USA > Maryland > Chronicles of colonial Maryland, with illustrations > Part 5
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2 McMahon, p. 147; Brown, p. 43; Doyle, p. 291; Scharf, 2, p. 282.
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extent, the foundation and outlines of the present legal, civil, and social structures of Maryland, and of some of its most cherished institutions.
It was then and there, that the great struggle for popular sovereignty, between the bold and courageous yeomanry of Maryland and the Lord Proprietary was inaugurated, and which resulted in setting upon a firm foundation, that prin- ciple, which formed the basis of Maryland's early system of free self-government, and which, "in process of time, and course of events", developed into a reality, the sublime doc- trine of constitutional liberty.
It was also, by the legislation then and there enacted, that the famous "Toleration Act", giving legal sanction to liberty of conscience, which shed such brilliant renown upon the legislative annals of Maryland, won for it the name of the "Land of the Sanctuary", and which extending to all who believed in Jesus Christ, whatever their form of worship, "shelter, protection, and repose", because engrafted by law upón its government.
Though religious toleration had existed, in practice, in Maryland, from its earliest settlement, it had never been made the subject of legislative enactment, and to the General Assembly, of 1649, does this, "the proudest memorial" of Maryland's colonial history, belong. "Higher than all titles and badges of honor, and more exalted than royal nobility", is the imperishable distinction which the passage of this broad and liberal Act won for Maryland, and for the members of that never-to-be-forgotten session, and sacred, forever, be the hallowed spot which gave it birth!
But, besides being the historic battle field of Maryland's. early struggle for political freedom, and the scene of its first legislative confirmation of religious peace, Saint Mary's pre- sents in its history, as the capital and metropolis of the Prov- ince, all "the glowing incidents and martial virtues" which characterized and gave inspiration to that eventful and heroic period-the period in Maryland history which has truly been styled, "the golden age of its colonial existence"; the period
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in which the foundation of its government was being broadly and deeply laid; the period of its great political turmoils and religious agitations; the period in which were the defiant spirit and persistent rebellion of Clayborne; the artful sedition and destructive warfare of Ingle; the reflex action upon Maryland of England's parliamentary disturbances, resulting in the usurpation of the Proprietary rights; the turbulence and ascendancy of the Puritan, whose reign was so conspicuous for its political proscription of those who hospitably received and generously treated them when outcast and homeless, and of sectarian persecution of those who did not worship at the altar of their shrine; the repeated efforts of the Proprietary to reduce them to subjection, beginning with the memorable battle upon the Severn, and ending only with the turn of affairs in England which took from them their moral support ; the rise and fall of the intriguing and ambitious Fendall, the Cromwell of Maryland; the introduction of the printing press, that emblem of liberty which was not found in any other American colony ; the embroiling designs and the insurrection of the apostate Coade; the Protestant revolution, in 1689; the downfall of the Proprietary government ; the administration of affairs by the representatives of the Crown, and the estab- lishment of the Church of England, by law, in the Province- all pass in review, and stand in "characteristic light and shade" upon its historic panorama.
The year 1644 is conspicuous in the annals of Saint Mary's, as the beginning of a series of dissensions in Mary- land, in which the Provincial Capital was the theatre of action, and which, with slight interruptions, continued to dis- turb the peace of the Province for about sixteen years. In November of that year Richard Ingle, who had shortly before been arrested at Saint Mary's, for "treason", and had. es- caped, filled with revenge and burning for retaliation, entered the Saint Mary's River in command of the armed ship Refor- mation. Finding much disturbance and divided sympathy in the colony, over the contest then pending in England, between
1 The Buccaneers.
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the King and Parliament, he met with but little difficulty in exciting the disaffected to rebellion. This accomplished, he invaded and seized the City, mutilated the records, pilaged public and private property,1 and drove Governor Calvert to Virginia. Calvert, however, after much delay, gathered there all available forces, and, pledging his own and Baltimore's estates to pay them, crossed the Potomac, and after a short and bloodless contest, regained the Provincial Capital.ª
But he did not long enjoy the fruits of his victory. On 9th of June, 1647, and at the early age of forty," he died at Saint Mary's, where his remains, it is said, still repose under its revered and holy soil.
