Reliving History Spring 2018

Institutional Visiting

in

Early America

Reliving History the average & extraordinary of the 18th century

Spring 2018

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6.00

The Rise of Washington’s Whiskey Clay Tobacco Pipes Hygiene in Colonial America Captured Settlers

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18th Century Church Service Sunday 9a.m. at Amphitheater

Many Children Activities and Great Food!

Koh-Koh-Mah & Foster

Living History Encampment LLC

September 15 & 16, 2018

Family Friendly & Great Food!

10 Miles West of Kokomo, IN

FRENCH & INDIAN WAR REENACTMENT

Children’s activities - Candle Dipping, Children’s Parade, 18th Century Games and Toys, Cross Cut Sawing, Watch the Battles, Native Drum Dance and much more to see and do!

9-5 Saturday, 9-4 Sunday Adults $8, Seniors & Students $6, 5 & under free Free Parking/Handicap Parking, Sorry, no pets allowed Navigate to: 9,912 West, 100 South, Russiaville, IN 46979

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See website for schedule of events!

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From the Desk of the

Editor

Reliving History

EDITOR ABBIE SAMSON DESIGNER CASEY SAMSON

Fellow History Lovers,

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In July of 2017, I decided to create a blog that would focus on specific pieces of forgotten history. A little over a year ago, I wrote and distributed a research paper on English clay pipes in Colonial America. After launching the blog, I started to see my article surface all over the place and being used as a reference, aiding in a more accurate depiction of history. That is when we realized there is a niche that needs filled. Other people have the same desire for this uncommon knowledge.

To fill this need we created Reliving History with a mission of bringing heavily researched articles to other people who are passionate about history, and providing them a resource. Specifically, our articles focus on the 18th century and shine a spotlight on individual pieces of history that are often overlooked. I keep describing the information being published as “things you didn’t know you wanted to know until you had the opportunity to know it.” Our purpose is to provide you with that opportunity.

This collection of research showcases a variety of topics and exceptional selection of talented writers. I love when our writers pitch us ideas. I feel that if you write about something you are interested in, it translates into the research and the writing. If you yourself would like to submit an article, please visit the website for the guidelines. If you would like to submit a topic that you feel would make an interesting article, there is a form on the website to do that as well.

I hope you enjoy reading and learning from this as much as I have during the process of putting all of these pieces together.

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RELIVING HISTORY MAGAZINE 119 NORTH MERIDIAN STREET LEBANON, INDIANA 46052 317.688.1038

Thank you for sharing in this adventure with us,

Abbie Samson Editor

Spring

2018

Contents Captivity and War Currency in Colonial America Hygiene during the Revolution Ben Franklin’s Fire Department Beekeeping Artisan Highlight Cornet Francis Geary Asylums as Entertainment Vought House English Clay Pipes Women in Uniform Washington’s Whiskey Antique Leather Drinking Vessels

6 10 14 18 22 26 32 34 40 44 48 52 56

44 Clay pipes are everywhere in the 18th century reenacting hobby. Often we hear about how prevalent they are throughout archaeological digs. They are, in fact, found in the majority of sites inhabited by colonial Americans.

All of the sources and primary documentation for the articles in our publication are listed in appearance order on pages 66. If you have any questions about these sources or accessing them, please contact us directly at: 317.688.1038

A Photoshoot

for

On The Cover

Samson Historical

In January of this year, Samson Historical organized a photoshoot at the Koh-Koh-Mah & Foster Living History Encampment cabin located in rural Howard County Indiana. The purpose of the shoot was to have a few photos taken inside the cabin for a Back Cover Ad in the Early American Life publication. Samson Historical ended up using that shot on their own catalog and were able to capture some candid moments outside of the warm cabin.

Photographed is Chris Anderson outfitted by Samson Historical.

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By the 1750’s, the Native American tribes of North America were growing increasingly frustrated with the emergent influence of European colonial power.

18 A prolific inventor and an established author of practical and timeless lifestyle advice, Benjamin Franklin was also a noted civic pioneer in addition to his role in the Revolution of Colonial America.

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There are so many seemingly small facets of this old version of leathercraft that are so richly rewarding. Good materials, good craftsmanship, good products, and best of all, good appreciative people make the new cordwaining the joy it is.

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Among the many difficulties faced by the early colonists the constantly changing landscape of currency types and the availability of them presented unique challenges.

Captivity and War A Description of Native American Captivity during the Seven Years War

By: CL McLaughlin

B

of:

Beth Mary Enloe

Reliving History | Spring 2018

tesy

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Cour

The French were the obvious favorite amongst the tribes, as the French had mostly amicable interactions with their Native American

neighbors. Often, the tribes would trade fur and other goods with the French and many natives believed that if the French were to win a war that they would be rewarded with better land holdings, better relationships with their neighbors and more lucrative trading opportunities. Such tribes to align with the French included the Delaware and the Shawnee, along with many smaller tribes that inhabited what is now modern day Canada. The Delaware and the Shawnee were once a part of the great Iroquois nation which was aligned with the British, so their motivations for war were in fact deeper than assisting the French.

Being a collection of small tribes that essentially migrated away from the Iroquois, they hoped to form a collective nation to rival that of their former people.

Although this was the goal for the larger tribes, the smaller tribes were more interested in the opportunity to take captives and loot from the British, who made little effort to coexist with the Natives, who they deemed inferior.

Photo

y the 1750’s, the Native American tribes of North America were growing increasingly frustrated with the emergent influence of European colonial power. From the time the European settlers first established a presence in America, to the dawn of the Seven Years War, the natives had suffered dramatic losses, not only in terms of valuable land holdings, but also through the mass elimination of their populations from disease and colonial violence.

Although resentment toward their European neighbors was apparent, the Natives were growing ever dependent on the resources provided by the European settlers, this included metals that were not native to North America, ammunition and firearms. The Europeans too needed the natives as they were successful hunters, fur traders and knew how to work the land. Therefore, the Native Americans and the settlers were interconnected in a way in which they could not act independently from each other. So in the 1750’s, when conflict began to arise between the English and the French Colonial settlers, Native tribes knew that they had to make a choice of who they would align with if war was to occur.

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The Iroquois nation, which inhabited lands controlled and/or surrounded by the British, aligned with the British settlers. The Iroquois hoped that through an alliance with the British, they would have a better position to negotiate land claims and would profit from more lucrative trade. Although the Iroquois allied with the British, their war time presence was minimal. They essentially chose to side with the European neighbor that they believed would bring them the least amount of trouble.

When war broke out in 1756, the North American theatre was not just a conflict that involved European powers, but one that actively involved Native American tribes as well. With the unique opportunity to avenge themselves against their oppressors, many native tribes relished in the idea of not only looting their European neighbor’s settlements, but also enjoyed the thought of taking European captives.

She was forced to watch the scalps of her family be prepared for sale.

Captivity narratives began to emerge during and after the Seven Years War. These stories often described in detail the perspectives of the captives taken by the tribes during the conflict. One of the most famous tales of capture was the story of Mary Jemison, who was and assimilated into the Native American tribe that took her captive. Jemison recounts her captivity in great detail; she describes how she was taken by a group of natives and French men, who after looting her village walked them all to the point of exhaustion through the woods. She describes they were not fed or given water and that the natives would whip the children so they would keep up with the crowd. Complaining of thirst, she claims the children were made to drink urine. Once the captives had stopped for the night they were given food from Jemison’s father’s home. Her father, overwhelmed by the situation, was not able to eat although he was starving. They began to walk again until they reached a fort, where Jemison’s shoes and stockings were removed and moccasins were placed on her feet.

She knew then that she would be spared and that the fate of her fellow captives, excluding a young boy who was also given moccasins, was decided. She describes her family and neighbors were indeed killed and scalped. However the most harrowing recollection she recounts are in the aftermaths of her fellow captive’s deaths. She was sitting by the fire with her new Indian “family” having been forced to watch the scalps of her biological family stretched on rings, dried and prepared for sale. She claimed she knew that the scalps belonged to her family as her mother had red hair that was clearly visible in front of her at the fire. Her captors told Mary that her family had been killed because of the wrongs that the British had done to the tribe and it could have been avoided if the British would have considered the consequences of their actions. This illustrates that these acts were 8

Reliving History | Spring 2018

not just motivated by war, but also the desire for revenge. After this harrowing experience Mary was adopted into the tribe and renamed Dehgewanus. When she came of age she married a Delaware man and had a son named Thomas. Her first husband was killed on a hunt and she subsequently remarried again and had six children, one of which killed his half brother Thomas and another of his siblings.

Mary Jemison became a great ambassador for the Seneca tribe later in life and recounted her tale to a British minister named James E Seaver, who released the account as a captivity narrative. Although many believed that Seaver injected his own beliefs into the story, historians also argue that this was a fairly accurate representation of the life of Mary Jemison. Whether Mary’s story was embellished or not, it did exhibit the typical characteristics of Native American capture during the Seven Years War. When a settler was taken captive by a Native American tribe, either one of two things would happen to them. They would either be adopted into the tribe or brutally executed. If they were executed it could be a slow process. Often, captives would face death by ritual torture in public view of the entire population of the tribe. Men, women and children would watch these proceedings together and sing death songs before and during the ritual. Once the tribe was gathered, the process of killing the victim began, which could be accomplished in a variety of different ways. Such practices included being burnt to death by hot coals, with one coal being placed directly on the victims flesh at a time until the body was completely burned.

Accounts also referenced victims being stabbed repeatedly, whipped until dead or being jabbed multiple times with a sharp stick. The victim’s finger nails could be ripped one by one from their fingers, also their fingers could be broken, twisted and removed by children.

“Highlight Objects.” The British Museum. 2010.

from the only home that they had ever known, or at least the only home that they remembered.

Women often felt liberated when assimilated into Native American culture. In colonial society, women were often expected to maintain the traditional roles of European society, which was that of the homemaker.

Conversely, in Native American society, women were often empowered and offered more opportunity then their European upbringing would traditionally allow.

Women in Native American society often shared in traditional “male” activities such as hunting, making weapons and creating cloth and fur. Women were considered spiritual healers of some tribes, this lead to a reverence that colonial women had never experienced before. Once they grew accustomed to the ways of their adopted tribes many women resisted going back to their colonial settlements and many went back to their colonies under duress.

“Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes”.

Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books Limited, 2007.

Some extreme torture rituals were also described in which the victims were forced to eat their own flesh that had been ripped from their bodies. Some tribes would even provide food and water to the victim in order to keep them alive longer, there had been occasions where men stayed alive and endured suffering for days until they finally succumbed to death. The captives were not granted an instant death, but one that involved suffering and cruelty.

Alternatively, if a captive was lucky enough to be adopted by their captors, the captive would most likely not only become a member of the tribe, but also take on the persona of a deceased former member. In the case of Mary Jemison, Dehgewanus was most likely the name of a former member of the tribe who had recently died.

The captive would not only assume the persons name, but also their status within the tribe. Essentially the captive would be assuming the life of the deceased.

Although one would assume that the initial experience of capture was not a pleasant one, often captives would become accustomed to the Native American lifestyle and did not want to leave their new homes.

Such was the case with children, who were captured at a young age and raised by Native American parents. Essentially any attempt by their European comrades to reclaim those lost to capture would be met with resistance by children who spent most of their lives in the care of the tribe. These children felt as though they were being ripped

After the Seven Years War and in the shadow of a British victory, many Native American tribes experienced increased mistreatment at the hands of their colonial neighbors. Captivity narratives from this period slowly turned from a tragic historical fact, to a lucrative form of entertainment.

Not only were captivity narratives a successful economic venture, but they also acted as a means for increased racism within the colonies against the Native Americans. Essentially, violent captivity during the Seven Years War was a result of a tense and vicious relationship between the Natives and the colonial settlers, which only escalated in the decades to come. Such events are important understanding and appreciating the complex relationship between the colonies and their Native American neighbors.

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Currency in Colonial America

Continental Currency 6 Dollar Note November 29, 1775 (From “Colonial Currency� by Robert H. Gore, Jr., University of Notre Dame)

By: David Fahrenholz

A

mong the many difficulties faced by the early colonists the constantly changing landscape of currency types and the availability of them presented unique challenges.

