ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
PRESIDENT
OF THE
UarlanCM    Ishtorial ~odete,
AND OF ITS
COMMITTEE ON THE GALLERY OF FINE ARTS.
1850.
BALTIMORE:
PRINTED BY JOHN D. TOY,
Corner of Market and St. Paul-sts.




President.
J. SPEAR  SMITH.
Vice-President.
JOHN  P. KENNEDY.
Corresponding Secretary.
J. MORRISON HARRIS.
Recording Secretary.
S. F. STREETER.
Treasurer.
JOHN HANAN.
Librarian.
J. LOUIS SMITH.
Assistant Librarian.
F. B. MAYER.
Library Committee.
BRANTZ MAYER,    GEORGE WM. BROWN,    M. COURTNEY JENKINS.
Committee on the Gallery.
J. H. B. LATROBE,    B. C. WARD,    DR. THOMAS EDMONDSON.
Council of Government of Athenaeum.
ROBERT LESLIE,    JOHN BARNEY.
Trustees of Athenaeum.
O. C. TIFFANY,    SAMUEL W. SMITH,    JOHNS HOPKINS.
Committee on Honorary Membership.
WILLIAM A. TALBOTT,   JOHN I. DONALDSON,   ALEXANDER FISHER.




REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE
MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
AT THE
ANNUAL MEETING IN FEBRUARY, 1850.
GENTLEMEN:
SINCE the last Annual Report, considerable additions have been made
to the books, maps, pamphlets and public documents of the Society.
These acquisitions are fully equal to those of any preceding year, except
perhaps the first, after our organization. They nearly all comport with
the purposes of the institution, being of strictly historical character, or
connected with the geography, statistics and proceedings of the Federal or State Governments. The Societies with which we are in correspondence have shown a gratifying attention, in regularly transmitting to
us their various publications. Nor have we failed to communicate to
them such essays as we have from time to time, had printed. Our representatives in Congress and in the General Assembly have, with commendable zeal, favored us with such of the State papers, surveys and
maps, as it is so desirable for us to possess. To them, and to the individuals who have so generously recognised our claims, and honored us
with many valuable donations during the year, our acknowledgments are
eminently due.
The papers read before the Society since our last anniversary, though
fewer in number than was hoped for, were in every way, creditable to
the institution. The first of these, was an impressive paper, read by
Dr. J. R. W. DUNBAR, a member of the Society, on the importance
of an intimate and thorough acquaintance with the physiological laws,
governing the human system. In this very instructive discourse, the influences and effects of a healthful or morbid condition of individuals, on
their acts, were ably enforced, by various apt historical illustrations.




4
We are indebted to the Corresponding Secretary, J. M. HARRIs, Esq.,
for a sketch of the history and resources of California. In this eloquent
composition we are presented with a graphic delineation of the topography and boundless riches of this new and vast addition to the territory of the Republic.''he very able annual address on "American Colonial History," by
our associate, THOMAS DONALDSON, Esq., is admirably suited to guide
the inquirer in the investigation of those salient points which mark our
career as a nation.  Nor can we fail to unite with him in his earnest
appeal for a thorough instruction of our youth, in the history of America, as well as in that of Greece and Rome. No country, ancient or
modern, can unfold such stainless pages of its annals as the States composing this Confederation. Indeed, if we impartially collate them with
the records of other nations, we find that whilst the former are beaming
with morality, humanity, and all the enjoyments of liberty, the latter
are darkened by vice, cruelty, and the sufferings incident to arbitrary rule.
The deeply interesting and beautiful essay of the Recording Secretary,
S. F. STREETER, Esq., on the fall of the Susquehanock Indians, was of
a class of papers peculiarly adapted to the designs of the Society. The
aboriginal inhabitants of this great continent are fast yielding to the
more powerful race, now peopling their ancient domain. The time indeed, is not distant when few will remain to instruct us in their customs, arts and polity. The greater then the necessity for now rescuing
from oblivion every memorial of a people so soon to be extinguished,
or blended with those who are so superior to them in numbers if not
in intellectual endowment. It is gratifying, then, to be able to inform
you that the attention of Mr. Streeter is drawn to the history of the
Maryland Indians, and we may entertain the hope of being favored, at
no late day, with the results of his investigations.
I would again most earnestly invite you to the preparation of essays
on topics appropriate to the intents of the Society, and tending to enlarge the scope of its benefits. Such productions are due not only to its
own fame, but to a community from which it has received much respect
and enduring patronage. You will readily concede that they enhance
to a degree, which all must have appreciated, the charm and interest of
our monthly meetings. The utility of such papers no one can doubt,
even if there be no claim on the leisure and talent of those members
who can, without much inconvenience, devote a few brief hours to so
meritorious a task.




Whilst on this important matter, I will, with your indulgence, suggest
a few themes which would very properly come within the range of our
pursuits.  Among them might be a memoir on the Benevolent Institutions of the State.  This is especially an Anglo-Saxon province, for, of
all the races of man, no other has done so much, or is nowdoing so
much as is this, towards ameliorating the condition of his fellows.Another topic, and a truly acceptable one, at this period, would be an
historical sketch of the Colleges, Academies and Common Schools of
Maryland.  And here, as on the other subjects, the writer will find very
useful materials among our collections. Our financial history is not
only of great interest, but is signalized by many curious and remarkableincidents.  The same may be said of our great works of internal
improvement, which indeed, may justly be termed gigantic, when we
compare our boundaries and population with those of most of our sister
States. To discourses on these heads might well be added a treatise
on the rich mineral resources of the State, with many others which will
readily occur to you. I propose, myself, to deposite among the collection of the Society, during the year, the original records and correspondence relating to the defence of Baltimore in the war of 1812, with
a brief memoir of that event.
The second Exhibition of Paintings in our Gallery has proved in no
respect inferior to the first. It has, at the same time, been hailed with
equal public approbation. Indeed, in such favor are they held that the
probability is that a continuance of them, for many years in advance,
will not only be successful, but will be demanded by the general sentiment. The net proceeds being specifically devoted to the purchase
of paintings, by the best masters, will, in time, form a collection which,
whilst it graces the city, will be honorable to this institution. The realization of this desirable result, has already begun, and it is nearly
certain that in the next exhibition there will be several fine paintings,
purchased by your committee and belonging to the Society.   Thus
will the redemption of our pledge to the community have made its first
step towards the design, so early entertained, and so repeatedly announced. These annual exhibitions have already led to a closer study
of the fine arts, and have attracted to them a more vivid attention than
seems to have previously existed. This is as general as it is active,
and will be promotive of an improvement in taste, and of a refined and
disciplined judgment.  Whilst American genius is taking the highest
rank, whether in painting or sculpture, among the artists of Europe, it




6
is but right that a just discrimination here should enable us to award
that meed to which exalted merit is so richly entitled, and which it
may so fairly claim. The task of the Committee on the Gallery is
no enviable one.  It is attended with infinite labor, as well in the
preparation as in the management of the exhibitions. Yet, I am happy
to add that all the various duties have been cheerfully discharged, and
with exemplary patience and assiduity.  To the gentlemen of that
committee the thanks of the Sociey are largely due, for the taste they
have shown in the selection of pictures, their skilful arrangement of
them, and the signal success which has crowned their labors.
All the stipulations contained in the programme of 1845, for building
an Athenaeum, have been faithfully executed.  In that address, we solicited "a free gift," in remuneration of which generous aid no return
was proffered, other than "the genial influences over the public mind"
of the institutions for which it was designed. The free gift was conferred in the disinterested spirit in which it was asked, and we must
hope that the genial influences will, with each returning year, be more
and more sensibly felt. The Athenaeum was to be unincumbered by
debt, and was to accommodate the Library Company, the Mercantile
Library Association, and this Society. These promises have been fulfilled, and the three institutions are now enjoying every convenience,
requisite to their safety and comfort. A Reading Room and a Gallery
of Fine Arts were to form essential features in the comprehensive projet,
and both are now in a state of auspicious advancement. I think, then,
I may now say that the Athenaeum has accomplished the very purposes
to which it was destined, and that all the pledges on which the enterprise was based, have been faithfully redeemed. It stands the third, in
the list of noble monuments, which adorn our city. Grateful to our
own feelings and tastes, and admired by strangers, it affords an agreeable
resort to both. No one who visits Baltimore and has leisure to view her
many attractions, but comes here to enjoy the architectural symmetry of
the edifice, its appropriate furnishing, and the varied means it contains
for intellectual occupation and improvement. I believe, then, it is not
too much to say, that its generous founders have been amply rewarded,
for this munificent act of an exalted public spirit. The Societies, too,
through whose instrumentality their bounty has been so well applied,
may at the close of each year of their labors exchange congratulations
on the good thus far achieved, and excite each other to continued
exertions in their respective spheres.
7th February, 1850.




EXTRACTS FROM THE
FIRST ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE GALLERY,
READ TO THE SOCIETY, 1849.
THE undersigned, committee on the Gallery, have, as the Society are
aware, reported, verbally, at each stated meeting, in regard to the
matters with which they are charged; and, at the last meeting of the
Society, announced the close of the first Annual Exhibition in the
Gallery, —the return of the pictures to their respective owners,-and
the general pecuniary results.  [The committee now present to the
Society as a part of this report, the accompanying statement-showing
in detail, the monies that have been received and disbursed by them.]
It is proper to say here, that the committee, in what may be called,
the getting up of the Exhibition, determined in the outset, that, inasmuch as one of the objects to be accomplished, was the improvement
of the taste of the public in regard to Art, as well as the occupation
and amusement of its idle hours,-they would admit no picture into
the Exhibition, merely because it was a painted canvass properly framed;
but would require, at least some merit, as a passport to the Gallery, in
all the works of Art that were presented. The enforcement of this
rule was not always an agreeable task: but the result of it was, that
few, if any, Exhibitions ever held in our country, have surpassed in
general value and excellence, that which has just been closed. The
committee mention this now, particularly, in the hope, that the importance of the rule may be properly appreciated by the Society, and that
its existence may become generally known. If it is adhered to, the
result may be, that a place on the walls of the Gallery may become
an object to be sought with eagerness by the artists of our country;
and art may grow to be estimated in our community by a gradually
improving standard, and appreciated by a more and more refined and
exacting taste.




8
The mere opening of the Gallery for the Exhibition of every thing
that might be offered, would, in the opinion of the committee, defeat
the object of the Society, tend to deteriorate, rather than improve the
public judgment in regard to works of art, and reduce the Society's
rooms to the level of the auction mart, and its committee to the grade
of salesmen. Unless the Annual Exhibitions can be kept up by good
pictures, the committee trust they may be abandoned. That they can
thus be kept up, however, the committee have much reason to believe.
The stock of good pictures in Baltimore, is very far from  being
exhausted, and several years' supplies may be drawn at increased, but
still justifiable, expense, from other cities. Perhaps, in this way, the
Annual Exhibitions may be kept up, until their receipts shall have given
to the Society the means of collecting a gallery of their own.
The committee are glad to believe, that the disposition made by
them of the pictures on the walls, known generally as " the hanging,"
was in nearly all instances, satisfactory to the parties interested. In
this, they were aided by the admirable construction of the Gallery, in
every part of which there was sufficient light, even on the gloomiest
days of the fall: and the committee are especially called upon to
acknowledge the kindness and good humor, with which the owners of
pictures submitted to a judgment, which had necessarily to be despotic
in its character, in this particular. The labors of the committee,
which otherwise would have been uncomfortable, were made in this
way, most agreeable and satisfactory to themselves. The committee
mention this particularly, because, this being the first Exhibition of the
kind in Baltimore, it would not have been surprising, had the result
been different.
The committee might here close their report, did they not deem it
proper to place upon paper, the suggestions made by them, verbally, to
the Society at its last meeting, in regard to the manner in which the
nett proceeds of the Exhibition just closed, as well as of future Exhibitions would be appropriated, were the matter left in the hands of the
committee.
The subject was one, on which differences of opinion might fairly
exist, and which was not without its difficulties. The committee
finally determined, however, that the best appropriation, which could
be made of the funds, would be to obtain a good copy of the best work
of each of the great masters, so that the Gallery of the Historical Society,
should ultimately present to the eye, a history of painting, while the




9
shelves of its library contained the written history of past and passing
events.  True, after all, it will be but a gallery of copies, that will have
been collected; and there may be some, who may think, that copies
must necessarily be valueless, because they are not originals.  But a
gallery of the originals of the pictures referred to, is now among the
impossibilities of the world: and when it is recollected how artists, even,
quarrel upon the point of originality, it may be admitted, that a gallery
of copies may be most valuable and instructive. Nine out of ten of those
who are attracted to an Exhibition, perhaps ninety-nine out of an
hundred, would not be able to distinguish a good copy from  the
original, if they hung in adjoining rooms: and as the merit of the
copies would be an especial object with the committee, all the purposes
of a gallery of originals would be practically attained, so far as the
public generally was concerned.  Copies are perfectly competent to
give to the observer, the style of drawing, composition and coloring of
an artist.  What there is the greatest danger of their failing in, is the
expression of the picture.  Yet this is very often obtained to the
extent almost of perfect deception. But even if it is lost by the copyist,
it is something, nay, it is a great deal, to be acquainted with three of the
items going to produce the characteristic excellence of the master;
and we may well be satisfied with these when it is impracticable to
obtain the whole of his merits combined. It will be pleasant for all to
be able, when they read of Titian, or Raphael, or Guercino, to see what
may be considered as a fair representation of their works in the Gallery
of the Athenaeum.  The Gallery will have an attraction in this respect,
when the collection shall be completed, which will be peculiar.  The
committee are not aware that a similar design has elsewhere been
carried out; not because it is not a good design, as they believe, but
because of the natural grasping at originals, and the willingness of
all connoisseurs to be imposed upon by the countless getters up of
originals to be found all over Europe, and to some extent, and latterly, in
this country also.
The committee, besides the reasons here given, have others, and
more practical ones, perhaps, for the course they have determined on.
The experience of the late Exhibition shewed the importance of
the class of pictures, termed gallery pictures;-that is pictures of large
size and striking subjects, that could, without detriment, be placed
high on the walls, leaving room for cabinet pictures below them. The
copies to be obtained by the committee would embrace such pictures
2




10
as were thus found to be wanting:-and the committee take leave to
assure the Society, that without such pictures, Annual Exhibitions will
be impracticable. This reason for their plan, the committee beg it to
be understood, is offered rather to reconcile any who may desire other
appropriations of the proceeds of the Exhibitions, than because the
committee themselves rely on it, or deem  it worthy of art.  Still it
shews that what is in itself right operates in this, as in most other
cases, usefully and profitably in more ways than one.
It only remains to add, in this connection, that should the Society's
pictures ever cover the walls of the gallery, they could be removed to
make room for others at the Annual Exhibitions.
The committee would not have it understood that they intend to be
exclusive in the appropriation of the funds, at their control, to the end
in view. They speak only of a general design-a plan, which must
yield, when proper, to circumstances.  It is no part of it to reject all
modern pictures:-to make no purchases from  living artists.  When
it will be proper to do this, the occasion will speak for itself, and the
committee will hold themselves at liberty to avail of it.
The mode which the committee propose to pursue in obtaining
copies is to fix, in the first place, upon the picture they desire to have
copied, and then to ascertain, by correspondence, the terms on which
a copy can be procured.  There is a fellowship in art, all over the
world, which will facilitate the enquiries of the committee; and art is
so gracious in itself, and all its influences, that those even to whom
nature has given no peculiar susceptibility to it, are ever found ready
to contribute to its advancement. If any thing was necessary to prove
this, reference need only be made to the sixteen thousand subscribers
to the American Art Union of New York.
There remains yet a matter which the committee think it proper
to mention in their report, with a view  of ascertaining the wishes
of the Society in regard to it. It is the disposition of the rooms
of the Gallery in the intervals between the Annual Exhibitionswhether they are to remain in charge of the committee, or revert, at
once, as soon as the Exhibition closes, to the general purposes of the
Historical Society.
The Society are aware that there are already several pictures which
have been deposited with the Society, and which may, perhaps, remain
permanently upon the walls; and the committee have reason to believe
that others will be, from time to time, loaned in this manner to the




II
Gallery.  The experience of other places shews, that a gradual accumulation may possibly take place, in this way, in Baltimore. Again, there
are many purposes connected with art, which it may be difficult to
particularize in anticipation, that may make the rooms of the Gallery
most useful.
Under these circumstances, the committee have thought that the
control of the rooms should belong to them, if it was expected by
the Society, that they should, in the intervals between the Exhibitions,
exercise any functions in regard to art, or make any preparations either
for a permanent gallery, or a new Exhibition.  The matter is suggested now, that the action of the Society may be had in regard to it.
If the control is given to the committee, it is proper to say, that
the rooms will be limited to the Society's uses;-and not hired or
rented for what, in theatrical language, may be called occasional performances, to strangers. The building is the free gift of the people of
Baltimore. It is not necessary that it should be rented to pay tax or
fee of any kind; and the committee would regret to see it placed on
a footing with other rooms of the City, where dances and sermons and
shows are made to alternate, with a view to pecuniary profit. It will
be the desire of the committee to make the room attractive, as a gallery
of paintings and statues, as soon as practicable; and to have it opened
to the Society whenever a collection or a picture of interest shall be
placed there.
Another view of this part of the subject of their report has been
mentioned to the committee by members of the Society, which they
deem it proper to repeat here, and which is certainly not without its
force in connection with the proposal to place the rooms of the Gallery
exclusively in charge of the committee.
The functions of the Society, in regard to art, are, as it may be said,
rather accidental than otherwise: and it is desirable that the Gallery
should be kept in its subordinate relations: that it should not swallow
up the Historical Society: that the interest of it should not detract
from the interest of the Library: that the members of the Society should
not be drawn from their seats, at the stated meetings, to lounge among
the pictures of the adjacent room. Say what we will, it is pleasant to
look at the works of art, even when the memories of the past are
calling us away from them, as eloquence and research offer them for
our consideration:-and there is, at all events, some little danger that,
ifnot guarded against, the Historical Society may be swallowed up in




12
the Gallery, if one suite of rooms, in constant and free connection,
receive the members,-who may, naturally enough, attend, under such
circumstances, quite as much to see "how the pictures come on," as to
hear addresses or essays, or enter into historical disquisitions.
Should this be so, the Gallery will have been a misfortune; —and the
founders of the Society will have reason to regret its existence. Such
a result, the committee think, can best be averted by keeping the Gallery in its subordinate position,-looking upon it as wholly collateral;
placing it in the hands, exclusively, of a committee, the creation of the
Society,-and keeping in view, prominently, the fact that the Historical
Society belongs to the class of those institutions, whose noble usefulness has been illustrated by the labors of Gallatin, Prescott, Bancroft,
Wheaton and others, of the distinguished men of our country.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN  H. B. LATROBE, 1
B. C. WARD,                    Committee.
WILLIAM  McKIM,            J




SECOND GENERAL REPORT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE GALLERY.
THE verbal reports made to the Society at its stated meetings, have
kept it informed of the proceedings of the committee. They now present herewith, an account in detail of the receipts and expenses of the
second Annual Exhibition of paintings, which closed on the 1st of
December last; and they propose to state what they have done and
propose to do, in carrying out the plan set forth in their first general
report, and which then received the sanction of the Society.
Before entering on this, however, it may be proper for the committee
to state, that the anticipations of their first report were more than
realized in the late Exhibition. There were but few of the pictures of
the previous year upon the walls; and these few were pictures of
value, which had been cleaned and repaired in the interval, and thus
were made equivalent to novelties. As a whole, the committee are of
opinion that the second Exhibition was, to say the very least of it,
equal to the first. In some respects it was superior. The average of
merit, within certain degrees, was higher:-and although some striking
pictures were missed, yet their places were very fairly supplied, and
the general impression was independent of them. The committee
adhered to the rule of excluding all pictures which had not some
merit to entitle them to a place in the Gallery. And they are confirmed
in the opinion, formerly expressed, that this is the only mode by
which art can be fostered, the public taste improved, and the succeeding Exhibitions made at all times attractive.
The committee are of opinion that the third Exhibition may be
gotten up without more repetitions than occurred  in the second.
Many pictures have been purchased in Baltimore during the last two




14
years, and the Gallery will experience most beneficially the effects of
a taste which it will have aided most materially in creating.
In carrying out the plan intimated in their first general report, the
committee attempted to obtain the copies in the Baltimore Museum of
the Madonna of St. Sixtus, of Raphael,-and the nativity, known as
the "Notte,' of Correggio.  These copies are excellent.  They were
most carefully made from  the originals in the Dresden Gallery, and
brought to this country by a Mr. Arnold, who exhibited them with
much success in N. York and Philadelphia. He held them at $10,000,
and refused a large offer from  a northern institution.  Subsequently he
took them  to Canada, where becoming embarrassed he induced a Mr.
James Jackson to take them in charge. Mr. Jackson brought them to
Baltimore in 1836, and exhibited them in the Museum. Mr. De Selding, the then proprietor, bought the Madonna on the 21st November,
1836, for $1,140-the other picture was pledged to him for $500the pledge to be a sale if the loan was not returned by a given day.
This not being done, Mr. De Selding obtained the two pictures for
$1,640-to which adding the cost of the frames, paid by Mr. De
Selding, and the pictures stood him  in about $1,756.  [These facts
have been but recently obtained, and not until after the pictures had
been purchased for the Gallery.] Mr. De Selding leaving Baltimore,
the pictures along with the collection in the Museum, became the property ultimately, through several mesne assignments, of Mr. P. T.
Barnum  of the American Museum, New York, who sold his interest
to Messrs. Silsbee and Ham, subject to a lien for the purchase money;
and the present proprietor of the Baltimore Museum, Mr. J. E. Owens,
having succeeded to the rights of Messrs. S. & H., the ownership of
the pictures finally rested with him and Mr. Barnum.
The committee offered, soon after their first general report, $1,000,
to the then proprietors for the pictures.  This they did without
knowing their history, and acting on their own judgment alone. They
considered this a fair price to be offered and received. The market
for pictures of this size was a very limited one. Their value as an attraction to the Museum was but small, if any thing-looking to the
character of the establishment-and the probability of a purchaser at a
higher price was but a slight one.
The offer was refused however —and as the committee could not
advance on it, it only remained for them to appropriate their funds
otherwise.




15
The next picture of interest that suggested itself was the Marriage
of Cana, of Paul Veronese, in the Gallery of Louvre; and the correspondence which they entered into with Mr. Walsh, then the U. S.
Consul at Paris, resulted in an agreement with William H. Powell,
Esquire, to make a copy of the painting 12 feet in length for $800-of
which sum  $300 was to be paid to him  at once,-the work to be
finished in one year-say by the 1st of September, 1850.  In this
agreement the committee consider they have been fortunate.  Mr.
Powell is the artist employed to fill the remaining pannel in the
Rotunda at Washington-and his reputation ensures a copy of the first
class.
After the late exhibition, the committee, before appropriating the
funds accruing from it, renewed their offer of the previous year to Mr.
Owens for the Madonna and the Notte.  This time it was accepted,
and Mr. Barnum's consent being obtained, the money was paid, and
the pictures are now in the Society's possession. They are in excellent
condition, and the time that has elapsed since they were copied, has
taken from them the rawness of recent works,-and to that extent much
improved them.
At the commencement of the next Exhibition, therefore, the committee will have so far executed the plan of the Society as to have in
the Gallery good copies of three of what may be called the great
pictures of the world,-the Madonna-the Notte-and the Marriage of
Cana,-the chef d'ouvres, respectively, of Raphael, Correggio and
Paul Veronese.
The committee have already made a partial arrangement, through the
kindness of Mr. Crawford, the sculptor, for a copy of the Communion
of St. Jerome, of Domenichino, which is in the Vatican,-Mr. Crawford, whose studio is in Rome, having consented to engage the copyist, and superintend the execution of the work. This is another of the
pictures of a world-wide reputation.
The pictures which the committee have next in view are the Peter
Martyr, of Titian, in the Church of St. Giovanni E. Paolo, at Venice,
and the Miracle of the Slave, of Tintoretto, now in the Gallery of
the Louvre.
They might suggest others-such as the Descent from the Cross, of
Rubens, in the Cathedral, at Antwerp,-but this would be running far
a-head of their immediate means: and the committee, therefore, leave
their list at present incomplete. It has occurred to them, however,




16
that, perhaps, subscriptions might be obtained which  would enable
them, at once, to take measures to procure the above mentioned
pictures, and indeed to complete their design without waiting for the
slow receipts of the Annual Exhibitions.
In their last report the committee suggested the possibility of pictures
being deposited in the Gallery; and to some extent this has been done.
There are several excellent pictures now on deposit,-and there is little
doubt that their number will increase from year to year.
In conclusion, the committee have to congratulate the Society upon
the success thus far of the scheme which was adopted at the close of
the first Exhibition; and to express the conviction that a great good
has been done to art by the efforts of the Society, and a great improvement thereby effected in the public taste.
JOHN H. B. LATROBE,
B. C. WARD,
T. EDMONDSON, JR.




LIST OF MEMBERS.
T. P. Andrews, U. S. A.           S. Sterett Carroll,
Geo. W. Andrews,                  Geo. B. Coale,
Wm. S. Appleton,                  E. S. Courtney,
J. J. Atkinson,                   Jas. C. Coale,
G. R. W. Alnutt,                  Cyrenius 0. Cone, M. D.
James M. Buchanan,                B. U. Campbell,
Wm, Geo. Baker,                   Dabney S. Carr,
Hugh Birkhead,                   Charles Carroll,
George Brown,                     Dr. J. Paul Cockey,
Geo. Wm. Brown,                   John Cole,
F. W. Brune,                      Geo. W. Dobbin,
John C. Brune,                    John I. Donaldson,
Wm. H. Brune,                     Samuel I. Donaldson,
F. W. Brune, Jr.,                 Thos. Donaldson,
Dr. John Buckler,                Samuel C. Donaldson,
Dr. Thos. Buckler,               Robert A. Dobbin,
Robert P. Brown,                  Dr. J. R. W. Dunbar,
Robert D. Brown,                 Jacob R. Drege,
Arthur Burns,                     E. B. Dallam,
Charles Bradenbaugh,             J. M. Edgar,
Wm. Bose,                        Geo. Earnest,
N. C. Brooks,                    Dr. Thos. Edmondson,
John Barney,                      Daniel Egbert, M. D., U. S. N.
Rev. R. H. Ball,                 Basil T. Elder,
Rev. J. C. Backus,                W. Frederick Frick,
Dr. Wm. J. Barry,                 Alex. Fisher,
James L. Bartol,                  Walter Farnandis, Jr.
Thos. E. Bond, Jr.               John H. Falconar,
J. Mason Campbell,                Wm. H. Gatchell,
Charles R. Carroll,              R. W. Gill,
3




18
Levin Gale,                       Edward M. Laroque,
Ed. M. Greenway, Jr.              John J. Lloyd,
John M. Gordon,                   F. Lucas, Jr.
Dr. J. T. Graves,                 Wm. P. Lemmon,
Edward Gray,                      Randolph B. Latimer,
Alex. B. Gordon,                  Brantz Mayer,
John Glenn,                       Charles F. Mayer,
Charles J. M. Gwinn,              Jas. H. McHenry,
Sam'l K. George,                  Ramsey McHenry,
Geo. M. Gill,                      Wm. McKim,
Geo. Gibson, M. D.                Haslett McKim,
J. Morrison Harris,               Dr. Leonard Mackall,
Dr. Jas. Hall,                    Wm. E. Mayhew, Jr.
Wm. Hamilton, Jr.                 Joseph C. Manning,
Henry R. Hazlehurst,              Joseph Merefield,
Henry Hardesty,                   Dr. G. W. Miltenberger,
Dr. Jas. Hamilton, U. S. N.       Geo. H. Miles,
Lewis Howell,                     Charles T. Maddox,
Sam'l Hurbut,                     Dr. Sam. K. Martin,
John B. Howell,                   Robert M. McLane,
Johns Hopkins,                    J. V. L. McMahon,
Robert Hull,                      John B. Morris,
WVm. G. Harrison,                 John Murphy,
Dr. Chapin A. Harris,             Thos. Murphy,
Robert S. Hollins,                Wm. E. Mayhew,
John Hanan,                       Jonathan Meredith,
Charles R. Howard, of Cowpens,    Wm. D. Miller,
Austin Jenkins,                   Gen. Henry Mankin,
Mark Jenkins,                     John B. Morris, Jr.
M. Courtney Jenkins,              Robert Mickle,
Reverdy Johnson,                  Isaac Munroe,
Reverdy Johnson, Jr.              Win. M. Medcalfe,
W. H. Keighler,                   Geo. Neilson,
John P. Kennedy,                  J. Spear Nicholas,
J. T. Keys,                       M. E. Noyes,
Edward Kurtz,                     Jno. H. Naff,
Robert R. Kirkland,               H. H. Perry,
John H. B. Latrobe,               Wm. P. Preston,
Benjamin H. Latrobe,              John G. Proud,
Z. Collins Lee,                   John Pickell,
Robert Leslie,                    James R. Patridge,
Aaron R. Levering,                Rev. Wm. S. Plumer,
Martin Lewis,                     Chas. H. Pitts,




19
R. Purviance, Jr.                 John S. Tyson,
R. Purviance,                     Isaac Tyson, Jr.
Enoch Pratt,                      Wm. R. Travers,
Wm. A. Poor,                      Wm. H. Travers,
Wm. B. Perine,                     St. Geo. W. Teackle,
Dr. Wm. Power,                    J. Hanson Thomas,
Lloyd N. Rogers,                   O. C. Tiffany,
Dr. A. C. Robinson,               O. W. Treadwell,
Joseph Reynolds,                  John D. Toy,
Joseph Robinson,                  Lawrence Thomsen,
Wm. Robinson, Jr.                 Henry A. Thompson,
Andrew S. Ridgely,                Alexander Turnbull,
Wm. Reynolds,                     Wm. G. Thomas,
A. Schumacher,                    Sam'l Epes Turner,
Wm. Schley,                       J. Frederick Von Kapff,
John Spear Smith,                 Libertus Van Bokkelin,
Sam. W. Smith,                    S. Teakle Wallis,
Thos. W. Smith,                   B. C. Ward,
Otis Spear,                       Geo. H. Williams,
Carroll Spence,                   Joseph B. Williams,
Thos. Swann,                      Geo. Waesche,
James Swan,                       Sam'l G. Wyman,
Wm. Prescott Smith,               David S. Wilson,
S. F. Streeter,                   J. Carroll Walsh,
Geo. H. Steuart,                  James Welsh,
John S. Sumner,                   Henry M. Warfield,
B. R. Spalding,                   Henry Webster,
Moses Sheppard,                   Rev. C. J. White,
J. H. Stickney,                   James Winchester,
Robert M. Smith,                  John Campbell White, Jr.
Jno. Louis Smith,                 Jas. S. Waters,
Wm. C. Shaw,                      Wm. F. Worthington,
C. A. Schaeffer,                  Wm. Woodville,
J. J. Speed,                      Thos. Wilson,
Joseph Smith, Jr.                 Dr. James Wynne,
Wm. A. Talbott,                   Ambrose A. White,
S. T. Thompson,                   Dr. Wm. Thos. Wilson,
Henry Tiffany,                    Coleman Yellott.
Osmond Tiffany, Jr.




HONORARY MEMBERS, IN 1850.
Jas. M. Wayne,....... Savannah, Ga.
J. K.Tefft,......     c       c
Thomas Corwin,....... Ohio.
James H. McDowell,..... Virginia.
Alexander H. H. Stewart,....   "
Henry Clay,........  Kentucky.
Thos. H. Benton,.......    Missouri.
Geo. Folsom,...... JV.ew York.
J. R. Bartlett,.....                    "
Jas. Renwick,........ 
J. L. Stephens,........
Gulian C. Verplanck,.....
Capt. Wilkes,........              Washington City.
David Ridgely,......
Peter Force,.......                       "
Rev. Dr. Ryder,.......   Georgetown, D. C.
Prof'r Joseph Henry,....    Washington, D. C.
Geo. Bancroft,........          
James M. Gilliss, U. S. N.....
W. H. Prescott....... Boston, Mass.
Edward Everett,......    Cambridge, JMass.
Jared Sparks,........." 
Daniel Webster,.....    M.ass.
Robert C. Winthrop.....          "
George Ticknor,.......              "
B. Silliman,...........             ew Haven, Connecticut.
D. Hoffman,.......    London, England.
Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer,...England.
Professor Rafn,...... Copenhagen.
G. S. Hilliard,........   Boston.
Baron Fred'k Von Raumer,...Berlin, Prussia.
Lewis Cass,.........                 Detroit, lichigan.
Washington Irving,...... Jew York.
Rob't Walsh,........ Paris.
J. R. Poinsett,........ Charleston, S. C.
J. McP. Berrien,.......  Savannah, Georgia.
W. Gilmore Simms,...... Medway, S. C.
J. Fennimore Cooper,....Cooperstown, J. Y.
M. Champollon Figeac,..... Paris.
Count Leon de la Borde,...    "
Alex. Vattemare,.......    "
A. Calderon de la Barca,....Spain.
Pedro de Angelis,........  Montevideo, South America.




21
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.
Col. Jose Arenales,.....   Buenos Ayres, South America.
J. Mora Moss,.......                   
Jno. R. Baltzell,...              Frederick, Maryland.
Jas. McSherrv,........'         "
W. F. Lynch,......  U.S. JV.
Thos. G. Pratt,.......  J.nnapolis, Md.








THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF CIVIL LIBERTY IN MARYLAND.
A DISCOUROSE
DELIVERED BY
GEO. WM. BROWN,
BEFORE THE
Iar  lani M          ittrical r9o iet
_amo&z, C_,G~z/, /6>50,
BEING THE
FIFTH ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THAT ASSOCIATION.
BALTIMORE:
PRINTED BY JOHN D. TOY,
Corner of Market and St. Paul-sts.
1850.








DISCOURSE.
MR. PRESIDENT AND
GENTLEMEN OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY:
IN this age and country we do not much love to contemplate the past.
The legends and time-honored traditions which form so large a part of
the intellectual store of many nations have no place in our literature.
Society is so constituted that most of us seek and therefore find little
leisure for rest or recreation, and still less for looking backward. Every
hour brings with it so much engrossing labor, or such a variety of pursuits and cares, and the age is so crowded with startling events, that the
transactions of the present time only, seem to be worthy of our serious
attention, and, contrasted with them, those of the past fade into insignificance as if they were mere shadows and unrealities.
Twice a day the never resting press spreads before our eyes the current history of the whole civilized world. Not a battle is fought, nor
a dynasty subverted, nor does any other event of real or supposed importance happen any where within the outermost boundaries of civilization, but the account speeds back to us faster than the winds can waft
it, borne aloft over land and ocean by the mighty arm of steam, or shot
through the wires of the telegraph with a rapidity so great that it defies
calculation. As the sun in the short cycle of twenty-four hours looks
down upon the inhabitants of the whole earth, making one and the
same solar day for all, so we, by the wonderful agency of steam and
magnetism, may be almost said to live on the same actual day in the
midst of events which occur among other people and in distant lands.
A happy effect of this wonderful circulation of thought and intelligence
is, doubtless, to expand our views beyond the narrow confines of our
own homes and country, and to enlarge our sympathies so as to enable
us to embrace within them the interests of the whole human family,




4
but its effect also is, to concentrate our thoughts still more intensely
upon the occurrences of the present time to the exclusion of the past.
The existence of this Society and of associations of a similar kind,
which have recently been established in many of the States, and the
encouragement which they have received, amounting to something more
than a permission to live, may be regarded as a favorable omen. They
not only embody in themselves a protest against the practical and utilitarian spirit of the times, but are an evidence of a reverent desire on the
part of their members to do justice to the memory of our forefathers
who have left us so largely their debtors.
No people are connected with the past by stronger and more endearing ties than ourselves, although, at first sight, it might seem to be
otherwise.  We justly attribute to the free institutions of our country
the extraordinary prosperity which as a nation we have always enjoyed;-but whence came those institutions?  The distinctive character
which they possess was impressed upon them at a recent period, but their
origin lies hid in the distant past, and they were developed slowly and
gradually by the events of many centuries. It may be said of them as
has been said with reference to the intellectual treasures which we possess, that we who now live,
" Are the heirs of all the ages,
In the foremost ranks of time."
All history shows that few things are of slower growth than civil
liberty, and that it is easier either for individuals or nations to submit
to be ruled by others, than to learn to control themselves.  In some
measure we, as a people, have learned the duties of self-government, and
to practice them; under the favorable circumstances in which we are
placed, seems to be so easy, that we can hardly comprehend that the
habit was acquired by slow degrees and a transmitted experience. If
we had attempted the experiment for ourselves, without the benefit of
the instruction which we have derived from  those who preceded us,
we should have failed signally as others have done.
In order to establish a republic, much more is required than to set
men free from the bonds of despotism, and to put the reinrs of authority
in their own hands. Nor is it enough that the true interest of all requires that law and order should be the unvarying rule, nor even that
a liberal and wise written constitution should be solemnly adopted.
Our sister republics on this continent, if indeed such travesties of free




5
governments can be called republics, furnish an instructive lesson on
this subject. Spain, while they remained her colonies, endeavored to
trample out every spark of freedom, and, now that they have thrown off
her yoke, they are not fitted for the new duties which they have
assumed.
Nor is the case much better in enlightened Europe.  Within a short
space of time the old dynasties there have been shaken to their foundations.  A veil has fallen from  the eyes of men.  The divine right of
kings to govern, and the heaven-appointed  duty of the people to submit to be governed without reference to the general welfare, have come
to be regarded as impostures too gross to be seriously maintained out
of Russia and Turkey.  Even fortifications and standing armies, with
which monarchs have been accustomed to hedge themselves round,
have, in times of trial, proved, like the rest, a delusion. Late events
have shown that in most of the countries of Europe there are destructive agencies at work, quite sufficient to subvert the old governments
which have so long elevated the few at the expense of the many. They
are permitted to stand, not through their own strength, but because there
is not sufficient constructive power in the people to rebuild after a revolution.  Men must learn self-control, self-government, before they are
prepared to be republicans. True liberty is the farthest thing possible
from anarchy and licentiousness. Those who have grown up in bondage can hardly be made to assume the port, and practice the moderation
of men educated in the habits of regulated freedom.
Only two of all the men of Israel, who, in Egypt, had been hewers
of wood and drawers of water for their tyrannical task-masters, were
permitted to assist in laying the foundations of the Jewish commonwealth. Slaves they had been, and had been taught to submit and obey,
but self-control, self denial they could not learn, even from the teaching
of their inspired lawgiver. The privations which their new freedom
imposed, soon made them pine for their former slavery, and it was not
until the old generation had died completely out, and a new and brave
race, composed of those who had left Egypt in their youth and those
who were born and nurtured in the free air of the desert, had taken its
place, that the chosen people were permitted to enter and take possession of the promised land.
The men who laid the foundations of civil liberty, broad and deep, in
this their land of promise, were the early colonists and their immediate
successors, and they are worthy of all honor from us who have entered




6
into their labors. They were not fully aware of the consequences destined to result from  the work in which they were engaged, but our
gratitude is not the less due to them on that account. The real benefits
which mankind were to derive from the discovery of a new continent,
were not, as was at first supposed, in a large increase of wealth, nor
even in finding an outlet for the crowded population of Europe. They
were to spring from the new order of things, socially and politically,
which has here been developed, aud which is fast modifying the civilization of the world. More precious seeds were never sown in the fallow field of time than the English colonies which, in the seventeenth
century, were planted along the eastern coast of North America. As
the child is the father of the man, as the acorn enfolds within its shell
the future oak, as the bubbling fountain gives birth and direction to the
mighty river, so those insignificant colonies, the work mainly of individual enterprise, feeble in numbers, neglected in their infancy, struggling for existence against Indian foes, diseases, hardships and privations, contained within themselves principles of liberty, which in their
development, naturally produced the free institutions under which we
live and which we justly prize as the most valuable of our possessions.
But I pass from these general considerations to the subject to which
I desire more especially to call your attention, the origin and growth of
civil liberty in Maryland. It is a theme which I cannot hope to make
generally interesting, for it will necessarily carry me into somewhat
minute details, and, unfortunately, the early records of our State are not
only few and scanty in themselves, but are barren of striking and romantic incidents, which are essential to render the pages of history animated and attractive.
The charter of Maryland bears date on the 20th of June, 1632.'It
was drawn in the lifetime of George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore,
for whose benefit it was designed, but he having died about two months
before its execution, it was granted by Charles the First to Cecilius, the
eldest son of George Calvert, to whom the title and fortune of his father
had descended.  Very different views have been taken and earnestly
maintained of the true meaning of this instrument. It has been described by some as embodying a scheme of the strongest government
known throughout the American Colonies, and has been praised by
others as being not only liberal but even democratic in its character,
and as making ample provision for the rights of the settlers. This difference of opinion has arisen from the ambiguity of some of its provi



7
sions, but I think that it is not difficult to shew that the charter was
designed to establish a government resembling that of England in the
days of James the First, in which still more extensive powers were
vested in the rulers than were claimed by the English executive, and
fewer rights were secured to the people, than were then enjoyed in
the parent country; and, indeed, it would be strange if it were otherwise, if we consider the source from which it originated.  It is generally admitted either to have been the work of the first Lord Baltimore himself, or to have been prepared under his immediate direction, and it bears, in all its parts, the strongest intrinsic evidence that
such was its origin.  He was first knighted, and afterwards created
Baron of Baltimore, by James the First, for about six years was one of
his secretaries of state, and, through the life of that arbitrary and capricious monarch, continued to be a favorite. He was twice returned to
parliament, in which body he was known as a supporter of the royal
prerogative, and as a member of the court party as opposed to the
country party. He is universally conceded to have been an able and
conscientious man, but it is no reproach to him to say, that his sympathies and opinions, so far as they are known to us, all inclined him to
favor a strong rather than a popular government.
The charter conveys, according to specified boundaries, which afterwards and for a long time were the source of much trouble and litigation, " a certain region," "in a country hitherto uncultivated in the parts
of America." It was a compact between the sovereign and the proprietary, in which the latter undoubtedly had the best of the bargain, but
as the former voluntarily parted with that which to him was of little
value, and to which, at best, he had but small right, he certainly had no
cause to complain. The grantee and his heirs were made true and absolute lords and proprietaries of the soil, and all that the sovereign reserved to himself was two Indian arrows of the country, to be delivered at the castle of Windsor every year, on Tuesday of Easter week,
in token of allegiance, and the fifth part of the gold and silver-the
latter, as it proved, a barren right.
The laws and institutions of the province were not required to be
submitted to the crown for its approbation, and the right of taxation by
it was expressly and forever abandoned. This last was a remarkable
provision, and greatly strengthened the popular cause in the subsequent
controversy with England, growing out of the right which it asserted of
taxing the colonies.




Thus a government almost independent of the parent country, was
created by the charter itself.
Maryland was, in the quaint language of the instrument, to be " eminently distinguished above all regions of that territory, and decorated
with more ample titles." And to carry out this purpose, the proprietary
was clothed with powers almost royal in their character and extent.  He
was to be the fountain of honor, and was permitted to adorn well deserving subjects inhabiting within the province, with whatsoever titles
and dignities he should appoint, provided only that they were not to be
such as were then used in England.  There doubtless glittered before
the imagination of the proprietary a long line of transatlantic nobility,
of which he was to be the acknowledged head and founder.  Their fuictions are not designated in the charter, but we must suppose that they were
designed to be appropriate to elevated rank. The proprietary, if he so
willed, had the power of establishing the feudal system perfect in all its
parts. Express provision was made for manors, lords of manors and
manorial-courts.  Various manors were in fact granted, and in one or
two cases, manor-courts appear to have been held, but this is the extent
to which this feature of the charter was in practice preserved.  It is,
however, doing no injustice to the proprietary to suppose that he designed to create a new and vigorous aristocracy, who would sit as an
upper house in the future parliaments which he intended to assemble,
would fill the most important offices of the State, and by their wealth,
power and dignity would form the surest support and brightest ornament of the vice-royal court, which he and his descendants were authorized to hold in the fair province of Maryland.
The proprietary had the power of creating ports of entry, of erecting towns into boroughs, and boroughs into cities, with such privileges
and immunities as he might deem expedient, of pardoning offences, of
taking command in chief of the forces, with as full and unrestrained
power as any captain general of any army ever had, of declaring martial law, and of granting lands on such terms and tenure, as he thought
proper.
He was the source of justice.  He had the power of establishing
courts, of abolishing them at will, and of determining their jurisdiction
and manner of proceeding; and all process from them ran in his name
and not in that of the king.
He was not only the head of the executive branch of the government, but he had the power of appointing officers of every description,
and of creating and abolishing the offices themselves at his own pleasure.




9
He was the head of the church.  That is, he had the power of erecting and founding churches, and was entitled to the patronage and
advowsons appertaining to them.
He had also in certain cases and to a limited extent, the dangerous
power of promulgating ordinances which were to have the force of
laws; and he also claimed as a part of his prerogative, and occasionally practised, the equally dangerous power of dispensing with
laws actually existing.
He was invested with all the royal rights which the Bishop of Durham
enjoyed within the County Palatine of Durham, and this among other
things gave him the right to all the game within the province.
In the end of the instrument, there is a sweeping clause, that in case
any doubt shall arise as to the true meaning of any word of the charter, an interpretation was to be put upon it most beneficial profitable
and favorable to Lord Baltimore, his heirs and assigns.
Amid this imposing array of powers conferred on the proprietary,
those granted to the people were neither numerous nor explicit. The
most important right secured to them, was that the laws were to be
enacted by the proprietary, with the advice and approbation of the freemen, or more properly freeholders of the province, or of their deputies.*
The proprietary understood this clause to mean that he had the right
of originating all laws, and that the people had nothing to do but accept
or reject those which hle might choose to propose.
But whatever may be the true meaning of the charter in this respect,
it is clear that the legislative assemblies were to be called together at
such times only as the proprietary might prescribe and in such form as
he might think best, and he had the power of adjourning and dissolving
them at pleasure. Thus their organization was left as indefinite as their
functions.
It is a fact worthy of notice, as illustrative of the character of those
* The charter is in Latin, and it has been a matter of doubt whether the expressions " Liberi Homines " and " Liberi tenentes," which are therein used to indicate the same class persons, should be translated Free-men or Freeholders. As,
however, the proprietary, by his ordinance of 1681, restricted the elective franchise
to persons who were either freeholders or had a given amount of visible personal
estate, and as this ordinance was always acquiesced in and became the settled policy
of Maryland, it would seem to have been the established construction that all freemen were not as such entitled, by virtue of the charter, to vote for delegates to the
General Assembly. If they had been so entitled, none could have been excluded
for want of property.-Charter of Maryland, ~~ 7 and 8; 2 Bozman's Hist. of
Md. 47 note; McMahon's Hist. of Md. 443, note 1.
2




10
times in which political rights were comparatively little discussed, that
amid all the various and tempting allurements, held out by Lord Baltimore to induce the adventurous to enlist in the enterprise of planting
the colony of Maryland, not a word is said of the form  of government intended to be established. The conversion of the Indians was
presented as a primary object. The land was described as being white
unto the harvest, prepared to receive into its fruitful bosom the seed of
the Gospel. The air was represented as mild and serene, of a medium
temperature between the cold of New England and the burning heat of
Florida. The bays and rivers were extolled as abounding in delicious
fish, innumerable, the forests as swarming with game, the swine and
deer as so abundant that they were troublesome rather than advantageous, and the soil so fertile that it afforded three harvests of Indian corn,
or King's corn, as it was then called, in one year. But whether those
who were invited to occupy this Western Paradise were to participate
in the affairs of government, or to be ruled wholly by others, it was not
considered material to communicate.*
If the view of the charter which I have given be correct, the people
of Maryland are not mainly indebted to it for the freedom which they
have always enjoyed.
We must look elsewhere for an explanation of the fact, and we find
it in the character of the men who planted the colony, and the circumstances by which they were surrounded.  The colonists consisted of
some two hundred, for the most part Roman Catholics. They brought
with them stout English hearts, in which were cherished fundamental
principles of liberty, learned in a land where four hundred years before,
magna charta had been extorted by the sturdy barons from  the fears
of King John, where parliaments met, and where trial by jury was established. They spoke the language in which Shakspeare had written.
They belonged to the same period which produced a John Milton,
whose " Speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing," rings even now
in our ears like the voice of a trumpet. They were part of the same
generation which a few years afterwards, appalled all Europe by a
spectacle never before seen, the trial, condemnation and execution of an
anointed king, for a violation of the rights of his subjects. It mattered
little to such men whether their rights were more or less definitely
settled by the parchment title under which the land was acquired. The
* See the Report of Maryland prefixed to Father White's narrative.




11
very ambiguity of the instrument operated in their favor, for it opened
wide the door to a construction which became more and more liberal,
as their strength and numbers increased. All the circumstances by
which  they  were surrounded, favored the growth of free principles.
They had settled themselves in a wilderness, where the artificial distinctions of life, must, to a great extent, be laid aside. The best man
was he who was the bravest, the most useful, the most enterprising.
All had to labor for subsistence, and nearly all with their own hands.
The charter provided for nobles, but none were to be found, for nobles
cannot live in a wilderness. There, stars and garters are out of place,
and a coat of frieze is worth more than a coat of arms. The inhabitants
consisted chiefly of planters, small farmers, mechanics, redemptioners,
(or persons who were bound to render personal service for a term of
years, to those who  had  paid  the  expenses of their emigration,)
and a few  official personages sent out by the proprietary.  Some
of them were persons of education and gentle birth, but the majority
were doubtless such  as usually  compose  the  materials of which
colonies are formed, men  of little or no  means, who  go abroad
in the hope of bettering their condition. They could not be called
poor, for they had the means of comfortable subsistence in abundance
around them, but their wealth consisted mainly in their capacity for
labor.*  The tendency of such  men so situated was necessarily and
inevitably towards the establishment of freer institutions than were
contemplated by the charter. All that they needed was to be left free
to work out their own destiny without foreign molestation, and this was
secured to them for a considerable time, by the fact that the political
and religious contest waged between the contending parties at home,
* The act of 1638, ch. 16, furnishes an illustration of the scanty means of the colonists. A water-mill having become necessary for the use of the people instead of
the hand-mills which had previously sufficed to grind their corn, the Governor and
Council were authorized to contract for its erection, provided the cost should not
exceed 20,000 pounds of tobacco, or $333 33~ cents, which was to be raised by general taxation in two years. McSherry's Hist. of Md. 56. 2 Bozman, 156. Education
was not very extensively diffused among the settlers. The return of the election of a
burgess for Mattapanient hundred, dated 14th of February, 1638, was signed by
seven persons, of whom only one could write his name, the rest affixed their marks;
and out of fifteen persons whose names were subscribed to the return for St. Mary's
hundred, seven made their marks. On this Mr. Boznan remarks: "This gross
deficiency in literature among our colonists is not however to be imputed to their
colonial state. These persons, for the most part, were born and bred in England,
and had left their country after the common period of acquiring literary attainments.
It was the defect of the age in which they lived." 2 Bozman, 99.




12
left the British government little leisure to look after its remote and
insignificant colonies.
For about a year after the colony was planted, the settlers were too
busily occupied with building, planting, reaping, and the various other
labors incident to their new situation, to find leisure for any thing else,
but on the 26th of February, 1635, they were called together by the
Governor for the purpose of making laws. Various bills were passed,
but unfortunately no memorial of them remains, as most of the early
records of the colony were seized and carried off to Virginia, in the
outbreak known as Clayborne and Ingle's rebellion, where they were
either lost or destroyed. But the bills passed never became laws, as
the Proprietary refused his assent to them, for the reason, as is supposed,
that they did not originate with himself.
The important business of legislation was thus put off for two years
longer. In the year 1637 the second legislative assembly was summoned by the Governor, to meet at the little town of St. Mary's.  It
was a strangely constituted body. It met in one chamber. Governor
Leonard Calvert, the brother of the Proprietary, presided, and his three
councillors took their seats as members. All the freemen of the province, who chose to do so, were invited to attend in person, or to send
delegates in their place, or to give their proxies to any individual of
their own selection, authorizing him to vote for them. Thus was as
near an approach made to a purely democratic body, as could well exist,
and indeed from the condition of the colony it would not have been
easy to form one of a different character. Some of the entries on the
journal of the house sound strangely to us at this day. On the first
day of their meeting, proclamation was made " that all fieemen omitted
in the writs of summons, that would claim a voice in the general
assembly, should come and make their claim."  Whereupon we read
that " claim was made by John Robinson, carpenter, and was admitted."
On the next day, "came Edward Bateman, of St. Mary's hundred, ship
carpenter, and claimed a voice as a freeman, and made Mr. John Lewger,
secretary, his proxy." "Also came John Langford, of the Isle of Kent,
gentleman, high constable of the said island, who had given a voice in
the choice of Robert Philpot, gentleman, to be one of the burgesses for
the freemen of that island, and desired to revoke his voice, and to be
personally put in the assembly, and was admitted." And so, by this
simple process, Edward Bateman, the ship carpenter, by his proxy,
John Robinson, the carpenter, and John Langford, the high constable,




13
were admitted to their seats as legislators, although the last had already
voted for a regularly appointed delegate.
It is fortunate, perhaps, that political aspirants, even at this enlightened day, find it not quite so easy to obtain seats in the legislature
of the State, either for themselves or their favorite candidates.
The house being at length organized, proceeded to business, and
most pressing business it had on hand. For three years the colony had
been struggling on in the midst of difficulties. Clayborne, who has been
called the evil genius of Maryland, had not only set up a claim to the
Isle of Kent, but is charged with having instigated the Indians to hostilities. The colonists were increasing in number, and were gradually
extending themselves beyond the settlement at St. Mary's. There was
urgent need of laws. They were surrounded by new circumstances, a
new social relation, that of slavery unfortunately had, probably even
then, sprung up among them, their dangerous Indian neighbors seemed
to threaten them, their infant agriculture, commerce and institutions
were all sadly in want of laws adapted to their situation. And a greater
want in a community cannot well exist. Those who live under a system of just laws duly enforced do not, until deprived of them, appreciate the benefits which they confer. Like the common blessings of
water and sunshine, they come to be regarded as things of course, for
which no gratitude is due. But if they were suspended for a single day, we should then learn to estimate, more correctly, their importance. The laws, in truth, surround us like the atmosphere, they
attend our steps when we walk abroad, and shield our homes from
harm when we are absent; by a thousand unseen and unfelt influences,
they minister to our comfort, protection and happiness. They are the
embodied wisdom  of the age which enacts them, its sense of justice
speaking in enduring words.
But a serious difficulty stood in the way of the colonists. They had
already, two years before, passed a series of laws which in mass had
been rejected by the proprietary, and now, in his turn, he had prepared
in England, a Code for their government, which they were assembled to
ratify and adopt. The question was, would they do it, and important
consequences for many years hung upon their decision.  It does not
appear that the laws proposed were, in themselves, objectionable. The
proprietary had at heart the good of the colony, on which he had lavished large sums of money, and it was, doubtless, his desire to promote the welfare of the inhabitants while he protected what he deemed




14
his own rights.*  The colonists, on their part, manifested for him, on
various occasions, a high degree of respect and affection. But an important principle was involved.  If they yielded to him the privilege of
originating all laws, and reserved to themselves a mere negative on such
as he might choose to propose, they surrendered, so long as the charter
should endure, the dearest and most important right of freemen.
If, on the other hand, they rejected the Code, they must be prepared
not only to engage in a serious controversy with their beneficent patron,
but to forego the advantages of all legislation for an indefinite period.
The matter is very briefly stated, but it is clear from the record, that the
sturdy Marylanders did not hesitate for a moment.  They could endure,
if need were, to go without laws, but not to have laws made for them
by another.  When the question was taken, the Code of the proprietary was promptly rejected, but two of the members present voting for
it, and those two were Governor Calvert himself, and Mr. Lewger, his
Secretary.  It is true that the two increased their vote by the proxies
which they held; but I speak of the votes of the members present.
Thus early was fought and won, the first battle for civil liberty in Maryland.  The head of the popular movement appears to have been Captain Thomas Cornwaleys, one of the Governor's Council, and for a
long time a man of note in the colony, and its military leader. It is to
be lamented that a more full memorial of this brave soldier and patriot
has not come down to us.
The house soon afterwards proceeded to pass laws for itself, but as
the bills had not been matured in committee, the Governor proposed an
adjournment, in order that the members might attend to their other business, while the bills were preparing. This was opposed by Cornwaleys, who replied significantly, that, "4they could not spend their
time in any business, better than in this for the country's good."
The bills were at length got ready and passed, forty-two in all, but,
as the colonists probably anticipated, they shared the fate of their predecessors, and were in a body rejected by the proprietary. Their titles,
however, have come down to us, and show that the fathers of Maryland
set themselves in earnest to the great work of legislation. There is a bill
providing for the probate of wills, another regulating the descent of
land, another in restraint of liquors, and another for the liberties of the
* During the first two or three years of the colony, Cecilius Calvert, the proprietary, expended upon it upwards of ~40,000 sterling.-McMahon, 197.




15
people.  The colonists being thus deprived of the power of making
laws for themselves, neither gave up in despair, nor had recourse to
lynch-law, but resorted to a better expedient than either. They claimed
that they brought with them, and were to be governed by, all the laws
of England which were applicable to their situation, and this claim they
never relinquished although the proprietary opposed it, on the ground
that a wholesale adoption of the laws of England would interfere with
his legislative rights. From this difference of opinion, a controversy
arose long afterwards, in the year 1722, which lasted for ten years. As
the courts only could decide what laws of England were applicable and
what were not, the people of Maryland were advocating a principle,
the establishment of which would give a large and somewhat dangerous
discretion to the judges, especially, as their appointment and tenure of
office rested entirely with the proprietary, but the people greatly preferred to encounter this danger and inconvenience rather than risk the
liberties which were enjoyed in the mother country, by surrendering the
protection of the laws under which those liberties had grown up.  It is
a note-worthy circumstance that the most serious controversy which
ever arose between the proprietary and the people of Maryland, originated in the assertion by them of their right as English subjects, to be
governed by the laws of England.  The fact is a high practical testimonial to the substantial character of English liberty, which is the
parent stock of our own.
At last both of these questions were determined in favor of the people. It was soon settled* that all legislation should originate in the legislature of the province, and not with the proprietary, but it was not
settled until the year 1732, that in cases not otherwise provided for,
" the rule of judicature was to be according to the laws, statutes, and
reasonable customs of England as used and practised within the province."t
Some time necessarily elapsed before the various departments of government became fully organized, as is singularly illustrated by an anecdote which is related of an early period of the colony. In 1648, a
Miss Margaret Brent, on the death of Governor Leonard Calvert, was
* In 1639.
t McMahon, 127. From this period until the revolution, the courts continued to
exercise the power of adopting and giving effect to such of the English Statutes as
were accommodated to the condition of the province, without regard to the inquiry
whether they had been practised upon, or enacted previously to 1732. Ib. 128.




16
appointed his administrator, and as the Governor had been the agent of
his brother, the proprietary, under a power of attorney from him, it was
judicially decided that Miss Brent was duly authorized to act as attorney
in fact for the absent proprietary. She is described as having been possessed of a "masculine understanding," and at least appears to have been
addicted to masculine pursuits; as she is said " to have been very actively employed in taking up lands, and in affairs of all kinds relating to
property." To her great credit it is related, that by her personal influence and by a timely appropriation of a small sum from the estates of
the proprietary, of which she had the management, she, on several occasions, pacified the soldiers in garrison at St. Inigoe's fort, who were
ready to mutiny on account of the non-payment of their wages. Armed
thus with a double right, Miss Brent presented herself before the legislature of the province, which was then in session, and made her application to have two votes in the house, one for herself and another as
his lordship's attorney. But although the merit of this remarkable lady
and her public services, were on a subsequent occasion handsomely
acknowledged by the legislature, yet they probably thought that by
granting the request they would establish a precedent, dangerous even
at that early day, in favor of female rights, for we are told that the application " was refused peremptorily by the Governor Greene, and that the
lady protested in form against all the proceedings of that assembly,
unless she might be present and vote as aforesaid."  MIr. Bozman, the
learned historian of Maryland, endeavors to justify this proceeding on
the part of the legislature, but whether successfully or not, I shall not
stop to consider. Our Maryland lady, he thinks, may in character be
aptly compared to Queen Elizabeth; if this be so, that fact may probably have weighed as strongly with the assembly and governor in the
peremptory refusal with which they met her request, as the reasons on
which the historian relies in vindication of the ungallant decision.*
I shall not weary you by a detail of the various difficulties which
beset the founders of our State, or of the intestine commotions by
which they were harassed. The controversies in England between
Charles I. and his people, and Cromwell and the parliament, were not
without effect on the affairs of the colony, and although strife and commotion were the immediate result, the progress of free principles in
England undoubtedly gave an additional impulse to them here.
* 2 Bozman, 323.




17
It is every where in this country recognized as a fundamental principle
of government, that the legislative, executive and judicial functions
should be kept separate and distinct, but this wholesome rule was
wholly disregarded in the proprietary government of Maryland.
The governor was at first in the habit of summoning by special writs
such persons as he thought proper, to sit in the legislative assembly.
This was an arbitrary power, liable to great abuse, and it happened that
in the session of 1642, the number thus summoned gave the governor
a majority over the regularly elected burgesses, thus taking the whole
legislation out of the hands of the people.  To remedy this inconvenience, the burgesses demanded that the assembly should be divided
into two bodies, of which they should constitute the lower house.
This reasonable request was at first refused, but about the year 1659,
the division was permanently effected.  Subsequently to this, the lower
house was composed of delegates regularly elected by the people, and
the upper house of the governor and his council, and the right of each
individual to appear in person or by proxy, wholly ceased. In 1681,
the proprietary, by a positive ordinance, restricted the elective franchise
to freemen having a small property qualification, and this restriction was
continued down to the adoption of the State Constitution, and was
incorporated in it.*
The judiciary was strangely blended with the executive, and never
became properly independent of it. The governor and his council
sat as the High Court of Appeals of the province, and the inferior
judges who were appointed by the proprietary, were removable at
his pleasure. Still they could on occasions act with firmness and
independence, for, in 1765, we find Frederick County Court deciding
the British stamp act to be unconstitutional and void, and proceeding in
the transaction of business without paying the least regard to its provisions.
The governor was the chancellor of the province, although his previous occupation might have been such, as, according to our notions, to
have furnished a very unsuitable preparation for the performance of
the responsible duties appertaining to the office.  The last colonial
governor, Robert Eden, a brother-in-law of the then Lord Baltimore, had
previously been a lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards.t
* 2 Bozman, 216, 297 note; McMahon, 449, note S,
1 Bland's Rep., 625, note.
3




18
The main security for the liberties of the people was in the house of
delegates, who alone of the public servants were elected by the people,
and who  took  care so to exercise their powers, as constantly  to
strengthen the popular cause. They claimed the right of originating all
money bills, and an equal rank in point of privilege with the English
house of commons.  One of the expedients to which they resorted to
increase their power, was to pass important laws with a proviso that
they were to continue only for short and limited periods, which made
frequent sessions of the general assembly, and a constant resort to it for
the enactment of indispensable laws, absolutely necessary.
The intention of the charter to establish in Maryland a mixed form
of government, of which a hereditary nobility was to be a prominent
feature, was overruled by circumstances.  Such a class can be sustained only in a country where the ownership of the soil is mainly
vested in them, and where the masses are reduced to the condition of
tenants, dependent on the landholders for support.* But in Maryland
there were vast uncultivated tracts of land, lying in their primitive state,
which the proprietary was more anxious to sell than the people were
to purchase.  Every man who  chose, became a landholder, a proprietor in his own right. He had no occasion to look up to any other
man for patronage, and still less for support or protection. Labor was
the passport to independence and wealth.  There was no place then
for an aristocracy, for there was nothing to support it. Aristocracy is
a plant which flourishes only in the sunshine of courts, here it was an
exotic, and it died at once in the shade of our vast forests. So we find
that the manors which were actually granted, subsisted only in name, and
the lords of manors had, only for a short time, even that unsubstantial
existence. The aristocratic provisions of the charter being thus incapable of being carried out in practice, were soon lost sight of by the
proprietary, and excited no opposition on the part of the people; but
in them the proprietary lost what would have been of material assisttance in sustaining him  in the exercise of the royal prerogatives with
which he was clothed.
The proprietary government established by the charter, lasted, with
slight interruptions, down to the American revolution; but long before
that event the proprietaries, one after another, had silently relinquished
the exercise of those powers which, as set forth in the charter, seemed
* This subject is more fully discussed in Burnap's Life of Leonard Calvert,
Chapter X.




19
to threaten the liberties of the inhabitants. They usually resided in
England, and in Maryland had no other means of enforcing their authority than through the agency of civil officers, who, although appointed by them, were generally selected from among the people, and
shared their feelings and opinions. The charter itself soon became an
object of jealousy to the British government, in consequence of the
extensive privileges which it lavished on a subject; so that the proprietaries frequently encountered opposition, and seldom received support
from that quarter, while, in Maryland, the people opposed a steady resistance to the exercise of every thing approaching arbitrary power.
They were uniformly quick in perceiving, and prompt and tenacious in
resisting, the slightest infringement of what they considered  their
rights-which they claimed to be not only those which were conferred
by the charter and laws of the province, but all those, in addition,
which were enjoyed by English subjects at home.  No right or privilege once acquired by them was ever relinquished, but, on the contrary,
became a means of increasing their power in all future controversies.
The consequence was, that although Maryland continued to have a
hereditary executive, it became, in essential matters, republican, and
instead of being subjected to an arbitrary government, enjoyed one of
mild and equal laws. The people were protected in their persons and
property, and the latter was so distributed, that few were found who
were either very rich or very poor-a condition of things most favorable to the growth and maintenance of civil liberty.
The discipline which they had undergone during the colonial period,
was of incalculable service in the revolutionary struggle in which they
were about to engage. They approached that great crisis not with the
timid and hesitating steps of novices in public affairs, but with the resolute tread of men who from long experience in matters of government,
and by the habit which they had acquired of resisting oppression from
whatever quarter it came, and of weighing and judging of their rights,
were fully prepared to engage in the fearful strife which awaited them,
and, in the event of success, to lay wisely and well the foundations of
a free commonwealth.  No better proof can be adduced of the progress
which the principles of true freedom  had made among them, than the
wisdom and moderation which they then exhibited.
In illustration of this, I shall for a short time ask your attention to a
few of the events which occurred in the town of Baltimore previously
to, and in the early part of, the revolutionary war. Although they are




20
not in themselves of much magnitude or importance, they possess some
degree of interest for us, both on account of the local associations connected with them, and because they carry us into the heart, as it were,
of a great movement, and show, by the manner in which it was conducted, the reason of the wide difference which exists between the
American revolution and every similar occurrence of modern times.
The time to which I refer embraces the critical and important period
extending over rather more than two years, during which the committee of observation for the town and county of Baltimore sat here, and
performed many important functions which, in a regularly constituted
government, devolve upon the tribunals and officers of the law.* The
province was then in a transition state; for the colonial government had
virtually ceased to exist, and another had not yet been established in
its place. Society was therefore, in a great measure, resolved into its
original elements, and temporary expedients had to be resorted to, until
a permanent constitution could be adopted.  At the commencement of
this period, when, in the face of domestic disorganization, every energy
of the people had to be called forth to meet the impending war with
Great Britain, the committees of observation came into existence. They
were regularly elected by the qualified voters of the province who assembled for the purpose at the different county towns, and were sustained throughout in all their proceedings by the force of public
opinion.t
They were, in fact, revolutionary tribunals, acting with vast force
and efficiency, and for a time were the main spring of the popular
movement.
In common with most of the public servants at that day, they were
clothed with large discretionary powers, but they acted under the pressure of a responsibility, which was relied on as a sufficient guarantee
against the abuse of the confidence reposed in them. The exigency of
the crisis demanded that confidence should be freely bestowed, although
in some cases it was withheld, or very reluctantly given.  When, for
instance, the assembly of South Carolina resolved to appoint deputies
to attend the Continental Congress, a proposition was made to instruct
heir delegates as to the point to which they might pledge the colony.
* I have had the advantage of consulting the original records kept by the committee, which have been kindly lent to me for the present occasion by their owner,
Peter Force, Esq., of Washington.
t See Appendix, note 1.




21
John Rutledge, the eminent patriot and orator of South Carolina,
warmly opposed the proposition. But what shall we do, asked its advocates, if these delegates make a bad use of their power?  Hang them!
was his decided and impetuous reply. *  John Rutledge was right, and
it was somewhat in the spirit in which he spoke, that the people of
Maryland acted, in the authority with which they invested the committees of observation.
These committees originated in a resolve of the Continental Congress,
which met at Philadelphia, in September, 1774, in pursuance of which
the delegates acting for themselves and the inhabitants of the several
colonies which they represented, entered into an association, the object
of which, among other things, was to put a stop to all trade with Great
Britain and its possessions, to discontinue the purchase and use of East
India tea, to encourage frugality, agriculture, arts and manufactures, and
to discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation, and especially all kinds of gaming and expensive diversions and entertainments.
As part of the plan to carry out this agreement, committees were to be
chosen by the qualified voters in every county, city and town, whose
business it was attentively to observe the conduct of all persons touching
the association, and the names of all persons who violated its articles
were to be published in the newspapers, to the end that all such foes
to the rights of British America might be publicly and universally contemned as the enemies of American liberty, and that all dealings with
such persons might be broken off.
Previously to this,t however, on the 27th of May, 1774, a public
meeting had been called in Baltimore, at which the inhabitants had agreed
to unite in an association of non-intercourse with Great Britain, had
elected a committee to attend a general meeting of delegates from all
parts of the province, to be held at Annapolis, and had appointed a
committee of correspondence for the city and county of Baltimore.
But the resolve of Congress was intended to create a concert of
action throughout the colonies, and the committees of observation thus
established were, in Maryland, from time to time, clothed with such
additional powers by the Provincial Convention at Annapolis, as were
necessary to meet the emergency of the times.:
*4 Graham's History of the United States, p. 370.
t See Purviance's Narrative, pp. 12 and 13.
{ See the Proceedings of the Convention, published in 1836.




22
They not only exercised all the authority requisite to carry out the
measures agreed on by the articles of association established by Congress, but their permission was necessary in many cases before suits could
be brought or executions issued.  They were empowered to purchase
arms and ammunition, and to raise money for that purpose, and others
which were specified, by subscription, or in any other voluntary manner.
They were authorized to enroll and equip troops, to impose fines not exceeding ten pounds on all disaffected persons who refused to enlist, to
disarm such persons, as well as all those who refused to subscribe
certain articles of association of the Freemen of Maryland, promulgated
by the Provincial Convention, and to exact from non-associators, as
they were called, security for their good behavior.
They were required to see that traders did not monopolize goods, or
exact unreasonable prices for them; to hold up to public censure and
odium those who, by acts or words, manifested hostility to the country,
and to arrest, imprison and hand over to the council of safety,'those who
were guilty of offences calculated to disunite the inhabitants, or dangerous to their liberties.
A part of their duty, was to appoint sub-committees of correspondence, by means of which, at a period when neither the press nor the
mails circulated information as rapidly as they now do, intelligence was
communicated to every part of the country.  When, for example, the
harbor of Boston was closed by the arbitrary edict of the British Parliament, the committee of Philadelphia sent the news by express to Baltimore. It excited a determined spirit of resistance here, and the Baltimore
committee of correspondence sped  the alarming tidings onward  to
Annapolis, Alexandria, Norfolk, Portsmouth  and  Charleston.*   It
passed through the length and breadth of the land, like the fiery
cross by which, on a sudden outbreak of war, the Scottish clans were
in former times rallied around the banner of their chief; and with similar results.  A thrill of indignation and resentment pervaded the whole
people, and thus gradually were their hearts prepared for the impending
war.
Immediately on the arrival of a vessel at the port of Baltimore, the
* This committee, however, was not appointed by the committee of observation,
but at the public meeting, before mentioned, held in Baltimore previously to the
election of the latter.-See Purviance's Narrative, p. 13. The incident is referred
to here only as an instance of the efficient action of the revolutionary committees of
correspondence.




