are looking forward to doing?

The name of my business is Strano Books and strano is Italian for strange. I wanted to sell some of the odder books. Or even not sell them but to have them. A lot of times when you see bookbinders they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t often have unusual or strange books. I want to be that person. So I am going to keep a stock of just odd unusual books.

Check Out Strano Books Facebook & Instagram: 80

Reliving History | Fall 2018

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The Continental Navy: A Revolutionary Persp

by Christopher Dunn

O

ne of the most curious aspects of the American Revolution is how 13 colonies engaged and defeated the greatest military power in the world. The Redcoats of the British Army and the men-o-war of the British Navy had the strength, skill, and capacity to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who might find themselves an enemy of the crown. With the experience and order of the British military, England seemed likely to smother rebellion in the American colonies before it really caught fire.

However, under the command of General George Washington, the patriot army gained recognition as a formidable foe on land, threatening Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global power. This success on land notwithstanding, the Americans believed they also must overcome the might of the British Navy. With important cities and trading posts located on the coast and on major rivers, the patriots found themselves in constant threat of a British attack by sea.

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pective

Continental Ship Alfred (1974) - W. Nowland Van Powell

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Guerrilla Navy

in number and organization, but quick strikes by land and With the pride of England anchored in Boston’s harbor, sea allowed the patriots to even these odds. as well as other port cities, it was believed that control of the seas would play an important role in the war for The lack of a Continental Navy at the beginning of the independence. Before the first battle was even fought, revolution meant the patriots had to rely on merchantmen the British showed their naval superiority by controlling and whaleboats. These small, ill-equipped vessels obviously patriot trade routes and harassing colonial merchant ships, could not match the strength of the British men-o’-war; rather, elevating tensions between the American colonies and they were intended to irritate and weaken British strength England. through any means necessary. Raiding and capturing British ships of any kind were their primary purpose. Admiral Since most of the British navy was anchored in Boston Samuel Graves of the British Navy expressed his fears before the beginning of the war, the patriots knew an about whaleboats early on, saying, “they lay in abundance assault was imminent. in different creeks round With trained militiamen this harbor, and might at the ready and a plan in a calm night surprise in place, the Americans one of the frigates of were prepared for the the squadron and carry coming attack. On the her by suddenly pouring eve of the battles of in great numbers.”

Lexington and Concord, Fortunately for Graves, Paul Revere and his the patriots did not companions -- having utilize this strength until been warned of British late in the war. movement -- slipped into the Charles River under A 18th-century whaleboat cover of night. Muffled looked similar to a oars gliding through modern rowboat, just the water, Revere and larger and longer, and company crossed the able to be outfitted with bow of one of England’s a mast and sail, cannons, largest war ships, HMS or swivel guns. Powered Somerset. Reaching the by oar, they could other side undetected, silently carry a large Official Presidential portrait of John Adams (1792) - John Trumbull Paul Revere mounted a number of men through John Adams took an active role in the formation waiting horse and made the water for a variety of the navy and the drafting of suitable operational his famous ride warning of sneak attacks. They regulations.

RIGHT - Commodore Hopkins (1776) - Unknown of the coming British were also inexpensive army. and in large supply in the colonies, thus Graves’ concerns. His fears came This close encounter with a large man-o’-war, as many true months after the war started when the patriots began British war ships were known, led the patriots to adopt using whaleboats in raids on British-held areas. Twice a type of naval guerrilla warfare that would prove useful the patriots burned an important lighthouse and captured against enemy forces. The British military was far superior British soldiers and livestock. In these raids, the patriots 84

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gained valuable munitions such as cannons, gunpowder, Need for a Continental Navy flints, and cannonballs. They used these arms to outfit Discussions of building a Continental Navy took place their own ships. before the first shots of the war were fired. The patriots’ initial intent was not to become independent from England, Fear of whaleboats became so great that even large ships but rather to gain more freedom and rights as colonists. of the line began to worry. Captain Broderick Hartwell of Many members of Congress were reluctant to approve HMS Boyne, a 70-gun ship of the line, wrote construction of a navy because it would to Graves concerning the whaleboats, force the colonists into independence.

