History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 11

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992

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there are nu sther Imt that of the family, and where the children soon quit their pateront almode."

In fact, it is a thought of which we should be proud, whatever may have been the criticisms, desti ved or unjust, of foreigners upon Ameri- can institutions and customs, the manners of American women have ever been the subject of their praise.

- This illustintim is reproduced on page 303, vol. i, of this work.

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" That New England's ahnsed, and by sona of perdition, 1 Is granted without either prayer or petition ; And that 'tia 'a scandalous sancy reflection,' That 'merits the soundest, severeat correction,' Ia readily granted. 'How came it to pass ?' Because she is pester'd by snakes in the grass, Who by lying and cringing, and such like pretensions, Get places ouce honored, disgraced by pensiona. And you, Mr. Pensioner, instead of repentance

(If I don't mistake yon) have wrote your own sentence, For by such snakes aa thia New England's abnsed,

And the 'head of the serpents,' yon know, must ' be bruised.'"

H. Clay Lukens, of Germantown, sent to the Rec- ord " the following description of the curious banner originally displayed by the American colonies after the commencement of active hostilities against Great Britain." It is taken from the London Morning Chronicle for July 25, 1776 :

"The colors of the American flag have a anake with thirteen rattles, the fourteenth budding,2 described in the attitude of going to strike, with the motto, 'Don't tread oo me!' It is a rule in heraldry that the worthy properties of the animal, io the crest borne, shall be consid- ered, and the base ones cannot be intended. The ancients accounted n enake or serpent an emblem of wisdom, and, in certain attitudes, of endless duration. The rattlesnake is properly ao emblem of America, as this animal is found in no other part of the world. The eye of this creature excels in brightness most of any other animal. She has no eyelids, and is, therefore, an emblem of vigilance. She oever begins an attack, nor ever surrenders ; ahe is, therefore, an emblem of magnanimi- ity and true courage. When injured, or in danger of being injured, ebe never wounds until she has given notice to her enemies of their danger. No other of her kind shows such generosity. When undis- turbed and in peace, she does not appear to be furnished with any weapons of any kind. They are latent in the roof of her mouth, and even when extended for her defense, appear to those who are not ac- quaioted with her to he weak and contemptible, yet her wounds, how- ever small, are decisive and fatal. She is solitary, and associates with her kind only when it is necessary for their preservation. Her poison is at once the necessary means of digesting her food and certain de- atruction te ber eneories. The power of fascination, attributed to her by a generous construction, resembles America. Those who look stead- ily ou ber are delighted aod involuntarily advance toward her, and, having once approached, never leave her. She is frequently found with thirteen rattles, and they increase yearly. She is beautiful in youth, and her beauty increases with her age. Her tongue ia blue, and forked as lightning."

The Declaration of Independence bad been pro- claimed, and the United States of America had come into existence. Philadelphia, being the seat of govern- ment, was soon filled with strangers, delegates to the Congress and their families, patriots and politicians from all parts of the land, military men, adventurers, and speculators from every part of the world. The introduction of these new elements wrought a great change in the hitherto quiet community : hazardous speculations took the place of steady business habits, and a mad thirst for pleasure and excitement pervaded society. In the winter of 1776-77, Richard Henry Lee wrote of Philadelphia that it was an "attractive scene of debauch and amusement ;" and James Lovell complained to Washington that he found it "a place of crucifying expenses." Judge Edward Shippen, writing to his father in January, 1777, remarks, " How long matters may thus continue cannot be known, yet

another summer must necessarily show us our fate. If the war should continue longer than that, we are all ruined as to our estates, whatever may be the state of our liberties. The scarcity and advanced price of every necessary of life makes it extremely difficult for those who have large families, and no share in the present measures, to carry them through, and nothing but the strictest frugality will enable us to do it."

While many patriotic ladies persisted in giving up finery and frivolous amusements, and turned all their energies to helping and encouraging their husbands and brothers, fashion did not lose its sway, and dress was ruinous, owing to the scarcity of goods and of money. The dress for gentlemen in good society at the beginning of the Revolutionary war is thus de- seribed :

"The hair was powdered and tied io a long quene; a plaited white stock ; and shirt ruffled at the bosom and over the hand, and fastened at the wrists with gold aleeve-buttons; a peach-bloom coat, with white buttons, lined with white silk, and standing off at the skirte with buck- ram; a figured ailk vest, divided so that the pockets extended on the thighs; black silk amall-clothes, with large gold or silver knee-buckles ; cotton or silk stockings ; large shoes with short quarters, and buchles to matchı."