23
master was required to appear before the committee, and state, on oath,
whether or not he had imported goods contrary to the resolve of Congress, which prohibited all trade with Great Britain. If such goods
were discovered, as they sometimes were, they were taken possession
of by the committee and sold.  The cost of the goods and charges,
were, out of the proceeds of sale, paid to the importer, and the profits,
if any there were, were, in conformity with the recommendation of
Congress, remitted to Boston, for the benefit of the poor of that town,
who were suffering under the oppression of the Boston port bill. Baltimore, although then a small town containing only about five thousand
inhabitants, was engaged in a large and profitable commerce, the interruption of which inflicted a heavy blow on her growing prosperity; but
such was the patriotism of her citizens that they cheerfully submitted to
i and fairly carried it out.  It is to the credit especially of the mercantile part of the community, who were the greatest sufferers, that they
were among We most prominent supporters of the measure: but their
sacrifices have not received from posterity the gratitude to which they are
justly entitled. The merchant princes of Tyre and of Florence, are
inseparably associated in the memories of all, with the former glories
of those cities, but the merchant patriots of Baltimore are already
almost forgotten in the city where their ashes repose, and by whose
fortunes they stood so steadfastly in the hour of her greatest need.
If it was reported that a trader had taken advantage of the necessities
of the times to demand  exorbitant prices for his goods, he was
summoned to appear before the committee, and the matter was investigated. If the charge was proved, and a satisfactory atonement was
not at once made, the offender was liable to be published to the world
as an enemy of his country; and this was no trivial punishment, for
it was equivalent to civil and social excommunication.  No good
citizen would associate or deal with one who in the time of trial had
deserted the cause of American liberty.
The colonies were engaging with fearful odds against them, in a war
with the leading power of the world, and it seemed to many here, as
well as in Great Britain, that they would be annihilated at a single
blow.  They had more than a foreign enemy to contend with.  In
every part of the country there were intelligent and conscientious men,
occupying the highest places in society and public office, who could not
sympathize with the popular movement, and who held it to be their
duty to oppose it as far as they dared. Many were bound to the parent




24
country by the closest ties of relationship and affection, and there was
then, moreover, as there always is in every community, a strong conservative force which upholds the established order of things whatever
it may be, because it is established. To this class belong the timid,
the prudent, the selfish and unenterprising, and not a few of those
who have much to lose and little to gain by change.  There is always
beside a baser crew, which on the first outbreak joins the popular side,
but in the hour of danger can only be kept in the ranks by the fear of
the fate'which awaits deserters.  Some, but not many of all these
classes there were in Baltimore, and with them the committee had to
deal. In a war like that of the revolution, whoever is not for it is
against it, and the most dangerous enemies are those, who while they
take no active part in the strife, occupy themselves in sowing seeds
of disaffection and discontent, and by their influence and example,
operate on the fears and scruples of the timid and vacillating. An unpublished letter of General Washington, which has been placed in my
hands by a gentleman of this city,* contains some pointed remarks on
this subject. It is dated on the 6th of June, 1777, from his head quarters at Middlebrook, and is addressed to Major Apollos Morris, of Philadelphia, who appears to have been what was called in the language of
that day, a neutral character, but which was generally understood to
mean an enemy in disguise.  "I must," says General Washington,
" tell you in plain terms, that at this time a neutral character is looked
upon as a suspicious one; and 1 would therefore advise you to leave a
country, with the majority of whom you cannot agree in sentiment,
and who are determined to assert their liberties by the ways and means
which necessity, and not the love of war, has obliged them to adopt."
As in times of public commotion, martial law may rightfully supercede the office of the civil magistrate, so, on occasions of extreme peril,
even liberty of speech may have to yield to the exigency of public
safety. The Baltimore committee did not hesitate to act on this principle, and for the first application of it they selected a man who occupied
a prominent position in the community. Information was given to them
that the Rev. Mr. Edmistont had publicly approved of the Quebec bill,
and had also publicly asserted that all persons who mustered were
guilty of treason, and that such of them as had taken the oath of alle* Brantz Mayer, Esq.
t Mr. Edmiston was the pastor of St. Thomas' Parish, in Garrison Forest, Baltimore county.




25
giance to the king of Great Britain, and afterwards took up arms, were
guilty of perjury. The committee decided that such declarations had
a tendency to defeat the measures recommended for the preservation of
America, and that it was their duty to take notice of persons guilty of
such offences. Whereupon, a copy of the charge was sent to Mr. Edmiston, and he was summoned to appear before them, which he accordingly
did. After taking two hours to consider the matter, he admitted that he
had spoken the words, but excused himself by alleging that they were
uttered in the heat of political excitement.  He explained away, as well
as he could, the offensive charge contained in them, and solemnly promised in writing, to avoid, for the future, all similar cause of offence.
The committee were satisfied with the apology and promise, and Mr.
Edmiston was effectually silenced.
Soon afterwards the case of a man named James Dalgleish was
brought before the committee. He had, on different occasions, manifested, in offensive language, his hostility to the country, and expressed
an intention of joining the British forces.  The committee "resolved
that he had discovered an incurable enmity to his country, and that it
was dangerous to the common cause to encourage a person of such
principles;" and they accordingly " published him to the world, as an
enemy of the liberties of Americans."  After this we hear no more of
James Dalgleish.  A man thus stigmatized, was stripped of the power
to harm.  Further punishment was unnecessary.  A  stain  was imprinted on his name which he carried with him wherever he might go.
But the committee did not rely wholly on moral suasion, or the force
of public opinion, though it was seldom that any thing more efficient
was required.  If other means became necessary, it was not difficult to
obtain a file of soldiers to enforce their decisions. And the name of a
young officer, on whom special reliance seems to have been placed, appears more than once on the records of the committee.  When its bold
and able chairman, Mr. Samuel Purviance, undertook, on his own responsibility, and rather irregularly it must be confessed, to seize the
person and papers of Governor Edeh, the last proprietary governor of
Maryland who was still living at Annapolis, though no longer in the
exercise of his office, this young officer was selected to take charge of
the enterprise.  It failed through no fault of his, but because the zeal of
the chairman of the Baltimore committee, overran the limits of prudence marked out by the authorities at Annapolis.  They suffered the
governor to depart in peace. The officer to whom I allude, was then
4




26
Captai'n Samuel Smith. Subsequently, he earned for himself an honorable place in his country's history, and his name is inseparably connected with the annals of this city, which he defended in 1814, as commander-in-chief against the British forces, and of which he was subsequently elected chief-magistrate.  Those among us who marked the
courage and fire which, at the advanced age of eighty-three, the veteran
General Smith, then a private citizen, displayed, when in 1835 he was
summoned in haste from Montebello, his country residence, to quell
a frightful mob which had well nigh obtained possession of the city of
Baltimore,* will know that in the youthful Captain Smith, the Baltimore
committee had one to rely on who could not be turned aside from his
purpose by fear or favor, while he was engaged in the service of his
country.
The committee felt it especially incumbent on them to denounce the
use of tea, but to banish this article was a work on which they required
the co-operation of those against whom neither their best soldiers, nor
public denunciation could avail. As wise and experienced men they
knew that conciliation will often prevail where a command would only
offend, and, therefore, they mildly and persuasively address the ladies
of Baltimore, as follows: "However difficult," say the committee,
"may be the disuse of any article which custom has rendered familiar
and almost necessary, yet they are induced to hope that the ladies will
cheerfully acquiesce in this self-denial, and thereby evince to the world
a love to their friends, their posterity and their country."  It is to be
feared, however, that this advice was not always followed, for there is a
tradition, which I have often heard, current in the family of a sturdy
patriot, an ancestor of my own, who was a member of the committee,
that the forbidden beverage frequently made its appearance even at his
table, but, as it was always served in the coffee pot and poured out
under the name of coffee, which he did not drink, and as he took instead
of tea a cup of milk and water which was provided for him, neither the
committee man, nor the community was the wiser, and his daughters
thought that no great harm was done. It must not be supposed, however, that these ladies were deficient in patriotism.  On the contrary,
they cheerfully bore their share of the hardships and privations of the
war, and, in common with the rest of the ladies of Baltimore, helped
* See Appendix, Note 2.




27
with their own hands to clothe the destitute soldiers whom, in 1781,
La Fayette was leading to take part in the Virginia campaign.*
The committee sat, as I have said, for more than two years, during
which period they exercised a large and somewhat indefinite power
over the persons and property of the people, encountered and overcame
domestic opposition, gave a powerful impulse to the war, and, when the
town was threatened by the enemy, were mainly instrumental in putting
it in a state of defence. Their records are not stained by a single act
of violence or oppression. The highest fine which they inflicted, did
not exceed ~10 and seldom reached that amount, and only in a few instances did they exercise their power of making arrests, or of publishing in the newspapers the names of those who had manifested hostility
to the cause of the country. Their proceedings, when contrasted with
the bloody atrocities which characterized the revolutionary tribunals of
France in the last century, demonstrate, as forcibly as any thing can, the
wide difference between the people of the two countries, in their fitness
for the enjoyment of civil liberty.t
The citizens of Baltimore, on their part, submitted with alacrity and
cheerfulness to the control exercised by the committee, and, throughout
the war, were honorably distinguished for their devotion to the cause of
their country. They performed their full share in achieving its independence and in the establishment of the free institutions, state and national, under which we live.
* La Fayette, on his way to Virginia, passed through Baltimore, where he was hospitably entertained. The incident alluded to is thus related in McSherry's History
of Maryland, p. 299. " Being invited to a ball, he was there remarked to be grave
and sad. On being questioned by the ladies, as to the cause of his gloom, he replied,
that he could not enjoy the gaiety of the scene, whilst his poor soldiers were without shirts and destitute of the necessaries of a campaign.' We will supply them,'
exclaimed these patriotic women. The pleasures of the ball-room were exchanged
for the needle, and, on the next day, they assembled in great numbers to make up
clothing for the soldiers out of materials advanced by their fathers and husbands."
General La Fayette preserved through life a grateful sense of the assistance thus
generously rendered. On his visit to Baltimore in 1S24, when the surviving officers
and soldiers of the revolution were introduced to him, he remarked to a gentleman
near him, "I have not seen among these, my friendly and patriotic commissary,
Mr. David Poe, who resided in Baltimore when I was here, and out of his own very
limited means supplied me with five hundred dollars to aid in clothing my troops,
and whose wife, with her own hands, cut out five hundred pairs of pantaloons and
superintended the making of them for the use of my men."  On being informed
that Mr. Poe was dead, but that his widow was still living, the General expressed an
anxious desire to see her. The venerable lady heard this with tears of joy, and, on
the next day, an interesting and touching interview took place between them.-Niles,
Register of 24th October, 1824.
t See Appendix, Note 3.




28
We, of this generation, have received those institutions by direct inheritance, but like ungrateful heirs we too often forget the source from which
they were derived. Towards such institutions the human race, through
centuries of toil, has been gradually struggling upward and onward
against oppressions, discouragements and disappointments innumerable.
Every inch of ground has been won by hard contest against steady opposition, and whole generations have passed away without perceptible
progress having been made. In vain efforts to hasten their advent, thousands of brave hearts have shed their blood in battle, or, less fortunate,
have broken in dungeons in despair. To us they have descended by
the accident of birth, not as our own property which we may waste or
destroy, but as a sacred trust which posterity will demand at our hands,
in all their integrity as we have received them.
They are not perfect, because they are the work of imperfect men
and by such are administered; but it is one of their chief excellences
that they are not cast in an unalterable mould, and that they embody no
evils which time may not remedy. Time, according to Lord Bacon, is
the greatest of all innovators, and he who would innovate wisely, must
imitate time. The Creator himself deals thus with evil, an enemy and
intruder though it be in his universe, patiently he bears with it, and is
content to banish it at last by slow degrees and by the beneficent agency
of good. But fanaticism will not wait a single day nor hour. Driven
onward by the suggestions of its own ungoverned passions, which it
mistakes for the whisperings of a divine voice, it engages in a fierce
crusade against some one evil which it is determined to exterminate,
although to do so it may first be necessary to perpetrate a crime. Thus
a faction at the North would rend asunder the sacred ties which bind
this people together for a senseless Wilmot Proviso, and a faction at
the South would do the same thing for an equally senseless Slavery
Proviso.
We have studied the lessons of the past in vain, if they do not teach
us that civil liberty and all that is most valuable in the institutions under
which we live, rest for their surest support and protection on the preservation of the Union. But for it, this country would have continued
to this day a remote and feeble dependency of the British empire. The
thirteen disunited colonies have grown to be thirty united States.  If
union was necessary once as a defence against the oppression of the
mother country, it is incalculably more necessary now as a protection
against domestic commotion and fraternal strife. There are, happily,




29
some things which are felt to be degraded by an attempt to subject their
worth to the cold process of calculation, and among these should be
numbered all that pertains to the honor and welfare of our common
country. Unless we have some standard by which we can estimate the
loveliness of peace and the wretchedness of war, the glory of national
honor and the shame of national disgrace, the gain of progress and the
loss of decline, it is in vain for us to attempt to calculate the value of
the Union.
With us, here, the effort has never yet been made, and we may hope
that it never will be. Even although the love of others should grow
cold, it is natural and fitting that Maryland, which has been called the
Heart State, because her place is in the very bosom of the Union,
should cherish in her heart of hearts a loyal devotion and an unchanging affection for that Union which has been to her the source of countless blessings, by which the great achievements of the past have been
accomplished, and through which alone the auspicious promises of the
present can be fulfilled.








APPEND IX.
NOTE 1 TO PAGE 20.
A MEETING of the qualified voters of Baltimore county and town was
assembled, after public notice, at the Court House, on Saturday the 12th of
November, 1774.
Andrew Buchanan was chosen Chairman, and Robert Alexander, Clerk.
The following persons were chosen the Committee of Observation:
FOR BALTIMORE TOWN.
Andrew Buchanan, Robert Alexander, William Lux, John Moale, John
Merryman, Richard Moale, Jeremiah Townley Chase, Thomas Harrison,
Archibald Buchanan, William Smith, James Calhoun, Benjamin Griffith,
Gerard Hopkins, William Spear, John Smith, Barnet Eichelberger, George
Woolsey, Hercules Courtenay, Isaac Griest, Mark Alexander, Samuel Purviance, Jun'r, Francis Sanderson, John Boyd, George Lindenberger, Isaac
Vanbibber, Philip Rogers, David McMechen, Mordecai Gist, and John
Deaver.
FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY.
Hundreds.
Patapsco, Lower-Charles Ridgely and Thomas Sollers.
Patapsco, Upper-Zachariah McCubbin, Charles Ridgely, son of William,
and Thomas Lloyd.
Back River, Upper-Samuel Worthington, Benjamin Nicholson, T. C. Deye,
John Cradock, Darby Lux and William Randall.
Back River, Lower-John Mercer and Job Garretson.
Middle River, Upper-Nicholas Merryman and William Worthington.
Middle River, Lower-H. D. Gough and Walter Tolley, Sen'r.
Soldier's Delight-George Risteau, John Howard, Thomas Gist, Sen'r,
Thomas Worthington, Nathan Cromwell and Nicholas Jones.
Middlesex-Thomas Johnson and Maybury Helm.
Delaware-John Welsh, Rezin Hammond and John Elder.
North-Jeremiah Johnson and Elisha Dorsey.
Pipe Creek-Richard Richards, Frederick Decker and Mordecai Hammond.
Gunpowder, Upper-Walter Tolley, Jun'r, Jas. Gittings and Thos. Franklin.
Mine Run-Dixon Stansbury, Jun'r, and Josiah Slade.




32
And the following resolutions were passed:
Resolved, That the same, or any seven of them, have power to act in matters within the town of Baltimore, and that any five may act in matters, without
the said town, in the said county.
Resolved, That T. C. Deye, Capt. Charles Ridgely, Walter Tolley, Jun'r,
Benjamin Nicholson, Samuel Worthington, John Moale, Doctor John Boyd,
and William Buchanan, or any three of them, be a committee to attend the
General Meeting at Annapolis, on Monday, the 24th of this month.
F Resolved, That Robert Alexander, Samuel Purviance, Jun'r, Andrew
Buchanan, Doctor John Boyd, John Moale, Jeremiah Townley Chase, William Buchanan and William Lux, be a Committee of Correspondence for
Baltimore county and Baltimore town, and that any four of them have power
to act.
At a subsequent meeting of the voters of Baltimore county and town, held
at the Court House on the 16th of January, 1775, the following persons were
added to the Committee of Observation:
FOR BALTIMORE TOWN.
James Sterett, Charles Ridgely, Jun'r, William  Goodwin, Dr. Charles
Weisenthal and Thomas Ewing.
FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY.
Hundreds.
Patapsco, Lower-Charles Rogers, John Gorsuch, William McCubbin, William Wilkinson, Thomas Todd.
Patapsco, Upper-James Croxall, John Ellicot, Edward Norwood.
Back River, Upper-John Cockey, Edward Talbot, Joshua Stevenson,
Edward Cockey and Ezekiel Towson.
Middle River, Upper-Benjamin Rogers, Robert Cummings, Benjamin Buck,
Joshua Hall, Gist Vaughan, Benjamin Merryman.
Back River, Lower-George Mathews, John Buck.
Middle River, Lower-Moses Galloway, George Goldsmith Presbury, Abraham Britton and Nicholas Britton.
Soldier's Delight-Thomas Cradock, Charles Walker, Samuel Owings, Jr.
Christopher Randall, Jr. Benjamin Wells.
Middlesex-Jacob Myers, Richard Cromwell, Thomas Rutter.
Delaware-Christopher Owings, Benjamin Lawrence, Nicholas Dorsey, Jr.
North-John Hall, Stephen Gill, Jr.
Pipe Creek-John Showers, George Everhart.
Gunpowder, Upper-Samuel Young, Jesse Bussey, Thomas Gassaway
Howard, James Bosley, William Cromwell, Zaccheus Barret Onion.
Mine Run-Edmund Stansbury, John Stevenson, Daniel Shaw, William
Slade, Jr. Joseph Sutton, John Stewart.
At a subsequent meeting, held on the 18th of May, 1775, the following persons were added to the Committee:




33
FOR BALTIMORE TOWN.
Daniel Bowley.
FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY.
Hundreds.
Middle River, Lower-John  German, William  Andrews, Edward Day,
William Allender.
Patapsco, Upper-Zachariah McCubbin.
Soldier's Delight-Doctor William Lyon.
This Committee served until the month of September in the following year,
at which time a new election for Committees of Observation was held in
the several counties throughout the Province, in pursuance of a resolution of
the Provincial Convention, at Annapolis, which limited the number of the
Baltimore Committee to thirty-seven.
The following is an extract from the records of the Committee:
"SATURDAY, 23 September, 1775.
" The poll for electing a Committee of Observation for this county, (Messrs.
Robert Alexander, Jere. T. Chase, Thomas Harrison, John Moale and Wm.
Buchanan, five of the delegates for this county in the late Provincial Convention, being judges of the election,) was this day closed, and the following
gentlemen declared duly elected, viz:
1. John Moale,                    20. John Smith,
2. Jeremiah Townley Chase,         21. Zachariah McCubbin, Jun'r.
3. James Calhoun,                  22. Capt. Charles Ridgely,
4. Benjamin Nicholson,             23. Thomas Harrison,
5. Andrew Buchanan,                24. Benjamin Griffith,
6. Thomas Sollers,                 25. William Randall,
7. John Cradock,                  26. Thomas Gist, Sen'r.
8. James Gittings,                 27. Stephen Cromwell,
9. Robert Alexander,               28. Isaac Griest,
10. Samuel Purviance, Jun'r,       29. Thomas Cockey Deye,
11. William Wilkinson,             30. Mordecai Gist,
12. Charles Ridgely, son of Win.    31. John Stevenson,
13. Walter Tolley, Jun'r,          32. Ezekiel Towson,
14. Darby Lux,                     33. Jeremiah Johnson,
15. John Cockey,                   34. William Asquith,
16. William Smith,                 35. John Eager Howard,
17. William Buchanan,              36. George Risteau,
18. William Lux,                   37. Abraham Britton.
19. John Boyd,
" And the following gentlemen were chosen Provincial Delegates, to continue
for one year, viz:
Robert Alexander,              Walter Tolley, Jun'r,
Benjamin Nicholson,            Jeremiah Townley Chase.
John Moale,
5




34
"N. B.-The poll was kept open eleven days to give every freeholder and
freeman full and sufficient time to vote."]
The following persons of those elected as above, declined to serve:
Thomas Cockey Deye, William Smith, Ezekiel Towson, William Randall,
Stephen Cromwell and Jeremiah Johnson. Mordecai Gist became disqualified
by the acceptance of a commission as Major in the regular forces, raised by
order of the Convention.
The Committee, therefore, on the 4th of March, 1776, filled up the vacancies by electing the following persons:
John Gillis, Frederick Decker, John Merry man, Jr. John Sterrett, Gist
Vaughan, Thomas Rutter, Samuel Worthington.
Capt. Charles Ridgely also resigned, but it does not appear that the vacancy
thus created was filled by the appointment of another person in his place.
The last meeting of the Committee, elected on the 23d of September, 1775,
so far as appears from the minutes, was held on the 12th of Oct., 1776.
The Bill of Rights and Constitution of the State of Maryland were completed
and adopted by the Provincial Convention on the 3d of November, 1776, but
as some time must necessarily elapse before the Government thus organized
could go into full operation, the Convention, on the 11th of November, 1776,
directed that new Committees of Observation should be elected for the different
counties, with the same powers which they previously possessed, and that they
should continue to act until the 10th of March next ensuing.
The records to which I have had access, contain no reference to the election
of a Committee under this resolution, or of their proceedings.
NOTE 2 TO PAGE 26.
A more striking instance than the one referred to, could hardly be found, of
the influence which, in a time of danger, may be exerted by an individual of
strong will and of known conduct and courage.  The Bank of Maryland
had failed disgracefully, inflicting heavy and widely diffused losses on the
people of Baltimore. A deep and just indignation was felt throughout the
community, which was artfully directed against certain individuals who had
been connected with the bank as directors or otherwise, and who were wrongfully suspected of a participation in the fraudulent conduct by which it had
been ruined. Encouraged and sustained by this feeling, a mob threatened to
destroy the houses of the obnoxious individuals. The city authorities had
ample notice, but they made the fatal mistake of attempting to quell the outbreak by a show of force, without the reality. Citizens who were called on
to defend the threatened houses, had wooden batons placed in their hands, and
the use of arms was strictly forbidden. But the rioters were not to be thus
overawed, and the defenders, of course, had the worst of the conflict which
ensued. Bricks and stones were showered upon them and many were seri



35
ously injured, until, at last, recourse was had to fire-arms, by which a number
was killed and wounded, and the mob was subdued for a single night. But,
on the next day, the use which had been made of weapons was denounced
by those who should have sustained it, and the rioters became bolder and
intent on greater mischief. Various houses were destroyed, the lives of many
individuals were threatened, and for twenty-four hours civil authority was
completely at an end in Baltimore. No one could tell what acts of violence
would next be perpetrated, but the city was filled with rumors of meditated
outrage. At this crisis, a few individuals called a meeting of the citizens
at the Exchange, but when they came together they had no leader, and
were uncertain how to act. A proposition was made and adopted to send for
Gen. Smith, who was then at his country seat, two miles from the city, and the
meeting waited with anxiety for his arrival. He came with alacrity, and his
presence wrought an instantaneous change in the state of affairs. There was
no longer any doubt, fear or uncertainty. He would allow no time to be lost
in framing resolutions, and making speeches, and would hear of no temporizing with those who were setting all law at defiance. A leader had been
found, who, aged as he was, at once took the direction into his own hands.
In a few energetic words he insisted that an armed force should at once be
organized, and that the rioters should be put down by force if necessary; but,
he maintained, that they would not dare to attempt resistance. His plan was
adopted by acclamation, and the meeting marched at once in a column with
him at its head, to the neighborhood of the Washington monument, where it
was organized into companies, who chose their own leaders. Arms were
brought out from every receptacle where they could be found, and were in
many instances placed in hands which had never used them before. Hundreds flocked to the rescue, and in a few hours, and for many nights afterwards, the whole city was patrolled by armed defenders ready to put down the
mob, and anxious to find one. But none appeared. It vanished out of existence the moment that a competent force with a courageous leader was prepared to oppose it.
NOTE  3 TO  PAGE  27.
The following extracts from the Minutes are given to illustrate more fully
the manner in which the committee performed some of the various duties assigned to them.
The committee were watchful to protect the morals of the people, so far as
lay in their power.
At a meeting on the 10th of April, 1775, the following resolution was
passed:
"Resolved, As the fairs usually held at Baltimore town are hurtful to the
morals of the people and are a species of extravagance and dissipation which
are forbid by the Continental Congress, that the committee of correspondence
be directed to give public notice to the inhabitants of the town and county,
that the committee advise them not to erect any booths, or be in any manner




36
concerned in countenancing the holding said fair during the continuance of our
public distractions."
Complaint having been made to the committee, that a certain John Burns
kept a billiard table, and that shuffle-boards are kept at John Smith's and at
Abraham  Gorman's,- at all of which houses encouragement was given to
gaming, and great disorders committed to the injury of the militia and the
sailors and mariners employed in the public service as well as others, and the
same being contrary to the regulations and resolves of the honorable, the Continental Congress, it was on the 17th of June, 1776,
" Resolved, That the chairman issue his summons for the said persons to attend the committee on the following day to answer the complaints alleged
against them."
This summons probably had the desired effect of abating the nuisances in
question, as no further action appears to have been taken by the committee in
the matter.
A night watch for the town of Baltimore being found necessary, it was supplied by the public spirit of the inhabitants and the organization thereof was
made by the committee, as appears by the following extract from their minutes.
"At a meeting of the committee on the 26th June, 1775, present Mr. SAMUEL PURVIANCE, Chairman, and forty-two members. WILLIAM Lux, Sec'y.
" The inhabitants of Baltimore town having found it absolutely necessary
to establish a nightly watch in the said town, for the preservation of their property from robbery or fire, as well as to prevent any hostile attempts in this
time of public confusion, and having had several meetings to digest a proper
plan for the purpose, they unanimously agreed to recommend the same to the
committee for their approbation and superintendence, which being done the
committee highly approved of the measure. And a subscription being signed
by every inhabitant, wherein he obliges himself to conform to the regulations
adopted, and to attend personally, or provide a sufficient man in his room,
which said man, so provided, to be a subscriber, or to pay seven shillings and
six pence. The committee received the said subscription, and divided the subscribers into six companies for the Town, and one company for the Point, and
then directed a general meeting of the subscribers to elect a captain for each
company, which being done, the following gentlemen were returned, viz.
JAMES CALHOUN,        1st,    BARNET EICHELBERGER,    4th,
GEORGE WOOLSEY,   2nd,   GEORGE LINDENBERGER,    5th,
BENJIN GRIFFITH,    3rd,    WILLIAM GOODWIN,              6th,
for Baltimore Town, and ISAAC VANBIBBER for the Point. But his district
being thought rather too extensive, the committee thought it necessary to appoint JESSE HOLLINGSWORTH and GEORGE PATTEN to assist him in the arrangement of the watch.
" The committee then determined that the said watch shall consist of sixteen
persons under the direction of a captain, to be appointed for the night, and that
they shall patrol the streets from 10 o'clock at night until day-light next morning, and that the companies take it in rotation."
The following is a specimen of the manner of proceeding of the committee
when complaint was made that goods were sold at exorbitant prices.




37
" Cornelius Garritson lodged an information before the committee against
Messrs. Usher & Roe, charging them with having sold to him, the said Garritson, certain goods at a higher price than he had usually paid for them, and
that they had sold the same kind of goods to himself and others some time ago
at a much lower rate than he had now paid. Mr. Roe appeared to answer
this charge, and said that Mr. Garritson had asked him for certain buttons
which he confesses he had formerly sold to Mr. Garritson and others, at
2s. 6d. per dozen, but for which he now asked 3s. 6d. not being willing to sell
the buttons, without, at the same time, selling some cloth to which they
matched, but that he did at length agree to let Mr. Garritson have them at the
price he formerly sold them. Mr. Garritson departed, and soon after returned
and took the buttons from a young man who attended in Messrs. Usher &
Roe's store, who insisted on having 3s. 6d. for them per dozen, which said
Garritson paid. But as soon as Mr. Roe understood what his clerk had done,
he called after Mr. Garritson with an intention to return him his money, but
Mr. Garritson refused to return. Mr. Roe afterwards sent the money to said
Garritson but he declined accepting it, choosing rather to lodge a complaint to the committee for the imposition. From the above representation it
appeared to the committee that the same kind of goods have been incautiously sold at Messrs. Usher & Roe's store at different prices, and, in this instance, above the limitations ascertained by the Provincial Congress-but as it
appears to have happened by mistake of their clerk, and as Mr. Roe offered
immediately to rectify the mistake, the committee thought proper to dismiss the
complaint, with a caution to Messrs. Usher & Roe that they be more careful
in future in giving cause for the like complaints."
The committee endeavored to sustain the paper currency issued by the Province. Information having been lodged against Mr. James Moore, of Gunpowder, for refusing to take money issued by the Provincial Convention, tendered to him by Mr. Nathaniel Britain, the committee on the 29th of January,
1776, "resolved, that Messrs. Moore and Britain be summoned to attend on
Monday next."
"On the 12th of February, 1776, Mr. James Moore appeared according to
summons, and Messrs. Nathaniel Britain, Tunis Titus, and Jesse Bussy, appeared as evidences against him, all and each of whom being sworn, deposed,
That Mr. Jas. Moore had refused to take bills of credit emitted by the Provincial
Convention, when tendered to him, alleging that he was afraid they would not
pass, else he should have no objection, and that the said James Moore had
asserted, that he would not pay any tax towards the support of American
measures, and that he thought all those who had taken the oaths of allegiance
and mustered, when holding a place under government, guilty of perjury and
rebellion. It being represented by Mr. Gittings, that Jesse Williams was a
material witness on the occasion, it was resolved, that the further examination
of this affair be postponed until Monday next, Mr. William Lux being security for Mr. Moore's attendance."
"Mr. James Moore, agreeable to promise, appeared again before the committee on the 19th of February, and, (after admitting the veracity of the
charges exhibited against him in the depositions of Messrs. Nathaniel Britain,
Jesse Bussy and Tunis Titus, taken before the committee,) voluntarily signed
the following recantation:




38
Whereas, I the subscriber, have unfortunately and inadvertently been
guilty of actions tending to depreciate the currency emitted by the Convention
of this Province, for the express purpose of defending those inestimable privileges transmitted to us by our ancestors, and expressed an aversion to pay any
taxes for sinking said currency, and other ways discouraged people from mustering, enrolling and associating, but am now satisfied and convinced that
such conduct is highly unbecoming the duty of an American, and tends immediately to obstruct the measures calculated to preserve the liberties of this
country from the cruel and unrelenting oppressions of the British ministry, do
most sincerely acknowledge the heinousness of such offence, beg pardon
of my countrymen, and do hereby solemnly engage and promise not to be
guilty of a like offence in future, but to conform to such measures as shall be
adjudged necessary by the Continental Congress, or Conventions of this Province, for the preservation of the rights of America. As a further atonement
for my misconduct, I request this acknowledgment to be published, in hopes
it may deter others from committing the like offence. Witness my hand this
19th of February, 1776.                               JAMES MOORE."
Whereupon it was " resolved that the above is satisfactory."
The following energetic proceedings were taken against Mr. Francis Sanderson, who had been elected a member of the first committee of observation,
but who afterwards gave great offence by the manifestation of tory principles,
and by accepting an appointment from the Proprietary government to the
office of a justice of the peace, after those who had been previously in the
commission had been summarily dismissed from office on account, it would
seem, of their taking sides with the popular movement.
"May 8th, 1775. Mr. Francis Sanderson, once a member of this committee, but who, for some time past, had neglected his duty, by refusing or
declining giving attendance at their meetings and other exceptionable conduct,
did this day again unexpectedly appear among them. The committee reflecting on his late conduct, and uncertain as to the design of his coming among
them at so critical a juncture, plainly informed Mr. Sanderson of their sentiments, that they could not but suspect a man of so variable principles and
questionable conduct-that as matters of great moment frequently were agitated among them, they did not think it prudent or safe for them to sit in council with a person in whom they could have no confidence, and that therefore
they would wish him to withdraw himself from the committee, till the sense
of the county should be known concerning him at a future election.
"Mr. Sanderson declared that he was sensible of the impropriety and mistakes
of his late conduct, but was now heartily disposed to concur in every measure that his countrymen should adopt for the preservation of their rightsthat in the meantime he acquiesced in the intimation of the committee, and
would, for the future, so conduct himself as, if possible, to recover the good
opinion of his countrymen, and convince them of the sincerity of his present
declarations."
The voters of the town and county were assembled on the 18th of May,
1775, "when the proceedings of the committee on the 8th of May, respecting
Mr. Francis Sanderson, were read to the freemen of the county now convened,
and their sentiments taken on the propriety of the committee's request to Mr.




39
Sanderson to decline acting as a committee man, till the sense of their constituents should be known on the matter; the freemen having heard what Mr.
Sanderson had to offer, unanimously approved of the committee's prudent
conduct, and do further resolve that until Mr. Sanderson shall give unequivocal evidence of his sincere attachment to the cause of his injured country, by
a steady and uniform acquiescence in every measure which has or may be
generally adopted for her preservation, they cannot approve of him as a man
to act for them in committee, leaving it to the committee to determine how far
he is otherwise entitled to public favor. The committee accordingly, (the business of the county having been finished,) fifty-two members being present,
proceeded to consider and judge of Mr. Sanderson's case; and were of opinion,
that as he had already acknowledged to the committee his error and late misconduct, and was sincerely sorry for the same, and was now willing to satisfy
his countrymen by a public declaration of his present political opinion, as contained in a paper which he handed in, Mr. Sanderson be restored to the good
opinion of his countrymen."
The paper handed in by Mr. Sanderson, was as follows:
"I hereby declare that I have resigned the office of a Justice of the Peace
for Baltimore county, being now sensible that my appointment to that office,
with others, in the manner, and at the time the same was done, was disagreeble to my friends, and tended to injure the cause of my distressed country. I
further declare my readiness to engage heartily in the measures now carrying
on for the preservation of American liberty, and for that purpose I have contributed to the purchase of arms and ammunition, and also to the poor of Boston and enrolled myself a soldier in a company of militia; and I trust my
future conduct will evince the sincerity of my present declarations, and restore
me to the favor and esteem of my countrymen, an event most ardently wished
for by                                        FRANCIS SANDERSON. "
But Mr. Sanderson, encouraged probably by the success of the British
forces in New York, sometime afterwards again brought himself into trouble,
as appears by the following extract from the minutes of the committee:
" At a special meeting of the committee on Saturday, 12th October, 1776Present: Samuel Purviance, Chairman, William Lux, Vice-Chairman-W.
Buchanan, B. Nicholson, T. Rutter, W. Asquith, J. Calhoun.
" Information being given to the committee, on oath, by Mr. David Evans,
that Francis Sanderson had, in a conversation with him, spoken words' tending to disunite the good people of this State, in the present opposition to Great
Britain,' by order of the committee, 12th October, 1776, Francis Sanderson
is required to attend this committee at Mr. Purviance's immediately, to answer a complaint exhibited against him for several words spoken by him, and
tending to disunite the people of this State in their present opposition to Great
Britain, and, in case he don't attend, Captain Cox is directed to bring him by
force.
Per order                                  W. L., V. Chr'n.
"The said Francis Sanderson appeared in consequence of the warrant,
and having nothing to offer in vindication of the charge, he was committed to




40
the custody of the guard for this night, in order to be sent to the Council of
Safety, agreeably to the resolves of the Convention, in July, 1775.
Attested,                              GEO. Lux, Sec'y."
The Council of Safety appear to have referred the case to the Provincial
Convention, then in session at Annapolis, by which body the following proceedings were had:
" October 16, 1776. The Convention met.
"On reading a letter from Samuel Purviance, Jr., chairman of the committee
of observation, from  Baltimore county, respecting the conduct of Francis
Sanderson, the same was taken into consideration, and the said Francis Sanderson called before the Convention, and on the examination of several witnesses, and hearing him in his defence,
"On motion of Mr. Paca, the question was put, That the said Francis
Sanderson is guilty of delivering sentiments tending to discourage the American opposition to the hostile attempts of Great Britain; that therefore he be
reprimanded at the bar of this house by the president; that he give bond in
the penalty of one thousand pounds, with good security, to be approved of
by the committee of Baltimore county, to the president, conditioned, that he
will not hereafter speak or do any matter or thing in prejudice or discouragement of the present opposition; that he pay all the expenses incurred on account of his being apprehended, guarded, and brought to this Convention, and
that thereupon he be discharged. Resolved in the affirmative."
" Francis Sanderson was then called to the bar of the house, and reprimanded accordingly."
The Committee manifested great energy and judgment in all their proceedings, and especially in enrolling and arming troops, accumulating munitions
of war, and in placing the town of Baltimore in a condition of defence when
in March, 1776, it was threatened with an attack from the enemy; but a
further selection from the minutes would swell this Appendix to an unreasonable size. The object of the insertion of the extracts which have been given,
has been to gratify a reasonable curiosity, which has been expressed, to see in
print the names of those in Baltimore who were prominent in the early revolutionary movement, and to exhibit the calm, determined and business-like manner in which a committee-chosen indiscriminately from the various walks of
life, and responsible for all their proceedings to the people whose sentiments and
feelings they represented-deliberated and acted in the very dangerous and
difficult emergency in which they were placed, and the moderation and ability
with which they exercised the large and somewhat indefinite powers with
which they were clothed.




A SKETCH
OF THE
LIFE AND SERVICES
OF
In. lttla  ollnb Witllimg,
READ BEFORE THE
ON THURSDAY EVENI-NG, AIARCH 6, 1851,'BY OSMOND TIFFANY.
BALTI MORE:
PRINTED  BY JOHN MURPHY  &  CO.
No. 178 MARKET STREET 
185 1








MR. PRESIDENT:
THE events of the American Revolution are so nearly connected with our own times, that the actors in that great struggle
seem yet to be to us as living men.  We open the portal of the
past century, and are with those who once like ourselves,
breathed and thought, and who now, lie not silent or forgotten
in the tomb.
Their deeds live in our memory; their examples are glorious
as of old: their words of hope in dark hours, and of their joy in
success, still burn before us:-they have become the great historians of their age. Among this band of gallant men, who gave
themselves with all their soul to liberty, I could name none of
our native State, who displayed a more patient, disinterested,
and zealous spirit, than the pure and chivalrous Otho Holland
Williams.
He was born in the county of Prince George's, in March,
1749.  His parentage was highly respectable, his ancestors emigrating from Wales, and he being of the second generation after
their settlement in Maryland.
Had his days been wholly passed in the enjoyment of peace,
his influence would not have been lost.  He would still have
left to his friends the same invaluable legacy of a good name,
but it was his fortune to deserve and gain a wider celebrity.
He was his father's oldest son, and in the year succeeding his
birth, his home was changed to the mouth of the Conococheague
Creek, in Frederick, near Washington county. In that beautiful region of country, watered by the stream that lends its
name to the valley, were spent the few short years of his boyhood.  There he learned to love the aspect of fields and groves,




4
the memory of which was his solace long after, in many dark
and trying hours, for we find in the midst of the toils of the
camp, that his spirit yearns for rural peace and solitude. The
love of nature is ever ennobling; it perhaps contributed to form
the character of the future hero.
It is a favorite theme with biographers to dwell on parental
precepts, especially on those of the mother. We have no anecdotes of this period, but we may yield to a happy idea, and
imagine young Williams listening to the accents of a mother's
lip, with the true deference which he always paid to goodness.
We may see him, among his little playmates on his father's
farm, already showing those traits of character, which guided
him in the path to honor: that love of truth, that physical and
moral courage, which won in time the confidence of his great
commander-in-chief, who had himself early shone in the same
qualities.  We may picture him  crossing the fields, at early
morning hours, to the rustic school, there to recite the simple
lesson, and to be instructed in his mother tongue, which he
afterwards used with the grace of a scholar.  But the sunshine
of his boyhood was soon clouded-his father, Joseph Williams,
died, leaving but a small property to seven children; and Otho at
the age of thirteen, was thrown upon his own exertions. He was
placed with his brother-in-law, Mr. Ross, in the Clerk's Office
of Frederick county.  Here he remained several years, diligently occupied in studying the duties of the bureau, and when
he was duly qualified, took charge of it himself, for a while,
until removed to a similar situation in Baltimore.  It was in
this vocation that he acquired those habits of regularity and
method, which were so signally manifested when called to situations of the highest trust.
His appearance at this time, when about eighteen years of
age, is thus described by his friend and fellow-soldier, Gen.
Samuel Smith: "He was," says the writer, "about six feet
high, elegantly formed; his whole appearance and conduct
much beyond his years; his manner, such as made friends of
all who knew him."
Thus does he appear before us, while to use Burke's apt expression, he was yet in the gristle, and had not hardened into




tile bone of manhood.  But he was already a man in his high
sense of honor, his unsullied integrity, and the polish of his
address: if he had not won laurels, he had acquired the esteem
of the worthy.
Thus endowed, we learn that he entered into commercial
life, in Fredericktown, shortly before the commencement of the
American Revolution.  There is little doubt, that had this
course been pursued, it would have been crowned with eminent
success, for he afterwards united, to an extraordinary degree,
military genius with scientific business habits. But when the
clouds, which had so long been gathering over the sun
of peace, burst at last, all thought of pursuing quiet trade
was abandoned.  The spirit that prompted Putnam to reverse
the Scriptural promise, and beat the plough-share into the
sword, kindled kindred feelings in the breast of Williams.  A
company was formed in Fredericktown, and under the command of Capt. Price, marched for Boston.  Williams might
easily have obtained the captaincy, but with the modesty which
always kept pace with his success, he declined to press a claim
to command, saying to the committee, that though ambitious to
lead, he was willing to serve.  This spirit uniformly attended
him-he deferred cheerfully to authority himself, and exacted
obedience from those whom he commanded.  He was a strict
disciplinarian, as all good officers are, but governed his own
conduct by his rigid adherence to the rules of superiors.  In
reporting an officer to Gen. Greene, for disobedience, he says:
"When orders are received with contempt, and rejected with
insolence, examples are requisite to re-establish subordination,
the basis of discipline."
But, before attempting to trace the career of the soldier, it
will be by no means uninteresting, or uninstructive, to depict
the man.  His letters to his family and friends, are true mirrors
in which he was reflected, and we cannot more fully present
him, than by a few sentences from his correspondence. Indeed,
I have found his letters so graphic and elegant in style, so illustrative of any subject on which they touch, that I have made large
extracts, believing that they would be of much greater historic
value, concerning the scenes and actions of which they treat,




than any description of mine.  His views of life were most
cheerful and happy-he writes to his brother thus:
" I have seen a great variety of life, and profess most seriously, that there is more true felicity to be found in a bare competence and domestic industry, than in any other circumstances.
My observations on others confirm this opinion, and I wish to
have an opportunity of experiencing the satisfaction which I am
sure is to be found in rural employments. We should not hope
to be wealthy, or fear to be poor; we never shall want; and
whoever considers the true source of his happiness, will find it
in a very great degree, arising from a delicate concern for those
dependent upon him, useful employments, and the approbation
of his friends."
HIe was ambitious, but his ambition never led him astray:
and through all circumstances of life, he was governed by a
deeply religious faith. His own words precisely express his
feelings:   It would give me pain, if the world should believe
any person, with the same advantages, may do more than I
may. Fortune does a great deal in all military adventures, and,
therefore, I am not to say whether this reproach will come upon
me or not.  But you may rely upon it, my good friend, discretion and fortitude shall govern my conduct; and in the interim,
I commit myself to that Power whose eye is over all his works,
and by whose goodness I have been preserved in numerous
perils."
We do not learn that Williams was engaged in any very
noted service until the following year, but he acquired the confidence and esteem of his superiors-among others Gen. Gates,
whose friendship often professed, was afterwards proven. In
1776 he was promoted to the rank of Major, in a rifle regiment
formed from Maryland and Virginia troops, and we learn that his
first trial in actual battle, occurred at the fall of Fort Washington, on the Hudson River. He was stationed in a wood with his
troops, in advance of the Fort, and was attacked by the Hessian
allies. They were several times repulsed with heavy loss, but
being reinforced, they succeeded in beating back Williams and
his company into the Fort, where all were eventually taken
prisoners.  The enemy accomplished this by reinforcements, as




7
has been already mentioned, and from the unfortunate condition
of the rifles of the attacked party. By long continued and incessant fire, these had become so foul as to be nearly useless,
and Williams reluctantly retreated at the last moment, only to
delay capture for a short period. The feelings of an officer,
when obliged to yield his sword, and suffer an imprisonment,
he knows not how long or'cruel it may be, must be sufficiently
agonizing to feel that utter inactivity is forced upon him, at the
very instant that his country is most in need of the services he
would cheerfully render.  In the last attack of the Hessians,
Williams received a severe and dangerous shot wound in the
groin, though he entirely recovered from its effects in due time.
His career was suddenly checked, and he was doomed to languish fifteen months, before he again saw the sun shine on his
freedom.  The first half of his captivity, though painful enough
to an ardent patriot, was not total eclipse.
He was placed on Long Island on parole, and among many
annoyances, there occurred some incidents which cheered him
in captivity.  He formed the acquaintance of Major Ackland, a
British officer, and they became firm friends.  The elegant person, and finished manners of Williams, procured him access to
circles as a gentleman, which would have closed to him solely
as a prisoner; and under the guidance of Ackland, visiting the
opposite city of New  York, he sometimes appeared in the
fashionable houses, which reversing the present order,were then
measured on the scale of style, by proximity to the battery.
It is related that on one occasion, after Williams had been
dining with Lady Ackland, his good friend the Major, and he,
sallied forth for a ball, and that although the company were
much struck with the elegant figures and demeanor of the two
friends, and although the Briton made all effort to introduce the
captive, the gentlemen of the party could not forget the enemy
to welcome the stranger, and the ladies treated him with extreme
coldness. Ackland finding that all his efforts were vain, took
Williams by the arm  and led him  from  the room, saying,
" Come, this company is too exclusive for us."  This was not
the only occasion on which Major Ackland proved his friendship
and sympathy for Americans.




His fate was a melancholy one, and such as he little deserved,
After the war of the Revolution, and when he had returned to
his own country, on the occasion of a dinner, the valor of
American soldiers became the subject of conversation. On their
merit being denied, Ackland defended them, and in the warmth
of argument with a brother officer, to some assertion, replied that
he lied. The insult was of course unpardonable, and could
only be settled by a duel, in which he was shot dead.
During the period of Williams' confinement on Long Island,
it was the pleasure of some of the British officers to stroll among
the American prisoners, and tauntingly ask them in what trade
they had been employed.  When Williams was asked this impertinent question by a titled officer, he replied, that he had
been bred in that situation which had taught him to rebuke and
punish insolence, and that the questioner would have ample
proof of his apprenticeship on a repetition of his offence. The
noble did not attempt it, or demand satisfaction for the contempt
with which he had been treated, but it is probable, that through
his instrumentality, Williams was accused of carrying on a secret
correspondence with Washington.  There was, indeed, some
apparent foundation for suspicion in Williams' superior ability,
and from the respect paid to him by his fellow-prisoners. He
was seized, and without one word of defence on his part being
listened to, without being suffered to confront his accusers, he
was suddenly removed to the provost jail in New York.
Here he was delivered to the tender mercies of harsh turnkeys,
and confined in a room about sixteen feet square that was seldom
visited by the breath of heaven, and always remaining in a state
of loathsome filth. Among other prisoners, was the celebrated
Ethan Allen, and he shared the miserable den, in which
Williams was confined.  Their only visitors were wretches who
came to glut their brutal curiosity, and to torture their victims
with loud sentiments of delight in the anticipation of seeing them
hanged.  Letters complaining of such cruel treatment were repeatedly but vainly addressed to the commandant of New York,
and they thus suffered for seven or eight months.
Their health was much impaired, for their food was of the
vilest sort, and scarce enough to keep soul and body together,




9
and to add to these discomforts, the anxiety that preyed upon
their minds, was terrible in the extreme. The naturally fine
constitution of Williams was much impaired, and he never recovered entirely from the effects of his imprisonment. But he
is still full of hope, to which, though not written at the time of
his incarceration, his own words to one of his family thus bear
witness: "I flatter myself I shall still see a day, a prosperous
day, when we shall all be assembled in some agreeable spot in
the neighborhood of Hagerstown, where we shall mutually embrace each other, with joy and tenderness, and cheerfully recount the tedious hours which the distresses of our country
oblige us to pass in absence, and when the dangers that are
passed will serve as a subject for an evening tale." But finally,
the doors of his prison-house were thrown asunder and he was
free.
After the surrender of Burgoyne, Gen. Gates proved his
friendship by stipulating positively for Williams' release, and he
was exchanged for his old friend Major Ackland, who had been
taken prisoner with the British army. Gen. Phillips, the commandant of New York, anxious to offer some excuse for the
rigor with which Williams had been treated, asked him to dine
with him, but the invitation was properly rejected. During his
captivity his native State had not been unmindful of him, he
had been appointed to the command of the 6th regiment of the
Maryland line, and he joined the army in New Jersey, shortly
before the battle of Monmouth, fought in June, 1778. The
result of this engagement is well known: it gave great encouragement to the American troops, and Col. Williams has
left a little description of the joy with which the following anniversary of Independence was celebrated, a joy enhanced by the
favorable issue of the late conflict, and moreover, is one of the
few instances on record in which the day has been celebrated
without a patriotic oration.
His letter is dated Camp New Brunswick, July 6th, 1778:" On the 4th inst. the anniversary of American Independence
was celebrated in the following manner. At 3 o'clock in the
afternoon, a cannon was discharged as a signal for the troops to
get under arms, half an hour afterwards, the second fire was a
2




10
signal for the troops to begin their march, and at four the third
signal was given, for the troops to drawn up in two lines, on the
west side of the Raritan, which they did in beautiful order. A
flag was then hoisted for the feu de joie to begin. Thirteen
pieces of artillery were then discharged, and a running fire of
small arms went through the lines, beginning at the right of the
front line, catching the left, and ending at the right of the
second line. The field pieces in the intervals of brigades, were
discharged in the running fire, thus affording a harmonious and
uniform display of music and fire, which was thrice well executed.  After the feu de joie the general officers and officers
commanding brigades, dined with his Excellency.  Yesterday
a number of field officers shared the same fate, and I had the
satisfaction of seeing the old warrior in very fine spirits,"
During the remainder of Col. Williams' sojourn in the
Northern States, we do not learn that he was in any position to
prove his skill as a soldier, excepting in those qualities which
are too often under-estimated by the public.  His regiment
when he took command of it, was rather noted for looseness of
discipline, and did not stand upon a mark with others of the
line, but in a very short time, under Williams' prompt and
active organization, it became equal if not superior, in thorough
discipline, to any in the whole army.
A soldier should certainly not be deemed unable, who has
few  opportunities of any brilliant success, and who is only
known by the admirable order of his troops.
From several of Williams' letters written about this time, we
learn that if there was little chance of fame, he found time to
fall in love, proving that though ambitious of the glory of Mars,
lie was not insensible to the blandishments of Venus.
But it is time, that we approach the sphere of action in which
Williams was particularly distinguished, and where he acquired
such honor, as to raise him to eminence among the greatest
Generals of this country. We allude to the war in the Southern
States, particularly the Carolinas, in which some of the bloodiest
and most obstinate battles were fought, during the whole revolution.  The entire country in that portion of the States, was
completely reduced and subdued by the superior generalship of




11
Sir Henry Clinton, who had left New York, for the express
purpose of subjugating the Carolinas. He had been eminently
successful, and it will not be unimportant to pass briefly in review, the condition to which those States had been reduced,
when Congress determined to succor them, by reinforcements of
Northern troops, among which were the Maryland and Virginia
lines. On receipt of the news of Clinton's expedition, Charleston, then in possession of the Americans, had been placed in a
state of defence, in the manner deemed best calculated to resist
the enemy, though the garrison was enfeebled by disease, want
of money, and want of enthusiasm among the soldiery. Many
refused to serve again, after the late campaign in Georgia, unwilling to leave their homes, and having no faith in their own
strength, against a powerful and amply munitioned foe. They
also had strong grounds, through the proclamations of the English, to believe that non-resistance to the Crown would purchase
security from fire and pillage, for it was the policy of the English utterly to destroy, as far as possible, all kinds of property
belonging to the Republicans.  The garrison of Charleston
consisted of scarcely five thousand men, under command of
General Lincoln, while Clinton's force alone, amounted to upwards of eight thousand.  The garrison, after an obstinate defence of forty days, was obliged to surrender to the enemy,
before which time, all hope of succor or escape was reluctantly
abandoned.  Various expeditions were planned by the American
troops, but almost avery one was prevented, or destroyed, by the
ceaseless vigilance and activity of the British, among whom none
was ever more conspicuous than the well remembered Tarlton.
No sooner did the British standard wave over the ramparts of
Charleston, than Clinton determined to use the most energetic
means, to ensure the reduction of the entire province. To this
end, he planned several expeditions, all of which succeeded even
beyond his own hopes.  The royalists joined his army in great
numbers, and the Americans were defeated at all points. The
complete rout and terrible slaughter of the Republicans, under
Col. Buford, at Wacsaw, the enemy being led on by Tarlton,
for a time utterly prostrated the vigor of the Carolinians, who
thereupon submitted in despair. Clinton, then by promise of




12
amnesty, endeavored to maintain the authority which British
bayonets had again acquired, but he excepted those who had
been instrumental in the defence of Charleston. This measure
was productive, as we shall see, of the most fatal consequences,
and in time overturned all hopes of those which he so strenuously endeavored to introduce. His object was to put down
the slightest attempt at rebellion, and those who had lately
fought for Congress, were forced to take up arms for the Crown,
instead of being suffered to remain as prisoners of war, on parole.
This unexpected act of tyranny produced a state of society of
which, at this period, we can have but little idea.
Those who had fought bravely in defence, were treated with
the most cruel persecutions, their property plundered and destroyed, while those who submitted supinely to their fate, were
sometimes rewarded, or at least suffered to remain undisturbed.
This naturally engendered a bitter feeling, even between families, and the complete separation of members of the same flock,
were but the happiest results: their hate was frequently kindled
into a flame, only quenched in blood.  Williams has left a
graphic picture of the state of society at that time, and it may be
remarked, that his opinion of the inhabitants was by no means
high.
He says, writing to his brother:-" There are a few virtuous
good men in this State, and in Georgia; but a great majority of
the people is composed of the most unprincipled, abandoned,
vicious vagrants that ever inhabited the earth. The daily deliberate murders committed by pretended Whigs, and reputed
tories, (men who are actually neither one thing nor the other in
principle,) are too numerous and too shocking to relate.  The
licentiousness of various classes and denominations of villains,
desolate this country, impoverish all who attempt to live by
other means and destroy the strength and resources of the
country, which ought to be collected and united, against a common enemy.
"You may rely on it, my dear brother, that the enemy have
had such footing and influence in this country that their success
in putting the inhabitants together by the ears, has exceeded
even their own expectations: the distraction that prevails sur



13
passes any thing I ever before witnessed, and equals any idea,
which your imagination can conceive, of a desperate and inveterate civil war."
But horrible as this state of society was, it had some redeeming features; fire might consume, a savage soldiery might plunder, the sun might scorch and not gladden, and the rivers might
run with blood, instead of water, but the women of the Carolinas
stood superior to their husbands, their sons, and their brothers,
and were unconquered, unconquerable.  They indeed, bore
the fiery trial, and preferred exile to submission, death to slavery.
They incited their kindred never to lay down their arms, until
the last foe had vanished from their soil.  They would with the
courage of Joan of Arc, have grasped the sword, and perished
at the stake.  They would not give their hand in the light
dance to a Briton; they gave their heart with their hand to the
meanest of their countrymen.  They threw the gold bracelet
into the scale to lighten the iron fetter. They feared not the
contagion of the prison ships, nor the damp of the dungeon.
They instilled into their drooping relatives new hopes, and urged
them once more to draw the sword, and throw away the scabbard.  It is related that Col. Tarlton once asked a lady in
Charleston, the name of the Camomile blossom. " It is called,"
answered the noble woman, "the Rebel flower, because it
flourishes best when most trampled on."  The influence of
woman prevailed, the sword seemed sharpened, instead of
blunted by the blows it had taken, and the spirit of'76 again
animated the soldiery. The arrival of Lafayette about this
period, was most welcome: he brought encouraging news, and
instilled into the colonists hopes which were soon verified by the
arrival of the French fleet, commanded by Admiral de Tiernay,
in Newport harbor.  Then the people once more flew to arms,
and
The war that for a space did fail
Now trebly thundering swelled the gale.
General Gates took command in July, 1780, superseding
Baron de Kalb; and Col. Williams with his regiment appears
at the seat of war, in the Southern States, about that time. He
assumed by appointment the important post of deputy Adjutant




14
General, which added greatly to his duties, but which he discharged through his whole period of service, with exemplary
fidelity. He has left a detailed narrative of the campaign of
1780, (published in Johnston's Life of Greene,) and his letters
give most graphic accounts of the battles in which he was engaged, and the trials in other forms, through which he passed.
The sharp action where blows were given and taken, proved
less arduous and scarce more dangerous, than the sufferings of
the army without an enemy in sight. He writes soon after his
arrival-" The affairs of our little southern army are much deranged, and we find ourselves under very considerable embarrassments in our present position; the want of provisions is an
inconvenience we have often experienced, but we have never
been in a country so unwilling to supply us as at present. By
military authority, we collect a kind of casual subsistence that
can scarcely be called our daily bread.  The fatigue of campaigning in this country is almost inconceivable. I have slept,
when I have had time to sleep, in my clothes.  I seldom divest
myself of my sword, boots or coat; my horse is constantly saddled, and we eat when provisions are to be got, and we have
nothing else to do. The dangers of the field are neither more
frequent, nor more fatal, than those attending the fatigues and
accidents that reduce an army-from  long experience, I find
myself so capable of sustaining the fatigue, and by my good
fortune (the favor of Providence) I have so often escaped the
danger, that I am contented to do my duty, and submit myself
to that fate which Heaven ordains."
The campaign of 1780 was a most unfortunate one for the
Southern States, as that of 1776 was for the Northern. Soon
after General Gates took command, the battle of Camden was
fought, which resulted in the total defeat of the Americans.
Col. Williams gives an account of it in his sketch of the campaign, but I have not been able to find any of his private letters
on the subject.  The battle was fought on the 16th of August,
and from returns which Williams collected, the actual number
of fighting men or rather of able bodied troops, for some did not
fight at all, amounted only to three thousand and fifty-two,
about one-half of the nominal strength of the army.  The




15
numbers of the enemy were much superior, and at the very
time that Gen. Gates had determined to march upon Camden,
Lord Cornwallis, commander-in-chief, (Clinton having returned
to New York,) apprised of all that was passing in the interior of
the States, determined to march himself to reinforce Lord Rawdon, thinking it highly probable from the position of the American army, that Camden would be a point of speedy attack.
He arrived there two days before the battle, and unwilling to
hazard an assault, determined to surprise the rebels in their
place of encampment at Clermont.  Thus both armies, ignorant of each other's intentions mnoved about the same hour of
the night, and approaching each other, met half way between
their respective encampments at midnight.  An exchange of
fire between the advanced guards was the first notice that either
army had of the other. Hostilities were for the time suspended,
and from one of the prisoners taken in the skirmish, Williams
learned that Lord Cornwallis led the army with three thousand
troops under his especial command, besides those of Lord
Rawdon's.
This intelligence threw consternation into the American army,
and Gen. Gates called a council of war. It was decided that
the time had passed for any course but fighting.  Frequent
skirmishes occurred throughout the night, which served to display the relative force and situation of the two armies. Col.
Williams narrates another circumstance which contributed to
distress the Americans, and he says:
"Nothing ought to be considered as trivial in an army which
in any degree affects the health or spirit of the troops, upon
which often, more than upon number, the fate of battles depends.
The troops of Gen. Gates' army had frequently felt the consequence of eating bad provisions, but at this time a hasty meal
of quick baked bread and fresh meat, with a dessert of molasses
mixed with mush or dumplings, operated so cathartically as to
disorder very many of the men, who were breaking the ranks
all night, and were certainly much debilitated before the action
commenced in the morning."
On the morning of the 16th, the two armies came together,
and Williams at the very onset distinguished himself by his




16
valor, and by his suggestion to Gen. Gates that the enemy should
be attacked while displaying by Gen. Stevens' brigade, already
in line of battle, as first impressions were very important. Gen.
Gates at once replied, "that's right, let it be done."  This,
however, could not be accomplished until the right wing of the
British was discovered in line, too late to attack them while
displaying. Williams at the head of forty or fifty men then
commenced the attack, and kept up a brisk fire. But the militia no sooner beheld the enemy advance impetuously, than they
threw down their arms without firing and fled instantly. This
was followed by others, acting in the same pusillanimous style,
and at least two-thirds of the army never fired a shot. Williams writes:
" He who has never seen the effect of a panic upon a multitude can have but an imperfect idea of such a thing. The best
disciplined troops have been enervated and made cowards by it.
Armies have been routed by it, even where no enemy appeared
to furnish an excuse. Like electricity, it operates instantly; like
sympathy, it is irresistible where it touches."
The regular troops, including those of Maryland, stood their
ground, and by tremendous fires of musketry kept the enemy
for a while in check. Several times did the British give way
and as often rallied. But two brigades of American troops remained firm upon the field. Williams called upon his regiment
not to fly; he saw that to avoid retreat was impossible but wished
it to be accomplished with credit. The troops stood well and
returned the hot fire of the enemy with zeal, until Cornwallis,
charging with his whole force of dragoons and infantry, put
them to total rout. Not a company retired in good order, but
Williams attributed this not to want of courage; they had fought
against desperate odds, besides having to fight for those who so
ingloriously fled, but it appears that there was no command to
retreat from any general officer until it became too late to retire
in order.  Williams gained in this action, unfortunate as it
proved, a character for cool courage, for discretion, and that
thorough knowledge of tactics so essential in the officer, and
without which impetuosity would be but an explosive gas, but
which, guarded by the master-hand of the philosopher, burns




17
steadily through the thickest gloom. Never off his guard, he
knew when and where to strike, and when to reserve the blow
that opportunity only served to encourage; for it is hard for the
brave in battle to retain the gauntlet of defiance, and so armed,
out of the nettle danger pluck the flower safety."
General Gates never entirely recovered from the odium showered upon him by the event of the battle of Camden, and the
consequences finally led to his displacement, and the appointment of Gen. Greene to the command of the Southern army,
but Williams always continued his firm friend, and speaks of
him in several instances as the " good old man."
(It is impossible, in a sketch so brief as this, to give any detailed account of the war in the Carolinas; it will be sufficient
to introduce successively Col. Williams' graphic pictures of the
battles and scenes in which he was engaged.)
The tide of fortune could not flow forever with the English,
and at the battle of King's Mountain, in which Williams took
part, they were utterly defeated; this victory proved a severe
blow to the interests of Lord Cornwallis.  Sometimes by good
luck, advantages were gained, as in the following circumstance
during the same year, and of which Williams gives this account,
dated 7th Dec. 1780:
"A few days ago Gen. Morgan, with the Light Infantry of
our army and a party of Light Dragoons under Lieut. Col.
Washington, moved towards Camden.  Col. Rugely's farm
was defended by a strong block house, which was garrisoned by
Col. Rugely and a party of new levies. A good block house
is proof against musketry and sometimes against light artillery.
Therefore Gen. Morgan would not risk his troops in an assault,
but had recourse to stratagem, and Lieut. Col. Washington executed the plan. He paraded the cavalry in view of the block
house and mounted the trunk of a pine tree upon three prongs,
instead of a field piece, and which he manned with dismounted
dragoons, then summoned Rugely to surrender, which the poltroon did, without hearing a report of this new invented piece
of ordnance, and submitted himself with about 100 officers and
men to be taken as prisoners of war."
8




18
The battle of Cowpens was another blow-perhaps the
most decisive victory gained by the Americans during the whole
war, and in which the hitherto terrible and fortunate Tarlton
was put to total rout.
The retreat of the army through North Carolina, which, so
admirably executed, had the effect of leading Cornwallis into
Virginia, followed the battle of Cowpens, and gave Williams
an opportunity of displaying those qualities of tact, vigilance
and prudence, which gain for an officer a fame as deserved as
the laurels won in battle.  He commanded the rear guard, and
succeeded in eluding every effort of the enemy in pursuit.
Greene, with a keen eye, early distinguished his abilities, and he
became, as long as he remained with the army, one of his general's few and constant advisers.  He appointed him Adjutant
General, as he had been Deputy under Gates.
The next engagement of consequence is that of Guilford
Court House, and Williams has left a short account of it in a
hasty letter to his brother.  His letter is dated fiom Camp at
Speedwell's furnace, ten miles from Guilford Court House, 1st
March, 1781:
" The Southern army has once more come off second best in
a general action. Gen. Greene being reinforced with a few
small detachments of new levies, which gave the regular battalion a respectable appearance, and a sufficient number of militia
to make his force apparently superior to the British army, made
the best possible arrangement of his troops, and for many reasons which rendered it almost absolutely necessary, came to a
resolution of attacking Lord Cornwallis the first opportunity.
When both parties are disposed for action all obstacles are soon
overcome.  The two armies met at Guilford Court House yesterday at 12 o'clock. Our army was well posted; the action
was commenced by the advanced parties of infantry and cavalry,
in which our troops were successful, but the situation of the
ground not being favorable in our front, our army kept its position and waited the attack of the British. They were opposed
wherever they appeared.  The militia of North Carolina behaved as usual, but those of Virginia distinguished themselves
by uncommon bravery.  The regular troops were the last that




19
had come to action and generally behaved well, but as these
were the most inconsiderable in number, the general chose
rather to retire than risk a defeat. The retreat was made in
tolerable good order, and so stern was the appearance of our
regular force, that the enemy did not think proper to press our
rear, nor continue the pursuit more than three miles. Our
greatest loss is four pieces of artillery and the field."
During the next month another ineffectual attempt was made
upon Camden, and pursuing the plan formed of allowing the
actors in these scenes to speak for themselves, we have Col.
Williams' account of the efforts of the army as follows:
"CAMP BEFORE CAMDEN, 27 April, 1781.
" Dear Elie-We have been here ever since the 19th instant,
and have made several manceuvres, upon different quarters of
the town, but have neither been able to discover advantages,
that promised success by a storm, nor to completely invest the
place.  The town is flanked on the West by the Wateree, and
on the East by two deep creeks; the other quarters are strongly
fortified. A villain of a drummer went in to the enemy on the
the 24th, when we were encamped within a mile of the town,
and gave them such information of our circumstances, position
and numbers, as induced Lord Rawdon to sally with all his best
troops the next morning, about eleven o'clock.
" This was what we wished, and the only hope we had of a
speedy reduction of the post. Lieut. Col. Washington was
ordered to pass the right flank of the enemy with his cavalry,
which he did, and threw himself in their rear. Capt. Kirkwood, with two small companies of light infantry, was behaving
bravely in front, and the picquets were doing their duty upon
the flanks, when the line was ordered to advance, and the artillery to play upon the enemy.  The first Maryland regiment
particularly, was ordered to charge bayonets, without firing, but
for some cause not yet clearly ascertained, the regiment received
orders to retire and then broke. The second regiment retired
in consequence. The second Virginia regiment was ordered off,
and the first broke. The unfavorable consequences were, that
the army lost a glorious opportunity of gaining a complete vic



20
tory, taking the town, and biasing the beam of fortune greatly
in favor of our cause.
" The action was at no time very warm, but it was durable,
and our troops by the gallant exertions of our officers, were rallied frequently, but always fought at long shot. A convincing
testimony that this was generally the case, is that none or very
few of our men were wounded with buck shot or bayonet. The
baggage of our army was sent off to Rugely's, and the troops
halted at Saunder's Creek, about two miles South of where we
fought last year, and about five miles from Camden. The loss
was nearly equal on both sides, if we do not consider the loss
of opportunity.  We lost about 130 killed and wounded, and
from every account the enemy were not more lucky.
" The cavalry, the light infantry, and the guards, acquired
all the honor, and the infantry of the battalions all the disgrace
that fell upon our shoulders. The cavalry, led on by Washington, behaved in a manner truly heroic.  He charged the
British army in the rear, took a great number of prisoners, sent
many of them off with small detachments, and when he saw
we were turning our backs upon victory in front, by a circuitous
manoeuvre, he threw his dragoons into our rear, passed the line
and charged the York volunteers, (a fine corps of cavalry,) killed
a number and drove the rest out of the field.  Washington is
an elegant officer; his reputation is deservedly great. Many of
our officers are mortally mortified at our late inglorious retreat.
I say mortally, because I cannot doubt that some of us must
fall, in endeavoring the next opportunity, to re-establish our
reputation. Dear Reputation, what trouble do you not occasion, what danger do you not expose us to! Who but for it,
would patiently persevere in prosecuting a war, with the mere
remnant of a fugitive army, in a country made desolate by repeated ravages, and rendered sterile by streams of blood. Who
but for reputation would sustain the varied evils that daily attend
the life of a soldier, and expose him to jeopardy every hour.
Liberty, thou basis of reputation, suffer me not to forget the
cause of my country, nor to murmur at my fate."
The events of this campaign being active, and following in
quick succession, we have an account of the siege of Ninety-six,




21
a very important post. The fortunes of the war had turned
generally in favor of the Americans, although their troops were
several times defeated in this campaign. Lord Rawdon was forced
to abandon Camden shortly after the events narrated by Williams, and the posts of Fort Watson, Fort Mott, Fort Granby,
Nelson's Ferry, Georgetown, Fort Dreadnought and Augusta
were all reduced or deserted, and there remained only Charleston
and Ninety-six in South Carolina, and Savannah, in Georgia,
in the hands of the enemy. The post of Ninety-six was closely
besieged for three weeks, and without reinforcements, which the
Americans hardly expected, would certainly have been taken.
But it so happened, unfortunately, that the garrison was strongly
reinforced by Lord Rawdon, and the Americans were obliged to
abandon the siege. Col. Williams writes thus:
"BusH RIVER, June 23d, 1781.
"Dear Bro.-The circumstances of the war, in this part of
the world, have had a material alteration since I had the pleasure to write you. After Lord Rawdon's retreat from Camden,
Gen. Greene pushed his operations southwardly, and has obliged
the enemy to abandon or surrender all their posts in South
Carolina, except Charleston and Ninety-six. On the 22d ult.
our little army invested the last mentioned place, and continued
the siege with infinite labor and alacrity till the 20th inst., when
we were obliged to relinquish an object, which, if attained,
would not only have given peace to this distracted country, but
would have added a lustre to our former services, sufficiently
brilliant to have thrown a proper light upon the character of our
excellent General, and reflected a ray of glory upon the reputation of each inferior officer. Though we have been greatly disappointed, no troops ever deserved more credit for their exertions.
The operations were prosecuted with indefatigable zeal and
bravery, and the place was defended with spirit and address.
Our loss is Capt. Armstrong, of the Maryland Line, killedCapt. Benson, dangerously wounded, and Lieut. Duvall, also
wounded.  Besides officers, we lost fifty-eight men killed, sixtynine wounded, and twenty missing.  From  this account you
will conclude that a day seldom passed without execution, and




