V/** w ^o .^^ °^. 6^ o»i ♦ ,o' '^- ••' ^ ^7 ^o. ^^'^^fi* i5 INTERIOR OF LOG CABIN THOMAS AND MICHAEL CRESAP This hardy old man lived to be more than a hundred years of age, and was active up to the last. He had received no education as a youth because of his poverty. But he had educated himself so well that he was even commissioned by Lord Baltimore to survey the western FACSIMILE OF COL. THOMAS CRESAP'S MAP SOURCES OF THE POTOMAC ^fn\ CRESAP S MAP From a drawing in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society boundary of Maryland. You can see the very map that he made in the rooms of the Maryland Historical Society. Thomas Cresap entertained Washington at his home in Old Town, and indeed he was noted for his hospitality. He welcomed all travelers at his house, even hunting parties of Indians as well as whites. It is said he had a huge kettle and ladle for the Indians to use when they 65 MARYLAND visited him, and always gave them a whole ox. Because of this generosity the Indians named him Big-spoon. Michael Cresap grew up on his father's farm until he was old enough to go to school. He was sent to a school in Baltimore County, but he seems to have longed to get back to his life in the open air. At any rate he ran away, and traveled all the way to his home alone. One hun- dred and fifty miles it was, and at the end of his journey what happened? His father whipped him soundly and sent him back to school. This time ho staid at school until he had finished his studies. He began life as an Indian trader, but did not succeed. And besides, the longing to go out into the wilderness came to him as it had come to his father. He made his way, with six or seven young men whom he hired, into the Ohio wilderness. There they began to make homes for themselves. In the meanwhile the Indians were being pressed farther and farther to the west by the advancing whites. Nor did they like it. They began to wonder what would become of them as the white man kept pressing onward. Added to this the Indians had learned to drink whisky, ^' fire-water" as they called it, and when drunk would often do deeds of barbarous cruelty. All the region along the Ohio River was in an uneasy state, and many settlers and traders were murdered. An Indian war was threatening. Michael Cresap was cautious and prudent, and tried in every way to avoid trouble with the savages. He 66 THOMAS AND MICHAEL CRESAP understood their nature thoroughly and had had a great many deahngs with them in peace and in war. Therefore, when the war broke out, he was chosen as the fittest leader the whites could have. Many farmers, hunters THE NARROWS AT CUMBERLAND Pathway to the West and pioneers flocked together at Wheeling and put them- selves under his command. There was in the neighborhood the camp of an Indian chief named Logan. He had long been friendly to the whites, and was a noble looking, noble-minded savage, until he became debased by drunkenness. A battle took 67 MARYLAND place between the warriors of his camp and some whites, and several Indians were killed. Michael Cresap and his band took no part in this fight, yet he has been wrongly blamed for it. This was the signal for a war that broke out on all sides. Logan went on the warpath, and many whites were massacred. But not long afterwards the Indians were defeated in a bloody battle at a place called Point Pleasant. After this they made peace. Logan did not enter into this peace, and still laid on Cresap the blame for the murder of his relatives. He wandered about in the wilderness until he was killed by an Indian enemy. In the meanwhile the Revolutionary War had broken out between the colonies and Great Britain. Cresap learned, on reaching home, that the Committee of Safety at Frederick had appointed him captain of one of the two companies of Maryland riflemen who were going to the war. This was in June, 1775. He soon had his company organized. There were ^'upwards of one hundred and thirty men from the mountains and backwoods, painted like Indians, armed with tomahawks and rifles, dressed in hunting shirts and moccasins." They set off on their journey, and in twenty-two days, after a march of more than five hundred miles over rough roads, arrived at Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the ninth of August. They were stationed at Roxbury, to the south of Boston, where, with their rifles, they would pick off at long range any of the enemy that exposed themselves. 68 THOMAS AND MICHAEL CRESAP Captain Cresap was still in bad health, and so, after serving three months, he got leave to return to his home. But his illness increased, and he had to stop in New York, where he died of a fever on October 18, 1775. He was only three and thirty years of age, but those years had been full of adventure and full of endeavor. He was buried with military honors in Trinity churchyard. In Memory oF MclwelCreA apTinsrt C&p OffheBlfleBatalionfir And Son to CoC Tfcomeis Cr e^apWtiolQeparteltiK SKETCH OF TABLET IN TRINITY CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY 69 VI INDIAN MASSACRES IN our second story we read about the Indians, and learned how they disappeared in time from Mary- land. But that was true only of those in the east. In the western part of the colony the Indians lived for many years, and gave the settlers much trouble. The time when the danger from the Indians was great- est was when Michael Cresap and his father were living. This was not many years before the Revolution. France and England were at war at that time for five or six years. This is called the French and Indian War. Both sides had Indian allies. On the side of the French were the Algonquins, on the side of the English the Iroquois. Both France and England wanted to possess America. England claimed the continent as far as it went to the west, although no one knew how far that was But something was known of this western wilderness even then. French discoverers had made their way far up the St. Lawrence river. And they had sailed down the Missis- sippi to its mouth. So that France claimed all the central part of the continent. The French built forts eastward and the English westward into the Alleghany mountains. 70 INDIAN MASSACRES They drew nearer and nearer together. At last France and England had to fight to drive each other back. The French had built Fort Du Quesne where Pittsburg now stands. The English had a stronghold at Fort Cumberland whe-re is now the city of Cumberland. French soldiers, with their cruel Indian allies, might at any time march into the western part of Maryland. They would kill the settlers and conquer the colony. Forts ought to be built and troops raised to drive the Frenchmen back. But to do these things money was needed. Governor Sharpe did his best to raise money and supplies. But the Mary- land Legislature w^as mean and stingy. They almost refused to grant Governor Sharpe anything. They gave him very little, and higgled and bargained over that little until Governor Sharpe hardly knew what to do. In the meantime England sent over to Maryland an army of a thousand men. General Edward Braddock was in command of this army. They were good soldiers, well armed, and General Braddock was a brave commander. But neither the general nor the men knew anything about GOVERNOR HORATIO SHARPE 71 MARYLAND Indian warfare. That was where the fatal trouble arose. Even then matters would most likely have gone all right, if General Braddock had listened to the advice of Washington and other brave Americans who were with him. They had fought against Indians and knew their ways. But General Braddock was an obstinate man. He thought that he knew best and would not listen to Washington. This army was going to try to capture Fort Du- quesne. But General Braddock seemed to think it did not matter how slow he was in getting there. His army marched only two or three miles a clay, and stopped to build a road as they went along. And all this time Indian bands swarmed into the western part of the colony. They burned the houses, and killed men, women and children. At length the English army came almost in sight of Fort Duquesne. They were marching over mountains and through thick forests. Washington begged General Braddock to send the American soldiers in advance. He GENERAL BRADDCCK 72 INDIAN MASSACRES knew the forest would be full of Indians. He wanted to lead his own soldiers ahead to drive the Indians awsiy. But General Braddock said no. It was a hot day in July. The army marched along as if on parade. The flags were flying, the music was pla}^- ing. The bright red coats of the British soldiers shone in the sunlight. Presently they entered a deep ravine. All at once a shot rang out and a British soldier fell. Then rifle shots sounded on all sides. The Indians were attacking. The British soldiers were all crowded together. They fired into the woods, but could not see the Indians. The Indians, hidden be- hind trees, and bushes, and rocks, had the soldiers' bright red coats as targets. More than half of the British were killed, and General Braddock was mortally wounded. The American riflemen fought from behind trees and rocks, in Indian fashion. Washington had two horses killed under him, and four balls passed through his coat. But he was not hurt. What was left of the army fled to GEORGE WASHINGTON, COLONEL VIRGINIA MILITIA From photograph of portrait in the posses- sion of the Maryland Historical Society 73 MARYLAND Fort Cumberland. But the British refused to stay there, and soon after went to Philadelphia. And now the whole of western Maryland was at the mercy of the Indians. The settlers, as fast as they could, fled to Fort Cumberland and the block houses they had FORT CUMBERLAND From a print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society built. But many of them were killed before they could get there. The ''Maryland Gazette," day after day, published such news as this: ''By a person who arrived in town [Annapolis] last Monday, from Col. Cresap's, we are told that last 74 INDIAN MASSACRES Wednesday morning the Indians had taken a man pris- oner who was going to Fort Cumberland from Frazier's, and had also carried off a woman from Frazier's planta- tion, which is four miles on this side Fort Cumberland. PLAN OF FORT CUMBERLAND IN 1755 The same morning they fell in with a man and his wife who had left their plantations and were retiring into the more populous parts of the country; they shot the horse on which the man rid, but as it did not fall immediately, he made his escape; the woman, it is supposed, fell into 75 MARYLAND their hands, as neither she nor the horse on which she was riding have been since seen or heard of." On a farm in Frederick County there liA^ed a man named Benjamin Rogers with his wife and seven children. On a night in the October after Braddock's defeat they were all sleeping soundly in their cabin. All at once the father was awak- ened by a gentle tapping at the win- dow. He got out of bed quietly to see what was the matter. He did not open the door. He was afraid it might be Indians trying to surprise them. He looked out through a loop- hole and saw a white man standing by the window. Then he opened the door. " What is it?" asked Mr. Rogers. ''The Indians are coming/' whispered the man. Then the messenger hurried on to warn the settlers in the next cabin four or five miles away. There was no time to be lost. Mr. Rogers quickly woke his wife and children, and they started off to the nearest stockade. Mrs. Rogers rode on their horse. She carried 76 .. ,.1 '^.- BLOCKHOUSE A Remnant of Fort Duquesne at Pittsburgh INDIAN MASSACRES the baby in her arms, and nursed it to keep it from crying. In front of her were the two Uttle children. The four older children walked. Mary and Tom and Joe walked with their father in front. The eldest boy, Ben, led the horse. Mr. Rogers had his rifle, and Ben carried one, too. They went along quietly through the thick woods. The two little girls were so sleepy that they could hardly sit on the horse. They had come to within less than a mile of the fort. All at once a rifle shot sounded and Mr. Rogers fell to the ground dead. Then the Indians burst out of the woods all around them Ben put his rifle to his shoulder, but before he could fire an Indian toma- hawked him. Mrs. Rogers dug her heels into the horse and tried to escape. But another Indian caught the horse's bridle and stopped her. There they were, prisoners. The Indians scalped Mr. Rogers and Ben, and hurried away with the mother and the little children. They carried them far off into the Ohio wilderness. What became of them? Nobody knows. AN ATTACK BY THE INDIANS 77 MARYLAND ^%^^ Mrs. Rogers may have been tortured and killed. The baby very likely died on the journey. The little children may have been sold to the Frenchmen. Or, perhaps, the Indians adopted them into their tribe. In that case they would grow up as Indians. They would marry Indian wives and husbands and live the life of the savages. Sometimes the Indians would reach a cabin before the messenger could get there. They would set fire to the house and murder the settler and his wife. They would cruelly kill the little chil- dren, and carry off the older ones into captivity. Some- times they would leave not a single soul alive. The Indians several times tried to capture Fort Cumber- land. There was a blood-thirsty chief among them named Kill-buck. He and his warriors formed a plan to capture the fort and kill all who were in it. They said they were friends of the English, and that they wanted to make peace, to ''bury the hatchet." So they asked 78 ' ^■^'^ «.