USA > Maryland > Anne Arundel County > Annapolis > The Ancient City.: A History of Annapolis, in Maryland, 1649-1887 > Part 19
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"EDM. PENDLETON, President. "JOHN TAZWELL, Clk. Convention."
156
"'THE ANCIENT CITY. ''
The appeal of Virginia to seize Gov. Eden, of Maryland, added to the violence of the people ; and the Whig club of Baltimore loudly proclaimed the absolute necessity to capture the Governor, as a pledge of public safely, and it was asserted that a plan was in agitation to- accomplish that purpose in defiance of the legislature. Gov. Eden did not appear concerned, but relied on the honor of the convention which had solemnly pledged his safe departure.
On Sunday, June 23, 1776, the frigate Fowey, Capt. George Mon- tague, arrived for Gov. Eden, and the first Lieutentant of the ship came on shore with a flag of truce. Every moment now brought changes, the militia were under arms, and, a general confusion pre- vailed.
Under date of June 29, 1776, Mr. Eddis wrote from Annapolis:
"Till the moment of the governor's embarkation on the 23d, there was every reason to apprehend a change of disposition to his prejudice. Some few were even clamorous for his detention. But the council of safety, who acted under a resolve of the convention, generously rati- fied the engagements of that body ; and after they had taken an af- fectionate leave of their late supreme magistrate, he was conducted to the barge with every mark of respect due to the elevated station he had so worthily filled.
"A few minutes before his departure, I received his strict injune- tions to be steady and cautious in the regulation of my conduct ; and not to abandon my situation, on any consideration, until absolutely discharged by an authority which might, too probably, be erected on the ruins of the ancient constitution. I promised the most implicit attention to his salutary advice ; and rendered my grateful acknowl- edgements for the innumerable obligations he had conferred on me ; at the same time I offered my most fervent wishes that his future hap- piness might be full proportion to the integrity of his conduct, and the benevolence of his mind.
"In about an hour the barge reached the Fowey, and the governor was received on board under a discharge of cannon ; his baggage and provisions were left on shore, to be forwarded in the course of the en- suing day.
"During the night, some servants, and a soldier belonging to the Maryland regiment, found means to escape en board his Majesty's ship, which being almost immediately discovered, a flag was sent off, with a message to Captain Montague, demanding the restitution of the men, previous to any further communication.
"Captain Montague, in reply, acquainted the council of safety, "that he could not, consistently with his duty, deliver up any persons who, as subjects of his Britannic Majesty, had fled to him for refuge and protection ; he had strictly given it in charge to such officers as might be sent on shore, not to bring off any of the inhabitants with- out the express permission of the ruling powers; but that the case was extremely different respecting those who had, even at hazard of life, given evidence of their attachment to the ancient constitution.'
"This message not being deemed satisfactory, a letter was dis- patched to the governor demanding his interference in this critical business, with an intimation, that the detention of the men would be considered as a manifest breach of the regulation under which flags - of truce are established.
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HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
"Governor Eden received the officer which proper attention, but re- plied, he had only to observe, that on board his Majesty's ship, he had not the least authority ; and that Captain Montague was not to be influenced by his opinion, as he acted on principles which he con- ceived to be strictly consistent with the line of his duty.
"The event of this negotiation was disagreeable in its consequence to the governor. The populace were exceedingly irritated, and it was thought expedient not only to prohibit all further intercourse with the Fowey, but also to detain the various stores which the governor had provided for his voyage to Europe. This resolution was intimated in express terms ; and, on the evening of the 24th, Captain Montague weighed anchor, and stood down the bay, for his station on the coast of Virginia."
The property, the Governor had left behind, was confiscated. In 1783, he returned to Annapolis to obtain the restitution of his prop- erty. He died soon after his arrival in the house now owned and oc- cupied by the Sisters of Notre Dame, on Shipwright street. He was buried, says Mr. Ridgely, "under the pulpit of the Episcopal Church on the north side of Severn within two or three miles of this place. This church was some years since burned down."
I have tried by diligent inquiry to locate this church. The nearest approach to the truth is found in the fact that, on the farm of Mrs. Winchester, near the track of the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line Railroad, is an ancient graveyard-the site of an Episcopal Church that was burned down nearly a hundred years ago. There is a grave in this cemetery, marked by a cross of bricks-and the tradition is that an English Lord lies buried here. It would not take many repetitions of oral history to change an English Governor to an Eng- lish Lord.