In the colonies, in the early seventeenth century prior to the Revolutionary War, Great Britain controlled the types and valuations of acceptable currency. The most common forms of actual currencies used by the colonists were the British pound, Dutch guilder and Spanish peso. The practice of exchanging goods, services or repaying debts was done in a variety of ways including specie or coins, paper money or commodity money. Specie is an old Latin term meaning currency not in paper form but in coinage. Commodity money was the use of goods or services to repay public and private debt. Since Great Britain prohibited the colonists from minting new money it created a variety of issues. The most important and pressing issue was the lack of actual money available to the colonists to 10

Reliving History | Spring 2018

use. In addition to prohibiting the production of new money, Great Britain also only allowed exports of raw materials to other countries and buyers while they sold finished products to the colonies at a substantially higher price. This created a rather large trade imbalance and exacerbated the shortage of actual currency. This lack of coins and the prohibition on minting new coins created a patchwork of commodity commerce where barter was the main vehicle for completing the transaction of daily life. There was a wide breadth of items and constructs used in commodity commerce. In addition, each colony made different attempts at creating trade with commerce that made any exchange within the colonies even more difficult.

The most commonly bartered or commodity traded items were tobacco, iron nails, and Indian wampum. Tobacco as a form of

The Continental Congress issued a total of $241,552,750 during the American Revolution, which would be approximately $4,251,328,400 in current dollars.

currency was traded for goods and services by using an amount of tobacco leaves. Tobacco was an important form of commodity, but the durability of the leaves caused problems and one solution was to issue receipts against quantities stored in warehouses.

This became a popular form of commerce, but the receipts were difficult to divide up for smaller or different sized amounts.

Iron, in the form of nails, was in great demand due to the scarcity of the material and there are frequent reports of houses being burnt down just to collect the nails. Nails were easier to divide up

for smaller payments and proved to be popular for several years.

Indian wampum, or beads made of shells, were one of the most important commodity currencies in the early years of the colonies.

Wampum was a legal tender for several of the colonies including Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia and briefly North Carolina. The use of wampum started in 1637 and officially was stopped by the British in 1660 but it was still accepted as currency as late as 1710. Other items used as barter included beaver skins, otter pelts, deer hides, corn bushels, wheat,

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corn, coal, and cattle. This more common form of barter often created problems for colonists who received payment with items they had no use for. In these situations, colonists likely than had to complete yet another barter to acquire something else of need.

year, 1652. This was in case the English government found out.

They could than claim they had not made any coins since 1652.

In 1690, the Province of Massachusetts Bay created "the first authorized paper money issued by any government in the western world.” This was issued to pay for military expeditions during “King Williams War” Other colonies followed suit and issued more paper money for military conflicts. As this trend continued many of the colonies, particularly the middle and southern colonies suffered from growing inflation and devaluation of this paper money. The only colony that seemed to manage their money well was Pennsylvania which backed their currency with land. This constant devaluation in turn affected creditors in Great Britain.

The currency most desired and widely accepted in all the colonies were coins. Coins, normally made of silver or gold, were at the time circulated globally as opposed to paper money. The most popular coin was the Spanish dollar or eight Reales. Another complication was the unit of measure for currency or goods.

It was initially based on the British pound measurement.

When the rare coin was in the equation, depending on who minted the coin, colonists then frequently To address this situation had to cut the coin up British parliament passed into sections to allow for several currency acts. a more equitable split The first in 1751 allowed of payment and revenue the current bills in the remaining. The popular colonies to be used for Spanish reale was easily public debt only and no 1776 $1 Curency, Pewter. Phil Arnold - Professional Coin Grading Service divided up into eight pieces colonies were permitted which is where the phrase “pieces of eight” phrase came into being. to issue new money. The next act in 1764 did not prohibit issuance of new currency but prohibited it from being Paper money was another solution to the coin shortage. This designated legal tender for debts. The last act, an amendment, version of paper money is quite different than today’s. It was a was in 1773. This act allowed the colonies to issue paper type of bill of credit redeemable for coins. Due to the scarcity of money again as legal tender for public debts. This last act the coins, paper money was also issued for debts and collateral. came too late to appease the growing rebellion in the land.

The most common collateral was a bill of credit against land owned by the debtor. Thus, if the debtor could not repay the debt he would forfeit his land to the issuer of the paper money.

An interesting result of this type of loan against property allowed colonies to seize unpaid debts and then resell the land for a profit. This decreased the need for taxation.

Eventually all the colonies started to print this paper money which was really “fiat”currency. Fiat is another Latin term that originally meant a decree or authorization sometimes being royal in nature.

Paper currency that was deemed as fiat was due to in not being redeemable for gold or silver. It was also not backed by land or collateral. As time passed the many of the colonies over printed these bills and inflation started to become a reality when they failed to pull them out of circulation through taxes or debt collection. These types of currencies were used by all the colonies, but they essentially created more problems than they solved.

In 1652, in defiance of Great Britain and in response to the growing currency shortage problems, Massachusetts became the first colony to mint coins designated as shillings. They minted coins for several years but all of those in circulation bore the same 12

Reliving History | Spring 2018

Continental Currency 2/3 Dollar Note 1776 (From “Colonial Currency” by Robert H. Gore, Jr., University of Notre Dame)

In 1775 the American Revolution began, and the Continental Congress began to issue money known as Continentals. They were in various denominations from $1/6 to $80 and there were other odd denominations in between. They issued a total of $241,552,750 Continentals, which would be approximately $4,251,328,400 in current dollars if a direct comparison could be made, during the revolution. Unfortunately, there was very little coordination between Congress and the states which continued to issue bills of credit. This massive issuance of bills and the lack of a cohesive monetary policy caused the continental notes to plummet in value. In 1778 the Continentals were worth 1/5 to 1/7 the original value. In 1780 they were worth only 1/40 of face value. By May 1781 they were no longer considered tender.

This was the source of the phrase “not worth a Continental”.

After the end of the Revolution the Continental Congress had to address the collapse of the Continental currency and the debt of the individual states. In 1782 the Bank of North America

was started in Philadelphia as the first national bank. On July 6th the Continental Congress issued the new US Dollar.

Rampant inflation and the collapse of the Continental caused the constitution delegates to create the gold and silver clause which ensured that no state issued any bills of credit or any other tender but gold and silver for debts. This gold and silver clause was an attempt to stabilize the monetary crisis even though the new country had very little silver and gold of its own.

In 1792 the US mint was created and authorized to produce coinage for tender. Eventually gold rose in value and silver was removed as a backer for coinage. The gold standard lasted for many years in different forms with several suspensions until it was finally ended in 1971 by President Richard Nixon which meant the US dollar was no longer convertible to gold. This officially ended the original constitutional framers attempts at stabilizing a young country’s economy.

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The Bathers by Jean-Baptiste Pater

Hygiene During the

American Revolution By: Matthew Perry

H

istorical study can take on a life of its own for an individual, I am sure there are many of you reading this that would give anything to travel back to their favorite historical event. I for one would give almost anything to travel back to April of 1775, sit in Buckman Tavern on the evening of April 18th into the 19th, and witness the birth of a nation. While this is the romanticized image most history nerds have of the past, we tend to overlook the everyday basics of living that would horrify us, the things our forbearers put up with and lived without would make our modern skin crawl. In this article we will explore the answer that burning question, “why did everybody smell so damn bad?”

An American colonist living through the Revolutionary period did not bathe every day like most modern folk, most of them were lucky to submerge themselves in water roughly once a month. It was simply unheard of during a time where water was brought into the home by hand pumps, and heating water was an arduous task, no one thought about taking all the effort involved for a hot bath daily.

In our modern world, there are hundreds of different soaps and shampoos that are readily available for a small sum of money; this wasn’t the case during the colonial period. Our forbearers were a hardy bunch that was forced to create most of the essential items that they needed for everyday life, and soap was one of these necessities. Yes, there was soap available in stores, but many families thought it a waste of money to buy soap when they could make their own. Lye soap was the most common , and all that was needed was animal fat, water, and lye. This

doesn’t mean that every family had tons of soap lying around, but it was something that the self-sufficient colonists would have rather made than spent their meager wages on.

Though soap was around this doesn’t mean everyone thought it was a great idea to rub it all over their entire body. A bath was a luxury reserved for special occasions, or, according to the Monticello Foundation, an attempt to heal a chronic illness. A full submersion bath was cumbersome task and something that many thought a waste of time.

They couldn’t tell the difference because everyone stunk.

There was a belief during the period that hot baths could cure maladies such as rheumatism and arthritis, and Thomas Jefferson was one such believer. The only time that Jefferson wrote about cleaning himself, or bathing was when he traveled to a hot springs in Virginia to attempt to cure his rheumatism, the hot springs did nothing but relax the third president, and make him smell a little less terrible, the rheumatism went nowhere.

Monticello’s famous architect and Founding Father did not bathe regularly; he did as most Colonials did, which was wash his face, neck, and hands maybe once a day. Of course, this means that most of the people in the Colonial period smelled terrible, but as the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation so bluntly points out, they couldn’t tell the difference because everyone stunk. Most of the time the only cleaning ritual that many adhered to was a morning or evening wash in their bedchambers, using a sponge, Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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homemade soap, usually made of lye, and a wash basin with a small amount of water. No armpit washing, no cleaning the undercarriage, just wiping down the face and extremities. The lack of proper sanitation and the filth that all residents carried with them had clear and predictable consequences.

Diseases ran rampant through Colonial America.

According to a history of Preventive Medicine in Colonial America, the following diseases reached either epidemic levels or neared that level during the Colonial Period, “smallpox, yellow fever, diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, and malaria.” Now, germ theory was over a century away, so it is hard to blame them for their lack of knowledge of what caused diseases to spread, but if they were a little more concerned with their hygiene, it is obvious that to the modern perspective that these types of diseases would not have killed as many as they did. According to the Evolution of Preventive Medicine “Although there had been great developments in the field of medicine during the eighteenth century and a great improvement in popular intelligence to meet this advance in science, sanitary control was still based upon an insufficient body of biologic and medical fact.”

Late 18th Century Copper Bathtub

that the common man and woman from the past has to teach us. To study the bathing habits of Colonial America is to examine the evolution of germ theory, and the ideas of cleanliness that eventually has led to the world we live in today. It was a smelly world, but the silver lining is, you smelled so bad, you couldn’t smell the guy next to you.

In closing, there is much to learn from the study of everyday life from the past. While most of us are enamored with the significant events, there is so much

An

excellent

for the

Wash-Ball

Complexion

Take two ounces of Venetian Soap; dissolve it in two ounces of Lemon Juice, an ounce of Oil of Bitter Almonds, and the same quantity of Oil of Tartar. Mix the whole together and stir the mixture till it acquires the consistence of a thick Paste.

The Toilet of Flora, 1779

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Reliving History | Spring 2018

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

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Ben Franklin’s

By: David Fahrenholz

A

prolific inventor and an established author of practical and timeless lifestyle advice, Benjamin Franklin was also a noted civic pioneer in addition to his role in the Revolution of Colonial America.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706. He ended his schooling at age ten and began an printing apprenticeship with his older brother James at age 12 . In order to get his writings published Benjamin sent a series of now, well-known letters to “The New-England Courant” signed by Silence Dogood. Within these letters were early glimpses of Benjamin Franklin’s outlook on living with purpose and his call to civic duty. He ran away at age 17 to escape the apprenticeship and started a series of jobs including working as a 18

Reliving History | Spring 2018

printer. In 1727 at age 21 he created the Junto club which was an organization of intellectuals, artisans and tradesman who were interested in improving themselves and being civic minded in the community.

Lacking available books he used his own books and those from other members to create one of the first libraries known as the Library company of Philadelphia.

He is also credited with hiring the first American librarian. This library still exists today as a scholarly research destination.

An offshoot of the Junto club still exists as The American Philosophical Society.

Having established himself in Philadelphia society as a prominent and active citizen he continued his civic outreach and invested in properties in the area including the Fishbourne wharf along the

Delaware river. He also was publishing his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette.

In 1730 a fire that started on a docked ship swept through the wharf area destroying the warehouses and three homes. When reporting on the incident he commented that it was purely dumb luck that there was no wind that could have spread this fire into the rest of the city. By 1733 the Pennsylvania Gazette had published several articles about the dangers of fire and the need for an organized response to fires in the community. Fire was always an issue in colonial America and perhaps an experience Franklin had at age six was his motivation. In 1711 a fire swept through a Boston neighborhood and one hundred ten families lost their homes and an unknown number of lives were lost. Boston did have

Fire Department

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. (1776).

organized fire companies at the time known as Mutual Fire Societies, but they exited solely for the benefit of putting out members fires and the community at large.

