USA > Maryland > Talbot County > History of Talbot county, Maryland, 1661-1861, Volume I > Part 4
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in harmony with those possessed by him who wrote them. If this be a legitimate deduction, can praise go farther than to say, Tilghman was like Washington? But to return. When peace came at last, and the bonds that united the army were to be dissolved, Col. Tilghman participated in that most touching scene, the parting of Washington with his officers, but not with that poignancy of grief that was felt by others, for he was still to accompany him, and stand by his side when, at Annapolis on the 23rd of December, 1783, was enacted that scene, which for moral sublimity is not surpassed in the whole drama of human history, the surrender of his commission as commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States by Gen. Washington. Governed by the same impulses as his great exemplar, Col. Tilghman, from his lower height, stepped down, and he too soon gave up his position and rank, returned with like gladness to the congenial pursuits of peace, and not long after to the wished for joys of wedded life.
During one of the few short furloughs which were accepted by Col. Tilghman whose attention to duty has been likened by Washington to the unceasing toil of the slave, he took occasion to renew his acquaint- ance with his relatives in the county of his birth, from whom he had so long been separated that they had become as strangers. The soldier who had staked life and fortune upon the result of the struggle for inde- pendence would be very naturally attracted to the statesman who had shown equal devotion to the same cause, even if the ties of kinship had not drawn them together. In the year 1779, after visiting his father in Chestertown, whither he had removed from Philadelphia after the commencement of hostilities, Col. Tilghman extended his journey to Talbot, and was welcomed by his uncle, the venerable Matthew Tilghman, at his home upon the Bay-Side. Here he was presented to his cousin, Miss Anna Maria Tilghman, of whose amiable traits, both of person and character, he had already been apprised by his own sisters, who had given him accounts of their agreeable visits to Bay-Side. Naturally susceptible to the influence of female charms, his military service, by withdrawing him in great measure from the society of women, had rendered him more impressible than ever when brought into their presence. It is therefore not wonderful that the soldier, who might be considered yet young in years, and was certainly possessed of the feelings of youth, during this period of respite from duty, of disengagement and almost vacancy of mind, when a kind of dreamy languor had suc- ceeded to the excitement and activity of the camp and field, should have been captivated by the intelligence, amiability and beauty of his cousin.
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Then, on the other hand, the soft blandishments which the young lady may have really thought were bestowed on the soldier for the sake of the cause which he was championing and defending, or on a relative and guest entitled to them by right of kinship or the laws of hospitality. without any covert design, on her part, completed his capture. The uncertainty of the result of the contest, in which he was then engaged as active participant, prevented him from a formal declaration of his feelings at this time. Three years later, the aspect of public affairs encouraging a hope that the war was not far from an end, and a more intimate acquaintance having confirmed his regard for his cousin, he determined to explain the motives of his conduct and behavior towards the young lady, who, he thought, was entitled to such explanation. But he still was unable to offer her marriage, inasmuch as his fortune was not such as would permit him to maintain her in the style to which she had been accustomed. He, therefore, plainly stated his position, and while expressing his warm affection for her, he said he was unwilling to embarrass her with a formal engagement, but left her free to accept any offers which might be made to her, if the sentiments she felt towards him would permit her so to do. But as common report connected his name with hers, he felt it his duty to apprise her father of what had transpired between them. The letter to the Hon. Matthew Tilgh- man from Col. Tilghman in reference to this matter, dated June 10th, 1782, is still in existence, in which he asks the privilege of prosecuting his suit, and states that should the father's consent be obtained, he would, ere long, set about the removal of that obstacle to a union with his daugh- ter which was founded in the inadequacy of his income. This letter is admirable for its manliness, its frankness, its delicacy, and its excellent taste. It is most characteristic of the man. In it we see united a simple dignity which results from conscious worth, an unaffected modesty which shrinks from asserting any special merits, and a self- renunciation which cannot sacrifice the interests of others to its own gratification. We see too, traces of those chivalric qualities which had not yet become a mere survival of a past age, honor towards man and homage towards woman. To this letter, Mr. Tilghman gave a favorable reply. Now it was that Col. Tilghman found the prudence of which he thought himself possessed was not proof against the impa- tience which prompted him to have the marriage concluded. He who was so cautious that he was unwilling to enter into any formal engagement until the war was over, and he had secured such an income as would support his wife in a manner becoming her station, was now ready and
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anxious, though peace had not been declared, and though he had em- barked in no business, that an early day should be appointed for the fruition of his hopes and desires. It was determined that the marriage should be solemnized in the winter of 1782, but the illness of Mr. Charles Carroll, the barrister, who had married an elder sister, which illness indeed finally terminated his life, caused the postponement of the nup- tials until June 9, 1783, when they were duly celebrated, with much quietness and privacy, on account of the recent family affliction just mentioned. He received, among those of other friends, the congratu- lations of General and Mrs. Washington, in a letter couched in the fol- lowing kind and affectionate language:
Why have you been so niggardly in communicating your change of condition to us, or to the world? By dint of enquiries we have heard of your marriage; but have scarcely got a confirmation of it yet. On the presumption however that it is so, I offer you my warmest congratu- lations and best wishes for the enjoyment of many happy years; in both of which Mrs. Washington joins me very cordially.