“I am obliged to beg that you take Early in the war, attempts were into your serious consideration made to make peace with the what the consequences crown. However, the more may be should the the patriots reached out rebels endeavor to burn to King George III, the the Boyne, which I more he believed they think is far from were in open rebellion. being improbable, The king also saw considering that his military as far she lies out of the superior to whatever way of any ready militia was in the assistance from the colonies. He acted rest of the squadron.” on this confidence Hartwell was right to by ordering attacks be concerned, but the on coastal cities that patriots never had the he hoped would end the mind to organize such an rebellion through show of attack on the larger ships. force. One such attack took However, it was noted in a letter place in Falmouth, Maine. to John Adams that the British “are more afraid of our whaleboats than we With little to no opposition, the British are of their men-o’-war.”

Navy was able to sail up and down the coast and attack cities under patriot control. If any were thought to Along with the whaleboats, the patriots converted many be of no strategic significance, they were almost completely ships known as merchantmen into war-ready vessels. Like destroyed. The town of Falmouth soon felt the power of the whaleboats, these merchantmen were never meant to the British Navy. Falmouth did not have either strategic engage ships of war, but rather wreak havoc on British importance or a strong defense, and was a known patriot livelihood by attacking and capturing supply ships. Both town. A squadron of British ships attacked and razed merchantmen and whaleboats were operated in a manner Falmouth to the ground. Outraged and under pressure similar to privateers, never fully being organized into a from the Adams brothers, Congress decided it was time navy. Had they kept up their style of attack, the patriots to outfit a true navy. might have been able to capture a few men-o’-war and establish a more dominant role on the seas. Patriots such Congress decided to fund the construction of 13 frigates as John and Sam Adams had a different idea of how to in the hopes of being able to compete with the British. best match the British: a Continental Navy.

However, this was a costly endeavor and would take time.

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The patriots needed ships now. In haste, they purchased four vessels to begin building a Continental Navy: Andrew Doria, Cabot, Columbus, and Alfred (the flagship). The patriots already owned a few other ships that were being used for raids, such as the schooner Hannah and sloop Katy.

London, Connecticut, to await orders.

The 13 frigates Congress commissioned were eventually built and put to use as well. Disappointingly, all underperformed in the war. Most were either destroyed or captured by the British. The Adams brothers, as well as other patriots, wanted to build a With a makeshift navy grand navy that would in place, Congress match Britain’s. Their appointed Esek plan involved modeling Hopkins as admiral of the Continental Navy the fleet. Eager to act, after that of the British, Hopkins was tasked with but they lacked the skill destroying all British vessels and manpower to do so. he could find in the New This oversight proved to be England area, then sail south to the difference between controlling help defend the southern colonies. the sea and defending it. Perhaps if Inexperienced and greatly out gunned, Congress had decided to better fund one Hopkins knew this plan was doomed for failure. Instead, of the patriots’ best-kept secrets, the tides of war might he made course for Nassau after hearing of an undefended have shifted. cache of weapons and ammunition located in the Bahamas.

Joined by three more ships -- Providence, Hornet, and A Revolutionary Secret Wasp -- the squadron sailed on its first mission.

As a revolution became more likely, Yale student David Bushnell was at work designing an underwater vessel that An Unimpressive Showing could get close to the British Navy undetected. While Hopkins’ intelligence was correct, and after capturing the in school, Bushnell learned that one keg of gunpowder lightly defended cache and two more sloops, the fleet sailed exploding in the hull of any ship was enough to flounder it. back north. They soon encountered HMS Glasgow in what His idea was to somehow deliver a keg without detection would be the first true battle for the new Continental Navy. and detonate it underneath a British ship. If it worked, it Hopkins and his fleet engaged Glasgow in embarrassing could prove detrimental to the British fleet. fashion. The British ship showed that experience mattered more than strength by disabling Cabot, as well as severely Yale College, as it was known in the 18th century, had damaging Alfred, sending both vessels floating with no a number of volumes containing information of past control. This made it difficult for the other ships to join in experiments with submersible devices. From these books, the battle. Columbus was eventually able to join the fight, Bushnell put together a design for his own submersible but it was too late. With significant damage, Glasgow device, which would deliver powder kegs in secret and blow escaped. Defeated, the Continental Navy limped to New holes in the hulls of British war ships. However, Bushnell 86

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had a number of obstacles to overcome to make his plan feasible.

