USA > Maryland > Anne Arundel County > Annapolis > The Ancient City.: A History of Annapolis, in Maryland, 1649-1887 > Part 29
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These vindictive attacks on private character and personal rights had no other foundation than the attritions of rivalship in legitimate business and the unavoidable differences on political questions.
Whilst these internal dissensions were agitating Annapolis, external appearances were anything but agreeable.
The British once more hovered near Annapolis. On Sunday night, June 26th, 1814, a British barge supposed to belong to the Jasseur, a brig lying at Plumb Point, about thirty miles below Annapolis, cap- tured several vessels, one of them being a regular packet between An- napolis and Haddaway's Ferry.
On July 9th, the British Frigate, Narcissus, accompanied by a schooner and two smaller vessels, passed the mouth of the Severn. on its way up the bay. On the 13th, the frigate returned with twelve bay crafts, which it had captured.
The proximity of the British again transposed Annapolis into a military post. A considerable body of militia arrived from Frederick and Washi: gton counties, and the upper part of Anne Arundel. They displayed great patriotism.
On August 25th, a British frigate, a schooner, sloop, and a fleet of barges were in sight off Annapolis. On Sunday, September 18th, the enemy, having between sixty and seventy sail, again appeared off An- napolis. Their bows were down the bay. They had discovered there was a North Point and a Fort McHenry. Two of the vessels grounded on Kent Island, and that delayed them until Tuesday. On Wednesday they anchored ten miles below Annapolis.
On the night of November 15th, Annapolis was thrown into a state of intense excitement by the firing of the alarm guns on Horn Point by the guard. Citizens flew to arms, and in a brief period the town was ready to meet the attack of the enemy. The alarm proved a false one created by two bay vessels entering the mouth of the har- bor and refusing to notice or answer the repeated calls of the guard. It was then announced that. after this alarm, those vessels which re- fused to notice the hail of the guard would be fired upon.
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HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
In February, 1815, the news of peace arrived and on the 22nd An- napolis celebrated the welcome intelligence. The city was bril- liantly illuminated, the joy of the people was unbounded, all former political differences were buried, all past dissensions forgotten. and all was "peace and good will towards men." In the midst of this brilliant spectacle stood the State House, conspicious for its elevation and splendor. The great hall was decorated with a full length por- trait of Washington, suspended from the centre of the inner dome, the devices were tasteful and numerous, and the whole illumination brilliant and magnificent.
CHAPTER XLIX. LA FAYETTE'S VISIT TO ANNAPOLIS.
[1824.] On Friday, December 17th, 1824, by invitation of the Mary- land Legislature, the Marquis de La Fayette visited Annapolis. The enthusiasm excited amongst the citizens by the arrival of the dis- tinguished visitor was indescribable "every eye beamed with pleasure, every heart throbbed with mingled emotions of gratitude, affection, and delight." His approach was announced by a national salute, and the display of the Federal colors upon the spire of the State House. It was three in the afternoon when he made his appearance in the city, accompanied by his son George Washington La Fayette, Mons. Vas- seur, his Secretary, the Hon. Joseph Kent, the Hon. George E. Mitchell, Representatives in Congress from Maryland, Samue! Sprigg, Esq .. late Governor of Maryland, and the deputation from Annapolis, consisting of Hon. Jeremiah T. Chase, late chief justice of Maryland, Hon. Theodorick Bland, chancellor of the State, Col. Henry Mayna- dier, an officer of the Revolution, and John Randall, Esq., collector of the port : who had received him at the divisional line between Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.
Judge Chase delivered there the following address to Lafayette :
"General Lafayette, the citizens of Annapolis, ardently solicitous to demonstrate the feelings of their hearts on this happy occasion, have requested me, with one voice to express them to you-Welcome Gen- eral Lafayette, thrice welcome, as the revered guest of citizens who re- joice to see you. They rejoice to see you, as the friend of America, they rejoice to see you as the friend of the illustrious Washington-they rejoice to see you receiving the congratulations of a free people ; whose hearts from one end of the continent to the other, are filled with the most lively gratitude, for the great, the important services rendered by you in the Revolutionary war. To you, Illustrious Chief, they are indebted for that aid you afforded, at a time the most peril- ous, by which, under the favour and smiles of Providence, and under the guidance of the patriotic Washington, the freedom and independ- ence of America was established.