^^o»a^^^^^^^^!^ INDIAN BOY LEARNING TO SHOOT INDIAN MASSACRES to be allowed to enter the fort. The commandant pre- tended to believe them and opened the gates. But as soon as Kill-buck and a few of his warriors had entered, the gates were shut. The chiefs were then dressed in women's clothes and driven out. The soldiers laughed at them and called them squaws. To the proud savages this was almost worse than being killed. At length peace was declared between France and England, and then the massacres ceased. This was the end of Indian wars in Maryland. The Indians must not be too much blamed. They fought in the manner of all their race. As long as it was a question of the Maryland settlers on one side and the Indians on the other, we have seen that but little trouble arose. It was only when two nations of whites, fighting against each other, took savage Indians for their allies, that the settlers suffered the worst cruelties of Indian warfare. ^fe 79 VII MASTER AND SERVANT YOU must remember that in the days when Maryland was first settled, as now, Englishmen were divided into distinct classes. There were the aristocracy and nobility, the middle class of merchants, and the artisans and laborers. Not a few gentlemen, members of noble families, came to the New World. But of course most of the settlers were artisans, laborers and farmers. When they arrived in the colony they all became, rich and poor alike, farmers. Even those who had a trade — blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers — were obliged to cultivate their fields and gardens. For the first thing the settlers had to think of, after getting a roof to sleep under, was food. Except that they all became farmers the settlers were not alike. To the gentlemen who were rich Lord Balti- more granted large estates. Many of them received a thousand acres of land. Some few received as much even as twenty thousand acres. But most of the settlers received homesteads of from fifty to one hundred acres. Every estate, large or small, had to pay Lord Baltimore a small sum, called a quit rent, yearly. You must not think that the gentlemen received large estates just because they were rich. Not at all. What 80 MASTER AND SERVANT a man received depended on what he could do to help the colony. Of course what the colony needed most of all was men and women. A man who had only enough money to pay for his own, and perhaps his wife's, passage to the New World received ^YARWICK FORT MANOR, DORCHESTER COUxNTY only a small farm. But a man who was rich enough to pay the expenses of ten or twenty settlers besides himself received a large estate. These large estates were called manors. • i i j. Thus one of the early laws passed in the colony said that 8i MARYLAND a manor should be granted to anyone "who should bring with him from England twenty abk-bodied men, each armed with a musket, a sword and belt, a bandelier and flask, ten pounds of powder, and forty pounds of bullets and shot." I suppose most of you have heard an estate in your county called '^ the manor." Do you know what a manor was? In early times it was a kind of little government within the government of the colony. The owner of the estate and the freemen who rented farms from him gov- erned themselves. Of course they had to obey Lord Baltimore's laws. But they held some courts of law, and they punished thieves, poachers and other evil-doers. On the manor there was the great house where the owner and his family lived. Nearby was a chapel. Around the manor house were barns, stables, smoke- houses and the cabins of negro slaves. And lying a mile or two apart were the small houses where tenant farmers lived. The manor had its own blacksmith shop and its own mill. It was a little world in itself. These planters and farmers were the masters. Who were the servants* of the colony? Most of them were called redemptioners. Some of them were convicts. Robert Louis Stevenson, in a story called '' Kidnapped," *The teacher should make it clear that the word servant as used here is not synonymous with domestic servant, as is now a common usage. The word means one bound to service. A servant might be a farm laborer, a mechanic, an apprentice, etc. 82 MASTER AND SERVANT tells how a boy named David Balfour was kidnapped on board a ship in Scotland. The captain was to take him to America and sell him to a planter. When you read the story you will find that David made his escape. If he had not done so he would have become a redemptioner. Let us suppose the ship has arrived at St. Mary's or KENT FORT MANOR some other port in Maryland. The Captain takes David, and a score more of young men and women, ashore. The planters have come to town on hearing of the arrival of the ship. Captain Hoseason tells them the news of all that is going on in England and in Europe. After some friendly talk they begin business. 83 MARYLAND The captain wants to know how much tobacco and other stuff the planters have to load his ship. The planters want to know what sort of goods Captain Hoseason has brought over to trade. Presently the captain tells them he has twenty strong young men and three young women with him. The planters are very much interested in this. They all go off to where David and his companions are waiting. And presently David finds that he has been sold to one of the planters. You must not think that David was sold as a slave. He was only sold for four years. At the end of that time he would be free again. But during that time he had to serve his master, and received no wages except his food and clothing. He had to work on his master's farm hoe- ing corn and tobacco, feeding pigs, and harvesting the crops. You must not think either that all of David's com- panions had been kidnapped. They had come to Mary- land of their own free will. Many times it happened that a man or woman in England wanted to try his fortunes in the New World, but had not money enough to pay for his passage and outfit. In such case he would bargain with the captain or owner of a ship bound for the colonies to take him over without charge. On arriving, as we have seen, the captain of the vessel would sell him, or rather his services, to some planter for a term of two, three, or four years. The money received would go to pay for his passage. 84 y:>---^^ "^ ^^^HHIHHBI .■ ■...,,..^''/" 11^ ^' m^^:' gw^^HB^^ -^hH ^\ '^'^ ST'^^I^H^H HH^HHbhBE M ■■Hi" :"--:^:,*a^ 4 -^^ f' "' £~.jHi|HH^^R '^^ |hK;:: I ^ ^^1%^ ^^HE^^^^^^^^^^H £aMH ^ A ^ '"aKEBJBH •7- IKS "■'f fc. > , . , '*^ s b^ MARYLAND These redemptioners were as a class honest and hard- working men and women. Some of them were educated gentlemen and were employed to teach the planters' children. The women very often were married to their masters or some other of the freemen of the colony. These indentured servants were usually treated kindly. When they had served their time they received by law ''one cap or hat, one new cloth or frieze suit, one shirt, one pair shoes and stockings, one axe, one broad and one narrow hoe, fifty acres land, and three barrels of corn." Sometimes they received more than this if they had served a generous master well. In any case they had enough to make a good start in life. The other servants in the colony were convicts. In our days a convict is a very wicked man who has committed burglary or forgery, perhaps, or even murder. But in those days punishments were much severer than they are now. A man might be sent to the gallows for stealing a few shillings. Even a woman might be hanged for steal- ing a loaf of bread for her starving children. Many persons thought these laws too severe. So that very often a man or woman sentenced to death would have his sentence commuted. That is, instead of being hanged he would be sent to one of the colonies and sold to a master for seven or fourteen years. Some of the men thus transported were not common criminals at all, but were political offenders. Not a few were Jacobites who were taken prisoners while fighting to MASTER AND SERVANT place James the Pretender on the English throne. Several ship-loads, mostly Scotchmen, were sent to Maryland. They were far from being an undesirable class of settlers. Not a few, with their descendants, have taken a prominent part in the history of the State., Of the negro slaves but little need be said. There were a few slaves in the colony from its beginning. They were a race apart from all others. The laws regulated their treatment, and cruelty in a master was punished, but, unlike the other servants, they never regained their free- dom unless the master freed them of his own accord. 87 VIII GERMANS AND FRENCH DID you ever stop to think how many different nationalities there are in America? In Maryland to-day there are men from nearly every country of the globe. Yet they are nearly all true Americans and loyal Marylanders. The earliest settlers in our State were, of course, Eng- lishmen. But at a very early date men of other nations began to come to the colony. It was only about thirty years after the settlement of St. Mary's that citizens were naturalized in Maryland for the first time. Being natural- ized meant that, though they were foreign born, they should have the same rights as Englishmen. These naturalized citizens were Augustine Herman and his family. Herman was a Bohemian born in Prague. He came to Maryland by a sort of accident. Lord Balti- more got into a dispute with the people of Manhattan (New York) and Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of Man- hattan, sent Augustine Herman to Maryland as his agent. Herman liked the country so well when he travelled through it that he decided to stay. He made a bargain with Lord Baltimore. He agreed to make a map of the province in exchange for the grant of a manor. 88 GERMANS AND FRENCH Lord Baltimore gave him five thousand acres on the Elk river. Herman called his estate Bohemia Manor. He increased it to twenty thousand acres. This made his estate about half as large as the District of Columbia. He built a great house where he lived in state. He had one of the very few carriages in the colony, and used to ride about in a coach- and-four with liveried servants. He must have seemed a very prince to the poor backwoodsman living in his log cabin. But indeed it must have been easier to go on horseback or on foot, than to jolt over the rough roads of those days in a heavy old-fashioned coach. The map he made is now in the British Museum. It was a very good map for those days. But on the northwest corner of it he marked the Alleghany moun- tains, near Cumberland, and says, " These mighty high and great Mountaines ... is supposed to be the very middle Ridg of Northern America." This shows how 89 AUGUSTINE HERMAN From a print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society MARYLAND little was then known of the vast continent stretching westward to the Pacific. But you will remember that in story number five we G^^ ^^ V-I K^k^cH HERMAN S MAP OF MARYLAND From a copy of the original in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society saw how the pioneers were opening up the West. In Maryland many of these western settlers were Germans who came from the country along the river Rhine. 