CHAPTER XXXV. SHIPYARDS, RACE COURSES, AND INDIANS.
In 1747, a large ship, belonging to Mr. William Roberts, was built, launched, and called after the names of its builders the "RUMNEY AND LONG." This is the year a shipload of rebels commonly called "the King's passengers," were landed in Annapolis.
The first shipyard, of which there is any record, was located a few feet below the culvert on Northwest street where it crosses Calvert. The cove then made up beyond the jail. Its name has been lost and the water has receded a quarter of a mile since then.
In other sections of the city the water has given place to land- notably where a cove came up Church street as far as Mr. James Munroe's store, and there is a lady living who has heard a gentleman say he used to tie his boat to a stake driven at the foot of Green street.
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"'THE ANCIENT CITY. ''
Holland street and the property adjacent to the oyster-houses between Prince George and Hanover streets are evidences that made ground grows very fast under an impetus of business or improvement.
The owner of the Rumney and Long built and lived in the house now owned by Mrs. A. Owen Iglehart. He had a blacksmith's shop- north of his residence, on which was a steeple in which was the only bell of the city until St. Anne's arrived-the one tradition says was presented by Queen Anne, and which was destroyed by fire in 1858. Below this shop were sailmakers' lofts, and other workshops necessary in shipbuilding. Messrs. Kirkwell and Blackwell, ship-builders, were also in his employ.
Tradition tells us, that they built the "Brig, Lovely Nancy"-at the launch of which the following incident occurred : "She was on the stocks, and the day appointed to place her on her destined element, a large concourse of persons assembled to witness the launch, among whom was an old white woman named Sarah McDaniel, who professed fortune-telling, and was called 'a witch.' She was heard to remark- 'The Lovely Nancy will not see water today.' The brig moved finely at first, and when expectation was at its height to see her glide into the water, she suddenly stopped, and could not be again moved on that day. This occurrence created much excitement amongst the spectators ; and Captain Slade and the sailors were so fully persuaded that she had been 'bewitched,' that they resolved to duck the old woman. In the meantime she had disappeared from the crowd ; they kept up the search for two or three days, during which time she lay concealed in a house."
"The 'Lovely Nancy,' did afterwards leave the stocks, and is said to have made several prosperous voyages.
"There was, at a later period, another shipyard on the Southwest side of the city, at the termination of Charles street, where the Ma- tilda,' and the 'Lady Lee' were launched-the first was owned by Samuel Chase, Esq., and the latter by Governor Lee."#
At the foot of Maryland Avenue, about 1840, Benjamin Linthicum built the Severn, a large schooner, for John S. Selby, an Annapolis merchant. It was a very fine vessel. Ship-building has since gradually declined in Annapolis. There was a small shipyard near the North- east side of the dock in which bay craft were built, and one on the Southwest side. The first commenced about the year 1850, and con- tinued to 1860. It was also owned by Benjamin Linthicum. The Marine Railway, now owned by Haller and Matzon, was the out- growth and continuance of Linthicum's shipyard.
About 1750, a jockey club was established at Annapolis, consisting of many "principal gentlemen in this, and in the adjacent provinces, many of whom in order to encourage the breed of the noble animal, imported from England, at a very great expense, horses of high repu- tation." This club existed for many years. "The races at Annapo- lis were generally attended by a great concourse of spectators, many coming from the adjoining colonies. Considerable sums were bet on these occasions. Subscription purses of a hundred guineas were for a long time the highest amount run for, but subsequently were greatly increased. The day of the races usually closed with balls, or theatri- cal amusements." The race course at this time and for many years * Annals of Annapolis, p. 119.
159
HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
after, was located on that part of the city just beyond Mr. Severe's blacksmith shop, embracing a circle of one mile, taking in all that" portion of the town now occupied by the Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore railroad depot and the lands adjacent.
Severe's blacksmith shop stood where Henry B. Myers' feed ware- house and coal yard, on Calvert street, are now located.