He continued to publish regular articles about fire safety and an organized response to fires in Philadelphia. In 1735 he used a tactic that served him well by publishing an anonymous letter signed “A.A.” and describing himself as an old citizen. Benjamin Franklin wrote of being wary of shoveling live coals in the house and having to jump out a window due to the stairs being on fire risking your neck. He urged that chimney sweeps be licensed and regulated, and that annual chimney cleaning be the law of the city.

He continued to push the issue of fire prevention by referencing the Boston

Mutual fire society as clubs or societies of men who attended all fires and continually improved their skills despite this being inaccurate. Finally, a thirty-year-old Franklin in the year 1736 convinced members of the Junto club to band together and create the all-volunteer Union Fire Company.

The initial company consisted of 26 members with the official first volunteer member listed as Joseph Paschall who became the Fire Brigade clerk. The fire company proved to be popular and had to turn away new men after limiting the total for the Union Fire company to thirty members. Those that were turned away were encouraged to start new companies.

The members had to agree to provide six leather buckets to carry water and two stout linen bags to transport endangered property

away from every fire that they were alerted to. The members were assigned different roles such as water management, property protection, and placing lights in nearby windows to assist in navigation to the fires.

Homeowners were also instructed to have leather bags for water transport in the house for use in the event of a fire. The Union Fire Company, being an all-volunteer designated organization, was actually similar in structure to the Boston Mutual Fire societies. “Volunteers” paid annual dues and were assessed fines for infractions of the company’s rules. The rules included attending the meetings held throughout the year and being prompt at attendance.

These fines and dues incurred by the company members allowed the company to purchase its first fire engine in 1743.

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While Franklin promoted these volunteer fire companies as a needed fixture in the city to fight any potential fire that broke out, historical records indicate the volunteers were to fight only fires that broke out at a members house. Either way, by 1752 there were eight volunteer fire companies in the city with the same structure as the Union Fire Company. Franklin, still the shrewd business and civic leader, joined together with others from the Union company and the city to form The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss of Fire. This was a mutual insurer that offered seven-year policy that still exists today. Phillip Syng, along with Benjamin Franklin were two of the first twelve directors for the company.

He designed a cast iron logo of four hands grasping each in support. These were required to be displayed on the front of insured houses much like security companies do today. Phillip Syng, a silversmith by trade, is also noted for creating the silver inkstand used in the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. They wrote 143 policies the first year after the insurer was promoted by the Pennsylvania Gazette. During that year they experienced the first claim which caused the newly found insurer to lose nearly a third of the funds they had available. It was another

two years before they had another claim.

Also, in 1752 the Union Fire Company along with the Hand-in-Hand Fire Company purchased a fire bell and placed it on fourth street which was at the time a central location in the city.

In 1791 the Union Fire company had eighty feet of hose, 250 buckets, thirteen ladders, two hooks and no bags.

In contrast the Fellowship Fire company had one hundred twenty feet of hose.

The creation of the Union Fire Company was a landmark for Philadelphia and soon other cities had volunteer companies to extinguish fires. Firefighters were frequently pictured as men but as early as

1818 an African American slave named Molly Williams was described as a “very distinguished volunteer� for Fire company eleven in New York. In 1820 Marina Betts served as a volunteer who by her own accounts never missed a fire in ten years. In 1851 Lillie Hitchcock was considered one of the most famous female firefighters. She was only fifteen when she rushed to help the Knickerbocker Engine Company number five get to a fire after they were short a man. Lillie helped the

Fire Mark of the Philadelphia Contributionship In 1752 Benjamin Franklin and his fellow firefighters founded The Philadelphia Contributionship, the nation’s oldest successful property insurance company. The company formed as a mutual insurance company, one in which policyholders would come together to share the risks, modeled after the Amicable Contributionship of London.

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Reliving History | Spring 2018

men pull the engine to the fire while encouraging male bystanders to help. She was not an actual volunteer at the time, but the company bestowed an honorary membership on her after she continued to attend fires. Eventually she stopped going to fires but she never forgot the firefighters and left her estate from her marriage to Howard Coit to create a monument to the volunteers.

The Union Fire Company was active from 1736 to 1820 and may have existed until 1843.

(Left) Leather Firefighters Helmet Museum of London 1670-1700

The current Philadelphia Fire Department still traces their history back to this civic achievement by Benjamin Franklin. Of the many brave people who served as firefighters some of these were also Americans famous for other reasons. These include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, John Barry, Aaron Burr, Benedict Arnold, James Buchanan and Millard Fillmore.

USA, circa 1767-1800 Gift of Florence Alden Stoddard and Katharine Alden Stewart

Settler’s Encampment on the Auglaize

May 18-20, 2018

School Day Friday May 18 Seeking Military, Civilian, Native Americans and Merchants.

All who possess a trade, craft or skill to demonstrate, or persona relevant to the Great Lakes Region, Old NW Territory or the Middle Ground are encouraged and invited to attend.

1750-1815

Location: Historic Auglaize Village & Farm Village Museum 12296 Krouse Road Defiance, OH 43512 To apply, contact: Mike Judson auglaizehistory@gmail.com 574.536.9851 Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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Skep

to Jar Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.

-Thomas Jefferson, letter to George Washington (1787)

Staff Report

H

oney has been a valuable commodity all throughout human history. A fact that does not change during the colonial period.

The especially high value is based partly on the fact that honeybees are not native to North America. Honeybee hives were transported from Europe, particularly Spain, and portions of the Caribbean and first introduced sometime during the 1620s. Honey was valuable because it made bland food better, holds medicinal properites and was a vital trade tool for all beekeepers. The barter system was alive and well in colonial America, and a good beekeeper could provide for his family by the

barter process. Beekeeping gained in popularity among both the farmer and the estate owner. Entire shops were dedicated to the supply of beekeeping materials.

Thorley’s Original Honey Warehouse produced a trade card boasting the variety of hives and honey they sold.

This includes glass, straw, and box hives. The manifests of other stores show the supply of general beekeeping tools including multiple books, diagrams, and lectures that were all published on the topic in the period.

One of the most popular choices in hive material and construction for the Colonists was one that had been used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The idea of a straw skep which was a hand-woven basket with typically one single entrance at the front of the hive. Shaped like a cone to mimic the natural hive, the bees would enter the straw house and make their combs on the interior, but it proves to be inefficient because of the difficulty in adequately extracting the bees and their honey when needed without Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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breaking open the enclosed skep or killing off the bees. of the most popular instruction books on the method of beekeeping was the volume of Columella's "On Husbandry" These woven skeps developed from the enclosed baskets, dedicated entirely to the art. For colonists, it was essential into woven caps put over a wooden frame. This allowed to listen to the songs of the less breakage and damage to the seasons so to speak. If they overall structure when harvesting or began certain processes late in maintaining the bees. It was also the season, it would damage their safer for the bees, which previously potential for honey production were treated like an annual crop. and threaten their harvest which Every year at harvest time, sulfur was particularly important was burned near the opening to throughout the lean winter months. suffocate the bees before the basket was broken open. The The process according to bottomless skep had the advantage Columella, paraphrased for ease of allowing parts of the comb to of reading, "In the spring, open be removed without destroying the hive and clean it, make sure the hive in entirety, or needing to remove all spiders and webs, to kill the valuable occupants. as they damage the honeycombs.

Smoke the bees to force them to The development of the box hive, continue their works,� (he insists a hive using stackable wooden that ox dung is used as the fire frames sometimes enclosed in making agent) . Columella goes a wooden box can be dated, in on to explain that all beekeepers certain regions, to about 1740. should work with their hives Major evidence of this style only when sober and unbathed A Compleat Body Of Husbandry becoming popular in North because the fats from the soap Thomas Hale 1758 America isn’t clearly evident until used in bathing could cause about 1770. The advantage of this harm to the bees. The rest of the style was the added flexibility for the beekeeper to extract process of beekeeping is much the same as today. The bees the honey from the individual frames without having to must be kept safe from predators and allowed to follow damage the whole hive or an incomplete comb. This was a the natural rhythms of the seasons relatively undisturbed. more expensive option requiring hardware, where as the straw could be easily grown and woven in the home for no cost. Bees are fantastic creatures that have fascinated humans from the beginning of time. Their work and efficiency throughout The southern colonists came up with an ingenious idea for their lifespan is astounding. While the methods people use an inexpensive and accessible hive. In the south, beekeepers realized that bees were attracted to dead and hollowed out trees. The most popular tree to bees it seemed were gum trees. Southerners began harvesting bees and locating them in sections of dead and hollowed out gum trees. While it wasn't a perfect solution, the gum trees did allow access to the honey.

The drawback to this method was starting and maintaining the bees in the hive, as they were not easily herded and kept in such a large, relatively open space. The large open space and decay of the log also opened the bees up to predators, like spiders, that were more difficult for the beekeeper to protect against.

No matter which type of hive was used, there was a general process that needed to be followed. One 24

Reliving History | Spring 2018

From the Book: Tacuinum Sanitatis. Mid 15th Century

to keep and house them have changed, the life of the bee has not. Once the colony is established, the bees work tirelessly to build their hive and the honeycombs inside. Forager bees exit the hive throughout the day, taking nectar and pollen from flowers. According to the Australian Honeybee Council, a honeybee can carry its weight in nectar. The

bee returns home and transfers the nectar to worker bees, this transfer from the forager to the comb builder is what changes the nectar into honey. The honey is stored, and the beekeeper removes the honeycombs when ready to harvest.

A simple process that kept colonists, their predecessors, and their successors supplied with delicious honey.

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Artisan Highlight

Virginia Floorcloth & Textiles

Virginia & Randy Tucker

Staff Report

Virginia Tucker is well known for her quality block printed textiles. All of her scarves are hand dyed and blocked so no two are exactly the same. She and her husband Randy Tucker can be found at living history events throughout the spring & fall, their tent recognizable by the racks of beautiful scarves blowing in the breeze.

They also regularly host classes for both block printing and floorcloth making at Fort Meigs and in their home town of Louisville.

Their students spend two days learning in depth about the art and history of the craft, all while carving their own stamps under Virginia’s tutelage. Hesitant about making your own? Luckily Virginia takes on custom work for both the floorcloths and the scarves. This incredibly talented artisan consistently puts out beautiful works of art, including pieces that have been selected by Early American Life.

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Why Blockprinting?

I started making 18th century floorcloths and did those as a business for about 5 years. As more people started making them, I decided to look into expanding into something else. I had been interested in the scarves and my friend Angela suggested I learn to block print.

What is your background?

I am completely self taught. First was researching the techniques and methods of doing the actual printing. Interestingly, hand blocking in India today is done almost the same way as block printing was back in the 18th century. It hasn’t changed. I spent time hunting down original blocks and patterns.

While still learning about the dyes and process.

Photo Courtesy of: James Stewart

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What types of fabric & dye do you use?

I like the Jacquard brands for inks and colors because they are consistent as long as I am consistent. I have a recipe book with all my different colors. I experimented with a variety of inks but found that people want an 18th century look with 21st century amenities like the color stay over time.

A proud member of:

Before I can even block a scarf I have to dye the material, which involves a large stock pot and my recipes. I hand dye all of my fabrics. Randy helps a lot with this part as it is a labor intensive process. We use mostly silk and cotton scarves but have also worked with linen.

For my blocks, I hand carve different materials. Wood and metal are the longest lasting but if I am trying out an idea or perfecting an image, I carve out of a hard rubber.

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Where is your shop?

My husband Randy and I turned a spare room in our home in Louisville, Kentucky into a work room.

Everything has a place and I make an effort to keep it that way, though that doesn’t always happen when working on multiple projects. I have an old Hoosier Cabinet for storing an sorting all of my dyes.

Tell me about your first project.

I cut a length of test fabric the same size as a scarf. Then I laid out rulers as a visual to help guide my spacing. I started out rolling my ink out smooth and then rolling it on my block. I learned quickly that doesn’t work.

The blocks are so small and detailed that the color gets on the edges and transfers onto the scarf. That first fabric was totally garbage, but you learn with practice.

What is your top seller?