90 GERMANS AND FRENCH At about the time of the reign of Queen Anne of Eng- land, long and bloody wars were fought in Europe. Many parts of Germany were so laid waste that the poor people could hardly keep themselves alive. And besides, many of them were persecuted because of their religious belief. These poor, persecuted Germans turned their eyes to the New World. There a man need only work to live in plenty. And was it not natural that they should turn their steps towards Mary- land? There was a land whose laws expressly said that no one should be '' troubled or molested" for his religion. So it was that many of them came to America. They landed in New York, and from there made their way into Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. It was almost exactly one hundred years after the first settlement that they began to come to Maryland. They were a God-fearing, thrifty, industrious people. They were the kind of settlers the colony needed, and so ^ if '^^ H wP ^^H IkI y\ ^^1^ t -^ ,'-' A^,.. ^ift s ^M IK- WM i^ M H^'i' "^ b ^H|^^ i fL JOHN THOMAS SCHLEY 91 MARYLAND the Governor offered them land. They settled near what is now the town of Frederick, and ten years after their coming they laid out that town. Their leader was a schoolmaster, John Thomas Schley. He it was who built the first house in Frederick. He taught the children of the settlement, and in every way worked for the welfare of the colony. He has many descendants in the State, and one of them you have all heard of, Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, who won renown in the war with Spain. Four years after the arrival of this colony another,led by Jonathan Hagar, entered western Maryland. This leader laid out a town which he named Elizabeth Town, after his wife, but the people soon gave it the name which it now bears, Hagerstown. Many other settlements followed these two, and western Maryland before many years was filled. with neat little M^INFIELD SCOTT SCHLEY 92 MARYLAND towns and well kept farms. These German settlers were sober, industrious and frugal. They built up a trade with Baltimore that steadily grew, and flourishes to this day. Their goods were carried at first on strings of six or eight pack-horses, and later in the large covered carts called Conestoga wagons. They gave very queer names to their settlements and CONESTOGA WAGON farms. The Englishmen in the eastern part of the colony called their manors by such names as Evelinton, Kent Fort, or White Hall. Some of the names which the Ger- mans gave are Hagar's Delight, Small Bit, Jacob's Loss and Found It Out. These names bring to mind the name Acadia, another country whose persecuted people came to Maryland. 94 GERMANS AND FRENCH The poet Longfellow has told the story of the Acaclians in his poem Evangeline.* AVhen you are older I hope you will read this poem for yourselves. Acadia w^as a part of Nova Scotia, and the people were French. But France had been compelled to give up Nova Scotia to the English. France and England were at war for a long time, but the Acadians for the most part took no part in the war. But they did not like their English rulers and gave them some trouble. So the English determined that the Acadians must leave their country. Thousands of them were driven on board of ships to be sent away. They were not allowed to take their property with them, and their crops were burned before their eyes. In the hurry and confusion friends were separated. Even parents and children were put on ships bound for different places and never saw each other again. Nine hundred of them came to Maryland, but they were not received kindly. The French and Indian war was going on, and the people of Maryland did not know, or did not remember, that the French Acadians had taken no part in it. Five vessels with the Acadians on board arrived at Annapolis. One ship-load remained at that place, one was sent to the Patuxent River, one to Oxford, one to Wicomico, and one to Baltimore. In most cases they were received unwillingly and treated with unkindness. Those sent to Oxford, however, *Francis Parkman, in Harper's Magazine, vol. 69, gives a brief account of the Acadian tragedy. 95 MARYLAND were befriended by Henry Callister, a merchant of that town, who spent all his fortune in caring for them. Those sent to Baltimore were treated with charity. By their industry these last, before long, were able to build them- selves houses in a part of the city that was called French Town. Many of them prospered, and their descendants have become respected citizens of the State. Theirs was the first Catholic Church in Baltimore. 96 IX TWO EARLY ACCOUNTS OF THE PROVINCE IN a story before this we have told about indentured servants, redemptioners. One of them, named George Alsop, came to the colony from London in the earliest days of the colony. He wrote an account of the province, and also described his life in letters to his father and friends in England. He was about twenty years old at the time, and had served an apprenticeship of two years in London. He was indentured to Thomas Stockett and went to live with him on his estate in Baltimore County. Reports had been spread in England that servants in Maryland had to work very hard, and were ill-treated. So that people hesitated to come to the province. A certain John Hammond had published an account of Vir- ginia and Maryland, called ^'Leah and Rachel." In his book he praised the lot of the redemptioners, but still they did not come over fast enough. So it is very likely that George Alsop wrote his account, at Lord Baltimore's request, to persuade servants to come. He may have been paid for writing it. He begins by calling Maryland, '^ drest in her green and fragrant Mantle of the Spring," the landscape of creation. 97 MARYLAND He says, ''Within her doth dwell so much of variety, so much of natural plenty, that there is not an\^ thing . . . rare but it inhabits within this plentious soyle." His spelling is rather funny, is it not? But indeed every one spelled badly in those days. He speaks of the abund- ance of game, and says that at one time in his master's house there were '' four score Venisons, besides plenty of other provisions." There were only seven in the family, and they had so much venison that in time they would rather eat plain bread. He saw hundreds of wild turkeys in flight in the woods and '' millionous multitudes" of water-fowl. He speaks of the freedom of religious worship, and says that ''here every man lives quietly, and follows his labour and imployment" as he desires. "A man may walk in the open Woods as secure ... as in his own house." There were no common alehouses, he says, and no prisons, because they were not needed. "The Son works as well as the Servant, ... so that 98 GEORGE ALS(JP From a print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society A CHARACTER Of the PROVINCE of MARY-LAND, Wherein is Defcribed in four diftind: Parts, {Viz.) I. The Scituation^ and plenty of the Province, II. The Laws^ Cujioms^ and natural Demea- nor of the Inhabitant. III. The worji and befi Vfage of a Mary- Land Servant., opened' in view. IV. The Trafflque^ and Vendahle Commodities of the Countrey. ALSO it email Treatife on the Wilde and Naked INDIANS (or Sufquehanokes) o^ Mary- Land, their Cuftoms, Man- ners, Abfurdities, & Religion. Together with a CoUedion of Hifto- rical LETTERS. By GEORGE ALSOP. London, Printed by T. J. for Peter Bring, at the fign of the Sun in the Poultrey; 1666. 3 FACSIMILE OF TITLE PAGE OF ORIGINAL EDITION OF ALSOP's BOOK MARYLAND before they eat their bread, they are commonly taught how to earn it." As to his lot as a redemptioner he says, '' The four years I served were not to me so slavish as a two years . . , Apprenticeship ... in London." Five days and a half in the summer weeks the servant worked. For two months in midsummer he rested three hours in the middle of the day in the house. In the three winter months, December, January and February, servants did no work but cut wood. They could go hunting if they wished. Women servants very often found husbands, says Alsop. The author of ''Leah and Rachel" denies that women were made to work in the fields. The three principal articles of trade in the colony were "tobacco, furs and flesh" — tobacco the chief of the three. It is curious, but Alsop does not speak of Indian corn. Between November and January twenty or more vesseU from Europe would brings silks, hollands, serges and broadcloths to be exchanged for tobacco. The New England traders carried away ship-loads of pork. There was considerable trade with Barbadoes also. In letters to his father and friends he speaks of his comfortable life and of the quiet happiness of the people of the colony. But he advises a friend, ''Mr. M. F.," that if he send any adventure of trade to the province, to see to it that his agent " be a man of a Brain, otherwise the Planter will go near to make a Skimming-dish of his Skull." For the Marylanders "are a more acute people 100 MARYLAND in general, in matters of Trade and Commerce^ than in any other place of the World, and by their crafty and sure bargaining, do often over-reach the raw and unexperi- enced Merchant." We shall see presently how one Eng- lish merchant was thus over-reached. * Alsop probably returned to England when his four years of service were over. Another Englishman, Ebenezer Cook, a tobacco buyer, or as he calls himself a '' sot-weed factor," came to Mary- land in the year 1700 with a ship-load of goods. He wrote an account in verse of what befell him, and we will let him tell his own story. After speaking of a painful and stormy voyage he says: " We plough' d the Bay, To Cove it in Piscato-way, Intending there to open Store, I put myself and Goods a-shoar: Where soon repair' d a numerous Crew, In Shirts and Drawers of Scotch-cloth Blue, With neither Stockings, Hat nor Shooe. These Sot-weed Planters Crowd the Shoar, In hue as tawny as a Moor." He crossed the river in a ''Canoo, a Vessel . . fashioned like a Trough for Swine." He was very much afraid of falling. So he stood up with his legs stretched far apart. He heard the howling of wolves and was badly scared. But he recovered from his fright when he heard a woman calling to a youth to drive home a herd of cattle. He went home with the boy and was made welcome by 1 02 ^1 > ''p^niMrviim'fc ii» FACSIMILE OF TITLE PAGE OF ORIGINAL SOT-WEED FACTOR MARYLAND the master of the house. He and the company drank cider until supper was put on the table, when " After hearty Entertainment Of Drink and Victuals without payment; For Planters' Tables, you must know, Are free for all that come and go. While Pon and Milk, with Mush well stoar'd In Wooden Dishes grac'd the Board; With Homine and Syder-pap, (Which scarce a hungry dog would lap) Well stuff'd with Fat from Bacon fry'd, Or with Mollossus dulcify'd. Then out our Landlord pulls a Pouch As greasy as the Leather Couch On which he sat, and straight begun To load with Weed his Indian Gun."* " His Pipe smoak'd out, with aweful Grace, The reverend Sire walks to a Chest, Of all his Furniture the best, From whence he lugs a Cag of Rum." The visitor evidently showed that he did not like the native food, for his host told him that in time he would be glad to get it though his stomach was then so fine. Presently he was shown to bed by a servant maid. She tells him she is indentured for four years, and that she spends her time in working bare-foot in the fields, in weeding corn and in feeding swine. He got into his bed which *That is, he began to fill his pipe with tobacco. 104 EARLY ACCOUNTS OF THE PROVINCE " Made of Feathers soft and good, Close in the Chimney-corner stood," expecting to have a good sleep. But he was soon dis- turbed by the noise made by a cat, a dog, a pig, and by ducks and geese chased into his room by a fox. To escape all this he went into the orchard to lie till day should come. But the frogs made such a din he had no rest. Presently he heard the hissing of a rattlesnake and was frightened again. He was always being frightened. He climbed into a tree for safety, but even there " Not yet from Plagues exempted quite, The curst Muskitoes did me bite; Till rising Morn and blushing Day." He climbed down from his tree and " Did to Planter's Booth repair, And there at Breakfast nobly Fare On rashier broil'd of infant Bear: I thought the Cub delicious Meat, Which ne'er did ought but Chesnuts eat." After breakfast he left on the back of his host's horse and guided by his son. He met some peaceful Indians and, of course, was frightened again. After a while he arrived at ''Battle-Town" where court was in session. The inn was full, but Mr. Cook at length found a place to sleep in a corn-loft. In the morning he awoke to find that someone had stolen his shoes, hat, wig and stockings. 105 MARYLAND They had been thrown into the fire by some practical joker. After passing through other adventures he journeyed to the Eastern Shore to try to buy tobacco with the goods he had brought from England. There he met a Quaker who agreed to buy his goods " for ten thousand weight, Of Sot-weed good and fit for freight, Hi ***** * In Cask that should contain compleat. Five hundred of Tobacco neat."* Mr. Cook delivered his ^Hruck" from London and went after his tobacco. But he found that the tobacco had already been shipped away, and that the merchant had disappeared. He employed a law^yer and went to have his case tried at Annapolis, " A City Situate on a Plain, Where scarce a House will keep out Rain." The houses were built of wood, and there was no market place or exchange. He won his case, but the verdict said he should receive '^ country pay," that is, staves, corn and other such arti- cles, for which he had no use. Disgusted he left the town and hurried to a port which he calls ''Kicketan" whence the England bound fleet sailed home. There, *Net, that is, not counting the weight of tlie cask. 1 06 EARLY ACCOUNTS OF THE PROVINCE " Embarqu'd and waiting for a Wind I left this dreadful Curse behind." ' I do not believe Ebenezer Cook ever came back to Marvland, do you? He was too fussy and hard to please to get along well in a new land. But it might have done him good to be kidnapped and sent over as a redemptioner for three or four years. 