It is related in the life of Samuel Adams that, upon his being chosen in 1774 to attend the Congress in Philadelphia, his friends fitted him out with a full suit of clothes, as follows: two pairs of shoes of the best style, a set of silver shoe-buckles, a set of gold knee-buckles, a set of gold sleeve-buttons, an elegant cocked hat, a gold-headed cane, a red cloak, and a number of minor articles of wearing apparel. The sleeve-buttons and cane bad upon them the device of a liberty cap.

Such costumes were necessarily very expensive. Still more so was the uniform and equipment of an officer in the army. To obtain for the Continental troops that uniformity of dress which is necessary in order to distinguish an army from a mob of armed men, was a problem difficult to solve with the scant means at command. Still it was done, in a manner, with economy.

The first troops raised in Pennsylvania being associ- ators and militia organizations, a cheap and effective distinction was the hunting-shirt. This garment was made of various colors, principally of brown, green, and yellow, and some black. The riffemen clung to this style of uniform longer than did other arms of the service. The infantry were soon elad in uniforms resembling the British fashions, except in colors. The prevailing color of the Pennsylvania line was brown, with facings of butf, blue, green, or red. Blue coats were used by some regiments and bat- talions. To the artillery-as soon as regular artillery regiments were formed-was assigned the color of black, with red facings.

The Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse, associated Nov. 17, 1774, adopted the following uniform: a dark-brown short coat, faced and lined with white, white vest and breeches, high-top boots, round black

1 New England was then suffering from the effect of the Boston Port Bill.

2 This represented Vermont.

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

hat, bound with silver cord, a buck's tail, housings brown, edged with white, and the letters "L. H." worked on them. Arms: a carbine, a pair of pistols and holsters, with flounces of brown cloth trimmed with white, a horseman's sword, and white belts for the sword and carbine.

On the 16th of January the body of the brave Gen. Hugh Mercer was escorted, with all the honors of war, to its last resting-place in Christ church- yard. He was a Scotchman by birth, and had fought in the battle of Culloden with Charles Stnart. Mak- ing his escape after that disastrous defeat, he had fled to America and bad settled in the province of Pennsylvania. But the brave soldier did not find peace-if indeed he sought it-in his new home. In 1755 he was a captain in the provincial forces sent against the Indians. He was wounded and left for dead on the battle-field. Having, by good for- tune, escaped the scalping-knife of the savage, he for some weeks through the woods, with no other food than berries and nuts. In 1758 he was made a lieu- tenant-colonel, and placed in command of Fort Du Quesne by Col. Washington. Upon the organization of the Continental army, we find the gallant Mercer serving with the rank of general under his old chief. Mortally wounded at Princeton, where he fought on foot, after his horse had been shot under him, and refusing to surrender when pressed by a whole detachment, he was beaten down with the butt end of their muskets and received a fatal bayonet thrust, which caused his death.