Of the life and character of Leonard Calvert, historians have said but little. While there is no desire to detract from the unfading lustre which they have accorded to the Proprietaries of Maryland, truth and justice alike, demand that of the pioneer Governor of the Province, and the founder of Saint Mary's, it should here be said, that he, who left his native land to lead the pilgrim colonists to Maryland; he who faced the perils and dangers, and stood the heat and fire of storm and battle, which so often dark- ened its early colonial days; he who first proclaimed and laid in practice those fundamental principles which underlie the priceless boon of liberty of conscience; he, who, with untiring energy, fidelity, and zeal, devoted the best years of his life to the development and glory of Maryland, and to the prosperity and happiness of its citizens ; he, whose undaunted
1 The case of Captain Thomas Cornwaleys, illustrates the rapacity of Ingle's rule at Saint Mary's, and the extent to which private property was pillaged. After Ingle's return to England, Cornwaleys sued him there to recover £3000 damages, and alleged in his declaration, that he had a comfortable dwelling house, furnished with plate, brass, pewter, bedding, and linen hangings; his plantation, also, being well stocked with horses, cattle, swine, sheep and goats; and that Ingle took posses- sion of his mansion, burned his fences, killed his swine, carried off his horses and cattle, wrenched off the locks of his doors, and otherwise greatly damaged his property .- Scharf, vol. I, p. 149.
2 Bozman, p. 290; Brown, p. 60; Scharf, I, p. 149.
3 Neil, p. 60.
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courage, wise and liberal statesmanship, and mild and gentle government, are so closely associated with the foundation, early growth, and permanent establishment of Maryland, should stand upon the pages of history no less distinguished and renowned, as long as valiant service to early Maryland has an admirer, or civil and religious liberty a friend.
From the fact that the records of the Province, prior to his death, make no mention of wife or children, and that his brief, nuncupative will did not refer to them, Governor Cal- vert has passed into history as having died a bachelor, but recent investigation proves this to be an error, and that he was not only married, but left children.1
1 In Pro. Court Records, 1658-62, p. 459, etc., may be found the pro- ceedings in the suit of the Lord Proprietary, guardian of William Cal- vert (then in England), son and heir at law of Governor Leonard Cal- vert, vs. Thomas Stone, son, and Valinda Stone, widow of Governor William Stone, for the recovery of Governor Calvert's house and lot, at Saint Mary's, and which Stone, in 1650, had purchased of Margaret Brent, executrix of Governor Calvert, under the supposition that she had the power to convey it .- Archives (Pro. Ct. 1650) pp. 106 and 172. The verdict was for the "plaintiff for the land and costes"-thus estab- lishing the fact of both marriage and issue. William Calvert came to Maryland about 1662, where he held many positions of distinction, among them Judge of the Testamentary Court, member of the Council, with rank directly after the Chancellor and Secretary of the Province. He was drowned in 1682 .- Archives (Pro. Cl. 1682) p. 366. His widow, Madam Elizabeth Calvert, was living in 1692 .- Ibid, 1692, p. 492. She was the daughter of Governor William Stone, and Valinda, his wife, the sister of Thomas Sprigg, of Northampton, Prince George's County. William Calvert left sons Charles, George, and Richard, and daughter, Elizabeth who married, in 1681, James Neale, Jr., and left daughter, Mary, born in 1683, and who married first Charles Egerton (ancestory of the Eger- tons of "Piney Neck"), and second, Garrett Van Sweringen .- See case Daniel Dulaney vs. Charles Calvert, et al., in High Court of Chancery of Maryland, August, 1720; wills, Charles Egerton, 1698, and James Egerton, 1765, Saint Mary's County. Governor Leonard Calvert also left a daughter Ann, who came to Maryland in 1663. In September of that year, Governor Charles Calvert wrote Lord Baltimore as follows : "Att the same time, my cousin William's Sister arrived here and is now at my house and has the care of my household affairs. As yett noe good match does present, but I hope in a short time she may find one to her own content and yr. Lspp's desire."-Calvert Papers, vol. I, p. 224. She
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In 1652, the Commissioners of the English Parliament, arrived at Saint Mary's, deposed Governor William Stone, who had been appointed Governor of the Province in 1648, and named a Board of Councilors, for the government of Maryland, of whom Robert Brooke, of De La Brooke, was President, and, as such, acting Governor of the Province. On the dissolution of Parliament, however, Stone, in 1654, proclaimed Cromwell "Lord Protector", and reorganized the Proprietary government. This excited the violent opposition of the Puritan element in Maryland, who, with all available forces, invaded Saint Mary's, and finding Governor Stone without the means of effectual resistance, removed the records to Mr. Richard Preston's, near Saint Leonard's, on the Patuxent River, appointed from their own party, officials for the government of the Province, and passed laws ignoring Lord Baltimore's territorial rights, disfranchising Roman Cath- olics, and repealing the Toleration Act, of 1649, enacting in place of the latter, an Act concerning religion in obedience to the inspiration of their own philosophy.1.