On the 20th of September, in 1750, a race was run on this course between governor Ogle's Bay Gelding, and Col. Plater's Grey Stallion, and won by the former. For next day six horses started, Mr. Waters horse Parrott, winning, distancing several of the running horses. "On the same ground some years after, Dr. Hamilton's 'horse Figure,' won- a purse of fifty pistoles-beating two, and distancing three others. 'Figure' was a horse of great reputation-it is stated of him that, "he had won many fifties-and in the year 1763, to have received pre- miums at Preston and Carlisle, in Old England, where no horse would enter against him-he never lost a race." Subsequently, the race course was removed to a field some short distance beyond the city, on which course some of the most celebrated horses ever known in America have run. It was on this latter course that Mr. Bevans' bay horse "Oscar," so renowned in the annals of the turf, first ran. Oscar was bred on Mr. Ogle's farm near this city-he won many races, and in the fall of 1808, it is well remembered, he beat Mr. Bond's "First Consul" on the Baltimore course, who had challenged the continent- running the second heat in 7 m. 40 s., which speed had never been excelled.t
"Old Ranter" was "Oscar's" great, great, grand sire.
To these races Gen. Washington used to repair, and in his diary naively recounts his gains on the bets on the successful pacers.
These stirring seasons have long since ceased to occur-and the memory of them no more excites the garrulity of tradition. In 1884, an attempt was made to revive the race course, in conjunction with agricultural fair grounds ; but the effort was abortive.
Twenty-one years later, 1771, "The Saint Tamina Society," was in- augurated in Annapolis, and continued its anniversary celebrations for many years. The first day of May was set apart in memory of "Saint Tamina," whose history, like those of other venerable saints, is lost in fable and uncertainty. It was usual on the morning of this day, for the members of the society to erect in some public situation in the city, a "May-pole," and to decorate it in a most tasteful manner, with wild flowers gathered from the adjacent woods, and forming themselves in a ring around it, hand in hand, perform the Indian war dance, with many other customs which they had seen exhibited by the children of the forest. It was also usual on this day for such of the citizens, who chose to enter into the amusement, to wear a piece of buck's-tail in their hats, or in some conspicuous part of their dress.
"The first lottery drawn in this province," was at Annapolis, on the 21st September, 1753, for the purchase of a "town olock, and clearing the dock." The highest prize 100 pistoles-tickets half a pis- tole. The managers were Benjamin Tasker, Jr., George Stewart, Walter Dulany, and ten other gentlemen of this place.
On the 11th of August, of this year, Horatio Sharpe, Esq., governor of the province, arrived here, in the ship Molly, Captain Nicholas Coxen, from London.
1 Ridgely's Annals of Annapolis.
160
"'THE ANCIENT CITY."'
In September, (1753,) several companies under the command of Captain Dagworthy, Lieutenants Forty and Bacon, marched from An- napolis against the French on the Ohio.
On the 3d April, 1755, General Braddock, Governor Dinwiddie and Commodore Keppel arrived here, on their way to Virginia. On the 11th and 12th of the same month, there arrived Governor Sherley, of Boston, Governor De Lancy, of New York, and Governor Morris, of Philadelphia, with a number of distinguished gentlemen. They left here accompanied by Governor Sharpe, for Alexandria, and on the 17th they returned to Annapolis on their way to their respective govern- ments. A few days after, Governor Sharpe set out for Frederick Town.
This period, which just preceded the defeat of General Braddock, near Fort Du Queen, appears to have been a busy time with their ex- cellencies.
On the 29th of September, of this year, Dr. Charles Carroll departed this life, aged sixty-four years-he had resided in Annapolis about forty years. For some years after his coming to this city, he "practised physic with good success ; but laying that aside, he commenced trade and merchandise, by which he amassed a very considerable fortune." In 1737, he was chosen a member to the Lower House of Assembly, in which station he is said to have spared no pains or application to render himself serviceable to the country and his constituents, to the time of his death. He is represented to have been "a gentleman of good sense and breeding, courteous and affable," and was held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens. Dr. Carroll owned all of the ground on the lower part of Church street, on the South side, extending back to the Duke of Gloucester street.
Mr. Green says in his Gazette of the 6th of November, of this year, "we are now about entrenching the town. If the gentlemen, in the neighborhood of Annapolis, were to send their forces to assist in it, a few days would complete the work."