On the other hand, Watson says J. P. Norris told made his way to Fort Cumberland, after wandering him, "I recollect seeing the division march down Second Street when Lord Cornwallis took possession of the city,-the troops were gay and well clad. A number of our citizens appeared sad and serious. When I saw him there was no hnzzaing." A lady told Mr. Watson, " I saw no exultation in the enemy, nor indeed in those who were reckoned favorable to their success." If we remember that there were many Tories in Philadelphia and that they now had the upper hand, it is easy to reconcile these different opinions. Some people did rejoice, if others felt " sad and serious ;" but it is likely that the manifestations of joy were subdued, until the British were definitely, The body of the gallant Philadelphian, Capt. Wil- liam Shippen, also killed in the battle of Princeton, was likewise buried with military honors in St. Peter's churchyard. as was supposed, settled in the city. That respectable loyalist, Robert Morton, had occasion, not very long after, to change his mind about the "relief from arbi- trary power" procured by the coming of Cornwallis. Since the organization of the army, funerals-not at all attended with the pomp of war-were of daily occurrence in Philadelphia. John Adams, in a letter dated April 13, 1777, says, "I have spent an hour this morning in the congregation of the dead. I took a walk into the 'Potter's Field' (a burying place be- tween the new stone prison and the hospital), and I never in my whole life was so affected with melan- choly. The graves of the soldiers who have been buried in this ground from the hospital and bettering- honse during the course of last summer, fall, and He wrote, on the 22d of November, "Seventh day of the week. This morning about ten o'clock, the British set fire to Fair Hill mansion-house, Jonathan Mifflin's, and many others, amounting to eleven, besides out- houses, barns, etc. The reason they assign for this destruction of their friends' property is on account of the Americans firing from these houses and harass- ing their pickets. The generality of mankind being governed by their interests, it is reasonable to con- clude that men whose property is thus wantonly de- stroyed under a pretense of depriving their enemy winter, dead of the smallpox and camp diseases, are | of a means of annoying y'm on their march, will soon be converted and become their professed enemies. . . . Here is an instance that Gen. Washington's army cannot be accused of. There is not one instance to be produced where they have wantonly destroyed and burned their friends' property."

enough to make the heart of stone to melt away. The sexton told me that upwards of two thousand soldiers have been buried there, and by the appearance of the graves and trenches, it is most probable to me that he speaks within bounds." This Potter's Field was on the site now occupied by the beautiful Wash- ington Square.

But a sadder spectacle than that of the funerals of their brethren was in reserve for the Philadelphians. On the 19th of September the news reached Congress that the enemy had reached the Swedes' Ford, and

might be in Philadelphia within twenty-four hours. The members of Congress, the military officers in the city on business or leave, and many gentlemen, active supporters of the cause of freedom and independence, departed in haste for Trenton and Bristol. The people lived in the greatest apprehension until the 26th, when the enemy entered Philadelphia. The event is noted in Robert Morton's diary1 in these words: "September 26th. About eleven o'clock A.M. Lord Cornwallis with his division of the British and auxiliary troops, amounting to about three thousand, marched into this city, accompanied by Enoch Story, Joseph Galloway, Andrew Allen, William Allen, and others, inhabitants of this city, to the great relief of the inhabitants who have too long suffered the yoke of arbitrary power; and who testified their approba- tion of the arrival of the troops by the loudest ac- clamations of joy."

Mr. Watson tells an amusing anecdote of the man- ner in which "Stenton" was saved from destruction on the occasion of this act of incendiarism. Stenton had been included in the list of (seventeen, not eleven)

1 See Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. i.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, 1700-1800.

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mansions doomed to destruction. Two men came to execute the order. They told the housekeeper to get ber things out while they would go to the barn to pro- cure straw to fire it. Hardly had they left the house when a British officer rode up in quest of deserters. The housekeeper told him that two had come, who were hiding in the barn. The officer galloped toward that building, crying ont, with many oaths, "Come out, you rascals, and run before me back to the camp!" The incendiaries came out and endeavored to explain that they were merely obeying orders. The irate officer would not listen, but drove them back to camp, and Logan's house was saved.

Capt. John Heinrichs, of the Hessian Jäger Corps, was not favorably impressed with Philadelphia, its people, or its climate.1 He writes to his friend in Germany that among one hundred persons in or about Philadelphia not one has a healthy color, the cause of which is the unhealthy air and the bad water, and gives a list of diseases that are common every year. Some wag must have imposed on him, for he makes the strange remark, "Nowhere have I seen so many mad people as here. Only yesterday, as I was dining with a gentleman, a third person came into the room, and he whispered in my ear, ' Take care, this gentleman is a mad- man !' Frequently the people are cured, but almost all have a quiet madness, a derangement of mind which proceeds from sluggish not active blood." The captain finds the climate unendurable ; the animals, as well as the products of the earth, are only half developed; a hare, a partridge, a peacock, etc., is only half grown. Wild game tastes like ordi- nary meat. One of the few good conse- quences of this war is, he thinks, that more forests will be destroyed, and the air will become purer. "A man from this city by the name of Hamilton [Wil- liam Hamilton, of the Woodlands] alone lost fifteen hundred acres of woodlands, which was cut down for the hospital, and he had sufficient patriotism to remark recently in company that it was good for the country." He finds that the fertility of the soil is great, "but the corn itself is not as good as onrs." And yet, this fas- tidious Hessian, qnoting Burnaby's "Description of His Travels," ends his letter by saying, " Among these ' country houses, pleasure-gardens, and fruitful orch- ards' the highly-esteemed Jäger Corps have their winter-quarters, and where he says 'on the Schuyl- kill,' there I mount guard to-morrow. It seems to me as if this sketch were plainer than many an engi- neer could draw it." Capt. Heinrichs lived to become a lieutenant-general in the service of Prussia.