22
I can assure you that each night rather promoted than diminished the mischief. We succeeded so far as to take one of the
enemy's redoubts, and in all probability a few days more would
have happily concluded the business.  But Lord Rawdon had
received a strong reinforcement, and by making forced marches,
arrived in time to avert the impending fate of the garrison.  I
cannot ascertain the loss the enemy may have sustained, but judging by our own, it cannot be inconsiderable. Our approaches
were carried by two trenches and a mine to within a few feet of the
ditch of their strongest fort, and our troops once took possession
of it, but their works were too strong to be escaladed. Instances
of consummate bravery were exhibited, but their fire was too
fatal for our people to remain in their fosse, and we were obliged
to leave it with loss."
But the most important battle, and the last of consequence,
was that of Eutaw. It was by no means as decisive as that of
Cowpens, but it was instrumental in putting an end to the war.
Col. Williams displays his knowledge of the enemy, and his
skill as a soldier, in this prognostic of the battle, which happened four days after that he writes as follows from
"FORT MOTT, on the Congaree River, Sept. 4th, 1781.
" I wrote last from the high hills of Santee, from which the
army moved the 23d of August, with the view of attacking the
enemy at Thompson's Farm, which is within half a mile of
this place, but having a large circuit to make before we could
pass the Wateree and Congaree rivers, which lay between us,
the enemy took the opportunity of retiring to Nelson Ferry,
which is on the Santee River, about forty miles below the confluence of the first mentioned rivers, which form the last, within
sight of our present position.
"Having got the enemy so low down the country, a great
point is gained, and puts the laboring oar into their hands.
" We shall not be under the necessity of fighting, neither
shall we avoid it if a favorable opportunity offers. These large
rivers, which have all extensive marshy shores and but few ferries, embarrass us on account of transporting our baggage, and
will subject the army to some inconvenience, but our circum



23
stances, taken altogether, are very different from what they were
three months ago, and are indeed a perfect contrast to the adverse fortune that followed the heels of our retreating troops last
winter.  If Col. Stewart, who has commanded the army since
Lord Rawdon's departure for Europe, thinks proper to risk an
action, he will be beaten."
Here we have his account of the battle itself:
"The British army, being reinforced by the 3d regiment,
contrary to my expectations, advanced from  Orangeburgh to
Congaree, and encamped at Col. Thompson's, about one mile
from Fort Mott, which we had reduced some time before.  It
is said they exultingly gave three cheers upon regaining that
position.  The two armies remained neighbors, and were separated by the Santee, from early in August till the 23d of that
month, when Gen. Greene took the resolution to remove Col.
Stewart, (who succeeded Gen. Rawdon in command,) or give
him battle.
" It was impossible to pass the rivers Wateree and Congaree
immediately in front, and as their confluence is but a little to
our left, it was not considered eligible to cross the Santee below
the enemy for obvious reasons: we had a junction to form with
the State troops and militia, whose numbers were not ascertained, and without them we were greatly inferior in force to
the enemy.  Therefore the General ordered us to march by the
right, and we passed the rivers above, which induced the British
army to retire to Eutaw Springs, about thirty-five miles from
Thompson's and about two from Nelson's Ferry over the Santee.
Gen. Greene did not approve of their holding that post, and as
his forces were now collected, he determined to prosecute his
plan of giving battle or removing them to a more peaceful distance. By easy marches we arrived at Burdell's, seven miles
from Eutaw, in the afternoon of the 7th inst., and orders were
given for marching again next morning, at four o'clock, to
attack the enemy.
"At four o'clock next morning we were under arms, and
moved in order of battle about three miles, when we halted,
and took a little of that liquid which is not unnecessary to exhilarate the animal spirits upon such occasions. Again we ad



24
vanced, and soon afterwards our light troops met the van of the
enemy, who were marching out to meet us.
"Very serious, very important reflections began to obtrude.
But liberty or death; peace and independence; or glory and a
grave. The enemy's van was soon driven to their line, and
our troops displayed. Our militia, which composed the front
line, seconded the attack, and behaved better than usual. The
North Carolina brigade of Continentals were next engaged, and
acquired honor by their firmness. The Virginians advanced
with impetuosity, and beat their foes wherever they found them.
And the little remnant of Maryland troops, with an intrepidity
which was particularly noticed by our gallant commander, advanced in good order, with trailed arms, and without regarding
or returning the enemy's fire, charged and broke their best
troops. Then, indeed, we fired and followed them into their
camp, near which is a thick wood, very unfavorable to cavalry.
But Col. Washington, impatient perhaps for a more favorable
opportunity, charged upon the enemy's right, where unluckily
their flank companies were posted. He received a very galling
fire, by which his horse fell in front of his dragoons. In an
instant his breast was pierced by a bayonet, which however
wounded him  but slightly.  His cavalry was repulsed, and
that excellent officer became a captive.
" Our loss in officers killed and wounded was very considerable, and the eagerness of the pursuit had thrown most of the
troops into disorder, which could not now be remedied. Some
were taking prisoners, and others plundering the enemy's camp,
while they in despair sought refuge in and about a strong brick
house which stood in the midst of it, and from whence their
fire began to gall us exceedingly.  About this time General
Greene had brought our two six pounders within one hundred
yards of the house, and I believe by accident or mistake, two
others which we had taken were brought to the same place. At
this critical juncture the enemy made a conclusive effort, which
not only did them great honor, but, in my opinion, was the
salvation of their whole army.  Major Majoribanks sallied
briskly from behind a picket garden, charged our artillery, and




5
carried the pieces, which they immediately secured under the
walls of their citadel.
"As our two three pounders and one which we had taken in
the field, were all dismounted, it was useless to attempt any
thing further with the small arms. The General, therefore,
ordered the troops to retire, which was done gradually, the
enemy not presuming to follow. The cavalry of the legion
kept that of the enemy in awe, but found no good opportunity
to cut them.
" The Delaware battalion and legion infantry acted with their
usual vivacity, and were among those who did the most execution. As the Eutaw Spring was within fifty yards of the house,
and there was no other water nearer than Burdell's, we retired
in the afternoon to that place, which gave the enemy an opportunity of burying as many of their dead as their stay would
admit. They abandoned the post early on the night of the 9th,
leaving upwards of sixty of their dead unburied, and sixty or
seventy wounded that could not be carried off. We pursued
them about thirty-five miles, and though their army was reinforced by Major McArthur's detachment of 300 or 400 men
from Monks' Corner, they thought proper to retire to a strong
position on the south side of Ferguson's swamp, in the night of
the 10th, when we lay at the Trout Spring, within five miles
of them.
" They retired to Fair Lawn, below Monks', and on the
morning of the 13th the General ordered the army to return to its
former position at the high hills of Santee. This expedition was
made in the season of the year which is most sickly in this
country; and you cannot conceive how much more lamentable
it is to lose an officer in sick quarters, than to see him fall in
the field. There, there is no duration of that toilsome anxiety
which we suffer for a languishing friend, besides his exit is
glorious and, we believe, happy.
" Upon re-perusal of this circumstantial sheet, I do not think
I have said enough of the bravery of the American troops. To
have an idea of their vivacity and intrepidity, you must have
shared their danger and seen their charge, which exceeded any
thing of the sort I ever saw before.
4




26
"The battle of Eutaw, was an example of what I conceive
to be obstinate fair field fighting, and it is worthy of remark,
that it happened on the same spot of ground where, according
to the tradition of this country, a very bloody, desperate battle
was fought about a century ago, between the savage natives and
the barbarous Europeans who came to dispossess them of their
property, which, in soil, is as rich as any upon the continent, or
can be any where else. On the spot where the conflict of bayonets decided the victory, is a monument or mound of earth,
said to have been erected over the bodies of the brave Indians
who fell in defence of their country. Will any such honorable
testimony be erected to the memory of our departed heroes?"
Both parties claimed the victory, and according to Gen. Tarlton's narrative, it was a most brilliant triumph for the British.
It had, however, great weight in favor of the Americans.
Williams' conduct in this engagement was most distinguished,
and won for him the entire approbation and praise of General
Greene and the army.  Indeed, Greene says: "I cannot help
acknowledging my obligations to Col. Williams for his great
activity on this and many other occasions, in forming the army,
and for his uncommon intrepidity in leading on the Maryland
troops to the charge."  Williams might, indeed, well be proud
of such commendation, but he now knew that he had done all
in his power for the country, and he yearned to return to the
bosom of his family. A sense of duty alone made him a soldier;
there was in him no desire of mere military distinction, but of
"that good fame,
Without which glory's but a tavern song."
He would have chosen to live on the old homestead, had not
the cry of his country rung in his ears, and when he was at last
free to set his face homewards, how gladly did he depart. He
writes to his brother:
"My disposition is wholly domestic; my feelings flow with
excess of tenderness whenever I indulge the thoughts of home.
There I will be as soon as I can quit the field with honor, and
sooner you don't expect me.  The hope of terminating this
tour of service with a little good fortune, and of returning once




27
more to my friends, supports me under all my anxiety and
danger.  I am happy in my office, in my command, and in my
connections. My health is seldom impaired, though my feelings
are wounded every day by such circumstances as I have frequently related-so that I have a mixture of pleasure and pain
in the exercise of my profession, which I ardently wish I may
soon have an honorable opportunity of changing for some silent,
sweet domestic occupation.  Then will I take you and my
fond sisters in my arms, and live with you in peace."
The military career of Williams now drew rapidly to a close,
and the remainder of his days were passed in the repose he so
ardently loved. But toward the close of the war he was sent
by Greene with despatches to Congress, and became Brigadier
General by brevet. Much as he merited the honor, it caused
some dissatisfaction among his brother officers, and Greene writes
to him on this subject, in connection with others, as follows:
" I wrote you, my dear General, some time past, in answer
to your letter. In mine I congratulated you on your promotion,
from which I felt a singular happiness, but observed at the same
time, that the manner was more honorable to you, than satisfactory to the other Colonels of the army. Your right of promotion,
which took place from the United States being formed into
districts, was repealed before your promotion took place, and
being promoted upon a principle of merit, the Colonels feel an
injury in the comparison that their merit is less conspicuous than
yours. Col. Pinkney wrote me on the subject, and I believe
has written to Congress. I gave him copies of my letters to
Congress, which were satisfactory.  I expect other Colonels
will feel the same injury, and very likely make the same application.
" The love of rank is so strong a principle in the breast of a
soldier, that he who has a right to promotion will never admit
another over his head upon a principle of merit. You are not
to expect that every body will subscribe to the justice of your
promotion.  You must content yourself with having obtained
it, and that no man is without his enemies but a fool. I am
glad to hear the sentiments of the public are so flattering to the
Southern army.  The Southern States have acted generously




28
by me, and if I can close the business honorably here, I shall
feel doubly happy, happy for the people and happy for myself.
I think the public are not a little indebted for our exertions.
The Southern States were lost, they are now restored; the
American arms were in disgrace, they are now in high reputation.  The American soldiery were thought to want both
patience and fortitude to contend with difficulties: they are
now remarkable for both. That sentiment had taken deep root
in Europe, but it is now totally changed. Indeed, the change
of British administration is in a great degree owing to our efforts,
and the consequences resulting from them.
" I hope I don't arrogate too much in saying this, and in
saying we have contributed not a little to the glory of the nation
and the American arms.  I find by a Parliamentary Register,
that there were 18,000 troops and upwards, in the Southern
department last year, besides the militia which acted with the
enemy, and those amounted to not less than 2,000, exclusive
of the negroes, and they had more than 1,000 of them  on the
different military departments of the army. This includes Lord
Cornwallis' army in Virginia. At the time the battle of Eutaw
was fought by the enemy, from returns laid before Parliament,
it appears they had in Charleston and in their advanced army,
6,700 men fit for duty, besides all the militia and negroes.
What an amazing difference between their force and ours!
From these authorities, I find our operations were much more
glorious than ever we considered them."
Gen. Greene and Gen. Williams were equally zealous in defending each other's reputation, and at a later period when
Greene himself was made the subject of animadversion, Williams
defends him in a strain of indignation and sarcasm, in the following letter to Maj. Edwards:
" The late revolution in South Carolina is owing not only to
a change of circumstances, but to a change of men in the government of that country.  How daringly impudent it is for
those who have been rescued from misery and dejection, to
arraign the virtue that saved them.  Gen. Greene exercised a
superior judgment, changed the system of military operations in
that country, and used the only possible means of recovering it



29
and dare the ingrates now accuse him of any interested design, or
any view of ambition, other than that which receives its highest
gratification from the thanks and approbation of a free people?
And do the devils dare to treat with neglect and contempt that
little corps of gallant men who saved them from despair and
slavery? Their ingratitude proves manifestly, how well they
deserved the chains which have been taken off their necks.
There are many sensible, amiable characters in Carolina, but I
always feared the majority were envious, jealous, malicious,
designing, unprincipled people. Come one, come all of you
away and leave them. I am glad to hear the Northern troops
are returning. Though I cannot flatter myself with the pleasure
of seeing them rewarded as they deserve, there will be something
done for them, they will not starve on the same fields in which
they have bled."
It will not be of purpose to dwell much longer upon the subject before us, for Gen. Williams did not live many years more
to enjoy the fruits of his hard toil. He settled in Baltimore and
was appointed to the collectorship of the port, by the Governor of
the State, the duties of which he discharged with the same exemplary fidelity which had attended his military career. When the
Federal Constitution was adopted, he was re-appointed to the
same office, which he continued to hold as long as he lived.
In 1786, he was happily married to the second daughter of
Mr. William Smith, a very wealthy and influential merchant,
and his union was productive of the complete felicity he so well
deserved. His habits of industry, economy and method, joined
to the lucrative office he held, enabled him among much other
property, to buy the old home of his father, on the banks of the
Potomac, which in the midst of the battle field's "dreadful
array," he had so often fondly returned to in imagination.
Here he was pleasantly employed in improving the condition of
the farm, and in laying out the present town of " Williamsport,"
called after his own name. It was at one time thought that the
seat of government would be at Williamsport, and there are
several letters from the General's brother on the subject, and
written in a very hopeful strain: one of great length detailing
an account of Gen. Washington's visit to Springfield's farm,




30
(for such is its name,) with speculations on the site of the
Federal seat. On this letter Gen. Williams has endorsed the
words "All a Hum," and Williamsport has remained to this
day, rather a village than a city of magnificent distances.
The health of Gen. Williams became much impaired, and
disease attacked his lungs, but he still continued his duties.
He had many friends in and out of the army, and he delighted
to keep up a correspondence with them. None thought more
highly of him as a soldier and a man, than Washington, and
such names as Greene, Knox, Lincoln, Lee, Steuben, Kosciusko,
and many more, form those of intimate and tried associates.
Nor was he less solicitous to preserve unbroken friendship with
many unknown to fame, and with a large family circle. The
wealth that he acquired was liberally dispensed, and his bounty
was always readily extended to the deserving. To his brother
he says in one of his letters —" Whatever is mine in Maryland
is yours, and I really don't know what you mean by my money
in your hands." So highly was he esteemed by Gen. Washington; that in 1792, on the refusal of Gen. Morgan to accept
the actual rank of Brigadier General, Gen. Knox being then
Secretary of War, wrote to Williams that the President would
be highly pleased to appoint him to the post, which would make
him the eldest Brigadier General, and second in command, and
he was accordingly actually so nominated. But this honor he
positively declined in several letters to the President and Secretary Knox, on account of ill health and family duties; and he
also adds that it would be no stimulus to his ambition to be
second in command. His illness still increasing upon him, he
was induced in 1793 to try the effect of sea air, and a voyage to
Barbadoes had some benefit, but of very short duration.
And now the light which he created and shed around him, was
to be withdrawn from those who looked as upon the rainbow's
glories after a stormy day; for just as they were encircled by its
arch of splendor, in radiant promise of sunny skies, they beheld
its brilliant hues melting into air, as the luminary whence they
emanated sunk solemnly from their sight. In the next year,
1794, while on his way to the Sweet Springs, in Virginia, on
reaching the little town of Woodstock, he became too ill to pro



31
ceed farther, and on the 16th of July, at the early age of 45, he
died.  He was prepared; he had lived the full measure of his
fame; his life had been glorious and happy; he had shrunk
from no responsibility; he had feared nothing but to do wrong;
he had gained "honor, love, obedience, troops of friends," and
when at last he met the unconquerable foe, it was with the
same calm  courage and reliance on a higher power, that had
been his trust when he had rushed into mortal battle.
He left an ample fortune to his four sons, and committed
them to their mother's father, saying in his will, that he could
do so with entire trust," as soon as it should please Heaven to
remove him  from  that endearing office."  In the eloquent
language of the Spaniard, himself a soldier as well as a poet,
"As thus the dying warrior prayed,
Without one gathering mist or shade
Upon his mind;
Encircled by his family,
Watched by affection's gentle eye
So soft and kind"His soul to him who gave it, rose:
God lead it to its long repose,
Its glorious rest!
And though the warrior's sun is set,
Its light shall linger round us yet,
Bright, radiant, blest."
On the banks of the lordly Potomac his remains repose, beneath a simple monument crowning the summit of a hill, overlooking a wild expanse of waving woods and pleasant fields,
and distant mountains, which he once delighted to look upon.
The setting sun sheds its glories over that peaceful landscape;
the river flows calmly by many a pleasant village, by the marble
palaces of the busy Metropolis, and by the tomb of him who has
given it his name. Heroes, patriots and friends, both sleep by
the same river; both firm  in love of peace but hatred of
tyranny, and both spared to be cheered by the smiles of their
country, whose battles they had fought while she pined in fetters
and in tears.








MEMORIALS OF COLUMBUS,
READ TO THE
ltarlanlb   $storical 5ociet,
BY
ROBERT  DODGE,
3 April, 1851.
BALTIMORE:
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY.
M D C C CL I




ENTERED, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by the
MARYLAND  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States.
JOHN D. TOY, PRINTER.




COLUMBUS.
AUTOGRAPH LETTERS AT GENOA.
AT the meeting of the NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
held at its rooms, on the evening of the fifteenth day of January,
1850, I had the honor of presenting to the Society a copy of
one of the very few remaining autograph letters of Christopher
Columbus, in the original and beautiful Italian.
Upon the nineteenth day of January, 1848, during my stay at
Genoa, I had the opportunity of examining that city's proudest
treasury,-its Custodia of the Memorials of Columbus, which
with Parmegiano's Portrait in the Royal Gallery at Naples,
compose some valuable relics of him, the results of whose
sublime achievement may well fill coming centuries for their
development.
During the brief space that the Custodien allowed me to hold
the letter in my hand, I succeeded in making a correct copy of
the original, which, as one of but three landmarks of his history
supplied by himself, and left for us, is justly regarded by his
countrymen with no ordinary veneration. Perhaps their famous
Emerald Vase or the ashes of St. John, do not meet with equal
regard.
I presented the copy that I thus had myself made, to the
Society, without any accompanying data, which might be useful
to demonstrate the originality and authenticity of the donation,
as well as its historical importance.




4
Favorable opportunity has since, through the courtesy of Mr.
Brantz Mayer, of Baltimore, and from other sources, placed in
my hands some evidence thereof, which I now ask permission
succinctly to detail.
It may perhaps, be as well here to premise a short history of
the collection and preservation of the few autograph Memorials
of the Great Discoverer of the New World.
Of the Autograph Letters of Christopher Columbus, there are
but three as yet known to the world; the residue, though long
desired, have never yet been brought to light.
The priceless value of an autograph letter from the accomplished mind of Him, who was confessedly at the head of physical science, at that period of the awakening of the human intellect; which speaks to us, at the vast distance of near three
centuries and a half, of his daily griefs, hopes, and plans of
beneficence; in that most mellifluent of human tongues, the
daily speech of his cotemporaries, Michael Angelo, Titian,
Corregio and Raphael, and whose harmonies were even as
Columbus wrote, flowing in immortal grace from the pens of
Ariosto and Machiavelli, must be manifest to all, and more
especially in this land-the scene of his glory, now so rapidly
hasting foward in that grand career, predicted in the sublime
visions of his own prophecies.
We are told by the Decurions of Genoa, that the library of
the Count Michael Angelo Cambiasi, a former Senator of that
city, was, after his death, in July, 1816, advertised for sale.
Its catalogue contained as one of its Nos. the "Codice dei
Privilegii del Colombo." The Decurions of Genoa, anxious to
procure this treasure, had the public sale adjourned until the
King's answer had been received to their memorial on the
subject.  The King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel, earnestly
seconded their wishes, ordering the originals to be deposited in
the archives of the Court at Turin; where an accurate copy
having been taken, at the solicitations of the Decurions of
Genoa, the originals were given up to them and the copy left at
Turin.  The originals were received by Genoa, on the 29th
day of January, 1821, and shortly after a beautiful monument or




5
custodia, being a marble pillar surmounted by a bust of Columbus, was erected as their honored depository, and placed in an
apartment in the beautiful marble palace of the Doges of Genoa.
A small door of gilded bronze in the centre, opens to still
another door of similar material, behind which, in their golden
receptacle are preserved these sacred relics.  The closet is
secured by two keys, which are kept respectively as appurtenances of office, by the Senator and by the Cardinal Legate of
Genoa, during their terms of office.  To see the relics, both
keys must be obtained on written application to these dignitaries.
The reflecting stranger who has the happiness of visiting
"Genova la Superba," as she is so well designated, and looks
with admiration on that beautiful palace, the seat of the pomps
of its long line of illustrious Doges, still so fresh and well preserved, despite French Vandalism; may now, as he walks
through its classic corridors, colonnades and porticos, well
hesitate to attribute the inspiration of the scene, to the thronging
memories of the great Doria, the deliverer of his country, the
Crusades, the capture of Constantinople, the rescue of the Holy
Sepulchre, or to these memorials of Genoa's greater Son, who
made her the mother of a New World.
The documents contained in this monument to Columbus,
consist of forty-four separate charters, warrants, orders and
grants of privileges, beautifully engrossed on vellum, by the art
of the copyist and illuminator of that age, and also the autograph
letters of Columbus, of which we purpose to speak.
These documents are enclosed in a bag of richly gilt and
embossed scarlet Spanish leather, with a silver lock; being the
"book of copies of his letters and of his privileges" which in
1502, when he set off upon his fourth and last voyage, he entrusted to the care and guardianship of Signor Francesco di
Rivarolo, to forward to his intimate friend at Genoa, "the most
learned doctor," as he styles him, and "the ambassador" Signor
Nicolo Oderigo, for his safe keeping and preservation.
In the TWO autograph letters, which are all that were published accompanying the copy of these documents of Columbus,




6
printed by order of the Decurions of Genoa, in 1823; (entitled
"Codice Diplomatico Colombo-Americano,") Columbus addresses both letters to Signor Nicolo Oderigo, the first dated
March 21st, 1502, just before he sailed upon his fourth and last
voyage of discovery; and the second, dated the 27th of December, 1504, two months after his return; as will appear by the
copies of these letters annexed.
In the first of these letters, bearing date Seville, March
21, 1502, he says: "I gave the book of my Privileges to
Signor Francesco di Rivarolo, in order that he might forward
it to you, along with a copy of the missive letters. I beg of
you as a particular favor to write to Don Diego, to acknowledge
their receipt and to mention where they are deposited."
In the second of these letters, bearing date Seville, December 27, 1504, he says: "At that time, when I set off upon the
voyage from which I have just returned, I gave to Francesco
di Rivarolo, a book of copies of my Letters, and another of
my Privileges, in a bag of colored Spanish leather, with a
silver lock; and two letters for the Bank of St. George, to
which I assigned the tenth of my revenues, in diminution of
the duties upon corn and other provisions: no acknowledgment
of all this has reached me.  Signor Francesco tells me, that all
arrived there in safety. If so, it was uncourteous in these gentlemen of St. George not to have favored me with an answer,
nor have they thereby improved their affairs, which gives me
cause to say, that whoever serves the public, serves nobody."
The magistrate of St. George, at Genoa, on the 8th day of
December, 1502, writes him  at great length, acknowledging
the receipt of a letter from him, in which he gives orders to his
son, Don Diego, that the tenth part of his annual revenues
should be paid to the city of Genoa, in diminution of the
duties on corn, wine and other provisions, for which they render suitable acknowledgments to the Admiral, replying in detail
to his said letter.
This letter of the magistrate of St. George, of Genoa, of
which we append a translation, therefore could not have been
received by the Admiral.




7
These three letters form all the letters that are printed by the
Decurions of Genoa, in their publication of 1823, of autographs by, or addressed to the Admiral.
The manifest hiatus of meaning in this correspondence,
can only be explained by the production of that letter from
Columbus to the magistrates or Banc  of St. George, mentioned
by himself in the second letter, and acknowledged on receipt,
and answered at length by the letter of the magistrate of
St. George.
It may be as well here to observe, that on examination of the
printed volume of the Decurions of Genoa, it appears from the
detailed history of the documents furnished on page 138, et seq.
that they print only the contents of the book of Privileges, and
book of copies of Letters, and such autograph letters as are
found therein, and attached to the leather case of the book, and
no others.
The letter of Columbus, of which I had the honor of presenting a copy to the New York Historical Society, in Italian,
copied from the autograph, was by the Custodien, taken out of
the same depository, but was not attached to the book of
Privileges.
This letter bears date the 2d day of April, 1502, at Seville;
addressed to the Governors of the Bank of St. George, at
Genoa; gives directions to Don Diego to pay the one tithe of
his revenue to the Bank, in diminution of the taxes; informs
them  of his having sent to Signor Nicolo Oderigo a copy of
his Privileges and Charters; and is thus, as will be seen by the
copy appended, the missing letter, referred to by Columbus himself in his second letter, and fully acknowledged and answered
in detail by the magistrate of St. George, on the 8th day of
December following.
Condensing a few leading events of the life of the great
navigator, may throw more light upon this intrinsically interesting letter.
Biographers have not as yet determined whether it was in
1446 or 1447, or earlier, that Columbus was born.   Their
theories are indeed numerous. Dr. Robertson, in note 11 to




8
page 62 of Vol. I. of his History of America, says: "The
time of Columbus' birth may be nearly ascertained by the following circumstances. It appears from the fragment of a letter
addressed by him to Ferdinand and Isabella, A. D. 1501, that
he had at that time been engaged forty years in a seafaring
life. In another letter he informs them that he went to sea at
the age of fourteen: whence it follows that he was born April,
A. D. 1447,"-and cites Ferdinand's Life C. Col.  Mr. Prescott, although not venturing in his text positively to state it,
in his History of Ferdinand and Isabella, Vol. II. page 115,
note 6, and Vol. III. page 242, note 16, sums up all the
authorities, and comes to the same result.  It seems that
Mr. Irving's date of 1435, based on the hypotheses of Navarrete
and Bernaldez is conjectural, and opposed to the great weight
of authorities. The last writer appears unwilling to allow that
the infirmities of the declining years of the Admiral were not
the natural result of his numerous mental and bodily hardships, and therefore adds ten years to his life.  Spotorno and
others say 1446: the rest 1447.  However, after much controversy, it seems agreed that he was the son of the wool-carder,
Domenico Colombo, and his wife, Susanna, and that the place
of his nativity was in the present street of St. Andrew's Gate,
or Lane of Mulcento, in the Parish of St. Stephen, being the
suburbs of Genoa.
From the age of fourteen until the age of sixty, or 1506,
when he died at Valladolid, his habitual pursuit was navigation.
The facts and speculations of all the existing science of the
age were applied by him, in the study and practice of his
favorite occupation.
These memorials of him, and the still lingering historic reminiscence of his age, establish his character, to have been immeasurably superior to his fellow men: that his mind, enriched
by a long experience in navigating the seas of Europe, and by
the contemplation of the phenomena of nature, and the laws of
the physical world, had risen to an unalterable conviction of the
truth of that ever memorable and grand conclusion, from those




9
laws and phenomena, which shone upon his own mind with the
clearness and directness of a sunbeam.
How he, of whom his own age was not worthy, toiled and
wandered: how much privation and suffering, how many griefs
and sorrows he endured; how many long years he begged his
way from door to door, and from court to court; how his clear
reasoning was derided; and how often baffled in the effort to
gain a hearing among the ignorant and selfish sovereigns of Europe; how his great heart and hope outlived this all; and how
at last, the gracious queen of Castile, lifted him up from the dust
of his abasement, and staking the jewels of her crown, set him
forth upon that voyage, which at once opened the area of a
world, and covered him and her with a more resplendent glory
than all human diadems; —is familiar to us all.
The great navigator, made in all, four voyages to this Continent, or, as it was then called, the Indies.
His first voyage began on the 3d* day of August, 1492, from
Palos; and he returned to Lisbon, on the 4th day of March, 1493.
His second voyage started from Cadiz, the 25th day of September, 1493; and he returned to Burgos, in Spain, on the 14th
of June, 1497.
On his third voyage, he sailed from San Lucar, on the 30th
day of May, 1498; the reins of power in Hispaniola, were then
in the hands of his vindictive enemies; and the student of the
life of this really sublime hero and prophet of his age, reads with
weeping heart, how he was reviled, persecuted, disgraced, and
sent home a prisoner to Cadiz, in Spain, where he arrived a
captive in chains, on the 20th day of November, 1500.
Two long and weary years, were then spent by him in repeling the malicious falsehoods of his jealous foes, before the tribunals and court of Spain, which had but two years before showered upon the discoverer dominion and honors equal to royalty.
The truth, finally, as ever, when facing falsehood, triumphed.
The royal favor was restored, and on the 9th day of May, 1502,
* All these dates being prior to A. D. 1582, the epoch of the Gregorian Calendar, or change to the New Style, eleven days are therefore to be added to bring
them to the modern reckoning, the present or New Style.
2




10
with a still greater equipment, and still greater glory, though
his conscious satisfaction of victory over his enemies was saddened by his experience of their malice, he set forth on his
Jburth voyage to the Indies from the same port of Cadiz.
He returned home to San Lucar, in the month of September,
1504; the precise day of his arrival is not ascertained.
This fourth voyage was an addition to his glory; as he therein first saw the main land of this Continent in voyaging along
the South American coasts.  This was his last voyage.  The
great Mariner returned no more.  In less than two years afterwards, and on the 20th day of May, 1506, at Valladolid, his
mighty heart surrendered to " the last enemy, which is death."
In a codicil to his will, which codicil was written by the testator himself at Segovia, August 15, 1505, and executed at
Valladolid, the 19th day of May, 1506, (the day before his
death,) Columbus declares that his will had been made and executed on the 1st day of April, 1502, and deposited in the keeping of father Gaspar Certosa, at Seville. Another codicil, called
the military codicil, written on the blank leaf of the Breviary,
presented to him by Pope Alexander VI., dated at Valladolid,
the 14th day of May, 1506, has also been published. This will
itself has never yet seen the light; but a previous will, dated in
1498, has been, of late years, discovered and published.
Perhaps this may be charged to the wilfulness of that crowd
of selfish claimants, who started so many wild and dubious stories, and unfounded litigations for the succession to his wealth
and honors, and prosecuted their finally unsuccessful suits for
generations after his decease. In this will, he declares Genoa
to be his birth-place, and directs his son Don Diego, therefore
to honor and be serviceable to that city. The controversy was
created by a race of claimants from Cuccharo or Cogoletto, who
attempted to deprive Genoa of the honor of his birth-place, to fix
it at Cuccharo, and thereby to make out their own lineal descent
and title to the succession, to the honor and wealth of the great
Admiral of Genoa.  The explicit declarations of his will, that
he was a native of Genoa, stood in their way; and it is easy to
believe that to protract their pertinacious litigation, they found
it convenient to suppress the will.




This epitome of the leading events of his life points clearly to
the character of this letter of the 2d day of April, 1502. It appears that the month of April, 1502, was selected by the Admiral for making the final disposition of his earthly affairs. On
the 1st day of the month, at Seville, in Spain, where he was
occupied in the business of his last expedition, he executes his
will, the most solemn record of humanity, and therein speaks
with affection of his own distant\and native Genoa. During the
month of March, he had given diligence to have all the charters,
warrants and grants, from the crown and others to him, accurately copied, authenticated by a public notary, and sent by the
trusty hand of intimate friendship, to his son, Don Diego, at Genoa, there to be carefully deposited and preserved. After thus
honoring his native city, by its selection as the depository of his
most valuable muniments of title, he seeks to confer a more substantial favor upon his fellow-citizens. To diminish the burthen
of the taxes upon food, which bore heavily on the poor, he, by
this letter, voluntarily yields up to the city one tenth of all the
revenues he derived from this source; and entrusts his son, Don
Diego, with the honorable office of executing his plan of beneficence.  The letter is therefore testamentary in its character; and
was more efficient than if he had included it in his will, which
became the prey of the avarice of litigants.
It is addressed, like the others, to Signor Nicolo Oderigo, his
intimate friend; an accomplished fellow-citizen of Genoa, who
was one of its Senators, and had been honored by its embassy
to the Court of Spain, then the first power of the world.
Mr. Irving, in the second volume of his History of Columbus,
alludes generally to this subject; states the fact that Columbus
sent two letters to the Bank of St. George, assigning to it the
one-tenth of his revenues, to be employed in diminishing the
duties on corn and other provisions, but does not furnish any
copies of the autograph letters of the Admiral or the Bank, nor
any additional information.* A very material confirmation has
however, been furnished me.
*I am informed by Mr. Irving, that he has not visited Genoa, since the discovery of these relics of Columbus, and therefore has had no opportunity of personal inspection.




12
In Niles's National Register for June 15th, 1839, it is stated,
on the authority of the New York Gazette, that Captain Baker,
of the Baltimore Brig Helen McLeod, recently arrived from
Genoa, had furnished to the Editor of the Gazette a translation
of an autograph letter from the great discoverer of our Continent, which translation had been given to Captain Baker by
Mr. Robert Campbell, who at that period was United States
Consul at Genoa.  This  letter is dated  2d April, 1502,
addressed to the Bank of St. George, at Genoa.  The Editor
remarks that it will be perused with interest as an original
from Christopher Columbus, never before published, and appends
(without, however, giving the Italian) a very fair rendering
into English of the identical letter, which I have translated and
inserted as No. 4 in the Appendix to this paper. As evidence
from an independent source and high character, this additional
testimony of the authenticity of the autograph is entitled to
great weight and respect.*
The letters speak for themselves, their contents require no
commentary; and least of all, can the gap of meaning between
the letters printed by the Decurions of Genoa, be supplied by
the cool assertion of D. Giovanni Batista Spotorno, in his
Memoir of Columbus, that the letter of the magistrate of St.
George refers, and is an answer to the first letter of Columbus,
bearing date at Seville, March 21st, 1502, which is addressed
to Nicolo Oderigo, upon a subject entirely distinct.
It may be pertinent to add that the Bank of St. George at
Genoa, whose banking house, girt with the Pisan chains, the
trophy of Genoa's ancient fame, is still a conspicuous monument
at the side of the Porto franco, arose about A. D. 1400, as a
means of providing the Republic with funds to repel the aggressions of the exiled nobles, who then in great force threatened
its destruction.
The Republic pledged the whole revenues of the state, to a
company of merchants, called the Compera or Banco di San
* Mr. Robert Campbell was in office as United States Consul at Genoa, in September, 1839. See U. S. Official Register for 1839, p. 11.




13
Georgio, for the payment of the advances of money required by
the exigencies of the State.  The bank was for loans and
deposits. Its transactions were on a grand scale; many of the
European States, and Spain in particular, were its debtors, and
its income exceeded ten millions of French livres. The administration of its concerns was committed to eight directors, and
it had jurisdiction over its own officers. The product of the
imposts, pledged by the State to the Bank, for the payment of
its loan and interest, when inadequate, was constantly increased.
At the time of its failure, its rents amounting to 3,400,000
Genoese Lire, or about seven hundred thousand dollars, the
property of its creditors was transferred to the account books of
France.
The Bank had all the nature and powers of the English East
India Company, being both a financial and trading corporation.
Its colonial administration and power extended to the Crimea,
Asia Minor, and over the Island of Corsica.
This great engine of the State, was managed with power
and integrity; its bills continued current throughout Europe,
until French Vandalism overran the territory of the Republic
and seized on Corsica; until the year 1750, when the Bank
failed; the artery of life to Genoa ceased to furnish aliment
when the other powers of the venerable Republic were destroyed.
The interest of the subject is my excuse for the length of this
paper, whose conclusion I now form by copies of the three
letters of Columbus, and of the letter of the Magistrate of St.
George to the Admiral.




APPENDIX.
No. 1
"To  THE AMBASSADOR SIGNOR NICOLO ODERIGO."
" Sir:
" It is impossible to describe the solicitude which
your departure has caused among us. I gave the book of my
Privileges to Signor Frco. di Rivarolo, in order that he might
forward it to you, along with a copy of the missive letters. I
beg of you as a particular favor, to write to Don Diego, to acknowledge their receipt, and to mention where they are deposited. Another copy shall be furnished and sent to you, in the
same manner, and by the said Sig. Franco.  You will find
another letter in it, in which their highnesses have promised to
give me all that belongs to me, and to put Don Diego in possession of it, as you will see. I am writing to Signor Gian Luigi,
and to the Signora Caterina, and the letter will accompany this.
I shall depart, in the name of the Holy Trinity, with the first
favorable weather, with a considerable equipment.  If Girolamo
di Santo Stephano comes, he must wait for me, and not entangle
himself with any one, for they will get from him whatever they
can, and then leave him in the lurch. Let him come here, and
he will be received by the king and queen until I arrive.
" May our Lord have you in his holy keeping.
"March 21, 1502, in Seville.
"At your commands,
S.
S. A. S
X. M. Y.
Xpo FERENS."*
* It may explain this peculiar signature, which is so indicative of the fashion of
his age, to add, what I believe comes originally from his son Ferdinand's Life of
the Admiral; that Columbus, always, when trying his pen, before writing, wrote
these words:
" Jesu cum Maria,
Sit nobis in via."




15
No. 2.'T TO THE MOST LEARNED DOCTOR NICOLO ODERIGO.
" Learned Sir:
" When I set off upon the voyage from
which I have just returned, I spoke to you fully: I have no
doubt you retained a complete recollection of every thing. I
expected upon my arrival to have found here letters, and possibly a confidential person from you. At that time I likewise gave
to Francesco di Rivarolo, a book of copies of my letters, and
another of my Privileges, in a bag of colored Spanish leather,
with a silver lock, and two letters for the Bank of St. George, to
which I assigned the tenth of my revenues, in diminution of the
duties upon corn and other provisions. No acknowledgment of
all this has reached me.  Sig. Francesco tells me that all arrived there in safety.  If so, it was uncourteous in those gentlemen of St. George not to have favored me with an answer, nor
have they thereby improved their affairs; which gives me cause
to say, that whoever serves the public, serves nobody. I gave
another book of my Privileges, like the above, in Cadiz, to
Franco Cattaneo, the bearer of this, in order that he might likewise forward it to you; and that both of them might be placed
in security wherever you thought proper. Just before my departure, I received a letter from the king and queen, my lords;
a copy of which you will find there. You will see that it came
very opportunely; nevertheless, Don Diego was not put in possession, as had been there promised.
" While I was in the Indies, I wrote to their highnesses an
account of my voyage, by three or four opportunities; one of
my letters having come back to my hands, I send it to you inclosed in this, with the supplement of my voyage in another
letter, in order that you may give it to Signor Gian Luigi, with
the other of advice; to whom 1 write that you will be the reader
and interpreter of it. I would wish to have ostensible letters,
speaking cautiously of the matter in which we are engaged. I
arrived here very unwell, just before the queen, my mistress,
died, (who is now with God,) without my seeing her. Till now




16
I cannot say how my affairs will finish. I believe her highness
has provided well for them in her last will; and the king, my
master, is very well disposed. Franco Cattaneo will explain
the rest more minutely to you.
" May our Lord preserve you in his care.
Seville, 27th December, 1504.
S.
"The Admiral of the Ocean, Viceroy,           S. A. S.
and Governor General of the Indies, &c.'   X. M. Y.
Xp, FERENS.
No. 3.
Copy of a Letter written by the magistrate of St. George's to
Columbus.
"Ill. Vir, et clarissime, amantissimeque
Concivis, et Domine memorandisseme.
"The distinguished Juris Consult, Messer Nicolo di Oderigo,
on his return from the embassy to which he was appointed from
our illustrious Republic, to the most excellent and glorious
monarch, (of Spain,) delivered me a letter from your Excellency, which gave me singular pleasure, from the affectionate
regard, so conformable to your disposition, which your Excellency therein exhibited towards your native country, to which
you have shown most singular love and charity, in wishing it
to be partakers of the favors which it has pleased Divine
Providence to bestow upon your Excellency.  Your aforesaid
country and people must feel what singular profit and advantages they will derive from the orders you have given to Don
Diego, your son, that the tenth of your annual revenues should
be paid to this city, in diminution of the duties on corn, wine
and other provisions.  Nothing could be more charitable, nor
more memorable than this, or will tend more to the remembrance of your glory, which, in other respects, is as great and
extraordinary, as according to history, any man in the world
has ever acquired, having by your own perseverance, energy and
prudence discovered so large a portion of this earth and globe of




17
the lower world, which for so many centuries past had remained
unknown to the people of that which we inhabit. But this great
exercise of your extraordinary glory, is in truth much more
memorable and complete, as proceeding from the humanity and
benignity which it proves you possess towards the country of
your birth, on which account we praise, as it deserves, your
disposition, and pray to God to preserve you many years. We
shall always bear that affection towards your most illustrious son,
Don Diego, which he is entitled to, as being your son, and from
the splendor and glory of your actions of which this our common
country is proud of having its part. To Don Diego we have
expressed by letter, as we now do to your Excellency, our
readiness to do everything in our power for the honor and
advantage of your illustrious family.  The above mentioned
Messer Nicolo has related to us many things respecting your
Favors and Privileges, of which he has brought copies here,
with which we were much gratified, and return you everlasting
thanks for those of which you had made us partakers.
"From Genoa, the 8th of December, MDII."
Here ends the publication by the Decurions of Genoa, in
1823. The following is a copy of the letter in the original Italian, and translation obtained by myself from the same depository, in Genoa, January 19, 1848.
No. 4.
ALLI MOLTO NOBILI SIGNORI
DEL MOLTO MAGNIFICO UFFICIO
DI S. GIORGIO
A GENOVA.
Jl di dentro
Molto nobili Signori:
Benche il corpo cammini qua, il cuore sta li da continuo.
Nostro Signore mi'ha fatto la maggior, che dopo David abbia
fatto a nessuno. Le cose della mia impresa, giA risplendono, e
piu risplenderebbero, se la oscurita del Governo non le coprisse.
3




18
Io torno alle Indie, in nome della Santissima Trinit*, per tornare subito; e perche, Io son mortale, lascio, a D. Diego, mio
figlio, che di tutta la rendita, vi corresponda corti, per il decimo
del totale, di essa, ogni anno, per sempre, in sconto, del prodotto, del grano, e vino, edaltre vettovaglie commestibile.
Se questo decimo sara molto, ricevetelo, e se no, ricevete la
volonta che io tengo.  Vi prego, per grazia, che tengniate
riccomandato questo mio figlio.  Messer Nicolo Oderigo sa
dei fatti miei piu che io stesso, e lui ho mandato la copia dei
miei privilegii, e carte; perche li pongo in buona guardia, avrei
piacere, che li vedreste.
I1 Re e la Regina, miei Signori, mi vogliono onora pi6 che
mai.  La San. Trin. guardi le vostre nobili persone, e accresca
in molto magnifico uffizio.
Fatto in Seviglia le 2 di Aprile 1502.
L'Ammiraglio Maggure del Mare Oceano, e Vice Re, e
Governatore Generale delle Isole, e della Terra Ferma, del
Asia, e delle Indie, del Re, e della Regina, miei Signori, e suo
Capitano Generale del Mare, e del suo Consiglio.
S.
S. A. S.
X. M. Y.
Xpo FERENS.
Supplex.
Servus. Altissimi Salvatoris.
Xristi. Marie. Josephi.
Christo Ferens.
TRANSLATION.
TO THE MOST NOBLE GENTLEMEN OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS BANK
OF ST. GEORGE AT GENOA.
To the within
JMost noble Gentlemen:
Although the body travels hither, the heart remains with you
for ever.  Our Lord hath shown me greater grace than after
David hath he shown to any one. The affairs of my enterprise




19
are now resplendent, and will be more so, if the darkness of
the government shall not overwhelm them.
I go again to the Indies, in the name of the Most Holy
Trinity, to return speedily: and forasmuch as I am mortal, I
leave in charge to Don Diego my son, that annually, for ever,
he shall account to you for the one-tenth of all my Income, in
order to reduce the taxes on corn, wine and other provisions.
If this Tenth shall be considerable, accept it; and if not, accept the regard I entertain for you. I solicit your gracious
consideration for my son. Signor Nicolo Oderigo, knowing of
my affairs more than I do myself, I have sent him the copy of
my Privileges and Charters; and as I thus place them in good
guardianship, have the kindness to examine, when you see
them.
The King and Queen, my Lords, treat me with more favor
daily than ever. May the Most Holy Trinity safely keep your
noble persons, and magnify you in your illustrious office.
Done at Seville, the 2d of April, 1502.
The High admiral of the Oceanic Sea, and Vice Roy and
Governor General of the Islands, and of the Terra Ferma, of
Asia, and of the Indies, of the King and Queen, my Lords,
and their Captain General of the Sea, and of their Council.
S.
S. A. S.
X. M. Y.
Xpo FERENS.
EXPLANATION OF THIS SIGNATURE.
Supplex.
Servus. Altissimi Salvatoris.
Xristi. Mariae. Josephi.
Christo Ferens.
The Suppliant
Servant of the Most High Saviour
Christ, of Mary, of Joseph
Christo Ferens or
Christopher.




MARTIN BEHAIM AND HIS GLOBE,
AT NUREMBERGH.
I TRUST that I may be allowed in connection with the
Memorials of Columbus, to add a brief detail and description of
a memento of his age, at Nirembergh in Bavaria; which during
my stay at that interesting city, by the courtesy of resident
friends, on the thirteenth day of September, 1847, it was my
good fortune to visit and inspect. I allude to the celebrated
Terrestrial Globe there, made by Martin Behaim, a native of
that ancient imperial city; a most eminent navigator and discoverer, constructed by him in August, 1492, and left with his
family there, with whose descendants in their ancient mansion,
it still remains.
Apart from its originality and antiquity, it has attained a
greater interest; having through misrepresentation, been made
the prominent material for controversial detraction of the fame
of Columbus.  In this brief and unassuming paper, I purpose
succinctly to detail the information afforded by others, of the
personal history of the maker of this globe, Martin Behaim;
and a few extracts from the controversial authors, so far as may
be useful, in showing the importance of concluding with a simple and truthful description of this globe by an eye witness.
This spirit of detraction survived in 1786, when in April,
M. Otto, a French gentleman, then residing in the city of
New York, addressed to Dr. Franklin his able and ingenious
" Memoir on the Discovery of America," in which the claims
of Behaim to priority of discovery are presented with as much
force as they are susceptible of.  In my extracts from the
memoir, it will be perceived that the statements of M. Otto, in




21
his loose description of the globe, are contrary to the fact, and
show that he, like other writers on this subject, has failed to
examine the globe itself, although it is one of his chief arguments.  But all mementos of a man of science and practical
navigator, eminent for his own discoveries, and for the intimate
friendship of Columbus, kindred in spirit and pursuit, cannot
fail, however presented, to secure an abiding interest.
His name is variously given, Behain, Behem, Boehm, Behen
and Behenira, but the name now of the family at Nuirembergh is
written "Behaim."
Martin Behaim was born at Nirembergh, in Bavaria, about
A. D. 1430, and died at Lisbon, A. D. 1506, the same year as
his great cotemporary Columbus.  His ancestors were of an
ancient and honorable family of Nurembergh.  His genius and
education were early inclined to diligent study of the master
subject of that age, geography, which, after the Crusades, had
opened the treasures of the east to the enterprise of awakening
Europe, for which oriental commerce, his own native Nurembergh, was, until the passage of the Cape of Good Hope, in 1497,
one of the chief marts, became a subject of increased attraction,
by the marvellous histories of Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville
and other travellers of the preceding age. About the year
1481, he is supposed to have entered the service of King
Alphonso V. of Portugal; no doubt attracted thither by the
fame of the then late Prince Henry's munificent patronage, and
the discoveries of the Portuguese, who had in 1471, crossed the
Equator in their voyages of discovery on the Coast of Africa.
Appointed by John II. the successor of Alphonso, to the
Council or Department for the Improvement of the Art of Navigation, he is, by some authors, alleged then to have invented or
at least to have introduced the Astrolabe, the forerunner of the
Sextant, into nautical use. Without discussing his title to the
discovery of the Island of Fayal in 1460, in the service of
Isabella, Regent of Burgundy and Flanders, from whom he is
said to have obtained a grant of the Island, a matter of some
question; it is more material to state that as Cosmographer for
the King, in 1484, he accompanied Diego Cano, on his voyage,




22
which discovered the Western Coast of Africa, as far as the
Coast of Congo, and for his eminent service was, on his return
in 1485, knighted by the King John II.; the ruling policy of
whose reign was to extend the area of discovery, and by her
newly acquired colonies, to elevate Portugal to a great commercial power, and fitting rival to Genoa and Venice. During this
voyage, Behaim is alleged by several authorities to have extended his course to the great South Western Sea, discovered
and followed the Coast of Brazil, Patagonia and the Straits
through which Magellan, whose name it bears, in 1519, passed
to the Pacific, in his memorable voyage, the first circumnavigation of the Globe.
As a curious subject, it may be worth while to state such
evidence as is urged; prefacing that his own Globe is the best
refutation of a claim, which reaches us mainly from German
Authors, and was unheard of in Portugal, where Behaim long
lived, and was so widely known and honored; and is therefore
only capable of affording entertainment to the student of his age.
The chroniclers of Niirembergh, anxious to add new laurels
to their already distinguished fellow burgher, speak from the
archives of that ancient city, that "Martin Behem, traversing
the Atlantic Ocean for several years, examined the American
Islands, and discovered the Strait, which bears the name of
Magellan, before either Christopher Columbus, or Magellan
sailed those seas, and mathematically delineated on a geographical chart for the King of Lusitania, the situation of the Coast
around every part of that famous and renowned Strait."  Apparently this record must have been written after the year 1519;
the epoch of Magellan's voyage. It is asserted, that the archives
of Niirembergh contain letters from Behaim, dated in 1486,
confirming this record; but it is at least singular that they have
never yet seen the light. To show that this story loses nothing
in its German progress but
" Vires acquirit eundo,"
allow me to add a few more of the alleged authorities. Hartman Schedel, a chronicler of Niirembergh, writing about the




23
time of Behaim, after describing the outfit of the celebrated expedition in 1484, by John II., under Behaim and Diego Cano,
for discovery on the West Coast of Africa, already mentioned,
says of Behaim, that he "was a man very well acquainted with
the situation of the globe; blessed with a constitution able to
bear the fatigues of the sea, and who by actual experiments and
long sailing, had made himself perfect master of the longitudes
and latitudes of Ptolemy in the West. These two," (Behaim
and Cano,) "by the bounty of heaven, coasting along the Southern Ocean, and having crossed the Equator, got into the other
hemisphere; where, facing to the Eastward, their shadows projected towards the South, and right hand. Thus by their industry, they may be said to have opened to us another world,
hitherto unknown, and for many years attempted by none but
the Genoese, and by them in vain."
This assertion of the chronicler, who might with his learned
tomes well sleep in his native dust; has, we are told, been
quoted and enlarged beyond his limits, which must be confessed
are somewhat vague, by two famous men of their time: Eneas
Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius II., and Cellarius, but neither
show any wish to verify their oracles. With them, the case on
authorities, set up to mantain Behaim's priority of discovery of
America, closes. Is it not a little singular, that such a claim
should have survived till the close of the last century?
Another theory, the natural sequent of the former, and gathered
about the memory of Behaim, cobweb-like, will, by your permission, detain us a moment, before passing to the conclusion
of the whole matter,-the description of Behaim's Terrestrial
Globe in Niirembergh. A once celebrated astronomer, Riccioli,
an Italian, who surely might be presumed to have possessed
better means of knowledge, is brought into the field to say that
"Christopher Columbus never thought of an expedition to the
West Indies until some time before, while in the Island of Madeira, where amusing himself in forming and delineating geographical charts, he obtained information from Martin Boehm,
or as the Spaniards say, from Alphonsus Sanchez de Huelva,"
(the father-in-law of Behaim,) " a pilot, who by mere chance




24
had fallen in with the island afterward called Dominica," and
"let Boehm and Columbus have each their praise, they were
both excellent navigators; but Columbus would never have
thought of his expedition to America had not Boehm gone there
before him. His name is not so much celebrated as that of
Columbus, Americus or Magellan, although he is superior to
them all."
It is also frequently asserted, with indeed some show of probability, that Magellan made great use of the practical and scientific knowledge and charts of Behaim: some say, that when
Magellan, in 1519, in the audience chamber of Emanuel, king
of Portugal, proposed his grand idea of voyaging westerly to
the Indies of the east, by which in his memorable voyage he so
signally accomplished the hopes of Columbus and his age, he
there saw a chart of the coasts of America, drawn by Behaim,
which at once made plain his path before him; and others say
that Magellan carried either these charts, or this very terrestrial
globe with him as his companion. It is enough to say that our
sequel will show that this globe would not have been of much
service to Magellan.
In 1486, Martin Behaim married, at the island of Fayal, the
daughter of Alphonsus Sanchez de Huelva, (the name is sometimes given as Job de Huerta) of that island, likewise eminent
as an experienced navigator. Christopher Columbus had previously married the daughter of Bartholomew Palestrello, of the
island of Madeira, where Columbus spent much time in study
and preparation of charts; and all authorities agree that from the
year 1486 till the year 1489, these two eminent men, Columbus
and Behaim, of kindred tastes and pursuits, were in intimate intercourse and friendship; but no evidence other than the above
quoted assertions of chroniclers exists, of what aid if any, that
Martin Behaim during this period rendered to the theory of
Columbus.
In 1491 Behaim returned home to Nurembergh; and there, at
the request of the principal magistrates of the city, he commenced, and in August, 1492, completed his celebrated terrestrial globe.




25
In 1493 he returned to Portugal and Fayal, and after one
short and adventurous voyage, died in Lisbon, in 1506.  I will
close my extracts with but two sentences from the memoir of M.
Otto. Speaking of his having made his terrestrial globe, he says:
" The track of his discoveries may there be seen under the name
of'Western Lands,' and from  their situation it cannot be
doubted that they are the present coasts of Brazil, and the environs of the Straits of Magellan. This globe was made in the
same year, that Columbus set out on his expedition, from whence
it is not possible that Behaim could have profited by the works
of this navigator, who besides went a much more northerly
course."
This prefatory summary of his life, and the theories that have
been attached to his fame, will find its best apology for a length
which may seem tedious, in the interest which it may throw
about the final and chief monument of his life,-his terrestrial
globe. No other person has, as far as I am informed, given in
print a description of this globe: and it is much to be regretted
that Mr. Irving did not close his digest of the chief events in the
life of " Martin Behem," in the Appendix to the 3d volume of
his history of Columbus, by something more than a mere allusion, arising probably from his lack of opportunity of inspection.*
It may well happen that the Augsburg rail road may bring
many a traveller to quiet Narembergh, whose appreciation would
be highly gratified by a sight of the globe; but it is not in the
catalogue of the lions of the town, which the valet is prepared to
show the traveller; who, unless favored by personal friends resident there, may very likely depart from Nuirembergh, without
even the knowledge of its existence and preservation.
In the New York Literary World for the twenty-second day of
January, 1848, I find an article entitled " Nirembergh;" whose
preparation, beguiled some weary hours of my quarantine at
Malta, in the previous November; containing a sketch of the present state and appearance of that city, and among other matters
a description of Behaim's terrestrial globe.
* I am in this favored by the confirmation of Mr. Irving himself, that he had
never visited Niirembergh, or seen this globe.
4




26
I ask your permission, to extract therefrom such brief statement of facts as may be material to our present purpose.
"There is one other object of interest which is worth notice,
before bidding adieu to Nirembergh.  The family of Behaim
here, possess a globe made by their ancestor, Martin Behaim,
in the year 1492, while Columbus was yet at sea. It is in the
mansion adjoining the Lindauer gallery. It is said to be the
earliest in existence; and tradition says that its artist was an
early patron, by his wealth and influence of the enterprise of Columbus.  It is in perfect preservation, although dingy enough
by the lapse of centuries. About two feet in diameter, it is
suspended in a brass circle marked with the courses of the
winds, with the names, and after the notions of classical geographers. The Equinoctial and Zodiac are defined, but there
is an utter absence of latitude and longitude. America, North
or South, is not there; the ocean flows over that side of the
earth which afterwards belonged to the Western World; and
the fancy of the artist has depicted some whales spouting in the
locality of the United States; and some Spanish Caravals are
sailing in unknown directions over Mexico. A few mermaids
are combing their locks somewhere near modern Greenland, and
in old German, he has inscribed underneath, the intelligence
that many of these peculiar animals are to be met with thereabouts.  The configuration of Europe is certainly singular; a
certain wavy line answers for all coasts; England is about the
size of Malta; Germany of modern Russia; Spain about double
the size of France; the Mediterranean dwindles to a small lake;
a vast region protrudes into the sea beyond the Indies, and is
described as the domain of the famous Kaiser Prester John, in
the words,'hier wohnt der sehr beruihmter Kaiser Prester
Johan.' The Antilles are small obscure islands, near the west
coast of Africa.  The Red Sea is a huge ocean, colored red;
and Palestine is of the size of modern Turkey. The geographer
evidently proportions the countries according to their relative
importance.  The whole surface is studded with droll figures,
as specimens of the inhabitants, productions and distinctive features of the countries, with continual inscriptions in German, of




27
their names, character, discovery, etc.; forming a diligent abstract of the works of the travellers and geographers whose
names are quoted as authorities, and thus giving a very complete idea and resume of the state of geographical knowledge of
the time.
"This rarity, although amusing enough to us, is evidently
the work of a man of much reading; and it certainly has an
additional interest as showing the state of geographical knowledge existing in Europe at that period, when the great discoverer of a Western World had at last set forth on the voyage
of achievement of the long settled purposes and convictions of
his mind. Looking at this relic, one readily sees what vast
obstacles were in his path; the causes of the deeply settled unbelief which met him on every appeal for assistance to his
project, and how strangely it must have sounded to their ears,
when he reasoned of the actual existence of a mighty continent
in that waste of waters, which their fancy peopled with mermaids and other denizens of the deep.  The Globe bears the
autograph of the maker, and the date of its construction or
completion, August, 1492, and is of course above all price to
the family who still possess it. A few years since the French
Academy of Sciences, caused a beautiful fac-simile in papier
mache to be made of it, and one of the copies was presented to
the family. The two globes stand together, and are open to
examination of any one on application to the family."
In conclusion, I may be pardoned for adding a few wordsa mere historic glimpse of Behaim's native city-Nirembergh;
being an extract from the same review article, in a notice of
the antiquity of families there.
The princes of Nirembergh were a burgher aristocracy in
their origin; wealthy merchants, who either for a timely loan,
or for some equally important ministry to the necessities of the
great lord or neighboring kings, were raised to the rank of the
noblesse, and the chronicles of the city are filled with records of
numerous charters of freedoms and privileges of commerce
granted to the city itself on similar considerations. The oldest
of such charters still existing in the city archives, dated in




28
twelve hundred and nineteen,* the gift or concession of the
Emperor Frederick II., creates it a free city of the Empire,
exempting it from taxes or service to other feudal lords, providing imperial courts of justice, and endowing it with rights of
markets, fairs, coinage and many other commercial privileges.
With this and many other similar and subsequent charters, the
city grew rich and prosperous, its artisans were famous, its
markets crowded with their own fabrics, and with the luxuries
of the East; for according to its chronicles, the North and West
of Europe were supplied by the merchant princes of Niirembergh.  Instead of being as now a comparatively inferior city
of some forty thousand inhabitants, its archives tell us of the
days when a great portion of the commerce of Northern Europe
and the Indian trade were in its hands; when there were more
than one hundred thousand busy citizens here, when the merchants of Northern and Central Europe came in great numbers
to its fairs and markets, and its burgher noblesse were the
friends and equals of princes. All this has long since changed.
The  discovery of the passage  of the  Cape  of Good  H6pe
naturally diverted a arge portion  of its commerce, and it fell
into a decline from which it has not yet fully recovered. So
when the stranger now walks its quiet streets, he must in a
great degree, content himself with the vestiges of its past greatness and its departed commercial pre-eminence, though he must
feel a certain sadness in seeing the immortal arts of Direr,
Visscher and Kraft, degenerated in the hands of their modern
successors, to the manufacture of German toys, and to find the
once northern Venice now-a-days famous mainly for bijouterie.
* This date is but fifteen years after the capture, plunder and occupation of
Constantinople, by the Fourth Crusade. Its diadem was given to Baldwin,
Count of Flanders, Henry II., and their successors, till A. D. 1260, when the
Greek Empire was for a brief period restored. The Fourth Crusade as is well
known, opened the wealth of the East to Europe, and its treasures we are told,
began even then to ascend the Danube; whose waters have within the last thirty
years, by the enterprise of the Hungarian Count Sczecheny, again become the
pathway of oriental commerce, with Vienna and Western Europe.




:t 9Ak Ji. P  0 1i0    A''
A N )
At  n A T X   M-I-BA' 
A DISCOURSE BY
BRANTZ MAYER:
DELIVERED IN BALTIMORE, BEFORE THE
ON ITS SIXTH ANNIVERSARY. 
9 M/AY, 1851.




ENTERED, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1851,
BY BRANTZ MAYER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Maryland.
PRINTED FOR THE
MARYLAND   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,
BY JOHN MURPHY & CO.
B ALT I M  ORE.




To  IMY BROTHERI
CHARLES FREDERICK MAYER,
This effort to delineate the border trials of our
Pioneers, and to reverse the decree of. history
between an Indian and a meritorious Mairylander, is affectionately inscribed.
BALTIMORE, 16th JUNE, 1851.








N EARLY three hundred and sixty years have passed since
this Western World was revealed to mankind by the discovery of Columbus, and though three centuries and a half
afford ample time for the doing of many deeds, yet scarcely a
year elapses without adding some new marvel to the influences
of America upon the progressive civilization and comfort of the
human race.
If we look on the map, at the portion of this Continent
occupied by us at present, we are amazed at the vast expansion of our territorial limits within much less than one-third of
this time. In the middle of the last century the British dominions in America were but a fringe upon the Atlantic shores.
Beginning in the Bay of Fundy their outline ran south-westwardly skirting the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, until it
touched the northern spurs of the'Alleghanies, and then, descending along the slopes of those mountains, it struck the northernmost angle of Florida, and finally terminated on the Atlantic at
the mouth of the Alatamaha.  The average breadth of this
scant region was not more than five degrees.  West and northwest lay the vast primeval forests, the gigantic lakes and rivers,
claimed by the French as Canada and the Province of Louisiana; while south, on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic,
stretched the romantic shores of Florida, under the dominion of
Spain. It was not until the epoch of the Indian troubles, of
which I am about to speak, and on the eve of our Revolutionary war, that the Ohio became the recognized boundary between the White and the Red man; and he who now entering
2




6
one of those floating palaces of the western waters at Brownsville    e      g  the Ohio to the Mississippi, and the Mississippi to the Gulf, can hardly believe that within less than eighty
years, the whole of this magnificent region, where the progress
of trade has not effaced all traces of romantic nature, was still a
dreary and dangerous wilderness, tenanted alone by the wild
beast, or by human beings almost as savage.  There are men
still living who recollect the legends of Indian warfare or foray
in Maryland, Pennsylvania, or Virginia, and can recount the
escape or the death of some ancestor by the tomahawk and scalping knife.  There are those amongst us, too, whose hair is still
unsilvered, who may remember their sport as boys in watching
the straggling Indians,-half beggars, half bandits,-who every
winter thronged our streets, but whose only use of the bow and
the arrow was to win the pennies we ventured in order to test
the sureness of their aim.
But where, even now, is the "Far West," which in those
days was spoken of as something mysteriously indefinite,-as
something denoting perils of journey and Indian cruelty? It was
then that we had still territorial boundaries to settle with Britain,
and titles as well as rights to adjust with stubborn tribes.  It
was then that the far-seeing and comprehensive merchant, laid
the foundation of his wealth, by tracking the beaver in its wildest haunts in Oregon.  It was then that California was remembered as a field of romantic Missionary labor, cherished under
Mexican Viceroys, but as a land of abandoned enterprize. It was
then that our young and restless spirits sought the valleys of the
Ohio and Mississippi as homes which were beginning to be fully
redeemed from the hunter and the savage. That was the Far
West of those days. But now, strange names salute our ears,
sounding no more of Indian conquests, but commemorative
monuments as long as language shall last of victories over civilized men.  We have abandoned an Indian nomenclature and
adopted the calendar of Christian saints. Santa Fe, the Rio
Bravo del Norte,-the Colorado of the West,-the Pecos,-the
Gila,-the Valleys of San Juan, and Santa Clara,-the Plains
of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and the upland Vale at
the foot of Mount Shastl;-the Great Basin, around whose




7
saline waters the Mormon enthusiasts have nestled, seeking
refuge among the savages from the bigoted persecutions of civilization;-Monterey, —San Francisco,-San Diego,-Chrysopolae or the Golden Gates,-and last of all, the Pacific, itself, for
an acknowledged boundary, and the Isthmus for a highway!
There is, no longer, a    Far West."  States, now planting on
the brink of the Pacific and washed by its surge, curb, in that
direction, the utmost possible limit of our dominion. Gold, in
apparently inexhaustible quantities, has magnetically attracted
an immense population in the brief space of three years. The
first great experiment of planting the Anglo-Saxon race on the
Pacific, facing the Indies with a clear and short highway in
front, is no longer a problem to be solved. The tide of emigration sets no more exclusively from East to West, but rapidly
ebbs and surges backward, as China, Hindustan, the Australian
colonies, the Pacific Islands, the Chilian, Peruvian, and Mexican states, pour their motley crowds of eager immigrants along
the whole coast from the Gila to the Columbia. The icy tops
of the Sierra Nevada are passed, and the Great upland Basin of
Utah becomes the thoroughfare of traders, pilgrims, and caravans from the far East. Through the wilderness to Santa Fe,
and thence along the Southern passes of the mountains, other
crowds press each other, to and fro, on the path of the modern
Ophir.  And thus, in the progress of a few brief years, the
swollen tides of humanity bursting the barriers of the Alleghanies from  the East, and of the Nevada from the West, must at
last meet and mingle in the great Valley of the Mississippi
which is destined to become the central mart of our mighty
Union.
In God's genial providence of gradually opening the resources
of this world for the progress of mankind there is the most
perfect accommodation to the enlarging wants and capacities of
our race.  Every thing is not disclosed at once.  The good,
the desirable, the necessary, are hidden away in the earth's
secret places, and the task of laborious enterprize is imposed on
man for their discovery and useful preparation. Yet, marvellous
as are the modern developments of industry, of science, and,




8
sometimes even, of apparent chance, there is no exhaustion in
these resources, for new means of success seem to keep constant
pace with each new  labor and enterprize.  Our Beneficent
Parent works out his wonderful schemes by human agents, not
by miracles. Humanity, with all its virtues and all its sins, is
charged with the noble task of free development, and thus the
results become the work of man and are made the trials and
tests i  d responsibility.
The Old World became crowded, and space was required in
which the cramped and burdened millions might find room for
industry and independence,-and a New Continent was suddenly
disclosed for their occupation. The old political systems of
Europe and of the Eastern nations decayed in consequence of
the encroachments of individual power made despotic by corruption or force,-and a virgin country was forthwith opened as a
refuge for the oppressed masses in which the principle of absolute political and religious freedom might be tried without any
convulsive effort to cast off the fetters of feudalism.  The labor
of man, even in this new world began to strip commercial countries of their forests or made them too valuable for fuel,-and,
suddenly, the heart of the earth is found to be veined with minerals which will save the lives of the majestic monarchs who
shade and shelter the surface.  Coal thus becomes the most
potent agent in commercial development, for, without it, the
seas could not be traversed with the rapidity and certainty that
modern wants exact.  The increasing industry and invention of
the largely augmented populations of various countries, required,
either a greater amount of capital to represent their productions,
or a new standard of value for the precious metals already in
circulation,-and, at once, apparently by mere accident, an
adventurer discovered amid the fiosts and forests of the Pacific,
a golden region in which the fabled sands of Pactolus are realized. At last, even steam itself becomes too slow for mankind,
and human skill, chaining magnetism to its purposes and lacing
the earth with its wires, embroiders the whole world with the
electricity of thought. But all these vast storehouses of invention, comfort and wealth, are not placed at our doors, in the




midst of civilization, ready to be grasped, comprehended or
used with equal ease by the dainty idler or the patient worker.
Far away in distant regions they lie.  Far away amid forests
and perils.  Far away in lands which are reached by dreary
voyages.  Far away,-requiring the renewal of hope in desponding hearts, and renewal of energies in broken men.  There
they lie-long concealed and wisely garnered temptations,-to be
discovered at the appropriate moment in the world's progress,
and to lead man thither as the founder of a new field of human
industry.
In this genial development of our globe three classes of persons have always been needed:-the Discoverer, the Conqueror,
and the Pioneer.
Emigration is the overflowing of a bitter cup.  Men do not
ordinarily leave their native lands and kindred for the perils of
the wilderness, or for a country with which they have no community of laws, language, or present interest, unless poverty or
bad government crowds them into the forest.  When the Discoverer and the Conqueror have found the land and partly
tamed the savage, the Pioneer advances into their field of relinquished enterprize, and his task partakes, in some degree, of the
dangers incurred by both his predecessors. He is always a lover
and seeker of independence, and generally pursues it with a
laudable desire to improve his lot; yet the perfect exercise of
this independence sometimes becomes selfishly exclusive.  Its
essence, in our country, is the complete self-reliance of the one
man or the one family.  This spirit of social, political, and
industrial independence, occasionally becomes wild, impatient
and uncontrollable.  Its mildest exhibition under such circumstances, is in rude manners or wayward lawlessness, which outraged neighborhoods are wont summarily to redress.  True
civilized liberty does not countenance such mockers of justice
within its pale, and thus there are multitudes who not only go
voluntarily and wisely into new lands, but other heedless or
scoffing crowds are scourged by society into the sombre forest.
Slowly and surely are these elements of new States, gathered,
purged, and crystalized around the centres of modern civilization.