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"To you and your glorious acheiven ents they owe those rights, which they are now in the full enjoyment of-Liberty, the rights of conscience, the rights of property, and the security of all personal rights, and that high and exalted station America holds among the nations of the earth. Your noble, disinterested conduct, as the de- voted friend of liberty, and your timely aid in her cause, will long be remembered by Americans. They are deeply engraven, indelibly im- pressed, on their hearts, and will be transmitted from father to son, from generation to generation, until America be lost and swallowed up in the never ceasing flood of time.
"May the Almighty God, the Great Jehovah, take you in his holy keeping, prolong your days, and may they be prosperous and end in peace, that peace of mind which passeth all understanding ; and may you finally be fitted for and received into those mansions of bliss pre- pared by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for his happy followers, is the ardent prayer of the sons of freedom."
To the above address General Lafayette made the following reply : "The welcome I receive from you, gentlemen, in the name of the citizens of Annapolis, the pleasure to meet you again, my dear and venerated sir, and the remembrance of one of my earliest friends, and co-patriots, in the cause of America, your excellent brother, are senti- ment which I am happy to express. I thank you for the testimonies of your esteem and friendship. I rejoice with you in the admirable results of our glorious revolution, and feel an affectionate eagerness to re-enter the metropolis where I am so kindly invited, and where so many old obligations have been conferred upon me."
Lafayette was escorted by Captain Bowie's elegant company of mounted riflemen from Nothingham, Prince George's county and Captain Sellman's troop of horse from South River, Anne Arundel county.
At Miller's Hill, the procession. in spite of the rain which continued from morn till night, was formed under the marshalship of Colonel Jones, of the United States Army. It presented a creditable military appearance, and consisted of :
Two companies of the Annapolis riflemen ;
Two companies of Annapolis infantry ;
One company of Annapolis artillery ;
Captain Dooly's company of riflemen from West River ;
Captain Bruce's company of mounted riflemen from Nothingham ; Captain Watson's. Captain Warfield's, and Captain Sellman's troops of horses ;
The troops from Fort Severn ;
Colonel Charles S. Ridgely, of the cavalry, and the officers of Cap- tain Hollingsworth's troop of horse from Elk Ridge.
The procession passed through West Street, down Church Street, up Frances to the eastern gate of the circle where the General alighted from his carriage and was conducted to the State House. Upon entering the hall, he was greeted by about thirty little girls, each about twelve years old, formed in a semi-circle. all dressed in white, with wreaths of evergreen entwined around their heads, and holding in their hands banners with the following inscriptions :
"LaFayette The friend of our fathers will always be welcome to the hearts of their children," and
"The cannon's roar proclaims the gratitude of warriors ;
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HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
"More peaceful emblems must tell of ours."
The General was conducted to the Senate Chamber of historie re- mown-where, in the presence of the corporate authorities of the city, the members of the Legislature, a numerous assemblage of ladies, citizens, and strangers, he was addressed by Colonel James Boyle, the Mayor of the city, in the following terms :
"On the part of the corporation and my fellow-citizens, I greet you with a hearty and affectionate welcome. You have been in this city before, during the gloomy period of that war, which severed one-half of the British empire from the other, and placed these states on an equality with the independent nations of the earth. We rejoice to see you now. The children have inherited the grateful affections of their fathers.
"We do not know which to admire most, that bold and chivalric spirit, which prompted you to leave the quiet of repose, the joys of a splendid court, where youth and beauty cheered even the dim lustre of the aged eye, and the soft endearments of an early love, or that spirit of benevolence, which urged you to gird on the warrior sword to battle for an infant land just struggling to existence. You came like Achilles, not the leader, but the young hero of the host, to bind upon your youthful brow your earliest laurels, and the myrmidons® of your country fought untired and victorious by your side. You have been reserved for a nobler and a better fate. He fell upon the very threshhold of victory. You have survived to see the maturity of that rich boon your gallant sword assisted to achieve. The Grand Master of the Universe would not summon you from your frail lodge of clay to his celestial and eternal lodge above, until you should behold these fair fields the permanent abode of rational liberty. We have seen you retire from our shores with the nation's blessings and the nation's prayers ; we have known you in your own country to reap a rich harvest of glory, and we have sighed with you when the dungeon doors of the prison of Olmutz closed and shut you from the world, your tender spouse, and infant offspring. Believe me, Sir, through this wide extended country, washed by the Atlantic on the one side, and the Pacific on the other, there is not an human bosom, old enough to distinguish right from wrong, which at the sound of your name throbs not with mingled emotions of gratitude and pleasure ; not an infant prattler but has learned to lisp the name of our illustrious guest and disinterested benefactor.