This fault-finding Hessian did not find much to ad- mire in a city which had become the first in America in population, as it was the first then in commercial importance. For neatness of appearance, well-built houses, broad streets,-the principal ones and all the crossings paved,-excellent police regulations, open squares, and fine market-houses, it was second to none. Its fairs attracted the country people for many miles, and its quays presented a scene of bustle and activity seldom seen elsewhere, and to which the varied garb of the foreign seamen, the sable-hued Africans, and the stolid Germans from the settlements added much picturesque charm. For Philadelphia had wonderfully improved in the last ten years preceding the Revolution, and when the delegates to the first Congress assembled there, the impression of those who came from distant points was one of pleased surprise. The refinement of its society, the culture of its represen- tative men, and the beauty and modesty of its women, crowning that large-hearted hospitality born in the early Quaker days, made it a " good place to live in."

Let us say something here of the place where a battle raged so near to the city.

EEEEE

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HOUSE OF PASTORIUS FAMILY, GERMANTOWN. [From an old drawing in Philadelphia Library.]

Germantown, as its name indicates, was a German settlement, and, however changed it is now, had re- tained its German character as late as 1793. The yellow fever sconrge which devastated Philadelphia in that year spared Germantown, and many citizens, as well as the officers of the general and State govern- ments and of the banks, fled from the city to this healthier place. After this, the number of English- speaking residents increased steadily, and the road to the city became, in time, lined with handsome man- sions.

The first settlers were Francis Daniel Pastorius, who purchased the land for himself and others, and Jurian Hartsfielder. This purchase was made from William Penn in 1683. In 1689, Germantown was

1 Pennsylvania Magazine. " The Hessians in Philadelphia :" translated by Miss Helen Bell.

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

incorporated as a borough, by a patent from Penn. The town lost its charter about the year 1706. Wat- son's "Annals" describe the old houses in Germantown as " plastered on the inside with clay and straw mixed, and over it is laid a finishing coat of thin lime plaster. Some old houses seem to be made with log frames and the interstices filled with wattles, river rushes, and clay intermixed. In a house of ninety years of age, taken down, the grass in the clay appeared as green as when cut." These houses were generally of one story and built low, with the gable ends on the street. The doors were divided at the usual window-sill height into two parts, the upper remaining open geu- erally to admit air and light, the lower closed so as to keep the domestic animals from running into the house. Appearing in this upper open half, like a picture in a frame, the contemplative German bürger might be seen, pipe in mouth, his folded arms resting on the top-board of the closed lower part, gazing dreamily at the peaceful scene of comfort before him, with an occasional grunt of satisfaction, as he let the curling clouds of smoke escape slowly from between his lips. Or it might be the buxom frau, her blue handkerchief pinned up to her neck, her sleeves rolled up and her bare arms and brown hands show- ing the unmistakable and honorable marks of un- tiring industry, who would show herself in the aper- ture, to hold a few minutes' friendly gossip with a neighbor. The fräulein, doubtless, might occupy the place of an evening ; and "Hans" or " Fritz," slyly approaching with his fragrant pipe, may have whis- pered to her just as tender vows as any Spanish lover thrumming his guitar under his lady-love's balcony, in Seville.