This measure, it would seem, was taken by the citizens, in con- sequence of the "dreadful murders and massacres" committed by the French and Indians upon the border country, and se- rious apprehensions were entertained by the inhabitants that Annapolis would fall into the hands of their "politic, cruel, and cunning enemies." It was asserted by a writer for the Gazette, that the Indians "were but little way from thecity, and that so entire was their defenceless situation, that even a small party of twenty or thirty Indians, by marching in the night and skulking in the day time, might come upon them unawares in the dead of night, burn their houses, and cut their throats, before they could put themselves in a posture of defence." Other writers of the day, seemed to think that there was no more danger of "Annapolis being attacked by the Indiansthan London." The fears of the inhabitants were soon quieted, by the return of several gentlemen who had gone as volunteers to the westward, and who reported they had seen no Indians, except one, and he was "very quiet," for they found him dead.
The last Indians to visit Annapolis lived on the Potomac river. Their name has not come down to us. They exchanged their lands with the Calvert family for lands in Baltimore county where game was more plentiful, and, as the white population advanced, the tribe re-
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HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
tired to the Susquehanna. The Eastern shore tribes occasionally visited Annapolis, and as late as 1840, there where some few residents of Annapolis who remembered the visits of King Abraham and his Queen Sarah.
CHAPTER XXXVI. THE THIRD STATE HOUSE IN ANNAPOLIS.
1772-1887.
THE THIRD STATE HOUSE. Corner Stone laid March 28, 1772.
In 1769, the Legislature appropriated £7,500 sterling to build the present State House. The building committee was Daniel Dulany, Thomas Johnson, John Hall, William Paca, Charles Carroll, Barris- ter, Lancelot Jacques, and Charles Wallace. The majority were em- powered to contract with workmen, and to purchase materials, and were authorized to draw on the dual treasurers of the State for what- ever further sums might be required to complete the building.
The foundation stone of the State House was laid on the 28th of March, 1772, by Governor Eden.
In 1773, a copper roof was put on the State House, and in 1775, this roof was blown off. The Market House of the city was demolished by the same equinoctial gale, during which the tide rose three feet perpendicularly above the common level.
The dome was not added to the State House until after the revolu- tion.
11
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"'THE ANCIENT CITY."
The dimensions of the State House are :
Feet.
From the platform to the cornice, about.
36
" " cornice to top of arc, of roof. 23
" " top of the roof to the cornice of the facade of the dome. 30
" " cornice to the band above the elliptical windows ..
34
This terminates the view internally. 113
From the band to the balcony.
22
Height of the turret. 17
From the cornice of the turret to the floor of the campa- nelle, or lantern 6
Height of the campanelle, or lantern.
14
Height of the pedestal and acorn. 10
Height of the spire
18-87
Entire height, 200
Diameter of the dome, at its base
40
do. balcony
30
do. campanelle, or lantern 10
do. acorn. 3 8 in.
Length of the front of the building. 120
Depth, (exclusive of the octagon, ) 82
The architect was Joseph Clarke. Thomas Dance who executed the stucco and fresco work, fell from the scaffold just as he had finished the centre piece, and was killed.
The State House is situated upon a marked elevation in the centre of Annapolis. The eminence rises in gradual terraces to the edifice, which, though simple in architecture, has a lofty and majestic ap- pearance, and has in all times "elicited alike the admiration of the citizen, the sojourner, and the stranger for the beauty of its structure."
The main building is of brick, the dome of wood. From the dome of the State House, 125 feet from the top of the Hill, a most delight- ful view is obtained. The majestic Chesapeake and a hundred tribu- taries, their bosoms covered with endless varieties of busy water craft ; the ancient city ; its environs ; the Naval Academy-its ships of war ;- the contiguous country with its sloping hills and variegated plains, for an extent of thirty miles, gratify the eye of the delighted spectator.
The main entrance of the State House is through a modest porch, facing southeast. It opens into a spacious hall, beautifully ornamented with stucco work which was made from plaster brought from St. Mary's county.
On the right hand is the Senate Chamber, 30 by 40 feet. Its ceiling and walls are handsomely ornamented, and rich carpets cover its floors. It has accommodations for twenty-six Senators, and a contracted lobby gives room for a small number of auditors. Portraits at full length of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Samuel Chase, William Paca, and Thomas Stone, signers of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland, adorn the walls.
In 1876, this chamber was improved by order of the Board of Pub- lic Works. The old gallery that linked the room with the great past was torn down and carried to the cellar, and the State acquiesced in & profanation it had never ordered.
do. turret. 17
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HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
In the room adjoining the Senate is a portrait of the elder Pitt, in which Lord Chatham is represented at full length in the attitude and costume of a Roman orator-decorated with emblems of his lofty prin- ciples. This portrait was painted by Charles Wilson Peale whilst in England and presented by him, in 1794, to the State.