Right now the 1757 Bertalini Reproduction scarf is the biggest seller. I only make that one as a reproduction, in the original colors of the painting. It is a portrait of a gentleman and in it he has on this beautiful white silk scarf with a russet colored block. I make a couple of true reproduction scarves and they are only done in the colors of the original.

Greatest challenge you have experienced?

Finding new patterns! Pictures and paintings are good for ideas but can be hard to duplicate because many times we are seeing a small section, wrinkle, or it is folded. Most of the time it is hard to find one complete image of the pattern. I get a lot of inspiration from original printed fabrics that was brought over from France, England, India, or the Netherlands.

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What is your least favorite thing to do?

I don’t like dying blacks or reds. They take the most work and are the most difficult. Black is hard because you have to combine so many different things to make it. This was true historically as well. Also, in the 18th century the black faded quicker than other colors because of the components used.

What do you like to make the most?

I like the scarves because there is a chance to be more creative and there isn’t as much dead time. There is a lot of drying time between layers on a floorcloth. The scarves, a lot of times I can do start to finish in a day.

Anything new and exciting?

I have taken up marbling! I have to have new projects to work on. So far I am marbleizing small boxes and journal paper.

My goal is to be doing larger hat boxes for the fall season, also I am going to try the process on some scarves in the near future.

Do you take custom orders?

Yes! I have done both the scarves and floorcoths in 18th century and modern designs to fit a request. If there is something in particular that you have seen in a painting or an extant example, I enjoy recreating originals.

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Check out Virginia’s website for a wide variety of hand made scarves and block printed goods.

Virginia Floorcloth and Textiles is also on Facebook, Instagram, & Etsy. These one of a kind products are the perfect gift for anyone.

www.VirginiasScarves.com

Photo Courtesy of: Asha Brogan Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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Cornet Francis Geary

Photo Courtesy of: Jeff Williamson

T

he last half of 1776 was filled with defeats for George Washington’s Continental Army. Kicked out of New York City that summer, the Americans were chased from Harlem, across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. Up to 90% of the troops deserted, leading both sides to conclude the Revolution would end when Washington’s troop enlistments expired with the new year. Indeed, the biggest complaint of British officers in New Jersey concerned ambushes by fiendish militia that melted away into the wilderness. They ordered anyone without uniform caught in such ambushes to be summarily hanged.

Washington’s collapse was so rapid that British commander General William Howe was hard-pressed to keep up and opted to create a series of stations throughout New Jersey while planning a mop up campaign for the Spring. Among these outposts were the infamous Hessians under Colonel Johann Rall in Trenton, destined for the rude awakening the day after Christmas. Yet the Hessians were but one garrison in the state. Another was a detachment of the 16th Light Dragoons in Pennytown (Pennington) several miles north of Trenton with Cornet Francis Geary.

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By: Jeffrey John Williamson On December 14th, 1776 Washington was fervently planning his surprise advance on Trenton - still two weeks away - when Geary and eight dragoons were ordered to investigate reports of supplies in neighboring Flemington. Geary’s men were observed moving north and local militia prepared to intercept the Brits on their return.

In Flemington, Geary found stores of provisions, more than he could carry away. He decided to leave them and return later with recovery wagons. Additionally, several muskets were discovered which he confiscated. However, on the return the weapons proved too cumbersome for the mounted soldiers to carry while maintaining a satisfactory pace, so the musket stocks were broken and barrels bent before being abandoned.

Further along the route, a handful of patriots hid in the trees led by Captain John Schenck. There they prepared one of those ambushes the British disliked so much.

As the British came to a point just before Larison’s Corner where the road was closely flanked by forest, they heard a single shot ring out. Perhaps they slowed their pace a bit, but they

did not halt. A moment later, Schenck shouted the order to in force. Two weeks later, the successful attack on Trenton fire one then another volley. Geary was reported by his men occupied British military concerns as Washington resuscitated the to have ordered them into file to return fire, but by the second Revolution in stunning fashion. The rest is well known history. volley he was already laying in the road, shot through the head.

But Geary is not.

Schenck survived the war and in As the narrow road filled with thick smoke, sporadic gunfire and due course was buried a few miles away in the church the screams of horses and men, the Dragoons retreated, ultimately cemetery. Over the years, tales of the attack morphed into finding their way back south by an alternate route. Despite local legend as the site of the ambush was avoided by locals the volleys being one sided, all the remaining British managed at night, lest they meet the tortured ghost of slain Geary. to escape with the dead Cornet’s horse galloping to catch up.

In 1871, following local lore, researchers inspected a location Without horses of their own, the Americans did not follow. In 200 yards from the ambush site. Between two field stones, fact, they preferred to flee after firing in the opposite direction, in a shallow recess lay bones and buttons, all that remained melting back into the countryside as harmless noncombatants. But of Cornet Francis Geary, aged 24. Thus confirming the tale it was hard to miss the well dressed dead officer lying in the road. that after the British fled, the militia stripped the officer of valuables before unceremoniously dumping him into a hole on Later, the British returned to recover their officer, but the road his right side and hastily burying him. The field stone markers, had been cleared and none of the surrounding farmers revealed apparent afterthoughts. Then they fled back into anonymity any knowledge of what occurred. Some did admit to knowing while the war, far from ending, continued another seven years. there was a dead officer somewhere, but as they were naught but loyal British subjects – everyone was a loyal subject when Today the grave site in Amwell Woods is marked by a large questioned by ill-tempered British soldiers – they knew no details. monument erected by Geary’s familial descendants. While not responsible for turning the war, his death may have given Washington Reports were filed, and commanding officers wrote Geary’s breathing room for his surprise attack. It also illustrates the father, Admiral Sir Francis Geary, of the sad news. British tactics colonial militia used to great effect, not in pitched battles, patrols became less prolific afterwards, only venturing out but in surprise hit and runs that altered British strategic policy.

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A View of “Bedlam”: Institutional Visiting in the Early American Republic

The Interior of Bedlam, from A Rake's Progress by William Hogarth (1763)

By: Christopher P. Elmore

T

hroughout the historical record there is evidence of human fascination with the strange, grotesque, and macabre. Today, many are still shocked to learn of medical institutions entrusted with the care of the sick and mentally ill selling admission and putting their human charges on display, not unlike zoo animals. Yet as early as the mid 1700’s this was exactly the case in the first public institutions tasked with the care of the mentally ill.

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As we do today, colonial Americans struggled to define, understand, and treat mental illness. Persons were referred to as “lunaticks”, “distracted persons” or people that were “disordered” in his or her senses. Those who suffered from mental illness faced many obstacles. Public institutions to care for the indigent, aged, and disabled were virtually nonexistent in the British North American colonies pre-Revolution.

In 1751, Pennsylvania, inspired by its influential

Quaker population and assisted by leaders like Benjamin Franklin, established the region’s first public hospital in Philadelphia. The public petition calling for its creation noted that “the Number of Lunaticks, or Persons distemper’d in Mind, and deprived of their rational Faculties, hath increased greatly in the Province.” Yet the numbers alone cannot fully explain the growing societal interest in their plight.

Political conflict certainly contributed to of the Stamp Act Crisis, perhaps behavior of “idiots” and “fools” as the an awareness of “madness” as a socio- implying a causal connection between result of demonic possession, a problem cultural phenomenon. James Otis, a the rising agitation against British curable only by religious authorities, Boston lawyer instrumental in organizing control of the colonies and the growing or more likely, God himself. The opposition to the Sugar and Stamp specter of a mental illness epidemic. prevailing view was that once behavior Acts in Boston in the early 1760s was became so deranged that a person was deemed to have succumbed to madness Religious and philosophical tensions in perceived to pose a danger to him or by the winter of 1770, perhaps due in mid-18th century colonial America also herself or others, there was nothing part to a beating he received from an factored into changing attitudes toward more that could be done but confine, official after publishing a critical article that “poor unhappy set of People who banish, or execute. In this conception, about British customs enforcement. In a are deprived of their senses and wander those with a debilitating inability to “mad freak”, he smashed in the window about the Country, terrifying the Rest utilize their rational faculties warranted of Boston’s town hall and “madly of their Fellow Creatures,” as they treatment suitable for the other fired an assortment of guns out of the were described by Governor Fauquier. unreasonable beasts of the animal world. windows of his Boston home. Charges

of lunacy were not confined to the In the 1740s, the Great Awakening, led Just as the Enlightenment had hastened colonial elites. Opponents, both in the by the theatric Anglican preacher, George the evolution of political thought by United Kingdom and elevating the ideals of its colonies, eagerly individual autonomy ithin years every state decried “the madness and democratic of King George III,” government, the would have at least one public which actually turned movement also pushed out to be a reasonably physicians to adopt a institution to care for the accurate diagnosis, more empirical and as, the King’s bouts less religious approach mentally ill of “distemper” were to mental illness. The almost certainly caused by physical Whitefield, and the fire and brimstone most noted physician of the era was ailments that were controllable by of Congregationalist minister Jonathan Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signatory of the his doctors once properly identified. Edwards, had spread across the American Declaration of Independence, friend of colonies. Along with it came apocalyptic George Washington, and member of In 1766, the royally-appointed governor religious fervor and its associated the medical staff at the Pennsylvania of Virginia, Francis Fauquier (1758- disorders. The outpouring of emotion Hospital from 1783 until his death 1768), delivered an address to the and the exaggerated outward expression in 1813. Rush has been designated as colonial legislature that caught the associated with the evangelical movement the “father of American psychiatry” by attention of Shomer Zwelling, author of and its evolving theological mores drew the University of Pennsylvania, in part Quest For a Cure: The Public Hospital further scrutiny to questions concerning due to his publication of Observations In Williamsburg, Virginia, 1773-1885. when an individual necessitated a and Inquiries upon the Diseases of The intent of his speech was to call “return to their senses” and what role the Mind, the first textbook focused upon the Virginia House of Burgesses to society should play in providing the on psychological disorders. Through create the first public institution devoted individual a push in the right direction. his work, Rush popularized the solely toward the care of the mentally Before the Enlightenment, particularly rationalist belief that mental illness ill. In this same speech, the governor during the height of the European witch was, like all illness, a manifestation of also spoke favorably of the British craze of the 16th and 17th centuries, a disruption of natural physiological concessions that led to the resolution accepted cultural wisdom treated the processes rather than some form of

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divine or supernatural possession.

Rush was also a leader in the drive toward institutionalizing and attempting to cure those found to have disorders of the mind. Public hospitals were rare in the colonies prior the Revolution, and mental hospitals were even more so. In fact, the Public Hospital “for the Reception of Ideots, Lunatics, and Persons of insane Mind” in Williamsburg, Virginia, founded in 1773 at the behest of the aforementioned Governor Fauquier, was the first, and at that time only, hospital in the colonies devoted exclusively to the care of patients with mental disorders.

Fauquier was under the impression that such institutions were more common than they actually were, having contended in his proposal that “[e]very civilized Country has an Hospital for these People, where they are confined, maintained, and attended by able Physicians, to endeavor to restore them to their lost reason.”

their room and board and provide their own doctors. Within 100 years, every state would have at least one public institution to care for the mentally ill.

The impetus to build these public asylums to house and care for the mentally ill came in part from the view of some colonial elites that doing so made them more civilized. Whereas previous approaches emphasized removal, isolation, or segregation,

and the only one familiar to colonial elites. Thomas Bond, a central figure in securing political support for the Pennsylvania Hospital, was inspired by a tour of Bethlem on a trip to England.

Popularly known as “Bedlam,” a word now synonymous with chaos and confusion, the hospital’s nickname did not belie its infamous reputation. An 1815 investigative report submitted the British House of Commons noted, for example, that “patients were often chained to the walls as well as manacled and that one of the female patients had been chained without release for eight years.”

The lurid descriptions of “Bedlam” did not deter colonial religious and political elites from seeking to emulate its successes.

Institutions that survive over long periods of time must demonstrate the ability to adapt to changing times and, by the middle of the 18th century, Bethlem had done just that. Medical knowledge was replacing religious superstition as the basis for treatment.

Public health reforms focusing on cleanliness and orderliness encouraged public institutions to help thwart the dissemination of “bad humours,” a generic term used in 18th century medical parlance to identify the purported cause of an affliction. But most importantly, Bethlem had pioneered a model of financial success. At a time of economic strain and fiscal constraint in England, Bethlem was able to achieve financial selfsufficiency by the 1770s, in part through its system of ticketed admissions.