In those days of primeval innocence, the whole street of one mile in length, Oldmixon informs us, was fronted with blooming peach-trees. But these early settlers were industrious, thrifty people; their little community grew and prospered so well that Kalm, who visited it in 1748, describes it thus, "This town has only one street, but is near two English miles long. It is for the greatest part inhabited by Germans, who from time to time come from their country to North America, and settle here because they enjoy such privileges as they are not possessed of anywhere else. Most of the inhabitants are trades- men, and make almost everything in such quantity and perfection that in a short time this province will want very little from England, its mother country. Most of the houses were built of the stone which is mixed with glimmer, and found everywhere toward Philadelphia, but is more scarce farther on. Several houses, however, were made of brick. They were commonly two stories high, and sometimes higher. The roofs consisted of shingles of the white cedar wood. Their shape resembles that of the roofs in Sweden, but the angles they formed at the top were either obtuse, right-angled, or acute, according as the słopes were steep or easy. They sometimes formed

either the half of an octagon or the half of a dodec- agon.

" Many of the roofs were made in such a manner that they could be walked upon, having a balustrade round them. Many of the upper stories had balconies before them, from whence the people had a prospect into the street. The windows, even those in the third story, had shutters. Each house had a fine garden. The inhabitants were so numerous that the street was always full."

Dr. Rush, in his "Manners of the Germans of Pennsylvania," says, "Pennsylvania is indebted to the Germans for the principal part of her knowledge in horticulture. There was a time when turnips and cabbage were the principal vegetables that were used in diet by the citizens of Philadelphia. This will not surprise those persons who know that the first settlers in Pennsylvania left England while horticul- ture was in its infancy in that country." Schoepf says that " during the Revolutionary war some of the gardens in the vicinity of Philadelphia were im- proved by German prisoners, who had been in the service of the king of Great Britain. They intro- duced and cultivated broccoli, turnip, cabbage, etc."

Dr. Rush, quoting Tacitus' description of the ancient German villages, "Each man leaves a space between his house and those of his neighbors, either to avoid the danger from fire or from unskillfulness in architecture," adds, " Many of the German vil- lages in Pennsylvania are constructed in the same manner. The small houses are composed of a mix- ture of wood, brick, and clay, neatly united. The large houses are built of stone, and many of them after the English fashion. Very few of the houses in Germantown are connected together. Where the Germans connect their houses in their villages, they appear to have deviated from one of the customs they imported from Germany."

Watson mentions four hermits living near the town in 1700,-John Seelig, Kelpius, Bony, and Conrad Mathias. They were what remained of a small relig- ions community adverse to matrimony, and leading a holy, secluded life. Some of the members had been tempted to marry, and the sect had gradually died away.

There was a great deal of superstition in those days, especially among the Germans. The casting of na- tivities was much practiced, and those who made pro- fession of astrology were called conjurers. "Old Shrunk," of Germantown, was looked upon as a great conjurer, who could find out stolen goods, discover hidden treasures, and do many other marvelous things taught by the " black art." It was generally believed that he could, by the mere force of his will, compet a thief to stand motionless whom he discovered in his orchard, which would lead to the belief that he was acquainted with animal magnetism, even before Mesmer made his public experiments and discovered what has been named after him "mesmerism." These

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people believed that the presence of a sphoke or ghost in some lonely spot indicated that a treasure was buried there. The belief in money and jewels hav- ing been buried on the coasts of hays and rivers by defunct pirates existed even then. Watson speaks of a Col. T. F. | Thomas Forrest], who, at a later period, used to amuse himself much with the credulity of the people. "He pretended he could hex (conjure) with a hazel rod, and often he has had superstitious per- sons to come and offer him shares in spoils which they had seen a sphoke upon. He even wrote and printed a curious old play to ridicule the thing. Describing the terrors of a midnight fright in digging, he makes one of the party to tell his wife :

" My dearest wife, in all my life Ich neber was so fritened ; De spirit come, and Ich did run, 'Twas juste like tunder, mid lightning."

Owing to the want of good roads the travel from Germantown to Philadelphia was no trifling matter, yet the women often walked to town on market days, carrying heavy baskets on their heads, while the men trundled cumbrous wheelbarrows. Other farmers, however, drove their wagons, and the farmers' wives rode stout horses, with two paniers slung on each side. On going to church or to fairs, the custom was, as it existed in Europe at that time, for man and woman to ride the same horse, the woman sitting on a pillion behind the man. It was a long time be- fore chaises or any kind of pleasure vehicles came into use. The wagons, made to carry heavy loads of produce and merchandise, were great, cumbersome things, with enormous wheels, which went creaking along at such a pace as precluded all thoughts of an enjoyable ride.

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History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 11

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 992

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992