The Senate Chamber's highest title to renown is that in it Washing- ton resigned his Military Commission after the Revolution, and became again a civilian. In this room also was ratified by Congress in 1784, the treaty of peace with Great Britain, which treaty recognized Ameri- can Independence.
In September, 1786, at the suggestion of General Washington, it is thought, as the scheme was concerted at Mt. Vernon, a convention assembled at Annapolis to propose measures to maintain harmonious commercial relations between the States. This body met in the Senate Chamber. Five States were represented. The Commissioners who arrived were from
NEW YORK-Alexander Hamilton and Egbert Benson.
NEW JERSEY-Abraham Clark, William C. Houston, and James Schureman.
PENNSYLVANIA-Tench Coxe.
DELAWARE-George Ready, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett.
VIRGINIA-Edmund Randolph, James Madison, Jr., and St. George Tucker.
Hamilton made the report that was adopted by the convention. It proposed to the several States the convocation of a convention to take into consideration the situation of the United States.
The Annapolis convention was the parent of the great convention of 1787, that framed the federal constitution.
On the left of the rotunda is the Hall of the House of Delegates. It has seating capacity for 91 members. Three small lobbies give ac- commodations for visitors. On the Northeastern wall hangs a paint- ing, representing Washington, attended by General LaFayette and Col. Tilghman his Aides-de-camp, and the Continental Army passing in review. In Washington's hands are the articles of capitulation at Yorktown. This picture was painted by Charles Wilson Peale in pur- suance of a resolution of the Legislature, and is one of the best por- traits extant of the immortal Virginian.
Opposite the entrance of the State House is the Library, containing, duplicates included, 80,000 volumes. These are chiefly works on law and public documents, but a handsome proportion of them is a valuable collection of works on art, science, history, and fiction. The library was established in 1834, and the building was enlarged in 1859. Be- fore the inauguration of the State Library, the room, occupied at its: establishment, had been used by the General Court of Maryland. In. 1804, that court was abolished.
On the second floor to the left of the staircase is the suite of rooms occupied by the Court of Appeals. On the right of the stairway the room of the Adjutant General (formerly the State Armory, ) the pri- vate office of the Governor, and the Executive Chamber are located.
In the Executive Chamber the portrait of George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore and England's Secretary of State under James and Charles, is seen. It is a copy from the painting by Mytens, now in the gallery of the Earl of Varulam at Glastenbury, England-and was presented to the State by John W. Garrett, of Baltimore, as a result
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"'THE ANCIENT CITY. "
of the researches and efforts of Mr. F. B. Mayer, of Annapolis, to in- augurate a gallery of the Governors of Maryland. A full length por- trait of Charles, third Lord Baltimore, was exchanged by the city of Annapolis for the six portraits of Governors Paca, Smallwood, Stone, Sprigg, Johnson, and Plater. These with the full length of Frederick, the sixth and last Lord Baltimore, and a recent gift of a portrait of Governor Robert Wright, and one of John Eager Howard, are the only portraits of her Governors owned by the State.
In the Senate Chamber is a large picture by Edwin White, repre- senting "Washington's Resignation of his Commission," obtained under an order of the Maryland Legislature in 1859.
The basement of the State House is occupied by the furnace for heating the building, the steam ventilator, and committee rooms.
An Annex to the State Library was ordered by the Legislature of 1886, a building long needed by reason of the over-crowded condition of the library.
..
CHAPTER XXXVII. ANNAPOLIS IN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
[1776.] The dramatic arraignment of George III. in the Declara- tion of Independence, contains two counts that Annapolis helped to make in that unique indictment. The Fifteenth Count that gives as one of the causes which impelled the colonies to dissolve the political bands that had connected them with Great Britain, reads :
"For protecting them, (armed troops) by a mock-trial, from pun- ishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabi- tants of these States."
This was literally done at Annapolis in 1768, when, in a dispute be- tween some soldiers and citizens of the town, two citizens were killed. As the homicides were marines, belonging to an armed vessel lying near, they were in time of peace, on complaint of the citizens arraigned before the Admiralty Court for murder. The whole affair assumed the character of a solemn farce, so far as justice was con- cerned, and, as might have been expected, the miscreants were ac- quitted .*
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