10
Hope, ambition, misery, avarice, adventure, noble purpose,
drive off impatient men who will not be satisfied with the
slow, dripping, accretions of wealth in the old communities.
They require fortune and position by a leap. Independence
demands space for the gigantic inspirations of its vast lungs, and
flies headlong to the forest. The wandering woodsman or hunter
gathers his brothers in armed masses for protection amid this
chaos of unorganized freedom, and they support each other
cheerfully in seasons of danger or disease. But the social law
of humanity vindicates itself against the eager spirit of perfect
independence.  Wherever man who has once either drained or
sipped the cup of civilization, is found, there must he be fed
and clothed, nor does he cease to yearn for the relinquished
luxuries, amusements, or comforts of the home he abandoned
beyond the eastern mountains.   Wherever man goes, man's
representative,-money,-pursues him; and secretly he longs
for the pleasing results of that civilization which he feigns to
despise. Thus the Pioneer may be said to bait the forest like a
trap, for the Trader.  Taking up the war with the Indian
where the Conqueror left it, he at once subdues the soil and the
savage.  The Farmer, at length, plants himself on the land
that the Ranger wrests from the Indian.  The Merchant covers
with his sails the seas that were scourged by the Pirate. The
dollar dulls the edge of the bowie-knife.  W here the Pioneer
treads, the Missionary follows. Element by element, civilization drops in.  Peace, like a cooling shadow, follows the blaze
of war.  Death closes the career of the primeval Forester,
and the law of God, vindicating by its perfect ultimate success,
the merit of Peace, whose triumphs are the only true ones,
plants the Trader and the Farmer on his grave, and that which
was wildly won is quietly and permanently enjoyed.
Our habitual and perhaps almost necessary devotion to the
Present in a country where property is so little treasured or
transmitted in families, and our prying anxiety to know the
secrets of the future, have made us too heedless of the memory
of the Past. Our law of history, like our law of property, not
only prevents an entail of our accumulations, but the Past and




11
the Present may be said to disinherit the Future, and to leave
no legacies. Yet I have ventured to hope that it would not
be uninteresting to Marylanders, if, on this occasion of our
annual historic festival, I spoke to them of the days that
are gone, and endeavored, by a glimpse of our "Cscant antiquity," to display the romantic story of some of our own
people who were among the first in Lord Baltimore's Province
to mark the Pioneer progress to the western wilds. Maryland,
thrust geographically as a wedge between the great Provinces of
Pennsylvania and Virginia, was among the earliest to furnish
her quota of hardy foresters, who in their contests with the
Indian, prepared themselves for the subsequent conflict with
England in the war of Independence.
You will recollect that it was only a few years after Pontiac's war that small settlements of whites had crept westward
through the defiles of the Alleghanies and along the principal paths, the northernmost of which converged at old Fort
Du Quesne or Pitt, whilst the southernmost led to the fountains
of the Holston and the Clinch.  A town was laid out on the
East bank of the Monongahela within two hundred yards of
Fort Pitt, and, for seventy miles above it, a route had been cut
through the wilderness to "Red-Stone Old Fort," near the
mouth of Dunlap's Creek, now the site of Brownsville.
About the year 1774, Virginia still claimed by virtue of her
charter, all the territory between the parallels of 36~ 30' and
390 40' North latitude, from  the margin of the Atlantic due
West to the Mississippi, and thus enclosed within her assumed
limit, not only the region which at present is comprised in Kentucky, but also the Southern half of Illinois, one-third of Ohio,
and an extensive part of Western Pennsylvania.  Settlements
had been planted upon most of the eastern branches of the
Monongahela, the Youghiogeny, and on the small eastern tributaries of the upper Ohio, for one hundred and twenty miles
below Pittsburgh, as well as on the sources of the Greenbrier,
the little Kenhawa and Elk river, West of the Mountains,embracing in these districts, the North-Western counties of Virginia and the South-Western of Pennsylvania as at present




12
defined. Pittsburgh was claimed as a frontier town of Virginia,
while the southern settlements, on the tributaries of the Monongahela, were held to belong to the same province.  Yet the
vast region South of the little Kenhawa and Westward thence
to the Mississippi, with but slight exceptions, was a perfect
wilderness held by savages.  The lonely, isolated settlement
of a few poor, ignorant French Colonists on the Wabash and
Illinois rivers, had, it is true, fallen under British dominion,
after the peace of Paris, but these immigrants were scarcelyregarded as British subjects, and were held as outlying foreign
military colonists, more than a thousand miles in advance of
civilization, having but little interest or sympathy with the Pioneers who penetrated the wilderness fiom Virginia, Pennsylvania or Maryland.
The French and Indian Wars and the true pioneer spirit
which characterized so many Americans at that day, had sprinkled this region of woods, mountains and rivers, with bold,
enterprizing woodsmen, traders, hunters, and agriculturists, and
with lion hearted women who were proper mates for men
stamped with so much energy and fortitude in the iron mintage
of border trial.  The majority of this enterprizing class was
hardy and virtuous, though, as in all such frontier communities,
the honest and daring were followed by miscreants who were
willing either to shelter themselves from law in the wilderness,
or to encounter the risks of a wild life without caring for ultimate results.  But the pioneer was a liberal and hospitable
being, for he appreciated the loneliness and discomforts of his
own perilous lot, and was prompt to ameliorate the condition of
all who ventured beyond the Alleghanies.  His fringed and
fanciful hunting shirt, which may still be found among the
mountains of our own Cumberland,-his deer-skin leggins,his gaily embroidered moccasins-his tomahawk and scalpingknife,-his bullet pouch, powder horn, and ready rifle,-made
up his personal equipments of comfort and defence.  He was
a picturesque being as he was beheld descending the slopes of
the mountains or relieved against the blue sky or the dark
shadows of the forest.  In his lonely region no mechanics were




13
to be hired, and every Pioneer was obliged to do his own worK
or to possess within his family the necessary elements of labor
in the field or at the plough, the loom, and the anvil. His gun
was in constant use against the Indian as well as the bear and
the deer.  Yet never was he an ungenerous neighbor when a
new cabin was to be erected for an immigrant, or a crop to be
gathered for the friend who inhabited his district. The " husking match" and the " log rolling " are distinctly recorded among
the kindly and helping memorials of early settlements, in those
days, when the genuine " cabin," made without nails, mortar
or bricks, was the home of many an ancestry that has given
rulers to our Union.  A common danger cemented these forest
settlements in a bond of mutual defence and interest.  It was
a life of incessant wariness or of peril to be encountered, and
thus, mutual dependence and the fear of the savage, formed
the best police of the pioneer, for it warned off weak and irresolute interlopers and permitted none but the hardy and true to
abide in the forest.
Nor were these men so improvident as to omit strengthening
themselves, not only by social acts of faith and friendship, but
by supplying their bands with forts, block houses, and stations,
constructed of massive logs and slabs, proof against bullets, and
built around or near a never-failing spring.  These defences,
constructed at points easy of access as places of refuge to a
whole neighborhood of agriculturists or hunters, were perfect
safe guards against a foe who had no artilleryl but were rarely
tenanted unless at periods of general alarm, or when the Pioneers left their farms in the spring upon the announcement of
some Indian murder in the vicinity.
These adopted children of the wilderness were, of course,
not unskilled in wood craft.  The stars, the sun, the bark of
trees were their guides.  The weather informed the settler
whether he was to encounter his game for the day on the mountain tops, the hill sides or in the vallies; and when " the buck"
was slain, skinned, and dressed, the early night was passed in
glee and story around the fire of his joyous  hunting camp."
Witchcraft was firmly believed by many of them, for strange
sights and sounds, and a lonely life, gave play to the imagination




14
or to the recollection of old superstitions learned in infancy.
Singing, dancing, shooting the rifle, throwing the tomahawk,
wrestling, and all athletic or manly sports, formed the constant diversions of the settlers when they were at leisure or
on remembered holidays; while the most boisterous merriment
prevailed at wedding frolics, or at the " house-warming" of the
forest bride and her gallant groom. Lawyers and Judges were
unknown in these rough and simple communities, yet a strong
moral sense and the stern demands of duty, preserved rights
and interests in regions were no man could afford to be idle.
Debts were but little known.  Laziness, dishonesty, and ill-fame
roused the general public opinion of the settlement.  Thieves
were flogged. Personal disputes were settled by battles with
fists, after which the parties became reconciled; and evil men,
in the emphatic language of the day, were " hated out of the
neighborhood. "
The wants of these backwoodsmen required an annual visit
to the east, and every autumn associations were formed for the
yearly caravan, which, with its long trains of horses, bearing
peltries and Indian ware, might be heard tinkling its bells in the
forests or along the mountain defiles as it wound its way to
Hagerstown, Old Town, Cumberland and Baltimore to exchange
the products of the wilderness for salt, iron, lead and powder. 
With these brief sketches of the country and the men of that
part of the North American wilderness which was most closely
connected with Maryland just before the revolution, I shall proceed to delineate the deeds and  career of some individuals
whose names are linked with our State's story by romantic incidents which I believe have passed into history inaccurately, and
are now transmitted from  page to page by new  writers as conceded facts.
While endeavoring to perform  this duty to the memory of a
meritorious fellow citizen, I may also be able to illustrate the
value of historical societies, which, by devoting themselves to
1 See Rev. Dr. Doddridge's Notes on the Settlement and the Indian Wars of
the Western parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania, from 1763 to 1783, in Kercheval's History of the Valley of Va.




15
the minuter investigations of literature, are enabled to trace critically the pedigree of long recorded falsehoods, and thus to vindicate individuals if they do not always exculpate our race from
motives or crimes that would forever degrade mankind.
COLONEL THOMAS CREsAP,-the parent of Captain Michael
Cresap who has been scornfully portrayed as the instigator if
not one of the chief actors in the alleged murder of the Indian
Logan's family in the early part of 1774,-emigrated from
Yorkshire, England, to America, when he was about fifteen
years of age. We know nothing of his intervening career until
fifteen years after, when he married a Miss Johnson, and settled
either at or near Havre de Grace, on the shores of our beautiful
Susquehannah. He was, emphatically, a  poor man;" so poor,
indeed, according to the family legends, that being involved in
debt to the extent of nine pounds, currency, he was obliged
soon after his inopportune marriage, to depart for the south in
order to improve his fortune!  He left his young wife in Maryland, and hastening to Virginia, became acquainted with the
Washington family, and rented from  it a good farm with the
intention of removing finally to the flourishing colony. But, on
returning for his bride, he found that he had become a parent,
and that the resolute matron was loth to quit the Susquehannah
for the Potomac. Accordingly, like a docile husband, he submitted to her whim, and contriving to free himself from debt,
removed still higher up on the river to Wright's ferry, opposite
the town of Columbia, where he obtained a Maryland title for
five hundred acres of land. Unfortunately, however, for the
settler, this was disputed ground, and as it was soon claimed
under a Pennsylvania title, a sort of border war occurred, in
which Cresap espoused the cause of Lord Baltimore with as
much zeal as the Pennsylvanians sustained that of Penn.  His
enemies regarding him as a powerful foe, seem to have resorted
to the basest means to rid themselves of his presence. An
Indian was hired to assassinate him in his own house; yet, won
by his kindness and hospitality, the savage disclosed the plot
and was pardoned for the meditated crime.  At length, however, a regular battle took place between the factionists, and




16
Cresap's party having wounded several of Penn's partizans,
kept the field and gained the day.
The Pennsylvania warriors, nevertheless, soon rallied their
discomfited forces and besieged the fort in which the Maryland
champion had entrenched himself.  But the stalwart Cresap
held out bravely against all comers, though he was singled as
the special victim  of the assailants.  Nevertheless, in time, he
deemed it advisable to demand aid fiom  his neighbors; and as
his eldest boy, Daniel, was at this time, about ten years old, he
despatched the young forester in the night to obtain the required
succor.  The wild frontier stripling apt as he already was in the
ways of the wilderness, could not, however, elude the vigilant
besiegers, and being taken captive, endeavored to destroy the
hostile clan while assembled around the fire, by casting therein
its whole stock of powder which he found tied up in a handkerchief.  Fortunately for the party, he was detected in time
to escape the disastrous explosion.
If the young Cresap was unable to blow up his father's assailants, the elder was well nigh doomed to the fate his son had
designed for the followers of Penn.  The besiegers finding that
they could not arouse or dislodge the stubborn Yorkshiremnan
from his lair, determined to set fire to the roof and thus to " roast
him out" of his fortress! No terms of capitulation were offered;
and as Cresap disdained to ask his life at their hands, he rushed
to the door, and wounding the sentinel, escaped to his boat.
But here, surrounded by superior numbers, he was seized, overpowered, bound, and thrown into the skiff.  Nevertheless as
his captors were conveying him across the Susquehannah in the
dark, he contrived, notwithstanding his ligatures, to elbow one
of the guard into the water.  The Pennites, in the darkness,
mistaking their companion for Cresap, beset him, forthwith,
with oars and poles, nor was it until the lusty cries and rich
brogue of the unfortunate Irishman undeceived them, that he
was relieved from the beating and the bath.  Passing through
Columbia to Lancaster, Cresap was heavily manacled; but even
then, lifting his arms as soon as the work was done, he smote
the smith on the head with his ironed hands and levelled him
to the ground.  Nevertheless, he was effectually a prisoner and




17
was borne off in triumph to Philadelphia, where the streets,
doors and windows were thronged with spectators to see the
Maryland monster, who taunted the crowd by exclaiming half
in earnest half in derision:-.-    why this is the finest city in the
Province of Matrylcad!"
The Pennsylvanians at length became weary of their sturdy
and audacious guest, yet he would not depart until released by
order of the King, about October, 1737, after suffering nearly
a year's confinement.'  In the meantime, his family sought
shelter in an Indian town on the Codorus, near York, where
it was hospitably entertained by the savages until his return.
Finding his old neighborhood too dangerous or disagreeable, he
soon removed to a valuable farm  at Antietam; and as it was a
frontier post, in advance of white population, he built, over a
beautiful spring, a stone house which was half dwelling and
half fortress.
He seems to have possessed the deserved confidence of some
of the most respectable families of Maryland; for in this new
settlement, he commenced the business of a trader, partly on a
borrowed capital of S500, which he obtained from  Mr. Dulany.
But unluckily his venture of skins and furs, sent to England,
was lost in a ship which was captured by the French, and he
was thus compelled to begin the world anew for the third time.
Yet his honest heart did not fail under renewed misfortunes.
He offered his land, consisting of about 1400 acres, to Dulany,
in payment of his debt; and being thus stripped of nearly all his
worldly possessions, he removed, about 1742 or 1743, to a spot,
I See Jacob's Life of Cresap, p. 25. The most complete details of these border difficulties, which I have not space even to sketch at present, will be found
by the historical student in the MSS. and Records preserved at Annapolis in
the State library; in Rupp's History of York County, Pa., p. 547 to 563; and
in Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, page 200 et seq; and page 209 et seq; of
the 2d volume,-in a sketch of the boundary dispute and hostilities growing
out of it from 1728 to 1737, betwixt Lord Baltimore and the Penns. Cresap
was an ardent partizan of the Maryland Proprietor, and acted with great vigor
in defence of his own and his Lord's rights or demands. See, also, Gordon's
Hist. Penna. 221. Gordon and Day are brief, while Proud is silent. Cresap
was released in consequence of an order of the King in council commanding
both parties " to refrain from further violence, to drop all prosecutions, and to
discharge their respective prisoners on bail."




18
in what is at present Alleghany county, Maryland, called Oldtown, or as he delighted to name it, —   Skipton,"-after the
place of his nativity, situated on the north fork, a few miles
above the junction of the north and south branches of the Potomac.'  Here, at length, after all his early trials, he established
his permanent home, and finally acquired by industry and
perseverance in the neighborhood, a large landed estate on both
sides of the river in Maryland and Virginia.
About this epoch, he renewed his intimacy with the Washington family, who always reposed confidence in him; and being
known as a bold and skilful woodsman, he was employed by
the parties who formed in 1748 the celebrated Ohio company.
This association, among whose members, we find Lawrence
Washington, and his brother Augustine, received fiom  the
British King a grant of five hundred thousand acres, to be
taken chiefly on the south side of the Ohio, between the
Monongehela and Kenhawa rivers, west of the Alleghanies.2
The object of the enterprize was to settle land, and to carry on
the Indian trade on a large scale. But the French, alarmed by
this threatened advance of English Pioneers, began immediately
to extend a line of forts along the Mississippi and Ohio, passing
through a vast extent of territory which was claimed by Great
Britain. In spite of all opposition, the English grantees pursued their enterprize, and  Col. Cresap's knowledge of the
country and of pioneer life, was of great service to them, in
tracing the very first path through the windings of the Alleghanies. As one of their agents in that region, he employed an
Indian named Nemacolin, to mark the road by the well known
trail of the tribes, and it is said he performed his duty so well,
that the army pursued the same path when Braddock marched
to the west to dislodge the French. Colonel Cresap, thus
stationed on the extreme outposts of civilization, became an
important pioneer in the early development of the west; nor
See Colden's Hist. of the Five Nations, p. 3, and 84, edition 1755. See
Philadelphia Treaty of 1742, and Canassateego's speech at the Lancaster
Treaty, 1744.
2 Washington's Writings, vol. 2, appendix vi, pages 478 and 479, and appendix vii.




19
did he cease many years afterwards, to devote his mind and
hopes to those fine regions in which he saw the future grandeur
of his country.  When he had attained the patriarchal age of
ninety, he conceived and digested a plan to explore as far west
as the Pacific, and nothing but his advanced years prevented
the accomplishment of an enterprize which he cherished with
the enthusiasm of an early borderer.
The grants to the English Company not only caused the
French to establish their line of forts, but, as is well known,
resulted in a war which retarded the advance of civilization.
The Indians were roused, and desolated the border. Cresap,
on his extreme frontier settlement among the Alleghany mountains, held a most dangerous post; but it was an eagle's nest,
fit for a bold spirit, and he would not willingly desert it. When
hotly pressed by the savage foe he fought his way to Conococheague, and having placed his family in safety, did not remain
an idle spectator while ruin threatened the infant settlements
on the head waters of the Potomac.  The country swarmed
with the savage guerrilleros of those days, and the hardy woodsman, adopting the Indian fashion of the times, took l" the war
path " with his own band and children, and struck the foe on
several occasions at the western feet of the Savage Mountain,
where his son Thomas fell by an Indian ball, and at Negro
Mountain where a gigantic African, who belonged to his party,
bequeathed his name in death to the towering cliffs. In these
fights Michael Cresap obtained his first lessons in Indian warfare.
After these early border conflicts were over,-although he
was sometimes afterwards harassed by the savages,-the veteran
pioneer reposed at his homestead, respected and honored, until
quieter days.  He was a man of vigorous mind and constitution, and although his early education had been neglected, there
are testimonials of his skill both in composition, surveying, and
even hand-writing, in the possession of our Society which would
do honor to a man of loftier birth and opportunities.'  At the
l In the GILIMOR MSS. Maryland Papers, vol. 1, article No. 8, in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society, is the following original letter from
Colonel Cresap, in which we have an interesting account of one of the Indian
raids in 1763. It is written in a firm and formal hand, and would do credit to




20
age of seventy he visited England; and, while in London, was
commissioned by Lord Baltimore to run the  Western line of
Maryland, in order to ascertain which of the two branches of
the Potomac was, in reality, the fountain head of the stream.
one of much-more clerkly reputation. The letter is thus addressed on the outside:
"ON HIS LORDSHIP'S SERVICE:To
"His Excellency HORATIO SHARPE, Esquire,
in
"To be forwarded by 1                     ANNAPOLIS,
Express. 5
and endorsed:
" From Col. Cresap, 15 July, 1763."
"OLD TOWN, July 15th, 1763,
" May it Please your Excellency
"I take this opportunity in the highth of Confusion to acquaint you with
our unhappy and most wretched Situation at this time, being in Hourly Expectation of being massacred by our Barberous and Inhumane Enemy the
Indians, we having been three days successivly attacked by them, Viz: the 13,
14 and this Instant. On the 13th as 6 men were shocking some wheat in the
field 5 Indians firing on them as they came to do it and others Running to their
assistance;-on the 14th 5 Indians crept up to and fired on about 16 men who
were sitting and walking under a Tree at the Entrance of my Lane about 100
yards from my House, but on being fired at by the white men, who much
wounded some of them, they Immediately Run off and were followed by the
white men about a mile all which way was a great Quantity of Blood on the
Ground. The white men got 3 of their Bundles, containing sundry Indian
Implements and Goods. About 3 Hours after several guns were fired in the
woods, on which a party went in Quest of them and found 3 Braves Killed by
them. The Indians wounded one man at their first fire tho' but Slightly. On
this Instant as Mr. Samli. Wilder was going to a house of his about 300 yards
Distant from mine with 4 men and several womlen, the Indians rushed on them
from  a rising Ground, but they perceving them coming, Run towards my
House hollowing, which being heard by those at my house, they run to their
assistance and met them and the Indians at the Entrance of my lane, on which
the Indians Immdiately fired on them to the amount of 18 or Twenty and Killed
Mr. Wilder;-the party of white men Returned their fire and killed one of them
dead on the Spot and wounded severall of the others as appeared by Considerable Quantity of Blood strewed on the Ground as they Run off, which they
Immdiately did, and by their leaving behind them 3 Gunns, one pistole and
Sundry other Emplements of warr &c. &c.
"I have Inclosed a List of the Desolate men, Women and Children who have
fled to my house which is Inclosed by a small stockade for safety, by which
you'll see what a number of poor Souls, destitute of Every necessary of Life
are here penned up and likely to be Butchered without Innmrdiate Relief and




21
His map of this survey is in the possession of the Maryland
Historical Society, and, together with his report, has been used
by our legislature in the boundary discussions with Virginia.'
In 1770, after his return from  England, George Washington
visited Colonel Cresap at his " Old Town settlement," in order
to learn the particulars of the Walpole grant on the Ohio; and,
as the future general of our armies returned from his examination of lands on the rivers of the west, he again tarried for the
night in the humble dwelling of the old pioneer.2   He had,
thus, acquired the respect and confidence, not only of the Lord
Proprietor of this Province, and of the clear-minded Washington
himself, but was generally known in Maryland, Virginia, and
Pennsylvania, as an energetic, far-seeing and hospitable man.
No deed of needless daring, or of cruelty is recorded against
himr;-even the Indians who krnw  his rifle well, esteemed him
cordially.  When Nemacolin departed from  the mountains of
Cumberland, he left his son in Cresap's care.  The savages
with whom  he had dealt so fiercely when necessity demanded,
assistance, and can Expect none, unless from the province to which they Belong.
I shall submitt to your wiser Judgment the Best and most Effectual method for
Such Relief and shall Conclude with hoping we shall have it in time."
" I am Honorable Sir
your Obedt. serv
THOS. CRESAP"
" P. S. those Indians who attacked us this day
are part of that body which went southward by this way
- spring which is known by one of the Gunns we got from them."
" THE MARYLAND GAZETTE" of July 21, 1763, informs us that the Colonel
was not yet cut off by the savages, though it is feared he will be if not quickly
relieved. The above story is repeated. Subsequent statements show that ten
men were sent to assist Cresap.
1 In the GILMOR MSS. JMaryland Papers, vol. 1, Portfolio of " Surveys, letters,
&c., connected with the running of the Division line between Maryland and Pennsylvania," is the original autograph map made by Col. Cresap, in the neat style
of a good country surveyor, and sent by him to Governor Sharpe. It came
to Mr. Gilmor's possession with many other of the "Ridout Papers," and
is attested by Horatio Ridout, whose father was Sharpe's secretary. This
was thefirst map ever made to show the course and fountains of the north and
south branches of the Potomac river, in regard to which there has been so much
controversy between Maryland and Virginia.
2 Washington's Writings, vol. 2, pp. 516 and 533. Journal of Tour to the
Ohio river.
4




22
as they went, during his latter years, past his house on their
hunting expeditions, were always welcomed and entertained.
He had a huge ladle and kettle prepared expressly to feast them
with a whole ox, and they, in turn complimented his hospitality
by bestowing on him  the Indian title of the "BIG  SPOON."'
At the age of eighty he married a second time. He visited
the British possessions, near Nova Scotia, at 100, and died at
the age of 106!  Such was the father of CAPTAIN  MICHAEL
CRESAP, whose name has been doomed most unjustly to infamy
by the hasty adoption of the falsehood contained in a miscalled
Indian speech.
MICHAEL, the youngest son of the pioneer, whose biography
I have sketched, was born in that part of Frederick, which is
now comprised in Alleghany county in this state, on the 29th
June, 1742.  In those early days there were no seminaries of
learning in that remote region; and Michael, his son, was sent
to a school in Baltimore County, under the charge of the Rev.
Mr. Craddock.  A  wild and daring mountain boy from  the
wilderness, he had, at first, but few friends among the eastern
boys; yet, with the usual power of manly courage and generosity, he soon fought his way into the good graces of his schoolmates. But the restraints of school life were uncongenial to his' Jacob's Life of Capt. Michael Cresap. Cumberland, Md., 1828.
The Rev. John J. Jacob, by whom this Biograghical sketch of the life of
Captain Michael Cresap was written, entered the store and was engaged in the
western trading concerns of Captain Cresap, from the age of fifteen. This was
about the year 1772. He was entrusted with the management and settlement
of valuable ventures sent by the Captain to Redstone Old Fort or Brownsville,
during the Indian war of 1774. When the Revolutionary conflict broke out,
and after Cresap's death on the 18th of October, 1775, Jacob remained for a
while with the hero's family; but, in July, 1776, he entered the militia as an
ensign, and subsequently obtained a lieutenant's commission in the regular
army with which he continued during five campaigns, until the winter of 1781.
In this year he married the widow of Capt. Michael Cresap, his old employer;
and thus, becoming possessed of all his papers, and being intimate with his
motives and history during an intimate personal intercourse, he was fully
enabled, as well as entitled, to vindicate the memory of his departed friend.
Later in life he was known as an esteemed pastor of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, who, for many years, resided, and finally died, as a local minister in
Hampshire County, Virginia.




23
habits; and flying from his preceptor, he traversed alone the 140
miles which lay between him and his home.  The old Colonel,
however, did not sanction the restive demeanor of the truant,
but believing in the virtue of the rod and the necessity of filial
obedience as well as education, flogged him severely, and sent
him back to his teacher, with whom he steadily remained until
his studies were finished.
Soon after leaving school, he married a Miss Whitehead, of
Philadelphia, and the happy pair, both almost children, departed
to the mountains to enjoy, as the romantic striplings probably
supposed, "love in a cottage" in a little frontier village near
his father's dwelling among the hills. But the Colonel would
not countenance a life of idleness, and established Michael at
once as a merchant and trader. Trade, in those days and neighborhoods, was often a perilous business in the hands of inexperienced men. And young Cresap, who imported largely from
London, and dealt with the utmost liberality, so often found his
confidence misplaced, that in the course of a few years he
became almost ruined. Notwithstanding his kindness and honorable deportment, he seems to have had enemies, or at least
extremely cautious watchers of his acts.  The agent of the
London merchant from whom he received his goods in America,
reported to his principal in England, that Michael was a suspicious character, and might probably remove to some part of the
western wilds where he would be out of the reach of the law.
The consequence of this report was the immediate withdrawal
of the young trader's customary supplies; but, as soon as Michael
was able to trace the slander to its source, he charged it home
upon the London agent and the controversy ended in a violent
personal conflict in a private room in Fredericktown.
Cresap was thus compelled, both by the blow which his credit
had received and his bitter experience among his customers, to
curtail his business. Yet hope did not desert him. The population which had gathered around this frontier settlement, began,
under the temptations of the west to flow off towards the Ohio.
His active temper and prompt mind soon decided him. " Urged
by necessity, prompted by a laudable ambition, and allured by
the rational and exhilarating prospect before him, he saw or




24
thought lie saw, in the rich bottoms of the Ohio, an ample
fund, if he succeeded in obtaining a title to those lands, not
only to redeem his credit and extricate him from difficulty, but
also to afford a respectable competency for his rising family.
" Under this impression, and with every rational prospect of
success, early in the year 1774, he engaged six or seven active young men, at the rate of S2.10 per month, and repairing to the wilderness of the Ohio, commenced the business of
building houses and clearing lands; and, being one of first, or,
among the first adventurers into this exposed and dangerous
region, he was enabled to select some of the best and richest of
the Ohio levels."'
After the Indian and French wars and the treaty made by
Bouquet, the attention of the Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania settlers, had been attracted to the great trans-Alleghanian
region watered by the Monongahela, the Ohio, the Kenhawa,
the Scioto, the Cheat and their affluents. Companies had been
formed and lands granted. The outposts, or scouts and pickets
of civilization, were fixed along these streams. Fort Du Quesne
had become Fort Pitt, under the British flag.  Wheeling was
a station; and, all along the river, there were spots where
traders and farmers had settled, or neighborhoods gathered
for mutual protection around block-houses, forts and stockades.
In this society, laudably engaged in repairing his fortune and
preparing that of his infant family, I shall leave Michael Cresap
early in the year 1774, and endeavor to transport you in imagination for a short time to another and perhaps more romantic
scene among the hills and valleys of the Susquehannah.
Indian history, and especially Indian Biography must always
resemble the pictorial sketches of the Indians themselves, who,
by a few rude etchings on a rock, a few bold dashes on the skin
of a buffalo, or scratches on the bark of a birch-tree, record
the outline memoranda which may serve to recall an event
though they can only commemorate a character by inferences.
1 Jacob's Life of Cresap, p. 41.




125
Their story is but a skeleton; and hard, indeed, is the task
which attempts to clothe the dry and dusty bones with flesh,
and to make the restored being move at least with the semblance
of real life. Their theatre is the forest. Their home a camp.
Their only architecture a cabin or a perishable tent. Their
only permanent and consecrated resting place-the grave! A
wild, solitary and dangerous people,-almost without a record, —
they flit like shadows through the wilderness of wood, prairie
and mountain;-now here, now gone in the dim recesses of the
valleys;-free as the deer, or transient as phantoms of mingled
romance and horror; but, most generally, inscribing their wild
red marks in the memory of white men by deeds of cruelty and.
blood alone!
In the early days of Pennsylvania the Valley of the Susquehannah was assigned by the Six Nations as a hunting ground
for the Shawanese, Conoys, Nanticokes, Monseys, and Mohicans; and SHIKELLAMY, or as he was called by the Moravians,
SHIKELLEMUS, a celebrated Cayuga Chief sent by those Nations
to preside over a tribe, dwelt at Shamokin, an Indian village
of about fifty houses and nearly three hundred persons, built
on the broad level banks of the Susquehannah, on a beautiful
site, with high ranges of hills both above and below it, affording
magnificent views of the picturesque valley in whose lap the
modern Sunbury is quietly nestled.
When Count Zinzendorf, on the 28th of September, 1742,
accompanied by Conrad Weiser, two Indians, brother Mack and
his missionary wife, after a tedious transit through the wilderness
on their journey of Christian love, entered this beautiful vale of
Shamokin, Shikellamy was the first to step forth to welcome
them, and, after the exchange of presents, to promise his aid as
a chief in fostering the religion of Christ among the tribe.2 But
when David Brainerd visited the Indian village, three years
after, he found that the seed dropped by the holy Moravians
had fallen on barren places.  He was kindly received and
I Compare Minutes of Council, Aug. 12, 1731, Brainerd's Journal-and
Loskiel, part 2d, p. 10.                    2 Loskiel.




26
entertained by the Indians, yet neither his requests nor the illness
of one of the tribe could induce them to forego their wild and
noisy revels.  "Alas!"-exclaims the Journalist,-' how desti"tute of natural affection are these poor uncultivated pagans,
"although they seem kind in their own way!  Of a truth, the
dark corners of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
C",* *,   The Indians of this place are accounted the most
" drunken, mischievous, and ruffian like fellows in these parts;
and Satan seems to have his seat in this town in an eminent
" manner!' 
The Six Nations used Shamokin as a convenient tarrying
place for their war parties against the southern Catawbas; and,
soon after the missionaries visited them, were desirous to have
a blacksmith from the white settlements, who would reside permanently in their village, and save their long journeys from the
mountains to Tulpehocken or Philadelphia.  The Governor of
the Province allowed the request, provided the smith should
continue only as long as the Indians remained friendly to the
English; and the Moravians, availing themselves of the opportunity, despatched a staunch brother named Anthony Schmidt,
from their mission at Bethlehem, who, doubtless, in the intervals of his business from repairing the savages' rifles, was enabled, as an antidote, to edify them with a sermon on the horrors of war.  The blacksmith, however, opened the way for
the establishment of a Moravian mission at Shamokin in 1747,
under the charge of Brother Mack.  Bishop Camerhoff and
the pious Zeisberger, visited it in 1748; and, in the following
year, Shikellamy-this apparently virtuous chief over so boisterous, drunken, and roystering a tribe,-a man who is reported
to have performed many embassies between the government of
Pennsylvania and the Six Nations, as well as attended important
councils at Philadelphia, departed for the Indian  "hunting
grounds" which lie in the pleasant prairies of the " spirit land"
beyond the grave.
1 Brainerd's Journal. Day's Penn. Hist. Col. 525.
2 Conrad Weiser, a chief officer in the Indian Department of Pennsylvania,
and the Moravians seem to have had great confidence in Shikellamy, and probably he died a sincere friend of the whites and a tolerable Christian. For an




27
Of this personage,-thus reared in a sort of modified fear,
love, or admiration of the whites, and in the midst of excessively bad associates, as described by Brainerd, was born a
second son, celebrated in the annals of our country by the spicy
rhetoric of a speech which first attracted the attention of Mr.
Jefferson, and has since been repeated by every American school
boy as a specimen of Indian eloquence and Indian wrongs.
After Braddock's defeat in 1755, the whole wilderness from
the Juniata to Shamokin, and from the Ohio to Baltimore Town,
was filled with hostile Indian  parties,-murdering, scalping,
destroying and burning. I have not time to notice the breaking
up of the mission at Shamokin and slaughter of the inoffensive
whites throughout the neighborhood, in which all those miscalled friendly tribes were concerned as soon as they were
encouraged by the successes of the French and the disasters of
of the English. Their former professed Christianity, or the forbearance of their chiefs, had, in all likelihood, been the effect
of sudden superstition or of salutary fear. 
During this epoch  the son of Shikellamy,-Logan,-who
had been named it is said for the secretary of the province whom
his father knew and loved, —disappears from the scene. We
have few historical or biographical anecdotes of his early life, nor
does he in fact become the subject even of legend until seventeen or eighteen years after his father's death.s 1
The Juniata breaking through the wild gap of Jack's mountain, enters the south-western end of Mifflin county, Pennsylaccount of his death and character, see Day's Penn. Hist. Col. 526. Loskiel.
Rev. J. Heckwelder's statement, appendix No. IV to Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 40.
i Voyage dans la Haute Pensylvanie, Tome 3, chapitre iv.
2 James Logan, the secretary, died in 1751.
3 Some early notices of the sons of Shikellamy and their deeds may be found
in the following writers: Rupp's History of Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin,
&c., counties, Pa., pp. 65, 319, 84, 259, 100, 316. Also Rupp's History of
Northumberland County, pp. 92, 119, 166. Rupp's History of Berks and
Lebanon Counties, Pa., 213, 41, 39.  Rupp's History of Northampton,
Lehigh, &c., Counties, Pa., p. 103. Kercheval's Valley of Va., p. 127. Loudon's Narratives of Indian wars, vol. 2, p. 223; this passage describes Logan's
personal appearance in 1765, and recounts an anecdote or two.




28
vania, and meandering through Lewistown valley, again strikes
the mountains at the romantic gorge of the Long Narrows,
between the Black Log and Shade mountains, at a cleft barely
wide enough for the river to pass, and, at its end, the stream
breaks through the rocky masses of Shade mountain. Kishicoquillas creek is a never failing flood in this romantic neighborhood, fed by the mountain springs surrounding a valley out of
which it bursts at a deep ravine in Jack's mountain, and enters
the Juniata at Lewistown.  Early settlements had been made
in this attractive region, but when the Indian troubles broke out,
the inhabitants fled, nor was it until the years between 1765
and 1769, that they began to return, and, about that period,
Judge Brown, Samuel Milliken, McNitt, James Reed and
Samuel McClay, became the earliest dwellers in the charming
vale of Kishicoquillas.
About a mile or two above the deep and tangled dell where
the stream passes Jack's mountain, beside a beautiful limestone
spring, at a spot which was as solitary as it was romantic, an
Indian cabin had been built for many years. As William Brown
and James Reed, two of the pioneers whom I have named as
early occupants of this region, had wandered one day out of
the valley in search of choice locations and springs, they suddenly started a bear, and, like all foresters, being provided with
their rifles, immediately gave chase. A shot speedily wounded
the brute, which retreating to the higher ground, led them
onward in quest of their prey, until, suddenly, this beautiful
spring, gushing from the hill-side, burst upon their sight. Exhausted by a long and tedious hunt, the woodsmen were more
delighted to find the stream than the game, and immediately
resting their rifles against trees, threw themselves on the ground
to drink.  But as Brown bent over the clear and mirroring water
he beheld, on the opposide side, reflected in the limpid basin the
tall shadow of a stately Indian!  With instinctive energy he
sprang to regain his weapon while the Indian yelled —whether
for peace or war he was unable to determine;-but as he seized
his rifle and faced the foe, the savage dashed open the pan of
his gun, and scattering the powder, extended his open palm in
token of friendship. Both weapons were instantly grounded,




29
and the men who a moment before had looked on each other
with distrust, shook hands and refreshed themselves from  the
gurgling brook. For a week they continued together examining lands, seeking springs, and cementing a friendship which
had been so strangely commenced at a period when "whoever
saw an Indian saw an enemy, and the only questions that were
asked, on either side were, from the muzzles of their rifles."
The Indian vision of the spring was Logan-the son of
Shikellamy,-the solitary Indian;-no chief, but a wanderer
sojourning for a while on his way to the west. 
Logan is well remembered and favorably described in the
legends of this valley, for he was often visited in his camp by
the whites.  Upon one occasion, when met by Mr. McClay at
the spring which is even now known by his name, a match was
made between the white and red man to shoot at a mark for a
dollar a shot.2  In the encounter, Logan lost four or five rounds,
and acknowledged himself beaten.  When the whites were
leaving the dell, the Indian went to his cabin, and bringing as
many deer skins as he had lost dollars, handed them to Mr.
McClay, who refused the peltries, alleging that he and his
friends had been Logan's guests, and would not rob him, for
the match had merely been a friendly contest of skill and nerve.
But the courteous waiver would not satisfy the savage. He
drew himself up with great dignity, and said in broken English:' Me bet to make you shoot your best;-me gentleman, and
me take your dollars if me beat!" So McClay was obliged to
take the skins or affront his friend whose sense of honorable
dealing would not allow him to receive even a horn of powder
in return.3
Deer hunting, dressing their skins and selling them to the
whites seem to have been the chief employments of Logan at
this period, and the means of his livelihood. Upon one occasion he had sold a quantity to a certain tailor named De Yong,
I Day's Hist. Coll. of Penn. 464 et. seq. Pittsburgh Daily American, 1842.
American Pioneer, vol. 1, p. 188.
2 Day's Coll. ut supra, 466, for a description of the site of this spring.
3 Letter of R. P. McClay in Pittsburgh Daily American of 1842, and in
Penn. Hist. Coll. by Day, 467. American Pioneer, i, 114, 115, 188.
5




30
who dwelt in Furguson's valley below  the gap. Buckskin
small clothes were in those days in demand among the frontier
men as well as among the soldiers or fops of the cities, and
when silver or paper money was scarce, barter was the customary
mode of trade in those simple communities. Logan, according
to agreement, received his pay from the tailor in wheat, which,
when taken to the mill, was found so worthless that the miller
refused to grind it. But law and the ministers of justice, had
already found their way into the secluded valley, and the Indian
appealed to his friend Brown, who by this time had been honored with the commission of a magistrate.  When the judge
questioned him as to the character of the fraudulent grain,
Logan sought in vain to find words to express the precise character of the material with which it was adulterated, but said it
resembled the wheat itself.   It must have been cheat," said
the Judge.  "Yoh!" exclaimed the Indian,' that's very good
name for him!" and forthwith a decision was given in Logan's
favor and a writ presented for the constable, which, he was told,
would produce the money for his buckskins. But the untutored
Indian,-too uncivilized to be dishonest,-could not comprehend
by what magic this fragment of paper would force the reluctant
tailor, against his will, to pay for the skins. The Judge took
down his commission emblazoned with the royal arms, and explained the first principles and operations of civil law, after which
Logan appeared to be better satisfied with the gentle operation
of judicial process, and departed to try its effect in his own
behalf, exclaiming —' law very good if it make rogues pay!"
When one of Judge Brown's daughters was just beginning
to walk, her mother expressed sorrow that she could not obtain
a pair of shoes to give more firmness to her infant steps. Logan
stood by but said nothing. Soon after he asked Mrs. Brown to
allow the little girl to spend the day at his cabin near the spring.
The cautious and yearning heart of the mother was somewhat
alarmed by the proposal, yet she had learned to repose confidence
in the Indian, and trusting in the delicacy of his feelings,
assented to the proposal with apparent cheerfulness. The day
wore slowly away, and it was near night when her little one
had not returned.  But just as the sun was setting the trusty




31
savage was seen descending the path with his charge, and in a
moment more the little one was in its mother's arms, proudly
exhibiting on her tiny feet a pair of beautiful moccasins-the
product of Logan's skill. 
I have dwelt, perhaps tediously, upon these simple incidents
of Indian and frontier life because they are the only ones I have
been able to glean from the brief records of Logan's career,
that exhibit him to posterity in a favorable light. His lot was
soon to be changed.  The lonely-simple-and perhaps sentimental savage was shortly to come in violent conflict with the
whites who were "extending the area of freedom," —and the
rest of his life was chequered with horrible crimes and maudlin
regrets, dark enough to efface the gentle deeds of his early years.
According to the statement of Judge Brown, Logan departed to
the far west soon after the occurrences I have recounted, and he
never saw him more; but, in the language of the cordial old
pioneer,  he was the best specimen of humanity, white or red,
he ever encountered."
For a while, again, the curtain drops on our Indian legend,
and the savage disappears behind the leaves of the forest, nor
do we find his trail once more until the Rev. Mr. Heckwelder,
when living as a missionary at the Moravian town on the Beaver
about the year 1772, four or five years after the events we have
just narrated, was introduced by an Indian in that neighborhood
to Logan as the son of the old Shikellamy, the friend of the
white men and Moravians at Shamokin. The savage impressed
the missionary as a person of talents superior to Indians generally. He exclaimed against the whites for the introduction of
spirituous liquors among his people;-spoke of "gentlemen"
and their true character, regretting that the tribes had unfortunately so few of this class for neighbors; declared his intention
to settle on the Ohio below Big Beaver, where he might live
in peace forever with the white men, but CONFESSED TO THE
MISSIONARY HIS UNFORTUNATE FONDNESS FOR THE ~ FIREWATER.'a  At that time Logan was encamped at the mouth of
l Narrative of Mrs. Norris, in Day's Penn. Hist. Coll.'467.




32
Beaver, and in 1773, when Heckwelder was journeying down
the Ohio towards Muskingham he visited the Indian's settlement,
and received every civility he could expect from the members of
his family who were at home. 
It was about this time that another Missionary, the Rev. Dr.
David McClure, during a visit to Fort Pitt and the neighboring
regions of the Ohio, met our hero, and saw many other Indians
who were in the habit of resorting to the settlements for the sake
of a drunken frolic, staggering about the town.2   At that time
Logan was still remarkable for the grandeur of his personal
appearance.  TAH-GAH-JUTE3 or " Short Dress," for such was
his Indian name, stood several inches more than six feet in
height; he was straight as an arrow; lithe, athletic, and symmetrical in figure; firm, resolute, and commanding in feature; but the brave, open, and manly countenance he possessed in his earlier years was now changed for one of martial
ferocity.4  After tarrying and preaching nearly three weeks at
Fort Pitt, Dr. McClure, in the summer or autumn of 1772,
set out for Muskingham accompanied by a Christian Indian as
his interpreter. The second day after his departure, the wayfarers unexpectedly encountered Logan.  Painted and equipped
for war, and accompanied by another savage, he lurked a few
rods from the path beneath a tree, leaning on his rifle; nor did
the missionary notice him until apprized by the interpreter that
Logan desired to speak with him. McClure immediately rode
to the spot where the red man remained, and asked what he
required.  For a moment Logan stood pale and agitated before
the preacher, and then, pointing to his breast, exclaimed:-" I
"feel bad here.  Wherever I go the evil Manethoes pursue
"me.  If I go into my cabin, my cabin is full of devils.  If I
"go into the woods, the trees and the air are full of devils. They
1 Appendix No. IV to Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, 46.
2 Wheelock's Narrative, 1772-73, p. 50.
3 "' The aged Seneca, Captain Decker, told me that Logan's Indian name was
Tah-gah-jute or Short Dress, and added that'he was a very bad Indian.'"Lyman C. Draper, MS. note.
4Compare Loudon's Nar. Indian Wars, vol. 2, p. 223, and McClure and
Parish's Memoirs of Rev. Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, NewburyJport, 1811, p. 139.
Loudon describes him about 1765,-McClure in 1772.




33' haunt me by day and by night.  They seem to want to catch'moe, and throw me into a deep pit, full of fire!"  In this
moody strain of abrupt, maudlin musing,-with the unnatural
pallor still pervading his skin,-he leant for awhile on his rifle,
and continued to brood over the haunting devils. At length he
broke forth with an earnest appeal to the missionary as to " what
he should do?"  Dr. McClure gave him sensible and friendly
advice suggested by the occasion; counselled him to reflect on
his past life; considered him as weighed down by remorse for
the errors or cruelties of past years, and exhorted him to that
sincere penitence and prayer which would drive from him the
C evil Manethoes " forever.'
The holy man departed on his pious mission, nor did he ever
hear of the Indian again until after the bloody deeds which will
be hereafter recounted. The " fire-water " of the " white man'
had begun to do its deadly work upon all the elements of a
noble character in the heart and mind of the untutored savage.
I must again shift the scenery of our stage and return once
more to our Maryland settler and his band who had gone out
early in the spring of 1774, although it is unquestionable that
in the performance of his duties as a pioneer trader, he had
previously visited that region for the joint purposes of locating
land and carrying on commerce.
On an elevated and commanding bank on the east side of the
Monongahela about seventy miles above Pittsburgh, there were
at that period the remains of one of those Ancient Works,
which, in consequence of the military skill displayed in the
selection of their site, and arrangement of their walls or parapets, have been regarded as Indian forts. They are among the
evidences of the supposed civilization of the races who inhabited
the western valleys, anterior to the present tribes, and of whom
even the legends are lost. On the north-west of the one at
present under consideration, the river Monongahela rushed along
the base of the hill; on the north-east and south were deep
1 Wheelock's Memoirs, ut antea, p. 139, &c. I am indebted for this reference
and anecdote to my friend Lyman C. Draper, who has kindly furnished it to
me in MS.




34
ravines, while, on the east, a flat was spread out across which an
approach could easily be detected. Several acres were enclosed
within the works, and hard by were springs of excellent water.
This is the site of the town of Brownsville, the head of the
present steam  navigation of the Mississippi valley, nearest the
eastern mountains,-and the spot, even at that early day to which
the main trail over the Alleghanies had been directed. It became
an attractive place to the whites as it had evidently been to the
savages, as we may judge from the ingenious works with which
they fortified it.  This post, known in border history as " RedStone Old Fort," became the rallying point of the pioneers and
was familiar to many an early settler as his place of embarkation
for the " dark and bloody ground."  In the legends of the west
Michael Cresap, whom  we left, to sketch the biography of
Logan, is connected with this Indian strong-hold. In those
narratives Cresap is spoken of as remarkable for his brave,
hardy, and adventurous disposition, and awarded credit for often
rescuing the whites by a timely notice of the savages' approach,
a knowledge of which he obtained by unceasing vigilance over
their movements. This fort was frequently Cresap's rendezvous
as a trader, and thither he resorted with his people either to interchange views and adopt plans for future action, or for repose
in quieter times when the red men were lulled into inaction and
the tomahawk and the scalping knife were temporarily buried.
These were periods of great conviviality. The days were spent
in athletic exercises; and, in the evening, the sturdy foresters,
bivouacked around a fire of huge logs, recounted their hairbreadth adventures, or if, perchance, a violin or jewsharp was
possessed by the foresters it was sometimes introduced and the
monotony of the camp broken by a boisterous " stag-dance."
The scrutinizing mind of Cresap, discovered at that early day,
that this location would become exceedingly valuable as emigrants
flowed in and the country was gradually opened. Accordingly
he took measures to secure a Virginia title to several hundred
acres, embracing the fortification, by what, at that time, was
called a "tomahawk improvement."  Not content, however,
with " girdling" a few trees and "blazing" others, he determined to ensure his purpose; and, in order that his act and




35
intention might not be misconstrued, he built a house of hewed
logs with a shingle roof nailed on, which is believed to have
been the first edifice of this kind in that part of our great
domain west of the mountains.  We are not possessed of data
to fix the precise year of this novel erection, but it is supposed
to have occurred about the year 1770; and the title to the property was retained in the Cresap family for many years, but
was finally disposed of to the brothers Thomas and Basil Brown
who had emigrated from Maryland.'
We now approach the final scene of our dramatic sketch in
the valley of the Ohio. Cresap, in his last expedition to the
west, had departed from Maryland, as I have already related,
early in 1774, in order to open farms on the river, and was
acompanied by hired laborers.  But an Indian war was soon
to break out, which, in the history of the west, is sometimes
known under the name of this Marylander, as "C Cresap's war,"
and sometimes under that of the Earl of Dunmore, who was then
Governor of Virginia.  Yet, this savage conflict, in which the
Earl commanded the Virginians, and Cornstalk, a Shawanese
chief led the Indians, had probably a very different origin from
that which we shall hereafter see was erroneously ascribed to it,
and in which Michael Cresap was unjustly supposed to have
acted so bloody a part.
During the ten years subsequent to the treaty made by Bouquet, the gradual advance of the whites to the west had been a
constant source of alarm  to the Indians.  There was no acknowledged boundary between the races.  Every year brought
them nearer and nearer in mingling confusion.  Collisions and
violent disputes were the natural and necessary results.  Crirination and recrimination followed.  The white man introduced
his " fire-water," and the Indian learned to love its wild delirium, nor did he regret the mad revels and even the murders in
which he participated while under its terrible influence. The
savage and the settler constantly encountered each other with
1 MS. of James L. Bowman, published in the American Pioneer in 1843.
And subsequently reprinted in Day's Penn. Hist. Coil. p. 342, et seq.




36
mutual distrust. The town and the farm were to rise and spread
out over the "war path" and the "hunting ground."  The
slow, eager, resistless encroachments of civilization, brought the
two uncongenial and incongruous races, face to face, in contact,
and the slightest breath was sufficient to fan into conflagration
the fire that smouldered in the hearts of each.
Besides this, there had been no scrupulous fulfilment of Bouquet's treaty on the part of the Indians; and I am informed by
one of our ablest border historians and scholars, that during these
ten years of nominal peace, but in truth, of quasi war, more
lives were sacrificed along the western frontiers than during the
whole outbreak of 1774, including the battle of Point Pleasant. 
In order that I may not be supposed to allege these Indian
exasperations carelessly, I will state,-as I believe it to be unquestionable history,-that the Shawanese, failing to comply
with the treaty of 1764, did not deliver their white captives, and
barely acquiesced, sullenly, in some articles of the compact, by
command of the six nations.  The Red-Hawk, a Shawanese2
chief, insulted Colonel Bouquet with impunity, and an Indian
killed the Colonel's servant on the next day after peace was
made.  This wanton murder being passed unnoticed at the
time, gave rise immediately to several daring outrages.
In the following year individuals were slain by the savages on
New River, and soon afterj some men employed in the service
of Wharton's company were waylaid and killed on their journey
to Illinois, while their goods were plundered and borne off by
the robber band.  Sometime after this outrage, a number of
men employed in slaughtering cattle for Fort Chartres, were
destroyed, and their rifles, blankets and accoutrements carried to
the Indian villages. All these brutal wrongs were unredressed,
and although the Shawanese are not supposed to have been the
only perpetrators of the bloody cruelties, yet, unresisting submission to such enormities seems to have been a mistaken policy
1 MS. letter from Lyman C. Draper.
2 Les Indiens disent Shawanahaac; je l'ai fait repeter plusieurs fois i quelques
uns d'entreux. Nos ancetres par defaut d'attention, out ecrit Shawanee, et
leurs descendans out suivi cet example. Recherches sur les Etats Unis, 1788,
vol. 4, p. 153, note.




37
in an age in which the law of revenge or of prompt, compulsory, obedient, dread was the only imperative code comprehended
by the savages. Before our military power had become strong,
and especially in its very dawn in the west, the tribes supposed
all to be feeble and forcibly submissive who did not resist, and
non-resistance, of course, produced mischief. They measured
us by their only standard of savage morality-revenge,-a law
bloody indeed, but which the honest historian is forced to regard
in considering the early years of nations, especially when the
Indian and the unprotected white man come in contact, and
when perhaps the moral grade and the surrounding circumstances
of both races are properly considered.
He who writes history, in order to judge justly, must endeavor
to make himself a man of the times he describes.  He is unfair,
if he decides on the events of the eighteenth century by the
standards of the nineteenth.  It would no doubt be considered
infamous in Massachusetts, at the present day, if an Indian
were killed, yet it will scarcely be credited that, in the early
part of the last century, the General Court of that Province
offered a bounty of 100O for every Indian's scalp. The cruel
murders almost daily committed by the barbarians upon the
defenceless frontier inhabitants, originated and were held to justify this enactment; and in one of the bloody onslaughts of the
Massachusetts men against the savages, forty white warriors
returned to Boston with ten scalps extended on hoops in Indian
style, and demanded the reward of S1000, which was promptly
paid.
Nor were these expeditions against the Red Men unsanctified
by prayer. Chaplains accompanied the doughty fighters. Early
on the day of conflict these pastors of the church militant lifted
up their voices, and declaring that they had " come out to meet
the enemy, besought God that they might find him.  They
trusted Providence with their lives, and would rather die for
their country, than return if they could, without seeing the foe,
and be called cowards for their pains!"
It might be supposed that these valiant clergymen contented
themselves with beseeching the " God of battles," and refrained
from mingling in the fray. But this was not the case, for in
6




38
the quaint old ballad of the Fight at Pequawket it is metrically
narrated that
"Our worthy Captain Lovewell among them there did die;
"They killed Lieutenant Robbins, and wounded good young Frye
" Who was our English Chaplain; he many Indians slew,
".nd some of them he scalped when bullets round him flew!'"l
As his Britannic Majesty's troops on the Ohio, at the epoch
of which I have been speaking, had perhaps neither the power
nor spirit to punish or reclaim the Indians, and enforce the peace
and the treaty,-mischief became familiar to the tribes when
they found that they escaped with impunity.2  And, thus, in
truth, the Indian hatchet was never buried.  The summer after
Bouquet's treaty the savages killed a white man upon the
Virginia frontiers; the next year, eight Virginians were butchered
on the Cumberland, and their peltries brought to the Indian
towns where they were sold to Pennsylvania traders.  Sometime
after, Martin, a Virginia trader with two companions, was killed
by the Shawanese on the Hockhocking,-only, as it was alleged
by Lord Dunmore, because they were Virginians, at the same
time that the savages allowed a certain Ellis to pass, simply
because he was a Pennsylvanian. In 1771, twenty Virginians
and their party of friendly Indians were robbed by them of
thirty-eight horses, as well as of weapons, clothes and trappings,
which they delivered to Callender and Spears and certain other
Pennsylvania traders in their towns. In the same year, within
the jurisdiction of Virginia, the Indians killed two lonely settlers;
and, in the following, Adam Stroud, another Virginian, with
his wife and seven children, fell beneath their tomahawks and
scalping knives on the waters of the Elk. In 1773, the savages
were still engaged in their work of destruction.  Richards fell
on the Kenhawa; and a few  months after, Russel, another
Virginian, with five whites and two negroes, perished near the
Cumberland Gap, while their horses and property were borne
off by the Indians to the towns where they fell a prey to the
1 Drake's Book of the Indians, Book III, p. 128, 130, 133.
2 Maryland Gazette, Dec. 1, 1774. Am. Archives, IV series, vol 1, p. 1015,
extract of a letter from Red Stone Fort dated October, 1774.




39
Pennsylvania traders.  These and many other butcheries and
robberies of a similar character, were committed in the savage
raids and forays, anterior the year 1774, and long before a single drop of Shawanese blood was wantonly shed in retaliation by the irritated people.'  A  Dutch family was massacred on the Kenhawa in June of 1773, and  the family of
Mr. Hog, and three white men, on the Great Kenhawa, early
in April, 1774.2 On the 25th of April, 1774, the Earl of Dunmore, at Williamsburg his seat of Government in Virginia, issued
his proclamation, which, as dates are of great importance in
this narrative, we should regard as unveiling other causes of
border difficulty, besides the Indian hostilities, which were then
occurring.
It will be remembered, as I have already stated, that the territorial claim of Virginia covered at that time a large part of
western Pennsylvania, and that a bitter controversy had arisen
between the two provinces and their respective authorities, especially as to the domain commanding the navigable head waters
on the line of frontier posts. There was great jealousy on
both sides. The Virginia pioneer,-planter, hunter and agriculturist,-had met in conflict with the Pennsylvania trader.  The
Indians, as we have seen in the statement I gave of some of
the murders during the ten years after Bouquet's peace, molested the Virginian forester, and appear to have spared the
Pennsylvania trader.  The allegations of Lord  Dunmore in
one of his speeches to the Indians, already referred to, exhibit
the soreness of provincial feeling on this subject.s  In his proclamation of the 25th of April, 1774,-before there could possibly have been a communication of any retaliatory murders on
the Ohio, committed by the whites upon  the Indians,-the
I Earl of Dunmore's Speech to the Delawares and Six Nation Chiefs, Am.
Archives, IV Series, vol. 1, p. 873.
2Am. Archives, IV Series, vol. 1, p. 1015, and see also Lord Dunmore's
answer, dated at Williamsburg, 29 May, 1774, to the speech of the Indians
dated at Pittsburgh, May 7, 1774,-Am. Arch. ut supra, p. 482; but compare
the alleged Indian statements contained in a letter dated 29 May, 1774, from
Arthur St. Clair to Governor Penn, in the same vol. p. 286.-See also Withers's
Chronicle of Border War.
3 Am. Arch. ut supra, 482.




40
British Earl, then at Williamsburg, declares, that inasmuch as
there is trouble within his jurisdiction at Pittsburgh, and the authorities in that place and its dependencies will endeavor to obstruct
His Majesty's government thereof by illegal means; and, inasmuch as that "settlement is in danger of annoyance fromn
Indians, also," he has thought proper, with the advice and consent of his Majesty's counsel, to require and authorize the militia
officers of that district to embody a sufficient number of men to
repel any assault whatever.   The events that caused the issuing
of this proclamation, must necessarily have occurred both among
the white and the red men, a considerable time before, so as to
have allowed the messenger to cross the mountains prior to the
25th of April.
But even anterior to this, on the 24th March, 1774, there
was a letter published in the Williamsburg Gazette, addressed
to the Earl, and signed Virginius, warning him  of an Indian
war, and beseeching him to convoke the House of Burgesses in
order to raise men and means for the defence of the frontier.2
The first volume of the fourth series of the American Archives,
published by Congress, is full of narratives and official correspondence or minutes, disclosing the acrimonious provincial
animosities as to western jurisdiction between Pennsylvania and
Virginia at this time, and one writer declares that "more is to
be dreaded firom  the rancorous feeling between  the settlers
from  the two states than  from  the barbarians."   The  same
volume contains copious documents revealing the violent scenes
that occurred in 1774, upon the arrival at Pittsburgh of John
Connolly, who was regularly commissioned by Lord Dunmore,
though a native of Lancaster county, in Pennsylvania, to represent his authority as a magistrate for West Augusta.3
It is not a little singular, even if nothing more than a coincidence, that Lord Dunmore should have chosen the epoch of a
American Archives, 4th series, vol. 1, p. 283. Ld. Dunmore's proclamation.
2    Id.    id.       id.  id.  p. 272 in the notes.
3See as to the causes of this war, in confirmation, Withers's Chronicles of
Border Warfare, chapter vi.-He is decidedly of opinion that it was not caused
by the murders at Captina Creek and opposite the mouth of Yellow Creek,
which will be subsequently narrated.




41
menaced Indian war, and of a growing dispute with the mother
country beyond the seas, to assert formidably the rights of Virginia, not only by issuing his proclamation, but by despatching
to the scene of action a man like John Connolly, who was well
known not only for his bold, restless and artful temper, but for
his sagacity, his knowledge of the world and of Indian affairs,
and his exceedingly lax morality. 
I have not time at present, nor is this properly the occasion,
to discuss a border controversy between the two great provinces,
which has never yet been fully chronicled, and, at best, could
only be an episode in our history. Yet I have thought it right
to show that it occurred, singularly enough, just at the epoch of
IBurk's Hist. Virginia, 3d vol. p. 374, and vol. 4, p. 74.-At the latter reference the reader will find a further development of Connolly's subsequent conduct and hostility to American interests, as disclosed in the plot formed by Lord
Dunmore to bring the Indian tribes of the West into the Revolutionary conflict. Connolly, on his way to Detroit, was arrested near Fredericktown in Maryland, by the committee of safety; was examined and committed to close custody on the 23d Nov., 1775. He had been commissioned by the Earl, as a
Lieut. Colonel Commandant. 4th Burk, Appendix 4.-The joint plans of these
loyal Britons show the great probability that there was, in truth, a scheme in
embryo to crush the American Revolution at its birth, by a union between the
Indians, negroes and loyalists, and by the excitement of an Indian war on the
frontier, which would compel the settlers to think of self-protection against savages, instead of demanding from England the security of rights and liberty, at
the point of the sword or muzzle of the rifle. By a letter from Lord Dartmouth
to Lord Dunmore, dated at Whitehall on the 2d August, 1775, it appears that,
in the previous May, Dunmore had communicated to the home government his
vile plan of raising the Indians and negroes to join the miscalled loyalists in an
onslaught against the Americans.
See also Sabine's Loyalists:-Article:-John Connolly.
The original papers relative to the arrest of Connolly and his incendiary companions in Maryland in 1775 are recorded in the MS. "JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE OF OBSERVATION OF THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FREDERICK COUNTY,"
under date of the 21 Nov., 1775, in the possession of the Maryland Historical
Society. This record gives, 1st: the letter from John Connolly to John Gibson
dated at Portsmouth, Aug. 9, 1775; 2d: A letter from  Lord Dunmore to the
Indian Capt. White Eyes. It contains a loving message to "his brother" The
Cornstalk-(the same who had fought at Pt. Pleasant); 3d: Proposals to General
Gage for raising an army to the Westward for the purpose of effectually obstructing a communication between the Southern and Northern governments."
One of the chief proposals was to raise the Indians.
See Letters from Arthur St. Clair to Gov. Penn, Ligonier, 29 May, 1774,
1Vth Series Am. Arch. vol. i. p. 287.




42
the wars of 1774, and of the Revolution, and was probably
considered as a means of exciting the enmity and disaffection
betwixt Virginians and Pennsylvanians,-of loosening the links
between two vast territorial empires,-and of weakening thus
the sympathetic bond which should have bound all Americans at that interesting  moment.  The  fatal quarrel with
Great Britain was already begun, and all the chief provinces,
from  Massachusetts southward, were rallying in the general
national cause with a firmness of resolve that betokened danger
to the dominion of the parent state unless our liberties were left
untouched.
But there is a third motive for this war which we admit is not
altogether proved against the British Earl, although there are
facts that strongly fortify the belief entertained on the subject
by early American writers and soldiers who served in the campaign.  Among all the authors and journalists of the war there
is evidently a strong impression, amounting almost to positive
conviction, that Connolly, as the tool of Dunmore, secretly
fomented the war, with ulterior views, as a counter irritation
against the menaced resistance to England.  Those who lived
nearest the scene of action, and especially the Virginians who
had the best means of judging Dunmore's motives, believed
from  circumstances that transpired during the conflict, that the
Indians were urged to war by the instigation of emissaries from
Great Britain and by the Canadian traders.  It was generally
credited that Dunmore had received from England advices concerning the approaching contest, and that all his measures with
the Indians had for their ultimate object an alliance of foreign
troops and loyalists with the ferocious warriors against the
Americans.  Nothing, indeed, was more natural than for British
politicians at home to suppose that the excitement of an Indian
war, and the contemporary dissension between the people of two
large provinces in America, would be the means of preventing
a colonial coalition in opposition to parliamentary taxation.''Burk's Hist. Virg. vol. 3, p. 380; Withers's Chronicles, p. 107; Dr. Doddridge's account of Dunmore's war, in Kercheval, (edition of 1833) p. 157; Rev.
Mr. Jacobs' Life of Cresap, pp. 47, 52, 53, 67; Col. Stuart's Memoir of the




43
But, fortunately for our liberties, the alarm of an Indian war
neither palsied nor benumbed the masses.  And although Pennsylvania did not contribute largely to its suppression, it was not
until the military ardor and indignation of the people throughout
Virginia blazed up in the colony and reacted on Dunmore, that
he affected, at least, to feel a hectic glow of virtuous indignation
and placed himself at the head of the troops that gathered from
every glen and mountain to repel the savage. 
It will be perceived, therefore, that there were three probable
causes or motives for the war which broke out in 1774, the
leading events of which I shall narrate very briefly.
I. The hostility of the Indians had been constantly manifested in the most murderous and predatory manner ever since
Bouquet's peace in 1764; and, at the same time, the gradual
enlargement of the white settlements had brought, in perilous
neighborhood, two races who were naturally hostile, while neither the savages of the one, nor the hardy woodsmen of the
other, were prepared, by continued forbearance, to avoid conflict or to unite in a common tenure of the soil.
II. The Pennsylvania disputes with Virginia as to territorial
limits and jurisdiction were unwisely fomented by the forcible
acts of Dunmore and Connolly, and thus the comity and good
Indian Wars, printed by the Virginia Historical Society, pp. 41, 43, 49, 56;
Howison's History Virginia, vol. 2, p. 72; Hildreth's History U.. States, vol.
3, p. 49; Monette's History Valley of the Mississippi, vol. 1, p. 385; Virginia
Historical Register, vol. 1, p. 32, in Col. Andrew Lewis' letter; Annals of the
West; Ohio Historical Collections, by Howe, p. 408; Almon's Remembrancer,
vol. 2, pp. 218, 330; Smyth's Travels in America, Dublin, 1784. As to Dunmore's supposed treachery see Am. Arch. vol. 3, pp. 1191, 1192, 4th series, for
some strong suspicions on this point from facts that became known after the
treaty of Camp Charlotte and the close of the campaign.'Burk 3, p. 381.-The Pennsylvania authorities took precautions soon after
the outbreak of troubles to signify to the Indians, by messengers, that the alleged outrages were not committed by Pennsylvanians, and that the government of
Pennsylvania disavowed and condemned them, and therefore were not proper objects of
revenge. This timely notice is probably the reason why the Indian war was
not carried on against the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania, but was chiefly
directed against those of Virginia, where all kinds of savage barbarities were
inflicted. See Gordon's History of Pennsylvania, p. 475; Monette's Valley of
the Mississippi, vol. 1, p. 371. See also Drake's Book of the Indians, Book v,
p. 45, for some sound reasoning on Dunmore's conduct.




44
will between two of the most important colonies were fearfully
endangered.
III. It was probably Lord Dunmore's desire to incite a war
which would arouse and band the savages of the west, so that,
in the anticipated struggle with the United Colonies, the British
home interest might ultimately avail itself of these children of
the forest as ferocious and formidable allies in the onslaught on
the Americans.  But, at all events, nothing, so well as an Indian border-war, would excite a counteraction in the land at
this moment of peril, and absorb the colonists in the exclusive
duty of self-protection against a foe that was more to be feared
than parliamentary taxation.
From this brief view of the political field of the colonies in
1774, let us return to the scene of impending hostilities.
We left Michael Cresap,-the western frontier trader,-a
man of broken fortunes, emigrating from  his Maryland homestead, among the mountains of Cumberland, to the broad lands
and pleasant valleys of the Ohio.  His purpose unquestionably
was not warlike; for, in the disastrous condition of his affairs
and with  a large family to maintain, peace was absolutely
necessary for success in his new field of enterprize. Accordingly, early in 1774, we find him  on the Ohio river, in the
neighborhood of Pittsburgh and Wheeling, with laborers brought
under contract of hire from  Maryland, engaged  in opening
and locating farms.  He was there, neither as a "speculator" nor a   land jobber," as many of the emigrants of those
days were unjustly stigmatized.  His purpose was peaceful
settlement, and he is no more to be blamed for his manly progress into the wilderness in quest of land, than were Washington and many other distinguished Americans of those days
who possessed themselves of property in the prolific valleys of
the west. 
I Historians have been in the habit of stigmatizing all concerned in the outbreak of this war as "speculators and land jobbers" who were anxious to
drive off the Indians.-I shall insert below an advertisement from the Maryland Gazette of May 26th, 1774, which shows the opinion, at least of Washington, at that time, and is surely calculated to prove the honesty of purpose




45
Cresap was engaged in these honest and laudable pursuits
when he suddenly received a summons which terminated forever his communication with the west.
After this region had been explored in 1773, a resolution was
formed  by  a, band  of hardy  pioneers,-  among whom  was
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK, who, afterwards, as a general officer,
became so celebrated in the annals of Kentucky-to make a
settlement during the following spring; and the mouth of the
Little Kenhawa was appointed as the place of general rendezvous, whence the united party should descend the river. Early
in 1774 the Indians had done some of their habitual mischief.
Reports of further and perhaps meditated dangers were rife
along the river, as coming from the Indian towns. Many of
the promised settlers, alarmed by the news, remained at their
homes, so that, at the appointed time, not more than eighty or
ninety men assembled at the rendezvous.
In a few days the anticipated troubles with the savages commenced.  A small party of hunters, encamped about ten miles
below Clark's emigrants, were fired upon by the Indians; but
the red men were repulsed and the hunters returned to camp.
This hostile demonstration, coupled with the rumors already
spoken of, satisfied the Americans that the savages were bent on
war. Accordingly, the whole band was regularly enrolled for
protection; yet it was resolved to adhere to the original project
with which far-seeing men took advantage of their opportunities to obtain titles
and open farms in the region beyond the Alleghanies: —
"FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., MAY 10, 1774.
"In the month of March last the subscriber sent out a number of carpenters
and laborers, to build houses and clear and enclose lands on the Ohio, intending
to divide the several tracts which he there holds, into convenient sized tenements and to give leases therefor for lives, or a term of years, renewable forever, under certain conditions which may be known either of him, or Mr.
Valentine Crawford, who is now on the land.
"The situation and quality of these lands having been thoroughly described
in a former advertisement, it is unnecessary to enlarge on them here; suffice it
generally to observe, that there are no better in that country, and that the whole
of them lay upon the banks either of the Ohio or Great Kanhawa, and are capable of receiving the highest improvement.
4w.' GEORGE WASHINGTON."
7




46
of settling in Kentucky, inasmuch as the camp was amply furnished with every thing needful for such an enterprize.
An Indian town, called the "Horse-head Bottom," on the
Scioto,near its mouth, lay in the pioneers' way, and they forthwith resolved to cross the country and surprise it.  But when
the question arose as to who should command so perilous an
adventure, it was found that, in the whole band, no one possessed sufficient experience in Indian warfare to be entrusted
confidently with the fortunes of his companions. It was known,
however, that MICHAEL CRESAP dwelt on the river about fifteen
miles above the camp, engaged with certain laborers in settling
a plantation, and that he had resolved to follow this band of
pioneers to Kentucky as soon as he had established his people.
His experience of frontier life was conceded.  The eager settlers, with one voice, resolved to demand his services in the
hour of danger, and messengers were forthwith despatched to
seek him.  In half an hour they returned with Michael, who,
hearing of the unwise resolution to attack the Indian town, had
set out to visit the pioneer camp.  The emigrants at once
thought their army,-as they called it,-complete, and the destruction of the savages certain. But a council was called, and
to the surprise of all, the intended commlander-in-chief, promptly
dissuaded his companions from the meditated enterprize. He
said that, in truth, appearances were very suspicious, yet that
there was no certainty of war;-that if the pioneers attacked
the savages he had no doubt of success, but that a war would
be the unquestionable result, the blame of which would fall
upon the assailants.  If they determined to proceed, however,
he promised to send to his camp for his people, and to share the
fortunes of the adventurers.
This mild but resolute counsel struck the whole band forcibly,
and it was immediately resolved, according to Cresap's advice, to
return to Wheeling as a convenient post where further tidings
might readily be obtained. A few weeks, he thought, would
determine the impending issue; and, as it was still early in the
spring, if the Indians were found to be indisposed for war, the
immigrants would have ample time to descend the river to their
proposed settlement in Kentucky.




47
In two hours the Pioneers had struck their tents and were on
their way to Wheeling.  As they ascended the river they met
Killbuck, an Indian Chief, accompanied by a small party, and
had a long but unsatisfactory interview with him as to the disposition of the tribes. It was observed that Cresap did not
attend this conference, but remained on the opposite side of the
river, declaring that he was afraid to trust himself with the
Indians, especially as Killbuck had frequently attempted to
waylay and murder his father in Maryland, and that if they
met, his fortitude might forsake him  and he might put the
savage to death.'  These anecdotes denote the caution and
self-restraint, the prudence and vigilance with which Michael
Cresap behaved and counseled during the whole of these opening scenes, and exhibit him  in the true light of an immigrant
who was anxious to maintain inviolate the peace of a region in
which his fortunes had been cast.
On the party's arrival at Wheeling, around which there were
many white settlements, all the inhabitants appeared to be
alarmed.  They flocked to the camp from every direction, and
refused to leave the protecting wings of the Pioneers.  Offers
were made to cover their neighborhood  with scouts, until
further reliable information was received; but no counsel or
promise of protection would avail. Every day brought fresh
accessions of strength to the party.  Farmers, hunters, woodsmen, flocked to the band of Kentucky Pioneers, until its numbers became formidable.
The arrival of these men at Wheeling was soon known at
Pittsburgh, and the whole of that region, as I have stated, was,
under the asserted jurisdiction of Virginia, controlled by Connolly, under Dunmore's commission for West Augusta.  When
Connolly heard of the Pioneers' approach to Wheeling he sent
a message to the party, informing it that war was to be apprehended, and requesting that it would remain in position a short
time inasmuch as messages had been sent to the Indians and a
I Killbuck-see Jacob's Life of Cresap, p. 31, for a ludicrous accident that
happened to this Indian whilst engaged in the assault on Cresap and his friends
at the Old Town affair heretofore narrated.-It was perhaps the first time that
a savage was so singularly wounded by a woman!