The question of expense was central to the viability of public institutions for the

In 1762, the Pennsylvania Hospital decided to allow the public to tour the insane wing for a fee.

Although efforts to establish public institutions for the mentally ill had, at this point, fallen short in South Carolina, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts, the Pennsylvania Hospital did have a ward specifically designated for mentally ill. By the turn of the century, several other states, including New York, had established institutions for members of the public who were deemed “insane.”

In most cases, priority was given to those who were indigent and did not have family to care for them. Wealthy patrons, nevertheless, were typically admitted to these public facilities so long as their families could pay for 36

Reliving History | Spring 2018

Rush, along with Dr. Philippe Pinel in France and William Tuke in England, were championing an approach known as “moral treatment.” Trained physicians would focus on encouraging productive activities and discouraging unproductive ones, often through force or coercion. The morality of this medical approach lies in its goal of curing the mentally disordered individual from his or her malady, but also in the belief that individuals could choose to participate fully in their therapy and thus had some control over their success or failure in being cured.

Yet in the pre-Revolutionary era, mental health reformers in the colonies would have been limited to London’s illustrious Bethlem Hospital as a model for their institutional designs. Established in the thirteenth century, Bethlem was the oldest psychiatric hospital in the world

sick and particularly the mentally ill. The Williamsburg Public Hospital was built “entirely at state expense and the indigent patients therein were wholly supported by state funds.” The public generally approved of public expenditures only for those deemed to be truly deserving, and there was much uncertainty surrounding an individual’s culpability in his or her descent into madness. As the view that mental illness was physical, and therefore curable, gained wider acceptance, questions surrounding an individual’s moral culpability became more complex. But even if physicians were gradually accepting the view that lunacy was a physical-not a moral- condition, political elites were still responsible for ensuring that the public was safe from potentially violent individuals who were without full possession of their faculties.

From an institutional perspective, asylum tourism was motivated, in part, by financial concerns. Bethlem Hospital

had thrived, in part, due to its successful system of paid admission. In 1762, the Pennsylvania Hospital decided to allow the public to tour the insane wing for a fee. In Prisons, Asylums and the Public: Institutional Visiting in the 19th Century Janet Miron contends that, “authorities hoped to dispel negative publicity and persistent stereotypes by advocating that people view their institutions in person and see for themselves the great progress that had been made in them.”

Accounts from some visitors suggest that this goal was at least partially met.

Reverend Manasseh Cutler described his 1787 visit to the Pennsylvania Hospital this way:

“We next took a view of the Maniacs…. Here were both men and women…. Some of them have beds, most of them clean straw. Some of them were extremely fierce and raving, nearly or quite naked. This would have been a melancholy scene indeed, had it

not been that there was every possible relief afforded them in the power of man. From this distressing view of what human nature is liable to, and the pleasing evidence of what humanity and benevolence can do, we returned . . . “ In this context, it is easier to understand the development of asylum tourism in the mid-eighteenth century. Held to account for their use of taxpayer monies, those charged with managing public institutions found it difficult to justify denying the public admittance into their facilities. This was especially true given the dark conditions characteristic of public houses in earlier times, and even more so due to the rather severe methods of treating mental illness at the time.

Many hospital administrators felt that opening up their asylums to public view would dispel some of the more lurid rumors that inevitably circulated around conditions within their walls. The endless “cat-and-mouse” game of patients

Trepanation noun trep·a·na·tion

1. an act or instance of using a trephine, a surgical instrument for cutting out circular sections From Europe in the Classical and Renaissance periods we have evidence of trephination from archaeological and literary sources Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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escaping and administrators responding therapeutic both for the institutionalized admonition to keep baser instincts with enhanced institutional security and the public-at-large. Each group in check.” The asylum’s inmates, further heightened interest in the asylums served as an example to the other. meanwhile, would be comforted by this and skepticism about their methods. Observing the disordered would serve regular- albeit limited and decidedly The public’s concerns were not necessarily to remind those still in full possession awkward- interaction with those deemed unfounded. Despite the introduction of their mental faculties that they too to be mentally sound and functional of “moral treatment,” members of the public. insane asylums were still

coercive institutions.

Undoubtedly much While it was an of the public interest improvement over the was humanitarian. In squalid conditions of addition to making a these institutions in charitable contribution earlier eras, this new to a worthy institution, professional approach community -minded to restoring mental Christian families health still involved the could see themselves use of medications and as fulfilling their moral therapies applied to the duty to care for the body in order to reduce sick by offering them the inflammation to the friendship and comfort. brain that was thought to Grob notes that some be the underlying cause “[c]olonial Americans of the mental disorder. also believed that they Physicians implemented had a collective moral this method by severely obligations toward reducing their patients’ individuals whose diets; drawing off their illness made them blood; plying them dependent upon others with combinations of for the very means purges, emetics, and of survival.” The An ill man being bled by his doctor, 1804 narcotics; and drenching observant religious in them in hot or cold “The usual treatment of insanity is particular continued water. At the same time, to view mental illness merely symptomatical.

In mania they they also sought to through the prism bleed, in melancholia they purge.” control their patients’ of religion. “By the behavior by establishing final decade of the J.G. Spurzheim, MD psychological eighteenth century the Observations on the Deranged Manifestations of the Mind, or Insanity dominance over them, mental abnormalities most often by the associated with threatened or actual use of physical could fall into lunacy but for the grace extreme forms of religious belief and restraint and corporal punishment. of god and their steadfast determination practice were a recognized medical Some medical professionals and religious to live a moral life. As historian Joseph problem in both Great Britain and leaders seemed to believe that public Andrews notes, “Madness as the beast the newly formed United States of visitation of the “insane” wards would be within operated as both leveler and America.” Despite growing acceptance 38

Reliving History | Spring 2018

of physical, as opposed to supernatural, explanations for mental disorders, religious impulses still shaped the opinions and behaviors of many in this shifting institutional environment.

While some asylums like the Pennsylvania Hospital eventually ended the practice of paid admissions, institutional asylum tourism continued, and indeed expanded, throughout the 19th century.

Most public asylums allowed the public to tour the grounds, although “the attraction of the asylum shifted from witnessing the ‘bedlam’ of a human zoo to admiring the material side effects of this shift toward treatment: beautiful gardens, manicured lawns, interesting architecture and proportions that rivaled most cities’ greatest wonders.” Those responsible for managing the institutions finances generally understood the importance of having public sympathy and the patronage of the upper classes and those who aspired to join them.

Eventually some asylums even published patient periodicals, based on the belief that “writing could help cure diseased minds, and at the same time provide good public relations for the asylum.”

Regardless of one’s belief in the supernatural, there is no denying that the ghosts of our past are ever present.

Institutions devoted toward the care of “lunatics” and the “insane” have long been out of fashion, but interest in their history in still in vogue. A niche industry of ghost-hunting and photographic journalism has emerged to document the history of these institutions and the experiences of their inhabitants, demonstrating that the human thirst to be entertained by “disturbed” and “unsound” is hard to quench. 18th Century Americans didn’t

have the wide array of entertainment options that we have today. Certainly some might question the ethics of financing mental institutions through tourism and the decency of those who would visit these institutions. In a world with little understanding of the nature of mental illness, this practice could only have had the effect of further stigmatizing those struggling with mental disorders. Commenting on the modern phenomenon of exploring abandoned asylums, historian Carol Yanni concludes, “Curiosity about the patients doesn’t erase stigma; it perpetuates stigma.

Sneaking around asylums diminishes the lived experience of the patients who suffered in there. It’s not OK to lie in someone else’s coffin, or wear someone else’s straitjacket.” Perhaps she is right. But history suggests that curiosity about the macabre and unusual is not likely to abate.

A coloured etching of James Norris by G. Arnald 1815. Pictorial description of James Norris’s restraining apparatus in Bethlem.

Norris, an American marine who had been a patient in Bethlem since 1800, was mistakenly referred to as William in the British press and in many places long thereafter.

Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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The 1759 Vought House Staff Report

T

he crossroads of the American Revolution lay across New Jersey. While Boston and Philadelphia are where many events took place, Jersey saw a great many actions both of singular importance and of anecdotal note that illustrate the fact that colonists found themselves at cross purposes. To that point, the loyalist governor during the war was none other than the son of the revolutionary Benjamin Franklin, William.

Therefor it is most fitting that today “Jersey” holds the distinction of having the only preserved and certified Loyalist house still extant. The Vought House in Hunterdon County would not be worthy of distinction, or even survival, if not for the actions of Johann Christoffel Vought in 1776. Vought’s parents were immigrants from the Palatinate who settled in New Jersey among other Dutch and Germans. Johann, born in 1714, became head of his own family in 1749. With the acquisition of farmland near the King’s Highway and the South Branch of the Raritan in Lebanon Township he set about building a home in 1759. Being a man of property facilitated

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Johann’s economic growth and rise in the community as he became an elder in his church and a county road commissioner.

The Vought family would likely have been little different from hundreds of other landowners if not for the American Revolution. With events in Massachusetts pushing rebellion along in 1775, the Continental Congress ultimately realized independence was the only acceptable alternative. As the armies of both Patriots and the British moved towards the next conflict brewing in New York City in the Summer of 1776. The militia in and around Lebanon were called to muster. On June 24, 1776 the day the militia were to march for the defense of New York, Johnann led a group of twenty or more loyalists against nearby Jones’ Tavern, breaking up the gathering. Real bloodshed was averted, but the militia did not march. They were not, however, cowed into remaining loyal. Instead a few nights later they gathered outside of the Vought house to arrest him.

Photo Courtesy of: 1759 Vought House

The tale of Johann’s arrest is made more dramatic with the detail of his attempted escape out of an upper level window of his home wearing naught but his night shirt. However, he was very quickly captured and thrown into the Trenton jail.

Over the following weeks the Continentals lost New York City and Washington’s disintegrating army retreated across the state, local authorities could not decide which side to back. In fact, their allegiances may have shifted on an almost daily basis. During this time of confusion, Vought and other loyalists were released from custody. Remaining loyal, and doubtless a bit rankled at the indignity of his arrest, Johann went to Morristown and received a captaincy in an American Volunteer cavalry unit. Unfortunately for him, the Loyalist volunteers were despised by their patriot neighbors looked upon

with suspicion by the professional British military. Still Johann attempted to prove his worth. In December of 1776 he was captured by Continental forces in the battle of Branchburg. A Jury of Inquisition chose to release him, possibly in a prisoner exchange, but not before ruling that his Hunterdon County property was forfeited. The family was exiled first to British controlled Staten Island then off to Nova Scotia and Johann Vought did not serve in any further capacity during the war.

After peace, the Voughts returned to what became the United States, however, they were never again to return to their homestead in New Jersey. Instead, Duanesburg, New York was where the personal tale of Johann Christoffel Vought ended when he passed away in 1809.

The house was sold at auction in 1778 and altered on at least Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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one occasion in 1830. The house was ultimately left unoccupied but otherwise not molested until 2005 when it was found to be in the way of the local school expansion. Destined for destruction with few officials to speak for it, the house was about to go the way of so many other old structures when the public became aware of the significance of the house: there were no other known Loyalist houses still known to be standing in the state.

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection and then the NJ Register of Historic Places and National Register ultimately fashioned an agreement in which the house itself was spared. Under the protection of a preservation easement of the New Jersey Historic Trust, the property is now owned by the 1759 Vought House Inc. Initially started to conserve the property as the only officially recognized Loyalist House in existence, the 1759 Vought House Inc. has made decisions to return the building to its pre 19th century configuration rather than spend precious

funds on maintaining the later additions not made by Vought.

As a result, the original structure has slowly been revealed including the peculiar ornamental plaster and ceiling art.

There are few surviving examples of these traditional German decorations in any other surviving colonial homes.

The house that Johann built for his family stands as a testament of the turbulent history of neighborly strife during the American Revolution in New Jersey. Perhaps more importantly, however, it is a reminder that the history of Loyalists and Patriots had a common root in this country: to build a home and legacy for one’s family that would outlast their lifetime. In the case of the Vought House, it was his very actions as a Loyalist, a traitor to his neighbors, that ejected him from his home yet paradoxically preserved it from the fate of most of its contemporaries.

What he risked and lost is ours to preserve and remember.

1759 VOUGHT HOUSE

The only Revolutionary War home interpreted as a Loyalist site in New Jersey, a state which saw serious internal civil strife, especially early in the war, when the fate of the rebellion was decided right here, between the Hudson and the Delaware.