“Turtle” was the world’s first submersible vessel with a documented record of use in combat. It was built as a means of attaching explosive charges to ships in a harbor, for use against British Royal Navy vessels occupying North American harbors during the American Revolutionary War.

First, Bushnell had to design his vessel in a way that it could be properly manned for any covert mission. Four problems immediately arose: the vessel had to be watertight so it would not sink immediately; there needed to be sufficient air so the pilot could breathe while underwater; the pilot needed Bushnell’s second hurdle was to figure out how to keep to be able to see where he was going; and there needed to gunpowder dry underwater, as well as detonate it. He be a way for the vessel to dive and the pilot to control it. designed a way to put 150 pounds of gunpowder in a sealed barrel, which would be attached to the hull of an He solved the first problem by building the vessel out enemy ship. Once the pilot found his mark, he would drill of two hollowed-out sections of an oak tree. They were a hole in the ship with an auger attached to the gunpowder fitted together perfectly and sealed with caulk, much like barrel. This would then be detached, allowing Turtle to ships were sealed. Carved in a way that resembled a turtle, escape and leaving the bomb behind. However, Bushnell Bushnell’s vessel got the name Turtle. needed a way to detonate the gunpowder without harming Turtle and its pilot. He created a timer that would be The second problem, concerning air, proved a bigger activated by the pull of a string, giving Turtle 20 minutes challenge. However, by modeling his designs on previous to get to safety. The timer would trigger the fuse and experiments, Bushnell came up with a conning tower with detonate the gunpowder, all within the watertight container. brass snorkels that allowed air to reach Turtle’s cabin while underwater. A flap would close the snorkels when Turtle Attack on HMS Eagle dove, keeping water from the cabin. At that point, the pilot Unfortunately, the Continental Congress was unable to had roughly 30 minutes of air. afford funding of the Turtle, forcing Bushnell to pay for his project out of pocket. It was crucial for him that it be Bushnell’s third problem was particularly difficult. Light a success. After numerous tests and design changes, it was was an issue underwater, especially in an enclosed vessel; time to test Bushnell’s device. Ezra Lee, a colonial soldier, a candle flame would consume valuable oxygen. Bushnell volunteered to pilot Turtle on the dangerous mission. decided to use what was known as fox fire, rotting wood Bushnell, Lee, and a few other men lowered Turtle into the that emitted a green glow. While it would not illuminate water and were delighted that everything seemed in order.

Turtle’s cabin, it would give off enough light for the pilot Bushnell reportedly was asked if the turtle snapped, to see his compass and gauge in order to determine his which he replied, “Never, until the word is given.” location.

Lee and Turtle were underway and making good time when Finally, there was the problem of maneuverability. The idea Lee decided it was too dangerous to keep the submersible was for Turtle to dive underwater and move towards an at the water’s surface. He dove and successfully maneuvered enemy ship. Bushnell designed a method for the pilot to Turtle to its target, the man-o’-war HMS Eagle. Up to control water ballast, allowing the vessel to sink and rise at this point everything had gone according to plan. However, his will. He then figured out how to propel Turtle forward when Lee tried drill the auger into the hull of the Eagle, with a hand-turned propeller. it would not catch. Eventually, Lee was forced to give up Fall 2018 | Reliving History

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after several attempts and headed to safety. On the return journey, Lee decided to ditch the gunpowder to avoid capture. Unknowingly, he had started the timer, and 20 minutes later a large explosion was heard, confirming that the timed bomb worked.

Though its first mission was a failure, Turtle attempted a number of other attacks. Each attempt resulted in retreat. The Turtle project was eventually abandoned after it sank with the sloop carrying it. If the first mission had been successful, the British Navy would have been constantly worried about underwater attacks, something no force had ever had to worry about. Instead, the first submarine became a stepping stone to later advancements in submersibles. The Continental Navy switched its focus back to ships after the Turtle project was abandoned, and it would be 75 years before Americans successfully used a submarine for an attack.