107 X A VISIT TO ANNAPOLIS WE have come to a time just before the outbreak of the Revolution. It is more than one hundred years since the settlement of St. Mary's. Many changes have taken place in Maryland. Instead of the two or three hundred men who landed from the Ark and the Dove, there are now in the colony two hundred thousand. These men are not all farmers now. Many of them are lawyers and merchants. Thousands of vessels, every year, bring goods to the colony and carry away corn, provisions, skins, lumber and hemp to England and her colonies. Thousands of barrels of flour and hundreds of thousands of bushels of wheat leave Maryland each year. But, above all, ship after ship sails away to England laden with tobacco. In fact tobacco took the place of money. Everyone grew tobacco because it was used as money, thinking in this way to grow rich. But then the tobacco became so plentiful that it was worth less than before. So that even if a man had grown twice as much of it he was no better off, because he had to give twice as much of it in exchange for other things he wanted. Tobacco money worked badly in many ways. For instance, suppose a man rented a farm for two thousand 1 08 MARYLAND pounds of tobacco, and suppose so much tobacco was raised that it became worth only half as much as before; then, you see, his landlord was really receiving, in value, only half the rent agreed upon. This was neither fair nor honest. And the same injustice might be done to one working for a salary or for wages. It would seem very strange to us, would it not, to pay for a horse, not so many dollars, but so many hundred PROPRIETARY COINS From photographs of the originals in possession of the Maryland Historical Society pounds of tobacco? Yet that is just what the colonists did. And everything was paid for in the same way. One reason tobacco was so used was because there was so little gold and silver money in the colony. This does not mean that the colonists were poor. A man may have clothing, food, a good house, books, pictures and the comforts of life, and at -the same time have but little money. So it was in Maryland. Lord Baltimore had the right to coin money, and at one no A VISIT TO ANNAPOLIS time he sent out a supply of shillings, sixpences and groats, taking tobacco in exchange. But the people found it convenient to pay their taxes with this money, and so it found its way back again to Lord Baltimore. Many laws were passed to make people grow less tobacco, but with little good result. As the western part of the State was opened up, however, more corn, wheat and grain was grown, and the evil gradually remedied itself. On a bright fall morning, more than a hundred years ago, a little boy was watch- ing a ship being loaded with some of this tobacco. His name was Carroll Paca. He lived in a large brick manor house on a place called Evelinton in St. Mary's County. It was near the Patuxent river. He knew the ship was lying at his father's landing, or wharf, down at the river. So he had gotten up early, before his father and mother were astir, to watch the men at work. The negro slaves fitted axles and shafts to the large hogsheads full of tobacco. Then, singing and shouting, they rolled the hogsheads down a rough narrow '^rolling road," as it was called, to the water-side. Carroll watched them at work until he began to feel TOBACCO HOGSHEAD, READY FOR ROLLING III MARYLAND hungry. Then he made his way back to the house and into the kitchen. At the end of the kitchen was a great brick fire-place. Here a big wood fire was burning and breakfast was cooking. Across the kitchen fire-place stretched a bar of wood or COLONIAL CHAIR AND LOW BOY iron, from which hung chains and pot-hooks of various lengths, holding big and little pots of iron or brass. The things Carroll saw did not look like the ones we use now. Kettles, gridirons, and skillets had long legs to keep them from sinking too deep in the hot coals. Toasting-forks, waffle-irons and such implements had 112 A VISIT TO AN,NAPOLIS long handles so that the cook might not be too near the blazing heat. A clean old colored woman, a slave, was just taking her bread out of the oven. It was not an oven like ours, though. This oven was built of brick, and was a sort of little fireplace built alongside of the great one. It was filled with wood which burned until the bricks were thor- oughly heated. Then the ashes were raked out and the bread put in. Carroll hurried to the dining room where his father and mother and sisters were just sitting down to breakfast. There was some fine old oak and mahogany furniture in the room. It had all been brought from England. No furniture was made in the colony except some rough stools and tables that poor people used. On the sideboard were some silver tankards, and Mrs. Paca had also silver salt cellars, candlesticks and spoons. But Carroll was not thinking of these things. He was more interested in the good things to eat in his pewter plate and porringer on the table. Most of his mother's dishes were made of pewter, though she had some glass and china. Poor people had very little pewter even. They used wooden spoons and flat wooden bowls called trenchers. Both rich and poor had plenty of food to put in their dishes. Indian corn gave them corn-pone, hoe-cake and hominy. The forests were full of game, and the rivers and Bay were full of fish. Deer, bears, wild turkeys and 113 MARYLAND water-fowl abounded. Flocks of ducks a mile wide and seven miles long floated on the waters of the Chesapeake. We do not hear of the early settlers eating either crabs or terrapin^ and some of them grumbled because they had to eat oysters at a time when their supply of corn gave out. Their drinks were cider, apple-jack and peach brandy, besides the rum and wines and tea which they imported. They were heavy Kr-, ii A SCHOOL-BOY S TRUNK drinkers, but so were all Englishmen in those days. Carroll had expected to go to Annapolis with his father that day, but the trip had to be put off. Mr. Paca had a visitor from England staying with him, and the two gentlemen were going to a fox hunt in Prince George's County. If the run should be long they would not come home at night. They would stay at the house of another planter, and ride home in the morning. The planters were all the time visiting and entertaining each other. They were open handed and hospitable. Even an inn-keeper had to notify his guests that he intended to charge them for what he served, otherwise he could not collect his bill. 114 A VISIT TO ANNAPOLIS So Carroll and his two sisters went to their lessons instead of to Annapolis. Their tutor was an English schoolmaster who had come over as a redemptioner. Mr. Paca had a small library. Most of the planters had none. The children learned to read from their fathers' books. Learning lessons was not as easy in those days as it is now. The books were hard to understand, and had no pretty pictures to make them interesting. Judge Taney, when a boy, learned to read from Dillworth's Spelling Book and the Bible, the only books his teacher had. And the children were punished very, very often. There could not possibly be a school-room in those days without a bunch of switches or a good hard ruler. No doubt yon can all guess how they were used. To show you how much easier it is to learn now, let me tell you about one little boy. His mother taught him to read out of the Bible. She would sit in her chair, the Bible in her lap. The little boy stood up before her. Of course the book was turned the WTong way for him. But he learned to read that way. And all his life he could hold a book upside down and read it just as well as if it were turned the right way before him. But what has become of Carroll and his sisters all this while? They finished their lessons, and the girls went to their mother. They had to learn from her how to sew and to knit, to weave and to spin, and to keep house. Carroll went out to watch the men at work. He had to learn how to manage a plantation. 115 MARYLAND That night their father came home and promised that the next day they should go to AnnapoHs. So they took their candles off the table in the great hall and went off happily to bed. Their candles were made from ^^candle-berries" or bay-berries. You would wonder at the clothes they took off on going to bed. In those days even little boys and girls dressed like the grown folks. The boys wore open coats, with long tails reaching to the knees. Underneath the coat was a very long waist- coat, buttoned high up. At the neck and wTists were ruffles of linen or lace. They wore knee breeches, silk or cotton stockings, and low shoes with buckles. Some of the boys even had their heads shaved and wore wigs. The little girls' dresses were low-necked and short- sleeved. They wore high-heeled shoes. But what strikes us most of all about their dress are the stays, or corsets. These were made of strips of board and steel held together BOY IN COLONIAL CLOTHING ii6 BJ-epi a fuch at their vuh Workmen fon Yard. , , in Anfwcr «wo o/ (heir rpofe. Upper Hour*", 7i/. ?f. Sier- I. Levin Ga/e, 1 of pay.ng it W35 brought leir A/Tent to brought from ouf: lafi ] per Hog a Negative : Ulr ■•--"'"-/""J, Dy inei.nmpany ( Initan: .J';. <:«'«» ought 0''/hit)g that 'iigh> down >o i with a '*"€«» mm fi»ke cf the be h»S « th^ P.iJif, Sc^. No Pwfons to be ^idmittcU berJnd the Sceae». their Rtfu.ution of going to C^^;^r MarlhrousK » foon as ever Encotirigtmen. fVi;, here. '^ 1 i>.ngi^!.f^;S.,'S;';r^™^--**^i - - - Samuel JFio'warM, ^HAT the Subfcribcrmre^; City of ^„«,^,/^ here al! Pe.io.swnav b?j vedinnidkingof Sieves, Sctce-,. Safe I^ ctJa' .\«TaWcs wi-h Filhgrcin Work. T Self) tf" ^^^'"'^'^"=' B^kgammoanbiJ fine HolrardT'^ Copper U-enfil,. CucJery W, e ^^r^. « JV".'.^"'''' ^^"'^^ Silver mo e-^^ Swcra... and Gold and Steel wrought mou. James Jollj 15, rV;/r/,/. re tcfii te TjWembvr> ly. CCUAt Wftt Juft Imported- in the Ship Try ton Copt l hom.. AW. from London. *W tc be 6MbeHoglhe«d T««fce, B.rreJ, or fm.l-er Quao- Sugar by t/.e B..rtl 0, fn-aler Q.aruu>', CoffS ChocoUte, ej/c. at mU,abI« R.tcT. ''' ^ JamsMaecuhUn. ■ 7ft// Imported jrem London, A //r i^,> Try.ot». G.// Thomas Aficsw, A /|, • *l'''/«r. «,;/ u it ^U el hU !>t0rtin Anaa- A '^ O R T A B t E Parcel of £tf. o C'^^! *'" -^"^ /•^'« Goodt. at reafonabJc R4.«. t., WLo c *lj and Retale. AJfo a f>rublc Par' ^.Uog I..nr.. U,d J.i-, r.nr. Lt«d J i.e. l>eep Sea IJne.T Sewkg ^0 ' H { t 1 H;nc, uxum. Conira A N away, from the Subfcrit «- m ^««flM"/,- on the i4fh of ?«« Isf Weft of ^'"/ T;' f-^-ZJ'^-A fcorn ia Weftof£«fW, fpeaksbfoad, is a well fct" low 3bout s Feet,7 Inche, high, has (hmVl whJ,' ?^ ^ P'*^'^ ^^"'^ Compfexioh: He ha, di»?£lLr''^'''l>' '^^''^ ^''"^^ Co-ton iac dmy Leather Bretches, an Ofnabrig, ShirtAl f«l Hat: As h. bad an old Bear&irciit w po&ble he tcay change his Dref.. " liO£» Reward, btfiiea what the Uw alJoJ?