48
few days would solve the doubt.  Before a complying answer
could reach Pittsburgh, however, a second express arrived from
Connolly, addressed to Captain Cresap, as the most influential
man in the band, apprizing him that the messengers had returned
from the Indians,-that war was inevitable,-that the savages
would strike as soon as the season permitted, —and begging him
to use his influence with the party to cover the country with
scouts until the inhabitants could fortify themselves.   This
message reached  Cresap about the 21st of April,2 and its reception was the signal of open hostilities against the Indians.
Such was the natural result on so exposed a frontier, where the
white man or the savage who obtained the first shot was the
victor, and where Indian assassination or "private war"-to
give it the most civilized name,-was the only rule recognized
by the red men when they were aroused against encroaching
Americans.
A new post was immediately planted, a council called, and
the letter read by Cresap not only to his armed party but to all
the neighboring  Indian traders who  were  summoned  on so
important an occasion.  The result was a solemn and formal
declaration  of war on the 26th of April, and that very night
two scalps were brought into the camp.3
Some days prior to this Mr. William  Butler, who seems not
to have heeded the earlier warnings, had sent off a canoe loaded
with goods for the Shawanese towns, and on the 16th of April,
it was attacked, forty miles below Pittsburg, by three Cherokees,
IJacob's Life of Cresap, 54; 4th Series Am. Archives, vol. 1, 468; Gen.
Rogers Clarke's letter in the Appendix No. I to this discourse. Dr. Wheelar's
testimony in Jacob, p. 110.
2The letter in the American Archives referred to above at p. 468, indicates
the date of this letter or message from Connolly to have been on the 21st of.April, 1774. Devereux Smith writes to Dr. Smith from Pittsburgh under date
of 10th June, 1774, as follows: " *   * *  On the 21st of April Connolly wrote
a letter to the inhabitants of Wheeling, telling them that he had been informed
by good authority that the Shawanese were ill-disposed towards white men,
and that he therefore required and commanded them to hold themselves in readiness to repel any insults that might be offered them." See also same vol. of
Am. Arch. p. 287, where Connolly's I"circular letter to the inhabitants on the
Ohio " is spoken of. Jacob says he once possessed it: pp. 53, 54, 110, 113.
3McKee's MS. Journal, London Documents, Albany, N. Y. Am. Arch.,
IVth Series, 1st vol., p. 345.




49
who waylaid it on the river.  They killed one white man,
wounded another, while a third made his escape, and the savages plundered the canoe of the most valuable part of the cargo.
The day after the declaration of war by Cresap and his men,
under the warning authority of Connolly's message, some canoes
of Indians were descried on the river keeping under the cover
of an island to screen themselves from the party's sight.  The
skiffs were immediately chased for fifteen miles down the river,
and driven on shore. A battle ensued, in which an Indian was
taken prisoner, a few were wounded on both sides, and perhaps
one slain.  On examining the canoes they were found to contain a considerable quantity of ammunition and other warlike
stores. 
In the deliberations of the camp on the night after the party's
return, it was determined that a band should march on the following morning about thirty miles up the river in order to attack
the settlement of Logan; but the band had not advanced more
than five miles, when, halting for refreshment, Cresap asserted
the gross impropriety of executing so dastardly an enterprize
against a party composed of men, women and children, and
who were known to cherish no hostile intentions but to be solely
engaged in hunting.  These facts were familiar to the pioneers,
many of whom  had visited the Indian camp during the preceding March, as they descended the Ohio to their original
rendezvous.
Cresap's counsel immediately prevailed, and every man
seemed disgusted with the project which, a short time before, he
had so heedlessly and shamefully cherished.  The party returned to camp in the evening, and speedly took the road to
Red-Stone Old Fort.2
Thus, Cresap and his men were gone; but unfortunately, his
prudent and friendly advice as to the luckless settlement of
Logan was not heeded by others on the river. In May, 1774,
1 See Alex. McKee's MS. Journal, London Documents, Albany, and Article in American Journal of Science for October, 1846, p. 10; and compare with the
letter in Appendix No. 1, to this discourse.
2 See General Clark's letter; Appendix No. 1.




50
and probably on the first day of that month, it was cruelly destroyed by others. 
The Indian camp was about thirty miles above Wheeling,
close to the mouth of Yellow creek, while on the opposite
side of the Ohio, near the river bank, was the cabin  of a
certain  Baker, who sold rum  to the Indians, and of course
received frequent visits from the savages.  This man had been
particularly desired by Cresap to remove his liquors, and
seems to have prepared to take them  away at the time of the
murder.
Towards the close of April, 1774, a certain Michael Myers,a venerable man, who still lived on the Ohio a few miles above
Steubenville, in  February, 1850,-resided on Pigeon creek,
which, according to the maps lies about forty miles from Yellow
creek.  A  day or two before the following events, two landhunters came to Myers's settlement and induced him to accornpany them across the stream and down the banks of this Yellow
creek in order to examine the country. Proceeding along the
western shore of the creek for some miles, the travellers bivouacked for the night, and "hobbled" the only horse they had
with them so as to prevent his straying from the camp. The
animal, nevertheless, rambled off about three hundred yards out
of sight, over a rising ground; and, soon after, hearing the beast's
bell rattle violently, the woodsmen seized their guns and started
to discover the cause.  On reaching the top of the ridge Myers
beheld, near forty yards below, an Indian in the act of loosening
the horse which seemed restive and anxious to break from the
savage, whose gun lay  on  the ground beside him.  Myers,
crouching behind the hillock, instantly levelled his rifle and shot
the Indian without consulting his companions. It was now a
little after sunset, and soon, another Indian, attracted by the
See Gen. Clark's letter, Appendix No. 1.-Benjamin Tomlinson, in his testimony in Jacob's life of Cresap, p. 107, fixes the time on the " third or fourth of
May; but John Sappington's statement in the 4th Appendix to Jefferson's Notes
on Va., p. 52, dates it on the 24th" of May. From an examination of McKee's
MS. Journal, London Documents, Albany; Clark's letter; the Penna. Packet
of 23d May, 1774, and Mr. L. C. Draper's MSS., I am satisfied the massacre occurred on the 1st day of May, and that Sappington's date of the 24th
May, given from memory, after a lapse of twenty-six years, is inaccurate.




51
crack of the weapon, approached rapidly armed with his rifle,
but halted abruptly in astonishment as soon as he beheld his
prostrate fellow.  In the meanwhile Myers had reloaded his
rifle, and before the savage could recover from his surprise, he
too, fell before the forester's fatal aim.  In the distance the
camp of the clan, spread with deer and bear-skins, was visible,
and as prompt succor was at hand, the Americans did not pause
to see whether the Indian's wounds were deadly, but flying
from the spot, recrossed the river for safety, and hastened to the
neighborhood of Baker's cabin.'
The evening or night, before the tragedy which I am  now
about to narrate was committed at this cabin, a squaw came
over to Baker's and aroused the attention of the inmates by her
tears and manifest distress.  For a long time she refused to disclose the cause of her sorrow, but at last, when left alone with
Baker's wife, confessed that the Indians had resolved to kill the
white woman and her family the next day, but, as she loved
her and did not wish to see her slain, she had crossed the
river to divulge the plot so as to enable her friend to escape.
The savages had most probably been roused to revenge by the
unfortunate rencounter of Myers with their slain or wounded
clansmen!
In consequence of this astounding information, and in dread
of the meditated assassination, Baker summoned twenty-one
of his neighbors, who all reached his house before morning,
when it was resolved that the strangers should conceal themselves in a back apartment, whence the assailing Indians might
be watched.  It was also determined that if they  demeaned
themselves peaceably, they  should  not be molested; but if'MS. narrative sent to me by Mr. L. C. Draper who visited Myers in 1850,
and received the account from his lips.  Mr. D. thinks that the narrator
may have confounded in his memory the events of another period; but as Myers
positively asserts that this affair led the hostile parties of Indians to go over next day
to Baker's; as it gives the plausible pretext for the story of the sqeuawe who visited JMrs.
Baker; and as it is the same account that JMyers has constantly told his neighbors, I
am inclined to rely in its accuracy. Mr. Myers has always sustained a good
character; in early times was a Captain, and served as a Justice of the Peace
for many years.-Myers admits that he took part in firing on the Indians who
crossed in canoes on the day of the massacre.




52
hostility was manifested, they should show themselves and act
accordingly. 
Early in the morning a party of seven Indians, composed of
three squaws, with an infant, and four unarmed men, one of
whom was Logan's brother, crossed the river to Baker's cabin,
where all but Logan's brother obtained liquor and became excessively drunk.  No whites, except Baker and two of his
companions, appeared in the cabin.  After some time, Logan's
relative took down a coat and hat belonging to Baker's brotherin-law, and putting them  on, set his arms akimbo, strutted
about the apartment, and at length coming up abruptly to one
of the men, addressed him with the most offensive epithets and
attempted to strike him.2  The white man,-Sappington,3
who was thus assailed by language and gesture, for some time
kept out of his way; but, becoming irritated, seized his gun
and shot the Indian as he was rushing to the door still clad in
the coat and hat.  The men, who during the whole of this
scene had remained hidden, now  poured forth, and, without
parley, mercilessly slaughtered the whole Indian party except
the infant! Before this tragic event occurred, however, two
canoes, one with two and the other with five Indians, all naked,
painted, and completely armed for war, were descried stealing
from  the opposite shore where Logan's camp was situated.
This was considered as confirmation of what the squaw had
said the night before, and was afterwards alleged in justification of the murder of the unarmed party which had first arrived.
No sooner were the unresisting drunkards dead, than the infuriate whites rushed to the river bank and ranging themselves
along the concealing fringe of underwood, prepared to receive
the canoes.  The first that arrived was the one containing two
warriors, who were fired upon and killed. The other canoe
1 Some writers declare that Greathouse visited the Indian camp the night
before the massacre and " decoyed" the savages over to drink on the next day.
McKee's MS. JOURNAL, ut antea. Moravian Journal, Am. Arch. 1, 285.
2See Withers's Border Warfare, p. 113, for Col. Swearingen's testimony as to
the provoking conduct of Logan's brother at Yellow creek, and as to the origin
of this affair.
3See McKee's certificate, in Jefferson, at the end of Sappington's narrative.




53
immediately turned and fled; but, after this, two others containing  eighteen  warriors, painted  and prepared for conflict as
the first had been, started to assail the Americans.  Advancing more cautiously than the former party, they endeavored to
land below Baker's cabin, but being met by the rapid movements
of the rangers before they could effect their purpose, they were put
to flight with the loss of one man, although they returned the
fire of the pioneers.
In this desperate and bloody massacre, which was hastily perpetrated it seems in anticipation of an Indian attack,-an anticipation which was probably confirmed by the opportune appearance of the armed and painted warriors,-there were several
men by the name of Greathouse deeply and fearfllly concerned.
There are persons who charge the whole of the horrid but debateable scene upon these individuals, yet its details are too disgusting to be dwelt on more than is needed in characterizing a
single event of those cruel times. 1 Mr. John Sappington, whose
statement in the IVth Appendix to Jefferson's Notes on Virginia is the clearest, most circumstantial and consistent I have
met, declares that he does not believe "Logan had any relations killed, except a brother; that none of the squaws who
1See and compare: John Sappington's statement in Jefferson's Notes on
Virginia, Appendix No. IV. p. 51; James Chambers's deposition, id.-id., p. 39;
Robinson's at p. 42; Gen. Clark's letter, Appendix No. 1 to this discourse.
Sappington states that he was "intimately acquainted with all the circumstances
respecting the destruction of Logan's family," though he does not admit, iln
his carefully drawn statement, that he was present at the scene of murder.
Tomlinson in his testimony given in Jacob's Life of Cresap, p. 107, alleges
that he believes "Logan's brother was killed by a man named Sappington."
McKee in his certificate appended to Sappington's testimony in Jefferson's
Notes, says that Sappington admitted he was the man who killed Logan's brother. See also the statement written by Mr. Jolly, published in the American
Journal of Science and Art, vol. xxxi, p. 10; and republished in Howe's Ohio
Hist. Coll., 266. See Drake's Book of the Indians.
It is important to recollect that all these statements and depositions positively
prove that Captain Michael Cresap was neither present at nor countenanced the
alleged murder of Logan's kin at the Yellow creek massacre. The fact that
Sappington's statement was published by Mr. Jefferson himself, indicates the confidence he placed in it, especially as he inserts it as a sort of supplement to the
other testimony on the subject which had been printed before its reception.
Logan's mother, brother, and sister, (Gibson's Indian wife or squaw, in all
likelihood,)-were, probably, all of the relatives of Logan killed there.
8




54
were slain was his wife; that two of them  were old women,
while the third, whose infant was spared, was the wife of
General Gibson," who, at that period was an Indian trader,
and subsequently took care of the child as if it had been
his own.
The war soon raged with savage fury.  This act seems to
have roused the Indians to immediate hostility.  A letter from
Arthur St. Clair to Governor Penn, dated at Ligonier, on the
22d of June, states that Logan is returned with one prisoner and
thirteen scalps.l The blood of his kindred cried for vengeance
and he had already trod the  v war-path."
On the 12th of July, as William Robinson, Thomas Hellen
and Coleman Brown, were gathering flax in a field, on the
west fork of the Monongahela, they were surprised by a party
of eight Indians, led by Logan. The savages stole upon them
and fired before they were perceived. Brown fell, pierced by
several balls, but Hellen and Robinson sought safety in flight.
The former of these was too old to avoid capture; yet Robinson,
with the agility of youth, and urged by his love of life and
liberty, would have escaped but for an untoward accident. Believing that he was outstripping his pursuers in the race, he
hastily turned to ascertain the fact, but while glancing over his
shoulder, he ran with such violence against a tree as to be thrown
stunned and powerless on the ground.  The savages at once
secured him with cords, and when reviyed, he was taken back
to the spot where the lifeless and bleeding body of Brown was
laid and where Hellen was already secured. Taking with them
a horse belonging to the latter, the Indians immediately departed
for their towns with the prisoners.
As they approached the Indian camp Logan gave the scalp
halloo, and, immediately, several warriors came forth to meet
them.  The unfortunate captives were now compelled to run
the gauntlet for their lives. Logan had manifested a kindly
feeling to Robinson from  the moment of his seizure, and
previously instructed him as to the way by which he might
reach the Council House of the clan without danger.  But
1 4th Series Am. Archives, vol. 1, p. 475.




55
the decrepit Hellen, ignorant of the place of'refuge, was sadly
beaten before he arrived; and when, at length, he had come
almost within the asylum, he was prostrated with a war club
before he could enter. " After he had fallen, the savages continued to beat him with such unmerciful severity that he would
assuredly have died under their barbarous usage, had not Robinson, at some peril to his own safety for the interference, stretched
forth his hand and dragged him within the sanctuary. When
he recovered from the violent beating he was relieved from the
apprehension of further suffering by adoption into an Indian
family. "
A council was next convoked to decide the fate of Robinson.
Logan assured him  that he should not be sacrificed; but the
council appeared resolved on his death, and accordingly he was
tied to the stake.  His captor, at once, appealed to the warriors
with great vehemence; insisted that Robinson should be spared;
and poured forth a torrent of vehement eloquence, which, nevertheless, did not avail to avert his stern and dreadful doom. At
length, enraged at the pertinacity with which the life of Robinson, his own captive, was refused him, and heedless of consequences, Logan drew  the tomahawk from  his belt, and
cleaving the cords which bound the victim to the stake, hurried him  to the wigwam  of an ancient squaw by whom  he
was at once adopted as a member of her family.  He was
to fill the place of a warrior who had been slain in the Yellow
creek massacre. 
About three days after this occurrence, Logan suddenly
brought to Robinson a piece of paper, and making a black fluid
with water and gunpowder, commanded him  to write a note
which we shall see was soon used in one of the brutal raids of
the detached parties that scoured the country and laid waste
to every scattered or isolated settlement within a day's march of
the Ohio. Men, women, children-and even cattle-were all indiscriminately scalped and butchered. The females were stripped
and shamefully outraged.  The men were slain, and knives,
tomahawks or axes left in the breasts they had cleft asunder.
Withers's Border Warfare, 118, et seq.; Robinson's narrative in Jefferson's
IVth Appendix, p. 41; Howe's Ohio Hist. Coll., p. 267.




The brains of infants were beaten out, and the carcases left a
prey to the beasts of the forest. 
When Judge Innes happened to be at the residence of Colonel
Preston's family, in the fall of 1774, an express was sent to
the Colonel as Lieutenant of the county, requesting a guard of
militia to be ordered out for the protection of the residents on
the lower portions of the north fork of the Holston.  Every
member of the family of a settler named John Roberts,2 had
been cruelly cut off by the savages, and the perpetrator of the
assassination was traced by " the card" which he left as a bloody
memorial of his visit!  A war club was deposited in the house
of the murdered forester, and, attached to it, was the following
note-the identical one which Logan had forced Robinson to
write with his gunpowder ink:
" CAPTAIN CRESAP,
" What did you kill my people on Yellow creek for?  The
white people killed my kin at Conestoga, a great while ago, and
I thought nothing of that.  But you killed my kin again on
Yellow creek, and took my cousin prisoner.  Then I thought I
must kill too; and I have been three times to war since;-but the
Indians are not angry-only myself.
" CAPTAIN JOHN  LOGAN.
"July 21st, 1774."
This is a document savagely circumstantial and circumnstanally savage;-cool, deliberate, and bloody, even to the date,and left as this sentimental Indian's apology,-not as his challenge,-in the desolated dwelling and amid the reeking bodies
he had butchered.  It is the first deliberate charge made by
Logan of the supposed murder of his relatives by Cresap at'Md. Gazette, 30th June, 1774; Hite's account of the murder of Spier's
family on the 3d or 4th of June.-See also same paper of 30th Nov. for letter
from Col. Preston at Fincastle, 28th Sept., describing Indian murders and outrages.
2Among the MS. papers of Col. Wm. Preston in the possession of Mr. L.
C. Draper, there is an original letter from Major Arthur Campbell, dated the
12th October, in which he enclosed the original missive from Logan and appended a copy. This is doubtless the one to which Innes alludes in Jefferson's
Appendix. The correct name was Roberts.




57
Yellow creek, and I must promptly rebuke it by recalling to your
minds all the facts of that occurrence, against which Cresap
had protested to Clark's party, and frtom  the theatre of which
he had drawn off his men and departed.
While these events were transpiring, Michael Cresap had not
only left the Ohio river, but had returned to his wife and interesting family in Maryland. Yet, soon finding his sympathies
were excited for the forlorn inhabitants of the wilderness whom
he had abandoned, and hearing constant reports of Indian
cruelties, he speedily raised a company of volunteers and
marched back to their assistance.  Having reached " Catfish's
Camp," on the spot where Washington, in Pennsylvania, now
stands, his advance was stopped by a peremptory and insulting
letter from  Connolly, in which he was ordered to dismiss his
men.  It was no doubt written by its vile author in order to
commence the systematic plan of charging the Indian difficulties
of 1774 on Michael Cresap.
Ungrateful and offensive as was such a command to a person
of Cresap's peculiar sensibility, he nevertheless obeyed, returned
to his home, and dismissed his men with the determination to
take no part in the Indian war, but to let the commandant at
Pittsburgh fight it out as he best could.  It seems, however,
that the Earl of Dunmore and his lieutenant at Pittsburgh did
not agree as to the value of Michael's services, for, when
Cresap reached his Maryland home he found Lord Dunmore at
his house, where he tarried some days in friendly intercourse or
consultation with the young pioneer; and, notwithstanding his
residence in Maryland, the British nobleman saw fit to send
him forthwith a commission as Captain in the militia of Hampshire county, Virginia. This appointment, dated on the 10th
of June, reached Cresap opportunely, and, carrying with it, as
an unsolicited favor, a tacit expression of the Earl's approbation
of his conduct, he resolved to accept it, especially as he was
constantly appealed to by letters from his old companions beyond
the mountains to hasten to their succor. 
Jacob's life of Cresap, 56, 63, 65.




58
As soon as he raised his standard crowds flocked to it, and,
indeed, so great was his popularity as a leader, that his own
command overflowed with men and enabled him to fill up completely the company of his nephew, and partly also the company
of Hancock Lee.'  His forces were then united under the
command of Major Angus McDonald, who had been, meanwhile, organizing the western people on the Youghiogeny and
Monongahela for their own defence.
A campaign was also planned for the invasion of the Indian
country west of the Ohio. "~ Orders were immediately sent to
Colonel Andrew Lewis, of Botetourt county, to raise with all
despatch, four regiments of militia and volunteers from the
south-western counties, to rendezvous at Camp Union, in Greenbrier county. This was to be the southern division of the
invading army, of which Lewis, a veteran of the French
war, was made commander.  He was ordered to march down
the Great Kenhawa to the bank of the Ohio, and there to join
the Earl in person. In the meantime Lord Dunmore was
actively engaged in raising troops in the northern counties west
of the Blue Ridge, to advance from Fort Cumberland by way
of Red-Stone Old Fort, to the Ohio at Pittsburgh, whence he
was to descend in boats to the Kenhawa. Such was the original
plan of the campaign."2
McDonald, agreeably to Dunmore's orders, after a dreary
march through the wilderness, had rendezvoused his four hundred men at Wheeling creek in June, and, from this place, it
was resolved to invade the Indian territory on the head waters
of the Muskingham, and to destroy the Wappatomica towns.
The results of this expedition were not of remarkable value in
the campaign, though the Indian towns were destroyed by the
invaders after the savages had fled. McDonald and his men
were harassed by the foe, and being short of provisions, returned
with despatch to Wheeling.3
All the agricultural operations of the settlers on the river were
of course broken up, and had I time, I would find great pleasure in narrating the campaign of the divisions under Lewis
Jacob's life of Cresap, 57.    2 Monette, vol. 1, p. 374.    3 Id., p. 375.




59
and Dunmore.  But that would require a volume rather than a
discourse.'-I shall content myself therefore with stating, that
the promised junction of Dunmore with Colonel Lewis was
never effected. The earl changed his plan, and descending the
Ohio from  Fort Pitt with a fleet of one hundred canoes and
several large boats to the mouth of the Hockhocking, erected a
stockade which he called Fort Gower, and thence, ascended
the Hockhocking to the Falls near the present town of Athens.
From  that spot he crossed the country westwardly to the Scioto,
and, on its eastern side, on the margin of the Piqua plains,
near Sippo Creek, entrenched himself in a regularly fortified
camp, which, in honor of the British Queen, he named Camp
Charlotte.
On the 10th of October the great and decisive battle of the
campaign was fought by Lewis at " Point Pleasant," at the
mouth  of the Kenhawa, and  it is regarded  by  most historians, as one of the most sanguinary and well fought conflicts
in the annals of Indian warfare in the West.  The Indians,
under the celebrated Cornstalk chieftain, were repulsed with
great slaughter, and fled precipitately across the Ohio to their
towns, sixty miles up the Scioto. In the meantime, Dunmore
had sent detachments from  his head-quarters against different
settlements on the neighboring waters, which were sacked and
burned; and such had been the bloody character of the battle
at Point Pleasant that the chiefs hastened to appeal for peace to
Dunmore, before they could be again assailed by the relentless
Lewis who was advancing in pursuit.  After repeated overtures
The following are the principal original authorities as to the campaigns and
battles during the Dunmore war of 1774: I. Col. Stuart's narrative, in the Virginia Historical Soc. Publications, No. 1. II. Introduction to the Hist. of the
Colony and Ancient Dominion of Va., by C. Campbell. III. Kercheval's
Hist. of the Valley of Va. IV. Doddridge's Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the W. part of Va. and Penna. V. A. S. Withers's Chronicles
of Border Warfare. VI. 4th Series Am. Archives, vol. 1, especially p. 1016,
et seq. VII. Howe's Hist. Coll. of Ohio. VIII. Day's Hist. Coll. of Penna
IX. Howe's Hist. Coll. of Virginia. X. Chas. Whittlesey's Discourse before
the Hist. and Phil. Soc. of Ohio, 1840. XI. Burk's Hist. of Va. XII. Drake's
Book of the Indians, b. 5th, 42 et. seq. XIII. Map of the Ancient Shawanese
towns on the Pickaway Plains, and of Camp Charlotte and Lewis's camp.
Howe's Ohio Hist. Coll., 402.




60
and the destruction of several towns Dunmore consented to an
armistice preparatory to a treaty.  And finally, after the two
divisions had nearly effected a junction the Council fire was
lighted, the Council held, and peace resolved on.
But in the concluding scene of this bloody drama, the
American and Indian chiefs could no where find one of its most
daring and relentless actors,-a man whose name is not signalized any where in open battle in the records or legends of the
time,-who was not in the conflict at Point Pleasant,' -but
whose " war-path" and weapon were only traced along the
bloody trail of private murder. Logan was absent. He was not
satisfied.  He had taken, perhaps, some thirty scalps,2 but the
ghosts of his murdered relatives were scarcely appeased in the
"hunting fields" of the " spirit land."  When the cause of his
absence was demanded, it was replied that he was yet " like a
mad dog; his bristles were up, and were not yet quite fallen;
but the good talk, then going forward, might allay them."  He
said he was " a warrior, not a councillor, and would not come! "' 
The continued withdrawal of Logan unquestionably filled
the mind of Lord Dunmore with concern as to the stability of
any peace which might be made with the Shawanese without
the presence of a man who had shown such alacrity and bloodthirsty resolution in the cruel game of private war.
Accordingly, John Gibson, the alleged father 4 of the Indian
woman's infant rescued at the Yellow  creek massacre, was
despatched by the Earl to seek for Logan.  If, as is probable, the murdered squaw was Logan's sister, no messenger could
have been more appropriately selected.  He found him  some
miles off at a hut with several Indians; and, pretending, in the
Indian fashion, that he had nothing in view, talked and drank
with them until Logan touched his coat stealthily, and, beckoning him out of the house, led him into a solitary thicket, where
sitting down on a log, he burst into tears and uttered some sentences of impassioned eloquence, which Gibson,-immediately
I Draper's MSS.
2 Jolly's statement, American Journal of Art and Science, vol. xxxi, p. 10.
3 Gen. Clark's letter, Appendix 1; Withers's Border Warfare, 136.
4 See Sappington's testimony, Jeff: Appendix No. IV.




61
returning to the British camp-committed to paper.   As soon
as the envoy had reduced the message to writing, it was read
aloud in the council; heard by the soldiers; and proves to be
neither a speech, a message, nor a pledge of peace:-' I appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered Logan's
cabin hungry and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold
and naked and he clothed him not?  During the course of the
last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his camp, an
advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites that my
countrymen pointed as I passed and said:' Logan is the friend
of the white man!'  I had even thought to have lived with
you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the
last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the
relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and children.
There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living
creature.  This called on me for revenge.  I have sought it.
I have killed many.  I have fully glutted my vengeance.  For
my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace; but do not harbor
a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear.
He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to
mourn for Logan?  Not one!"2
Thus the famous "speech of Logan" which has been so
long celebrated as the finest specimen of Indian eloquence,
dwindles into a reported conversation with, or message from, a
cruel and blood-stained savage; excited perhaps when he delivered it as well by the cruelties he had committed as by liquor;
false in its allegations as to Cresap; and, at last, after being
conveyed to a camp about six miles distant,3 in the memory of
an Indian trader, written down, and read by proxy to the council
of Lord Dunmore!  Gibson, it is true, states in his testimony
that he corrected Logan on the spot when he made the charge
against Cresap, for he knew his innocence, but either the Indian
1 MS. letter from my friend James Dunlap of Pittsburgh, and Gibson's testimony in Jeff. Appendix No. 4.
2 See Appendix No. 2, for criticisms and commentaries on this speech and its
history.
3 See map of the Indian towns and British camps on the Pickaway plainsOhio Hist. Coll. p. 403.
9




did not withdraw it or the messenger felt himself compelled to
deliver it as originally framed.  When it was read in camp,
the pioneer soldiers knew it to be false as to Michael Cresap;
but it only produced a laugh in the crowd, which displeased the
Maryland Captain.  George Rogers Clark) who was near, exclaimed, that "he must be a very great man as the Indians
palmed every thing that happened on his shoulders!"  The
Captain smiled and replied that " he had a great inclination to
tomahawk Greathouse for the murder!"2
It is time to drop the curtain on these tragic scenes.  The
Indian fight was over;-peace was made with the savage
Shawanese, but a more heartless war was about to occur with
the christian Briton.
Cresap returned to his favorite Maryland, and spent the latter
part of the autumn of 1774 and succeeding winter, in the repose
of a domestic circle from which he had been so long estranged;
but, in the early spring of 1775, he hired another band of young
men, and repaired again to the Ohio to finish the work he commenced the year before. He did not stop at his old haunts, but
descended to Kentucky, where he made many improvements.
Being ill, however, he left his workmen and departed for his
home over the mountains in order to rest and recover perfectly.
On his way across the Alleghany mountain he was met by a
faithful friend with a message stating that he had been appointed
by the committee of safety at Frederick, a Captain to command
one of the two rifle companies required from Maryland by a
resolution of Congress. Experienced officers, and the very best
men that could be procured, were demanded.
This was in July, 1775, and already on the 1st of August,
in the same year, we find by the following extract from a letter
to a gentleman in Philadelphia, dated at Fredericktown, Maryland, on that day, that the new revolutionary hero was prepared
to take the field.
i See Gibson's testimony in Jefferson's 4th Appendix.
2See Clark's letter, Appendix 1. Clark was then a Captain by commission
from Dunmore, dated May 2d, 1774.




63
Notwithstanding the urgency of my business, I have been
detained three days in this place by an occurrence truly agreeable. I have had the happiness of seeing Captain Michael
Cresap marching at the head of a formidable company of upwards of one hundred and thirty men from the mountains and
backwoods, painted like Indians, armed with tomahawks and
rifles, dressed in hunting shirts and moccasins, and though some
of them had travelled near eight hundred miles from the banks
of the Ohio, they seemed to walk light and easy, and not with
less spirit than at the first hour of their march. Health and
vigor, after what they had undergone, declared them to be intimate with hardship and familiar with danger. Joy and satisfaction were visible in the crowd that met them. Had Lord
North been present, and been assured that the brave leader could
raise thousands of such like to defend his country, what think
you, would not the hatchet and the block have intruded on his
mind?  I had an opportunity of attending the Captain during
his stay in town, and watched the behaviour of his men, and the
manner in which he treated them; for it seems that all who go
out to war under him do not only pay the most willing obedience
to him as their commander, but, in every instance of distress
look up to him as their friend and father. A great part of his
time was spent in listening to and relieving their wants, without
any apparent sense of fatigue and trouble.  When complaints
were before him, he determined with kindness and spirit,
and on every occasion condescended to please without losing his
dignity.
" Yesterday the company were supplied with a small quantity
of powder from the magazine, which wanted airing, and was
not in good order for rifles; in the evening, however, they were
drawn out to show the gentlemen of the town their dexterity at
shooting. A clapboard with a mark the size of a dollar, was
put up; they began to fire off-hand, and the bystanders were
surprised, few shots being made that were not close to or in the
paper.  When they had shot for a time in this way, some lay
on their backs, some on their breast or side, others ran twenty
or thirty steps, and firing, appeared to be equally certain of the
mark. With this performance the company were more than




64
satisfied, when a young man took up the board in his hand, not
by the end but by the side, and holding it up, his brother walked
to the distance and very coolly shot into the white; laying down
his rifle, he took the board and holding it as it was held before,
the second brother shot as the first had done.  By this exercise
I was more astonished than pleased.  But will you believe me
when I tell you that one of the men took tlie board, and placing
it between his legs, stood with his back to a tree while another
drove the centre!
" What would a regular army of considerable strength in the
forests of America do with one thousand of these men, who
want nothing to preserve their health and courage but water
from the spring, with a little parched corn, with what they may
easily procure in hunting; and who, wrapped in their blankets,
in the damp of night, would choose the shade of a tree for their
covering and the earth for their bed."'
With this first company of riflemen, although in bad health,
Captain Cresap proceeded to Boston, and joined the American
army under the command of General Washington. Admonished,
however, by continued illness, and feeling perhaps some dread
forebodings of his fate, he endeavored again to reach his home
among the mountains, but finding himself too sick to proceed he stopped in New  York, where he died of fever on the
18th of October, 1775, at the early age of 33. On the following day his remains, attended by a vast concourse of people,
were buried with military honors in Trinity church-yard.  Let
us deepen and not deface the meritorious inscription on his
humble and forgotten grave! 2
It is needless to speculate upon what such a man might have
become had he been spared during the war.  Some of those
who engaged in it as subordinates to him retired at its conclu-'American Archives, vol. 3, p. 2, transferred from the Pennsylvania Gazette
of Aug. 16, 1775.
2Compare Jacob's Life of Cresap, p. 98, and The Maryland Journal of
Wednesday, Nov. 1, 1775. In the latter there is a letter from N. York, dated
the 26th of October, giving an account of his death and burial.




65
sion with high commissions granted for services which no hardy
warrior of the Revolution was more capable of yielding to the
cause of his country than Michael Cresap.'
Let us turn once more for a moment to the Indian who has
pursued the fame of our Marylander like a blighting shadow.
We left him,-confessedly fond of the " fire-water," in his conversations with the Missionary Heckwelder, and tippling before he
became eloquent with Gibson. His last years were melancholy
indeed.  He wandered fiom tribe to tribe, a solitary and lonely
man.  Dejected by the loss of friends and decay of his people, he resorted constantly to the stimulus of strong drink to
drown his sorrow.
On the 25th of July, 1775, Captain James Wood having
been sent with a single companion to invite the western Indians
to a treaty at Fort Pitt, encountered Logan and several other
Mingoes who had lately been prisoners at that post.  He found
them all deeply intoxicated and inquisitive as to his designs.
To his appeal the savages made no definite reply, but represented the tribes as very angry. The wayfarers bivouacked
near the Indian town, and about ten o'clock at night one of the
savages stole into the camp and stamped upon the sleeper's
head.  Starting to his feet and arousing his companion, Wood
and the interpreter found several Indians around them armed
with knives and tomahawks.  For a while the Americans seem
to have pacified the red men, but as a friendly squaw apprized
them that the savages meditated their death, they stole away
for concealment in the recesses of the forest.  When they
returned again to the Indian town after daylight, Logan repeated
the foul story of the murder of his " mother, sister, and all his
relations" by the people of Virginia. By turns he wept and
sang.  Then he dwelt and gloated over the revenge he had
taken for his wrongs; and finally, he told Wood that several of
his fellows, who had long been prisoners at Fort Pitt, desired to
kill the American messengers, and demanded if the forester was
afraid?  I"No!" replied Wood, "we are but two lone men,'McSherry's Hist. of Maryland, p. 186, and Jacob's Life, &c.




66
sent to deliver the message we have given to the tribes.  We
are in your power; we have no means of defence, and you may
kill us if you think proper!"  "Then," exclaimed Logan,
apparently confounded by their coolness and courage, "you
shall not be hurt! "-nor were they, for the ambassadors departed
unmolested to visit the Wyandotte towns. 
We next hear of Logan in the autumn of 1778, when the
famous Pioneer, SIMON KENTON, who was taken prisoner by
the savages, spent two nights with his captors and Logan on the
head waters of the Scioto.
"Well, young man," said Logan addressing Kenton, the
night of his arrival, " these chaps seem very mad with you.""Yes," replied Kenton, " they appear so-"  "But don't be
disheartened," interrupted Logan, "I am a great chief; you
are to go to Sandusky; they talk of burning you there; but I
will send two runners to-morrow to speak good for you!"  And
so he did, for on the morrow, having detained the hostile party,
he despatched the promised envoys to Sandusky, though he
made no report to Kenton of their success when they returned at
nightfall.  The runners, by Logan's orders, interceded with
Captain Druyer, an influential British Indian-agent at Sandusky, who with great difficulty ransomed the prisoner and saved
him from the brutal sacrifice of the stake. 2
In the fall of 1779, Logan appears again to have cast aside
his humanity, and is found at his old haunts on the Holston,
engaged in the savage employment of scalping, or at least, of
taking prisoners.   And, in June, 1780, when Captain Bird, of
Detroit, with a large body of British regulars, Canadians and
Indians, invaded Kentucky, captured Ruddell's and Martin's
Stations, and carried off a large number of prisoners, Logan
was one of the bloody and wanton marauders.4
1 L. C. Draper's MSS. Journal of Captain James Wood. Jacob's Cresap,
85. IVth Am. Archives, vol. 3, p. 77. Mrs. W. C. Rives's Tales and
Souvenirs, preface and p. 146.
2 Draper's MSS. McDonald's memoir of Kenton; McClung's Sketches of
Western Adventure.
3 MS. letter in Mr. Draper's collection.
4 American Pioneer, 1 vol. p. 359.




67
Our Indian hero must now have been well nigh fifty-five
years of age,l and it may be supposed that so restless and fitful
a life of fiery impetuosity and artificial stimulus, was drawing
near a close from natural causes.  But his chequered career of
crime, passion, and bastard humanity, with all its finer features
obliterated by the habitual use of intoxicating drinks, was doomed
to end tragically.
It was not long after the inroad of Bird's British myrmidons
and Indian allies in 1780, that Logan, at an Indian'council
held at Detroit, became wildly drunk, and, in the midst of
delirious passion, prostrated his wife by a sudden blow.  She
fell before him  apparently dead.  In a moment, the horrid
deed partly sobered the savage, who, thinking he had killed her,
fled precipitately lest the stern Indian penalty of blood for blood
might befall him at the hand of some relative of the murdered
woman.  While travelling alone, and still confused by liquor
and the fear of vengeance, he was suddenly overtaken in the
wilderness between Detroit and Sandusky, by a troop of Indians
with their squaws and children, in the midst of whom he recognized his nephew  or cousin  Tod-kah-dohs.  Bewildered
as he was, he imagined that the lawful avenger pursued him in
the form of his relative,-for the Indian rule permits a relation
to perform the retributive act of revenge for murder,-and rashly
bursting forth in frantic passion, he exclaimed that the whole
party should fall beneath his weapons. Tod-kah-dohs, seeing
their danger, and observing that Logan was well armed, told
his companions that their only safety was in getting the advantage of the desperate man by prompt action.  But Logan was
quite as alert as his adversary;-yet, whilst leaping from  his
horse to execute his dreadful threat, Tod-kah-dohs levelled a shot
gun within a few feet of the savage and killed him on the spot!2
Draper's MSS.
2Tod-kah-dohs or The Searcher, originally from Conestoga, and probably a
son of Logan's sister residing there, died, about 1844, at the Cold Spring on
the Alleghany Seneca Reservation, nearly 100 years old. He was better known
as Captain Logan, and was either a nephew or cousin of the celebrated Indian.
He left children, two of whom have been seen by Mr. Draper; so that, in spite
of Logan's speech, some of his "blood " still "runs " in human veins, 77 years




68
When Mr. Jefferson wrote his Notes on Virginia in the years
1781 and 1782, he was anxious to disprove the theory of Buffon,
Raynal and others, that animal nature,-whether in man or
beast, native or adoptive, physical or moral,-degenerated in
America.  Whilst treating  of the  Aborigines, he  desired to
present a specimen of their intellectual powers, and, finding in
a pocket book a memorandum, made in the year 1774, of the
alleged " speech"  of Logan, as taken  down by him  at that
time from  the lips of some one whom  he did not recollect, he
inserted it in his notes, accompanied by a slender narrative of
the events that called it forth.   He spoke of Cresap as " a man
infamous for the many murders he had committed on those much
injured people," and charged the cold blooded murder of Logan's
family upon the Marylander and his allies. In a future edition
he modified but did not entirely withdraw this charge,2 yet careless writers and historians, down to the present day, have continued to regard the Indian's remembered message as a genuine
speech solemnly delivered in council, and reiterate its assertions
as to the innocent Cresap! Poetry, even, has dwelt sweetly on
after the Yellow creek tragedy. The substance of this narrative was given me
in MS. by Mr. Lyman C. Draper, who received it from Dah-gan-on-do or
Captain Decker, as it was related to him by Tod-kah-dohs, who killed Logan.
"Decker," says Mr. Draper, "was a venerable Seneca Indian, and the best
Indian Chronicler I have met with. His narratives are generally sustained by
other evidence, and never seem confused or improbable."-Logan's wife, who
was a Shawanese, and had no children by him, did not die in consequence of
her husband's blow, but recovered and returned to her people.-Compare
Heckwelder's account, in Jefferson's Appendix. A different version of Logan's
death is given, also, in Howe's Ohio Hist. Coll., p. 409, upon the authority
of " Good Hunter," an aged Mingo, who is said to have been his familiar acquaintance. In this account he is represented to have been sitting before a camp
fire near Detroit in Michigan, with his blanket drawn over his head, his elbows
resting on his knees and his head upon his hands, buried perhaps in liquor or
profound meditation, when an Indian, whom he had offended, stole behind him
and buried a tomahawk in his brains!-See also, Vigne's Six Months in
America, Philadelphia, edition 1833, p. 30, for another alleged version of his
death from the hand of the same relative. Capt. Decker-Dah-gan-on-do-has
lived all his eventful life of over one hundred years on the Alleghany, and
knew Logan personally.-DRAPER MSS.'Jeff. Notes on Va., Appendix IV, p. 30.
2Jeff. Notes on Va., Appendix IV. Stone's Life of Brant, vol. 1, p. 39.




69
the theme.  Logan seens to have been the original whence
Campbell derived the fine conception of his Outalissi,' and he
las paraphrased in rhyme the passionate outburst:2'Gainst Brant himself I went to battle forth:"Accursed Brant! he left of all my tribe
" Nor man, nor child, nor thing of living birth!
"No!-not the dog that watched my household hearth
"Escaped that night of death upon our plains!
"All perished-I, alone, am left on earth!
"To whom nor relative, nor blood remains,"NO! not a kindred drop that runs in human veins!"
Mr. Jefferson's illustration  obtained greater fame and currency than he expected.  It has become incorporated with our
English literature. Indian error and obstinacy converted this
Maryland man  into a brutal monster; but I have striven to
restore him to his original and meritorious manhood. Imagination transformedLthe-savagt ento-aTOrmatic-myth; yet it has been
my task not only to reduce this myth  to a man, but to paint
him  degraded by cruelties and intemperance even beneath the
scale of an aboriginal birth-right. Indian instincts, rekindled
by wrongs and the flame of the " fire-water," blighted a nature
which at its dawn promised a noble and generous career.  In
his intercourse with white men LOGAN  lost nothing but the
virtues of a savage, while unfortunately he gained from civilization naught but its destructive vices.
IGraham's Hist. U. S., 4th vol., p. 341.
2Stone's Life of Brant, 2, p. 525; Gertrude of Wyoming, Part III, stanza
xvii. In his notes Campbell repeats the old Logan and Cresap story, as
usual; but, in later editions of his work retracts his errors against Brant.
Brant's son, when in London, pointed out to the poet the slanders and injustice
of his stanzas;-nevertheless he left them to posterity in the text of his poem
though he qualified them in the notes. "The name of Brant, therefore," says
Campbell, "remains in my poem, a pure and declared character of fiction." Yet,
a thousand persons read the poem while one only will peruse the antidote in
the notes!-The fame of that dishonored Indian will descend to posterity with
the taint of crime imputed by the poet, as the name of Cresap is disgraced
from age to age by a mendacious morsel of Indian eloquence!
10




APPENDIX No. I.
GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK'S LETTER,
I must express my hearty thanks to my friend Mr. Lyman C. Draper for
his kindness in sending to me valuable memoranda and extracts from papers
which he has collected during many years of labor in gathering the materials
for his history of the Western Pioneers. These documents have been cheerfully furnished me in the true spirit of a liberal man, who, as a historian, is
anxious to ascertain or at least to approach the truth. In the marginal notes of
my Discourse I have freely quoted from and credited these manuscript sources.
I shall now present a copy of General George Rogers Clark's Letter, upon
which Mr. Draper relies with great confidence as disclosing an accurate account
of Cresap's conduct on the Ohio in 1774; but, before I offer it for the reader's
consideration, I feel bound to mention that it appears to have been drawn forth
in 1798, by a letter from the late Dr, Samuel Brown, (a fiiend of Mr. Jefferson,)
of Lexington, Kentucky, who was for many years a distinguished professor in
Transylvania University.
In 1839, the late Leonard Bliss, Jr., addressed to the Editor of the Louisville
Literary News Letter the following note:"'To the Editor of the Louisville Literary 3'evs Letter:
"Among the papers of Gen. George Rogers Clark, now in my possession,
I have met with the following letter of his, detailing the circumstances connected
with the murder of Logan's family, which induced the Mingo Chief, in his celebrated speech to Lord Dunmore, to charge the atrocity upon Captain Cresap,
and also showing clearly, that Cresap was innocent of the crime alleged, and,
so far from being the monster of cruelty represented by Mr. Jefferson, and by
subsequent writers who have followed his authority, that he was a prudent and
humane man, and'an advocate of peace.' The error appears to have originated in a mistake with Logan, and to have been adopted by Mr. Jefferson, in
his version of the story, from the Speech. The high authority of the'Notes
on Virginia,' and the fame of Logan's Speech, have immortalized the memory of
Cresap; but it has thus far been an'immortality of infamy,'-how ill-deserved,
the following letter will show.  And as the descendants of Cresap are still
numerous in the United States, I beg you to publish it, with this note, in thll




71
Literary News Letter,' both as an act of justice to them, and to correct anl
historical error. The letter, of which this is a literal copy, is found in a LetterBook of Gen. Clark, in his own hand-writing; and is, probably, the original
draft.  General Clark, at the date of the letter, resided il Louisville or its
immediate vicinity.
"Very respectfully,
"Your obedient servant,
"LEONARD  BLISS, JR."
"LOUISVILLE COL.EGE, Jan. 10, 1839."
When this letter appeared accompanied by Clark's, some doubt was expressed as to the authenticity of the latter, which, though asserted to have been
found in Clark's hand-writing in his letter book, was not addressed to any one.
Some time since many of the original MSS. and papers of Gen. Clark came
into the possession of Mr. Draper, and among them he found the following
from Dr. S. Brown, dated on the 15th of May, 1798; and in all likelihood the
reply of the General was given to it on the 17th of June in the same year. The
references in both letters to Mr. Thruston, prove that Clark's is an answer to
Browt v's:
Dn. S.AMIEL BROWN's LETTER.
"LEXINGTON, JM:ay 15th, 1798.
" DEAR SIR:
"At the request of our mutual friend, Mr. Jefferson, I enclose you a letter
of Mr. Luther Martin on the subject of the murder of Logan's family, together
with a vindication of the account of that transaction as related in the Notes on
Virginia. I am sorry that it has not been possible to procure, in this place,
the Baltimore paper which contains Mr. Martin's first publication on this question. The charges there exhibited against Mr. Jefferson are much more specific
and more virulent than they appear to be in the letter now forwarded to you.
It is possible, however, that the whole of the correspondence may have come
to your hands by some other route.  At all events, I presume Mr. Jefferson's
answer will sufficiently apprise you of the nature of the dispute, and bring to
your recollection such facts and circumstances as will tend to elucidate the
doubtful and obscure parts of that interesting story.
"I remember to have had some conversation with you respecting the affair
when at your house, and although the variety and important nature of the
events which your conversations suggested, have in some degree effaced from
my memory that distinct recollection of this particular event which I ought to
have, before I should attempt to communicate your account of it to Mr. Jefferson, yet still I am pretty certain that as you related the story, any mistakes
that have crept into the Notes on Virginia are not attributable to Mr. Jefferson,
but to Logan himself, or to those by whom his speech was originally published.
I think you informed me that you were with Cresap at the time Logan's
family was murdered, that Cresap was not the author of that massacre; that
Logan actually delivered the speech as reported in the Notes on Virginia.




72
The Memoirs you have written of your own adventures, probably contain a
full statement of the circumstances which gave rise to the dispute. A transcript
from those Memoirs, or a statement of the business by you from memory,
would be highly satisfactory to Mr. Jefferson and all his friends, and I am sure
would be decisive evidence in the mind of every man of candor and liberality.
" I feel, and I am confident you must feel, sensibly hurt at a charge which can,
in any degree, disturb the repose, or sully the reputation of that truly great
and excellent man. I know you respect and esteem  him, and I am  really
happy in assuring you that his respect and regard for you are equally cordial
and sincere: of this, his last letter to me contains the most ample assurances.
For myself, sensible that I have little which could entitle me to your friendship,
I shall endeavor by my willingness to serve you, to convince you that I am
truly thankful for those attentions I have received from you. And I shall consider myself singularly fortunate, if in any respect, I can be the means of rendering you and Mr. Jefferson mutually useful to each other. To your country
you both have already been, and have it always in your power to be singularly
useful.
"Mr. Thruston will do me the favor of carrying this letter, and I hope you
will find leisure to prepare an account of Logan's speech before his return. I
could wish to transmit it to Philadelphia before Congress rises, as it is possible
the conveyance to Monticello will not be so safe.
" Do me the favor of presenting my most respectful compliments to the family,
and be assured that I am,
"With sentiments of real respect,
"Yr. mo. obt.,
"SAM. BROWN."
GENL. GEORGE R. CLARK,
Jefferson County, Ky.
GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK'S LETTER.
"June:17,'98.
"DEAR SIR:
"Your letter of last month, honored by Mr. Thruston, was handed me by
that gentleman. The matter contained in it and in the enclosed papers was new
to me. I felt hurt that Mr. Jefferson should be attacked with so much virulence
on account of an error, of which I know he was not the author. Except a few
mistakes in names of persons, places, etc., the story of Logan, as related by
Mr. Jefferson is substantially true. I was of the first and last of the active officers who bore the weight of that war; and on perusing some old papers of that
date, I find some memoirs. But independent of them, I have a perfect recollection of every transaction relating to Logan's story. The conduct of Cresap I
am perfectly acquainted with. He was not the author of that murder, but a
family by the name of Greathouse;-though some transactions that happened
under the command of Captain Cresap, a few days previous to the murder of
Logan's family, gave him sufficient ground to suppose that it was Cresap that
had done the injury.




73
"To enable you fully to understand the subject of your inquiries, I shall
relate the incidents that gave rise to Logan's suspicion; and will enable Mr.
Jefferson to do justice to himself and the Cresap family, by being made fully
acquainted with the facts.'"This country was explored in 1773. A resolution was formed to make a
settlement the spring following, and the mouth of the Little Kenaway appointed
the place of general rendezvous, in order to descend the river from thence in a
body. Early in the spring the Indians had done some mischief. Reports from
their towns were alarming, which deterred many. About eighty or ninety men
only met at the appointed rendezvous, where we lay some days.
"A small party of hunters, that lay about ten miles below us, were fired upon
by the Indians, whom the hunters beat back, and returned to camp. This and
many other circumstances led us to believe, that the Indians were determined
on war. The whole party was enrolled, and determined to execute their project of forming a settlement in Kentucky, as we had every necessary store that
could be thought of. An Indian town called the Horsehead Bottom, on the
Scioto and near its mouth, lay nearly in our way. The determination was to
cross the country and surprise it. Who was to command? was the question.
There were but few among us that had experience in Indian warfare, and they
were such that we did not choose to be commanded by. We knew of Captain
Cresap being on the river about fifteen miles above us, with some hands, settling
a plantation; and that he had concluded to follow us to Kentucky as soon as he
had fixed there his people. We also knew that he had been experienced in a
former war. He was proposed; and it was unanimously agreed to send for
him to command the party. Messengers were despatched, and in half an hour
returned with Cresap. He had heard of our resolution by some of his hunters,
that had fallen in with ours, and had set out to come to us.
"We now thought our army, as we called it, complete, and the destruction
of the Indians sure. A council was called, and, to our astonishment, our intended commander-in-chief was the person that dissuaded us from the enterprize. He said that appearances were very suspicious, but there was no certainty of a war. That if we made the attempt proposed, he had no doubt of
our success, but a war would, at any rate, be the result, and that we should be
blamed for it; and perhaps justly. But if we were determined to proceed, he
would lay aside all considerations, send to his camp for his people, and share
our fortunes.  He was then asked what he would advise.  His answer was,
that we should return to Wheeling, as a convenient post, to hear what was
going forward. That a few weeks would determine. As it was early in the
spring, if we found the Indians were not disposed for war, we should have
full time to return, and make our establishment in Kentucky.  This was
adopted; and in two hours the whole were under way. As we ascended the
river, we met Killbuck, an Indian chief, with a small party.  We had a long
conference with him, but received little satisfaction as to the disposition of the
Indians. It was observed that Cresap did not come to this conference, but kept
on the opposite side of the river. He said that he was afraid to trust himself
with the Indians. That Killbuck had frequently attempted to way-lay his
father, to kill him. That if he crossed the river, perhaps his fortitude might
fail him, and that he might put Killbuck to death. On our arrival at Wheeling
(the country being pretty well settled thereabouts,) the whole of the inhabitants




74
appeared to be alarmed.  They flocked to our camp from every direction; and
all that we could say could not keep them from under our wings. We offered
to cover their neighborhood with our scouts, until further information, if they
would return to their plantations; but nothing would prevail.  By this time we
had got to be a formidable party.  All the hunters, men without families, etc.,
in that quarter, had joined our party.
"Our arrival at Wheeling was soon known at Pittsburgh.  The whole of that
country at that time, being under the jurisdiction of Virginia, Dr. Connolly had
been appointed by Dunmore Captain Commandant of the District, which was
called Waugusta.i He, learning of us, sent a message addressed to the party,
letting us know that a war was to be apprehended; and requesting that we would
keep our position for a few days; as messages had been sent to the Indians, and a
few days would determine the doubt. The answer he got, was, that we had no
inclination to quit our quarters for some time. That during our stay we should
be careful that the enemy should not harass the neighborhood that we lay in. But
before this answer could reach Pittsburgh, he sent a second express, addressed
to Captain Cresap, as the most influential man amongst us; informing him that
the messages had returned from  the Indians, that war was inevitable, and beging him to use his influence with the party, to get them to cover the country by
scouts until the inhabitants could fortify themselves. The reception of this letter was the epoch of open hostilities with the Indians. A new post was planted, a council was called, and the letter read by Cresap, all the Indian traders
being summoned on so important an occasion.  Action was had, and war
declared in the most solemn manner; and the same evening two scalps were
brought into camp.
"The next day some canoes of Indians were discovered on the river, keeping
the advantage of an island to cover themselves from our view. They were chased
fifteen miles down the river, and driven ashore. A battle ensued; a few were
wounded on both sides; one Indian only taken prisoner.  On examining their
canoes, we found a considerable quantity of ammunition and otherwar-like stores.
On our return to camp, a resolution was adopted, to march the next day, and
attack Logan's camp on the Ohio about thirty miles above us. We did march
about five miles, and then halted to take some refreshment.  Here the impropriety of executing the projected enterprize was argued. The conversation was
brought forward by Cresap himself. It was generally agreed that those Indians
had no hostile intentions-as they were hunting, and their party was composed
of men, women, and children, with all their stuff with them. This we knew;
as I myself and others present had been in their camp about four weeks past,
on our descending the river from Pittsburgh. In short, every person seemed
to detest the resolution we had set out with. We returned in the evening,
decamped, and took the road to Red-Stone.
" It was two days after this that Logan's family were killed. And from the
manner in which it was done, it was viewed as a horrid murder. From Logan's
hearing of Cresap being at the head of this party on the river, it is no wonder
that he supposed he had a hand in the destruction of his family.
"Since the reception of your letter, I have procured the' Notes on Virginia.'
They are now before me. The act was more barbarous than there related by
1 West Augusta.-L. C. D.




75
Mr. Jefferson.  Those Indians used to visit, and to return visits, with the
neighboring whites, on the opposite side of the river. They were on a visit to
a family of the name of Greathouse, at the time they were murdered by them
and their associates.
"The war now raged in all its savage fury until the fall, when a treaty of
peace was held at Camp Charlotte, within four miles of Chillicothe, the Indian
capital of the Ohio. Logan did not appear. I was acquainted with him, and
wished to know the reason. The answer was'that he was like a mad dog:
his bristles had been up, and were not yet quite fallen; but the good talk now
going forward might allay them.' Logan's Speech to Dunmore now came
forward, as related by Mr. Jefferson. It was thought to be clever; though the
army knew it to be wrong as to Cresap. But it only produced a laugh in camp:
I saw it displeased Captain Cresap, and told him,' that he must be a very great
man; that the Indians palmed every thing that happened on his shoulders.'
He smiled and said'that he had an inclination to tomahawk Greathouse for
the murder.'
"What I have related is fact. I was intimate with Cresap. Logan I was
better acquainted with, at that time, than with any other Indian in the western
country. I was perfectly acquainted with the conduct of both parties. Logan
was the author of the Speech, as altered by Mr. Jefferson; and Cresap's conduct
was as I have here related it.
"I am yours, &c.
"G. R. CLARK."
This correspondence shows that Mr. Jefferson was annoyed by the bitter
strictures that were made by the Hon. Luther Martin who had married Captain
Mlichael Cresap's daughter, and which were called forth in vindication of his
father-in-law, by the original version of the Captain's conduct in 1744, as given
on page 91 of the edition of the Notes on Virginia, published by Mathew
Carey at Philadelphia, in 1794. About this time Mr. Jefferson was probably
preparing his vindication from designed wrong to the dead, as will appear by
the dates of Mr. Martin's communication to FENNELL on the 29th of March,
1797, and Jefferson's letters to JOHN GIBSON in February, 1798, and in March,
1800, (republished in the Olden Time Magazine for February, 1847,) and of
the Appendix No. IV, together with the affidavits comprised in it as published
in a later edition of his Notes on Virginia. General Clark's letter, was probably never received by the distinguished gentleman for whom it was designed or
he would unquestionably have appended it to the documents in that edition.
I may properly add here that I have a MS. copy of an affidavit of John
Caldwell, who resided near Wheeling in 1774, (also from among Mr. Draper's
papers,) which fully exonerates Cresap from all participation in the murder of
Logan's family. In this affidavit Caldwell states that many years before, he
had given one to the same effect to a person whom he understood to be an agent
or as acting under the direction of Mr. Jefferson; but as this is not contained
in the IVth Appendix to the Notes, it is probable that, like Clark's letter, it
never reached Mr. Jefferson's hands.




APPENDIX No. II1
LOGAN'S SPEECH.
I have thought that it-would be, at least, an entertaining and curious literary
criticism, if I grouped together in an appendix the evidence that has been adduced both for and against Logan's message or speech, and, at the same time,
presented, side by side, such exact copies of this document, as I have been
enabled to discover from the earliest dates. Importance was given to the article, as we have already seen by the illustrative use made of it by Mr. Jefferson,
as well as by its intrinsic merit. That he gave it to the world as he received it
in 1774, and noted it in his memorandum book, no one can doubt; and if any
sceptics still remain as to his sincerity, they may be referred to the IVth Appendix in his Notes on Virginia, for a vindication so far as the speech is concerned and the evidence -was detailed at the epoch of his writing.
I shall place the most important pieces of evidence, pro and con, side by side:
FOR THE SPEECH,                      AGAINST THE SPEECH.
The first piece of testimony in favor
of the message from  Logan, comes
from JOHN GIBSON, and was sworn to
and subscribed by him before J, Barker, at Pittsburgh, Pa., on the 4th of
April, 1800, twenty-six years after the
event occurred:
*    *    5   5    *    *
I. "This deponent further saith         1. See an argument on this subject
that in the year 1774, he accompanied    written by the HON. LUTHER MARLord Dunmore  on the expedition    TIN, son-in-law of Capt. Michael Creagainst the Shawanese and other In-    sap, and formerly  a distinguished
dians on the Scioto; that on their ar-   counsellor at law and Attorney Genrival withinfifteen miles of the towns    eral of the State  of Maryland, in
they were met by a flag and a white    which he attempts to impugn this
man by the name of Elliot, who in-    speech. It is dated the 29th March,
formed Lord Dunmore that the chiefs    1797; and is addressed to Mr. James
of the Shawanese had sent to request    Fennell, who, in his public readings
his lordship to halt his army and send    as an elocutionist, had given force
ins some person who understood their   and currency to the Logan speech,




77
language; that this deponent, at the      This letter republished in the Olden
request of Lord Dunmore, and the whole    Time Magazine, vol. 2, p. 51, drew
of the officers with him, went in; that    forth the evidence and reply, or vinon his arrival at the towns, Logan,    dication, contained in Mr. Jefferson's
the Indian, came to where this depo-    IVth Appendix to which so many
nent was sitting with the Corn-stalk,    references have been  made in the
and the other chiefs of the Shawanese,    course of this discourse.
and asked him to walk out with him;
that they went into a copse of wood
when they sat down, when Logan,
after shedding abundance of tears,
delivered to him  the speech, nearly
as related by Mr. Jefferson in his
Notes on the State of Virginia; that
he the deponent, told him then that it
woas not Colonel CRESAP who had murdered his relatives, and although his
son, Captain Michael Cresap, was
with the party who had killed a Shawanese chief and other Indians, yet he
was not present when HIS RELATIVES
were killed at Baker's, near the mouth
of Yellow creek, on the Ohio;-that
this deponent, on his return to camp,
delivered the speech to Lord Dunmore; and that the murders perpetrated as above were considered as ultimately the cause of the war of 1774,
commonly called CRESAP' WAR.
Signed       JOHN GIBSON,
II. GENL. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK           II. WITHERS in his Chronicles of
says, in his letter of the 17th June,    BorderWarfare,page136, says,"1798, (ut antea,) twenty-four years of-   two interpreters were sent to Logan
ter the event, that when the treaty was    by Lord Dunmore, requesting  his
holding at Camp Charlotte, within    attendance; but Logan replied, that
four (?) miles of Chillicothe, the In-    "he was a warrior, not a counsellor,
dian capital of Ohio, Logan did not    and would not come!' "
appear. " I was acquainted with him,      In a note on this passage, Mr.
and wished to know the reason. The    Withers adds:-"COLONEL BENJAanswer was:'that he was like a mad    MIN WILSON, SENR.," then an officer
dog: his bristles had been up, and    in Dunmore's army, says "that he
were not yet quite fallen; but the good    conversed freely with one of the intertalk now going forward might allay    preters (Nicholson) in regard to the
them.' Logan's speech to Dunmore, as    mission to Logan, and that neither
related by Mr. Jefferson, now camefor-   from  the interpreter, nor from  any
ward.  It was thought clever; though    other one during the campaign, did he
the army knew it to be wrong as to Cre-    hear of the charge preferred in Losap. But it only produced a laugh in    gan's speech against Capt. Cresap as
11




78
the camp. I saw it displeased Capt.   being engaged in the affair at Yellow
Cresap, and told him,'that he must   creek. Capt. Cresap was an officer
be a very great man; that the Indians    in the division under Lord Dunmore;
had palmed every thing that happened    and it would seem strange, indeed, if
on his shoulders.' He smiled, and    Logan's speech had been made public
said that he'had an inclination to    at Camp Charlotte, and neither he
tomahawk Greathouse for the mur-   (who was so naturally interested in
der."'                                it, and could at once have proven the
falsehood of the allegation it contained,) nor Colonel Wilson, (who was
present during the whole conference
between Lord Dunmore and the Indian chiefs, and at the time when the
speeches were delivered, sat immediately behind and close to Dunmore,)
should have heard nothing of it until
years after " (!)
lII. My learned and valued friend      III. Mr. NEVILLE B. CRAIG, in the
JAnMES DUNLAP, Counsellor at Law,    2d vol. of his "Olden Time" Magain Pittsburgh, writes me, under date of   zinc, page 54, published at Pittsburgh
April 25th, 1851, as follows:         in 1847,-when discussing the au-'"I am well informed that Colonel   thenticity of the speech, says: "-we
Gibson, who was an uncle of Chief   will state, that many years ago, Mr.
Justice Gibson, has frequently re-   James McKee, the brother of Alex.
peated here the story of Logan's de-   McKee, the deputy of Sir William
livering the speech to him. He used    Johnson, stated to us distinctly, that
to say that at the treaty Lord Dun-    he had seen the speech in the hand-writing
more was about to hold with  the    of one of the Johnsons, whether Sir
Shawanese, he was uneasy at the ab-   William  or his successor, Guy, we
sence of so distinguished a chieftain    do not recollect, BEFORE IT WAS SEEN
as Logan, and being indisposed to    BY LOGAN!"
proceed without his presence, sent       The reader will also find arguments
Col. Gibson for him; that Col. Gibson    byMR. CRAIG against the authenticity
found him  some miles off at a hut    of the speech in this 2d vol. of the
with several other Indians; that pre-    Olden Time Magazine, at pages 49
tending in the Indian way, that he    and 475.
had nothing in view, he walked about,
talked, and drank with them  until
Logan pulled him quietly by the coat,
and calling him out, took him some
distance into a solitary thicket, where,
sitting down on a log, the Indian
burst into tears and broke out in the
impassioned language which glows so
eloquently in the speech.  Gibson
said that he returned at once to his
friends and wrote down the language of
Logan immediately, and delivered it
to Lord Dunmore in Council.




79
IV. The message or speech was          IV. JACOB  in his life of Cresap,
circulated freely at Williamsburgh    gives the testimony of Mr. BENJAimmediately after Dunmore's return    MIN TOMLINSON, on page 106 of his
from  his campaign in the winter of   work. This testimony was prepared
1774, and was published then in the    in Cumberland, Md., April 17, 1797,
Virginia Gazette on the 4th February,   twenty-three years after the occurrence
1775, and in New York on the 16th    of the events.
Feb., 1775, as will be seen hereafter.   The testimony is given by question
and answer:"Question 6th: Was Logan at the
treaty held by Dunmore with the Indians at Camp Charlotte, on Scioto?
did he make a speech, and, if not,
who made it for him?
".answer: To this question I answer-Logan was not at the treaty.
Perhaps Cornstalk, the chief of the
Shawanese nation, mentioned among
other grievances, the Indians killed
on Yellow creek; but I believe neither
Cresap nor any other person, were
named as the perpetrators; and I perfectly recollect that I was that day
officer of the guard, and stood near
Dunmore's person, that consequently
I saw and heard all that passed;that, also, two or three days before the
treaty, when I was on the out-guard,
Simon Girty, who was passing by,
stopped with me and conversed;-he
said he was going after Logan, but
he did not like the business, for he
was a surly fellow;-he, however,
proceeded on, and I saw him return
on the day of the treaty, and Logan
was not with him; at this time a circle was formed and the treaty begun;
I saw John Gibson, on Girty's arrival, get up and go out of the circle
and talk with Girty, after which he
(Gibson) went into a tent, and soon
V. WILLIAM  MCKEE testifies in    after returning into the circle, drew
the IVth Appendix  to Jefferson's   out of his pocket a piece of clean
Notes on Va., p. 42, that being in    new paper, on which was written in
the camp on the evening of the treaty    his own hand-writing-a speech for
made by Dunmore with the Indians,   and in the name of Logan. This I
he heard "repeated conversations con-   heard read three times, once by Gibcerning an extraordinary speech made    son, and twice by Dunmore the purat the treaty, or sent there by a chief-   port of which was that he, Logan,




80
tain of the Indians named Logan,    was the white man's friend, that on
and heard several attempts at a rehearsal    his journey to Pittsburgh to brighten
of it," &c. &c. See also Andrew    this friendship, or on his return thence,
Rodgers's certificate as to these facts    all his friends were killed at Yellow
in the same Appendix, p. 44.            creek; that now when he died, who
should bury him, for the blood of
Logan was running in no creatures'
veins; but neither was the name of
C'resap, or the name of any other person
mentioned in this speech.' But I recollect to see Dunmore put this speech
among the other treaty papers."
From these parallel statements it will be seen that the chief evidence against
the authenticity of the speech or message as detailed by John Gibson, is given
by Col. Wilson and by Mr. Tomlinson, who was a citizen of our State, residing in Alleghany county, and admitted to be a person of the most respectable character for truth and intelligence. Testimony to this effect is adduced
from high sources, and published in the 2d vol. of the Olden Time Magazine,
page 476.
A sketch of Col. John Gibson will be found in T. J. Rogers's American
Biographical Dictionary, 4th edition, Philadelphia, 1829. He has always been
regarded as an honest and truthful person. He enjoyed the confidence of
Washington who, in 1781 entrusted him with the command of the Western
Military Department.  In 1782, when Gen. Irvine had succeeded him, Col.
Gibson was entrusted with the command during the General's absence, which
continued for several months.  Jefferson, Madison and Harrison respected
him.  He was a Major General of Militia, Secretary of Indian Territory
under the administration of Jefferson and Madison; member of the Pennsylvania Convention in 1778; and an Associate Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas of Alleghany Co., Pa. Chief Justice Gibson and General George Gibson,
sons of Col. George Gibson who was mortally wounded at St. Clair's defeat,
are his well known and esteemed nephews.
It will be observed that Mr. Tomlinson does not allege that Gibson did not
go to Logan's village. He makes no statement in regard to him, until he saw
him  in the camp with Girty. And yet, it may have been perfectly consistent
with the facts as they occurred that Gibson visited the Indian villages without
Mr. Tomlinson being aware of his absence. Nothing was more likely to occur,
I should think, in a frontier camp. It is very possible that Girty may have
accompanied Gibson, as both had, many years before been Indian captives and
were well acquainted with the Shawanese and Mingoes. Gibson says, according'to Mr. Dunlap's statement, that Logan's message was not reduced to writing
until his return to camp; and if Girty accompanied him, nothing was so probable as that they should unite and resort to a tent to commit it to paper. It is
impossible for a man to know all that is going on in a camp. General Clark's
letter seems to prove, conclusively, that Cresap's name was in the message
when read in the camp, for he jeered him  with his asserted importance in
i This would make it correspond with the AbbW Robin's copy which follows.