Governor Stone succeeded in capturing the records and restored them to the Provincial Capital, as well, also, the magazine and arms designed for the defense of Saint Leon- ard's, but in his effort, through the memorable battle at Prov- idence-the first land engagement in Maryland-to reduce the insurgents. to subjection, he was overwhelmingly defeated,2
married, about 1664, Baker Brooke, of De La Brooke, member of the Council and Surveyor General of the Province. Through this marriage she was the ancestress of Monica Brooke, the mother of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney and Catharene Boarman, the wife of Major Wil- liam Thomas. Ann (Calvert) Brooke married, second, Henry Brent, Deputy Surveyor General of the Province, and third, Colonel Richard Marsham. See will, Baker Brooke, P. C. No. I, p. 114, Saint Mary's County ; Kilty, p. 62; Test Pro. Liber 13, Annapolis.
1 Bozman, II, p. 505; McMahon, p. 206.
2 This battle took place on the 25th of March, 1654. Stone's "battle cry" was "Hey, for Saint Mary's," while that of the Puritans was, "God is our strength.". Stone has been criticized for starting into this engagement with such a small body of men-about 130 only-but it
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and they continued to hold the reins of government until 1657, when, through an agreement, induced by the turn of affairs in England against Puritans, it was formerly surrendered and re-instated at Saint Mary's.1
The year 1659, is noted in connection with Saint Mary's for the attempted rebellion of Governor Josias Fendall, in which he made the unsuccessful effort to "play the part in Maryland which Cromwell had just performed in England", by conspiring with the Assembly to overthrow the Proprietary government and establish a republic, with himself as its head.2
While not within the scope of this work to enter into the details of this tragedy, it may be proper to state, that the scheme by which Fendall expected to accomplish this, was to surrender his commission from Baltimore, have the Legislature declare its independence of the Proprietary, and, as the direct representatives of the people, elect him Governor of the Province. On the 12th of March, 1659, the Lower House declared its Independence of all power, and denied the right of the Upper House (composed only of representatives of the Proprietary) to sit longer as a branch of the Legislature. To this Fendall, of course, assented, and, on the 14th of March, dissolved the Upper House, surrendered his commission from the Proprietary, and was elected by the Legislature thus con- stituted, Governor of the Republic of Maryland.ª After a
should be remembered that the military organization of the Province had been much neglected, and at that time was very poor, and that he was, in consequence, limited to such men as he could muster in and around St. Mary's. After this, the militia was put upon a much better footing. The Province was divided into military districts, com- manders appointed for each, arms and ammunition looked after, and the whole fighting population was mustered in and trained. Under such conditions, the black and gold ensign of Maryland would probably not have fallen.
1 Bozman, II, p. 505; McMahon, p. 206.
2 McMahon, p. 212; McSherry, p. 81.
3 For an interesting discussion as to the causes of this rebellion, see the able treatise of Doctor Sparks on "The Maryland Revolution of 1689," page 30-36.
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fruitless effort, however, to enlist public interest in this nefarious scheme, Fendall abandoned his government thus established, and when his arrest was ordered, voluntarily submitted himself to the mercy of the Baltimore government, which, in the meantime, had been reorganized, with Philip Calvert as Governor. He was tried and convicted, but after a short imprisonment was discharged from all the penalties imposed by the Court, except those of being disfranchised and prohibited from holding public office-humanity which he lived long enough to repay by an effort, many years afterwards, to excite another rebellion in the Province.1
Early in 1662, the Honorable Charles Calvert arrived at Saint Mary's, and entered upon the duties of Governor of the Province. He subsequently established a temporary residence at Mattapany, but about the time he became, by the death of his father, Baron of Baltimore and Proprietary of the Prov- ince, he resumed his residence at Saint Mary's. As an expression of their pleasure at his return to the Provincial Capital to live, the General Assembly presented him with an appropriation of 30,000 lbs. of tobacco.2
Charles, Lord Baltimore, was, perhaps, more closely identified with the development of Saint Mary's, than any other man connected with its history. It was during his administration that it was incorporated into a city, and the privilege of sending two representatives to the General Assembly was granted ; it was also, during his proprietorship that the State House and other public buildings were erected, and to sustain its privileges and importance, and give it per- manency as the seat of government, he gave the City a written assurance that it should continue to be the Capital of the Province as long as he remained its Proprietary.ª This promise he faithfully observed, and though efforts were made, and inducements offered from time to time, to get the seat of