∞

Restoration Has Begun!

Help Us Continue Our Journey!

Visit www.1759VoughtHouse.org to donate. ∞

Please Visit Us on Facebook:

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Reliving History | Spring 2018

The Old Fort at Fort Wayne, Indiana 2018 Event Schedule

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

July 7-8: 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. Mary’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 Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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English Pipes in

Colonial America

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By: Abbie Samson

C

nier

lay pipes are everywhere in the 18th century reenacting hobby.

Often we hear about how prevalent they are throughout archaeological digs. They are, in fact, found in the majority of sites inhabited by colonial Americans. In these digs there is often a mix of imported and domestic pipes. The purpose of this article is to address some of the components of imported English pipes into the colonies. Being so prevalent as artifacts, the common clay pipe has often been overlooked beyond its use as a method for deducing the timeframe of a site. Fortunately in more recent years there has been an interest from some in the archaeological community to delve into the social aspect of pipe smoking in Colonial America.

Pho to C ourt e

sy o f: Ti na S u

As I mentioned, pipes have been the go to artifact for use in dating sites. It is important to note that the Herrington Method (1954) and the Binford Method (1962) used for dating pipes in many archaeological reports have since come under scrutiny. Many experts do not consider the methods accurate. These methods use the size of the stem holes to date the pipes, assuming larger holes in the smaller stems definitively denoted earlier pipes while conversely the smaller holes in longer and thinner stems indicate pipes of a later era. While there is some evidence to corroborate the collective stem hole theory, it has limited accuracy Spring 2018 | Reliving History

45

and the churchwarden which averaged 24-36 inches came about in the middle of the century (Ayto 1979; Walker 1977).

Joseph Highmore: Mr Oldham and his Guests c. 1735–45

and been proven irrefutably wrong on several occasions. One of the major incidents was the dig at Martin’s Hundred where pipes with a Binford dates of 1616-1619 were found above a slipware dish with a date of 1631(Noël Hume 1982).

The Binford and Herrington methods, as well as the several other calculations that have been derived to date pipes on stem holes, also take into small account the bowl size of the pipe. There is evidence that earlier pipes have a smaller bowl because of the expense of tobacco. As tobacco got cheaper for England to import and colonists to smoke themselves, the bowls got larger allowing for a larger quantity to be smoked for longer.

During the dig at the South Grove Midden trash pit of Mount Vernon, circa. 1735-1775, over 2,000 white clay pipes and fragments were brought up. Fifty of the different pipes and fragments were able to be identified by a maker’s mark (Atkinson 1969).

Makers marks on pipes came into fashion in 1619 after the establishment of a pipe makers’ guild in London. This guild set the parameters for the methods and pipes that were allowed to be produced. For example the “Virginian Pipe” was regulated to 8.5 inches long. This probably put the “Virginian Pipe” in the category of a short pipe since at the same time the Virginian Pipe was manufactured a roughly 13 inch pipe is also found at the Midden dig.

The longer pipes such as the adlerman which averaged 18-24 inches 46

Reliving History | Spring 2018

As a note on the longer pipes such as the tavern pipe, a commonly heard myth is that the pipes were broken as they were passed from person to person for purposes of sanitation.

This is not the case. The reason so many of those fragments are found is likely due to the fragility of the long stem or the pipe being broken due to clogging. Even the latter was less common as the communal pipes were cleaned by placing them in an iron rack and baking them in a fire (Ivor Hume).

One motif found on several different pipes found at Mount Vernon includes two foxes holding grapes. This is in reference to Aesop’s Fable of the fox and the grapes which would have been easily understood in the 18th century (Grigsby 1994). Evidence of General Washington referencing this specific fable occurs in two different letters written in 1788. One letter was to Lafayette and the other to Henry Lee, Jr. (Twohig et al. 1997). There is evidence of other fables being used in pipe design as they were commonly told in the 18th century to teach lessons in behavior.

Beyond fables and history, there are several other common themes in pipe decoration. With the amount of trade taking place over the ocean, and the colonies being coastal, it is no surprise to find pipe bowls designed with ridges like shells.

Other common aquatic elements include ships and anchors. In

In 1762 George Washington ordered 144 long pipes and 2,880 common pipes. addition, floral patterns are found on both bowls and stems including blooms, vines, and specifically acorns. Animals like horses, foxes, and eagles make frequent appearances in motifs, probably attributable in part to fables, and part to the common appearance of the creatures in the everyday (Atkinson 1969). Masonic symbols, family crests,

and pipes bearing tavern signs are found in far fewer quantities in colonial digs, but were incredibly widespread in England. With all of these beautiful designs available and relatively inexpensive for the most part, the most common finds are plain pipes only bearing a maker’s mark or cartouche.

A large reason for the prevalence of the plain pipe, we can deduce, come from the sheer number that were imported. Pipes were brought into the colonies in large quantities. These quantities were measured in a gross and a cask. An invoice from Robert Cary & Co. of England to General Washington at Mount Vernon, lists 25 gross as the amount of pipes in 1 cask and a gross as a dozen’s dozen, or 144 (Ragsdale 1989).

In 1762 Washington ordered a gross of long pipes and a cask of common pipes. This equates to 144 long pipes and 2,880 common pipes (Abbot et al. 1990). It is possible that Washington ordered such a large quantity of the small pipes to disperse to the enslaved people of Mount Vernon. While there is not direct record of this, occurring at Mount Vernon, the practice is documented on other sizable tobacco plantations as both enslaved men and women smoked pipes (Chan 2007).

of the appropriate pipe does as well. Middle class would have had access to the long tavern pipes and churchwardens at establishments such as taverns, coffee houses, or other places of social gathering but would have most commonly smoked a small to medium length pipe that could have required them to hold it. Upper class persons could have the long, ornate pipes that require a seated position for enjoyment, like the long churchwardens in their home. As noted above, General Washington ordered a smaller number of long pipes that could have been for personal use or entertaining.

In summation; the prevalence of embossed pipes at sites insinuates that plain pipes were the most common but a person of average means could likely still afford a molded pipe of some design. The main economic divider is the length of the stem. The lower the class, the shorter the stem. Though one fact is abundantly clear, the use of English white clay pipes reached every corner and class throughout all of Colonial society.

All of this factors in to the answer to the question: what kind of clay pipes should we be seeing? The answer is a little fluid. As far as my research shows the design or embellishment of a cast pipe had little bearing on the price. An embellished pipe cost more than a plain one but the main factor is the length. The low working class should have a short pipe. While the term “short” is not defined, a good rule of thumb is the pipe should be able to be controlled without the use of one’s hands. This leaves the hands free for labor and those pipes would have been the cheapest. As the social class goes up the length

Reproduction & Original 18th Century Clay Pipes www.SamsonHistorical.com

(765) 481-2662 Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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Women

in

Uniform

A Brief Account on Courageous Women During the Revolution

"Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth, June 1778," engraved by J. C. Armytage after a painting by Alonzo Chappel, ca. 1859.

By: CL McLaughlin

“I

n the garb and with the courage of a soldier� were the words used to describe Anne Marie Lane and her participation in the American Revolution as a soldier who fought alongside the continental army. Although stories of American women participating directly in combat during the revolutionary period are rare, such instances did occur.

Most individuals who lived within the colonies were inspired by the thought of an independent nation apart from their British motherland. These colonists were angry at their government, their lack of representation on legislation that directly affected the colonies, and the thought of paying taxes to a nation that they felt was a foreign entity. With the rise of an independent

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American Government, many colonists sought to directly participate in the war effort. Although the traditional view of the patriot is usually masculine, women were also faced with the pressures of living in a colony under British rule. Women and men both felt slighted by the British government and government imposed regulations. Such regulations included increased taxation on popular items such as tea and cloth. Therefore the colonists, regardless of gender, desired independence from a motherland that they viewed as one that did not give them adequate representation when it comes to matters of taxation and governance.

When war broke out between Britain and the

“I desire you would remember the ladies” -March 31, 1776 Abigail Adams to John Adams

United States, many were inspired to join the war effort. As the United States formed an army to fight their British adversaries, many women sought to be a part of the struggle. Although the colonies did not readily accept the idea of women participating directly in the revolutionary war, they did not completely disregard the idea either. Although women often were found protecting the homestead during the revolution, some women participated directly in the war alongside their husbands and fellow countryman. Many of these women were considered to be followers to help with domestic duties, however many women throughout the war were presented with ample opportunity to show their bravery and devotion to the cause, not just as domestic partners but as fellow soldiers.

“Although the colonies did not readily accept the idea, they did not completely disregard the idea either.”

Getty Images

Perhaps the most famous example is Molly Pitcher. It has been an object of great debate among historians as to whether or not the story of Molly Pitcher is largely

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Detail of the Painting, Battle of Germantown

folklore meant to represent all fighting women during the American Revolution, or if it the actions described of Molly Pitcher were actually that of a single individual. There is no doubt however that Molly Pitcher herself did exist, in fact many agree that the story of Molly Pitcher is actually the story of Mary Ludwig Hays, with Molly being a common nickname for Mary during that period.

from exhaustion. After bringing her husband to safety, Molly took his place on the battlefield by loading the cannons to fire at the enemy. After the battle she became known for her fearlessness and was recognized by General Washington, who made her a military officer for her bravery. In turn, she was given the nickname “Sergeant Molly” which stuck with her for the rest of her life.

We do know that Mary Ludwig was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and married to William Hays who enlisted in the continental army in 1777. Mary joined her husband in Valley Forge and participated in menial tasks such as laundry and cooking food for the soldiers. Molly earned her nickname during this time of domestic service, as the soldiers would shout “Molly! Pitcher!” when they wanted fresh water. Molly became a favorite among the soldiers and often took it upon herself to go above and beyond her required service. She truly showed her devotion to the cause in 1778, during the battle of Monmouth. During the battle Molly was bringing water to the troops on the battlefield through the gun fire and smoke. Although she was in the middle of gunfire she paid close attention to her husband who was working as an artilleryman loading the cannons. It wasn’t too long after the battle started that Molly noticed her husband had passed out

The story of Molly Pitcher bears a striking similarity to one of Margaret Corbin, who too found her husband fallen on the battlefield and took his place loading cannons. It has been said that by watching her husband load a cannon for many years, Margaret was an expert artillery soldier, much to the astonishment of her fellow combatants. However, unlike Molly Pitcher she sustained a severe injury during Battle. Despite her injury, Corbin was officially registered for her bravery with the 1st American Regiment, and officially discharged from the army in 1783. After the war she was rewarded for her heroism with a $50 annual pension from the government of Pennsylvania. By receiving this income she became the first woman in the United States to receive a military pension.

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Although they should be commended for their bravery, Molly Pitcher and Margaret Corbin did not intend on fighting in

the American Revolution as a soldier, rather they sought to help the men fighting and their country by assisting them with basic needs such as food and water. Molly Pitcher and Margaret Corbin rose to the challenges that befell them and did what needed to be done in the face of adversity.

Alternatively, Anna Marie Lane followed her husband John into battle as a soldier. She dressed as a soldier, trained as a soldier and fought as a soldier. She was never questioned by the continental army on her gender as soldiers slept in their clothes and rarely bathed. Lane and her husband participated in many campaigns throughout the colonies, including the battle of Germantown.

To be a woman, she knew the repercussions that would occur if she was ever found out. Therefore when she was wounded in the Battle of Germantown she never sought treatment for her wounds which eventually left her crippled for the remainder of her life.

Despite her injuries, she served in the army until 1781, and retired to Virginia with her husband. After the war, Anna Marie Lane was given a pension of $100 a year for her participation in the war; she was described as performing extraordinary military service “in the garb and with the courage of a soldier”.Anna Marie’s story wasn’t actually acknowledged until the 1920’s when reporters in Richmond were uncovering pension records from the American Revolution and found her pension records amongst the documentation.

Since that time a plaque has been erected in Richmond honoring her courage and participation in the revolutionary war.