"General ! You have lately seen the place where the sword of the revolutionary war was drawn. You now stand in that very chamber, and on that very spot, where the father of his country returned it to the scabbard ; an act which stands alone among the recorded annals of the world. High in the affections of the army, the valiant chief- tain of a mighty people, reposing on the love and confidence of the nation, he might, had he been ambitious, have desolated his native land with war and bloodshed, he might perhaps have seized upon the crown through the misguided feelings of the many, and have stained to late posterity the bright escutcheon of his fame. The greatness of his character was preserved to the last as an entire whole. He would not suffer the glittering bauble to cross the bright- . Evidently a misprint in the Gazette.
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ness of his path, nor for a moment swerve him from the line of duty. His throne is of an imperishable nature, his crown more honorable than the richest diadems of emperors. and his sceptre cannot be broken by the united efforts of the world. They are placed upon the purest page of history, and form the brightest halo round its loveliest disk.
"Permit me again. Sir, to welcome you to Annapolis, and to assure you that your arrival is a source of unutterable pleasure."
To which General Lafayette replied :
"I had eagerly anticipated the pleasure I now enjoy, to revisit. this metropolis, and to find it in the possession of those blessings of inde- pendence and freedom, for which we have had to contend. My grati- fication is completed by the affectionate and flattering welcome, with which I am honored, and by the kind manner in which you, Mr. Mayor, have been pleased to express it.
"This city has been the theatre of resolutions most important to the welfare of the United States. and indeed to the general welfare of mankind. It has witnessed the affecting scene. when our unpar- allelled chief resigned the powers he had exercised with so much civil moderation and military glory, at the head of our patriotic army. an army in every heart of who.r., be assured Sir, the lofty principle of un- shaken and unalloyed republicanism was as warmly felt and as firmly fixed as in the breast itself of our beloved commander.
"Amidst those solemn recollections, there are personal remem- brances, endearing and honorable, which the view of this State House, most particularly impress upon my mind, and which mingle with the sense of my actual obligations, when I request you, Mr. Mayor, the gentlemen of the Common Council, and all the citizens of Annapolis, to accept the tribute of my most respectful and affectionate thanks."
Ile was then introduced to the members of the Corporation, and to as many other persons, as the lateness of the hour would admit. The ceremonies in the Senate Chamber being finished, the procession was again formed, and moved on to Fort Severn. where a national salute was fired, and other appropriate honors paid to the illustrious visitor by the excellent officers attached to that garrison. Colonel Jones, Lieutenants Lendrum and Davidson. The general and his suite were then conducted to the Government House, where, in compliance with an invitation from his Excellency. the Governor, his quarters were fixed. In the evening the general and his suite were escorted to the college, which had been selected as the most convenient place for the Ball which had been prepared, under the direction of the com- mittee of arrangements. by Mr. James Williamson. The hall had been previously, tastefully ornamented by a committee of ladies, selected for the purpose, and was pronounced to be the handsomest room which had ever been appropriated to an occasion of the kind in this country. It was ornamented with wreaths of flowers, natural and artificial, transparencies of Washington and Lafayette, and many military insignia. In the centre was suspended a large chandelier, of a circular form, but gradually decreasing in its circumference from bottom to top, beautifully ornamented. and illuminated with nearly one hundred lights. The Ball was rich and elegant-and was at- tended by an unusually large number of ladies from various parts of the State, and by a large concourse of gentlemen. The Marine Band from Washington was procured for the occasion.