The lady with whom Col. Tilghman was thus happily united was possessed of many of those graces which win and those qualities which retain the admiration and respect of men. Her manners were most gracious, condescending to those below her in the social scale and engag- ing to her equals. Without pretensions to high culture, either in the lighter accomplishments, or the more solid acquirements, for which her residence in the country afforded small opportunity, she was never- theless intelligent, as well as naturally endowed with a most excellent judgment. The habit of her father of conversing with her freely and constantly upon public business, and his custom of having her with him at Annapolis when attending to colonial or state affairs, and at Philadelphia when serving in congress, made her familiar with the political movements and stirring events of the time. When thrown upon her own resources after his and her husband's death, she manifested most excellent capacity for the conduct of her private affairs. Nor was she devoid of literary skill, as is shown by an inedited memoir of her father, which she left behind her, and her numerous letters. In religion she was of the church of England, and its successor in America; and while holding to its doctrines with the tenacity of conviction, she was most liberal and tolerant of the opinions of those who differed from her in belief. Living at the time when the conflict for supremacy in her county was raging between the old church and Methodism, its child, she was able to retain the love and respect of those whom she op-
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posed. Without affecting the spirituality, which to her seemed so like sanctimoniousness, and which was the religious fashion of the day, she was in sentiment and conduct deeply pious. To her servants or slaves she was mild and indulgent; to her neighbors kind and obliging; to her friends and relatives most affectionate. Her house was the very home of hospitality. Her wealth was the store from which charity drew her most bountiful supplies for the surrounding poor. She lived to a great age, retaining her faculties to the end unimpaired, honored and revered by all, beloved by her children and her children's children to the third generation. She cherished to the last memories of her early lost husband, whom she survived by fifty-seven years. It was a duty, held as almost sacred, annually, upon the recurrence of the anniversary of her marriage, to retire to a private room, and taking from their reposi- tory all the relics of her deceased husband, which she preserved with the most scrupulous care, for a while to indulge herself in the tender and mournful reminiscences suggested by these mementos, and then to lay them away again in their proper receptacle, made sweet and safe with fragrant herbs and aromatic gums. Of this lady Gen. Lafayette re- tained kindly memories, and when he was in this country in 1824, in a letter written in reply to one of a committee of the citizens of Queen Anne's, congratulating him upon his arrival in America, presenting their homage for his services and merit, and inviting him to their county, he said:
It is my eager and affectionate wish to visit the Eastern Shore of this state. I anticipate the pleasure there to recognize several of my com- panions in arms, and among the relations of my departed friends, to find the honored widow of a dear brother in General Washington's family, Col. Tilghman, as well as a daughter of my friend Carmichael,12 who first received the secret vows of my engagement in the American cause, the least suspicion of which by the French or British govern- ment it was at that time momentous for me to prevent.
For many years preceding her death, she had been the recipient from the government of a pension, in consideration of the meritorious services of Col. Tilghman; but no discharge was ever made to the claims which he justly had against that government for arrearages of pay, but which it is due to his memory to say, were never demanded.
As soon as a prospect of peace was disclosed, and before the war was actually ended, Col. Tilghman began his preparations for a return to
12 Mr. Carmichael was secretary to the American commissioners, at Paris, and . a resident of Queen Anne's county, Maryland.
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his original occupation of merchant, when the army should be disbanded, and he relieved from his military duties.