- fv. If He fometitre* wan attoe Jacket »«h whjte Cotton. j«"«i. DAN away on Tuefday\i^c?r " ha, aboae 3 o' Clock, frorij the Briwi C4-y««», lytng (a S»Hti River, 7^, A, ^oa>m*Bder. a Sailer named Da-vUSpnti «' float yo««| Fellow, about sj Y«r» ofAge" ^5f«W: He took witb him the Ship* % ^lijttt Kee'. with her Maft. fouTc^ 'ow. ctwly fcraped. and a frtih Tarpcutuar THE MARYLAND GAZETTE OF JULY 2, 1752, SHOWING FIRST THEATRE PLAY-BJLL From photograph of the original in possession of the Maryland Historical Society MARYLAND by heavy canvas. It must have hurt dreadfully to wear them. The girls' hair was drawn up over a great roll or puff that made their heads ^'itch & ach & burn like any- thing," so one little girl wrote. But we shall never get to Annapolis at this rate. The THE CHASE HOME, ANNAPOLIS next morning was bright and clear. A strong breeze blew from the southwest. So Mr. Paca decided to make the journey by water. They could have gone by land on horseback, but that would have been long and tiresome. They started off very early in the morning in a pungy, and did not reach Annapolis until late at night. ii8 A VISIT TO ANNAPOLIS Many of you have taken the same sail, but not in a httle open sail-boat. You would go in a big steamer in a few hours. It took Carroll and his sisters five or six times as long. It might have taken days if the wind had failed. But they did not grow tired. How could one grow tired sailing up the beautiful Chesapeake and thinking of all the sights in the great town of Annapo- lis? It was dark night when they landed. They walked to the house of Mr. Samuel Chase whom they were to visit. The town was not quiet. Everyone seemed to be excited. Groups of men were talking on the streets and in the coffee-houses. Carroll asked his father what it was all about. Mr. Paca told him that everyone was talking of the new Stamp WIFE AND DAUGHTERS OF JUDGE SAMUEL CHASE From a painting in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society 119 MARYLAND Act. Carroll did not understand what that meant. But he was soon to find out. Do you know what the Stamp Act was, and why everyone was excited? The next story after this will tell us all about it. As they walked along Mr. Paca pointed out to the children the play-house or theatre. Presently as they turned a corner they came to a large building full of lights. Music sounded from it, and before the door were coaches and Sedan chairs. Gentlemen and ladies were passing from them into the hall. One of the ladies stopped Mr. Paca to say how glad she was to see him. This was Mrs. Carroll, the wife of Charles Carroll who was our Carroll's godfather. She was dressed in a quilted satin petticoat with a silk overskirt. Her hair was piled high on her head and powdered. She told the little girls it was a ball given by the Governor to which she was going. At length they reached Mr. Chase's house. They were full of all they had seen but oh, so tired. Mr. Chase and Mr. Paca sat down to talk about the Stamp Act until late at night, while Mrs. Chase took the three sleepy little children up to bed. 120 XL THE BURNING OF THE PEGGY STF:WART. THE first thing Carroll said to his father next morn- ing was, ^'Father, what is the Stamp Act?" '^ Will you tell him, Mr. Chase?" said Mr. Paca. ^' You know, better than I or any one in the colony. Tell the boy so that he will understand and always remember it." '^ And we will listen, too," said Mrs. Chase and the two little girls. So Mr. Chase began : '' We are Englishmen and we call. England our Mother Country, but she is not a just mother to us, or a kind mother. She rules us to please herself, and not for our good. She did us wrong some years ago when she passed the Navigation Act." '' What is that, Mr. Chase?" asked Carroll. " You know, my boy, that your father and the other planters grow a great deal of tobacco. They used to sell most of it to the Dutch for a good price. But Parliament passed a law which said that all goods sent to the colonies or from them must go in English-built ships manned by British seamen. That was the Navigation Act." ''But what harm does that do, Mr. Chase?" " Why, the planters have to sell all their tobacco in England. It has become so plentiful there that the price 121 MARYLAND is very low. Besides, the English merchants charge us more for the goods they bring us than the Dutch did. Many of the planters have been almost ruined." '^ That is not all," continued Mr. Chase. ^' King George and Parliament are taxing us. Every- thing that is brought into the colony has to pay a tax to the King. We ought to pay taxes, and we are willing to pay taxes for our government. But we have a right to say what kinds of taxes we will pay and how great the taxes shall be." ^'I, for one, am beginning to hate our Mother Country. Maryland is strong enough to take care of herself. And we will tell King George that if he does not treat us fairly we will have nothing to do with him." '^ And now what has England done? She has passed this Stamp Act. We have to buy stamps to put on all sorts of documents. I am a lawyer and none of my papers are legal unless they have a stamp on them. Even our newspaper has to have a stamp. ''We do not object to these taxes because they are stamp taxes. We object to the taxes because England uses the money for herself and not for us. Above all we object because we have no voice in saying what the taxes shall be." '' My boy, your father and I are going to fight against BRITISH TAX STAMP 122 BURNING OF THE PEGGY STEWART these unjust taxes. And if we do not win the fight, I want you to take it up when you are a man." ''I promise you I will, Mr. Chase," said Carroll. The whole country cried out against the injustice. In Maryland the people would not even permit the stamps TilE STEWART IIOU3E AT ANNAPOLIS to be brought on shore from the vessel in which they came, but shipped them back in another vessel. The agent to sell the stamps in Maryland was named Zachariah Hood. He was a Marylander, too. The people drove him out of the colony. They would have none of him or his stamps either. 123 MARYLAND The opposition in all the colonies was so strong that Parliament had to repeal the Stamp Act. But it would not give up the right to tax the colonies. New duties THE BURNING From the mural painting by C were laid on tea and many other articles. But the colonies refused to pay these taxes also. The colonists formed Non-importation Societies, and agreed not to use any of the articles on which taxes were 124 BURNING OF THE PEGGY STEWART laid. They stopped drinking tea. Ladies and gentlemen wore homespun clothes instead of the velvets and silks they were used to. Not all of the colonies kept this PEGGY STEWART in the Court House at Baltimore Copyright 1905, by Edward B. Passano agreement, but Maryland did up to the very time when the Revolutionary War broke out. The people of Maryland grew more and more angry at the treatment they received. They had before taken 125 MARYLAND as their motto, ''No taxation without representation," but now they began to cry ''Liberty or Death" instead. They not only talked but they acted. They wanted King George to understand that they would fight and die rather than give up their liberty. Nine years later Carroll Paca, grown to be a man, was again in Annapolis. And he found the people even more excited than they had been before. England had taken off all the taxes but the one on tea. But the people were so angry by that time that they would not pay any taxes at all. It was not any one tax they were fighting, but ihe principle of "taxation without representation." A brig, named the Peggy Stewart, had sailed into Annapolis with a cargo of tea. A firm of merchants, Williams and Company, tried to land the tea. The owner of the vessel, Anthony Stewart, paid the tax. What made this worse was that he belonged to the Non-importa- tion Society. When Carroll went out that day he saw a crowd of men marching down the street. He went with them. They were going to Mr. Stew^art's house to tar and feather him. But some gentlemen met them and told them of a better way to act. They compelled Mr. Stewart and the owners of the tea to sign a paper saying that they had insulted the people of Maryland and promising never to do so again. Still the people were not satisfied. The hateful tea was still there and the ship that brought it over. The people made up their minds to get rid of both. 126 BURNING OF THE PEGGY STEWART In what are now Howard and Montgomery Counties was a band of patriots called the Whig Club. They took the matter in hand. Headed by their president, Charles Alex- ander Warfield, they mounts. d their horses and rode down to Annapolis. On their hats they wore the words, '^ Liberty or Death." When they came to the house of Mr. Stewart, Major Warfield called him out and said, ^'You must either go with me and apply the torch to your own vessel, or hang before your own door." Mr. Stewart went with them, and on October 19, 1774, only four days after her arrival, the Peggy Stewart with her cargo of tea was burned to the water's edge. She was run aground on Wind Mill Point, and Mr. Stewart himself set fire to her. The people of the town watched her burn. Carroll was there and saw it all. He knew now what it meant. It meant that King George had his warning from Maryland. The Marylanders would have liberty, liberty at any cost. And as he saw the Peggy Stewart burning, he took off his hat and cheered. And how everyone cheered the men of the Whig Club as they rode homeward out of the city! CHARLES ALEXANDER WARFIELD 127 MARYLAND This was Maryland's ''tea party." In some of the other colonies cargoes of tea had been destroyed, but those who destroyed them hid their faces and went dis- guised as Indians. In Maryland the men went openly in broad daylight, without any disguise. They felt that they were doing right, and were ready to take all the consequences of their acts. In seventeen hundred and seventy-four The Peggy Stewart came With a cargo of tea from over the sea. And a tax in King George's name. But the Maryland men had sternly said, "We'll pay no tax, indeed. On silk or brocade, or anything made. So let King George take heed." The farmers rode down in the light of day To the town by the Severn's side, And they summoned the knave, who had tried to brave The people's decree, and hide. To come forthwith to Wind Mill Point, To come with his torch alight, To confess the blame, and to burn the shame Of his deed, in all men's sight. So the Peggy was burned to the water's edge. Ah, that was a sight to see! And the sturdy men rode home again, Singing, " Death or Liberty.' 128 XII PATRIOT AND TORY HAVE you ever heard the story of the two knights who were riding through a forest? They came to a place where a shield was hanging on a tree. The knight on the right said, '' That is a fine black shield." ''It is a fine shield/' said the one on the left, ''but it is white." They argued about it until they grew angry, and then they fought. After a while they stopped to rest, and it happened that the first knight was now on the left side. He looked up and saw a white shield. The second knight was now on the right, and he saw a black shield. What did it mean? They rode up to the shield and found it was white on one side and black on the other. So it is that there are two sides to every question. There were two sides to the American Revolution. There was the side of England and the side of the colonies. Not everyone in England thought that the colonies were in the wrong. Many persons there thought that the Americans were right in fighting against unjust taxes, and they blamed King George for trying to force the colonists to pay these taxes. Not many persons in America thought the King was in the right in trying to tax the colonies as he did. But 129 MARYLAND when the colonies began to talk of independence, to say they would no longer be colonies of England but would be independent states, then many Americans thought the colonies were very wrong. Persons in America who were on the side of the colonies and who wanted independence were called Patriots. Those who were on the side of England were called Tories. Daniel Dulany was the best known Tory in Maryland. Charles Carroll of Carrollton was one of the foremost patriots. These two men wrote a great many letters to the Maryland Gazette, the Annapolis newspaper of those days. In these let- ters they argued with each other about the question of England and the colonies and independence. Daniel Dulany signed his letters ''Antilon." Charles Carroll called himself the ''First Citizen." They did not come to blows like the two knights, but they called each other some hard names. Everyone in Maryland read the letters, and most per- sons thought that Charles Carroll had the better in the argument. DANIEL DULANY From an engraving owned by Mrs. Southgate Lemmon 130 " .'^ .> "* -n -^- '"'J rt ■" ^^ a- 1- - n~i t' 5 i o 'fcf '■'3 ^ ° ~ u C Ji ^ ^ •^ ^ ■-• t: " a. :„ . <£ J3 c o c '^ ^° G ■- w c >— P ,3-= rt o to u 2 o '^ -:^ jt r: o . 2 F o w >> T; o i -o c .:: o j: u o — • J,- n. >-H o ■- „ i o -c ^ ■ r u^ P - <= - t> = --. -" -5 £ • - rTJ^ir^EIS??!! ^ s •^" t " c 2 -o ." S» ' V c ■ « S t o- S " " '^^^^ "< - t f § ^ .^ ' o ^ rt " i: ^ i:-*c* S 00 ■« ii rs .'j 'c 5 « ^- ;= 5'5 * i " '■• 2 §» 5^ !< ° '''■ 'd 5 "s MARYLAND You must not forget that the people in Maryland at that time were Englishmen. They had friends and rela- tions in England and loved the Mother Country for many reasons. They did not want to break loose from her if they could possibly help it. But a time came at last when they could not help it. That time was the year 1776. King George would not listen to argument or reason. So the American colonies said, '' We will be free and independent States from this time forth." They knew King George would send his armies over, and that they must fight. But they were ready for this, and their motto was ^'Liberty or Death." Two men especially worked for the independence of Maryland. They were Charles Carroll of Carrollton and Samuel Chase. They told the people of Maryland that there was no use in talking any longer. Now they must act. Now they must fight. Before war began a member of Parliament wrote to SAMUEL CHASE From, a painting in the State House at Annapolis 132 PATRIOT AND TORY Mr. Carroll and ridiculed the idea of the colonies going to war. ''Six thousand English troops," said he, ''would march from one end of the continent to the other." "So they might," replied Charles Carroll, "but they will be masters of the spot only on which they encamp. They will find naught but enemies before them. If we are beaten in the plains, we will retreat to the moun- tains and defy them." At length Maryland and the other colonies agreed to free themselves from King George's rule, and the Declara- tion of Independence was signed. The four signers from Maryland were Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Samuel Chase, William Paca and Thomas Stone. Charles Carroll was one of the wealthiest men in America. If England should win in the fight he knew he would be called a rebel, and would lose all his wealth. 