1 McMahon, pp. 213 and 214.
2 Archives (Ass. Pro. 1674) p. 454.
3 Petition of Mayor and Council to Governor Nicholson, in Scharf
I, p. 345.
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government removed, he firmly resisted them all. One of these propositions came from the inhabitants of Anne Arundel, accompanied by the generous offer to build at the Ridge, in that County, at their own expense, a Governor's house, as well, also, as a State House, jail, and necessary offices, the latter buildings to be paid for only when completed.1
In 1661, an Act was passed for the establishment of a Mint in Maryland (at Saint Mary's) for the coining of money corresponding in purity, and equal in value to English coins of similar denominations .? Whether or not the Mint was actually operated, the records do not show. A writer, in 1708, says it was established, but not much used.ª It may be of interest to note here the curious method for getting money introduced among the people, as adopted by the Act of 1662, under which every householder in the Province was required to buy at least ten shillings for every taxable person in the family, paying for it in tobacco, at two pence per pound.
As early as 1689, a printing press, probably the first in Maryland,“-and, indeed, in America-had been established at Saint Mary's. There is, apparently, no data from which the exact time it commenced operations can be ascertained, but it was certainly as early as the above date, when the "Declaration of the Protestant Associators", probably the first pamphlet ever printed in Maryland, was issued from it.5
1 Archives (Ass. Pro. 1674) p. 78.
2 Specimens of the coins struck for Maryland, of about this date, are exceedingly rare, but a few of them are preserved in the Maryland Historical Society. They consisted of shillings, sixpence, and groats, their weight being respectively, 66, 34, and 25 grains of silver. A part of the legend on these coins was, Crescite at Multiplicamini and their advent into Maryland marks, also, as far as the records show, the in- troduction of that motto into the Province, and which was ultimately destined to become, for a short time, the motto of the State .- See Crosby, "Early Coins of America," p. 123.
8 British Empire in America, p. 344.
* Chalmers, p. 384; Neil, p. 174.
" Scharf, vol. I, p. 190, says: A printing press was set up in Mary- land by the Jesuit Missionaries, on which was printed Father White's catechism for use of the Indians, and that it was destroyed or carried
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The press belonged to Richard Nuthead, and was the only one in Maryland, of which the records speak, until 1696, when William Bladen took a press to Annapolis and became the public printer of the Province.1
Shortly after the accession of William and Mary to the English throne, the "religious fever which had just shaken England to its centre", was used by certain leaders in Mary- land, under color of religious zeal, as the instrument for pre- cipitating a crisis in the affairs of the Province. In April, 1689, an "Association in arms for the defense of the Protest- ant religion and for asserting the rights of King William and Queen Mary to the Province of Maryland", was formed, and this act was followed by open revolution.
On the 16th of the following July, information was received by the Council, at Saint Mary's, that companies of militia were being formed in different parts of the Province, An envoy was at once dispatched from Saint Mary's to ascer- tain their movements, but he was arrested and held as a spy. Learning, however, of their intended march upon, and near approach to the Provincial Capital, Colonel William Digges, of Saint Mary's, prepared for defense. He mustered in one hundred men, and took position in the State House, which was to be the point of attack .. While these preparations were being made at Saint Mary's, Colonel Henry Darnell and Major Nicholas Sewall went up the Patuxent and raised a force of one hundred and sixty men, but they did not arrive in time to assist in the defense of the Capital.