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HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
On Saturday morning there was a review on the college green-and the evolutions performed were highly creditable, both to the com- manding officer, (Col. Jones, ) and the soldiers under his command. A pavillion was erected on the green, for the accommodation of the General and his suite, the Governor, his aids, and other gentlemen, to whom places were assigned. After the evolutions were executed, a trial of skill was exhibited by the three Rifle Companies, commanded by Captains Dooly, Neth, and Hobbs, in shooting at a target, for a Silver Cup. His Excellency, the Governor, and Colonel Jones, were appointed the Judges, and they assigned the prize to "The First An- napolis Sharp Shooters." The cup was then presented by General Lafayette to Captain Neth, who received it in behalf of his company. In this exhibition Captain Dooly's company, (which is a remarkably fine one, and is commanded by an able officer, ) distinguished them- selves as expert marksmen (as did also Captain Hobbs' company.) The prize was "nobly lost, and nobly won."
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon the General and suite were conducted to the college hall, where a most sumptuous and splendid dinner had been provided by the committee of arrangements under the superin- tendence of Mrs. M. Robinson, of the city. The ornaments and decora- tions which were placed in the hall, preparatory to the hall, were found to be equally appropriate for the dinner, and the hall upon this occasion presented a scene of splendor and elegance, "seldom, or per- haps never surpassed in this country. The dinner was truly sump- tuous, and the table presented not only every delicacy to gratify the palate, but was arranged with a degree of taste and elegance, which contributed to increase the temptations which it presented. The toasts which were drank upon the occasion, were very appropriate. At night a general illumination took place throughout the city, and the night being fine it had a very pleasing effect. The lower stories of the State House were illuminated, and a variety of appropriate transparencies exhibited."
On Sunday morning the General, by invitation, attended divine services at the Methodist Meeting House.
On Monday the committee, appointed by the Legislature, claimed the privilege of entertaining Lafayette. He was introduced to the Senate and House of Delegates where addresses were made to him, by the President and the Speaker. At 5 o'clock he dined with the Legisla- ture at the College.
On Tuesday morning, he left the city for Washington, escorted by Captain Sellman's troop of horse, and accompanied, as far as the limits of the city, by Captain Neth's Rifle Company, the regulars from Fort Severn, and a large concourse of citizens and strangers, "who lamented his departure, and were penetrated with a deep sense- of gratitude for the eminent services he rendered our country, and with a profound respect for his character, and a sincere affection for- his person,"
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CHAPTER L. "THE GLORIOUS NINETEEN."
Annapolis was the scene of a bloodless revolution in September, 1836. The constitution of Maryland was an attenuated relic of colo- nial times with a dash of republican spirit permeating it. By it, wasan extraordinary mode of electing one branch of the Legislative body preserved.
An Electoral College, composed of forty electors, waselected by the people according to certain defined electoral districts. Of these it re- ·quired twenty-four to make a quorum. The State, since the adoption of the State Constitution in 1776, had gained so in population that these districts, which at first fairly represented the population of the State and the will of the people, had become a huge, political monstrosity by which less than one-fourth of the people of the State elected one entire co-ordinate branch of the legislative department and had a large influence in choosing the Governor of the State.
As it happened, the whigs were strongest in these numerically smaller districts, and, whilst not respresenting the fourth of the State, were enabled to dictate to the other three-fourths in two important branches of Government. Against this the democracy of Maryland revolted, and, assisted by many whigs who were opposed to the un- equal system, had called loudly for reform.
The whigs, loath to give up power, resisted the appeals of party and people for redress. In the elections of 1836, the whigs elected 21 members of the Senatorial College, and the democrats 19. On this the democrats resolved to stop the wheels of government itself or ob- tain the redress they asked.
From Major Sprigg Harwood, who represented Annapolis in the College, on August 18th, 1886, then in his 78th year, the sole sur- vivor of "the glorious nineteen," as the democrats were wont to call them, I obtained the following :
"We had a little caucus at the Baltimore House, corner Baltimore and Hanover streets, Baltimore, and then agreed that we would as- semble at Annapolis and send a communication, as we did on the 19th of September, to the twenty-one whig electors who were in the Senate Chamber, and who had qualified, and were waiting for all of us, re- quiring at least three before a quorum could be formed to transact business. When we sent our communication to them, they would hold no communications with us until we qualified. If we had qualified, they could have then proceeded to business with their majority of twenty-one.