1 1 1 n WILLIAM PACA From a painting in the State House at Annapolis 33 MARYLAND But he did not hold back on that account. He was one of the earliest signers of the Declaration of Independence. As he signed his name a bystander said, ''There go a few millions/' and added, ''However, there are many Carrolls and the British will not know which one it is." Charles Carroll at once added to his name "of Carrollton," so that there might be no mis- take. That is why he has been known ever since as Charles Carroll of Carrollton. And it seems to me that is a nobler title than earl, or duke, or prince. Charles Carroll filled many public offices of honor and trust. He lived to the age of ninety-six years and was the last of the signers of the Declaration of Independence to survive. His society was charming, his manners were courtly and captivating, and his hospitality was proverbial. He was well edu- cated, and had a broad and cultivated mind. The Tories in Maryland did not live a very quiet life THOMAS STONE From a painting in the State House at Annapolis 134 PATRIOT AND TORY after the colony became independent. Many times and in many ways they tried to aid England. And even those who did not try to aid the Mother Country were suspected of doing so. There was an English gentleman, named John F. D. Smyth, who had made his home in Virginia. He lived for some years in Maryland and often trav- eled through the State. He was a staunch Tory, and had much trouble with the Maryland patriots. He visited Baltimore during the Revolution. While he was there his servant was tarred and feathered, and treated so roughly by a mob that he died. Mr. Smyth had the ring- leaders arrested, but the mob took them from prison next day. He was afraid for his own safety. He left his horses at the inn, and hurried on board a small vessel which he had hired to take him to his home in Virginia, i The vessel started, but was becalmed within sight of CHARLES CARROLL OF CARROLLTON From a pairding in the State House at Ajmapolis 135 MARYLAND Baltimore. Mr. Smyth was in fear of every boat that put out from the town, thinking it was coming after him. At length he had himself put ashore just above the town, and from there he walked all the way, one hundred and ten miles, to his Virginia estate. All the time he was dangerously ill. At times he could hardly walk, but at length he got home in safety. He had many other troubles with the Maryland patriots. At one time he was trying to escape to the British and was arrested in the western part of the State. He was taken to Frederick for trial and was brought before Samuel Chase and John Hanson. He had no respect for either of them, and calls Samuel Chase '' one of the most illiberal, inveterate, and violent rebels." Mr. Smyth suffered many hardships. In trying to escape, at one time, a guide whom he had hired deserted him. He wandered through the forests in winter starving and frozen. But at length he made his escape to the British army and lived to write an account of his travels in America. His book, ^'A Tour in the United States of America," you will enjoy reading when you are older. 136 XIII SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION THESE are not real letters and Carroll Paca is not a real person. But what the letters tell is all true. And many a real Marylander went bravely through the Revolutionary War and truly saw all that our make-believe Carroll writes about. Brooklyn Heights, August 23, 1776. My Dear Sister: I am beginning to write to you as I promised, but I don't know when or how I shall send you this letter, i can't promise to write every single thing that happens to me because I am kept very busy. I have to drill my men, and even have to learn to be a soldier myself. None of us have ever been real soldiers before, although some of us have fought against the Indians. We are here, across the river from New York, looking for a battle at any time. This very moment word is brought that we are sent to hold the outposts. Our regiment is joined to Lord Stirling's brigade. Our Col- onel, William Smallwood, is not with us, and so, if we have a fight, Major Mordecai Gist will command us. 137 MARYLAND I am glad of that. They are both good, brave officers, but we all like Major Gist the better. He is from Balti- more. He is a tall, fine looking man, and very strong. Goodbye, then. I must get ready to march. August 31. Here I am in New York, safe and sound, after a bloody fight. General Washington brought us safely over from Brooklyn Heights after the battle on Long Island. I can't tell you all about the battle, but I will tell you what happened to us Mary- landers. It was four days ago. We had been fighting hard but our division had to retreat. There were some marshes behind us, and if we were caught there the enemy would have us at their mercy. So four hundred of us were sent, with Major enemy in check while the rest WILLIAM SMALLWOOD From a painting in fhe possession of the Maryland Historical Society Gist, to hold the retreated. The enemy were five to our one, and muskets and cannon were firing at us from all sides. But we stood firm and faced the enemy. It was dreadful to see the 138 SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION men falling all around mc. But as fast as one man fell another stepped into his place. OPERATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK CITY We flung ourselves upon the enemy and tried to drive them back. We could not do that, but at least we held 139 MARYLAND them in check until our army was safe. Two hundred and fifty of us were killed or taken prisoners. But General Washington praised our bravery and said we saved his army. Poor John Bealle had his arm shot off and is going home. So I will send this letter by him. Tell Father to take care of him until he is able to work. He fought like a man, and says he is willing to give his arm for Maryland's liberty. I must end this in haste. Give my love to all. I don't know where I shall be when I write you next. Your affectionate brother, Carroll. July 10, 1780. Dear Sister Mary: We are here in South Carolina, and are having a pretty hard time. Since I saw you as we marched through Maryland, I don't believe we have had a ''good, square meal." We lack arms, we lack tents, we lack food, we lack medicine, we lack everything. MORDECAI GIST From a painting in the possessioii of the Maryland Historical Society 140 SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION The only things we have are our good spirits and our good commanders. Baron de Kalb and Colonel Otho H. Williams are both fine, brave officers. They cheer us up and keep us in good order. But General Gates, who is in com- mand of our whole army, no one likes. Against the advice of the officers he has ordered us to march to Cam- den. Our men are sick and hungry. They had no bread and so they ate some green peaches. Some of them thickened their watery soup with hair powder. Luckily we found a little cornmeal yester- day and had some real food. Let me tell you something about Colonel Williams He is a tall, handsome, fine-looking man. MONUMENT TO MAR1:LANDS FOUR HUNDRED, PROSPECT PARK, BROOKmN 141 MARYLAND At the beginning of the war he went to Boston as heu- tenant of a company of Frederick riflemen. He was soon promoted to the command of the company. A little later he was made major of a regiment formed from several companies of riflemen. He, with his regiment, was taken prisoner at the capture of Fort Washington on the Hudson, and was not discharged till after fifteen months. He was treated with great cruelty while a pris- oner. For seven or eight months he was confined in a filthy, small, unven- tilated room. His food was hardly fit to eat and there was barely enough of it to keep him alive. A rope was put around his neck, and, seated on a coffin, he was ridden through the streets of New York to a gallows. But he was not hanged. The British did it only to frighten him. He says his health is bad even now from the cruel treatment and bad food. August 25. It is more than a month since I began this letter. We have fought the battle of Camden and I am still alive. 142 OTHO H. WILLIAMS From a painting in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION General Gates tried to surprise the British camp, and it seems that Cornwallis at the same time was trying to sur- f T. OBANBY O SOUTH OPERATIONS IN THE CAROLINAS prise ours. At midnight we met each other half-way between the camps. We skirmished for a little while and then waited for morning. 143 MARYLAND The next day the battle came. We Marylanders were on the right. The Virginia and North Carolina troops were on the left. The British came at us, firing and shouting. The Virginia and North Carolina men were militia, not regular troops. They were so frightened that they threw down their guns and ran away. But some of the North Carolina men fired two or three rounds. This left eight hundred of us Mary- landers and a Dela- ware battalion against three times as many of the British. Baron de Kalb wanted to re- treat, it was the only wise thing to do. But he had no orders, and so could not leave his post. There was no one to give him orders. Would you believe DE KALB MONUMENT, STATE HOUSE GROUNDS, AT ANNAPOLIS 144 SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION it? General Gates had fled. Or else, so some of the men say, he was carried away in the rush of soldiers. We stood firm and even began to drive the enemy back. But at length they charged us with both foot and horse and we had to fall back. Six hundred Maryland men were killed. Baron de Kalb was wounded in eleven places and was taken prisoner. He died six days ago. There is a brave officer lost to us. I don't know where we are going next. But I hope they will send us another general in place of Gates. I have a chance to send j^ou this by a soldier going home. I am so thin and sunburnt and ragged you w^oulcln't know me. When will this war be over, so that we can come home? But not until we are free and independent. Ever your affectionate brother, Carroll. P. S. — T forgot to tell you that I have been made a captain. March 25, 178L Dear Little Sister: I cannot tell you all that has happened since I last wrote you. I hardly have time to write at all. I was wounded in the leg at the battle of Guilford and must rest a few^ days. So I have time to tell you something about the fighting we have had. We have fought two great battles, not counting the H5 MARYLAND little ones. One was at the Cowpens last January. The other was ten days ago at Guilford. In both of them we Marylanders took a brave part. I am not boasting, for everyone praises us. Colonel John Eager Howard won the day at the Cowpens. Through a mistake in orders his men began to retire to- wards a hill behind them. But they went in such good order that Colonel Howard did not stop them until they were again in a good posi- tion. The British thought we were retreating and came rushing on in disorder. Colonel Howard let them come almost up to him. Then he ordered his men to face about and fire. Before the enemy knew what had happened, Colonel Howard and his men charged at them with their bayonets. The British soldiers threw down their guns and ran, but we captured a great many of them. Colonel Howard at one time had in his hands the swords of seven officers who had surrendered to him. Colonel Howard is one of the bravest officers in the army. His men will follow him anywhere. General 146 JOHN EAGER HOWARD From a painting in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION Greene says, '^ He deserves a statue of gold, no less than the Roman and Grecian heroes." His bayonet charges are the wonder of the army. It was one of them that won the day at Guilford. I was in that charge myself. I knocked down a British soldier with my sword, and to pay me back he stuck his bayonet into my leg. Then Jack Darnal shot him. Colonel Howard was wounded, too. He is going home on furlough, and will take this letter for me. I wish I could come, too. But my leg will soon be well and I must stay to fight. AVe are all in good spirits, and believe this war will soon be over. I have had enough of fighting. You hear only of the bright side, but I see the poor soldiers bleeding and suffering from their wounds. It is death, and wounds, and hardship, and suffering. But our cause is just. Perhaps it will be over soon and I shall be home with you. Goodbye and my love to all at home. Your brother, Carroll. October 1, 1781. Dear Little Sister: It is almost over down here. We have beaten the enemy time after time. We have driven them out almost everywhere. They surely cannot hold out much longer. About a month ago we fought