In the end, the Continental Navy turned out to be a failure on all accounts during the Revolutionary War. Overambitious in the construction of a fleet and lacking funding, marines, skill, experience, and organized gun power left the patriots wanting in the realm of naval control.

Had Congress poured more money into converting merchantmen and whaleboats into war ships or researching submersible vessels, there might have been more American success. The change in focus from guerrilla warfare on the seas to building an organized navy was, in hindsight, a poor decision. If Congress had decided to keep up the guerrilla warfare, the patriots might have defeated the British sooner.

Still, even with the ill-fated first Continental Navy, the young country learned the importance of naval warfare and ingenuity -- a humble beginning for the behemoth that is the United States Navy we know today.

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Sources Chained Together Allan Greer, Property and Dispossession: Natives, Empires and Land in Early Modern North America (Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2018), 317; Bill Hubbard, American Boundaries: The Nation, the States, the Rectangular Survey (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008), 2002;

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Neogotiating the Proclmation of 1763 Fred Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 (New York: Knopf,) Gregory Evans Dowd, War under Heaven: Pontiac, The Indian Nations and the British Empire (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Patrick Griffin, American Leviathan: Empire, Nation, and Revolutionary Frontier (New York: Hill and Wang, 2007) Anthony Pagden, Lords of all the World: Ideologies of Empire in Spain, Britain, and France c. 1500-c.1800 (New Haven: Yale Univ Press) “Sovereign or Suzerain: Alexander McGillivray’s Argument for Creek Independence after the Treaty of Paris of 1783,” The Georgia Historical

Quarterly, 92, No. 2 (Summer 2008): 151, 154-7.

Milton W. Hamilton, ed., The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 10 (Albany: The University of the State of New York, 1951), 977-985.

Colin G. Calloway, The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) James H. Merrell, “The Indians’ New World: The Catawba Experience,” William and Mary Quarterly, 41, no. 4 (Oct., 1984): 537-565 Merrell, The Indians’ New World: Catawbas and Theirs Neighbors from European Contact through the Era of Removal (New York: W.W.

Norton, 1991) David H. Cockran, The Cherokee Frontier: Conflict and Survival, 1740-62 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1962); Tom Hatley, The Dividing Paths: Cherokees and South Carolinians through the Era of Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993) Gregory Evans Dowd, “‘Insidious Friends’: Gift Giving and the Cherokee-British Alliance in the Seven Years’ War,” in Contact Points:

American Frontiers from the Mohawk Valley to the Mississippi, 1750-1830, eds Andrew R. L. Cayton and Fredrika Teute (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), John Oliphant, Peace and War on the Anglo-Cherokee Frontier, 1756-63 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2001) Tyler Boulware, “The Effect of the Seven Years’ War on the Cherokee Nation,” Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 5, no.

2 (Fall 2007): 395-426; Paul Kelton, “The British and Indian War: Cherokee Power and the Fate of Empire in North America,” William and Mary Quarterly, 69, no. 4

(October, 2012):763-92 James R. Atkinson, Splendid Land, Splendid People: The Chickasaw Indians to Removal (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2003) Edward J. Cashin, Guardians of the Valley: Chickasaws in Colonial South Carolina and Georgia (Charleston: University of South Carolina

Press, 2009); Richard White, The Roots of Dependency: Subsistence, Environment, and Social Change among the Choctaws, Pawnees, and Navajos

(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983) Kathryn E. Holland Braund, Deerskins and Duffels: The Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America, 1685-1815 (Lincoln: University of

Nebraska Press, 1993); Claudio Saunt, A New Order of Things: Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733-1816 (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1999) Steven C. Hahn, The Invention of the Creek Nation, 1670-1763 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004) Joshua Piker, “Colonists and Creeks: Rethinking the Pre-Revolutionary Southern Backcountry,” The Journal of Southern History, 70, no. 3 Theda Perdue, Slavery and the Evolution of Cherokee Society, 1540-1866 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1979) Alan Gallay, The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South, 1670-1717 (New Haven: Yale University Press) Christina Snyder, Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity In Early America (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010) Theda Perdue, Cherokee Women: Gender and Cultural Change, 1700-1835 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998) Brothers Born of One Mother: British-Native American Relations in the Colonial Southeast (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press) John Richard Alden, John Stuart and the Southern Colonial Frontier: A Study of Indian Relations, War, Trade, and Land Problems in the