Anna Marie Lanes story is an interesting one as it begs historians to research other women who were apart of the American Revolution as soldiers. Anna Marie Lane’s fellow soldiers just never asked the question of her. It can be assumed that as she was fighting in the war with her husband there must have been some suspicion that she was not a man. However,one would wonder if the other soldiers in her regiment even cared, as long as she was working with them to fight for the same cause. Anne Marie’s story is unique but not uncommon,often women in the Revolution were found out after their deaths on the battlefield or during treatment for a variety of wounds and diseases. However, you would have to wonder if the men around them suspected their gender, did not care what their gender was, or were indifferent to it. Historians in turn do not know the full scope of women’s participation as uniformed soldiers in the American Revolution; more study is needed on the subject especially as it pertains to primary source evidence, although that evidence is difficult to find. Despite the varying opinions on the subject, one must acknowledge the participation of and the impact made by women who fought for freedom during the American Revolution.

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Modern reconstruction of a distillery located on the estate of George Washington. Photo courtesy of Kristin Hopper

The Rise of Washington’s Whiskey

Staff Report

S

Quality 18th Century Clothing & Accessories www.SamsonHistorical.com

(765) 481-2662 52

Reliving History | Spring 2018

ince the first European settlers reached Jamestown and Plymouth Rock, we have been a nation of drinkers.

Libations have played an integral role in our national identity and have played a significant role in many of the most notable events in our nation’s history. The early settlers brought their preferred hooch from the mother country, enjoying Caribbean Rum, beer, and hard ciders. As the United States grew, so made the demand for liquor, and this expansion of demand led to development not only of traditional spirit production but also the birth of a decidedly American tradition. This American tradition was not exclusive to the everyday folks of the time, many of our Founding Fathers not only enjoyed spirits, but were bonefied fans of a hard drink. Thomas Jefferson loved wine so much he special ordered it from France to be delivered to Monticello, Samuel Adams was a brew master and still lends his name to a popular American beer, and John Adams drank hard cider with almost every meal. But, there was one Founding Father that took the love of spirits to new levels, a man who used his agricultural background to not only build a distillery, but turn that distillery into a money-making machine, and that man was George Washington.

American Colonists loved to drink and to drink a lot. According

to the Colonial Williamsburg Association, the average American indeed drank from morning to night . While our modern sensibilities may frown upon this, we must remember that spirits played an integral role in their everyday lives, not just as a form of celebration or drowning our sorrows as many of us are guilty of today. There was also a practical reason for the massive quantities of booze that the ordinary Colonist took in through their lifetime, it was safe.

By the year 1800, the Mount Vernon distillery produced 11,000 gallons of corn liquor.

Safe you say? But, today many people paint spirits as a killer, something that ruins your life and kills your liver! Yes, there are adverse side effects of intaking large quantities of alcohol throughout your life, but it beat the alternatives for the American Colonists. Water treatment was unheard of, these people had no idea what a germ was, but they did know that drinking water could kill them. Diseases carried by drinking tainted water could kill, but when it was boiled as when preparing liquor or beer, it was safe to drink. This goes a long way to explaining why even Washington’s Army was given rum every day, it was safer than drinking water that doubled as the camp latrine.

the history of colonial whiskey, I jumped at the opportunity. The story of whiskey is the story of the American spirit, the “nobody tells us what to drink” attitude that fueled the Boston Tea Party also fed distillers throughout the burgeoning United States of America.

George Washington was a jack of all trades, surveyor, Army Officer, Father of a country, Estate owner and a whiskey distiller.

When the Revolution ended, and Washington had fulfilled his duties as the First President, he was left with a little problem, lack of reliable income. Today, we think of career politicians who somehow seem to become millionaires by the time they exit office, but that wasn’t the case for the founding generation.

While he wasn’t in dire financial straits, Washington was worried about his later years living on Mount Vernon and searched for a way to procure a steady income in his golden years.

Washington struck up conversations with a number of his employees on the estate, and soon became drawn to his farm manager, a Scot by the name of James Anderson. Anderson was convinced that Mount Vernon had all that was needed in ready supply, the corn, and the fresh water on site. Soon Anderson and Washington began designing a large stone building to be

White’s Tavern Sign: The tavern was built in 1773 by Daniel White.

Signs such as these would allow the public to know where to purchase alcohol.

Other than being practical, it was an escape, a way to enjoy an otherwise dreary existence. Life was difficult during the colonial period and into the Revolution, it was a constant struggle to survive, to keep the farm producing, to push back from native onslaughts in certain portions of the country, or any other number of difficulties.

Walking to their local tavern and throwing back a few drinks with their neighbor was a great way to unwind and forget about their troubles.

As the American Revolution began in 1775, rum was, by far, the most famous alcoholic spirit in the colonies, but that all changed when the Americans broke away. Much as with tea, it was seen as too “British” to drink rum, and besides molasses cost a fortune, so Americans shunned their once beloved Pirate nectar. Enter the fray, whiskey. Whiskey is simple and straight to the point, much like early Americans. Get some corn, mash it up, cook it, distill it and there you have wonderful “white lightning.” To make the product more enjoyable, many distillers did, and still, today, aged the concoction in barrels of different wood to give whiskey that wonderful smoky flavor.

Being of Scots-Irish descent, the history of whiskey making runs through my blood and the blood of most in the mid-Atlantic region.

In short, I love whiskey, and when I was asked to write this piece on Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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used as their distillery, and by 1798 it would house five large coin, quite the tidy income for a side venture. Soon, Washington stills. Washington and Anderson soon had a thriving distillery, began to expand his whiskey-making venture and began becoming not only the largest producer of whiskey in the state producing not only corn liquor but an array of different spirits. of Virginia but one of the top distillers in the entire country.

According to Mount Vernon, Washington’ Rye Whiskey became At its height, by the year 1800, the Mount Vernon distillery was his most popular spirit by the year 1800, with people all over the 2200 square feet and produced 11,000 gallons of corn liquor. country clamoring for the founding father’s homemade spirits.

One of the most surprising aspects of Washington’s whiskey was Washington began to spread his booze-making wings when, in the fact that it was never aged for a prolonged amount of time. 1800, he moved into the Brandy business. Brandy is like a hybrid Aging whiskey makes it “bite” less, with the wood barrels giving between whiskey and wine. Washington’s brandy began with fruit whiskey its trademark brown color and smooth taste. With modern he grew around Mount Vernon, namely apples and peaches. To whiskey, the longer it is aged in barrels, the more expensive it is make brandy, the fruit would be crushed into wine like the corn for the modern consumer, and, ideally, the smoother and more or rye is made into a mash for a whiskey. After the crushed enjoyable it is. This was not the case during the late 18th, and early fruit ages, it is distilled, and this leads to a powerful fruit spirit.

19th centuries, many distillers never thought about aging whiskey beyond shipping time. Washington was no different, he did put his To lessen the bite, just like with whiskey, the brandy whiskey in oak barrels, but that was just for transportation, which is aged in wood barrels. Washington’s brandies proved did little to soften the kick nor change the color of the whiskey. to be hugely popular, and by 1800 he was charging almost double his original price, over $1.00 per bottle.

Washington’s whiskey was a hit, people loved the white lightning distilled by the First President, and orders began to pour in Washington’s distillery gave the man what he so needed in his from all over the state of Virginia. Washington’s spirits were golden years, a steady income. Never again did Washington worry especially popular in the capitol city of Richmond and were much about his income, and he was able to retire peacefully on his sold throughout the city at numerous shops. This new venture farm. A story that is truly American, our first President was also one provided Washington with two vital aspects to his post-political of our greatest Whiskey producers. So, raise a glass to the father life, a hobby, and an income. From whiskey alone, Washington of our country, one of the most successful and skilled distillers earned $7,500 in 1799 which is roughly $120,000 in modern of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, George Washington.

Illustration of the 18th century from: Encyclopedie Diderot et d'Alembert.

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Reliving History | Spring 2018

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Reliving History | Spring 2018

From the book:

A n t i q u e L e at h e r Drinking Vessels By: D. Kent Demmary

I

t seems reasonable to assume that primitive man, realizing dependence on water, early stumbled upon such natural formations as depressions in rocks, burned out or ripped out pieces of wood, broke gourds, or even turtle shells, and found them to make the drinking, carrying, or storing of water more convenient. Further, it seems reasonable that early man, being a man, would in time, make substantial improvements upon what he found around him. It could not have been long before the early wanderer— hunter noticed that animal bladders and small skins were suitable for pouches and containers for numerous of the provisions which he preferred to have with him, and which widened the scope of his travels; water certainly being one.

Let us now make a rather substantial leap forward in time and look into the craft after it was well-established and well-practiced. It is difficult to understand why items in such very common use as leather drinking vessels should have received as little attention as they did by chroniclers of their time and by historians of more recent years.

Surely these articles played a goodly role in the life and lore of those who peopled the centuries of eleven through eighteen. Who knows how many references have been made in everything from children’s games to serious plays?

Articles in such common use hardly could have been ignored in the speech of daily affairs, but the literature extant (with Might not our primitive friend have seen the wisdom of the exception of Baker’s book) offers precious little to those putting his feet in “pouches” in bad water? By including some who wonder at the beauty and good service of these special variation in size and shape, the use of skins as “containers” creations of the bottler’s and later, the cordwainer’s craft. as a working principle would have been a very early discovery.

One hint at the paucity of material on the craft From that point in history, or rather prehistory, hides (raw) might be that even Baker, in 1906 or shortly and ultimately leather (tanned) would continue to be a before, was turned down by publishers. As Baker highly successful medium for the manufacture of many says, “It was pronounced an uninteresting subject.” of man’s necessities. We simply wait for the sociological division of labor to produce the first full-time leather worker. The term “cordwainer” or “cordovaner” early had been taken by the shoe and boot makers of England; the name being Suggested here is only that from bottle to boot to bottle derived from the city of Cordova, Spain, whence came much again is a very short distance. Why would not our early of their best leather. Since this leather was far superior to ancestors have carried water a short distance in his boot if that produced in England, the taking of the name of Cordova necessary, or put his feet in his game bags if the snow fell. into the craft’s title lent a substantial amount of snob-appeal.

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The literature tells us that leathermaking in and around Cordova often was a family endeavor, with even the young children helping. Three or four times a year they would walk between the pits or vats of tanbark solution and turn the hides over with long, hooked poles.

The combination of tanning agents, water, climate, and of utmost importance, generations of experience, was responsible for the exquisite quality, appearance, and workability of Cordovan leather is worth noting that as many as four years were required in the tanning process.

By the reign of Henry l (1lOO-ll35), the cordwainers had already begun to form themselves into “companies” of craftsmen, and one such company obtained, for the fine of one ounce of gold per year, a charter from the king. There were numerous occasions on which they petitioned the king(s) for more power, authority, and control over the business conducted by the craft, the quality of the materials they purchased from suppliers, and the quality of workmanship of the company or guild members. The complexities of the internal workings and the external rights and obligations associated with the formation of such “companies” will not be dealt with herein to any great extent.

The cordwainers had two main goals in the construction of their works, those of utility and presentability. Since a workman’s reputation and the reputation of the craft were tremendously important, the quality of workmanship was one of the greatest concerns of both the manufacturer and the customer.