The city of Baltimore was just entering upon that career of prosper- ity, which at that day was unprecedented in this country, and which has hardly been surpassed by any more recent examples of progress. The spreading of the settlements towards the west, to which she was in nearer proximity than any of the other seaboard towns, gave promise that Baltimore was to become a great emporium, a promise which is yet in process of realization. Col. Tilghman resolved to settle at this favor- able point, hoping to share in the prosperity which was so evidently waiting to reward the commercial enterprise of her citizens. At first he engaged in trade upon his own account, but soon finding the field so favorable as well as so wide, inviting and demanding larger-capital, more extended connections and greater credit than he could command, he was glad to accept overtures to a partnership with a gentleman well known in commercial circles both in Europe and America, of large experi- ence in business, of ample means and of abilities of the first order, as had been shown by his management of the finances of the country during the war of the revolution. These overtures were made by Mr. Robert Morris, who, at that time, occupied the most conspicuous posi- tion in commerce of any man of his day in America. He had known Col. Tilghman from his youth, and had learned, before the war, to appre- ciate his capacity and integrity. His merits were further discovered during the contest, when Mr. Morris was thrown into frequent inter- course with him. Among the interesting documents still preserved by
descendants of Col. Tilghman is that containing the articles of copart- nership between him and Mr. Morris. These articles bear the date of January 1st, 1784, and were to be in force for the term of seven years. By them, the parties agreed to enter into a mercantile business, of the precise nature of which it is not easy to determine, but apparently, it was a shipping and commission business, in which, while the produce and merchandise of others were sold for a percentage, the partners made foreign adventures upon their own account. Mr. Morris continued to reside in Philadelphia, while Mr. Tilghman conducted the business in Baltimore. It does not appear that Col. Tilghman had any interest in the Philadelphia house of his partner. The style of the firm in Balti- more was, Tench Tilghman and Company. The amounts invested by the partners were, "£5000 current money of Maryland, in specie, at the rate of seven shillings to the Mexican dollar" and £2500 of the same kind of money, for Mr. Morris and Col. Tilghman respectively; but they
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THE WORTHIES OF TALBOT
were to divide the profits equally, but Col. Tilghman was entitled to £400 annually, over and above his proportionable part "in consideration of his residence in Baltimore." The signature of Mr. Morris was wit- nessed by his Philadelphia partner Mr. Swanwick and Governeur Morris. That of Col. Tilghman by John Richardson and Jacob Samp- son. The copartnership thus begun continued to the early death of the junior of the firm in 1786, an event the sadness of which had this late alleviation, that he was spared the humiliation and loss which would have come through the subsequent bankruptcy of Mr. Morris, and was saved from the patriots' mortification of seeing the man, whose financial wisdom and self-sacrificing devotion had sustained his country's armies in the darkest hours, occupy a debtor's prison.,
The business career of Col. Tilghman illustrated those two qualities of heart and mind which characterize as well as dignify the true merchant of perfect integrity in all that relates to others, and soundness of judgment in all that relates to himself-qualities that permit the doing no wrong and the suffering none the very qualities that marked the true knight in a chivalrous age. That he possessed these qualities is attested by the words and acts of two most eminent men, who were not only them- selves endowed with them, but who had had every opportunity of dis- covering their existence in him-Mr. Robt. Morris and Gen. Washington. Mr. Morris had known him in business before the war; he had known him as the trusted secretary of the commander-in-chief during that whole contest; and this long acquaintance had inspired him with such confidence in his good-sense and honesty as to prompt him to the most intimate connection in trade. But after the copartnership had been formed, Mr. Morris, as his letters, still extant, show, took pains to give repeated assurance to his partner of his implicit reliance upon his honor and his abilities as a merchant. These assurances are couched in the most delicate and flattering terms, and lay in a touch of color amidst the neutral tints of a business correspondence. Gen. Washington, by his long association with Col. Tilghman, had acquired a similar confidence in his entire probity and good sense; for upon his retirement to Mount Vernon, his old secretary and aid became his factor or agent in Baltimore for the transaction of almost every kind of business. Col. Tilghman sold the products of his estates, as far as they were dis- posed of in that city: he was the purchaser of all articles for domestic and plantation use, even to the china that adorned Mrs. Washington's tea-table, or to her own and the general's personal clothing. He made contracts with workmen for building; he hired servants from the emi-
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grant ships; he selected and stipulated with the gentleman who was to act as private tutor to Mrs. Washington's children and as secretary to the general; in short, there was nothing which the general required should be done, important or trifling, that was not performed by his old confidential secretary but now equally trusted friend and commercial agent. The most unreserved confidence seems to have been reposed in him; and what he did was always approved. If better and additional evidence were wanting of Gen. Washington's confidence in Col. Tilghman as the capable and upright merchant, it would be afforded by a letter still extant, in which a request by the former is made of the latter, that he would receive into his counting room a young person, a relative, to acquire a knowledge of business. From what is known of Gen. Washington's prudence and discretion, this act of his, though in the form of a favor asked, must be regarded as a compliment bestowed; for it is not probable that he would have sought to place a youth, with whom he was personally connected, under the care and training of a man who had not shown himself possessed of those qualities which he would wish to be cultivated in one in whose welfare he felt an interest.