Southern Wilderness, 1754-1775 (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1944) J. Russell Snapp, John Stuart and the Struggle for Empire on the Southern Frontier (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996) Louis De Vorsey Jr., The Indian Boundary in the Southern Colonies, 1763-1775 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1961)Jenny Hale Pulsipher, Subjects unto the Same King: Indians, English, and the Contest for Authority in Colonial New England (Philadelphia:

University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005) Clarence E. Carter, “British Policy towards the American Indians in the South, 1763-8,” The English Historical Review, 33, no. 129 (Jan.,

1918): 37-56 Peter Marshall, “Colonial Protest and Imperial Retrenchment: Indian Policy 1764-1768,” Journal of American Studies, 5, no. 1 (April, 1971): Clarence Walworth Alvord, The Mississippi Valley in British Politics: A Study of the Trade, Land Speculation, and Experiments in

Imperialism Culminating in the American Revolution, 2 Vols. (Cleveland: 1917) “Journal of the Proceedings of the Southern Congress at Augusta,” in Walter Clark, ed., The State Records of North Carolina, Vol. 11

(Goldsboro, N.C.: Nash Brothers, 1895), 180-6 Lauren A. Benton, A Search For Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400-1900 (Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2010) John Smolenski, “The Ordering of Authority in the Colonial Americas,” in New World Orders: Violence, Sanction, and Authority in the

Colonial Americas, eds. Thomas J. Humphrey and John Smolenski (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005) Stuart to Tugulki and the Creeks, January 13, 1764, in Alden T. Vaughan, gen. ed., Early American Indian Documents: Treaties and Laws,

1607-1789, Volume 12: John T. Juricek, ed., Georgia and Florida Treaties, 1763-1776 (Bethesda, Md.: University Publications of America, 2002), 9

Stuart to Halifax, May 6, 1764, Colonial Office Records, Class 5 (hereafter C.O. 5) /65/f. 617-23; Joshua Piker, Okfuskee: A Creek Indian Town in Colonial America (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006) Tyler Boulware, Deconstructing the Cherokee Nation: Town, Region, and Nation among Eighteenth-Century Cherokees (Gainesville:

University of Florida Press, 2011).

George Reese, ed., The Official Papers of Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 1758-1768, Vol. 3 (Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1983), 1110-7 (Art. 14, 1112, Art. 15, 1112-3, Art. 18, 1113) Stuart to John Pownall, August 24, 1765, C.O. 5/66/f. 721-3, 730-3; Governor Johnstone to Elias Legardere, November 21, 1765, in Juricek,

ed., Georgia and Florida Treaties, 1763-1776, 291; Stuart to the Board of Trade, July 10, 1766, SRNC, Vol. 7, 237; George Johnstone to Stuart, September 30, 1766, C.O. 5/67/f. 420-1; Stuart to

George Johnstone, December 13, 1766 Major Robert Farmar to Stuart, December 16, 1765, in Alvord, ed., Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, Vol. 11, 127-9; Alexander Cameron to Stuart, May 10, 1766, in SRNC, Vol. 7, 212; Gage to Shelburne, April 7, 1767, in Gage Papers, Vol. 1, 134 The Upper Creek to George Johnstone, May 16, 1766, in Juricek, ed., Georgia and Florida Treaties, 1763-1776, 293-6.

Braund, Deerskins and Duffels, 154-6.

A Talk from the Cherokee Chiefs to Stuart, March 5, 1767, C.O. 5/68/f. 203-4; A Talk from the Lower Town Cherokee to Stuart, March 5,

1767, C.O. 5/68/f. 211-2; Shelburne to Stuart, December 11, 1766, in Alvord, ed., Collections of the Illinois State Historical

Library, Vol. 11 Hillsborough to Gage, May 14, 1768, Gage Papers, Vol. 2, 67.

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