81
originating the war, whereupon Cresap broke forth in bitter invective against
Greathouse;-and, moreover, it is evident that Logan had previously charged
Cresap with the murder, as will be seen by reference to the note addressed to
" Captain Cresap," which the Indian left in the house of Roberts, whose family
he had murdered in 1774.
I think it may be fairly deduced from the preceding statements, that John
Gibson, in his interview with Logan, heard from him an outburst of passionate
sorrow, the purport of which he subsequently reduced to writing after his return to
the British camp from the Indian villages, —  distance of about six miles.1 When
he reached camp, in all likelihood, he detailed the conversation with Logan to
Lord Dunmore; and the Earl and the Indian trader, who were both anxious to
make Logan participate in the treaty in some manner, committed the remembered language of the savage to paper, and caused it to be read forthwith to the
army as a speech or message from Logan. The reader will not fail to remark,
that intrinsically, it does not pretend in its language to be a.Message, a Speech or a
pledge for the future; and, when critically examined, is nothing more than a savage
expostulation or apology for cruelties committed by a man of strong feelings, but in
which not a single note of personal grief or of submission is mingled!
In all the versions of this paper which I am about to present, there is no
consent by Logan to the peace, except in the copy given by the Abbe Robin; and
if Dunmore wanted Logan's adhesion to the treaty, that speech would most
probably have satisfied him. The French copy it will be observed, does not contain the name of Cresap!
SIX VERSIONS OF THE SPEECH.
I have diligently sought for the different copies of this celebrated document,
which are known to exist in our country, and the following six are the fruits of
my researches. The first is taken from a work which I found in the Baltimore
Library Company's collection. It is entitled: ".Nouveau Voyage dans L'.lmerique
septentrionale, en l'-.nnie 1781; et Campagne de l'J.rmee de JM. le Comte de Rochambeau, par JM. I'abbe Robin."  The abbe was a chaplain in the army of our
French auxiliaries:
I.                                       II.
ORIGINAL FRENCH OF THE ABBE RO-    TRANSLATION, PUBLISHED AT PHILABIN, PUBLISHED IN PHILADELPHIA           DELPHIA IN 1783.
AND PARIS IN 1782.                       " The Spaniards have  been  re"On a reproche aux Espagnols    proached for exercising cruelties upon
leurs cruautes contre ceux des pays    the inhabitants of the countries they
dont ils se sont empares: il paroit    conquered; but it appears that requ'on auroit aussi des reproches de ce    proaches of this kind are no less well
genre a faire aux Colonies Angloises.    founded against the English.   An
Ce discours que m'a communique un    Indian speech that was given me by a
1 See Howe's Ohio Hist. collections, p. 402, for a MAr OF THE ANCIENT SIHAWANESE TOWNS
ON THE PICKAWAY PLAINS, made by P. N. White, and containing the sites of Logan's cabin,
Camp Charlotte (Dunmore's) and the position of Lewis's division when halted by the Earl
This map shows that the distance between Logan's cabin and Dunmore's head-quarters was
fully six miles,




professeur de Williamsburgh, dont    professor at Willianmsburgh, a transvoici la traduction, en est un monu-    lation of which is subjoined is a proof
ment. II montre, en mnme    temps,    of this.  It discovers, at the same
avec quelle male energie ces sauvages    time, the bold and masculine energy
savent s'exprimer:                      these savages are taught by nature to
express themselves:
"DISCOURS PRONONCE PAR LE SAU-' SPEECH PRONOUNCED BY THE SAVAGE
VAGE LONAN, DANS UNE ASSEMBLEE          LONAN, IN A GENERAL ASSEMBLY
GENERALE, ENVOYE A M. le Gou-           AS IT WAS SENT TO THE GOVERNOR
VERNEUR DE VIRGINIE, LE 11 NET'         OF VIRGINIA, ANNO 1754:j
1754:
"LONAN ne s'opposera jamais a           i" LONAN will no longer oppose
faire la paix qu'on propose avec les    making the proposed peace with the
Hommes blancs. Vous savez qu'il    white man-you are sensible that he
ne connut jamais la crainte, et qu'il    never knew  what fear is-that he
n'a jamais fui dans les combats. Per-    never turned his back in the day of
sonne n'aime plus que moi les Hom-    battle-no one has more love for the
mes blancs. La guerre que nous ve-    white man than I have. The war
nons d'avoir avec eux, a ete longue    we have had with them has been long
et cruelle des deux cotes.  Des ruis-    and bloody on both sides-rivers of
seaux de sang ont coule de toutes    blood have run on all parts, and yet
parts, sans qu'il en soit rssulte aucun    no good has resulted therefrom to any.
bien pour personne. Je le repete,    I once more repeat it-let us be at
faisons la paix avec ces hommes;    peace with these men; I will forget our
j'oublie leurs injures, l'interet de mon    injuries, the interest of our country
pays l'exige: j'oublie encore que, na-    demands it-I will forget, but difficult
guere, le Major -, fit massacrer    indeed is the task-yes, I will forget,
impitoyablement, dans unbateau, ma    Major Rogers cruelly and inhumanly
femme, mes enfens, mon pere, ma    murdered in their canoes, my wife, my
mere, et tous mes parens.  L'on    children, myfather, my mother, and all
m'excita a la vengence-je fus cruel    my kindred. This roused me to deeds
malgre moi. Je mourrai content si    of vengeance-I was cruel in despight
ma patrie est en paix: mais quand    of myself-I will die content if my
Lonan ne sera plus, qui est-ce qui    country is once more at peace: but
versera pour lui une larme?" 2         when Lonan shall be no more who
alas! will not drop a tear for him. "
The speech translated from the Abbe Robin's work is tolerably well rendered
into English by the translator at Philadelphia in 1783, though it is not as accurate or elegant as it might be. The main facts however, are faithfully given,
and we cannot doubt that it is the speech or message usually attributed to
Logan, though it is assigned to Lonan, and that the date of 1754 for 1774 was a
1 Ce mot signifie apparament le mois Lu-  l New Travels, &c., p. 67. Barton's Medinaire ou Solaire.                       cal and Physical Journal, vol. 2, p. 148. See
2Nouveau voyage, &c., p. 147.         the latter for a full critical commentary on
this speech, and for a promise to disclose
who Major Rogers was in a future number of
his journal-a promise which unfortunately
was never fulfilled!




83
misprint or an inaccuracy either of the Professor at Williamsburgh, or of the
Abbe in translating the original into French. The date, in the French copy of
"1 1.Net," is probably also a misprint for 11th November, inasmuch as the
treaty having been made by Dunmore near the close of October, 1774, this copy of
the speech may very probably have been committed to writing early in the following November. The general cast of thought in the speeches reported by Jefferson and the Abbd is the same; but they differ in force, elegance and eloquence.
The essential points however, to which I desire to call the reader's attention
are: that in the French edition the massacre is attributed, not to Cresap, but to
a " Major -;" in the English translation the blank is filled by the name of
"Major Rogers;" and finally that Logan or Lonan asserts this blood thirsty
commander murdered his wife, his children, his father, his mother, and all his
kindred, IN THEIR CANOE!
Now, it will be recollected that Shikellamy, his father, died at Shamokin in
1749; so that he could not have been killed at Yellow creek in 1774; and,
moreover, that Mr. Jefferson, in his notes on Virginia, (edition of 1794) says
that " Col. Cresap, a man'infamous for the many murders he had committed
on these much injured people, collected a party and proceded down the Kenhawa
in quest of vengeance. Unfortunately A CANOE of women and children with one
man only, was seen coming from the opposite shore, unarmed and unsuspecting
a hostile attack from the whites. Cresap and his party concealed themselves
on the bank of the river, and the moment the canoe reached the shore, singled
out their objects, and, at one fire, killed every person in it. This happened to be
the family of Logan who had long been distinguished as a friend of the whites."
Here the story of the murder in canoes, and of the whole of Logan's family
was repeated, and the geography of the scene is ascribed to the Kenhawa.
This upon examination was found by Mr. Jefferson to be inaccurate, and in
the edition of the Notes on Virginia, which he retained by him until his death,
and in the IVth Appendix to more recent editions than that of 1794, he caused
the paragraph above cited to be substituted by the following:
"Capt. Michael Cresap and a certain Daniel Greathouse, leading on these
parties, surprized at different times, travelling and huntingparties of the Indians,
having their women and children with them, and murdered many. Among
these were unfortunately the family of Logan, a chief celebrated in peace and in
war, and long distinguished as the friend of the whites."
This is certainly a mitigation of the charge against Capt. Cresap, but it
leaves altogether indefinite the fact as to whether Greathouse and Cresap conjointly directed these parties, or which of the two murdered Logan's relatives.
It relieves Cresap, however, altogether from the charge of murdering the Logan
family in canoes, on the Kenhawa, a fact which seems to have been current at
Williamsburgh, Va., when the Abbe Robin was there and received the speech
of Lonan from the Williamsburgh professor!
It will be well for the reader to compare the speeches line by line as given by
Mr. Jefferson and by the Abbe. The resemblances and the variances cannot
fail to attract his critical notice.
I This copy,-if we admit the date to be the 11th November, 1774, as we
have stated it to have been most probably,-is the eldest member of thisfamily of
sveeches I have been able to discover in tracing its pedigree. No manuscript
copy of the time, has, to my knowledge, ever been found.




84
III.                                      IV
My friend Mr. Thomas H, Ellis,            From the IVth Series of American
of Richmond, Virginia, has kindly         Archives, vol. 1, p. 1020, I extract
sent me the following authentic copy    the following:
of the message of Logan, extracted          ".New  York, February 16, 1775,
from  the  "Virginia  Gazette, No.    Extract of a letter fiom  Virginia:'I
1226."                                    make no doubt but the following specimen of Indian Eloquence and mis"WILLIAMISBURGH, February 4, 1775.   taken valour will please you; but
"The following is said to be a mes-    must make allowance for the unskillsage from  Captain Logan (an Indian    fulness of the Interpreter:
warrior) to Gov. Dunmore, after the
battle in which Col. Charles Lewis    " The speech of'LOGAN-a S HAWAwas slain, delivered at the treaty:           NESE Chief-to Lord Dunmore:
"I appeal to any white man to say         "I appeal to any white man to say
that he ever entered Logan's cabin    if ever he entered Logan's cabin hunbut I gave him  meat; that he ever    gry and I gave him not meat, if ever
came naked but I clothed him.  In    he came cold or naked and I gave him
the icourse of the last war Logan re-    not clothing.  During the course of the
mained in his cabin an advocate for    last long and bloody war Logan repeace.  I had such an affection for    mained in his tent an advocate for
the white people that I was pointed    peace; nay, such was my love for the
at by the rest of my nation. I should      whites, that those of my own country
have ever lived with them, had it not    pointed at me as they passed by, and
been for Colonel Cressop, lwho last   said,'Logan is the friend  of white
year, cut off in cold blood, all the re-    men!' I had even thought to live
lations of Logan not sparing women    with you, but for the injuries of one
and children.  There runs not a drop      man.  Colonel Cresap, the last spring,
of my blood in the veins of any hu-    in cool blood and unprovoked cut off
man creature. This called upon me    all the relations of Logan not even
for revenge; I have sought it, I have    sparing  my women  and  children.
killed many, and fully glutted my    There runs not a drop of miy blood
revenge.  I am  glad that there is a    in the veins of any human creature.
prospect of peace on account of my    This called on me for revenge. I have
nation; but I beg you will not enter-    sought it-I have killed many-I have
tain a thought that any thing I have    fully glutted my vengeance.  For my
said proceeds from fear!  Logan dis-    country I rejoice at the beams of peace;
dains the thought! He will not turn    but do not harbour the thought that mine
on his heel to save his life! Who is   is the joy offear. Logan never feltfear.
there to mourn for Logan?.... No         He will not turn on his heel to save
one."                                     his life.  Who is there to mourn for
Logan? N/ot one."
1 He is here, in this message delivered in October, 1774, called Colonel Cressop, both title
and name being inaccurately given. In the note left by Logan in the house in Virginia whose
inhabitants he had murdered, dated 12th July, 1744, he styles him Captain Cresap. Thus he
evidently knew his proper title anterior to the message in October, in which he miscalls himThat the title, if introduced at all, was assigned by Logan is unquestionable, for Gibson says
so in his preceding testimony.




85
The comparison of these two copies is not a little singular; the one published
on the 4th Feb., 1775, at Willianmsburgh, Va., and the other only fourteen days
after, in New York, on the 16th of the same month in the same year.
The Virginia announcement states it to be only a "message" which was
"said to have been " sent by Captain Logan, (who was known to be a Mingo,)
to Lord Dunmore.  The New York copy, during the transit from Virginia, is
magnified into a SPEECH, and dignifies the orator as a "SHAWANESE CHIEF!"
Nor has the language of the document deteriorated by its travel northward.
The Indian abruptness and directness has been softened by the journey, and
the reader will particularly note the variances which we have endeavored to
Ioint out by causing the chief passages to be printed in italics.
The next member of this eloquent lineage blooms in mature perfection, in
the pages of Mr. Jefferson's Notes on Virginia; and, with its translation into
French, in the year 1788, I shall close my analysis of the genealogy.
Mr. Jefferson says in his IVth Ap-      Extract from  " Recherches historipendix: "I  -    - the speech itself"    ques et Politiques sur les Etats-Unis
was "so fine a morsel of eloquence    de l'Amerique Septentrionale," 1788,
that it became the theme of every con-    4th vol. p. 154.
versation, in Williamsburgh, particalarly, and generally indeed, wheresoever any of the officers resided or
resorted.  I learned it in Williamsburgh; I believe at Lord Dunmore's,
and I find in my pocket book of that
year, (1774,) an entry of the narrative as taken from the mouth of some
person, whose name, however, is not
noted, nor recollected, precisely in the
words stated in the.Notes on Virginia:
V.                                      VI.
"I appeal to any white man to say        "Y-a-t'il un honmme blanc qui
if ever he entered Logan's cabin hun-    puisse dire qu'il soitjamais entre ayant
gry, and he gave him  not meat; if   faim dans la cabane de Logan, et a
ever he came cold and naked, and he    qui Logan n'ait pas donne a manger,
clothed him not.  During the course    et que Logan n'ait pas revetu! Durant
of the last long and bloody war, Lo-    le cours de la derniere longue et sanggan remained idle in his cabin, an ad-   lante guerre, Logan est reste oisif
vocate for peace.-Such was my love    dans sa cabane, exhortant sans cesse
for the whites that my countrymen    ses compatriotes a la paix.  Telle etoit
pointed as they passed, and said:-    son amitie pour les blancs, que ses'Logan is the friend of white men.'   frires, le montrant au doigt en pasI had even thought to have lived with    sant, disoient:'Logan est l'ami des
you, but for the injuries of one man.    blancs.' II vouloit mnme   aller vivre
Colonel Cresap,1 the last spring, in    auumilieudevous,avantqu'unhomme,
i Cresap happened to be only a Captain; but the translated Robin edition makes the felon a
Major, while Mr. Jefferson's elevates him into a Colonel, though Logan lad called him simply
Captain in his bloody missive of the lIst July, 17741
12




86
cold blood, and unprovoked, mur-   le Colonel Cresap, au printems derdered all the relations of Logan, not    nier, de sang froid et sans provocation,
sparing even my women and children.    eit assassind tous les parens de LoThere runs not a drop of my blood    gan, sans epargner meme les femmes
in the veins of any living creature.    et les enfens. I1 ne coule plus mainThis called on me for revenge.  I    tenant aucune goutte de mon sang
have sought it: I have killed many:    dans aucune creature vivante.  J'ai
I have fully glutted my vengeance.    voulu me venger; J'ai combattu: j'ai
For my country, I rejoice  at the    tue beaucoup de blancs. J'ai assouvi
beams of peace; but do not harbor a    ma vengeance. Je me rejouis pour
thought that mine is the joy of fear.    mon pays des approches de la paix;
Logan never felt fear.  He will not    mais gardez vous de penser jamais
turn on his heel to save his life. Who    que cette joie soit celle de la crainte.
is there to mourn for Logan?-Not    Logan n'a jamais connu la crainte:
one.'                                    II ne tor'nera jamais ses pieds pour
sauver sa vie. QOui reste-t'il nmaintenant pourt pleurer Logan? Personne.'
The slight variations in the translation are noted by italics,! Jcf. Notes oil Va, Ed. 1794, p 91.




ERtRAriu.  -Page 8, eighth line from  top, for his of read of his.








CATALOGUE
or
AT THE
PICTURE G ALLERY
OF THE
FOURTH  EXHIBITION,
1853.
BALTIMORE:
JOHN D. TOY,. PRINTER,
Corner of Market and St. Paul Streets.




President.
J. SPEAR SMITH.
JOHN P. KENNEDY, VICE-PRESIDENT.
J. MORRISON  HARRIS, COR. SEC.
S. F. STREETER, REC. SEC.
J. HANAN, TREASURER.
WM. HAMILTON, LIBRARIAN.
Committee on the Gallery.
J. H. B. LATROBE.
T. EDMONDSON, JR.
S.W. SMITH.




CATALOGUE  OF PAJ                     I TINIG&
The Pictures marked thus (*) are for sale-for prices apply at the door of the
Gallery.
NO.   SUBJECT.                          PROPRIETOR.             ARTIST,
1 Landscape,                         S. W. Smith.             Harting
52 Portrait of a Boy,                A. J. Miller.         A. J. Miller
3 The Casket of Jewels,               C. J. Eaton.            Schopin
4 The Naughty Boys,                   Cooper.                    Ketz
5 The Toilet,                         Ketz.                      Ketz
6 Portrait of a Young Lady,           A. J. Miller.        A. J. Miller
7 Portrait of David Harris, Esq.      Jos. Sterrett.             Pyne
8 The Farrier from Landseer,          G. S. Oldfield.          Newell
9 The Dauphin, Louis 17th,           John P. Kennedy. Madame Le 
Brun
10 St. Thomas of Villaneueva, giving
alms at the door of his Cathedral, at
Seville,                          S. Wethered.         from Murillo
11 Landscape,*                         J. Pawley.       in the style of}
Breughel S
11   Portrait-Gentleman in his Study,  E. Earle.            Rothermel
12 A Monk at his Devotions,           Weston.                 Backolan
13 The Happy Family,                  Thomas Sully.            T. Sully
14 Louis XV. and his Companions,      C. J. Eaton.             Hogarth
15 A Tale of the Revolution,          Thomas Sully.            T. Sully
16 Anaconda attacking a Horse and his
Rider,                            Earles Gallery. James Ward, R. A.
17 A Nativity,                        Charles Gilmor.    Carlo Maratti
18 Portrait of a Girl,                J. B. Norris.        after Greuze
19 The Broken Pitcher,                S. Owings Hoffman.        Barker
20 A Magdalene, from Titian,           H. S. Taylor.           Scardino
21 Worshipping the Golden Calf,       Mr. Cooper.          after Rubens
22 A Girl Blindfolded,                 Mr. White.
23 Mercury charming Argus to sleep
whilst he steals the Cow Io,      Charles Gilmor,             Both
24 Taming the Shrew,                   John P. Kennedy.      Stephanoff
25 Henri de Laroche Jaquelin,          John P. Kennedy.         Greuze




4                     CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.
NO.             SUBJECT.                PROPRIETOR.              ARTIST.
26 A Subject from Heathen Mythology," J. Pawley.            from Rubens
27 Portrait of Archbishop Hughes,      Mr. Spalding.              Inman
28 Landscape,                          Mr. Elder.
29 Portrait of Alexander McClure,      Jarrett.                    Peale
30 A Monk, an original sketch for his
great picture of St. Anthony, of
Padua, in the Cathedral of Seville, E. M. Greenway.          Murillo
31 Cows,;                              Thos. C. Ruckle.
32 Landscape,                          John C. Brune. after Salvator Rosa
33 Christ disputing with the Doctors."   Thos. C. Ruckle. Thos. C. Ruckle
34 The Finding of Moses,               Mr. Cooper.         Italian School
35 Flower Piece,                       F. Lucas, Jr.           Boschaert
36 Landscape,                          John P. Kennedy,       Jos. Shaw
37 Martyrdom of St. Andrew,            G. W. Brown,  from Carlo Dolce
38 Jacob Wrestling with the Angel.     Dr. J. H. Thomas.
39 The Good Shepherd,                  Thos. C. Ruckle.   from Murillo
40 Bishop Atkinson,                    A. J. Miller.         A. J. Miller
41 Cardinal Richelieu,                 Mr. White.
42 Suonatore di Violino,               J. C. Brune.        from Raphael
43 The Nativity, (Fesche Gallery,)     Henry S. Taylor.           Panini
44 Interior of a Cathedral,            Charles Gilmor.         Van Vliet
45 Landscape,                          O. A. Gill.          G. L. Brown
46 Boors Regaling,                     S. W. Smith.         from Teniers
47 Adam and Eve expelled from Paradise, S. O. Hoffman.        Poelerrberg
48 A  Subject from  the Decameron of
Boccacio,                         F. Sullivan.
49 Misers Receiving Jewelry as Pawns, J. B. Morris.            Detouche
50 Marine,                             Jos. Reynolds.           Stanfield
51 A Lady,                             G. Van Arden.             Newell
52 Landscape,*                         Thos. C. Ruclde.
53 The Misers,                         C. J. Eaton. from Quentin Matsys
54 A Winter Scene,                     Mr. Cooper.              Molanier
55 Moonlight,                          J. W. Barroll.             Barrett
56 Interior of the Studio of Van Ostade, C. J. Eaton.      Herhertstoffen
57 Judith,                              J Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. C. Jacobs
"Then Judith, standing by his bed, said in her heart, O Lord God of
all power, look at this present upon the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. For now is the time to help thy inheritance, and to
execute mine enterprizes, to the destruction of the enemies which have
risen against us.
" Then she came to the pillar of the bed, which was at Holofernes' head,
and took down his falchion from thence, and approached to his bed, and
took hold of the hair of his head and said, Strengthen me, O Lord God
of Israel, this day.
"And she smote twice upon his neck with all her might, and Ehe took
away his head from him."~-Apocrypha, Book of Judith, xiii. 4, 8.




CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS. 
NO.               SUBJECT.                 PROPRIETOR.               ARTIST.
58 Virgin and Child, (after Cignani,)    Henry S. Taylor.               Piani
59 Architectural Ruins, (Fesche Gallery,) Henry S. Taylor.            Panini
60 The Casket of Jewels,                  Ernst Fischer.       Ernst Fischer
61 A Storm Approaching,                   C. J. Eaton.                Ledieu
62 Cattle Piece,                          J. H. McHenry.              Cartier
63 View in Venice,                        Charles Carroll.         Canaletto
64 The Dreadnought Hospital Ship,         Alex. Turnbull.              Knell
65 The Descent from the Cross,            Mr. Elder.           from Vandyke
66 Sacred Heart,                          F. Sullivan.
67 Homer Reciting his Poems,              J.. K ing.
68 Confiance a L'Amour,                   Wm1. Woodville.        Schlesinger
69 The Notte of Corregio-The Holy)
Night, the  adoration  of the    Md. Hist. Soc.          after Corregio
Shepherds, 
"The Notte is celebrated for the striking effect of the light, which, in
accordance with the old legend, proceeds from the new-born babe: the
radiant infant and the mother who holds him, are lost in the splendor,
vwhich has guided the distant shepherds. A maiden on one side, and a
beautiful youth on the other, who serve as a contrast to an old shepherd,
receive the full light which seems to dazzle their eyes; while angels,
hovering above, appear in a softened radiance.  A little further back
Joseph is employed with his ass, and in the back ground are more shepherds with their flocks. Morning  breaks in the horizon, an ethereal light
flows through the whole picture, and leaves only so much of the outline
and substance of the forms apparent as is necessary to enable the eye to
distinguish the objects."
70 Barn Fowls,                            C. J. Eaton.                Huard
71 A Horse and Pigs,                      Earle's Gallery.          Morland
72 Cows.
73 Arabs before their Tent,               J. H. McHenry. Max Schmidt, 
M. S. 1851. 5
74 David and Prophet Nathan,*             Dr. Van Wyck.           Old Palma
75 Titians Bella Donna,                   J. B. Morris.              Nichols
76 A Scene in Venice,
77 Neapolitan Boatman,                    Dr. Van Wyck. Guisseppe Russo
78 Landscape, with Figures and Cattle,  S. Owings Hoffman.          P. Potter
79 A View in Venice,                      Charles Carroll.         Canaletto
80 Landscape,                             O. A. Gill.          G. L. Brown
81 Extracting a Tooth,                    Mr. Weston.
82 Sunset,                                Wm. Woodville.          Andreas
Achenbach.
83 Miser dancing to his Money Bags,   J. B. Morris.                Detouche
84 Rouget de Lisle,                       Pennsylvania Academy Godefroi 
of Fine Arts.        Guffens. 
"Rouget de Lisle was a young officer of Engineers at Strasburo. He
was born at Sous-le-Salnier, in the Puza, a country of reverie and energy,
as mountains commonly are. He relieved the tediousness of a garrisonlife by writing verses and indulging a love of music. He was a frequent
visitor at the house of the Baron de Diedrich, a noble Alsacien of the con



6                  b'^ CATALOGUE  O'F PAINTINGS.
stitutional party, the Mayor of Strasburg. The family loved the yotgn
officer, and gave new inspiration to his heart, in its attachment to m' usi'G
and poetry, and the ladies were in the habit of assisting, by their performances, the early conceptions of his genius. A famine prevailed at
Strasburg in the winter of 1792. The house of Diedrich was rich at the
beginning of the revolution, but had now become poor under the calamities and sacrifices of the time. Its frugal table bad always a hospitable
place for Rouret de Lisle. He was there morning0 and evening as a son
and a brother. One day, when only some slices of ham smoked upon the
table, with a supply of camp bread, Diedrich said to De Lisle, with sad
serenity,'Plenty is not found at our meals. But no matter; enthtlsiaslm
is not wanting at our civic festivals, and our soldiers' hearts are full of
courage, We have one more bottle of Rhenish wine in the cellar. Let us
have it, and we'll drink to liberty and the country. Strasburg will soon
have a patriotic fete and De Lisle must draw from these last drops one of
his hymns, that will carry his own ardent feelings to the soul of the people.' The young ladies applauded the proposal. They brought the wine,
and continued to fill the glasses of Diedrich and the young officer until
the bottle was empty. The night was cold. De Lisle's head and heart
were warm. He found his way to his lodgings, entered his solitary chamber, and sought for inspiration at one moment in the palpitations of his
citizen's heart, and at another by touching, as an artist, the keys of his
instrument, and striking out alternately portions of an air, and giving'
utterance to poetic thoughts. He did not himself know which came first-5
it was impossible for him to separate the poetry from  the music, or the
sentiment from  the words in which it was clothed.  He sang aitogether,
and wrote nothing. In this state of lofty inspiration, he went to sleep
with his head upon the instrument. The chants of the night came upon
himi in the morning like the faint impressions of a dream. He wrote down
the words, made the notes of the music, and ran to Diedrich's. He found
him  in the garden digging winter lettuces.  The wife of the patriot
mayor was not yet up. Diedrich awoke her. They called together some
friends, who were, like themselves, passionately fond of music, and able
to execute the compositions of De Lisle. One of the youngs ladies played,
and Rouget sang. At the first, stanza, the countenances of the company
grew pale;-at the second, tears flowed abundantly, —at the last, a delirium of enthusiasm broke forth. Diedrich, his wife, and the young officer
cast themselves into each other's arms. The hymn of the nation was
found. Alas! it was destined to become a hymn of terror. The unhappy
Diedrich, a few months afterwards, marched to the scaffold at the sound of
the notes first uttered at his hearth from the heart of his friend and the
voice of his wife.
"The new song, executed some days afterwards publicly at Strasburg,
flew from town to town through all the orchestras.  Marseilles adopted it
to be sung at the opening and adjournment of the clubs. Hence it took
the name of the  Iarsellaise Hymnn. The old mother of De Lisle, a loyalist
and a religious person, alarmed at the reverberation of her son's name,
wrote to him-' What is the meaning of this revolutionary hymn, sung'
by hordes of robbers, who pass all over France, with which our name
is mixed up "' De Lisle himself, proscribed as a federalist, heard it re-echo
upon his ears as a threat of war, as he fled among the paths of Jura,' What is this song called?' he inquired of his guide,'The Marseillaise,'
replied the peasant.
" The Marseillaise was the liouid fire of the revolution. It distilled into
the senses and the soul of the people the phrenzy of battle.  Glory and
crime, victory and death, seemed interwoven in its strains. It was the
song of patriotism, but it was the signal of fury. It accompanied warriors to the field and victims to the scaffold."
85 Portrait of Peter Hoffman,                 S. Owings Hoffman.          T. Sully
86 Portrait of Wm. Hoffman,                   Mrs. S. Hoffman    from  Lawrence by T. Sully. 
87 The Holy Family,                           C. J. Eaton.   Sebastian Bourdon
88 Madame de Pompadour,                        J. P. Kennedy.  Francis Boucher
89 Children playing Doctor and sick Child, Ernst Fischer.            Ernst Fischer




CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.                       7
NO.             SUBJECT.               PROPRIETOR.            ARTIST,
90 A subject from the Decameron of
Boccacio,                       F. Sullivan.
91 Marine Piece,                     Charles Gilmor.     Backhuysen
92 Crhche Cassde,                    Geo. B. Coale.     from Greuze
93 A Harvest Scene,                  Jas. W. Barroll.       Ruysdael
94 Hercules and the Hydra,           C. J. Eaton.           Le Blanc
95 A Family of Dogs.                J. B. Morris.         Burckhardt
96 A Gypsey Girl.                    Hugh Gelston.
97 Portrait of O. A. Gill,          O. A. Gill.               Elliott
98 Portrait of a Lady,               Mrs. Hoffman.            Inman
99 Heraclitus.                      C. McCully.
100 Landscape,                       Charles Gilmor.    Salvator Rosa
101 A Scene at an Encampment,        Hugh Gelston. from Wouvermans
102 A Winter Scene,                  Anthony Kennedy.
103 An Interior,                     S. W. Smith.      from Jan Steen
104 Ducks Feeding,                   J. B. Morris.        Burckhardt
105 Somerset House,*                 Wiedenbach.         Wiedenbach
106 Mother and Child,                Wm. P. Preston.
107 Fruit Piece,                     Mr. Warder.         Campadoglio
1071 Portrait of Rubens,             J. C. Brune.        from Rubens
108 Martin Luther at Worms,*         W. B. Canfield.           Jacobs
109 Huss at Constance,"               W. B. Canfield.         Lessing
110 Adoration of the Kings,*         J. Pawley.            Rembrandt
111 Pont Vecchio in Florence,        J. B. Morris.          Burzione
112 The Boar Hunt,                   Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts.         Snyders
113 Cupids with Garlands of Flowers.  J. H. McHenry.
114 The Four Ages,*                  J. M. King.
114L Dead Hare,                      Wm. Warder.              H. Fyt
115 An Inn Yard,                     Charles Gilmor.         Morland
116 A Winter Scene,                  J. K. Spalding.
117 Pheasants,                        C. J. Eaton.             Huard
118 A Lady,                          S. W. Smith.           Reynolds
119 Death on the Pale Horse.         Weston. a copy by Dunlop from }
West. 
120 Portrait of Henry Clay,          Anthony Kennedy.        Harding
121 Landscape,                       S. O. Hoffman.        Houseman
122 Landscape,                       Jos. Reynolds.         Creswick
123 Portrait of Alx. McClure,        Jos. Sterrett.             Peale
124 Portrait of Louis McLane,        Mr. Jarrett.               Peale
125 Vender of Apple Fritters,        G. W. Brown.       Gerard Douw
126 Tivoli,                           Wm. Read.            Hottenroth
127 Landscape,                        J. Pawley.          Van Goyen




8                      CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.
NO.               SUBJECT.                  PROPRIETOR.               ARTIST.
128 Landscape,                            S. Owings Hoffman. from Berghem
129 An Interior,                          Mr. Stickney.
130 Fruit Piece,;                         J. Pawley.
131 A Boy attempting to light a Candle, Mr. Weston.                  Schalken
-132 Marine Piece,                         Alex. Turnbull.            Stanfield
133 The Glass of Wine,                    Dr. Cherry.             from Ostade
134 River Scenery,                        Mr. Stickney.
135 Banditti Robbing a Monastery,          Mr. Cooper.              Rothermel
136 Peasant Girl in a Storm,               Mr. Stickney.
137 The Marriage Supper at Cana,           Md. Hist. Soc.              Powell
"Paul Veronese painted four pictures on this subject, equally celebrated,
of which this is the first and the largest of the four. It comprises one
hundred and twenty figures, the greatest part portraits, of the most
celebrated personages of the age, in which the painter lived. The first
figure on the left is Alphonse D'Avalos, Marquis de Guast, by the side of
him is Eleanor of Austria, and her husband Francis 1st, in a Venetian
Cap. Afterwards, we see Mary, Queen of England, and Sultan Soliman
the second. At the angle of the table, the person in profile and baldheaded, is the Emperor Charles V., bearing the insignia of the order of
the Golden Fleece.
"Paul Veronese is seated in front playing the viol-Titian, the bass,
near himF Tintoret touches the violin, and Bassan the flute.
"This picture was painted for the dining-hall of St. George in Venice,
the conquests of France caused it to be brought to Paris in 1798, where it
was placed in the principal saloon of the Louvre. It has remained there
ever since, the Italian Commissioners empowered to take back the pictures in 1815, having consented to leave this splendid work in France, and
to take in exchange a St. Stephen painted by Charles Lebrun."
138 Portrait of C. Carroll, of Carrollton,  Mr. Jarrett.                 Peale
139 Portrait of Dr. De Butts,              Mr. Jarrett.                  Peale
i40 St. Catharine,:                       Thos. C. Ruckle.   from Raphael
141 Portrait of T. Sully,                 Mr. Jarrett.                   Peale
142 Portrait of Max Godefroy,              Mr. Jarrett.                  Peale
143 Portrait of Col. John E. Howard,    Mr. Jarrett.                     Peale
144 Portrait of Gen. O. H. Williams,    Mr. Jarrett.                     Peale
145 Harvest Scene in Bavaria,              I. C. Canfield.  Bernard Girchner
146 View near Rome,                        Mr. Weston.
147 Head Waters of the Delaware,          Mr. Weston.              Beaumont
148 Villa Architecture,                   H. McKim.
149 The Transfiguration,                  Wim. Read.            from Raphael
150 The Old Mill,                         Dr. Cherry.               Williams
151 Sympathy, from Jalabert,'             Van Arden.               Van Arden
152 Landscape,                            Mr. White.
153 Prayer,                               C. J. Eaton.               Entylain
154 A Woman Holding a Candle,              Mr. Weston.         from Schalken
155 Landscape,                            J. P. Kennedy.            Zucharelli
156 A Monk,                                C. J. Eaton.                Granet
157 A Woman Cleaning a Brass Kettle, H. S. Taylor.               after Netcher




CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.                        9
NO.             SUBJECT.                IROFRIETOR.             ARTIST.
158 The Cat Concert,                   Mr. Stickney.
159 Scene in Wales,'                   J. Pawley.              J. Shaw
160 A Scene in Holland,                Mr. White.
161 A Street in Brussels,              C. J. Eaton.            Garneret
162 The Philosopher,                   J. P. Kennedy.
163 The Blind Fiddler,                 Miss McCann. from Wilkie, by 
Miss McCann 5
164 The Fiddler and Monkey,            C. J. Eaton.    from Van Ostade
165 The Keeper of the Wine Cellar,     C. J. Eaton.    from Van Ostade
166 The Song, "Thou Art Gone,"        T. Parkin Scott.   H. Peters Gray
167 Portrait of Wm. Mayhew,            Wm. Mayhew.           E. Fischer
168 Magdalen,?                        F. Sullivan.    from Carlo Dolci
169 The Rival Lovers,                  Ernst Fischer.     Ernst Fischer
170 Portrait of J. M. Bonaparte,      J. M. Bonaparte.        R. Weir
171 Portrait of a Little Girl,        Mrs. Wilson.        Ernst Fischer
172 View of Antwerp,                  S. W. Smith.                Stork
173 The Astronomer,                   Capt. Grahame.
174 Old Portrait,                     Mr. White.
175 Flower Piece,                     S. W. Smith.         Dan Seghers
176 Hope,                             Wm. Read.
177 Suburban View, Fesche Gallery,   H. S. Taylor,            Unknown
178 Orpheus Playing to the Animals,    Mr. Cooper.
179 Hope,                             Win. Read.  Angelica Kauffman
180 St. Thomas of Aquinas,             S. W. Smith.       Cabrera 1763
181 Landscape,                        S. 0. Hoffman.        Paul Potter
182 The Astrologer,                   S. W. Smith.         Vanderbosch
183 Daniel Webster at Marshfield,     Thos. Cunningham.  A. J. Miller
184 Head of a Girl,                   Capt. Grahame.
185 La Fornarina from Raphael,        S. W. Smith.          M. A. Orsi
186 Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, S. 0. Hoffman.           Holbein
187 The Capitulation of Mantua,       C. J. Eaton.             Steuben
18S "Little Nell,"                    Earle's Gallery.         T. Sully
189 Madonna after Sasso Ferrato,      H. S. Taylor.               Piani
190 Guardian Angel,                   Wethered.           from Murillo
191 Landscape,                        J. K. Spalding.
192 Bishop of Boston,                 J. K. Spalding.
193 Corregio's Magdalen,               J. H. McHenry.
194 The Bust,                          E. Kett.                 E. Kett
195 Landscape,                         Charles Gilmor.        Ruysdael
196 Landscape,                         Charles Gilmor.        Ruysdael
197 Indian shooting a Panther,         A. J. Miller.        A. J. Miller
198 Holy Family,                       J. C. Brune.           Unknown
199 Italian Seaport,                   G. W. Brown. Onofrio Crescenti
200 Sunset,                            G. L. Brown.       G. L. Brown




10                      CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.
NO.               SUBJECT.                  PROPRIETOR.               ARTIST.
201 Landscape, (Bavaria)                  I. E. Canfield.   Bernard Girchen
202 Landscape,                            Mr. White.
203 Children stealing Apples from an
Old Man Sleeping,                  Mr. Lanning.               Lanning
204 Children worrying a Hog,              Mr. Lanning.               Lanning
205 Interior of a Stable,                 Mrs. J. McKim.
206 Full Length Portrait,                  Mr. Spalding.        Geo. Larresse
207 Portrait of Charles, 5th Lord Baltimore, from  the original by Godfrey Kneller,                       Md. Hist. Soc.             T. Sully
208 Portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds,       C. J. Eaton.                 Stuart
209 Interior of an Aviary,                 Mr. Warder.                Boschip
210 Peasant's Singing,                     H. McKim.                Hemskerk
211 Fruit Piece,_                          J. Pawley,
212 Portrait of Louis XIII.                A. Kennedy.              Largilliere
213 Soldiers before a Fountain,            Mr. Stickney.         H. Lecompte
214 Fete Champetre,                        C. J. Eaton.        Henry Sieurac
215 The Young Moor,                       J. H. McHenry.            C. Cretius
216 Landscape,                            Mr. Elder.
217 Landscape,                             J. K. Spalding.
218 A Village Scene,*                      J. Pawley.               Droogsloot
2181 The Holy Family,                      Charles Gilmor.             Albano
219 Peasant's Regaling,                    Dr. Cherry.                 Ostade
220 The Schoolmaster,                      Dr. Cherry.                  Mieris
221 A Man Singing,                         Dr. Cherry.                 Ostade
221  Landscape,                            J. B. Morris.                Robbe
222 Catching Flounders.-                  J. Pawley.            Joshua Shaw
223 The Fortune Teller,                   S. 0. Hoffman.               Dillens
224 The Madonna of St. Sixtes,             Md. Hist. Society.  from Raphael
" Here the Madonna appears as the Queen of the Heavenly host, in a
brilliant glory of countless angel heads, standing on the clcuds, with the
Eternal Son in her arms;  St. ixtus and St. Barbara kneel at the sides.
Both of them seem to connect the picture with the real spectators. A curtain, drawn back, encloses the picture on each side: underneath is a
light parapet, on which two beautiful boy-angels lean. The Madonna is
one of the most wonderful creations of Raphael's pencil: she is at once the
exalted and blessed woman of whom the Saviour was born, and the tender
earthly Virgin, whose pure and humble nature was esteemed worthy of
so great a destiny. There is something scarcely describable in her countenance; it expresses a timid astonishment at the miracle of her own
elevation; and at the same time, the freedom and dignity resulting from
the consciousness of her divine situation. The Child, enthroned in her
arms, rests naturally, but not listlessly, and looks clown upon the world
with a serious expression. Never has the loveliness of childhood been
blended so touchingly, with a deep-felt, solemn consciousness of the holiest
calling, as in the features and countenance of this Child. The eye is with
difficulty disenchanted from the deep impressions produced by these two
figures; so as to rest upon the grandeur and dignity of the Pope, the
lowly devotion of St. Barbara, and the cheerful innocence of the two angel
children.




CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.                         1I
This is a rare example of a picture of Raphael's later time, executed
entirely by his own hand. No design, no study of the subject, for the
g'uidance of a scholar, no old engraving, after such a study, has ever come
to light. The execution, itself, evidently shows that the picture was
painted without any such preparation. Proofs are not wanting, even of
alterations in the original design. The two angels, in the lower part, are
very evidently a later addition by the master's hand. According to Vasari, Raphael painted this picture for the principal altar of St. Sixtus, at
Piacenza-at least, it was there in his time, and was only removed to
Dresden in the last century. It has been supposed, with great probability,
that it had been intended for a procession picture. WAe can easily conceive the elevating impression that this glorified appearance must have
produced as it was borne slowly along over the heads of adoring multitudes, accompanied by the lights, the incense and the sacred songs of the
different orders."
NO.              SUBJECT.                PROPRIETOR.               ARTIST.
225 Ballad Singers,                     C. J. Eaton.            Boulanger
226 Girl Mending a Net,                 Wm. Woodville.         Hildebrand
227 Flowers,                            Win. Gilmor.              Seghers
228 Prayer,                             S. W. Smith.                Hauff
229 The Guardian Angel in the Cathedral, at Seville,                   E. M. Greenway.    from Murillo
230 From Correggion's Danae,            M. Hist. Soc. copy by A. J. Miller
231 Head of a Girl,                     H. McKim.             from Greuze
232 Interior of a Kitchen               J. C. Brune.         Dutch School
233 Soldiers before a Tent,              H. McKim.                  Dillens
234 Sir Walter Raleigh, and Queen
Elizabeth,  Mr. Bujac.
235 The Assumption of the Virgin,        Charles Gilmor.
236 Head of Francavilla,                J. C. Brune.
237 The Plate of Eggs,                  S. W. Smith.             Inncherie
238 Portrait of a Girl,                 H. Newell.                 Newell
239 Coast Scene,                        J. K. Spalding.          Unknown
240 Sheep,                              G. B. Coale.            Omeganck
241 Madonna and Child,                   S. W. Smith.          G. H. Rizzi
242 Fete Champetre,                      C. J. Eaton.             Godefroi
243 Fisherman,                          Charles Gilmor.
244 The Larder,                          G. S. Old field.       H. Newell
245 Still Life,                         C. J. Eaton.               H. Fyt
246 The Good Shepherd,                  S. Wethered.          from Murillo
247 The Revellers,                      S. W. Smith.              Breydell
248 The Miser Surprised,                 John P. Kennedy.   L. Detouche
249 Mont Blanc, by Sunset,              J. H. McHenry.           Biermaun
250 Portrait of a Lady,                  G. S. Oldfield.     Ernst Fischer
251    "' Boy,                       C. Getz.               H. Newell
252    "    " Girl,                      C. Getz.               H. Newell
253 Self-Admiration,                     Hugh Gelston.
254 Charity,                             G. M. King.
255 Holy Family,                         J. K. Spalding.




12                     CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.
No.              SUBJECT.                PROPRIETOR.               ARTIST,
256 An Interior,                        J. K. Spalding.
257 Portrait of Wm. Gwynn, Esq.         Baltimore Bar Library.  McCann
258 Cattle,                             S. W. Smith.               Klomp
259 Italian Peasant Worshipping at his
Shrine,                           Dr. Van Wyck. Guisseppe Russo
260 Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, C. J. Eaton.                D. Vries
261 A Swiss Scene with Chamois,          J. B. Morris.          Burckhardt
262 Head of a Girl,                      C. J. Eaton.             Pallaggo
263 A Girl Looking Out of a Window,  J. C. Brune.               Miss Peale
264 Hagar and Ishmael,                   Wmn. Read.
265 Abraham Offering his Son Isaac,    Wim. Read.
266 Gypsies,                             C. J. Eaton.           Boulanger
267 Cupids with Garlands of Flowers,  J. H. McHenrv.
268 Portrait of a Lady,                  Dr. Cherry.            H. Newell
269     6                                A. J. Miller.         A. J. Miller
270...                                             H. Newell
271 Joseph and Potiphar's Wife,          Md. Hist. Soc.      from Cignani
S MALL ROOM.
NO.            SUBJECT.                     PROPRIETOR.            ARTIST.
272 Philosopher in his Study,            Dr.T. H. Buckler. Chinese Painting
273 Portrait of a Chinese Lady,          Dr. T. H. Buckler.  "       "
274 Girl with Garlands of Flowers,X      A. George.            Van Lerius
275 An Altar Piece,                      J. K. Spalding.
276 Morning, (Sculpture,)                Wim. Read.
277 Holy Family, Do.                     Wm. Read.
278 Portraits of Two Children,           T. Sully.                T. Sully
279 Nature, (Sculpture,)                 Hugh Gelston. from Sir Thomas?
Lawrence.  f
280 Art,       Do.                      Hugh Gelston. from Sir Joshua
Reynolds.
281 Landscape,                           A J.                        Miller. A.J. Miller
282 Nymphs  Clipping  the  Wings of
Cupid.                             S.W. Smith.
283 Head of a Girl,                      Mrs. S. Hoffman.
284 Cleopatra,                           J. H. McHenry,




GATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.                     13
NO.             SUBJECT.              PROPRIETOR.            ARTIST.
285 The Crucifixion,                 J. K. Spalding.
286 Head of a Girl,                  John B. Morris.    from Greuze
287 The Laboratory,                  Dr. Cherry.
288 Arkadischer Scheffer,            Mr. Weston.    from Rembrandt
289 Suburban View, (Fesche Gallery,) H. S. Taylor.         Unknown
290 The Pilgrim,                     F. Von Kapff.        H. Scheffer
291 Deer,*                           Burckhardt.          Burckhardt
292 The Card Players, Enamel,*       A. Bujac.           from Burnet
293 Playing at Draughts, "           A. Bujac.           from Burnet
294 Chinese Painting,*    "          Mr. Finley.
295 Chinese Painting,'   "           Mr. Turner.
296 Chinese Painting,    "           Mr. Turner.
297 Chinese Painting,*    "          Mr. Finley.
298 Landscape,                       A. J. Miller.       A. J. Miller
299 Portrait of Bishop Atkinson,     Dalmaine.             Dalmaine
300 Head of a Jester,~               F. B. Mayer.        F. B. Mayer
301 Raphael Sketching the Head of the  Z. C. Lee. Attributed by the Pro- 
Madonna della sedia,                        prietor to Raphael. 
302 Lucretia,                        Mrs. A. Buckwalter, Mrs. David }
Webster. 
303 Madonna della Seggiola,          H. S. Taylor.             Piani
304 Portrait of a Colored Woman, (Pastel,) Dalmaine.       Dalmaine
305 Teaching Music,                  Wm. Woodville.          Voutier
306 Cupids,                          J. H. McHenry.
307 A Girl,                          A. J. Miller.       A. J. Miller
308 A Girl Feeding Doves,            Wm. Woodville.             Seis
309 Water Color of two Children,     Ernst Fischer.     Ernst Fischer
3092 Battle of Ligny,                Wm. Woodville.   Camphausen
310 A Magdalene,                     S. W. Smith.            Teniers
311 Madonna and Child,               John B. Morris.    from Murillo
312 Virgin,                          Mrs. A. Buckwalter. Mrs. David?
Webster'
313 A Water Color Sketch,            C. J. Eaton.
314 La Fornarina,                    J. B. Morris.     from Raphael
315 Adoration of the Magi,           Dr. Cherry.
316 Peasant Boy,                     J. B. Morris.
317 Cattle Piece,                    J. B. Morris.          P. Potter
318 Portrait of a Lady,              Miss Shaw.          F. B. Mayer
319 Portrait of Judge Taney,         Judge Taney.       F. B. Mayer
320 Crayon drawing of a Young Gentleman,                         Ernst Fischer.    Ernst Fischer
321 Portrait of Dr. Brown,           G. W. Brown.             Jarvis




14                     CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS.
NO.              SUBJECT.                 PROPRIETOR.               ARTIST.
322 A Scene in the National Convention
of France, May, 1794, (engraving,) Md. Hist. Soc.            Vinchon
An insurrectionary mob broke into the hall of the National Convention,
and after the commission of every horror, threatened, with savage yells,
the life of its President, Boissy d' Anglas. He "continued calm and unshaken during this frightful transaction; bayonets and pikes still surrounded his head."  "With the view of terrifying him, the wretches held
up to him the bloody head of Feraud, a murdered deputy; he turned aside
with horror; they again repeated it, and he bowed before the remains of
the martyr; nor would he quit the chair,'till compelled by the efforts of
his friends; and the insurgents, awed with respect, allowed him to retire
unmolested."
323 Raphael sketching the Madonna della
Sedia, Engraving,                  Md. His. Soc.            H. Vernet
324 Portrait of an Old Lady,             Dalmaine.                Dalmaine
324- Cordelia,                           W. 11. Brune.   C. Thompson,?
Rome. 5
325 A Flower Piece,                      F. Lucas, Jr.            Boschaert
326 A  View  of Mr. Sterrett's Country
Residence,                         Jos. Sterrett.                Guy
327 Louis Phillippe and Queen Victoria, Md. His. Soc.               Graeffle
328 Lake Windermere,                     Mr. Finley.                  Shaw
3281 Portrait of a Lady,                 J. S. Smith.          J. K. Harley
329 Tinturn Abbey,                       Mr. Finley.                  Shaw
SUBJECTS IN BRONZE AND METAL.
330 Flora,e                              I. E. Canfield,
331 Cupid,. 
332 Child and Bird,.                       C
333 Dying Gladiator,                     Mr. Brune,
334 Bachanalian Groups, 
335        " 
336 Head of Byron,                       Christhilfand Rigart.
337 Head of Washington,.
338 Lion,  
339 Crucifix  
340                                      Chas. Howard.
341 Head of Washington,*                 Bujac.
342 Mare and Colt,                       Mr. Reed.
343 Lion,*                               Bujac.
344 Mare and Colt,'                      Reed.
345 Huntsman,                               "
346 Lion,:                               Bujac.




CATALOGUE OF PAINTINGS. 
NO.             SUBJECT.               PROPRIETOR.
347 Night,,                            Bujac.
348 Italian Lazaroni,*                 I. E. Canfield.
349 Female Figure,*                    Bujac.
350 Bacchanalian Group,*               J. E. Cary.
351 Lord Byron,*                       Bujac.
352 Head," 
353 Roman Horses,*                      "
354 Stag Hunt,                         Reed.
355 Mare and Colt,*          "
355  Two Figures —Alarm,*              I. E. Canfield.
356 Bust of Hahnemann,                 W. H. Rhinehardt.
357     "  Rev. Dr. Morris,*.                 "
358 Reclining Figure-Faith,              "        "
359 Marble Bust of Buonaparte,         Hist. Society.








BALTIMORE:
o R
1ed:, Fug 1       me lp.
BY
W.B. B.
"TEMPUS EDAX RERUM."
-- \  ^^.9___




i                                                                                         i
MURPHY & Co., PRINTERS,
178 Market street, Baltimore.
lw'                                                                                        ^




TO THE
MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
This humble effort to embody, in the idiom of the feelings, incidents and associations which, however worthy of commemoration, as appertaining to the social history of his native
city, might appear trivial, in the graver phraseology
which records its more important events,-is
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR,
In the hope, that in "Friendship, as in Religion, the motive,
not the value, of the offering propitiates its acceptance."
ii




^___________________________________________________
i
Si
^^    - --—.~......~.~. —.-^-.^..-.- -- -  ^^I




X'o
J. MORRISON HARRIS, Esq.,
Corresponding Secretary of the Maryland Historical Society.
DEAR SIR:
IF the accompanying jeu d'esprit, or of sentiment, or of a little,
and very little of either, especially of the former, be not out of place,
among the more serious and important contributions laid before the
Maryland Historical Society; do me the favor to read it, at your next
meeting; not as matter for its archives, but for the amusement, and in
some instances, for the sensibilities of the members, among whom are
doubtless some who remember Doctor Mann's corner, as the Jews of
old remembered Zion; though they have not, in this case, a harp like
David's to commemorate it, or the physical exile of the author of these
lamentations, to hallow its reminiscence, as it is hallowed to him. But
they have the moral separation, as well as himself. The alienation, of
time, circumstance, and death, from early incidents and associations,
which is, to the affections, what distance is to the body; nay, infinitely
more, for material space may be overcome, and corporeal disunion
have an end; but where is the Promethean fire to rekindle the loved and
lost of by-gone days? Where, but in memories, such as these humble
stanzas may excite, to melancholy, but not unpleasing action, the companions of our youth;-the events of a period, when to exist is to be
happy; and when life is presented to us in cblors which, like those of
the dawn, are as evanescent as they are gorgeous? Where? In the
language of the Eastern Poet, well may echo, and experience answer,
Where?
With sincere regard,
Yours,
W. B. B.
ELLENDALE, VA., aJugut, 1852.




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BALTIMORE:
OR
1nug, Wong dime 3gp, I
"TEMPUS EDAX RERUM."
I've been to our old haunts, dear Ned, I've been to Baltimore;  
But it is'nt'just the same old place, it was in clays of
yore;
Perhaps: because I'm changed myself, and could'nt play
the Beau;
As you and I once did, my boy, a long, long time ago.
We've trod thro' thorny paths, Ned, we've culled but
straggling flowers,
Since we quitted, for the wide, wide world, that early
home of ours;
Then wonder not, tho' smiles be rife, that tears will
sometimes flow,
As I lift the curtain of the Past, of long, long time ago.
It does'nt suit my rhyme, dear Ned, to give the years 
exact,
But thirty-five to forty-five, come near enough to fact,So I'll take the range between the two, and circumstance
will show,
I'm telling of a by-gone age, of long, long time ago.
^^. —----                   ~      ~     -" ^




8    BALTIMORE, ORl LONG, LONG TIME AGO. 
I stood by that old corner, Ned, where we've had lots of
fun;
Whence "Docca Manna," cane in hand, would start us
on the run;
But Mammon has a temple there; the Doctor's head is
0low
And I did'nt see a brick to tell of long, long time ago.
So, I crossed the street, to Bigger's, but there a fabric rose
Before me, which they say is kept for concerts, and for
shows;
While he at whose command old Time went either fast,
or slow,
Had fallen'neath his scythe himself, a long, long time
ago.
That scythe mows down both great and small, for Little
too, was gone,
Who, by some queer antithesis, held l'other cornerstone;And tho' a train-band Colonel, he would manfully bestow
His mind to march of clock and watch, a long, long
time ago.
And Docca Manna's rival too, who made the square
completeFour corners formed by Calvert intersecting Market
StreetWith dandified Apotheca, kept less for use than show,
Had vanished from this classic ground of long, long time
ago.




BALTIMORE OR LONG5 LONG TIME AGO.         9'a
Such was, dear Ned, you know, the spot where boys 
would congregate:
In after years, where Belles would pass, and Beaux
expectant wait; 
Then marvel not its memories stirred my dormant feelings so,:
The Present often was forgot in long, long time ago.     i
Then I strolled along our Market Street, determined 
there to trace 
Some ancient shop that bore its old familiar sign and face; 
Lo! ihere but one, with rods and lines, arranged in 
tempting show, 
The same as taxed my boyish purse a long, long time ago.
Not oft on granite front appeared; on lettered architrave,
A name of old, long years had spared, from ruin, or the
grave;
But humbly nigh, a vestige left, as tho' designed to show
The triumph of progressive art, o'er long, long time ago.
Memorials of the Past were gone, or left, the wreck to tell,
The Little Darky, with his own, had rung their funeral
knell,
And saddened o'er, with mournful quest,'mid monuments laid low,
I sought, where Nature once held sway, for long, long
time ago.
But all in vain.-Think not, dear Ned, proud oaks were
towering still,
To guide me, in my musing walk, to Belvidera hill;l       __,5                      __ _  __   _________I




10    BALTIMORE, OR LONG, LONG TIME AGO.
Alas! for Howard's sacred Park; for Dryads steeped in
woe,
Stone, brick, and mortar leave no trace of long, long
time ago.
Alas! for nutting boys, dear Ned, and sentimental girls;Above their wasted Temp6 now, the smoke of chimneys
curls;
And sights and sounds of busy life, proclaim the overthrow
Of sylvan sports, of young romance; of long, long time
ago.
Or should we go where first we flashed our maiden
swords abroad,
To Lindenberger's lot, you know, along the Pratt Street
road;
We'd have to drill on house-tops now, no room for us
below,
And not a haw-tree tells the pranks of long, long time ago.
I don't know where they find a place for our old troop's
parade,
For even through McHenry's fields are streets and alleys
laid;
And city cows; I can't conceive where they roam, to
and fro,
For buildings cover all their range of long, long time ago.
The Basin stops these at its brink, but they are working
round
To Whetstone Point, for grand reviews, so oft, of old,
renowned;,"/~~:: —-----—:-~                           --  ^




BALTIMORE, OR LONG, LONG TIME AGO.    11
And Federal Hill, of doubtful fame, in our young days,
you know,
Is not the rowdy place it was, a long, long time ago.
I grew so tired of pavement, Ned, 1 thought it had no
end,
For now to turnpike gates, of old, the city airs extend;
And houses all are strung along, in one continuous row,
Where we drove out, to breathe more free, a long, long
time ago.
My strolls led not towards Potter's fields, or questions,
much about;
But there, my boy, the dead, no doubt, are well nigh
crowded out.;
For the living walk the surface now, regardless that
below,
Is mouldering many a cherished form of long, long time
ago.
They've a place, they call it Green Mount, for graves,
of modern years,
Where my eyes, all filled with wonder, could find no
room for tears;
Perhaps, because they traced no names, to make the
current flow,
As I read on moss-grown head-stones of long, long time
ago.
I've told about the Old Town Clock; have sung the
City Spring:
The Presbyterian Bell, and how I felt to hear its ring;




f.12    BALTIMORE, OR LONG, LONG TIME AGO. 
I thought of the old Court-house too, but this, dear Ned,
you know,
Was reckoned of the things that were a long, long time
ago.
I'd have to borrow ten more years, did I go back to this,
Its watch, bell, box, and pillory for such as did amiss;Besides, they'd make us out too old, if I should dare
to show
That our Olympiads dated thence, some fifty years ago.
But no, I cannot quit thee thus, thou venerated seat
Of justice, and of school-boy sports, where such loved
memories meet;
When " Court-house Boys," as well as men, their pleading faces show,
And claim  their birth-right in the past, in long, long
~I     time ago.
l:                                                           l: The Court-house Boys! oh! were we once, so young
and light of heart,
As imps who, at that magic name, to life, and gladness 
start? 
I Had we e'er sunny locks, and eyes, and cheeks of healthI  ful glow,
I: As grace those called forth images, of long, long time ago?:  Were we, dear Ned, of those who there, with plugging
top in hand,;  Or bandy, ready for the match, in anxious circle stand?
Or is it you and I, I see, on earth there, kneeling low,
To send the Marble to the ring of long, long time ago?
>1 S........                                              -......,^ W ^   -    ~~~~" ~-    ^~~ ~ " ~  ~ —---- -"^ ~~~~~v.




BALTIMORE, OR LONG, LONG TIME AGO.   13
Or which of us is leading on, to that old Cobbler's stall,
Who sits, and dreams not, in his cell, with renovating
awl;
Of our wild freak, to hurl him down, shop, goods, and
all, below
The neighboring steep, though now filled up, of long,
long time ago.
And see! the laughing school girls' eyes that shine through
yonder panes,
Alas! I dare not ask my heart if but one pair remains
Of all that watched us, at our pranks, and home conspired, you know,'With us, to tease their pedagogue, a long, long time ago.
That kind old man, who, from his grave, if he could
rise, and trace
What time, and change, and grief have wrought on
school-hood's shining face,
Would think, no doubt, we'd paid him off, and cleared
the score we owe
For many a trick we played him once, a long, long time
ago.
And he, stern Captain of the watch, whose name I've
quite forgot,
But I see him hobbling in that pace we called one and
a dot;
The greatest man alive, we thought, when he his might
would throw
To that high bell, and pull the rope, of long, long time
ago.




- 1    14    BALTIMORE, OR LONG, LONG TIME AGO.. —s
The curfew-bell to our young sports, that sent us all to bed,
For nine o'clock, you know, was our retiring hour, dear
Ned;
And if a rowdy, after that, but dared his face to show,
The watch-house lodged him for the night, a long, long
tille ago.
Beneath that awful frowning arch, the whipping-post
behold,
For nine and thirty lashes, on the bare back, duly told;
Fine sport for us, but not for him, whose skin, at every
blow, 
Gave token of the law's effect, a long, long time ago.
Hard by, there stood another arm of awful warning, near, 
Though seldom culprit hazarded a sentence to severe;
But when there did,'twas glorious fun, eggs not too 
new, to throw
At him  who dared transgress the rules of long, long
time ago.
But Ned, dear Ned, those days have passed, their relics
all are gone,
The Court is rased, from lofty spire, to firm  foundation
stone,
And, on its site a column stands, to those who met the foe,
And nobly fought, and bled, and died for long, long
time ago.
They lie entombed, as valor should, in its maternal earth,
Their names aloft, recorded there; just tribute to their
worth;




BALTIMORE, OR LONG, LONG TIME AGO.    15
That boyhood's glance, and mlanhood's prayer, uplifted
from below,
May bless these martyrs to the homes of long, long
time ago.
Then I'd sit beside the window, in Barnum's grand hotel,
Swan's lot, what more need I, my boy, of its location tell?
And, looking on the passing forms that thronged the
street below,
Would, now  and then, encounter one of long, long
time ago.
Ah! Ned, my fiiend, I did not dream I had so ancient
grown,
Till I read; on care-worn faces there, the wrinkles of
my own;
And ladies too, I sometimes met, divinities, you know,
But these had suffered mortal change since long, long
time ago.
But yet, my boy, in all these turns, tho' features had
grown old,
And heads were grey, and trembling hands stretched
out my own to hold;
I felt it there, all tingling still, the blood, in generous flow,
The welcome squeeze that told the pulse of long, long
time ago.
Yes, yes, the spirit still is there; tho' land-marks be
defaced,
And our old haunts, all dimly now, in modern changes
traced;
ra -p-               ~    -- - -  -- - --—. — ~ —-— ~ —- ~ ^




)  16    BALTIMORE, OR LONG LONG TIME AGO. 
But all unchilled, all fervent yet, in hospitable glow,
Are kept alive the sacred fires of long, long time ago.
The sacred fires of heart, and hearth, oh! Ned, they
burn as bright
As ever, in the dear old town where first we saw the
light;
Then pledge me in this toast, my boy, let hearts and
cups o'erflow,
To Baltimore as she is now, and was, long time ago.
W. B. B.
ELLENDALE, VA., Jugust, 1852.




-     __.-___ —- _ —-_
"SQUILLA DI LONTANO."
I'D rather hear that dear old Bell,
In reckless discord, ring,
Than music's most harmonious swell,
Though Mam'selle Lind should sing.
There is a language in its soundA magic in its toneCalling bright images around —
Restoring pleasures gone. 
It falls on my long exiled ear,
To make the dead alive,
Friends, kindred, early loves appear,
And early hopes revive.
Not Orpheus, he whose fabled lyre
Gave breath to stocks and stones;
Could half such wondrous life inspire,
As that old Bell's loved tones.
A child, once more, in Sunday suit,
I press my mother's side,
Holding my boyish prattle mute
Lest God and she should chide.
3




:18             THE OLD CHURCH BELL. 
A yoltl:, withl glowing fancies fraughtl    
The long lost toliolughts arise,
As wlien, in well known pews, I caught
Some fair first love's soft eyes.
I                                                                  I
A man, I look for aged worth;
~I       "PThe Fathers of tle race;
A And busy memory calls them forth
FIi      %CTo take their honored place.
Buit Father, Mother, early love,
And early hopes are fled,
I    The friends, who now my heart-strings move,
i         nl~Address me from the Dead.
And cllange has come on me, on all;
Thl'e very lhouse of player
I as noutgllt bliut thy familiar call
To tell me it is there.
Ring out old Bell,-thy noisy chime
Is music to my heart;
Ring, ring, and drown the voice of Time,
Lest dreams, and all depart.




AND art thou flowing still, old fount,
As when thy stream of yore
To its old barrel's brim would mount,
And sparkling there, run o'er?
Not thence, in marble channel, led,
With art's cramped arch on high,
Its course was nature's gravelled bed,
Its roof the boundless sky.
"Us boys" were not forbid to rove,
Or do as we might please;
For thou had'st then, no stately grove,
No fence, no walks, no trees:
No keeper's frown, no placard's threat
Repressed our sports and glee;
Though often, when we went home wet,
We'd rue our pranks with thee.
I'd love, if thou could'st speak, to hear
The tales  thy  tongue might tell;
They'd come as grateful to my ear,
As notes from that' Old Bell."
____        ^       ~.   ___ ~    _____^             ^ I~- -




2 20          THE  CITY  SPRING. 
A thousand scrapes, ten thousand joys,
Thy chronicles contain,:The old town, and the new town boys
Would live and fight again.
And pretty girls would gather round,
Who oft have dealt the prize
That fists, as well as lance, have found- 
The light from Beauty's eyes.
Not Froissart's tales of war and love,
On which I am wont to pore,
Could so my yearning fancies move,
As thy collected lore.
They've hid from us, thy place of birth,
And now, thro' mouths of brass,
Thy formal streamlets, issuing forth,
To marble basins pass.
A ponderous ladle's by thy side
For all who seek thy brink;
And well dressed folk descend with pride
Thy marble steps, to drink.
Not thus, when all thy gifts were free,
Steps, ladle, pride, unknown;The homage then, of bended knee,
Made thy cool flood our own.
Thou'rt changed old friend, and so am I,
Since first our course began;




TIHE  CITY  SPRING.             21
Thou'rt now a thing of majesty;
And I an exiled man.
A temple rears o'er thee its crest,
With column, frieze and dome,
A cottage, in the far, far West,
Is now my humble home.
Well, be it so; I yet may fill
This iron cup of thine,
Nor wish it Lethean; no, not'till
Some sterner -lot is mine.
No-not.while friends leave death's dull vale,
And smiling meet my call;
And living loves my presence hail
In home, in hearts, and hall.
i                                                 I~~~~~




lire (1h glilal-CXeln
Not silenced yet, thou babbling knave,
But taking still, delight,
To sound the hours, when gay larks crave
Admittance home at night?
Rousing mammas from needful nap,
Papas from happy snore,
As some sad truant's cautious rap
Tells of him at the door.
In vain the friendly night-lock there,
The gas-light, left to burn;
Some treacherous hinge, or creaking stair
Proclaims the late return.
E'en brides awake from slumbers fraught
With dreams, bright hope has cast;
Though long tried dowagers are taught
To sleep through all, at last.
I marvel thou'rt not voted down,
As all old things may be,
By thousands in this ancient town,
Who've cursed thy toll of three.




THE OLD TOWN-CLOCK.                  23 
That awful hour, when pleasure's ranks
Dismiss them for the night,
And, not less terrible, when banks
Close on some hard run wight.
Ah! thou could'st tell another thing,
Didst thou dare speak aloud, 
Than old Church Bell, or City Spring,
Howe'er with speech endowed.
But thou had'st best, perhaps, be mute, 
As what thou hast to tell,
Might now, not altogether suit
The living age so well.
At least, I trust that, all the fuss 
May be when I'm away,
Should'st thou become but garrulous
Of either night, or day.
Well! well! old friend, for thou art such,
Albeit I rail at thee;
And in thy annals there is much 
Of pleasant thought to me;Thou'rt but the monitor of Time, 
And bound to sound the hours,
And if we're startled by their chime, 
The fault's not thine, but ours.
But we may yet redeem past hours,
To wreathe with what are left,
Yd~~~~~~~l~~~~~,~~tQ 




24         THE OLD  TOWN-CLOCK.                       Aii
And dress thy dial-plate with flowers 
Whence all the thorns are reft:
That thus, when Life's last peal is rung,
From thy once dreaded bell, 
A voice, responsive to thy tongue,
May whisper, all is well.?' ktA(0~~~~~~~~~~~~h~~~) 10
C:>'.../




ORIGIN AND CAUSES
OF
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA,








ORIGIN AND CAUSES
OF
DE\'iO CRACY   IN, AME R: CIA:
A DISCOURSE
B Y
G E' 0 Rt C-E  A"   B I T  i3  T  -A P.
D)ELIVEIED IN BALTIMORiE,
B IE P 0.R E T Ii E
MAR YLAND  tI STO   CA L S  C  IET Y,
ON ITS
E I    I-GITH ANNIVERSARY CELEJ3BR AT ION;
DECEMiBER 20.! 80- -




JOHN D. TOY, PRINTER.




ORIGIN AND CAUSES
OF
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA.
MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN:
The subject which I have chosen for
your entertainment this evening, is THE ORIGIN AND CAUSES
OF DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA.  The United States have
now taken rank among the most powerful nations of the
globe. As such, we have begun to exert a wide influence
in the affairs of nations, and to act no mean part in influencing the future destiny of the human race. It is evident,
that that influence will be exerted in favor of popular liberty,
the natural rights of man, in short, the universal government
of the people.
Right or wrong, for good or for evil, this is the influence
which we are destined to exert. We have a right to judge
so from past experience. The impulse has already been felt
throughout Europe, and throughout the world. Although in
Europe it has suffered a temporary check, in the subjugation
of Hungary, and the retrograde revolution in France, in the
defeat of the Republican movement in Germany, and the
suppression of the democratic demonstration in Italy, it may
be emphatically said, that the cause, even there, is not dead
2




6
but slumbering, to be revived at some future day with new
energy, a profounder wisdom, and a more complete success,
The existence and wonderful prosperity of this nation, are
fixed facts, and the lesson they read is not likely to be lost
upon the world.
Nations, like individuals, have their peculiar organic type,
by which they are distinguished from each other.  It is early
manifested, and when once fixed, has the power of perpetuating itself through countless generations.  Nationality seems
to have a mysterious, creative, and transforming power.  Like
that vital energy, which determines the species of the trees of
the forest, it has the power of assimilating all things to itself.
The oak and the pine spring up, side by side, out of a common soil, and draw nourishment from the same elements, yet
one converts those elements into the peculiar wood and foliage of the straight and lofty pine, the other into the low and
gnarled oak.  So nationality, operating upon the elements of
a common humanity, assimilates it to its own type, transmits
that type from age to age, and transforms to its own likeness
whatever foreign element is thrown into it.  What can be
more different from  each other, than the two nations which
the British Channel separates?  The Alps and the Pyrenees
divide nations no less diverse from each other.  It is not soil,
it is not climate, for what more different than the ancient
Roman and the modern Italian?  What more dissimilar than
the magnanimous soldiers of Alexander, and the cowering
slaves who have so long kissed the footstool of the Ottoman
throne?
We have existed long enough to develop and to exhibit our
national characteristics.  The most prominent of these, as I
have already said, is Democracy.  I mean, of course, in no
sectarian or party sense.  I mean a government constituted
and  administered by the people themselves.   I mean  a
Democracy, in contradistinction to a Despotism, a Monarchy,
an Aristocracy; and as equally distinguished from Anarchy,
Agrarianism, and Socialism.
The formation of this great Republic in the western hemisphere, was a result wholly unforeseen and unpremeditated.