them at Eutaw. Colonel Williams and Colonel Howard decided the battle for us. 147 STATUE OF JOHN EAGER HOWARD, WASHINGTON PLACE, BALTIMORE SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION Our lines were being driven back when General Greene gave the order, ^'Let Williams advance and sweep the field with his bayonets!" Williams and Howard charged. They charged and fired and charged and fired again. What brave men these two are! General Greene says of Colonel Williams in this charge that his bravery '^ex- ceeded anything I ever saw." Colonel Williams is going home on furlough. He is not needed here any longer. None of us will be needed much longer. Perhaps by the time he gives you this letter I shall be on my way home. No more wars for me. I want to get back to Evelinton to you all. I want to see your faces and the dear old home. I want to go to work on the plantation. I hear that the British fleet has been sailing up and down the Chesapeake burning and plundering. I wonder if I shall find the old house burned and empty. Well, if it is we can build another after we have driven the British away from our land. I have many things to tell you, and much work to do. We must set to work in earnest to build our country up. I have many plans in my head. Surely, before long I shall be back in Maryland to carry them out. With love to you all, until I can see you myself, Ever your affectionate brother, Carroll Paca. 149 MARYLAND This was the last letter Carroll Paca wrote from the South. In the same month Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown. The war was over, and the THE MARYLAND REVOLUTIONARY MONUMENT, MT. ROYAL PLAZA, BALTIMORE Maryland soldiers returned to their homes. Of all the thousands who had gone to the war from our State, only 150 SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION five hundred were left. The others had died for their country. The Maryland troops were always Washington's favorites. He knew he could always trust them to stand firm and do their duty. And no soldiers were ever braver. Besides, Maryland was always ready to aid Washington with troops and supplies. Indeed, she sent to the war twice as many soldiers as was her share. The five hundred that were left came home weary and wounded, without money, and in tatters. But they were happy in the gratitude of their State and of the whole country. They had lived up to the motto of our State: Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine. Theirs had been Manly Deeds. 151 XIV THIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES NOWADAYS all of our States are joined together in one country. They have formed a union, called the United States of America. This union is governed by the President and Congress. This is called the Federal government. But at the close of the Revolution it was not so. Then there were thirteen separate States. Each had its own government and its own laws. These thirteen States had acted together in fighting Great Britain, but when the war was over they began to drift apart. They were jealous and suspicious of each other. The people of the different States could not know each other then as well as they do now. There were no steam or electric railroads to make a journey from one State to another easy and quick, nor were there any steamboats. There were no telegraph or telephone lines to carry messages from one part of the country to another in a few hours or minutes. In our days one can travel from Boston or Baltimore to New York in five or six hours, in comfortable cars and without even leaving his seat. Dozens of passenger trains pass by day and by night between the larger cities. 152 THIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES Train after train carries freight from inland farms to the seaboard, and from the coast towns back to the farms. But at the end of the Revolution ''two stage-coaches were enough for all the travelers, and nearly all the freight STAGE COACH besides, that went between" New York and Boston. Large and heavy freight went by sea in sailing vessels. You and I are going on a journey from Baltimore to New York, but we are not going by train. We are going by a heavy old stage-coach. We have only one ^53 IHIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES little hair-covered, leather trunk for both of us. There is very little room in the coach for baggage, so we take only what we cannot do without. Our trunk is stowed away in the ^' boot," and we are on the coach ready to start. Button your overcoat up, and wrap your neck-shawl tight around your throat. It is very early in the morning and the Autumn air is cool. ''All ready, Joe!" says the coachman. The hostlers let go the horses' heads, and we rattle off over the roughly paved streets. Two or three ragged little slave boys run along beside us for a while. We wave our hats to Mother and Sister who came to see us off. Then we turn a corner and they are out of sight. We trot along pretty briskly for a while. But as we get farther from Baltimore the roads get worse. It rained hard last night and the roads are muddy. Pres- ently we come to a place where the mud is up to the hubs. The coach stops, stuck fast in a rut. All the men TENCH TILGHMAN From a miniature 154 MARYLAND get down. Shoulders to the wheel! Now, all togetherl And we lift the wheels out. The horses sweat and blow. But a mile further on we shall put in fresh ones. Our boots and clothes are covered with mud. We get WASHINGTON From the mural paintirig, by Ed up again, and off we go. But it is very slow going. By twelve o'clock we have made only fifteen miles. But at any rate we have come to an inn, and can get dinner. Hungry? Well, indeed w^e are. W^e sit down in the cozy tap-room, hung with red curtains. The landlord, 156 THIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES hi,s wife and his daughter bring us ham, and beef, and chicken, and vegetables, and puddings. We have a bowl of punch, too. Even a little boy like you drinks a glass. IS COMMISSION , in the Court House at Baltimore As we are getting into the coach after dinner two gentlemen drive up in their own carriage. They are on then' way to Annapolis. General Washington is going to resign his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the American armies, and they want to be present when he 157 MARYLAND does so. Everybody is very polite to them. They have their dinner in a private room, not in the tap-room or the kitchen. But some gentlemen have begun to act more like common folk. They say, '^ We are all alike THOMAS JOHNSON AND HIS FAMILY From a painting in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society now that there is no longer a king ruling over us." One of these gentlemen who have just driven up is a brave Revolutionary officer, and a friend of General Washington. He is Colonel Tench Tilghman of Talbot 158 THIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES County. Do you know it was he who carried to Congress the news of the surrender of Cornwallis. Congress pre- sented him with a horse and an elegant sword. But not the one he has on. He prizes the one Congress gave him too much to wear it. STATE HOUSE AT ANNAPOLIS The other gentleman is Thomas Johnson. He was the first Governor of Maryland after it became independent. When he was inaugurated there werfe great goings on at Annapolis. A long procession cf officials and distin- guished guests marched to the State House. There the 159 MARYLAND high sheriff proclaimed Thomas Johnson Governor of the State of Maryland. After this three volleys were fired by the soldiers, who were paraded in front of the State House. Then a salute of thirteen cannon shots was fired, one for each State of the Union. The company then went to the coffee-house where thirteen patriotic toasts were drunk. In the evening there was a brilliant ball and illumination. We go on through the beautiful country of Baltimore and Harford Counties. We have forded many small streams. We have got down to walk up some steep hills, and have lifted the wheels out of the mud more than once. As we were crossing one stream two ladies inside the coach began to scream. The rains had made the river so deep that the water came into the coach. But the inside passengers stood up on the seats, and no harm was done. It is ten o'clock at night, now, and here we are at the inn where we are to sleep. You are pretty tired, aren't you? Jolting over rough roads and walking up hills has made you hungry, tired and sleepy. We have a good supper with another glass of punch, and then to bed. Our beds are not very comfortable. The mattress is made of straw, and three of us have to sleep in a bed. But we are too tired to mind. Well, here we are ready to start off again next morning. We made thirty miles yesterday, a good day's journey. At length we reach the Susquehanna River. The Coach cannot ford this stream, of course. We get out and are 1 60 THIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES ferried over, passengers and baggage, in boats. On the other side we find another coach waiting for us It it were winter time the coach might drive over on the thick ice. Last spring the floating ice capsized the ferry-boat, and five persons were drowned. As we get farther from Baltimore not only the country, but the people seem different. They dress differently, look different and even talk differently. Of course they talk English, but their accent and tone is not the same. Do you begin to under- stand the difference be- tween travehng in these days and traveling now? Of course in the back country the roads were worse and travehng was harder. A famous Mary- lander, Roger Brooke Taney, tells us something about traveling at the end of the eighteenth century. When he was fifteen years of age he went from his home, in Calvert County, to school at Dickinson College m Pennsylvania. He says that the first part of the journey i6i ROGER BROOKE TANEY From an engravino in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society MARYLAND from his home to the college was made in a schooner. It took the schooner one week to go from the Patuxent river to Baltimore. From there to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where the college was situated, he traveled by a wagon which carried his trunks, but he himself walked a great part of the way. FIVE MILE STONE, MASON AND DIXON S LINE From the original in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society It took SO long for letters to go from his home to Car- lisle that he had to carry money enough in his trunks to pay his expenses until the next vacation. He says: " But, in truth, we were not very anxious [about the safety of our money] for a robbery in that day, was hardly to be thought of among the hazards of travel." The difficulties 162 ^y '' iK^' ^ 1SV.AN03 THE WESTERN LAND CLAIMS OF THE SEVERAL STATES MARYLAND of travel were so great that he went home only twice while at college, and ''upon both occasions walked from Carlisle to Baltimore with one of my school companions." You can see now why it was that the colonies were not really united. Communication and traveling were so difficult that the people in different States could not know each other. Not knowing each other, they could not under- stand each other. And not understanding, they distrusted each other. However, the States began to come together. They adopted the Articles of Confederation, which made a sort of union among them. At least twelve of them did. Maryland, the thirteenth State, would not adopt the articles. ''But," you will say, "I thought Maryland was patriotic. Why did she refuse?" Yes, she was patriotic, and that is just why she refused. If you will turn to the map on page l63 you will see that half of the thirteen States extended westward to the Mississippi River. And you will see that Virginia 164 DANIEL OF ST. THOMAS JENIFER From an etching THIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES claimed vast tracts of land lying to the northwest. In some cases more than one State claimed the same lands. In the early times when America was being settled but little was known of its geography, and much con- fusion arose as to boundaries. Sometimes the same land was granted by the English sovereign to two different persons or com- panies. Thus confusion and disputes arose, and much ill-feeling. Maryland claimed no western lands, and the boundaries of the State, except in one small part, had been agreed upon. The State was not trying to get more land for her- self. But M a r yl a n d knew that during the war the soldiers of the smaller States had fought as bravely as those of the larger. She knew that the smaller States had suffered as much as the larger, and had been as willing to furnish money, supplies and men. She herself had furnished much more than her fair share of soldiers, and as to the bravery of her troops there was never any question. 