When the revolutionists reached Saint Mary's, they num- bered seven hundred men, under command of Captain John Coade, Colonel Henry Jowles, Major John Campbell, Mr. Nehemiah Blackiston, and Mr. Ninian Beall. Colonel
off in 1655; but I can find no authority for the statement. Same author, vol. I, p. 362, says : Another printing press was set up in 1660. This seems to be based upon an inference drawn from the Act of that year, providing for the publication of the laws of that session. Reference to the Act, however, shows that publication by proclamation only was meant, and not by printing.
* Scharf, I, p. 362.
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Digges, finding his men unwilling to fight against such supe- rior numbers, after a short skirmish, evacuated the State House and surrendered.1
The Council were driven to the Garrison at Mattapany, which being also captured, articles of formal surrender were signed on the Ist day of August, 1689, by which the "Asso- ciators" were placed in absolute possession and control of the Province.3
A full history of the motives and causes underlying and prompting this revolution, which swept away the Proprietary government, and, as events showed, marked the downfall of Saint Mary's, would involve too much detail, but it may be proper to note the fact that the records indicate the uprising to have been the result, not so much of the fear of violence to the Protestant religion, as it was of the alarm of physical danger, produced by the report that the Roman Catholics were conspiring with the Indians to massacre the Protestants, kindled and fanned by a few captious spirits, who were emu- lous of power, at whatever cost, and fired with ambition and expectation of royal favor from a Protestant King.4
With the power in their own hands, Coade and his asso- ciates, issued the famous "Declaration of the Protestant Associators"," selected a Council for the government of the Province, of which Nehemiah Blackiston, of "Longworth Point", was President, and sent an address to William and Mary, in which they detailed the results of the revolution, assigned the "defense of the Protestant religion" as the reason for it, and asked that the Province be placed under the protection of the English Government.7
The revolution received the Royal sanction and Maryland was placed under a Royal government. Sir Lionel Copley the first Governor appointed by the Crown, arrived at Saint
1 Archives (Cl. Pro. 1689) pp. 147-163; Scharf, I, pp. 310, 313, 315.
2 Mattapany-see Chapter on Saint Mary's County.
3 McMahon, p. 237. 4 Day Star, p. 87; Brown, p. 150.
5 Archives (Cl. Pro. 1689) p. 101.
8 Ibid, p. 206.
7 Ibid, p. 108.
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Mary's, in 1691. His associates were Sir Thomas Lawrence, Chancellor and Secretary, and Captain John Courtes, Mr. Thomas Brooke, and eight others as Councilors.1
The first Assembly under the Royal Government, con- vened at Saint Mary's, May 10th, 1692, with Nehemiah Blackiston, President of the Upper, and Kenelm Cheseldine, Speaker of the Lower House.'
The most conspicuous of the Acts of this session, was the one overthrowing religious freedom-so long the pride of Maryland-and constituting by law, the Church of England, as the established church of the Province.3
Governor Copley's residence at Saint Mary's, however, was of short duration. His wife died there on the 5th of March, 1692 O. S.,4 and he died on the 27th of September, 1693.5
In July, 1694, Francis Nicholson, Esq., became Governor of Maryland, and one of his first official acts was to sound the death knell of Saint Mary's. He summoned an Assembly to convene in September, not at Saint Mary's, but at Anne- Arundel-Town-now Annapolis. This act, "foreshadowed
1 Ibid, 1691, p. 271. 2 Archives (Ass. Pro. 1692).
8. For the particulars of this Act, see Chapter on Some of the Early Churches of Maryland.
Archives (Cl. Pro. 1692) p. 479.
5 Liber H. D. No. 2, Cl. Pro. pp. 65 and 98.
The cases of Governor and Lady Copley furnish strong examples of efficiency in the art of embalming at that early period. Governor Copley died about six months after his wife-as computed by the English system then in vogue, the legal year beginning the 25th of March-and yet, for ten months after his death, the bodies of both of them lay in the "Great House," at Saint Mary's, awaiting orders to ship them to England. It was not until July, 1694, that the Council ordered a vault to be built for their interment-a ceremony which did not take place until the following October. It is further worthy of note that as late as 1790, when the only vault known to be at Saint Mary's, and hence, presumably the Copley vault, was broken into, the remains of the woman there interred, were found to be in a state of perfect pres- ervation, until exposed to the air, when they crumbled into dust. For further particulars of the burial of Governor Copley and Lady Copley, see pages 33 and 34. See also appendix.
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the doom" of Saint Mary's, and at that session of the Assem- bly, the removal of the Capital was decided upon.1
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