7
It was projected by no individual mind, nor was it the product of the consentaneous action of any number of minds,
working' together for a common object. The members of our
confederacy had not a common origin.  They were formed by
different circumstances, yet when they at last came together
to form a body politic, they were found completely homogeneous, they bore one type, and like the members of the human
frame, they were found to coalesce into one consistent and
sym metrical whole.
What were the origin and causes of this homogeneousness,
this common element of Democracy, which pervaded each
and all, and made their union into one nation so easy, so
natural, and so perfect.
At the time of the discovery of America in 1492, nothing
was more improbable than the formation of a vast Republic in
North America, stretching from  the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and from either coast, sweeping the commerce of both oceans.
There were then, in the nations of Europe, from which America was to be colonized, absolutely no materials from which
such a product could be expected to spring.  The Democratic element was no where developed; the government of
the people was an idea which did not even enter the human
~mind.  The nations were just emerging fromr the darkness
and barbarism of the Middle Ages.  So far from governing,
in any part of Europe, the people w;ere scarcely emancipated
from slavery.  They had been for ages bought and sold with
the land they cultivated.  There was but one nation, and that
was Enlgland, in which they enjoyed representation in the
national legislature, and there they had a voice merely to
authorize and legalize taxation.  There had been, in that
country, a long and bloody struggle for power, but it had been
between the kings and the feudal aristocracy, in which the
people, who did the fighting, and endured the destruction of
the wars, had no other interest than a change of tyrants.  No
one thought of vindicating their liberties, or improving their
condition.  They were the mere pawns upon the chessboard of political and national ambition; and they were used
with no more feeling or sympathy than the ivory figures,




which are stained red or left white, that they may not be confounded in the fight.
Spain had just been consolidated into one nation, under
the government of Ferdinand and Isabella; and every energy
had been strained to the utmost, in the struggle for the expulsion of the Moors. In the new monarchy which was established, the only representation which the people had in the
government, was in the deputations from the cities; and in
those deputations it was the wealth of cities, not the population, that was represented. Cities were tolerated in the
States General from no respect for popular rights, but because
the wheels of government could not move without money,
and the mercantile wealth of cities alone could furnish this.
The people of Spain were then without education, without
wealth, without power, without the knowledge even of their
political rights.  And, had the winds of heaven driven
Columbus upon the coast of the United States, instead of the
island of San Salvador, and North America been peopled
from Spain instead of South, the territory we occupy would
now have been what South America and Mexico are.  So far
from originating and enjoying a Republican government, its
inhabitants would, like them, have been incapable of imitating one, when they had the model before their eyes.
The state of things was no better in France. There, at
the period of which we speak, both king and nobles united
to depress the people.  They did not dare to trust them with
arms, and chose rather to depend on foreign mercenaries for
military defence, than to suffer the people to learn the -secret
of their strength.  There was no effectual enfranchisement of
the people in France, previous to the revolution of 1792, two;
hundred years after the discovery of America.
Louis the Fourteenth, with the rack of the inquisitor, and
the soldier's sword, in the destruction of the Huguenots, had
quenched out in blood, the first sparks of popular liberty, in
France, before they kindled to a flame.
But France, just as she then was, tried her hand at colonizing the new world.  Her ships, fortunately for us, wandered
as far to the North as those of Spain had done to the Southo




9
They sailed up the St. Lawrence, and laid the foundations of
Montreal and Quebec. And there her colonies remain to the
present day, unchanged and unimproved; a petrified specimen of what France was two centuries ago. So far are they
from Republicanism, that few of them have intelligence enough
to know the meaning of the word.
Venice and the Netherlands, were the only countries in
Europe, in which there was even the shadow of popular liberty, and they were too happy, and too busy, in the enjoyment of the fruits of their trade and industry, to covet the
possession of a howling wilderness.
And what was England herself, at that period, from which
liberty finally went forth conquering and to conquer? Rather
behind the rest of Europe than in advance of it. Her civilization had been arrested and delayed by a series of political
calamities. Her energies had been exhausted in the ruinous
endeavor to retain her continental possessions. Her best
blood had flowed in the civil wars; her wealth had been
wasted, and her soil almost depopulated, by the endless
quarrel of a disputed succession. It was not until the claims
of the rival houses of York and Lancaster were peacefully
united in the Seventh and Eighth Henry, that England took
her place in the march of nations towards the goal of
freedom and happiness.
It was in the year 1497 that the continent of North America was first looked upon by English eyes. Henry the Seventh was then upon the throne. Had these shores been colonized then, even by Englishmen, what would have been the
result? A little better, perhaps, than what took place in the
Gulf of Mexico and on the banks of the St. Lawrence, but
not much. The people of England then had no political
existence.  The only recognized symbol of their being, as
well as the germ of their future power, appeared in the House
of Commons.  But so overwhelming was the landed interest,
and so small was the mercantile and mechanical wealth of the
country, that both king and nobility, so far from regarding it
as a co-ordinate power, looked upon it as a convenient instrument of draining from the people their proportion of the pub



10
lic burdens; and of so little account was it as late as the
reign of Henry the Eighth, that when that body hesitated to
pass a bill at his order, he sent for the Speaker, and drawing
his finger round his neck, declared, "If my bill is not passed
to-morrow, this must come off."   Queen  Elizabeth, his
daughter, reigned with a prerogative scarcely less despotic;
and we may say, that during the dynasty of the house of
Tudor, terminating in 1602, four years before the Virginia colony landed at Jamestown, the idea of a popular government,
a government based on population and not on property or
hereditary right, scarcely entered the mind of an Englishman,
as within the bounds of possibility.  And yet, from this very
people, within a little more than a century and a half, sprang
our glorious Republic, in perfect symmetry and beauty, like
Minerva from the brain of Jove.
How was this wonderful result brought about?  To develop this process is the theme of the present address.
From what I have already said, it will be readily inferred,
that there was no design in the people of England, of founding a great Republic in this western world, nor did it enter
into the minds of the Colonists themselves.  Wilh the exception of the Puritans, it was the height of their ambition to
reproduce England and her institutions in America, just as
she then was.  They knew of nothing better; they could conceive of nothing more perfect.  And after they arrived, they
long continued to be Englishmen, though transplanted to a
new world.  Their idea of a perfect government was of a
king, a nobility, and commons; but that the third estate was
competent to subsist by itself, and discharge all the functions
of government better by itself than in partnership with the
others, never entered their, conceptions, and was the slow
revelation of experience.
The first Colonial Charter to Virginia, which dates in 1606,
contained  not a particle of the popular element.  It was
granted to two companies, one composed "of noblemen,
gentlemen, and  merchants of London; " the other, "of
knights, gentlemen, and merchants, in the West."  They
were to have no representation in Parliament, and not even




11
the power to make their own laws.  They were to be governed, not by themselves, but by a' resident Council,
appointed by the king, and removable at his pleasure."
Legislation, even in the minutest affairs, was reserved to be
exercised by the sovereign.
Scarcely, however, had a settlement been made on the
banks of the James, when a revolution took place, symbolic
of the future destiny of British colonization in the West.
The government manufactured by royal hands in England, it
was found, would not work in America.  The Council, the
offspring of European privilege and aristocracy, was found too
feeble, spiritless, and inefficient for its new and untried position, and was compelled to give place to plain John Smith,
one of nature's noblemen, who took command of the Colony
by an authority more authentic and indisputable than earthly
monarch could ever bestow, the authority of a commanding
intellect, and an indomitable will.
The whole territory of Maryland was originally given asxay
to a single nobleman.  In providing for its government, Lord
Baltimore took such views, and indulged such anticipations,
as were natural to a nobleman of that age.  The Charter,
which was drawn uip at h:s instance, and it is supposed according to his wishes, contemplates the transfer to America,
whole and unchanged, of the feudal system, as it had existed
in Europe ever since the overthrow  of the Roman Empire.
He secured to himself palatine, or royal jurisdiction, the
highest privilege of the nobility in feudal times.  The tenth
section of his Charter confers on him the power of creating a
titled aristocracy.  In the language of the Charter, " We do
give free and plenary power to the aforesaid, now baron of
Baltimore, and to his heirs and assigns, to confer favors,
rewards and honors upon such subjects, inhabiting within the
province aforesaid, as shall be well deserving, and to adorn
them with whatever titles and dignities they shall appoint, so
that they be not such as are used in England."
The lands in Europe had then been held for ages, not by
the people in fee simple, but by immense landed proprietors,
and by them leased out to tenants from  time to time.  The




12
same tenure of land was contemplated here. With these vast
domains of the European aristocracy, certain rights of territorial jurisdiction were connected. The baron had power to
organize and hold a court of his own, not subject to the control of the courts established by the nation at large.  This
independent jurisdiction was one of the greatest grievances
of the feudal system. It was obnoxious to both king and
people, but it was one which the feudal aristocracy retained
with the greatest tenacity. This was to be conferred on the
newly created American aristocracy. By the nineteenth section of the Charter, it is provided, "' We also, by these presents, do give and grant license to the same baron of Baltimore, and to his heirs, to erect any parcels of land within the
province aforesaid into manors, and in every of these manors,
to have and to hold a court baron, and all things which to a
court baron do belong."
It is needless to say, that these provisions remained a dead
letter upon the parchment.  Feudalism was found to be incapable of transportation across the Atlantic.  It could not live
for a day in the free atmosphere of America.  The nobleman
never came, himself, to give it effect. Emancipated from the
prejudices, as well as the institutions of the old world, the
emigrants to the new, resumed the original rights of man, and
demanded the natural privileges of property and legislation.
In North Carolina, nearly the same experiment was tried
over again.  A Charter was there granted to eight noblemen
instead of one. They were to be the proprietors of the soil.
The dignity was to be hereditary, and in default of heirs, the
deficiency was to be made up by the choice of the survivors.
The territory was to be divided into counties.  Two orders
of nobility were to be created; one Earl and two Barons for
each county.  Legislation vested in the proprietors of the soil,
and jurisdiction, or the distribution of justice, was handed
over, likewise, to the hereditary nobility. To make the burden of legislation light, one of the greatest minds of that, or
any other age, John Locke, was called in to exercise the
function of lawgiver to the future oligarchy of Carolina.




13
These transactions date more than half a century after the
Charter to Lord Baltimore. The insurrection of popular liberty, in England, had intervened, which was begun by the
Puritans, and consummated by Cromwell and his Round
Heads, and it is surprising that no greater progress was manifested in the appreciation of the rights and capabilities of the
people.  But Shaftsbury and Locke, the leading minds of that
period, were neither of them enthusiasts in any thing, and
they seem to have shared in the disappointment which was
felt by the nation in the results of the so-called Commonwealth of England.
The Charter of Pennsylvania bears the date of 1681.
And it shows the same features of feudalism with the Charter
of Maryland.  The whole State was made the property of
one man, and powers nearly regal were conferred on the plain
Quaker, William Penn.  In fact, the whole State was made
over to Penn, in discharge of a debt, owed to his father, by
Charles the Second.  In exercise of his regal rights, Penn
proceeded to frame a government, and promulgate a code of
laws, of his own device. But the principles of civil, as well
as religious, freedom, which had been arrived at and promulgated by George Fox, here began to tell upon the world, and
to be made practical in laying the foundations of a great Commonwealth.  Penn, though bred up among the aristocracy of
England, never sympathised with his associates, and was
more at home in the ultra democracy of a Quaker meeting,
than in the court of his Sovereign.  The consequence was,
that the Pennsylvania Colony soon took on the type of the
new world.  The power passed from the hands of the proprietors, and they finally were compelled to content themselves with a pecuniary compensation for the surrender of all
feudal and royal prerogatives.
The first colonization of New York was nearly as aristocratic as that of the other States.  The Hanse Towns, which
first cast their eyes towards the magnificent country which now
composes the Empire State, though in advance of the rest of
Europe in the principles of civil freedom, knew as yet absolutely nothing of the government of the people.  Grotius
3




14
and Barnevelt, though the lights of their age, and finally the
victims to their convictions as to the natural rights of man,
never entertained the idea that a popular government was
practicable.
In the Netherlands, power had long since passed from the
hands of the feudal aristocracy, but it had not come into the
hands of the people.  It had been grasped and intercepted by
the merchants, and the destinies of that land of industry and
commerce, were in the hands of a moneyed, instead of landed,
aristocracy.
The Colonies which were first sent out from the Netherlands, had for their object, not so much the establishment of
a permanent settlement, as the immediate acquisition of
wealth, which was to be gathered from the western wilderness, and enjoyed at home, amidst the luxury and repose of
the Fatherland.  The acquisition of territory was a secondary object.  But though feudalism was become nearly obsolete at home, provision was made for its revival here.
A Charter was obtained from the States General for the rising
Colonies of the New World. In it, there is no trace of popular government.  He, who within five years, should plant a
Colony of fifty souls, became Lord of the Manor, or Patron,
possessing, in absolute property, the lands he might colonize.
Those lands " might extend sixteen miles in length, or if on
a river, they might extend eight miles on each side, and so
far into the interior as might be convenient."  Such was the
solid foundation laid by the freest people in Europe for a
landed aristocracy, on the soil now constituting a most important part of the United States.  Such was the beginning of a
people who are now charged with being a democracy run
mad.  But it ought to be added that the traces of this landed
aristocracy were not immediately obliterated.  They remain
to the present day, to be a cause of political uneasiness and
discontent.
Thus it may be said, that every Colony South and West of
the Hudson river, was aristocratic in its origin, and in the
whole structure of its contemplated institutions.  The fact
was, that no other institutions were conceived of as possible.




15
No other idea was entertained, but of making America a
repetition of Europe, as she then was; and had the intentions
of the first projectors of the colonies taken effect, North
America would have resembled England and the Netherlands
as closely as Mexico and South America now resemble old
Spain.
There was one exception to all this; the Puritans.  The
Colony of Plymouth was democratic from  the beginning.
The people who landed in 1620 in Massachusetts Bay, amid
the cold and snows of December, had been exiles from England before they were emigrants to America.  They left their
country without her motherly blessing, and the latest recollections of their native home were associated with the
bitterest and most relentless persecution.  Monarchy, prelacy
and aristocracy, were equally abominations in their sight.
They came not therefore, forth like the other Colonies, under
the patronage of titled wealth or noble families.  They were
the people themselves, going forth with strong hearts and
toil worn hands, to fell the forest and create a world of their
own. Their Democracy was organized on board the Mayflower, before a Pilgrim had set foot upon the shore. The
little Republic began to be, when forty-one signatures were
affixed to the following document:
" In the name of God, amen.  We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign, King
James, having undertaken, for the glory of God and the
advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of our king
and country, a voyage to plant a Colony in the northern parts
of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in
the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and
combine ourselves together, into a civil body politic, for our
better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends
aforesaid, and by virtue hereof to create, constitute and frame
such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and
offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most convenient for the general good of the Colony. Unto which we
promise all due submission and obedience."




16
Here, in this short document, is the essence, the substance,
and almost the form, of all subsequent distinctive American
institutions and legislation.  It is a recurrence to first principies. It places the new society on the original ground of
contract.  It institutes a pure Democracy, the government of
the people, for the people, and by the people.
The Puritans had been trained for more than half a century
in the school of Democracy.  During the struggle with King
James, the Church and the Cavaliers, they had discovered
and adopted the principle of congregational independence.
They had maintained, that this was not only the original
organization of the Church, but was in itself, the mode of
administering  Christianity most consistent with  national
justice, and the inalienable rights of man.  This mode of
government made every Church a little Republic by itself,
and a seminary of Democracy.  Here, too, men learned not
only the theory, but the practice of self-government.  They
learned that a simple form of government was not only the
best, but the cheapest; and that the immense sums which had
been lavished on a splendid establishment, both in Church
and State, was money worse than thrown away.  James,
with the true instinct of despotism, was not long in discovering the tendency of all these things, and he exclaimed, " No
bishop, no king," and the Puritans, seeing the true issue,
took up the challenge, and answered, "No bishop and no
king."
But in carrying out their principles in their native land,
they encountered obstacles absolutely insurmountable.  There
was the force of prescription, running against them with the
accumulated strength of centuries; there was the feudal tenure
of property; there was an hereditary aristocracy, to which
the masses were accustomed to bow down, with a subserviency more mechanical and slavish, than that paid by the
Spartan Helots to their masters.  There was the Church
establishment, which  had  grown up to such a massive
strength as an outward institution, that it might live on as a
body politic, long after the soul of religion had become
utterly extinct.




17
Still worse was it for them, when they removed to the
continent.  There they found themselves foreigners, in the
midst of a dense population, more than ordinarily obstinate
in their prejudices, and fixed in their habits.  Their hopes of
propagating and perpetuating their principles in Holland, were
about as desperate as to undertake to color the ocean with a
single drop.  They would not only have failed to propagate
their principles, but have lost their nationality, and become
absorbed and lost in the surrounding population.  Their
emigration to this country, desperate as might seem  the
undertaking, was the only salvation of themselves and their
principles.
But Providence had reserved in North America a spot
unoccupied, for the trial of the last great experiment of
humanity.  By crossing the ocean and landing on these desolate shores,' they freed themselves, at one bound, of all the
embarrassments which forbade the development of their
principles in the Old World.  The germ  of popular liberty
had room to expand itself in its simplicity, purity and perfection, until it has become a tree, overspreading a mighty continent, and the exiles and the oppressed of all nations, seek a
refuge under the shadow of it.
But, as I have already said, New England was an exception.  It was colonized by the people; and the people had
sufficient resource in themselves, in their intelligence and
moral control, to govern themselves.  How was it that the
same result followed every where else, under circumstances
so different? How was it, that at the end of a century and a
half, the more southern Colonies, beginning their existence
under aristocratic auspices, and having a strong oligarchic
bias at first, were found nearly abreast of Massachusetts in
the career of democracy; and all the members of this vast
Confederacy were found to be moulded, like the members of
a human body, after one type, and ready to coalesce into one
grand homogeneous nation?
The first cause, I shall mention, as having necessitated the
universal establishment of Democracy in America, was the
cheapness (f land and the dearness of labor.   A new country




18
is the poor man's paradise.  In crossing the Atlantic, the
relations of capital and labor were completely reversed.  The
poor man's labor is his all. His consequence rises or sinks
in precise proportion to the demand which exists for the only
thing which he has to bring to market. In old and thizkly
peopled countries, like England and Holland, where labor
of course was cheap and land was dear, the chance for a
laborer to become a freeholder, was next to hopeless. He
could not even emigrate without selling himself for a term of
years into bondage.  And it was in this way, that quite a
large proportion of the first emigrants came over.  When
they arrived here, they found a totally different state of things.
Here was a vast continent of land, but it was worth nothing
until it was cleared and cultivated. The physical energies of
the laborer alone could do this. The land owner became
the dependent man, and the laborer dictated his own terms.
When as yet there was no capital but land, the land owner
was compelled to pay his laborer in land, and thus the
laborer became a freeholder, as well as himself.  The
laborer too, was a capitalist, in the ownership of his own
bones and sinews; and on the strength of his real consequence in the community, he demanded and obtained the
right of suffrage; and when labor is represented, there is
necessarily a Democracy.
In Europe, the recognition of popular rights was delayed
for many ages by the universal prevalence of the feudal
system. At the breaking up of the Roman Empire, the soil
of Europe was appropriated, in large tracts, by military chieftains, who seized on every thing by right of conquest. Each
landed proprietor built his castle in the midst of his domain,
and reigned there with an absoluteness equalled only by Oriental despotism.  There were no people, in our modern
sense of the term.  The population was divided into masters
and slaves.  The right of the one was to command, and the
duty of the other was to obey.  This system  was hardly
shaken when America began to be colonized. Neither party,
the land holders nor tenants, conceived of any other state of
things as possible.




19
A landed aristocracy, fortified by the usage of primogeniture, is one of the most lasting of all human institutions,
Other property easily passes from hand to hand, and nothing
is more shifting than mercantile wealth.  During the Middle
Ages, there was nothing to oppose to the power of the landed
aristocracy.  Mercantile wealth, the first power that made
any stand against it, was almost unknown.  That is the creation of civilization.  In a state of barbarism, there are no
manufactures; there is no consumption of luxuries; there is
nothing to pay for luxuries; there is no commerce; no trade;
nothing to buy or sell.  There are no cities; for cities are
merely the marts of exchange.  A  growing civilization
created cities, and cities reacted on the progress of civilization.  Cities and commerce transferred the sceptre from land
to money, and the lordly castle became subordinated to the
neighboring city.  The last and final transition of power, is
from property to persons, and city and castle become subordinated to the people, that great multitude whose power is
irresistible, and their voice as the sound of many waters.
In Europe, at the time of the settlement of North America,
this process of the transfer of power was going on.  But
every where its progress was gradual, tedious and unsteady.
The first impulse was given by the Crusades. To win back
the Holy Land and sepulchre of Christ from the Infidel, was
the passion of Christendom  for more than two centuries.
Every thing was disturbed by this universal enthusiasm, and
society was moved from its ancient foundations. Vast quantities of property changed owners. The nobles of Europe,
in order to engage in those distant and expensive enterprizes,
were obliged to have money.  They had no ready money,
and they were compelled to alienate their lands to procure it.
The cities through which the Crusaders travelled, were
enriched by their expenditures, or the fleets which bore them
across the sea, brought large gains to their owners; and the
wealth thus accumulated, laid the foundation of modern commerce, that most powerful agent in all the revolutions of the
last five centuries.  It was one of the steps towards the




emancipation of the people, and their preparation to discharge
the duties, as well as enjoy the privileges, of citizenship.
But, when the emigration to North America took place, all
these intermediate steps were overleaped.  The people came
themselves, and unembarrassed by feudal rights and aristocratic usages, took the power into their own hands.
This leads me to speak of the next cause of the Democracy
of the North American Colonies, which I shall mentiontheir isolation.  Three thousand miles of ocean intervened
between them  and the old world.  This circumstance was
not without the most decisive and important effects.  The
people had their own way, because they could not be controlled by their old masters at the distance of three thousand
miles. N'obility never emigrated.  There was nothing to
tempt it to quit its ancient home. It was a plant of such a
peculiar structure, that it would not bear translation to another
soil.  Here it would have withered and died, amidst the
rugged forests and stern climate of America.  A nobleman
is the creation of a local conventionalism.  He flourishes
only in an artificial atmosphere. He must be seen by gas
light. He is at home only in courts and palaces.
The pomp of courts, and. the splendor of palaces, are the
contrivances, not more of human pride than of far-sighted
policy. They are intended to impose on the imagination of
the multitude; to lead them to associate with the condition of
their superiors the ideas of providential and unattainable
superiority, to which it is their destiny and their duty to
submit.  Take them  away from  the stage on which they
choose to exhibit themselves; strip them  of their dramatic
costume; take away the overhanging chandelier and the glare
of the footlights, and let them mingle in the common crowd,
and they become as other men, and the crowd begin to wonder how they could ever have looked up to them with so
much reverence.
They gained likewise advantages fiom associating together.
An English nobleman had a hereditary right to a seat in the
House of Lords.  He made a part of the national legislature.
This privilege was independent of the popular will. It was




21
real power, a possession so flattering to the pride of man.
There was no reason therefore, why such a man should wish
to leave his country.  What could he find' here congenial to
his taste, or flattering to his pride, or tolerable to his habits of
luxury and self-indulgence?
A rude village on the shore of the ocean, or on the banks of
a stream, of a few log cabins, scattered here and there in the
wilderness, was all the New World had to offer for many
generations.  Not many would emigrate to such a country,
who had any thing to leave behind. Much less was it to be
expected, that those would come here, who had drawn the
highest prizes in life at home. They could not seek a new
organization of the social condition, in which they had
nothing to gain and every thing to lose.  Here and there,
there might be an adventurer of condition, who came to this
country to improve his broken fortunes; but then it was, as
in all new countries, with a hope of returning to enjoy his
gains in a country and a state of society, where refined
enjoyment was possible.
And after all, beyond a limited circle, America was, at that
time, very little known and very little regarded by the people
of England.  And it is very much so to the present hour.
The best informed people, strange as it may seem, know
little more of the Geography of this country than they do of
the interior of Africa; and thousands and thousands who
move in respectable society, are ignorant whether we are
white or copper colored, speak the English language or
Choctaw.
America, then, grew up in neglect and by stealth. Unattractive to the higher classes, she drew to herself the people.
Here came the people, the hard-handed and stout-hearted,
and carved out a New World for themselves. They adapted
their institutions to their wants, and before the Old World
was aware, there had sprung up on this broad continent a
gigantic Republic, ready to take her position among the
nations of the earth.
The third cause of Democracy in America was the progress
and establishment of civil liberty in England, contemporane4




22
ously with the colonization of this country and formation of
its institutions.
The seventeenth century, from the year 1603, when the
House of Stuart ascended the throne of England, three years
before the settlement of Virginia, till the revolution in 1688,
six years after the arrival of Penn in Pennsylvania, was the
period when the people of England were emancipated from
political vassalage, and obtained their just weight in the
British Constitution.  The main organ of this stupendous
revolution, was the English House of Commons.  It was
there that popular liberty, after struggling in the world for
ages almost in vain, made her first successful stand, obtained
a hearing for her cause, and found a voice to address herself
to the nations.
After the suppression of the Roman Republic by Julius
Caesar, forty-three years before the Christian era, there had
been nothing in Europe for more than fifteen hundred years,
which could be denominated a government of the people.
He, himself, in his Gallic Wars, gives a description of the
condition of the people of Gaul and Britain at that period.
"Over all Gaul," says he, "there are only two orders of men
in any degree of honor and esteem, for the common people
are little better than slaves, attempt nothing of themselves,
and have no share in public deliberations.  As they are
generally oppressed with debt, heavy tributes, or the exactions of their superiors, they make themselves vassals to the
great, who exercise over them the same species of jurisdiction as masters do over slaves.  The two orders of men with
whom, as we have said, all authority and distinction are
lodged, are the druids and nobles."
When these northern nations overran the Roman Empire,
and were converted to Christianity, the only political change
that took place, seems to have been the substitution of the
Christian ecclesiastics in the place of the Pagan druids.
The people remained just where they were before. Hence it
is that the Bishops sit in the British House of Lords to the
present hour.




23
The first dawn of modern freedom was in the establishment, as a permanent body, of the House of Commons in
England. Besides the king, the nobility and clergy, as arts,
commerce and industry revived, there was seen gradually to
spring up, a third estate, the people. They acquired wealth,
and consequently power.  At any rate, it was necessary that
they should bear a part of the public burdens. They were
first summoned to take a part in legislation, merely to legitimate their own taxation, and so it continued  for some
generatlons.
But it was found, that the same hands which could grant,
could withhold supplies, and both the monarch and the aristocracy discovered that the new power which they had called
into existence, had already grown to an importance which
could neither be dispensed with, nor controlled. With the
acquisition of wealth, came as a natural consequence, education, intellectual development, literary culture.  On these
followed, as an inevitable result, social influence.
After a long struggle, the House of Commons obtained the
liberty of free discussion, and then the principles of civil
liberty grew apace. Words were spoken on the floor of the
House of Commons, by Hampden and Prynne and their
patriotic associates, which vibrated through the nation.
Great principles of right, of law and humanity, which had
had no articulate expression for more than fifteen hundred
years, received a clear exposition and an able defence.  In
the meantime, literature was not idle.  Milton, the sublimest
genius that ever wore the vestments of mortality, took up the
cause of mental freedom and civil liberty, with a force and an
eloquence never surpassed. No right of man, no principle
nor form of popular government, was left undiscussed.
The spread and growth of these principles were resisted by
king and nobility, with the most obstinate perseverance. Inch
by inch, the ground was contested. At every successive Parliament, the Commons rose in their demands, and required new
guaranties for the rights of the people. The king became
desperate, and for thirteen years attempted to govern without
a Parliament. Failing in this, and yielding at last to the




24
necessities of his condition, he again summoned the representatives of the people only to discover that the balance of
power had passed over to the people, and the sceptre of absolute dominion had fallen forever from his hands.  But so
great a question as this, the balance of the British Constitution, could not be settled without the trial by battle. The
sword was drawn, and Monarchy and Democracy fought
hand to hand through many a bloody year.
This struggle was no common contest. It was not like the
war of the roses, a matter of personality and partizanshipwhether this or that branch of royalty should sit upon the
throne; but whether Monarchy or Democracy should have
the ascendency in the British Constitution; whether the king
should govern, according to the will of the people, expressed
by law, or after his own arbitrary will and pleasure.
Victory at length declared for the people, and monarchy
and aristocracy were driven into banishment.  And had
Cromwell been thirty years old instead of fifty, they might
never have returned, and England been at this time a representative Republic.
But the old obstacles were still in the way. The hereditary reverence for monarchy and aristocracy was still strong
in the minds of the people, and the violent measures which
Democracy was compelled to take, in order to establish and
maintain its ascendency, became almost as odious to the
nation as -the ancient regime of legitimacy itself. The tree
was too old to be bent into a new shape, and as soon as the
pressure was taken off, it recoiled with violence into its
ancient position.
All this took place in the presence of the civilized world;
its bearings were considered and its merits discussed.  The
interest felt in it was intense. No where was it so deep as
in the American Colonies, whose fathers and brothers were
engaged in the great war of principles and opinions. And it
is not difficult to conjecture on which side their sympathies
would be most likely to be enlisted.
The people, for it was the people who had emigrated,
would sympathize with the people's cause.  The people at




25
home were struggling for that which their American brethren
possessed without a struggle, by virtue of their position, the
right to govern themselves.
This grand lesson, at least, was taught them, that king and
aristocracy were at all events a superfluity; that England
flourished quite as well as a Commonwealth as it had done as
a kingdom.  And though Englishmen restored their monarch
and House of Lords for old acquaintance sake, to a young
community it seemed quite unnecessary to import or manufacture so expensive a luxury.
At any rate, the charm of Divine right was forever broken.
It was shown by experiment, that a king is the executive of
a nation's will, their chief magistrate, and nothing more.
His authority comes up from the people, but does not come
down from his ancestors by hereditary right. An elective
magistracy then, if clothed with the power of the people,
might be just as efficient, far more convenient, and far less
dangerous, than royalty. They had seen the royal power too,
gradually waning, and the will of the people becoming
supreme, even under the forms of monarchy.  A new power
rose up, unknown in former ages, the power of public opinion, the MIND of the nation came forth and declared itself
supreme.
Such were the changes which took place in the political
condition of England, during the seventeenth century; the
period during which that portion of North America which
now constitutes the United States, was colonized, and took
on its political type and complexion.  It is easy to see what
influences from the mother country were predominant, and
what were most congenial to a young and growing country,
standing apart from the monarchical and aristocratic institutions of the Old World.
The last cause to which I shall advert of the rise of democratic institutions in America was the general diffusion of
knowledge and education, and the great improvement of the
condition of the laboring classes.  The materials for a Republic are educated mind and personal independence. The price
of labor determines whether these shall pervade all classes.




26
A high price of labor gives the poor man the means of educating his children and himself, and gives him a sense of
personal independence.  But low wages condemn the masses
to ignorance, dependence  and degradation.   A  starving
population will always be deaf to the voice of reason, and its
stern necessities will drive it beyond all other control than
that of an iron despotism. It throws off monarchy, only to
fall back again under the more stringent constraint of the
bayonet.  The suffrages of an ignorant multitude are worth
nothing, and the direction of the course of public affairs
might as well be decided by the cast of a die.
If the question were asked, why the government of the
people did not come sooner in modern times, it must be
answered in all honesty, that the people were not sooner
prepared to govern.  An Italian ecclesiastic has lately told
the American people, that in that part of Italy where he was
first called to minister, only one person out of five thousand
could read.  How is such a people as that prepared to be
governed by universal suffrage?  The people of France'lately elected an absolute Emperor for life, and voluntarily
surrendered the fruits of the struggles, the bloodshed and the
sufferings of the last sixty years. Political power will always
follow intelligence, for knowledge is power. From the sixth
to the sixteenth century, the Church shared largely in the
government of the world. And it is customary, in modern
times, to censure her as an usurper, and to attribute the part
she acted in civil affairs, to worldly ambition. Much of this
censure is unjust. The Church governed the world, because
she was the only educated body of men then extant.
It is in vain that you put political power into hands too
ignorant to wield it.  Mexico, in emulation of our happy
experiment of Republican institutions, attempted the same.
But it was only to demonstrate that she was wholly unprepared
for the experiment. The right of suffrage was established
with comparative ease. A President was chosen by the
voice of the people, but there was not sufficient intelligence to
perceive the necessity of performing the duty corresponding
to the right of suffiage-that of submitting to the will of the




27
majority, when expressed through the ballot box.  The
defeated candidate raised a civil war, and overturned the
Constitution before it could be carried into effect. Our experiment would have ended in the same way, had not education
been universally diffused.
In this country, from the very first, the people of the
different Colonies were sufficiently intelligent to make and
administer their own laws. Alarge proportion of them were
capable of the duties of magistracy, and their constituency
knew  when their public functionaries served them  with
wisdom  and fidelity.  The art of printing had been in full
exercise more than a century before the first Colony was
planted.  Not only was the power to read very generally
diffused, but books were multiplied, and they went with the
primitive settlers into the remotest forests, and the literary
luminaries which rose one after another upon the Old World,
sent their rays across the Atlantic, and trained up a new born
people to intelligence, freedom and virtue.
The different Colonies had not been long established,
before a certain national feeling began to spring up'on this
side the Atlantic, and young America began to have a literature of her own.  Her Provincial Legislative Assemblies,
allowing the largest liberty of speech, became the seminaries
of democratic principles. Liberal education began to enlarge
the minds of the rising generation, and no where, since the
suppression of the ancient Republics, had the classics of
Greece and Rome met a warmer welcome, or awakened a
more congenial feeling, than in the young men of the New
World.  No where had men been placed in a situation so
analogous to that of the great patriots and scholars of antiquity.  As early as 1704, the newspaper press began its
operations in the Metropolis of New England, by sending
forth the "Boston News Letter;" and then and there was
laid one of the corner stones of our nationality.  Then and
there the great American soul, already incarnate, began to
breathe forth its inspiration, and carry vitality to the remotest
members.  Then and there American mind began to react
upon itself, and fise into one mass the various materials of




28
which the Colonies were composed.  The progeny of this
patriarch of newspapers, who shall number; and what finite
intellect shall calculate the influence they have exerted on the
institutions and the destiny of the country!
It was they which helped to form  and discipline and
nationalize those great men who prompted, directed and
carried through, the struggle of the Revolution, which gave
us a being and a name among the nations of the earth.
That great struggle, with its blood and tears and toils and
treasure, cemented and consolidated our nationality forever.
The boldness of the undertaking, the doubtfulness of the
issue, and the  immediate sacrifices which it demanded,
consecrated to the service of their country the true, the pure,
the patriotic and the brave, while it appalled and kept aloof,
the timid, the time-serving and the false. The very length
and severity of the contest only made the object for which. they fought so long and so desperately, the more dear to all
hearts.
The labor and patience, the heroism and sacrifices, of that
martyr age, set apart the most conspicuous actors in the
scene, to an elevation in the estimation of mankind far above
the level of ordinary humanity. It made them, as it were,
the Apostles of modern Liberty, and sanctified their precious words as a sort of sacred testament to all posterity.
Every American feels himself enriched by the share he
inherits of their glorious memories, and to forfeit that inheritance by treason or secession, he would feel as the blackest
disgrace, the sorest bereavement and the most dreadful
calamity.
Their noble deeds, their glorious words, their wise admonitions, their far-sighted wisdom, have set the tone of American patriotism, and they remain to guard, as it were with a
sword of flame, the institutions they founded. The young
are taught to repeat them with their earliest breath, the
middle aged catch anew their inspiration, and the old weep
tears of joy, that their eyes are permitted to see, and their
ears to hear, the glory which has burst in noon-tide radiance




29
upon their country, but which the early confessors and martyrs were permitted to see but dimly and afar off.
Under the guidance of Providence, our patriot sires may
be said to have fixed the type of our nationality forever.
The impediments which once existed to the permanency of a
vast Republic, are now happily done away.  The national
roads of the Roman Empire continued for ages to bind its
distant members together, when there was no other real tie
than a central government, despotic in form and rapacious in
administration. Here, separate States and local municipalities, are a guaranty against a dangerous consolidation, and
the rapidity of communication which modern science has
achieved, has almost annihilated distance, and made our vast
Republic vital in every part.
We have been tried to the very verge of disunion and
disorganization, only to see patriotism rise triumphant over
every interest and every passion; and the sad eclipse which
has come over the brightest names as soon as they have
ceased to be Americans and to go for their country and their
whole country, will appal the heart of every recreant statesman, who shall for generations, conceive the profane idea of
dividing what God has so manifestly joined together.
What changes may take place, when this continent shall
become as thickly peopled as China, whether a democracy
like ours will then be practicable, no finite mind can foresee.
But till that time, there is every reason to believe, that the
type of our national character will be preserved; we shall go
on as we have begun, the great example of the possibility, of
the power, and of the happiness of democratic institutions.
5








ANNUAL REPORT
OF' THE
P R E S I D E N T
PRESIDENT
OF THE
AND
LIST OF ITS MEMBERS.
1854.
BAL TIMO RE:
PRINTED BY JOHN D. TOY,
Corner of Market and St. PaUl-sts.




1St of mfficm.
President.
JOHN  SPEAR  SMITH.
Vice-President.
JOHN  P. KENNEDY.
Corresponding Secretary.
J. MORRISON  HARRIS.
Recording Secretary.
S. F. STREETER.
Treasurer.
JOHN HANAN.
Librarian.
WM. H. TRAVERS.
Library Committee.
BRANTZ MAYER,.....GEORGE WM. BROWN,.....M. COURTNEY JENKINS,
Committee on Honorary Membership.
WILLIAM A. TALBOTT,......JOHN I. DONALDSON,......JAMES GEORGE.
Committee of Finance.
JOHN HANAN,........... B. U. CAMPBELL,.........ENOCH PRATT.
Committee on the Gallery.
J. H. B. LATROBE,......DR. THOS. EDMONDSON,.....SAM'L W. SMITH.
Trustees of the Athenaeum.
JOHNS HOPKINS,...........MOSES SHEPPARD,..............W     MCKIM.
Council of Government.
ROBERT LESLIE,.........J. SAURIN NORRIS.




REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE
MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
AT THE
ANNUAL MEETING IN MAY, 1854.
GENTLEMEN:
THE condition of the Society, in all its branches, is eminently
prosperous. Nor has any thing occurred to apprehend an interruption to its onward course.  On the contrary, there is every
reason to believe that its future, promises increased utility, independence of existence, and salutary progress.   The laudable
punctuality of our associates in their payment of the annual
contributions, has not only liberated us from every claim, but has
left a surplus in the treasury. This, in fulfilment of the endowment
plan, adopted at a late meeting, will be placed in the Savings Bank,
to the credit of the Society, for future permanent investment, by
the Finance Committee.  This plan holds out to us the most
advantageous consequences.  For, after liberally providing for
every appropriate expenditure, it carefully stores away the surplus
and its increase, to meet unforeseen contingencies. When this fund
shall have amounted to ten thousand dollars, the sum which it is
intended to accumulate, then its income will suffice to maintain the
association, should the annual contributions be, from any cause,
discontinued.  It gives too, the very best assurance, that any
pecuniary donation or bequest will be faithfully secured, and
sacredly applied to the nurture of learning and art, as well as to
the conservation of the muniments of history.




4
It is obvious that an institution like this, and depending altogether
on voluntary subscription, can never be free from  peril.  If
members become indifferent to the interests of the Society, or, from
any other cause, discontinue their contributions, then the labor of
years, with all its fruits, is utterly wasted, and irretrievably lost.
To protect ourselves from such a calamity, and to place us beyond
the reach of danger, the project for securing a permanent fund, has
been matured and adopted. It is simple in its several propositions,
and of easy accomplishment.  All that it requires is, a proper
economy, with the active support of members, and due diligence
on the part of the committee. In order to bring this plan again
to your attention, you will permit me, once more, to submit its
details, and to invoke for them your most favorable consideration.
They are as follows:
1. All surpluses which may remain, after defiaying the annual
expenditures, shall be deposited in the Savings Bank, to the credit
of the Society, as also, all bequests or donations.
2. Prior to the annual meeting in February, of each year, the
President and other officers-the Library Committee and the
Council of Government, shall deliver to the Treasurer, their requisitions, for the ensuing year, on which such specific appropriations,
as the Society may authorize, shall be made, and no other, than said
appropriations shall be paid, unless on a subsequent and distinct
vote of the Society.
3. That each member be urged to collect a sum of not less than
five dollars, and pay over the same to the Treasurer, for the
endowment fund.
4. That a book shall be kept, in which the Treasurer shall
register the names and donations of the contributors to the Fund.
5. That a Finance Committee of three, of which the Treasurer
shall be one, be annually chosen, whose duty it shall be to make
permanent investments of said deposites; to reinvest the income
arising therefrom, and to submit to the Society, such recommendations for the increase of the Fund, or modifications of the foregoing,
as they may deem advisable.




5
Since my last report, there has been no intermission in the presentation of the annual addresses, required by our rules. The fifth,
in the order of these, was delivered by Geo. Wm. Brown, Esq. on
the Origin and Growth of Civil Liberty in Maryland, and is as
distinguished for its careful research, as for the profoundly interesting events with which it abounds.
The next in the series, is that of Brantz Mayer, Esq. with the
title of Tah-gah-jute, or Logan and Captain Michael Cresap. It
embraces the memorable Indian war of 1774, and that exciting
incident, in our early border history,'the unprovoked massacre of
the whole family of the eloquent Logan. Many doubts and misrepresentations, had clouded the details of that signal atrocity, the
perpetration of which had hastily, or rather, on false information,
been fastened on Capt. Cresap. The obscurity which surrounded
the subject, has now been effectually removed. The guilt has been
unerringly traced, and with marked ability, to those, who were the
actual culprits.
Maryland, Two Hundred Years Ago, being our seventh annual
address, by S. F. Streeter, Esq. carries us back to the days of
Charles the First, and leads us through the trials, adventures and
persevering enterprise of the early colonists. The lucid narrative
of incidents, so honorable to our progenitors, is alike accurate in
detail, and grateful to the reader.
The Society is greatly indebted, for its eighth address, to the
Rev. Geo. W. Burnap, D. D. who happily selected for his theme,
the Origin and Causes of Democracy in America. To an essay of
such high merit, it is saying but little, to add, that full justice is
done to this attractive subject. The style is as remarkable for its
purity, as are the deductions strictly logical, from the positions, so
truthfully and justly assumed.
In addition to these essays there have, also, been published,.several valuable papers. Amongst which, are Memorials of Columbus, by Robert Dodge, Esq. the Argentine Republic, by S. F..Streeter, Esq. and Early Currency in the Colonies, by the same
gentleman.  Besides these, a number of instructive productions,
not yet published, have been read, by Dr. Wm. M. Wood, U. S. A.




6
Geo. L. L. Davis, and S. F. Streeter, Esqrs. All of these essays
come mainly within the range of our designs, and supply acceptable additions to our collections.
From the commencement of the association, up to the present
time, we have enrolled 466 members, of whom we have lost 19 by
death, and 146 by resignation or removal from the city. But, at
no period have our rolls been so well filled, as they are, at the
present moment. In the month of May, of last year, they contained
250 names, whilst now they swell up to 301. No better evidence
can be adduced, to prove tlhe advancement as well as the abiding
popularity of the Society.
Our correspondence and interchange of donations with other
institutions, is maintained in a manner, that is every way useful and
gratifying.  Nor has there been any relaxation in the liberality of
the Federal Government, our Senators in Congress, or of other
gentlemen, towards us.  Highly valuable acquisitions are daily
made, from these sources, as well as from many of the State Governments, to our rich stores, whether in public documents, early
history of the colonies, explorations, surveys, geography, ethnology,
or in statistics. So likewise, in manuscripts, medals, coins, and
mineralogy. It will not be out of place here, to recall to your
attention, the state papers, recently printed, at great cost, by
Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, copies of which have
courteously been presented to us. These commendable publications relate, for the most part, to original colonial documents, and
are produced in a manner, every way worthy those great States.
Of the manuscripts presented to us, too much commendation can
hardly be awarded to those received from Geo. Peabody, Esq. now
of London. They disclose, for the first time, the contents of the
large mass of original documents, relating to the colonial days of
Maryland, and carefully preserved in the British State Paper Office.
This acceptable gift from Mr. Peabody, consists of eleven volumes,
admirably arranged, and beautifully executed. They comprise the
whole of our colonial history, and any document we may desire to
possess, is now placed within our reach. The grateful acknowledgments of the Society, so eminently due, have been proffered to the




7
liberal donor, by the Corresponding Secretary. The same gentleman has also presented our thanks to Maj. Gen. Towson, U. S. A.
for his magnificent donation of coins and medals, classified and
arranged by that gallant officer, in nineteen appropriate cases.
The mineralogical specimens, presented by Lewis Howell, Esq.
have not yet been placed in an accessible condition, so requisite to
render them available. It has been suggested, however, to raise a
Committee on Natural History, to which they, with other similar
objects, will be entrusted.
The Library now contains 2,123 volumes, relating chiefly, to
historical, or to such other subjects, as are in strict accordance with
our purposes. Of these, 605 volumes consist of U. S. congressional
and executive documents, forming an invaluable and perfect series,
which, together with our 307 volumes of Gazettes, furnish ample
and highly useful sources of reference.
A very complete catalogue of the manuscripts has been made,
and deposited in port folios, by the Assistant Librarian, under the
direction of the Library Committee. They are thus rendered of
easy access, an advantage, which they did not previously possess.
He has also made a catalogue of all our other acquisitions, excepting the Library. It has been an arduous task, but was greatly
needed, and has been well executed. I would recommend that it,
with a list of the members, be now printed.
The Gallery of Fine Arts continues to flourish, and some highly
appreciated additions have recently been made to the collection
of paintings. There now remains scarce a doubt that, in a few
years, we shall possess a Gallery, honorable to the city and creditable to the unwearied exertions of the committee, to which that
department is confided. The last exhibition of paintings, compared
well, if it did not surpass any of its predecessors in variety and
excellence. It gave a signal manifestation of advancement in that
taste, which guides the selection of those rare productions of art,
which were so liberally contributed to the exhibition by our
citizens. Though subjecting them to much inconvenience, yet they
have not only borne it cheerfully, but have ever acceded to our
requests. I feel assured that you will give your full acquiescence,




8
in now presenting to them our sincere thanks, for their unvarying
kindness.
The annual dinners and monthly soirees of the Society, have been
well attended, and seem to have largely promoted its success, as
well as a more intimate and social intercourse among its members.
They tend also, to create a vivid and concerted movement of an
association, linked together, by no pecuniary, or other tie, than that
of a generous desire for the public good. As the cost of these
re-unions is paid by those only who participate in them, they are,
in no way, a charge on the general fund of the Treasury. And,
in like manner, the Gallery sustains itself, and draws nothing from
means, that are devoted exclusively to the support of the institution
in its more appropriate functions.
The prosperity of the Society is undoubted, whilst it has more
than come up to the most sanguine hopes of its friends, however
ardent.  A foundation too, has been prudently laid, to secure its
future from casualty or decadence. From its origin to the present
day, it has never met with a failure. In all that has been undertaken, it has succeeded, and a perseverance in the caution and
energy, which have, invariably, characterised its course, cannot fail
to ensure a continuance of its healthful progress.
With a surplus of means, to be invested, for future increment,
and a roll of members, which is enlarged at each monthly meeting,
you have a Gallery of Fine Arts, steadily advancing to its object.
With an increasing Library, of the choicest works, you have a
large array of manuscripts, alike essential to the historian or
annalist. And, with an admirable collection of medals, coins, and
minerals, you have the autographs and portraits of men, distinguished for virtue and patriotism. Such are the materials, for the
maintenance of the Society; for the study of history and its
evidences, or of general knowledge; and for the gratification, or
improvement of taste, that you have secured.  I think then,
gentlemen, we have every reason to congratulate ourselves, on the
elevated position, to which our labors have brought us.
J. SPEAR  SMITH, President.
4th 1Maiy, 1854.




LIST OF MEMIBERS.
Geo. W. Andrews,              James L. Bartol,
Wm. S. Appleton,              James Bordley,
J. J. Atkinson,               Geo. W. Burnap, D. I)
R. I-. Attwell,               Aug. W. Bradford,
Jas. W. Allnutt,              Thos. E. Bond, Jri M. D.
Geo. J. Appold,               Titos. D. Baird,
Theodore R. Appold,           Robert C. Barry,
Wm. Meade Addison,            Geo. S. Brown,
R. Snowden Andrews,           J. C. Baugher,
Jas. M. Buchanan,             David R. Brown,
WVm. Geo. Baker,              Wm. Bose,
Geo. Brown,                   Hugh Lennox Bond,
Geo. Wm. Brown,               James H. Bevans,
F. W. Brune,                  Wm. M. Burwell,
F. W. Brune, Jr.              John J. Baltzell,
John C. Brune,                Geo. W. Byrd,
Wm. H. Brune,                 Francis X. Brenan,
John Buckler, M...             m. Brown,
Thos. H. Buckler, M. D.       Emanuel Baltzell,
Robt. P. Brown,               Geo. B. Coale,
Robt. D. Brown,               E. S. Courtney,
C. Bradenbaugh,               B. U Campbell,
N. C. Brooks,                 James C. Coale,
Robert D. Burns,              Charles Carroll,
J. C. Backus, D. D.           C. O. Cone, M. D.
2




10
J. Paul Cockey, M. D.         Andrew Flanagan,
Chas. R. Carroll,             Wm. H. Gatchell,
Allen A. Chapman,             John M. Gordon,
Francis A. Crook,             J. J. Graves, M. D.
Chas. Carroll, Jr.            Alexander B. Gordon,
J. A. Cunningham,             Fred. B. Graff,
Wm. B. Canfield,              Chas. J. M. Gwinn,
Ira Canfield,                 Samuel K. George,
David Cushing,                Geo. S. Gibson, M. D.
Mendes I. Cohen,              Geo. M. Gill,
Andrew I. Cohen,              Edward M. Greenway,
James Cortlan, Jr.            Levin Gale,
Thos. Corner,                 John P. Gunn, M. D.
A. F. Crane,                  Edward Gray,
John 1. Donaldson,            James George,
Samuel I. Donaldson,          Wm. H. Graham,
Samuel C. Donaldson,          Chas. R. Gwynn,
Thomas Donaldson,             Hugh Gelston,
Robt. A. Dobbin,              Chas. E. Gardner,
Jacob R. Drege,               J. Morrison Harris,
John R. W. Dunbar, M. D.    James Hall, M. D.
Austin Dall,                  Wm. Hamilton,
W. H. Diffenderffer,          John B. Howell,
H. Diffenderffer,             Johns Hopkins,
Geo. L. L. Davis,             Robert Hull,
Henry Winter Davis,           Wm. G. Harrison,
Chas. H. Dupuy,               Robert S. Hollins,
Isaac De Ford,                Henry Hardesty,
John M. Edgar,                Lewis Howell,
Thos. Edmondson, M. I).       John Hanan,
Basil T. Elder,               Samuel Hurlbut,
H. W. Ellicott,               Henry R. Hazlehurst,
James Ellicott,               WVm. Harrison,
WV. Frederick Frick,          Cumberland D. Hollins,
John Fonerden, M. D.          Samuel 0. Hoffman,
Robert Fulton, M. D.          Alexander H. Hobbs,




Edward Hinckley,              Brantz Mayer,
Edmund A. Harrison,           Chas. F. Mayer,
Wm. R. Hodges,                James H. McHenry,
Geo. C. Irwin,                Ramsay McHenry,
M. Courtney Jenkins,          Wm. McKim,
Austin Jenkins,               Haslett McKim,
Reverdy Johnson,              Robert M. McLane,
Rev. J. R. Jarboe,            John V. L. McMalholl
Hugh Jenkins,                 John B. Morris,
John P. Kennedy,              John Murphy,
Edward Kurtz,                 Thos. Murphy,
J. T. Keys,                   Wm. E. Mayhew,
Robert R. Kirkland,           Jonathan Meredith,
Wm. H. Keighler,              Leonard Mackall, M. D,
Anthony Kennedy               Wm. D. Miller,
Camillus Kidder,              Wm. E. Mayhew, Jr.
Wm. Geo. Krebs,               Henry Mankin,
Wm. M. Kemp, M. D.            Jos. C. Manning,
John H. B. Latrobe,           Robert Mickle,
Benjamin H. Latrobe,          Isaac Munroe,
Z. Collins Lee,               Wm. M. Medcalfe,
Robert Leslie,                G. W. Miltenberger, M. D.
Martin Lewis,                 Geo. H. Miles, 
Wm. P. Lemmon,                Samuel H. Martin) M. D.
Randolph B. Latimer,          J. G. Morris, D. D.
J. C. Legrand,                James Malcolm,
S. S. Lee,                    A. D. Miller,
J. H. Luckett,                Chas. T. Maddox,
Henry B. Latrobe,             Jos. Merefield,
Francis B. Loney,             M. W. Merryman, M. D.
B. Rush Lloyd,                J. G. Morris, Jr.
Edward Laroque,               D. J. McKew, M. D.
John Lester,                  Charles F. Mayer, of L.
Alonzo Lilly,                 Francis V. Moale,
James Lucas,                  Jos. H. Meredith,
Ferdinand C. Latrobe,         Chas. C. McTavish,




12
Francis B. Mayer,             Win. Schley,
Geo. Maund,                   S. F. Streeter,
Wm. Morrison,                 John Spear Smith,
Thos. Mackenzie',             Samuel W. Smith,
J. Spear Nicholas,            Thos. W. Smith,
Geo. Neilson,                 John S. Sumner,
J. C. Neilson,                B. R. Spalding,
J. Saurin Norris,             Moses Sheppard,
Wm. H. Owens,                 J. H. Stickney,
C. Oliver O'Donnell,          Robert M. Smith,
Chas. H. Pitts,               Thos. Swann,
Robert Purviance,             Wm. C. Shaw,
Robert Purviance, Jr;         C. A. Schaefer,
Wmr. P. Preston,              P. H. Sullivan,
Enoch Pratt,                  Nathan R. Smith, M. D.
James R. Partridge,           Geo. H. Steuart,
Win. A. Poor,                 Thomas M. Smith,
Wm. B, Perine,                Lewis H. Steiner, M. D.
John G. Proud,                J. Hopkinson Smith,
Wm. S. Peterkin,              J. Sellman Shipley,
Benjamin C. Pressttmnan       J. Dean Smith,
Neilson Poe,                  Edward Slade,
John F. Pickerel,            Laurence Sangston,
J. Hall Pleasants,            J. Donnell Smith,
J. D. Pratt,                  Henry F. Stickney,
Edwin L. Parker,              James H. Stone,
Robert W. Pendleton,          Geo. E. Sangston,
Alexander Penn,               Henry Stockbridge,
Lloyd N. Rogers,              Henry C. Scott,
Jos. Robinson,                Thos. Sappington, M. IP
Jos. Reynolds,                Wmn. A. Talbott,
H. J. Rogers,                 St. George W. Teackle,'Wm. Reynolds,                J. Hanson Thomas, M. Do
Andrew Reid,                  John D. Toy,
Chas. Reese,                  Laurence Thomsen,
A. Schurnacher,               Isaac Tyson, Jr.




13
VWm. R. Travers,               Thomas Wilson,
Wm. H. Travers,                James Winchester,
Alexander Turnbull,            WVm. F. Worthington,
Wmi. G. Thomas,                Ambrose A. White,
John S. Tyson,                 Henry Webster,
George Tiffany,               J. A. Weston,
Geo. P. Tiffany,               Wm. Woodville,
Osmond Tiffany,                J. 0. Wharton, M. D.
Luke Tiernan,                 Wn. Woodward,
Jno. Jacob Thomsen,            0.H.  Williams,
Wm. W. Taylor,                John H. Wyman,
Richard W. Tyson,             Geo. W. Waters,
Frederick C. Von Kapff,       Geo. Warner, Jro
Herman Von Kapff,             Thos. Winans,
Adalbert J. Volck,            Geo. W. Ward,
P. G. Van Winkle,             Thos. H. Williams,
B. C, Ward,                   James H. Wood,
Geo. F. R. Waesche,           J. Thomas Wood,
Samuel G. Wyman,               Coleman Yellott,
David S. Wilson,              Win. H. Young.




14'
HONORARY MEMBERS.
James M. Wayne,.....................  Savannazh, Ged.
J. K.Tefft,...........................* 6 
Geo. Folsom,........................... New  York.
Chas. Wilkes, U. S. N...............Washington, D. C.
Geo. Bancroft,................Boston, Mass.
Wm. H. Prescott,.....................  " 
Edward Everett,........................  O
Jared Sparks,...........  d...... Cambridge, 1;Mags,
B. Silliman,.................New  Haven, Conn.
David Hoffman,...........*........., London.
J. R. Bartlett,...   6................... New  York.
Jas. Renwick,..................  
Prof. Rafn,.............................. Copenhagen.
Geo. S. Hilliard,...*.................. Boston, Mass.
David Ridgely,..................                          Washington, D. C,
Baron Fred. Von Baumer,.........Berlin, Prussia.
Lewis Cass,......................... Detroit, Mich,
WVashington  Irving,.......................New  York.
Robert Walsh,..................Paris.
J. McP. Berrien,........................ Georgia.
W. Gilmore Simms,................... Charleston, S. C.
Champolion Figeac,...................Paris.
Count Leon de la Borde,..................  "
Gulian C. Verplanck.................... New  York.
Alexander Vattemare,.................. Paris.
Peter Force,...................... Wasington,. C
Prof. Jos. Henry,......................                           
Rev. Dr. Ryder,................... Georgetown, D. C.
Pedro de Angelis,.....................  ontevideo.
Robert C. Winthrop,...                      Boston, Mass.
James M. Gilliss, U. S. N.....              6.............Washington2  D. C.
Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer,,................. England.




15
A. Calderon de la Barca,....................Spain
Thos. H. Benton,................Missouri.
Thos. Corwin,......................                      O o.
Alex. H. H. Stuart,....................... Virginia,
George Ticknor,..........................Mass.
George Peabody,.....................         London.
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton,................ England.
Martin Farquhar Tupper,.................   t  6
Conway Robinson....................Richmond, Va
Millard Fillmore,.............Buffalo.
Thomas Sully,...............Philadelphia.
Gen. J. N. Almonte,....................Mexico.
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.
Col. Jose Arenales,.....................Buenos Ayres.
J. Mora Moss,.........................                        
John R. Baltzell,..............Frederick, Md.
James McSherry,.......................... 
Thos. G. Pratt,................... Annapolis, Md.
Wm. F. Lynch, U. S. N........... Baltimore Co. Md.
James A. Pearce,.................      Chestertown,    "
Wills de Hass,..............            Wheeling.
Anthony Kimmel,....................                       Frederick Co, Md.
Lieut. Col. Dixon  S. Miles,...............U. S. Army.
Maj. Gen. Nathan  Towson,.............                     "       "
Wm. B. Buchanan,.....................  Wheeling.
Wm. McCarty,...................Sunbury, Pa.
John B. Kerr,......................        Easton, Md.
Jos. C. G. Kennedy,..................ashington, D. C.




16
N. B. Shurtleff, M. L).................... Boston, Milass.
Edward D. Ingraham,..............Philadelphia.
Job R. Tyson,............................. 
Nathan H. Wise,................. Maryland.
J. Romeyn Broadhead,.......,,,..........         New York.
Edward Armstrong,.......................Philadelphia.
John H. Rauch, M. D..................    Burlington, Iowa.
George W. Curtis,.................. New York.
Frederic Kidder,...................... Boston, Mass.
Samuel G. Drake......................               "
Geo. W. Brown,................Ellsworth, Me.
Lieut. Wim. Gibson,.....U.. S. Navy.
Josiah Curtis, M. D............          Boston, Mass.
Peregrine Wroth, M. D.................... Chestertown, Md.
Gen. Tench Tilghman.................... lbot Co.   "
Alexander Evans,......................... Cecil Co.            "
James Lowry Donaldson, U. S. A............ Baltimore.
James Lenox,....................New York.
Robert Davidson, D. D.................  Brunswick, N. J.
Ephraim M. Wright,.......................Boston, Mass.
Isaac E. Heister,................... Pennsylvania.




CATALOG U E
OF THE
MANUSCRIPTS, MAPS, MEDALS,
COINS,
STATUARY, PORTRAITS AND PICTURES;
AND AN
ACCOUNT OF THE LIBRARY
OF THE,arrdank i toricat oiecW
MADE IN 1854,
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE LIBRARY COMMITTEE AND PRESIDENT,
BY
LEWIS MAYER,
Assistant Librarian.
BALTIMORE:
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BY JOHN D. TOY.
1854.








MANUSCRIPTS,
I. DOCUMENTS RELATING TO HISTORY OF
MARYLAND.
Port Folio No. 1.
Contains all the Manuscripts, here mentioned, relating to the EARLY
HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
1623-1681.
No. 1.' Account of Sir George Calvert, pp. 11, and Charta
Avaloniae, pp. 25, copied from the originals among the Sloane
MSS. in the British Museum.
2. Translation of the Charter for Avalon.  MS. from British
Museum.
3. A Relation of the Colony of the Lord Baron of Baltemore,
in Maryland, near Virginia; a Narrative of the First Voyage to
Maryland in 1633, by the REV. FATHER WHITE, and Sundry
Reports from the Jesuit Fathers of the Colony, to the Superior
General at Rome. Copied from the Archives of the Jesuits'
College at Rome, and presented to the Maryland Historical
Society, by Georgetown College, pp. 53, MS. in Latin.
4. Translation of the same into English, by Mr. N. C. Brooks.
5. Copy of "A  Relation of the Successful Beginnings of the
Lord Baltemore's Plantation, in Maryland," pp. 27, written. in
1634.




4
6o A  Relation of Maryland, by one of the first Settlers,
published, London, 1635.  Copied from  an original in the
Library of Harvard University and presented by Mr. J. R.
Partridge, pp. 44.
7. Copies of Letters preserved in Georgetown College, from
Members of the Society of Jesus, soliciting employment as Missionaries in Maryland, 1640, pp. 50. Presented by Mr. B. U.
Campbell.
8. "The Answer to Tom  Tell Troth, the Practise of Princes
and the Lamentations of the Kirke. Written by the Lord Baltemore, late Secretary of State," pp. 108, London, printed, 1642.
9. "The Lord Baltemore's case, concerning the Province of
Maryland, adjoining to Virginia, in America; with full and clear
answers to all material objections, touching his Rights, Jurisdiction and Proceedings there," pp. 32, London, printed, 1653.
10. "An additional Brief Narrative ofa late Bloody Design
against the Protestants in Anne Arundel County and Severn, in
Maryland, in the Country of Virginia, as also the extraordinary
deliverance of these poor oppressed people. Set forth by Roger
Heamans, commander of the ship Golden Lyon, an eye witness
there," pp. 32. London, July 24, 1655.
11. A MS. tract entitled "Hammond versus Heamans, or an
Answer to an audacious Pamphlet, published by an impudent
and ridiculous fellow named Roger Heamans, &c. &c. &c."
By John Hammond, a sufferer in those calamities. Printed at
London for the use of the Author, pp. 38.
THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS ARE COPIES FROM THE ORIGINALS IN
THE STATE PAPER OFFICE, LONDON.
12. Petition of James Clements and others, November, 1633.
13. A Law of Maryland concerning Religion.
14. Declaration shewing the Illegality of the Proceedings of
the Patent of Maryland.
15. Letter from  William  Penn, Sept. 16, 1681, cautioning
James Frisby, Edward Jones and others, in Maryland, not to
pay taxes to Lord Baltimore.




5
MARYLAND PROPRIETARY AND STATE PAPERS.
1637-1776.
The following documents were delivered to the Maryland Historical Society,
in accordance with the 27th Resolution of the Legislature of 1846-7.
BOUND BOOKS —(Jot in Port Folios.)
No.
1. Proprietary Council Book,...       1637-50.
2.        do.            do.....    1650-69.
3.        do.            do...             1656-68.
4.        do.            do.. i.           1669 —71.
5.        do.            do.                        1721-28.
6. Gov. Sharpe's Letter Book,.....   1754-56.
7.  do.       do.       do.....                    1767  71.
8. Journal of the Council of Safety at Annapolis,  1775  76.
Port Folio No. 2.
Contains a number of paper books relating to the following subjects:
1638-1769.
No. 1. Historical Notices of Maryland, in five parts.
2. Account of the Revenue Laws of the Province in two parts.
3. Some Acts of the Assembly of 1638-39.
4. Instructions of Frederick, Lord Baltimore, to Gov. Sharpe.
Additional Instructions, March, 1753.
5. Instructions to Frederick, Lord Baltimore, from George II.
with regard to Trade and Navigation, May 10, 1753, signed by
his Majesty.
6. Record of a Congress of the Provinces at Albany, 1754,
relative to the Indians, and for the purpose of entering into
Articles of Confederacy for their general defence.
7. Answers to the  Queries in the " Morning Chronicle,"
with regard to the Taxes, Revenues, &c. of the Province of
Maryland, Sept. 1758.
Answers to the Queries relative to the Government of Maryland,
published in the " Public Ledger." Nov. 1767.
8. Bill-Book of Lord Baltimore, 1766-1769.
9. Catalogue of North American Trees and Shrubs which will
thrive in England.




6
Port Folio No. 3.
Contains ORIGINAL INSTRUCTIONS from the Lord Proprietary to the Governor
of Maryland, and Papers and Letters, relating to the REVENUE,
TRADE and CIVIL AFFAIRS of the Province.
1684-1775.
No. 1. Instructions of Charles, Third Lord Baltimore, to the
Land Council of Maryland, May 5, 1684.
2. Instructions of Charles, Fifth Lord Baltimore, to Gov.
Benedict Leonard Calvert, March 14, 1726.
3. Instructions of Frederick, Lord Baltimore, to Edward Lloyd,
Agent and Receiver General in Maryland, March 30, 1753.
4. Instructions of the same to Gov. Sharpe, to proclaim his
Majesty George III, Oct. 30, 1760.
5. Instructions of the same to the same, Dec. 20 and 27, 1760.
6. Instructions of the same to the same, January 16, 1765.
7. Imperfect Instructions from the same to the same.
8. Copy of an Instruction of the King to all his Governors in
America, directing them  how to transmit to him accounts of
the proceedings in their respective provinces.
9. Printed Instructions to Commanders of H. M's Ships in
America.
10. Printed list of H. M's Ships stationed in America.
11. Copy of a Letter of Lord Colvill, Commander-in-Chief of
H. M's Ships in America, to the Captain of the Diana, ordering
him to proceed to the Chesapeake to convoy a fleet of merchantmen to the Downs, Nov. 7, 1761.
12. Memoranda concerning the annual charge of maintaining
the establishment of Maryland; account of the mode pursued
in granting lands in the Province; and of the Quit Rents.
13. Copies of two Proclamations by Governors Charles Calvert and Ogle, in 1725 and 1732, concerning the landed property in the Province.
14. Copy of Letters from President Tasker to the Judges of the
Land Office, 1749-51.
15. Account of Lord Baltimore's annual Quit Rents for the
Eastern Shore in 1759.




7
16. Account of Jonathan Hall with Lord Baltimore, 1767.
17. Petition of Samuel Beall of Frederick County to Governor
Sharpe, 1756.
18. His Account with Lord Baltimore, 1762.
19. Statement of the Sales of Lord Baltimore's Manors, &c.,
signed by Horatio Sharpe and Daniel Dulany, 1766-1768.
20. Account how the money granted in February, 1756, for
ranging parties, was expended.
21. Account how the money granted in July, 1764, for H. M's
Service, was expended.
22. Account of Disbursements made by Gov. Sharpe for the
Western Expedition, by desire of Gen. Forbes, &c. 1758.
23. Two Letters from  the Commissioners of the Customs,
London, 1764.
24. Certificate from Officers of the Customs, London, 1775.
25. Certificate from the Collector and Comptroller of the Port
of Annapolis, 1766.
26. Copy of Report of Attorney and Solicitor Generals to Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, 1767.
27. Copy of a Report to the Privy Council on a petition from
the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, shewing their defenceless condition, 1742.
28. Memoranda concerning the Fighting Parson, Bennet Allen,
a protege of Lord Baltimore and Gov. Sharpe.
29. Papers concerning the passage in Parliament of a Bill
allowing the importation of Salt into the Province, 1754-55.
30. List of the Civil Officers of Maryland, in 1754, with their
respective salaries.
31. Bond with special condition for the due execution of the
office of Secretary of State of Maryland, from George Plater to
the Honorable Cecilius Calvert.




Port Folio, No. 4.
Contains a large collection of letters addressed to the Governor of Maryland, and relating, chiefly, to the FRENCH WAR and
A.MERICAN REVOLUTION.
1751-1778.
32. Twenty-one letters from Frederick, Ld Baltimore, 1751-68,
33. Fifteen from  Cecilius Calvert, secretary of Maryland,
1751-62.
34. Twenty-eight from Sir John St. Clair, 1755-60.
35. Fourteen from Gen. Amherst, 1759-62.
36. Thirteen from Gen. Forbes, April-October, 1758.
37. Two from Gen. Gage, 1764-65.
38. One from Col. Wm. Howe,                1758.
39. One from Col. Haldimand, in French,      "
40. One from Major Halkett, 
41. One from Capt. James Sinclair, 
42. Letter from Gen. Shirley, concerning the dispute between
Col. Washington and Capt. Dagworthy, with regard to the right
of supreme command at Fort Cumberland, in Maryland, enclosing an extract of a letter to him from Gov. Dinwiddie, of
Virginia, on the same subject, March 5, 1756.
Another letter from Gen. Shirley, relative to a proposed expedition
against the French and Indians, on the Ohio;-speaks of Col.
Washington as one to whom he would rather give the second
command in the expedition, than any other provincial officer in
America, May 16, 1756.
43. Deposition of an Indian Trader, concerning the French
upon the Ohio.
44. Paper showing the number of Provincial troops to be raised
for the year, 1756.
45. Letter from William Denny, announcing to Gov. Sharpe,
his appointment as Governor of Pennsylvania, August 23, 1756.
46. Seven letters from Sir Thomas Robinson, to the Governor
of Maryland, 1754-55.
47. Four from Wm. Pitt, 1756 —57.




9
48. Four from Gen. Conway, 1765-66.
49. Two from Lord Shelburne, 1766.
50. Letter from  Lord  Hillsborough, with two letters from
Edward Stanley, of the Custom House, London, to Thomas
Bradshaw enclosing two depositions with regard to the murder
of one Wm. Odgers, whose assassin had escaped to America.
Also, a letter from Thomas Bradshaw to Richard Phelps. One
from Gov. Sharpe, on the same subject, 1768. Two letters from
Lord Hillsborough, 1768.
51. Two from Christopher Kilby, 1758-60.
52. Letter from Thomas Stephens, 1757.
53. Four letters from  Stephen Bordley to Gov. Sharpe, and
two to him from the Governor, 1756-60.
54. Letter from Gov. Sharpe to Philip Sharpe, 1760.
55. Letter of W. Sharpe enclosing an extract of a letter from
Thomas Penn to Lord Shelburne, 1767.
56. Letter of Edmund Jennings, 1754.
57. Copy of a letter from Admiral Boscawen to Gov. Phipps,
Oct. 1, 1755.
58. Copy of a letter from the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations to Sir William Johnson, July 10, 1764.
59. Petition from the Council and Burgesses of Virginia to the
King's most excellent Majesty, Memorial to the House of Lords
and Remonstrance to the House of Commons, concerning the
right of the People not to be taxed without their own consent.
60. Ten letters from Gov. Johnson of Maryland, to the General
Assembly, enclosing letters to him from Washington, Pulaski,
Luther Martin, Patrick Henry, Secretary Charles Thomson,
Cols. Samuel Smith, Beatty, Hollingsworth, &c., written during
the months of March and April, 1778.
61. Thirty-five letters from members of the Maryland Legislature and other public men, March, April, 1778.
END OF PAPERS RECEIVED FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND.
2




10
TIE GILMOR MARYLAND PAPERS.
This Collection of Manuscripts was presented to the Maryland
Historical Society, by the late Mr. Robert Gilmor, of Baltimore.
It embraces documents relating to Maryland, and the other Provinces, principally during the administration of Horatio Sharpe,
as governor, from about 1753 to about 1770. The greater part
of the papers of this period, were given to Mr. Gilmor by Mr.
Ridout, whose father was Gov. Sharpe's secretary.
The remainder of the collection consists of papers and letters;
a few relating to the early history of Maryland, but the chief
portion to Revolutionary times.
Vol. I.
Contains documents referring to the CIVIL AFFAIRS of the Province.
DIVISION, No. 1.
Contains the following:
1689-1770.
No. 1. Ordinance of the Convention, September 4, 1689, for
regulating the civil and military officers of Maryland.
2. Ancient Plat of land in Maryland, 1690.
3. Land warrant, 1714, signed by Charles Carroll, keeper of
the seals of Maryland.
4. Deed dated in 1734, signed by Samuel Ogle, governor of
Maryland.
5. Deed dated 1735.
6. Instructions from Frederick, Lord Baltimore, to Gov. Sharpe,
1754.
7. Lord Baltimore's announcement to the Governor of Maryland, of the death of George II, and accession of George III,
giving instructions to proclaim the latter, October 13, 1760.
S. Instructions from Lord Baltimore to Gov. Sharpe, Jan'y 16,
1765.
9. Instructions to the same, dated May 15, 1765.
10. Letter of condolence from Caecilius Calvert on the death
of George II, to Gov. Sharpe, October 30, 1760.




11. Power of Attorney from Caecilius Calvert to Gov. Sharpe,
with regard to the deputation of George Plater to the office of
Secretary of the Province, 1754.
12. Letter from John Morton Jordan, Secretary of Lord Baltimore to Gov. Sharpe, August 16, 1768.
13. Two letters from  Hugh Hamersley, Secretary of Lord
Baltimore, to Gov. Sharpe, 1768-70.
14. Two proclamations by Gov. Sharpe, 1756-60.
15. Instructions from Gov. Sharpe to Capt. Ferguson, 1759.
16. Two letters from Edmund Jenings, 1743-54.
17. Bond with the signature of Thomas Bacon, (Digester of the
Laws of Maryland,) 1754.
18 Two land certificates of Benedict Calvert, 1755-59.
19. Two Receipts for money, 1758-68.
20. Lease to Jos. Warford of the Fort Frederick Land, drawn
up and signed, as a witness, by Gen. O. H. Williams, then
a clerk in the Clerk's Office of Frederick County, 1765.
21. Letter from David Ross, to Gov. Sharpe, 1758.
22. Address to Gov. Sharpe, of the Lower House of Assembly,
1761.
23. Answers to the Queries, respecting the inhabitants, products,
commerce, revenue, &c. of the province, sent to the Governor
of Maryland by the Lords of Trade and Plantations in 1761,
pp. 8, folio.
24. Petition of James Maccubbin to Gov. Sharpe, 1763.
25. Letter to Gov. Sharpe from Col. Thomas Cresap, father of
the celebrated Capt. Michael Cresap, dated Old-Town, July 15,
1763. Published in Mr. Brantz Mayer's "Logan and Capt.
Michael Cresap."
26. Letter from Robert Jenckins Henry, 1768.
27. Assessment for Worcester County, 1766, pp. 12.
28. Letter from Robert Heron, Collector of Somerset County,
respecting the encroachments made by the Pennsylvanians on
the trade of Nanticoke River, 1763.
29. Genealogy of the Brooke and Plunkett family, descended
from Lord Baltimore.