Although Col. Tilghman was immersed in business he found time to think and write of politics, municipal, state and national. His writing, at a time when newspapers were not so common as now, was confined to private correspondence. He maintained, to within a few weeks of his death, frequent intercourse by letters, with his father-in-law Mr. Mat- thew Tilghman, who had long taken an active part in politics, as has been before mentioned. This correspondence, of which there are some remains, was an interesting mélange of family, business and public affairs. It would seem that he, like most thoughtful men of the time, entertained grave apprehensions of the success of the new government under the articles of confederation. The weaknesses of this government betrayed themselves during the progress of the war; but the enthusiasm of patriot- ism compensated in large measure for its lack of inherent vigor, and car- ried on the contest, in some halting and hesitating, but, in the end, successful way to a fortunate conclusion. After the war was over, and the power of a government had to take the place of zeal for a cause, its feebleness became more and more apparent, and disorganization or subjection to some strong hand seemed inevitable. The following extract from a letter of Col. Tilghman to the Hon. Matthew Tilghman, bearing the date of February 5th, 1786, expresses the apprehensions that were entertained of the stability of the government of the United States, for some years after the acknowledgment of their independence:
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It is a melancholy truth, but so it is, that we are at this time the most contemptible and abject nation on the face of the earth. We have neither reputation abroad nor union at home. We hang together merely because it is not the interest of any other power to shake us to pieces, and not from any well cemented bond of our own. How should it be otherwise? The best men we have are all basking at home in lucrative posts, and we send the scum to represent us in the grand nation- al council. France has met us there on equal terms. Instead of keep- ing a man of rank as minister at our court, she sends a person in quality of charge des affaires, who was but a degree above a domestic in the family of the late minister. All joking apart, I view our federal affairs as in the most desperate state. I have long been convinced that we cannot exist as republics. We have too great a contrariety of interests ever to draw together. It will be a long time before any one man will be hardy enough to undertake the task of uniting us under one head. I do not wish to see the time. One revolution has been sufficient for me, but sure I am another of some kind will take place much earlier than those who do not think deeply on the subject suppose.
From this letter it is very evident that Col. Tilghman had clearly recognized the failure of the confederation of states, and that he had no hope that any modification of the articles of this league of separate republics, by which the independence of each was to be maintained, would perpetuate a government so loosely hung together, and with so little autonomic power to secure obedience to its requirements. It is also clear that he had not relieved his mind of the illusion fostered and perpetuated by monarchy, that by the mind and hand of a single person only could union and harmony be secured. He had not yet learned to trust to the wisdom of the people, so like a political instinct, to effect what he thought was beyond the power of such statesmanship as was embodied in our legislatures. It is evident he was anticipating another revolution, in which some strong hand should harness the recalcitrant states, and seizing the reins of power, direct the car of the united nation upon the road of progress. The revolution, which with an admirable prescience he had anticipated, came soon after the words above quoted were written, but it came in a manner which his political astrology had not enabled him to foresee. The formation of the constitution of 1787 was the work of the people, who had discovered the necessity of a "more perfect union." The evils which were expected, by Col. Tilghman and those who thought like him, to flow from any attempt at the unification of the heterogeneous elements of the confederacy, were happily not realized; at least not realized until many years later, when the senti- ment of nationality, once a germ immature and weak, had so rooted
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itself to the soil, and so spread itself in the air of the popular mind, that it was able to withstand the storm of civil war. One other reflection, suggested by this letter may be pardoned. The complaint that he utters of the insufficiency of those who were sent to the "national coun- cil" is one, as appears, that has been made at every period in our his- tory. We are therefore encouraged to believe that the public men of the present day, however much they may fall below our ideals of true statesmen, are not worse than those who preceded them, whose actions, we think, were prompted by an unselfish sentiment, and regulat- ed by a far-reaching wisdom, and whose memories we now revere as . those of the very fathers of the republic. In view of the great prosperity we have enjoyed, under legislation conducted by men whom Col. Tilgh- man has designated as "the scum," we may indulge the hope that those who we think are to be characterized as both ignorant and dishonest, may not bring utter ruin upon the country? Some how, and yet we know not why, from the conflicts of ignorance, wherever thought is free, the light of truth is elicited, and from the decomposition of corrup- tion, wherever political action is unrestrained by arbitrary power, the germ of right is developed. 1136084
Belonging to a family of the Maryland gentry of the highest respect- ability and social prominence; connected by kinship or friendship with the very best people of the province or state; endowed with those fine sensibilities which would have made him the gentleman, had he not been such by birth; possessed of a vigorous mind trained in the best schools of the country, and in those better schools, an intercourse with great men, and a participation in great affairs; adorned with manners which were at once the expression of an inherited courtesy, and the reflection of the polite circles in which he had moved; it would have been strange if the house of Col. Tilghman had not become the resort of all the cultivated, refined and distinguished of the commonwealth.13 There could be seen occasionally many who had national repute and whose names have now a historic importance. There he dispensed a generous, but not ostentatious, hospitality to all whom he enrolled among his friends, and particularly to his old companions in arms. There he enter- tained Lafayette during his first visit to America, after the revolution, in 1784. There too he had the satisfaction, according to traditions in the family, of occasionally welcoming his old commander, Gen. Washing-
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