"I first heard of the intended proceedings some days before the Bal- timore meeting by Mr. Dick Higgins coming out to the country at Mr. Evans, and telling me of the letters written to the Democratic and Reform electors to meet in Baltimore. Before going, I consulted with my people here to learn their views. I said they could instruct me now, but if I went to Baltimore, and committed myself it was then too late, I would have to stand by it. They said 'Go, the principle is right, and we will stand by you.' This they did although they had a representation equal to Baltimore's-two delegates in the Leg- islature.
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HISTORY OF ANNAPOLIS.
"We met in Baltimore about a week previous to the meeting of the College here on the 19th of September, and agreed on the outlines of the proposition as indicated by the letter dated on the 19th.
"There was no personal animosity among the participants. I used to associate with the whig electors outside, and they would ask me to go up to the Senate, but I would say-"No, you will lock me in." The outsiders were very much alarmed. They thought no rights were left in property as there was no legislature, the whig judges actually taking this view, and the people generally thought the country was gone.
"Afterwards, when three of the nineteen concluded to participate in the organization of the College, John S. Sellman wrote to us to meet at Annapolis, but all declined save Marcy Fountain, Enoch George, George A. Thomas, and Wesley Linthicum. Messrs. Thomas and George regretted coming, but finding three were going in, (enough to make a quorum, ) they also consented to go, but not then until the basis of electing a Senate and the reforms to be given had been agreed upon.
"The whigs gave the election of Governor to the people and altered the representation in the Legislature so as to equalize it somewhat in the State.
"The democrats thereupon elected the Governor-the whigs only succeeded in getting in Gov. Pratt in 1843, and the Know Nothings, Thomas Holliday Hicks, in 1857. The whigs often, however, had the Legislature.
"Our people were satisfied, but the whigs were excited here. They did not like giving up the State. Several steamers came here daily from Baltimore and the counties, filled with whigs, who hoped to make an impression on the nineteen. Everybody had gone away then ex- cept myself."#
The following is the correspondence that took place on the 19th of September :
"GENTLEMEN .- It is duty which we owe to our constituents, that be- fore we take our seats in the College of Electors of the Senate of this State, we should have a distinct and positive understanding, as to the course to be pursued by that body.
"You are apprised, that, a crisis has occurred, when neither of the political parties of the State have elected Electors, having the consti- tutional power to form a Senate. Of the nineteen counties and two cities, into which the State is divided, we represent the two cities and eight of the counties, having a white population of 205,922, and federal numbers 267,669. You represent ten of the counties, having a white population of 85,179 ; and federal numbers 138,002 ; and the vote of the remaining counties is divided. Of the Electoral Body, we are nineteen in number, while you are twenty-one. But, although you are a majority (the smallest possible) of the College, it is to be recollected that we represent nearly three-fourths of the free white population, and two-thirds of the federal numbers of the State, and very much the largest portion of its territorial extent and wealth ; we shall, therefore, expect that you will concede to us the nomination of eight members of the Senate to be chosen, and that you will vote for the persons whom we may nominate to the College, although they may be favourable to a convention to revise and amend the Constitu- . Annapolis was his home.
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tion of the State, if, in all other respects, in your opinion well qualified. The counties and cities we represent ought to have, upon any political principle which governs the appointment of members of a Legisla- ture, a majority of the Senate to be formed, greater than that which is sought to be obtained. To force upon them, then, being the majority of the people, an entire Senate, against their will, would be unjust and Anti-Republican ; and we, their agents, cannot participate in such a violation of their rights as freemen ; neither can we become passive members of Electoral College, and thereby enable you to select for the people, we have the honor to represent, Senators residing in the district from which we come. The people of those counties and cities have elected us to make choice of their Senators, presuming that we who reside among them are better qualified than strangers can be, to choose those who know their rights and interests, and will protect them. If our constituents are to be subjected to a Senate opposed to their will, it would be an aggravation of the evils they will be com- pelled to endure to have some of the members of that body taken from the midst of communities whose confidence they do not enjoy, and whose wants and wishes they are not willing cheerfully to gratify. From these considerations, we feel compelled to take the position above assumed. Moreover, our constituents, who desire to see radical changes made in their present constitution have a right to expect that we will not fail to exert all the powers reposed in us under our form of government to make the institutions of the State more republican and conformable to the will of those for whose happiness and safety they were designed.
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