12
DIVISION, No. 2.
1753-1782.
Contains many interesting papers relating to the dissensions in
the parishes of Maryland; but more particularly to the conduct
of a profligate parson, named Bennet Allen, a protege of Lord
Baltimore and Gov. Sharpe; who after a series of quarrels and
disputes, killed Lloyd Dulany in a duel in London, in 1782, was
tried for his life and acquitted.
DIVISION, No. 3.
1768-1769.
Contains addresses from the clergy, magistracy and legislature
of Maryland to Gov. Sharpe, on his retirement from office, and
his answers to some of them,
DIVISION, No. 4.
Contains the following Printed Documents:
1737-1768.
No. 1. Votes and Proceedings of the Lower House of Assembly,
1753, pp. 82, 12mo.
2. "The Case of the Province of Maryland touching the outrageous Riots which have been committed in the Borders of that
Province by the inhabitants of Pensylvania," 1737.
3. "The Case of the Proprietors and Province of Pensilvania,
and the three lower Counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, on
Delaware," 1737.
4. His Majesty's Speech to the Parliament, Nov. 9, 1768.
5. "The Humble Address of the House of Commons to the
King," 1768.
6. Several Maryland and Virginia "Gazettes,' of the same
period.




Vol. II.
Contains a large collection of papers and letters relating, for the most part,
to the FRENCH WAR. There is also, in this volume, a number of
papers, relating to MASON AND DIXON's LINE.
DIVISION, No. 1.
Contains the following Letters addressed to Gov. Sharpe, of Maryland:
1755- 1776.
No. 1. Two letters from  Gen. Braddock, one dated at Fort
Cumberland, May 22, 1755.
2. Letter from Capt. Orme, aid to Gen. Braddock, giving Gov.
Sharpe, an account of the battle of the Monongahela, fought
July 9, 1755;-he mentions the gallantry of Col. Washington,
dated at Fort Cumberland, July 18, 1755.
3. One from Capt. Bradstreet, dated Oswego, May 29, 1755.
4. One from Gov. Lawrence, dated Halifax, July 1, 1756.
5. One from Sir Charles Hardy, Fort George, April 30, 1757.
6. One from Col. Stanwix, 1757.
7. Four from  Col. Bouquet, 1758-64, with a copy of Gov.
Sharpe's answer to one of them.
8. Two from Major Halkett, 1758.
9. One from Sir John St. Clair, 1758.
10. One from Gen. Abercromby, 1758.
11. One from Daniel Clark, 1758.
12. Two from Capt. W. Morris, Crown Point, 1759.
13. Two from Gen. Amherst, 1759-60.
14. Two from Gen. Monckton, 1760.
15. Two from Gen. Gage, 1765.
16. Three from Sir William Johnson, 1767-68.
17. Letter from Admiral Boscawen to the Governor of Maryland, 1755.
18. One from Admiral Spry, with a list of the ships and vessels stationed in America, 1755.




14
19. One from Admiral Lord Colvill, 1757.
20. One from Capt. Adams, R. N., 1762.
21. Order of Sir James Douglas, Commander of H. M's ships
and vessels stationed at the Barbadoes, 1760.
22. Letter to Gov. Sharpe from Sir Thomas Robinson, Secretary
of State, 1755.
23. Four from J. Pownall, Secretary to the Board of Trade,
1755 —76.
24. Five from the Commissioners of the Customs, 1753-61.
25. One from the Lords of Trade, 1764.
26. Two from Henry Fox, (afterwards Lord Holland,) 1756.
27. Two from William  Pitt, (afterwards Earl of Chatham,)
1757-60.
28. One from the Earl of Holdernesse, 1757.
29. One from Lord Egremont, 1762.
30. Letter from Capt. Bosomworth to Lord Loudon, 1757.
31. Copy of The Report of the Earl of Loudon and Generals
Abercromby and Stanwix, to the Lords Commissioners of His
Majesty's Treasury, 1761.
32. Rules for settling rank and precedence in North America.
Rank of Provincial, General and Field Officers in North America, 1756,
LETTERS TO GOV. SHARPE FROM THE FOLLOWING GOVERNORS.
33. One from Robt. H. Morris, of Pa.., 1754.
34. Two from Wm. Denny, of Pa., 1756-59.
35. Two from James Hamilton, of Pa., 1760-62.
36. One from John Penn, of Pa., 1767.
37. One from J. Belcher, of N. J., 1754.
38. One from Henry Moore, of N. Y., 1765.
39. One from Robert Dinwiddie, of Va., 1757.
40. One from George Mercer, of Va., 1765.
41. Two from Gen. Shirley, 1755-56.




15
42. Account of the expenses of Richard Peters, and Govrs.
Shirley and Morris on a journey from Philadelphia to Annapolis,
1755.
43. Letters written by Richard Peters, (Grandfather of the
Reporter of the Supreme Court,) 1761.
44. Designs by Judge Peters, for a Medal intended for the
Captors of Major Andre.
DIVISION, No. 2.
Contains a number of miscellaneous papers, relating chiefly to the FRENCH
WAR.
1675 —1770.
No. 1. Patent of land, signed Nov. 1, 1675, by Sir Edmund
Andross.
2. Report of a Committee of the Assembly of New Hampshire, dated Portsmouth, May 13, 1711.
3. Several printed documents relating to the dispute between
Gov. Belcher and the House of Representatives, of New Hampshire, 1739.
4. Act of the province of Rhode Island, appointing commissioners to meet Gen. Shirley and the commissioners from the
northern Colonies, 1755.
5. List of the Captains, Lieutenants and Ensigns of the Virginia Forces, April, 1755.
6. Minutes of the Council held at Alexandria, April 14, 1755,
over which Gen. Braddock presided.
7. Instructions to Sir Wm. Johnson from James De Lancey,
Governor of New York, with regard to the attack upon Crown
Point, dated April 16, 1755.
8. Message of an Oneida Sachem to Sir Wm. Johnson, 1756.
9. Extract of a "talk" from  Conoquieson to the same, at a
Congress of the Indians in July, 1770.
10. Letter from Sir Guy Carleton to the same, 1766.
11. Extract of a letter from Sir Wm. Johnson to the Earl of
Hillsborough, 1770.
12. Copy of the Articles of Capitulation of St. John's, Sept.
18, 1762.




16
13. Copy of Col. Bradstreet's Treaty with the Indians, Aug.
12, 1764.
14. Proclamation by Gov. Fauquier, of Virginia, 1766.
15. Journal of Lieut. James Gorrell, commencing at Detroit,
Sept. 8, 1761, and ending at Montreal, Aug. 13, 1763, containing
an account of several councils held with the Indians;-also,
showing the villany used by the Canadians to corrupt the Indians, and excite them against the English, together with a short
account of the expedition conducted in the fall of 1763, by Major Wilkins, from Niagara to Detroit, pp. 26, Svo.
DIVISION No. 3.
1751-1766.
Contains the following original documents, relating entirely, with the exception of the last, to the BOUNDARY LINE between Pennsylvania and
Maryland, commonly called MASON and DIXON'S LINE.
No. 1. Field notes of the Surveyors employed to run the Transpeninsular Line in 1751, pp. 40, 18mo.
2. Letter from the Commissioners appointed by Richard Penn,
to the Maryland Commissioners, Oct. 20, 1760.
3. Letter to Gov. Sharpe from Thomas Garnett and Jonathan
Hall, Maryland Surveyors, Sept. 5, 1761.
4. Mr. Garnett's account of expenditures, 1761.
5. Letter from  John Emory, one  of the Surveyors, with a
sketch of the Tangent Line, Dec. 10, 1761.
6. Letter from  the Pennsylvania to the Maryland Commissioners, Nov. 18, 1762.
7. Letter from  Chas. Mason and Jere. Dixon to Mr. Ridout,
Secretary to Gov. Sharpe, April 14, 1766.
8. Letter of the same to Gov. Sharpe, June 10.
9. Letter of the same to the same, Aug. 12.
10. Letter of the same to the same, Oct. 1.
11. Letter from  the Pennsylvania to the Maryland Commissioners, March, 15, 1768.
12. Col. Cresap's original MS. Map of the course of the
Potomac, and a copy of the same.
"This was the first map ever made to show the "course and fountains of the
north and south branches of the Potomac river."




17
Vol. IlI.
Contains documents relating.to Maryland at the epoch of the
REVOLUTION and a number of miscellaneous letters, &c.
written at the same period.
DIVISION, No. 1.
Papers and Letters of the "Homony Club," a convivial association of Annapolis, which flourished just before the Revolution,
and of which Governors Eden and Johnson, Judge Samuel
Chase, Daniel Dulany, John Hall and other distinguished citizens of Annapolis, were members.
DIVISION, No. 2.
Contains letters relating to the STAMP ACT and the other measures of the
British ministry for taxing America.
1764-1771.
1. Two letters from Dunk, Lord Halifax, 1764-65.
2. Two from Gen. H. S. Conway, Secretary of State, 1766.
3. Letter from the Duke of Richmond. Duplicate of the same,
1766.
4. One from Sir Grey Cooper, 1766.
5. One from Lord Shelburne, 1766.
6. One from Lachlin Macleane, Secretary to Lord Shelburne,
1767.
7. One from the Earl of Hillsborough, 1771, to Gov. Eden.
8. Letter to Gov. Sharpe from Zachariah Hood, Commissioner
of Stamps for Maryland, dated November 11, 1765, New York,
whither he had been obliged to flee for safety.
9. One from Capt. James Hawker, R. N. with regard to the
delivery of Stamps on board his ship, Oct. 22, 1765.
10. One from Capt. John Brown, R. N. as to what he shall do
with a collection of Stamps on board his vessel, June 16, 1766.
The Stamp Act was repealed, March 18, 1766.
11. Printed Resolutions of the inhabitants of Maryland not to
import certain articles into the province, Annapolis, June 22,
1769.
3




18
DIVISION, No. 3.
Contains Papers relating to Maryland during and since the REvoLUTION:
1774-1791.
No. 1. Package of Continental Money.
2. Proceedings of the Committee of the Legislature of Maryland, June 22, 1774.
3. Resolves of Congress to raise ten companies of Riflemen,
two of them in Maryland, two in Virginia and six in Pennsylvania, June 14, 1775.
4. Letter from Benjamin Rumsey, 1776.
5. One from Stephen West, 1776.
6. One from Judge Samuel Chase to Gov. Johnson, 1777.
7. One from Josias Polk and Edward Lloyd, to Thomas S.
Lee, 1777.
8. One from Wm. Paca to Gov. Johnson, 1778.
9. One from Daniel of St. Thos. Jenifer, 1779.
10. Address to Gov. Johnson, by the Maryland Line, in the
handwriting of Gen. Smallwood.
11. Arrangement of the officers of the four Maryland Companies
of Riflemen, 1781, in the handwriting of the same.
12. Two letters from John Hanson, 1782.
13. Letter of Win. Le Conte, 1783.
14. One from Elias Boudinot, President of Congress, to Gov.
Paca, 1783.
15. Address of the General Assembly of Maryland, to Major
Gen. Greene, January 15, 1783. Duplicate of the same.
16. Resolutions of the Officers of the Southern Army, signed
by Generals Daniel Morgan and 0. H. Williams, in the handwriting of the latter.
17. Address of the Officers of the Continental Army to Congress, dated White Plains, Sept. 13, 1778, in the handwriting
of Gen. O. H. Williams.
18. Address of the Officers of the Maryland Line, to the Governor and General Assembly of Maryland, in 1779, in the handwriting of the same.




19
19. Address of the same to the General Assembly, in 1783, in
the handwriting of the same.
20. Letter to Gen. Washington from  D. Plunket and Gen.
Williams, written by the latter, April 21, 1789.
21. Return of the Hospital, from Dr. Brown to Gen. Williams,
1781.
22. Letter from Col. Scammell to the same, 1780.
23. Letter from James McHenry and R. H. Harrison, dated at
head-quarters, Orangetown, Augt. 12, 1780, to the same.
24. Two Letters from Major Giles to the same, 1780-81.
25. One from Gen. Gist to the same, 1783.
26. One from Gen. Smallwood to the same, 1784.
27. Seven letters from Wm. Smith to his son-in-law, Gen.
Williams, 1789-91.
DIVISION No. 4.
Contains the following papers relating to BALTIMORE-TOWN.
1773-1794.
No. 1. Papers concerning Robert Moreton, preventive officer at
Baltimore, 1773.
2. Warrant of election  to represent Baltimore-Town in the
General Assembly, in 1773.
3. Correspondence of the Committee of Safety of Baltimore
with other Committees and persons elsewhere; together with
the proceedings of the Committee, 1775-76.
4. Articles of Association of the Independent Company, commanded by Capt. John Stricker with the signatures of the
members.
DIVISION No. 5.
With the following miscellaneous papers and letters of Revolutionaay date,
the collection of Manuscripts presented to the Society, by Mr. Gilmor,
closes:
1770-1789.
No. 1. Letter from Daniel Chamier, of Baltimore, dated Boston,
June 18, 1770, giving an account of the affray between the
citizens and the soldiery. He takes the part of the latter.




20
2. Commission to James Otis, Nov. 15, 1775, from George III,
signed by James Otis, Benjamin Lincoln and others..3. Letter from Col. Josiah Bartlett, signer of the Declaration
of Independence, January 20, 1776.
4. Letter from Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of
Independence, to William Whipple, of New Hampshire, also a
signer, 1777.
5. One from Col. Henry Laurens, to the same, 1779.
6. Bill of Exchange drawn by Robert Morris, as minister of
Finance, 1783.
7. Letter written by Gen. Thomas Conway, 1778.
S. Letter from Patrick Henry to Richard Henry Lee, 1779o
9. One from Dr. Witherspoon, signer of the Declaration of
Independence, to the same, 1781.
10. One from John Adams, dated Amsterdam, September 4,
1780, to Samuel Huntington, President of Congress.
11. One from Ralph Izard, 1783.
12. Warrant for money, signed by Sir Guy Carleton, 1778.
13. Order for money to be paid, from Lord Dorchester, (formerly
Sir Guy Carleton,) 1789.
14. Warrant of money to be paid to Col. Goreham, signed by
Gen. Massey, commandant in Nova Scotia, 1778.
15. Subsistence Warrant, signed by Sir Henry Clinton, 1781.
16. Memorial of Capt. McKinnon to Col. Balfour, Commandant
at Charleston, S. C. and two warrants to the former, one signed
by Gen. Leslie, 1781.
17. Printed "Account of Receipts and Expenditures by the
Superintendent of Finance, to December 31, 1781."
18. Philadelphia Evening Post of November 2, 1782.




THE PEABODY INDEX
TO
MARYLAND DOCUMENTS IN THE STATEl
PAPER OFFICE, LONDON,
THIS elaborate MANUSCRIPT was prepared by Mr. Henry Stevens, at the cost and under the direction of Mr. GEORGE PEABODY9
who presented it to the Maryland Historical Society as a testimonial of his regard for the State in which he formerly dwelt. The
collection is contained in eleven volumes or, solander cases, bound
in blue morocco, under lock. There are abstracts and descriptions
of one thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine documents extending
from the year 1626 to 1780, exhibiting a chronological reference
to the complete COLONIAL HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
The gentleman who prepared this work states, that he believes
it contains an account of every thing at present accessible on this
subject in the STATE PAPER OFFICE, though there are still papers
in that depository which are unarranged and may contain references
to Maryland. There are, also, valuable MANUSCRIPTS relating to
our Province in the British Museum, the Badleian Library, the
Society for the propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and
elsewhere in England, none of which are described in the present
Index.
It may be proper to remark, for the benefit and guidance of
those who wish to consult this index for the purpose of obtaining
full copies of documents referred to, that every paper is described
and its length in folios accurately given. A folio is reckoned in
the State Paper Office, as consisting of seventy-two words, and the
price of copying is regulated by law, atfouar pence perfolio.




22
Vol. I.
1626-1685.
Contains an Index to the Documents in the State Paper Office,
relating to Sir George Calvert's Colony of Avalon and the Proprietary history of Maryland from 1626 to 1685, among which are
many referring to the religion, laws, trade, productions, &c. of
Maryland; the wars with the Indians; the disputes of Lord Baltimore with William Claiborne, William Penn, and the Officers of
the Customs, Rousby and Badcock; Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia,
and the proceedings of the Dutch and Swedes, on Delaware Bay.
Vol. II.
1685-1691.
Contains an index to numerous letters and papers written by
persons of both factions concerning the Revolution of 1689 in the
province. Also papers concerning the appointment of Sir Lionel
Copley, the first Royal Governor after the Revolution.
Vol. III.
1691-1697.
Contains an index to documents regarding the administration of
Governors Copley, Andros and Nicholson; the disputes of the first
mentioned with the Secretary of the province, and also with the
Surveyor General of North America; the establishment of Protestant ministers in Maryland; the trade of the province, and the
Quota demanded from Maryland, for the defence of the frontiers
of New York against the French and Indians.
Vol. IV.
1697-1699.
Contains an index to papers concerning the proceedings of the
Board of Trade; the laws of the province; the piracies in the
American seas; addresses from the people of Maryland to the
King, and the administration of Governor Blackistone.
Vol, V.
1699-1702.
Contains an index to similar subjects as the preceding.




23
Vol. VI.
1702-1706.
Contains an index to documents relating to the condition of
Maryland during the government of John Seymour; the war with
France and Spain; value of foreign coins in America; salaries of
the provincial governors, and religion in the province.
Vol. VII.
1706-1711.
Contains an index to papers respecting the population, laws,
trade, &c. of Maryland; perquisites of the Secretary's office;
boundary line of Maryland, and appointment of Col. Corbet as
governor.
Vol. VIII.
1711-1720.
Contains an index to documents concerning the proceedings of
President Lloyd; the appointment and administration of Governor
Hart; the appointment of Charles Calvert, proprietary governor,
and the trade, &c. of the province.
Vol. IX.
1720-1736.
Contains an index to papers referring to the appointment and
administrations of Governors Benedict Leonard Calvert and Samuel
Ogle; trade, &c. of the province, and the outrages committed
against Col. Thomas Cresap and family, by the Sheriff of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Vol. X
1736-1754.
Contains an index to papers regarding the foreign coins and
paper currency in America, boundary line of Maryland; the appointment and administrations of Governors Bladen and Ogle,
President Tasker, Governor Sharpe, and the occurrences of the
French War.,




24
Vol. XL
1754-1780.
Contains an interesting compendium of documents relating to
the administrations of Governors Sharpe and Eden; the boundary
line;.the proceedings of the people of Maryland upon the passing
and repeal of the Stamp Act and the various other taxes imposed
by the British Ministry; communications between the Governor
and General Assembly concerning the Acts of Parliament; addresses and petitions of the people to the King; proceedings of
the delegates appointed to the Continental Congress; resolutions
of the people; proceedings of the Convention of Maryland; the
movements in the other colonies, and the battles fought with the
British.
MISCELLANEOUS MARYLAND MANUSCRIPTS.
BOUND BOOKS —(JVot in Port Folios.)
1745-1810.
No. 1. Rent-Roll of Lord Baltimore, 1749-53.
2. Proceedings of the Maryland Convention, from June 22,
1774, to November 11, 1776, 2 vols.
3. Journal of the Committee of Observation of the Middle
District of Frederick County, Maryland, 1775-1776, presented
by the City of Frederick to the Maryland Historical Society.
4. Contents, Dedication and Preface to a History of the "Ancient and Honorable Tuesday Club," of Annapolis, 1754.
"Record of the Tuesday Club, containing the first decade of the
Transactions of that Society, comprehended in 239 sederunts,
viz: from May, 1745 to May, 1755, inclusive, with heads of the
honorable the President, and the principal officers and members,
and figures of the most material transactions of the Club."
Vol. 1, pp. 550, 4to.
5. Lectures on Maryland History, by the late Mr. Thomas W.
Griffith, presented by Mr. Brantz Mayer, 8vo.




25
6. Index to the Laws of Maryland, from 1800 to 1810, pp.
263, 4to.
7. The Original ROLLS of the CINCINNATI SOCIETY OF MARYLAND, containing its Constitution, and the Signatures of its
Members, deposited with the Historical Society, by the Members. In a tin box.
The list of original members is published in Mr. McSherry's
History of Maryland.
Port Folio No. 5.
Contains the following documents found among the REVOLUTIONARY
PAPERS of GEN. MORDECAI GIST, and presented to the Society,
by DR. J. PAUL COCKEY, of Baltimore.
1774-1781.
No. 1. Orderly Book containing the General Division and
Brigade orders in Camp, at Morristown, from March 5, to April
15, 1780. Also those issued during the march of the Maryland
Troops, from Morristown to join the Southern Army, from April
15 to July 14, 1780, 1 vol.
2. Orderly Book, containing Regulations for the service of
the Seige of York. The General Orders from the commencement of the Seige to its close. The correspondence between
Gen. Washington and Lord Cornwallis, with regard to the Surrender of Yorktown, &c. General Orders on the march of the
Troops from Williamsburg, Nov. 5, 1781, 1 vol.
3. Arrangement of the Maryland Line after its re-organization
in 1781, in the handwriting of Gen. Smallwood. Published
in Mr. McSherry's History of Maryland.
4. Articles of Association and Signatures of Members of the
Baltimore Independent Cadets, Dec. 3, 1774.
5. List of the Officers of the Third Maryland Regiment, April
19, 1777.
6. Proceedings of a Court Martial, held at Wilmington, April
6, 1778, written on British stamped paper.
4




26
Port Folio No. 6.
Contains documents, manuscript and printed, relating, principally, to the
History of Maryland, at the period of the REVOLUTION, presented
to the Society by MR. B. U. CAMPBELL.
1659 1786.
No. 1. Original Manuscript Records of Courts Baron and
Courts Leet, held in St. Clement's Manor, at several times, from
1659 to 1672, folio.
2. Three Deeds dated 1659, 1663 and 1664, the first signed
by Josias Fendall, and the two laist, by Charles Calvert, Gov.
of Maryland, and afterwards, third Lord Baltimore.
3. Patent of the Baltimore Company, 1732.
4. Printed Scheme of the Maryland Liberty Lottery, Annapolis, 1767.
5. Printed Resolutions of the Inhabitants of Maryland, not to
import certain articles into the Colony, June 22, 1769.
6. Handbill addressed to the Inhabitants of Anne Arundel
Co., Md., January, 1775.
7. Another to the Citizens of Annapolis, January, 1775.
8. Paper containing the appointment of a Committee of Observation for Anne Arundel Co., January, 1775.
9. MS. invective against the Civil Rulers of Maryland, addressed to the people of Maryland, exhorting them to avenge
themselves upon their domestic enemies, and act more vigorously against the common foe of their country, 1777.
10. Letter from Rev. John Carroll, dated Philadelphia, June 2,
1776, to Charles Carroll, Sr., father of Charles Carroll of Carrollton.
11. Letters to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, from James Sterett,
James Fitzgerald and Mr. Pliarne, 1777.
12. Arrears of taxes due in Maryland, 1784.
13. Report of Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Intendant of the
Revenue, to the General Assembly, 1784, printed.
14. Report of the same for 1785..




27
15. Three printed papers containing the controversy between
D. of St. Thos. Jenifer and Judge Hanson, concerning plans of
finance and the revenues and funds of the State, Dec. 1784.
16. Printed address to the General Assembly, tending to show
the justice of making specie bonds, " by one of the debtors for
black money," 1786.
17. Printed account of the value of land in the several counties
of Maryland, 1781, with views of the assessments of lands in
the same counties in 1781-2-3.
18. Printed proceedings of the General Assembly, 1785, relating to Henry Harford, the last proprietary of Maryland.
19. MS. of Strictures on the Counter Protest to the Protest against the passage of a bill in April Session of the General
Assembly, 1783, entitled an "Act concerning the admission
and qualification of solicitors and attornies," arguments in support of the protest, signed by Charles Carroll of Carrollton.
Duplicate of the same, without signature.
20. Instructions and Letters from Gov. Smallwood, Thos. Johnson and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, to Judge Chase, respecting the Stock of the Bank of England belonging to Maryland,
1787, appointing him Agent, and letters from Judge Chase on
the same subject.
21. Memoranda and journal of Augustine Herman, of Bohemia
Manor, with numerous documents relative to the estate.
22. Printed extracts from private letters, dated London, April,
1774, relative to the oppressive measures of the British Ministry.
23. Printed copy of the King's Address to Parliament, October
27, 1775.
24. Printed Address of the Continental Congress to the inhabitants of the United States, May 9, 1778.
25. General Account of Receipts and Expenditures of United
States, from 1 November, 1784 to 1 November, 1785.
26. Report of the Grand Committee of Congress respecting the
foreign and domestic debts of the United States and the quotas
of the several states, signed by Charles Thomson, Secretary of
Congress, 1785.
27. Printed Resolves of Congress respecting the laying off of
lands to the westward, 1785.




28
28. Handbill of news from  England respecting a proposed
peace with the United States.
29. Printed remarks on Lord Sheffield's observations on the
commerce of the United States.
30. Inscription for a monument which might appropriately be
erected on the Repeal of the Stamp Act.
Port Folio No. 7.
Contains all the remaining Manuscripts relating to the History of Maryland.
1652-1835.
PAPERS WRITTEN BY THE LATE MR. JAMES JOHNSON, SON OF GOV.
JOHNSON, OF MARYLAND, AND PRESENTED BY HIM TO THE SOCIETY.
No. 1. Genealogy of the family of Thomas Johnson, the first
Republican Governor of Maryland.
2. Biographical Sketch of Thomas Johnsono
3. Revolutionary Worthies of Maryland.
4. Revolutionary Reminiscences.
5. List of the Maryland officers appointed to command the
Flying Camp in the campaign in 1776-77.
6. Catalogue of the Professors and Students of St. John's
College, Annapolis, 1789-95.
7. Origin, Rise and Progress of Steam Navigation.
MISCELLANEOUS MANUSCRIPTS.
No. 1. Pres. Joseph's address to the General Assembly, Nov,
14, 1688, and two addresses, by Gov. Seymour, 1704, extracted
fiom the Journals of the Upper House of the Maryland Assembly, preserved in the Council Chamber, at Annapolis, pp. 11, folioo
2. Copy of H. M's Order in Council, 1738, for preserving
peace between the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
3. Copy of the Agreement, 1760, between the Proprietors of
Pennsylvania and Maryland, pp. 55, folio, presented by Mr. J.
B. Morris.
(A printed copy of the same, in the Library, presented by Mr.
E. D. Ingraham, of Philadelphia.)
4. Orders and Instructions for Robert Eden, Governor of
Maryland, from George 1II, 1769, copied from  the original




29
Records in the Council Office, Whitehall, London, presented
to the Society by Jared Sparks, LL. D.
5. Letter from General Samuel Smith, written in 1821, giving
an account of the plan by which the Committee of Safety at
Baltimore, intended making Governor Eden prisoner, in 1776.
6. Journal of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, during his visit to
Canada in 1776, as one of the Commissioners from Congress,
pp. 41, presented by Mrs. J. McTavish. Published by the
Society, with a memoir and notes by Mr. Brantz Mayer.
7, Journal of Capt. William Beatty of the Maryland Line, from
1776 to 1781. Also five letters of the same; with his memoir,
written by Judge Beatty, of Kentucky, presented by the same.
8. Copy of the Journal of Lieut. Anderson of the Delaware
Regiment, in the Southern Campaign, 1780-81, pp. 19.
9. Manuscript of Mr. O. Tiffany's Sketch of the Life and
Services of General O. H. Williams, of the Maryland Line, a
discourse delivered by him before the Society, and published,
pp. 36, folio.
10. An account of Occurrences in Somerset County, 1781, in
letters chiefly addressed to Matthew Tilghman, copied from the
originals on file in the Council Chamber, Annapolis, pp. 20.
11. Transcripts from the Records of Kent County Court, 1652,
made by Mr. George L. L. Davis, and presented by him to the
Society.
12. Scale of Depreciation by the Maryland Legislature, for the
Payment of Officers, &c. 177-81.
13. Fac-simile of a letter of Charles, third Lord Baltimore, 1687.
14. Letter of Charles, fifth Lord Baltimore, 1742.
15. Three letters from Governor Eden, 1775.
16. Note to him from John Montgomery, in Latin.
17. Letter from Daniel Dulany, 1787.
18. One from Col. J. E. Howard, 1826.
19. One from Col. Paul Bentalou, 1826.
20. One from Gen. Samuel Smith, 1835.
21. Letter concerning John Hicks, a Chief of the Cherokee
nation, showing him to have been born of white parents in Maryland; and another letter from the same person concerning Fort
Frederick.




DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF
BALTIMORE.
BOUND BOOKS-(JVot in Port Folios.)
1774-1838.
No. 1, The Manuscript of Mr. Robert Purviance's "Narrative of Events which occurred in Baltimore-Town, during the
Revolutionary War."
2. Orderly Book of the Baltimore Independent Company, commanded by Samuel Sterett, and attached to the 5th Regiment M.
M. Aug.-November, 1814, presented by Mr. John S. Sumner.
3. Record of Visitors to the top of Washington Monument,
from 1835 to 1838.
Port Folio, No. 8.
Contains all the Manuscripts in this section.
1748-1846.
No. 1. The original letters published in Mr. Purviance's "Narrative of Events which occurred in Baltimore-Town during the
Revolution," presented to the Society by Mr. Purviance.
2. List of subscribers for keeping the Fence around Baltimore
Town in repair, 1748.
3. Do. for building a Town Hall, and Market House, 1751.
4. Census of Deptford Hundred, or Fell's Point, made by
order of Congress, 1776.
The above were presented by Mr. Randolph B. Latimer. They
were found among the papers of the late Mr. Thos. W. Griffith.
5. History of the Baltimore City and County Alms House;
found among the papers of Mr. Thos. W. Griffith.
6. List of subscribers for opening Calvert Street, by under.
pinning and under-arching the Court House, 1784-presented
by Mr. Ramsay McHenry.




31
7, Paper read before the Society by MLr. Robert Gilmor, relative to certain buildings which once existed in Baltimore.
8. Member book of the Baltimore Lodge of Masons, No. 16,
from 1773 to 1780, presented by Mr. Geo. F. R. Waesche.
9. Paper book of descriptions of designs for the Washington
Monument, written in 1813. Also, tickets in the "Washington
Monument Lottery," 1813.
10. Orderly Book of the 3d Brigade, Maryland Militia, John
Stricker, Brig. Gen. Baltimore, Aug.-Nov. 1814-presented
by Mr. Hugh Jenkins.
11. Papers concerning the presentation of a sword by the
citizens of Baltimore, to Lieut. R. Ridgely, for his gallantry at
Palo Alto, and Resaca de la Palma, 1846.
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF
AMERICA, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS,
MISCELLANEOUS AUTOGRAPH LETTERS,
FAC-SIMILES, &c.
BOUND BOOKS-(Not in Port Folios.)
1312-1813.
No. 1. MANUSCRIPT IN LATIN, on vellum, of the XIV. Century,
beautifully written and illuminated, of the Gospels of MATTHEW
and MARK, with annotations and commentaries. Bound in the
original wood and stamped leather, pp. about 250.
2. MANUSCRIPT IN LATIN, on vellum, Anno 1312, Aristotle's
Physics, pp. about 300.
3. SPANISH MANUSCRIPT, beautifully illuminated, and bound in
crimson velvet, wit]h silver clasps,-giving an account of the Geography, History,. Statistics, &c. &c. of the NORTH OF TERRA
FIRMA AND THE PROVINCE OF VERAGUA, in a Report to the
KING OF SPAIN, signed by DIEGO DE LA HAYA, 1716, pp. 352.




32
4. Manuscript History (in Spanish) of the American Revolution,
for the years 1776,'77 and'78, pp. 450, presented by Mr. S. T.
Wallis.
5. Order Book of the United States Army, under Gen. James
Wilkinson, from 1797 to 1813, presented by Mr. John I. Donaldson.
6. Fac-similes of Manuscripts on Papyrus, preserved in the
Royal Library, Paris, edited by M. Champollion Figeac, of Paris,
presented by the Editor, 1 vol. folio.
7. Mons. Alexandre Vattemare's  " ALBUM  COSMOPOLITE),
containing fac-similes of sketches, &c. by distinguished artists
and of autograph signatures and letters, of celebrated men, of
past and present time, presented by M. Vattemare, 1 vol. folio.
THE FOLLOWING ARE IN MAP FORM:
1765-1843.
No. 1. Two Fac-similes of the Declaration of Independence.
2. Fac-simile of the signatures of the Merchants and other
citizens of Philadelphia, as subscribed to the Non-Importation
Resolutions, Oct. 25, 1765.-presented by Mr. R. H. Townsend.
3. Fac-simile of the Acts of Separation of the Free Church
of Scotland in 1843, presented by Mr. George Brown.
THE FOLLOWING ARE FRAMED:
1776-1847.
No. 1. Fac-simile of the Declaration of Independence, presented
by Congress to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the surviving
signer, signed by him in the year 1826, and given by him to
Mr. John McTavish, who presented it to the Society.
2. Fac-simile of a letter to Thomas Jefferson, from Benjamin
Banneker, a colored man, of Baltimore County, of considerable
mathematical attainments, and of Mr. Jefferson's answer, 1791,
presented by Mr. Moses Sheppard. These letters are published
in Mr. Latrobe's " Memoir of Benjamin Banneker."
3. Letter, dated Monterey, September 22, 1847, signed by Gen.
Z. Taylor.
4. Note written by the Duke of Wellington, 1847, presented by
Mr. W. S. Peterkin.




33
Port Folio No. 9.
Contains Mons. Du Bois Martin's Account of his agency in the
EMBARKATION OF LAFAYETTE, for this country in 1776. Also, his
private papers, in French.
Mons. Martin was a French officer, who, in the latter part of
his life, resided in Baltimore.
Port Folio, No. 10.
Contains all the remaining Manuscripts mentioned in the following pages:
1502-1837.
No. 1. Copy of a letter written by Columbus, and preserved in
the Ducal Palace, Genoa, dated Seville, April 2, 1502.
2. Translation  of a Treatise by A. Von Humboldt, on the
"OLDEST MAPS OF THE NEW  CONTINENT," and on the name,
" AMERICA," prefixed to a German History of BEHAIM, the Navigator, presented to the Society by Mr. Wm. Rodewald, of
Bremen. Also, a translation of the preface to the same work.
3. Letter from WILLIAM PENN, dated May 2, 1698, addressed
to his Agents in Pennsylvania, concerning six hundred pounds
due to him by the province. This valuable relic was presented
to the Society by Mi. Richard H. Townsend, of Baltimore.
4. Fac-simile of the same.
5. Do. of a letter from William Penn, dated 25 April, 1682.
6. Fac-simile of Washington's Accounts with  the United
States, from  June, 1775, to June, 1783.-presented by Mr.
Geo. B. Coale.
7. Historical Account of Erie County, Pennsylvania, written
for the Society, by Wm. Maxwell Wood, M. D. Surgeon U. S.
Army.-pp. 30, 12mo.
8. Correspondence between the United States citizens resident
at La Guayra, and Capt. Spence, commanding the U. S. Ship
Cyane, 1822.-presented by Mr. P. W. Lowry.
5




34
THE FOLLOWING WERE PRESENTED BY MR. BRANTZ MAYER.
9. Note from Col. J. E. Howard.
10. Letter from Gouverneur Morris, 1800.
11. One from Chief Justice Taney, 1831.
12. One from Chief Justice Marshall, 1830.
13. One from Mathew Carey, 1837.
14. One from Jared Sparks, 1832.
15. Letter written by Benedict Arnold, 1768, presented by Mr.
Charles S. Gilmor.
16. One from Aaron Burr, 1793, presented by the same.
17. Letter from Dr. Hugh Williamson, 1774.
18. Fac-simile of a letter from Washington to Francis Hopkinson, 1785, presented by Mr. George B. Coale.
19. Letter from  Lafayette, 1827, presented by Mr. R. H.
Townsend.
20. Two from David Crockett, 1835, presented by Mr. George
H. Hickman.
21. Letter from John Quincy Adams, dated Quincy, Oct. 26,
1841, to Mr. J. A. Grace, concerning the Genealogy of the
Adams family and other papers relating to the same subject, pp. 21.
22. Two letters to the President of the Maryland Historical
Society, from George W. P. Custis, descriptive of the uniforms
worn by the several corps of the Continental army. Published in
Mr. McSherry's History of Maryland.
23. French inscription engraved in 1749, upon a leaden plate
found at the confluence of the Ohio and Great Kanawha rivers.
24.' Fac-simile of two letters from Thomas Jefferson and Andrew
Jackson, 1824 and 1833, presented by Mr. John P. Hughes.
25. Deed of the sale of a negro girl in Newport, Rhode Island,
1742.
26. Various English  and American Indentures, of the following dates: 1602, 1607, 1656, 1695, 1696, 1752, 1756, 1770.
27. Various specimens of continental and provincial notes of
Maryland, &c. issued during the period from 1774 to 1776, presented by Mr. F. B. Mayer.




35
28. "CAn Essay towards an English Grammar, in verse," by
the Rev. Mr. Chase, father of Judge Samuel Chase, presented
by Mr. J. I. Donaldson, pp. 109, 4to.
29. A Course of Law and Literary Study, prepared by Judge
Samuel Chase, presented by Hon. J. P. Kennedy, pp. 28, 4to.
30. "The Materials of History," an essay read before the Society, by Mr. Thomas Donaldson.
31. Fac-simile of the Death Warrant of Charles I, presented
by Mr. Louis Servary.
32. Handbill containing an account of the trials of William,
Earl of Kilmarnock, George, Earl of Cromartie and Arthur,
Lord Balmerino, for High Treason, in 1746.
33. Permit with the signatures of Napoleon and some of his
ministers, 1813.
34. Fac-simile of a sketch and notes illustrating the battle of
Arcola, made by Napoleon, presented by Mr. P. W. Lowry.
35. Fourth Bulletin of the French Army in Russia, dated
Wilna, June 30, 1812, printed, presented by Gen. J. S. Smith.
36. Two pieces of birch bark marked with the picture writing
and hieroglyphics of the North-Western Indians.
AUTOGRAPH LETTERS, PRESENTED TO THE SOCIETY, BY MR.
LYMAN C. DRAPER.
No. 1. Letter dated Williamsburg, 1738.
2. Letter from Patrick Henry, 1784.
3. Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence, 1783.
4. Thomas Jefferson, 1779.
5. James Monroe, 1802.
6. Gen. S. F. Mason, U. S. Senator from Virginia, announcing
the election of Mr. Jefferson, as President, 1801.
7. Alexander Martin, of N. C. 1806.
8. Gen. Henry Knox, Secretary of War, 1792.
9. William Blount, 1794.
10. Passport signed by Gen. Henry Lee, Gov. of Virginia, 1791.
11. Autograph signatures of many distinguished Americans.




MAPS, CIARTS AND PLATS.
1695-1853.
No. 1. An exact MS. Plat of Baltimore Town in Baltimore
County, 1756,-presented by Mr. Chas. F. Mayer,-framed.
2. A  New  and Accurate MS. Map of Baltimore Town;
dedicated to Thos. Langton, Esq. by G. Goulds. Presbury,
S B. C. 1780,-presented by Mr. B. U. Campbell,-framed.
3. MS. Plat of the lands on which Baltimore City is situated,
1786, by G. Goulds. Presbury, S. B. C.
4. Plan of the Town of Baltimore, and its Environs; dedicated
to the citizens of Baltimore. Taken upon the spot, by their
most humble servant A. P. Folie, French Geographer, 1792,presented by Mr. John S. Sumner,-framed.
Duplicate of the same.
5. Plan of the City and Environs of Baltimore, 1799, presented by Mr. J. R. Partridge.
6. Plan of the City of Baltimore, 11818, by L. H. Poppleton,
Surveyor.
7. Original MS. draft of a Survey of Patapsco River, and
part of Chesapeake Bay, made in 1819, by Mr. Lewis Brantz,
and presented to the Society by Mr. Brantz Mayer.
Printed copy of the same.
8. MS. copy of Lord Baltimore's own Map, annexed to his
Agreement with Penn, in 1732.
9. MS. copy of an Original Map of the Survey of Mason
and Dixon's Line, made and presented to the Society, by Mr.
F. Lucas, Jr.
10. Map of Maryland, 1794, — presented by Mr. J. R. Partridge.




37
11. Map of the Stage Routes between the cities of New York
and Baltimore; exhibiting also the operations of the British
Army from their landing at Elk River, 1777, until their embarkation at Nevesink, 1778,-presented by Mr. Brantz Mayer.
12. Map of the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River, 1799,
presented by the same.
Duplicate of the above map.
13. MS. Plat of St. Mary's River,-presented by Gen. J. S.
Smith.
14. Map of the country between Washington and Pittsburg,
referring to the contemplated Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 1826.
15. Map of the various routes surveyed for the Baltimore and
Ohio Rail Road.
16. Map of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North
Carolina, 1778.
17. Account of land in Pennsylvania, granted by Wm. Penn,
1681,-presented by Mr. R. H. Townsend.
18. Map of Pennsylvania, New York, New  Jersey, and the
three Delaware Counties, 1749,-presented by Mr. S. T. Wallis.
THE FOLLOWING WERE PRESENTED BY MR. BRANTZ MAYER:
19. Plat of the Town of Havre de Grace, Md.
20. Old Map of Pennsylvania.
21. German Map of the States, from Maine to Virginia, 1778.
22. Spanish Chart of the Eastern Coast of Mexico.
23. Spanish Map of the port of Vera Cruz, and the Western
Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, 1798.
24. Spanish Chart of the Coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf
of Honduras, Islands of Cuba, Saint Domingo, Jamaica and
Lucayas, 1813.
25. American Chart of the Spanish Main, 1823.
26. American Chart of the same, from  Carthagena to the
River Chagres, 1823.
27. Spanish Chart of the Sea of the Antilles, 1809.
28. Do. of the Old Bahama Channel, 1790.




38
29. Do. of part of the Antilles, of Porto Rico, Saint Domingo,
Jamaica and Cuba, 1815.
30. Spanish Plat of Porto, Capital of Porto Rico, 1794.
31. French tables of Longitudes and Latitudes.
32. Map of the Mississippi River, from  the Balize to Fort
Chartres, in 1765-presented by Mr. J. R. Partridge.
33. Plan of the City and Environs of New York, 1765.
34. Plan of New Orleans, 1803.
35. Map of Florida and Bahama Islands.
36. Map of Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and the Bahama Banks,
1817.
37. Map of Florida, 1829,-presented by Gen. J. S. Smith.
38. Map of Florida, 1846.
39. French Map of the United States, 1802.
40. A collection of French Maps and Plates, illustrating the
Works of Internal Improvement in the United States, from
1824 to 1831.
41. Maps of the Rail Roads in the United States, published by
the United States Government.
42. Map of the Western Rail Roads, tributary to Philadelphia.
43. Spanish Map of the Rail Roads in Cuba, 1846,-presented
by Gen. Geo. H. Steuart.
44. Chart of the Coast of North America from New York to
Cape Hatteras, 1794.
45. Collection of the Maps published by the United States
Coast Survey.
46. Various Maps and Charts published by the United States
Government.
47. French Atlas of the World, for the use of the Dauphin,
published in 1695, presented by Mr. Samuel W. Smith, 3 vols.
folio.
48. Atlas attached to a work published in 1808, by order of the
Emperor Napoleon, containing an account of the Voyage, in
1791-92-93, of Dentrecasteaux in search of La Perouse, all
presented to the Society by the Minister of Marine, of France.
Atlas, 1 vol. folio.




39
49. Directory of the East Indies, 1787, presented by Mr. F. B.
Mayer, 1 vol. folio.
50. Complete East Indies Pilot, 1800, from the same, 3 vols.
folio.
51. English Pilot of Northern Navigation, 1775, from the same,
1 vol. folio.
52. Chart of the Mediterranean sea, dedicated to Lord Nelson,
from the same.
53. Geo-hydrographic Survey of Madeira, 1788, from the same.
54. Chart of the Maritime Flags of all Nations, from the same.
55. French Map of the Internal Navigation of France, presented
by Mons. A. Vattemare, of Paris, 1820.
56. French Map of the Republic of France, divided into 103
Departments, 1799, presented by Gen. J. S. Smith.
57. Map of the Southern part of Sweden and Norway, 1792,
from the same.
58. Map of the Theatre of War between Russia and France,
in 1812, from the same.
59. Pictorial Map of the Rhine from Basle to the Sea, presented
by Mr. Alexander B. Gordon.
60. Plat of Trieste.
61. Map of the Seat of War in North America, in 1813.
62. Plans of the Battles fought in the Mexican War, 1846-48.
63. Chinese Map of the World, presented by Capt. Hugh
Purviance.
64. Stream  of Time, or Chart of Universal History, from the
original German of Strass. Duplicate of the same.
65. Ecclesiastical Chart of the Catholic Church, in Spanish
presented by Mr. John Murphy.




COINS AND MEDALS.
1776-1815.
Bronze Medals, struck at various times, by order of Congress,
in commemoration of military events, purchased and presented
to the Society by the following named gentlemen: John Spear
Smith, George Tiffany, J. McHenry Boyd, James H. McHenry,
R. Cary Long and J. I. Donaldson.
No. 1. Medal for George Washington, on the evacuation of Boston,
March 17, 1776.
2. Gen. Horatio Gates, for the battle of Saratoga, Oct. 17, 1777.
3. Gen. Nath. Greene, in commemoration of his Southern
Campaign, victory of Eutaw, Sept. 8, 1781.
4. Gen. Daniel Morgan, for the victory of Cowpens, Jan. 17,
1781.
5. Col. W. Washington, for the victory of Cowpens, Jan. 17,
1781.
6. Col. J. E. Howard, for the victory of Cowpens, Jan. 17,
1781.
7. Electrotype duplicate of the same.
8. Gen. William  H. Harrison, for the battle of the Thames,
October 5, 1813.
9. Governor Isaac Shelby, for the battle of the Thames,
October 5, 1813.
10. Col. George Croghan, Sandusky, August 2, 1813.
11. Gen. Jacob Brown, for the battles of Chippewa, July 5,
Niagara, July 25, and Erie, September 17, 1814.
12. Gen. Eleazer W. Ripley, for the battles of Chippewa,
July 5, Niagara, July 25, and Erie, September 17, 1814.




41
13. James Miller, for the battles of Chippewa, July 5, Niagara, July 25, and Erie, September 17, 1814.
14. Gen. Peter B. Porter, for the battles of Chippewa, July
5, Niagara, July 25, and Erie, September 17, 1814.
15, Gen. Winfield Scott, for the battles of Chippewa, July 5,
Niagara, July 25, and Erie, September 17, 1814.
16. Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, for the battle of Erie, August
15, 1814.
17. Gen. Alexander Macomb, battle of Plattsburg, September
11, 1814.
18. Gen. Andrew Jackson, for the battle of New Orleans,
January 8, 1815.
MISCELLANEOUS COINS AND MEDALS.
1652-1852.
No. 1. Silver Shilling and six pence of Caecilius, Lord Baltimore, 1660, presented to the Society by Mr. George Peabody,
of London.
2. Three silver Shillings of Annapolis, 1783.
3. Medal of President Cole, of the Tuesday Club, at Annapolis,
May, 1746, presented by Capt. W. H. Fitzhugh.
4. Impression of the seal of Thomas J. Clagett, D. D., Bishop
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in Maryland, 1792.
5. Silver Medal in honor of Charles Carroll of Carrollton,
struck by his family, September 20, 1826, on his entering his
90th year; the surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, after the 50th Anniversary. Presented to the Society
by Mrs. John McTavish.
6. Massachusetts Pine-tree Shilling, 1652, presented by Mr. S.
T. Wallis.
7. A French Medal to Defleury, a French soldier, who first
scaled the walls of Stony-Point, 15 July, 1779.
8. Electrotype copy of the obverse and reverse of a medal,
struck during the second presidency of Washington, 1796.
9. Bronze commemorative medal of Henry Clay, struck in 1852,
by his friends and presented by them to the Society.
10. Bronze Medal of Daniel Webster.
6




42
11. Private medal struck in honor of J. Fennimore Cooper, by
Commodore Jesse D. Elliott, silver, presented by Cor. Elliott.
12. Medal of Gen. Z. Taylor, cast in Iron.
13. Bronze Genoese Medal, commemorative of Columbus.
14. Cast of a very fine medal struck in France, in honor of
Benjamin Franklin.
15. Cast of the gold Coronation Medal of Charles X.
16. French Medal in bronze, commemorative of Louis Philip,
as Lieut. General of the kingdom, presented by M. Vattemare,
of Paris.
17. Mexican medal, commemorative of the outbreak of the
Revolution in Mexico, in 1821.
18. Copper medal in honor of the building of the new Market
in Mexico, by Santa Anna, in 1842.
19. Electrotype copy of an ancient Russian medal of St.
Nicholas.
20. Thirty-five Grecian and Roman bronze coins.
21. Several hundred miscellaneous copper and silver coins"
THE TOWSON CABINET OF MEDALS AND COINS.
300 B. c. —. D. 1851.
This fine numismatic collection is comprised in 19 volumes,
numbering in all 251 specimens, the larger portion being silver,
in fine preservation.  The Medals and Coins are firmly set in
strong boards, so as to exhibit the obverse and reverse of each
through the glasses which cover both sides of the case, and protect
the specimens from touch or injury.
The collection was chiefly formed in Europe, by Joel Barlow,
minister to France, and author of our American epic, "the Columbiad."  At his death it passed to his brother-in-law, the late
Col. Bomford, U. S. A., upon whse decease, General Towson,
U. S. A. became its owner.
General Towson immediately proceeded, with the assistance of
Mr. D. E. Groux, of Washington, who is said to be a very competent
Numismatist, to classify and arrange the entire collection, as well




43
as to prepare an ample catalogue raisonne of the whole, which he
caused to be printed and presented with the Coins and Medals to
the Maryland Historical Society, in March, 1852.
The collection presented by General Towson, is valuable for
many separate specimens of great rarity, as well as beauty, It is
in truth, a numismatic gallery of many nations and various ages.
We may especially notice the very fine medal of Gustavus Adolphus, as an admirable specimen of minute and elegant art. But
for historical purposes, the unbroken series of silver medals of
French sovereigns and illustrious men, from the Merovingian kings
in 420, to the Bourbons in 1793, is, if we may be allowed to discriminate, the most valuable portion of the collection.
Vol. 1.
4 Greek Medals from 300 B. C. to 400 B. C.; 2 Medals of
the Roman Republic; 12 Coins of the Roman Empire from
A. D. 14 to 235.
Vol. 2,
16 Roman Medals from A. D. 260 to 428.
Vol. 3.
4 Roman Medals of the lower empire from A. D. 518 to 685; 5
Miscellaneous English Coins, 1760 to 1788; 1 Portuguese, 1714.
Vol. 4.
2 French Coins, 1715 to 1774; 2 Spanish Coins, 1502 to
1665; 2 Burgundian Coins, 1665 to 1788; 1 Swedish Coin,
1719; 2 U. S. of America, 1792, 1851.
Vol. 5.
4  Mahometan Coins, Circassian Dynasty, 1356; 2 Mogul
Empire, 1681 to 1723; 2 Empire of Morocco, 1786 to 1788; 6
Turkish Empire, 1772 to 1803.
Vol, 6.
1 Papal Coin 1559; 2 Austrian Empire 1705 to 1780; 5
Portuguese, 1706 to 1808; 5 Danish, 1670 to 1721; 2 Danish
American Colonies, 1746 to 1808.




44
Vol. 7.
17 English Silver Coins from Edward 2nd, 1350 to James
2nd, 1686.
Vol. 8.
16 English Silver Coins from  William  and Mary, 1695 to
George 4th, 1822.
Vol. 9.
7 French Silver Coins, 1715 to 1742; 1 Holland, 1738; 1
Doventer, 1689; 2 West Friesland, 1632 to 1664; 1 Zealand,
1760.
Vol. 10.
3 Prussian Silver Coins, 1786 to 1800; 1 Sardinian, 1727; 1
Burgundy under Spain, 1611; 1 Schleswig Holstein, 1682; 1
Florence, 1797; 2 Dukedom of Monaca, 1655; 1 Republic of
Mexico, 1824; 2 Republic of Peru, 1828.
Vol. 11.
2 American Washington medals, 1796, silver; 1 American
silver Jefferson medal, 1801; 1 American silver Gen. H. Gates,
1777; 1 U. S. 3 cent coin of 1851; 2 Massachusetts shillings of
1652.
Vol. 12.
2 French silver medals, (personal,) 1788, 1712, to the brothers
Mongolfier, and J. J. Rousseau; 1 English silver battle of Culloden,1746; 1 Swedish commemorative of Gustavus Adolphus, a
splendid specimen, 1632, silver; 1 French Republic, An. VI;
1 Louis XVI. 1779; 1 Republic of Chili, 1818.
Vols. 13 and 14.
22 Silver medals of the French Kings, in a complete series
from Pharamond, A. D. 428, to Childeric, 752; 11 silver medals
of French Kings, in series, from Pepin 752, to Louis IV. 954.
Vols. 15 and 16.
16 Silver French medals, in series, from Lothaire 954, to 1322;
19 silver French medals from Charles IV. 1322, to Louis XVI.
1793.




45
Vols. 17 and 18.
24 Silver medals of eminent Frenchmen, from 1617 to 1723.
Vol. 19.
1 Spanish bronze medal, 1788; 3 English bronze medals,
1727, 1789; 2 French bronze medals, 1792; 1 King of Etruria
medal, 1801.




SCULPTURE.
Casts from the originals of the DYING GLADIATOR and APOLLO
BELVIDERE, presented by the Art Association.
Cast of Canova's Venus, deposited by Mr. Brantz Mayer.
Original Bust of Napoleon, by CANOVA; Bust in marble, of
Eloise, by GREENOUGH.
Bust in marble of Augustus, and a collection of Medallion
casts from the Antique, in 7 vols., all deposited by Mr. David
Hoffman.
Collection of Casts from the Antique, in 1 vol.
A Cast of the statue of Venus of Milo, reduced.
A Cast of a statue of Polhymnia, reduced.
Two Bas Reliefs, casts from the Frieze of the Parthenon at
Athens, presented by M. Vattemare.
Two Marble Busts of Voltaire and Rousseau, deposited by Mr.
James H. McHenry.
Medallion Bust of Washington, by Chevalier, presented by Mr.
Johns Hopkins.
Bust of Henry Clay, by Hart.
Bust of the Rev. Dr. J. G. Morris, of Baltimore.
Cast in iron of Thorwaldsen's Swiss Lion.




PORTRAITS AND PICTURES.
Portrait of George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, eng.
Portrait of Cecilius, Calvert, Lord Baltimore, eng.
Portrait of Frederick Calvert, Lord Baltimore, eng.
A frame containing portraits of General Oglethorpe and Pocahontas, eng. all presented by Mr. Brantz Mayer.
Full length portrait, in oil, of Charles, fifth Lord Baltimore,
copied by Mr. THOMAS SULLY, of Philadelphia, from the original
of SIR GODFREY KNELLER, and presented by him to the Society
in 1853.
Portrait in oil of Gen. O. H. Williams, presented by Mrs.
Williams and family.
Portrait in oil of Col. J. E. Howard, presented by Messrs.
James and Charles Howard.
Portrait in oil of Gen. Samuel Smith, presented by Gen. J. Spear
Smith.
Portrait in oil of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, presented by
Mrs. John McTavish.
Portrait of Archbishop Carroll, eng., presented by Mr. J. S.
Sumner.
Portrait in oil of Gen. Mordecai Gist, presented by Gen. J. S.
Smith and Dr. J. P. Cockey.
Portrait in oil of Gen. Wm. Smallwood-purchased.
Portrait in oil of Gen. John Stricker, deposited by Mr. C. B,
Tiernan.




48
Portrait in oil of Christopher Hughes, by SIR MARTIN A.
SHEE, devised to the Society by Mr. Hughes,
Portrait of Christopher Columbus from an original in the Royal
Library, Paris, eng. presented by Gen. J. S. Smith.
Engraving after the Portrait of Wm. Penn, belonging to the
Pennsylvania Historical Society, presented by Mr. E. D. Ingraham, of Philadelphia.
Portrait of Mr. George Peabody, presented by Mr. William E.
Mayhew.
Original sketch by John Moale of BALTIMORE-TOWN in 1752,
presented by Col. Samuel Moale.
View of Baltimore in 1800.
View of Baltimore from Fairmount, 1853.
Portraits of Washington, Rochambeau, Lafayette, Greene, &c.
on Yorktown heights, after the Seige, by C. W. Peale, presented
by Mr. Robert Gilmor.
Copy in oil of the NOTTE OF CORREGIO, size of original, by
V. C. Rothe, Dresden, 1834.
Copy in oil of RAPHAEL'S MADONNA of ST. SIXTUS, by C.
Vogel, 1833.
Copy in oil of PAUL VERONESE'S MARRIAGE AT CANA, by
Powell.
Potiphar's Wife and Joseph, copied from Cignani, presented by
Mr. O. C. Tiffany.
A Copy by T. C. Ruckle, a Baltimore artist, of Murillo's Infant
Saviour, presented by Mr. W. J. Tiffany.
A Collection of valuable engravings, among which are many
representing memorable scenes in history.
A  print published at Boston just before the Revolution representing "The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street,
Boston, in March 5th, 1770, by a party of the 29th Regt."
Caricature of the first fight in Congress between two of the
members, 1798.
Plate of a View of the Court House and Powder Magazine of
Baltimore, 1789.




49
The original Banner presented to COUNT PULASKI in 1778, by
the Moravian Sisters of Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania. When
Count Palaski fell at Savannah in 1779, the banner was saved
by his first lieutenant and afterwards delivered to Col. Bentalou,
of Baltimore, then a captain in Pulaski's Legion. It was used
in the procession which welcomed Lafayette to this city in 1824,
and then deposited in Peale's Museum. In 1844, Mr. Edmund
Peale presented it to the Maryland Historical Society.
A number of Indian, Mexican, Chinese and other curiosities and
relics; together with various specimens of minerals, shells, and
other natural productions.
7




ESTIMATE OF THE
NUMBER OF BOUND VOLUMES IN THE LIBRARY
OF THE
MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
THE Library of the Maryland Historical Society contains 2128
bound volumes,-of which 390 are purchases by the Society, and
the residue, 1738, donations from U. S. Government, States, associations, and individuals, in this state and elsewhere, who, imbued
with the true idea of the end of historical institutions, and believing
that they are depositories for every thing that may contribute to
the elucidation of past or present events, have done all in their
power to increase the collections of the Society.
Of Histories of the States, of Local Histories, of Biographies
and Memoirs of distinguished Americans, and of General Histories
of the United States and the Americas, there are 730 volumes.
Among these are almost all the standard works on American History and Biography, and several very rare and valuable books.
Of Public Documents and Publications by the United States
Government there are 605 volumes.
Of Newspapers there are 307 bound volumes, comprising some
of the earliest published in Maryland.
There are 56 bound volumes containing 703 Pamphlets, all accurately indexed and catalogued. These pamphlets relate principally
to the history of Maryland and the United States, and to political,
scientific and literary subjects generally. Among them are some
of great rarity and historical importance.
Of works on'Universal and European History, Travels and
Voyages in the Old World, and Biographies of distinguished
English and French, there are 195 volumes.
Of Miscellaneous Works on the Fine Arts, Science, Theology,
Law, Literature, &c. there are 230 volumes,




NOTICE
TO MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY, AND  TO HISTORICAL
STUDENTS GENERALLY.
1. The Assistant Librarian, who is constantly in the Society's
Rooms during hours of study, has charge of this Collection under
the Library Committee, and is strictly responsible for every
article contained in it, as well as for the preservation of its
systematic order.  He will keep the Manuscripts under lock, in
the fire-proof safes.
II. No Manuscript, Medal, Coin, Map, &c. of any character or
value, shall be taken, by any one's authority, or for any purpose,
from this Society's Hall.
III. To preserve order in the custody and use of the articles
comprised in this catalogue, and those which may, hereafter, be
added to it, the Assistant Librarian, alone, will find and exhibit any
document, work, or matter of interest desired for examination.
IV. The Assistant Librarian is expressly inhibited from allowing
any one to inspect or use this Collection, in any other way, or out
of his presence.
V. These fundamental rules are not adopted to prevent the
legitimate use of the Society's Collection by all who require its
aid in the spirit and for the purposes that originated the Institution.
The experience of other Societies, in Europe as well as America,
has demonstrated the necessity of strict rules and accountability
in the guardianship of literary or scientific rarities; and it is for
this reason alone, that the Maryland Historical Society offers its
pledge to the public and to students, that whatever may be
entrusted to its care will be watchfully preserved, at the same time
that it is made accessible.
BRANTZ MAYER, Chairman.
GEO. WM. BROWN,
M. COURTNEY JENKINS,
Library Committee, M. H. S.
BALTIMORE, 1 July, 1854.








AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE
IN  JAMAICA,
A N  ).
COMPARATIVE TREATMENT OF SLAVES.
READ BEFORE THE
MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
OCTOBER, 1854.
PRINTED FOR THE MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
BY  JOHN-D. TOY.








AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE
IN JAMAICA,
A ND
COMPARATIVE TREATMENT OF SLAVES.
THE cruelty of the Spaniards towards the Aborigines of the Island of Jamaica, has ever been the
theme of just and  strong indignation by Historians:-but the cruelties inflicted by British subjects
upon the Africans in the same Island, as will be
evidenced by the statistics hereafter shown, have
never met with the reprehension they deserve.
It is true, Parliament has abolished Slavery, but
how much of this measure was due to humanity, and
how much to policy, is uncertain.  The fact, that
England for one hundred and seventy-nine years,
tolerated the Slave trade, a system so cruel, and so
destructive to the lives of its unfortunate victims,
should forever silence all reproach on the part of
British subjects against the United States, so far as
Slavery in connection with the treatment of those
held in bondage is concerned.




4
In the march of humanity, different motives may
combine to impel the mass forward:-sympathy and
policy may unite to effect a common object; policy
in the government, philanthropy in the people.
Formerly, English manufactures, to an immense
amount, were introduced into the Spanish possessions in America, through Jamaica. The dismemberment of these possessions from Spain, opened the
ports of Spanish America to the direct trade of
England; and Jamaica ceased to be profitable to her;
hence the reduction in the differential duties; and
what were those duties but a premium  on slave
labor?Before the emancipation of the slaves in Jamaica,
many of the owners of the Estates were deeply
involved in debt, notwithstanding the premium in
the form of protection; and emancipation only hastened their ruin.
England, therefore did not abolish Slavery in the
West Indies, until it had become unprofitable.
The Slavery in disguise now being introduced
into the Island of Jamaica, called Apprenticeship,
will be more profitable:-nearly the whole amount
of capital heretofore employed in the purchase of
slaves, will be saved. It is obviously more economical than the former system, and may enable the
planters to retrieve their circumstances.




English writers tell us with exultation, that the
British drum  and fife may be heard successively,
until the music goes round the world;-but they
omit to tell us, that the groans of oppressed humanity, the cries of infant innocence, and the shrieks of
virgin purity, mingle with the sounds that herald the
dominion of the British Isles.
There is another aspect of the subject, which it
would be well for the Parliament of "Exeter Hall"
to consider, whenever American Slavery becomes a
matter for anathema.  Slavery in this country had its
origin in the commercial policy of England. Under
the fostering protection of the British Government,
the trade in African slaves which supplied all her
Colonies, America included, was begun and continued;-and continued too, in many instances, against
the earnest and repeated remonstances of the Colonists.
Here is the origin of American Slavery;- -and it
exhibits an effrontery unparalleled, for England, with
all her severities in the East Indies; with the toleration of Slavery in Jamaica, for one hundred and
seventy-nine years; and the enormous sacrifice of
life it entailed upon its miserable victims, and with
the continuance of the Slave Trade, with all its




6
horrors, for so many years, forcing its evils upon
unwilling Colonies, to be uttering reproaches against
the citizens of the United States, for the existence of
a system  fastened upon them, by her own arbitrary
acts.
That Slavery here, is not what English Abolitionists profess to believe, nor what in reality it has
been in their own Colonies, is clearly proved by the
following statistics, collected from their own writers.
The number of slaves in the United States,
In 1850, was.       o.    3,204,089
In 1790,...            697,897
Increase in sixty years,   o.        2,506,192
(Two millions five hundred six thousand one hundred and ninety-two;-)
The number of free colored people
In 1850, was..            428,661
In 1790,. 0...        59,466
Increase in sixty years,...     369,195
(Three  hundred  and sixty-nine  thousand one.hundred and ninety-five.)




7
It is estimated that one-half of this increase of the
free colored population was from  emancipation of
slaves:-and of course so far, it lessened the increase
of the latter, and added to the increase of the former.
The number of slaves brought into Jamaica by the
Spaniards during their possession of the Island,
from  1509 to 1655, say in one hundred and fortysix years, was 40,000, (forty thousand.)
Of these, there were found by Penn and Venables, at the time of their conquest of the Island in
1655, only 1,500, (fifteen hundred.)
Now if 697,897 persons in sixty years amount to
3,204,089,-1,500 persons, in one hundred and
seventy-nine years, by the same ratio, would
amount to,.....    20544
Add the number imported into Jamaica in
one hundred and seventy-nine years,
say from 1655 to 1834, (eight hundred
and fifty thousand,).                 850,000
And the amount will be,.  870,544
The number of slaves found on the Island,
at the time of the Emancipation in




8
Amount brought over,.   870,544
1834, was (three hundred twenty-two
thousand four hundred and twenty-one,) 322,421
Showing a waste of human life under
British rule, as contrasted with the ratio
of increase in the United States, of   a  548,123
(Five hundred forty-eight thousand one hundred
and twenty-three,) exclusive of any estimated
increase upon the eight hundred and fifty thousand (850,000) who were imported, that would
have accrued under a humane system of treatment.
In submitting these comparative results of British
Colonial slavery, with slavery in the United States,
it must not be supposed that the compiler of this
Exhibit is an advocate or friend of slavery. He is
not. The question we are considering, is not slavery,
but the comparative treatment of slaves.
His object is to show, that the odium of its introduction here, and the evils that it has inflicted or
may inflict upon the United States, are chargeable to
England:-and that the iniquity of the institution
may be aggravated or lessened, according to the
manner in which the slaves are treated.




9
Under their treatment in the United States, upon
an original stock of 697,897, (six hundred ninetyseven thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven,)
they have increased to 3,204,089, (three millions two
hundred and four thousand and eighty-nine,) while
by their treatment in Jamaica, they were reduced in
one hundred and seventy-nine years, upon a stock
of 851,500, (eight hundred fifty-one thousand five
hundred) to 322,421, (three hundred twenty-two
thousand four hundred and twenty-one.)
This statement needs no comment.  It exhibits
Slavery in the British Colony of Jamaica, tolerated
by the Parliament of Great Britainfor one hundred
and seventy-nine years sufficiently revolting, without
dramatic skill to render the picture still more repulsive.
Again; we may assume, that allowing the 850,000
(eight hundred and fifty thousand) imported, and
the 1,500 (fifteen hundred) Spanish slaves, making
851,500; forty-five years of the one hundred and
seventy-nine, of equal productiveness with the American slaves, would give an increase of 2,931,450,
(two millions nine hundred thirty-one thousand four
hundred and fifty.)




10
Here we have a loss of 2,931,450 lives destroyed
in embryo, infancy, and maturity, in the time intervening between the capture of the Island by Admiral
Penn and General Venables, in 1655, and the period
of Emancipation in 1834;-a number nearly equaling the population of the United States, at the
period of its dismemberment from the British Empire.
Further; —in the capture of the slaves, the march
of the Koffle to the coast, and on the middle passage,
the smallest estimate is ten per cent. loss,' until the
slaves are landed in the West Indies.  We must
therefore add 85,000 (eighty-five thousand) to the
850,)00, (eight hundred and fifty thousand,) making
935,000, (nine hundred and thirty-five thousand,)
requisite, during the whole period of slave importations, to land 850,000 in Jamaica.
This gives a grand total of 3,016,450 (three millions and sixteen thousand four hundred and fifty)
that perished  in one hundred and seventy-nine
years; or in round numbers, 17,000 (seventeen
thousand) annually.
It results from these facts and deductions, that the
evils and fatal effects of Slavery, consist as much in




the manner in which the slaves are treated, as in the
fact of their being held in servitude.
The importation of slaves into the United States
was not prohibited until the year 1808:-but very
few were introduced; there were no sugar lands in
the country; cotton was unknown as an article of
commerce, and slaves were not wanted.  The low
estimate of ten per cent. loss on the importation of
them  into Jamaica, and the assumption that they
were productive but forty-five years of the one
hundred and seventy-nine, will more than balance
the small number that were brought into the country.
A very important question presents itself here:what is to be the future situation of the black
man?
The colored race have possessed a luxuriant soil,
and balmy climate for unknown ages:-to these are
added, now, the offer of civilization and its attainments, which they have never acquired. The capacity of the race for progress, will now be determined.  The African family will decide for itself its
position in the great family of mankind:-I say,
decide for itself:-for it is not the acknowledgment




12
of the independence of Liberia, by one nation, or
another nation, or by all nations, that will elevate the
people of that Republic to the desired point;-that
must be achieved by intellect and labor.
The division of the human race, called Caucasian,
or Anglo-Saxon, and its numerous subdivisions, will
not dispense with the luxury of Tropical productions;-they cannot produce them-therefore, if the
black man will not furnish them voluntarily, it is to
be feared, compulsory means will be adopted to compel him.
It is then apparent, that the black can render the
white race tributary to them-this is now to be decided, and forever, in Liberia. Colonization in Africa, therefore, is an experiment far more important
than the mere question of manumission.
It is an auxiliary in the elevation of the colored
race, by transferring to them  the knowledge possessed by a race that has preceded them in the march
of civilization and its concomitant arts and sciences.
If the colored race adopt them, and join in their
onward progress, they will then be placed on an
equality. Emancipation alone will not effect it; it is
but a minor object, the gift of others; and can only
have conferred upon its beneficiaries, the opportunity




13
of their ascending to equality. The colored man in
his own domicil, and by his own energies must
ascend to it.  The facility is presented him, of emerging from the long and dark night of time in which
he has been enveloped.
I have said, the crime of slavery consists as much
in the manner, as the fact: —it is equally true of
manumission.  The merit of conferring it, and its
value, depend upon the previous preparation for it.
This is abundantly proved in the Island of Jamaica.
It would be absurd, to suppose a person capable of
understanding Algebra, who was ignorant of Arithmetic.
The Colonization Society, is in fact, an auxiliary
to the elevation of the colored man. If it succeeds,
it will guarantee the freedom of the colored race in
North and South America, by deciding the long
mooted question of the cheapness of free compared
with slave labor; and thus rendering slaves valueless.
The  psychological question that presents itself
here, belongs to another department:-I will therefore, only add a sentence.
The native  Africans have a plurality of local
Gods; powerful, and as malignant as they are pow



14
erful. What then must be their sensations, when a
knowledge of the true God is unfolded to their
minds?when they are made acquainted with a
Deity, not confined to lakes or chained to rocks; and
are taught that he is the friend of all?
The doctrine of equal civil and religious liberty
after its rise, spread rapidly through _wider regions
than the "Roman Eagle overshadowed."  It could
not be arrested by fleets or armies, for it pervaded
them; it was not stopped by seas or mountains, it
passed over them.  Like the magnetic influence, it
spread from  meridian to meridian; and like that
subtle fluid, it promises to wrap the globe from pole
to pole.  But the zones of the earth give character
to their inhabitants; and in the highest point of
attainment to which the human family may progress,
there will doubtless be a difference in the destiny of
nations.