Utility was the prime concern. Great pride in results was demonstrated all through the making of items from choice of quality working materials to the burnishing of edges. The pieces were made to function well and long, and much of this is attributed to the basically simple 58

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design of pattern. Over the years, certain seems to be no standard for size, as in one patterns and designs proved to be stronger, case, a piece is referred to as no more longer-lasting, or simply easier to handle. than “a shallow drinking vessel.” Would that be like a pie pan or a thimble; both of Presentability—giving pleasure to the which are as shallow as less than an inch? eye—also was of great importance. People noticed the shoes of others first thing, since Until further research proves otherwise, in earlier days people walked with their it will be assumed that each craftsman or eyes more often downward to see where each shop had his or its own patterns which they were stepping. This condition gave made the works distinctive in both style and opportunity for a good first impression workmanship. It would seem that there was by “putting your best foot forward”. such considerable variety in style, shape, and size that many pieces may well have been a The great care in craftsmanship related to joint venture in creativity by the craftsman function and beauty was exhibited to no and the person who purchased the piece. less a degree in the cordwainer’s making of It is well within the realm of reason to leather bottles, mugs, blackjacks, and other imagine a customer indicating he would like such pieces than in his shoes and boots. a certain size, or shape, or even particular ornamentation. By way of example, the Granted, there often was less minute detail British Museum has a blackjack with the and finery attached to the utilitarian items, initials of Charles I, an image of a crown, but the subtle beauty of their simple and and the date 1646. A further example is a graceful lines has a charm of its own. tankard given to Oliver Cromwell between This is not to say that the mugs and l653 and l658, which has an engraved bottles always were without ornamentation. silver rim. These indicate the certainty of Often they would have ornate rims of individuality among pieces of this type. silver, carved stopples, and many times there was carving on the sides of the Although leatherworkers have been plying vessels to identify them as the property their craft, either for their own uses or of royalty or other important personages. professionally, since pre-historic times, the earliest reference to the Cordwainer Company As early as the beginning of the l300’s, in England is in the year 1272. Records the bottle makers had their own guild, but indicate also a company of “bottelars” they were, as were other guilds related to who made, in addition to bottles, pots, leather-making and processing, supervised buckets, cups, mugs, and other containers, and controlled by the cordwainers. in 1373. Curious also is that until about 1700, any reference to a “bottle” was taken Due to some overlapping of terms and for granted to mean one made of leather. lack of preciseness on the parts of some early writers, not all vessel names will not Let us consider what is known of some of be illustrated nor defined: it simply would the pieces Listed earlier. Some are easily be nearly impossible. Blackjack, bottle, described because examples are still in pitch-lined leather, leather-covered glass, existence in museums and private collections. tankard, gispin, piggin, jeroboam, bucket, Others often offer little of themselves to cup, noggin, bouget, mug, whiskin, costrel, other than the scholar of linguistics because flask, flagon. The origins of some of the the terms may well represent no more than names of these pieces, and more often the slang terms for either the pieces themselves exact sizes, are obscure. In many cases there or the kind or amount of contents.

THE BLACKJACK The blackjacks were large, pitcher-shaped, pitch-lined vessels There are fewer remaining specimens of blackjacks of various sizes, probably ranging from less than a half- than leather bottles according to Baker’s research. gallon to a gallon and a half or more. (The exact line of demarkation between blackjack and bombard is indistinct.) The blackjack most often had a formed pitcher-lip on the side opposite the handle. This lip was made by denting the leather just It is likely that the name derives from the “jack” or “jerkin” below the rim in front. In others, the pouring lip was formed by which was a shortcoat or close waistcoat of the late sixteenth making the rim higher on the side opposite the handle. Blackjacks century; or, even earlier, the “jack” which was heavy leather chest are mentioned in many kinds of literature and seem to range in size and back armor worn by archers of the fourteenth and fifteenth from under seven inches in height to nearly a foot and one-half. centuries. It is apparent that the blackjack was quite common prior to 1350, and one was in the household of King Charles I. Spring 2018 | Reliving History

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THE TANKARD Apparently, from Baker’s studies, the term “tankard” was not used in England, but was common in the American colonies. In England, tankards were referred to as cups or mugs. Some sources, however, call the English vessels “tankards”, but l feel that is merely an Americanization and a lack of accuracy on the part of the writers.

It seems that the tankard, or rather mug, since they were English in origin, really came into fashion in the sixteenth century. One source indicates that they were fairly common much before that time, and that as early as 960 A.D., there were “pin” or “peg” mugs.

The “peg” mug or tankard generally was marked off into eight equal areas from bottom to top by small wooden shoe pegs which were embedded into the side of the mugs at intervals of a little over one-half inch.

“to take a man down a peg or two” The meaning here is to embarrass a person by out drinking him by “a peg or two.”

Many tankards and/or mugs were of capacity of twenty ounces or more, but there seems to be no definite standard for size.

Until the mid-seventeenth century, the shape of the tankards was one of more parallel sides and somewhat rectangular handles.

The shape was then changed to one of a much more graceful and attractive style which was used until the early nineteenth century.

The later ones tapered slightly from the bottom to the top and had rounded and heavier handles. They were constructed in much the same way as the blackjack and bombards in that the main body and outer layers of the handle were all one piece of leather with the inner part of the handle made of two or more inserts. The bottom piece was made of a round disc of leather cut oversize to allow for a recessed area in the bottom, thus saving wear. These pieces, like the larger ones, were also pitch-lined or beeswax-lined.

Originally, by ‘the King’s decree, the pegs were used to indicate the “legal” amount one was allowed to drink at a single draught. This was supposed to reduce the drunkenness so prevalent in the inns and taverns of the time. This decree was so unenforceable, however, that the drinkers simply used The bouge or bouget was a more or less flexible sack or the pegs as units of measuring their ale or beer for ordering bag of two parts or halves, and somewhat resembled a pair purposes; i.e., one would order three or four or more “pegs of ale” of old-fashioned water wings. The two halves were joined by a central cross-tube with the pouring and filling spout in Also, it appears that these peg mugs (or in the American the top-center. They were in common use in 1610 A.D. colonies, peg tankards) were involved in the expression: 60

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THE COSTREL Both a liquid measure (undetermined so far) and a bottle, the costrel inches long to larger than ten inches high by fifteen inches was of leather, earthenware, or wood, and had “ears� by which it long, in some instances the capacity exceeded two gallons. could be suspended from the waist. Formerly, it had been in rather general use, but was later used chiefly by peasants in the field. It seems, of the great variety of sizes and shapes, one stands out as being more of a constant than others. This was the bottle in use by the This was probably the most common leather fluid container military. Most often it had round gussets and surprisingly, probably of all, and was in common use for well over five hundred a less flat bottom than the civilian ones. I suppose it most often was years. Probably they were last used or at least going out slung over the shoulder like a canteen. Generally they were black in of use by the reign of King Charles ll. The manufacture of color. The larger civilian types generally were kept on the mantleleather bottles stopped near the end of the eighteenth century. shelf in the rural homes and refilled at the tavern on trips to town.

Most of the leather bottles were shaped much as a keg or cylinder on its side, with a pouring tube or spout formed from the sides and extending upward. It should be noted that the sides and bottom were made from one piece of leather. The ends were made of gussets shaped round, elliptical, or inverted heart-shape. To either side of the neck or spout, through wing-like projections, are holes or slits through which a carrying thong or strap was placed.

Sizes ranged from three and three-fourths inches high by four

Most wine bottles of the style illustrated had two rows of stitching in the gussets, as did the bottoms of most of the blackjacks and bombards. The reason for the double row on the bottles is hard to account for due to the limited wear to be received.

Probably the reason was simply to further insure a water-tight fit.

The stopples or stoppers generally were of wood or rolled leather, hut toward the end of their use, a few cork stopples were known to he used.

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THE BOMBARD The bombard was a large pitcher-shaped vessel resembling an oversized blackjack and was used for carrying and storing liquor, wine, beer, and ale. Some held as much as seven and one-half gallons.

It seems that the minimum contents for a bombard was one and one-half gallons; anything smaller than one of that size being called a blackjack. As were Other leather vessels, the bombard was lined with pitch or beeswax to make it waterproof. The handle of the bombard was made with the outer surfaces all of-a-piece with the main body of the vessel and with two or more inserts of leather between. Also, the bottom piece was attached with two rows of stitching to insure a greater waterproof seal, and to form a deep pocket in the bottom to allow for the inevitable sag in 62

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the bottom disc. Without the double row, the great weight of the contents causing the sag would in turn cause the vessel to rock on its then-curved bottom.

There is an extant example of a bombard which measures twentysix inches high, ten by seven and one-half inches at the mouth, thirty ďŹ ve inches around its middle, and thirteen and one-half inches across the base. The bombard probably takes its name from its resemblance to the short, fat, cannon by that name which was used in very early times. A “bombardmanâ€? was the man whose job it was to carry beer in a bombard.

THE BOUGET The bouge or bouget was a more or less flexible sack or bag of two parts or halves, and somewhat resembled a pair of oldfashioned water wings. The two halves were joined by a central cross-tube with the pouring and filling spout in the top-center.

They were in common use in 1610 A.D.

THE JEROBOAM A very large bowl, goblet, or bottle according to Webster, but the term probably referred as much to the amount of contents as to the shape. Many references to the jeroboam connote any “large amount”.

THE GISPIN Gispin was the name given to a vessel which was about halfway between a blackjack and a bombard, according to Webster. The name apparently was used to indicate either a large blackjack or a small bombard since the standard for differentiating between the two was probably the one and one-half gallon mark.

THE PIGGIN A small wooden or leather pail or tub with an upright stave or extension as a handle and often used as a dipper. The THE WHISKIN name is a diminutive of “pig” or pigskin. According to A shallow drinking bowl, the whiskin probably had no sewed seam Webster, their capacity ranged from one pint to “near a quart”. and no handle.

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It has been interesting to indulge myself sentimentally by serving a vicarious apprenticeship to the craft. In the “old days,” the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, in London, had the longest apprenticeship of any of the guilds, twelve years. Out of the respect for what those young men endured, only in the last year have I claimed sufficient experience and success in the craft to call myself even a “journeyman cordwainer, or bottlerblackjacker.” This perpetuation of attitude and tradition lends an air of charm and even purpose to the craft that seems so lacking in many other areas of modern society.

This may well be a form of escapism, but I hope it to be a harmless one.

Another source of excitement is to work in an area in which so few people are involved.

There probably are fewer than a dozen handcrafters of copies of antique leather drinking vessels in the nation, and to be so relatively “alone with the old masters,” to rediscover techniques lost over the generations, to handle and fondle the tools of by-gone days and to do to the leather things that generally have not happened for generations, is a feeling difficult to convey to others.

Apparently I am temperamentally suited for this craft as the old-time cordwainers were considerably nonconformist “boat-rockers”.

Descriptions of the cordwainers of antiquity tell of their involvement in local matters of politics, religion, customs, and personal rights, which did not always endear them to the powers-that-be. The cordwainer’s shop often was the local center of much heated philosophical discussion, and since the “gentlecraft” was more work of the

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hand that the brain, the worker of the bench could argue and philosophize while keeping on with his work. I often have found this to be true while working in public. Many people have asked me whether their talking and asking questions about the craft is distracting from the Work. My answer is that, if anything, it makes the work more pleasant to have the company and the demonstrated interest in the craft.

Worth noting in a more optimistic vein is that there seems to be an increasing interest in the “living museum” concept, and that handcrafting in general seems to be receiving greater respect. There appears to be a growing number of communities, villages, or sections of large cities where handicraftsmen gather to work in front of an appreciative public. The “living museum” concept, l feel, has done much to demonstrate the virtue of good workmanship Again, in this feeling of temperamental to younger people who in an increasing kinship, we find the old stitchmen to be number are taking up crafts themselves. a strange combination of perfectionist and slob. Some were capable of putting I have found that the more a person watches fifty-two stitches to the inch, for example, an item being constructed from the basic on a pair of fine lady’s slippers, yet the materials to the finished piece, the more shop often was an absolute mess of leather respect is shown for both piece and maker. scraps, pipe dottle, odds and ends of thread, wax, and other paraphernalia of An added fascination for me is the manner the craft. I must say, this makes for a in which the very young watch the work comfortable, interesting, and hospitable with almost unbelieving eyes. Today’s shop. Considering all the social interaction, preteens seem little able to comprehend personal views almost violently held, and the the growth of a piece of hide into a atmosphere of the shop—well-represented graceful tankard, for example. Also, at the by the beautiful workmanship we can say other end of the continuum, many of the that, as it probably was then, it is today, elderly observers of the craft are reminded the craft is part craftsmanship and part nostalgically of fathers, uncles, and the like showmanship. The ratio obviously being who were involved in a manual craft of dependent upon the individual workman. some kind, and are willing to talk freely of seeing such sights when they were children.

Over the years l have noticed that leather is not for everyone. There seems to be There are so many seemingly small facets a wide range of emotions about leather of this old version of leathercraft that itself, and also in its relationship with are so richly rewarding. Good materials, the many alternatives or imitations. good craftsmanship, good products, and Some people cannot fully appreciate best of all, good appreciative people the richness of the feel, smell, and even make the new cordwaining the joy it is. the squeak of good leather and I feel they are missing a precious experience.

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WASHINGTON’S WHISKEY Crews, Ed. “Rattle-Skull, Stonewall, Bogus, Blackstrap, Bombo, Mimbo, Whistle Belly, Syllabub, Sling,

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Pogue, Dennis J. Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey Industry. Buena Vista, VA: Harbour Books, 2011 ANTIQUE LEATHER DRINKING VESSELS Excerpt taken directly from the book Antique Leather Drinking Vessels by Kent Demmary. For other

references on this topic see Black Jacks and Leather Bottles By Oliver Baker.

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