165 JAMES Mchenry From an etching MARYLAND Therefore, said Maryland, if the thirteen colonies are going to form a union, let Virginia and the other States claiming western lands give them up. Let those lands be held by the central government for the benefit of all. Let the western lands be held as common property, and from them let new States of the Union be formed as they become settled and as the need arises. No other State would join Maryland in this protest. They all cried out against her. It was even threatened that Maryland should be divided among neighbor- ing States and her name wiped from the map. But Maryland knew that her demands were just, and remained firm. But at length she grew afraid that her holding back might do harmi to the American cause. So she signed the articles in 1781. Then the other States saw that Maryland was right, and within twenty years all the 'Svestern lands" were ceded to the United States. Maryland did not " fire the shot heard round the world." i66 DANIEL CARROLL From an etching THIRTEEN DISTRUSTFUL STATES Her service to the cause of independence was quiet and faithful. And it is hardly too much to say that without the bravery, steadfastness and fidelity of her soldiers the independence of the colonies would not have been won. And without her firm stand, alone, against the '^vestern land" claims, it is doubtful if the lasting union which has led to our present great nation could ever have been formed. This was the beginning of the union of our States. Six years later they agreed to become the United States that they now are. The Constitution of the United States was adopted, and our nation was formed. The men who signed the Constitution on the part of Maryland were James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, and Daniel Carroll. 67 XV SAILOR HEROES OF 1812 IN the story before this we learned how our nation was formed. But at the beginning of the nineteenth century it was still a young nation. It was growing fast in numbers, in strength and in wealth. But it was not old, and strong, and rich like the European nations. They were grown men. The United States was a strong and healthy boy. There were two of these ^'men" who were bullying the ^^boy." England and France, but England especially gave the United States much trouble. France and Eng- land were hard at it, fighting each other. Their ships and men were so busy fighting that they could not carry on their trade and commerce. So the American merchants built ships and took possession of this commerce. As America grew richer and richer England became more and more angry. She wanted to destroy the trade of the United States. Then, when the war with France was over, she could have the commerce of the world again herself. There were two ways in which England worried the United States. British men-of-war captured and de- stroyed American merchantmen whenever they could, i68 SAILOR HEROES OF 1812 But especially England claimed the right to stop American ships at sea and to take seamen from them. She pre- tended that they were deserters from the British navy. Very many times they took sailors who were not British subjects at all, but American citizens. A British-man-of-war might stop an American ship at sea and take away so many of her men that the captain could hardly sail her into port. And besides the sail- ors so ''pressed" into the British navy were often very cruelly treated. Their food was bad and they were flogged severely. Worst of all they were made to fight against their will, for a country that was not their own. The United States tried by peaceful means to make England give up this ''right of search." But England would not, and so the War of 1812 began. Most of the fighting in this war was done at sea, it was a naval war. And by this time the United States had many brave and skillful naval officers. More officers of the navy came from Maryland than from any other State; forty-six out of a total of two hundred and forty. Of 169 STEPHEN DECATUR MARYLAND these, two who distinguished themselves especially were John Rodgers and Stephen Decatur. Decatur had distinguished himself about ten years before in the war with Tripoli. An American frigate, the Philadelphia, had run aground in the harbor of Tripoli, and was captured. The Americans wanted to recapture her, or at least to destroy her so that the Tripol- itans might not make use of her. The American commander call- ed for volunteers. Seventy-four men sprang up ready to go, and Lieutenant De- catur was put in command of them. They put off in a small boat, and rowed with muffled oars to where the Philadelphia was lying. They went so quietly that those on board the frigate did not hear a sound until the boat was alongside. The brave volunteers sprang on board. With sword and pistol they drove the Tripolitans overboard into the water. Then they set fire to the Philadelphia and rowed away. THE FLAG-SHIP 'PRESIDENT 170 SAILOR HEROES OF 1812 At a short distance from the burning ship they lay on their oars and gave three rousing cheers. Lieutenant Decatur was made a captain for his bravery, and Con- gress presented him with a sword. Decatur was a small man, but he was cool, brave and determined. In one engagement he attacked a Tripoli- tan officer, a large and powerful man. In the struggle they both fell, Decatur un- derneath. He grasped his enemy's hand so that he could not draw his sword. Then he drew his own pistol and shot the man in the back. Shortly after war with England was declared, Decatur, in command of the frigate United States, cap- tured the British frigate Macedonian. For this cap- ture he received a gold medal from Congress. A little later in the war he tried to sail from New York with a squadron. The port was so closely blockaded that in trying to get out his ship ran aground. Four ships of the enemy chased him. He fought bravely for eight hours and then had to surrender. He was released on parole and returned to the United States. JOHN ROUGERS 171 MARYLAND Commodore Rodgers had better luck. He began to fight even before war was declared. He was lying off Annapolis in his flagship the President. Here he heard that a seaman had been impressed into an English frigate from an American brig off Sandy Hook. He at once set sail. When he drew near New York he sighted a war vessel and chased her. ^' What is your name?" he asked her. The stranger made no answer, but after a little while asked the same question of the President. Without waiting for an answer she fired a shot into the President's mainmast. Commodore Rodgers answered this with his cannon, and soon won the victory. But he could not take the enemy prisoner because war had not been declared. So next morning the two ships sailed away from each other. Commodore Rodgers wasted no time when war was declared. An hour after he received official notice of it he sailed from New York with a squadron of five ships. This cruise lasted about seventy days. He captured seven British merchant vessels and recaptured one COURSE OF COMMODORE RODGERS SQUADRON 172 LAKE ERIE AND NIAGARA RIVER, SHOWING FORT ERIE, BUFFALO, ETC. MARYLAND American. His squadron sailed almost to the entrance of the British Channel. From there he sailed to Madeira, to the Azores, the Grand Banks, and home to Boston. Commodore Rodgers made other cruises during the war and took many prizes. Not all of the naval battles of this war took place at sea. Many were fought on the Great Lakes. And two other Marylanders, Nathan Towson and Jesse Duncan Elliott, took a brave part in one of the first of these fights. Nathan Towson was a cap- tain of artillery, Jesse D. Elliott a lieutenant in the Navy. They were both de- tailed for service on Lake Erie. Two British armed brigs, the Caledonia and the Detroit, were anchored near Fort Erie. This was on the Canadian side of the lake, opposite Buffalo. Lieu- tenant Elliott formed a plan to capture the two brigs, and Captain Towson, with fifty of his Maryland volunteers was sent with him. They started out at midnight in two boats. Lieu- tenant Elliott was in one. Captain Towson in the other. XATHAN TOWSON From a painting in the possession of Ihi Maryland Historical Society 174 SAILOR HEROES OF 1812 Captain Towson's boat attacked the Caledonia; Lieu- tenant Elliott's boat the Detroit. By three o'clock in the morning the two brigs were captured. " In less than ten minutes I had the prisoners all seized, the topsails sheeted home, and the vessels under weigh." So wrote Lieu- tenant Elliott. That was pretty quick work. But the work was not all done yet. They were on board the brigs, but the question was how to get them to the American side of the lake. They got the two brigs under weigh, but both ran aground in the Niagara River within gun-shot of the Canadian shore. The Canadian shore was full of the enemy, and the enemy began firing on them. Sailing-master Watts was in command of Towson's boat. Early in the morning he and the pilot left the boat and took the prisoners with them. But Captain Towson did not want to give up his prize. So he stayed aboard and got all the brig's cargo to a place of safety. Then he managed to get the brig afloat again. But he was an artilleryman, not a seaman, and did not know JESSE DUNCAN ELLIOTT 175 MARYLAND how to sail a vessel. All but two of his sailors had deserted. He ran the brig aground a second time. In the meanwhile Lieutenant Elliott had destroyed the Detroit. He sent orders to Captain Towson to burn the Caledonia, as a large force of the enemy was coming to the rescue. But Captain Towson would not destroy the brig. He left her in charge of three men, with orders to burn her if the enemy came. It turned out to be a false alarm that the British were coming, and thus the Caledonia was saved. She afterwards made one of Commodore Perry's fleet. Congress presented Lieutenant Elliott with a sword as a reward for his part in the capture of the Detroit and the Caledonia, and also presented him with a gold medal for his brave conduct later on in the war. Captain Towson also served bravely throughout the war, and rose to the rank of major-general. Towson, the county seat of Baltimore County, where he was born, was named in his honor. 176 XVI THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER THIS noble poem was written during the War of 1812. Most likely it would never have been writ- ten if the British had not so hated the city of Baltimore. But you will ask, why did England hate Baltimore more than the rest of the United States. Let us see the reason why. In those days there were many vessels called '^ priva- teers." They were called so because they were owned, not by the government, but by private persons. But they were commissioned by the government. This means that the government gave them papers saying they might carry cannon and other arms, and that they might go out to sea to attack and capture an enemy's ships. Many of these privateers had sailed from the United States during the Revolution. But during the war of 1812 they just swarmed over all the ocean. And more of these vessels sailed from Baltimore than from any other city in the United States. The Baltimore privateers were especially famous. They were fast sailors, well armed, and manned by the bravest and boldest of crews and officers. One of these brave Maryland officers was named Joshua Barney. In one short cruise in his schooner MARYLAND Rossie he captured ships and cargo to the value of a million and a half dollars, and took two hundred and seventeen prisoners. The names of some others of these famous Baltimore privateers were the Falcon, the Globe, the Nonsuch, the Comet and the Pride of Baltimore. They swarmed over all the ocean, capturing British vessels and taking pris- oners. Most of the vessels cap- tured, of course, were mer- chantmen. But often the little privateer would attack a great man-of-war. The man-of-war carried many more men and guns than the privateer. But the lit- tle privateer would sail up boldly and fight just as if the enemy were one of her own size. The little vessel could move about quicker than the big one. And her captain generally knew exactly how to manage his ship. Remember the value of the ships and cargo that the Rossie took in her short cruise. So when you know that in four months forty-two of these privateers sailed from Maryland you can see how much harm was done to 178 JOSHUA BARNEY From a print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society MARYLAND British commerce. And you can see why England hated the city of Baltimore. She called Baltimore a ^'nest of pirates," and made up her mind to destroy the nest. But Baltimore was a nest of hornets and wasps. And the hornets and wasps went on stinging, although Eng- land tried to stop them. She tried to blockade Chesa- peake Bay, but without success. The privateers slipped past the blockading fleets and out to sea. Before long, however, England had sent over more ships and a land force to the shores of Maryland. A small part of this army was defeated by General Philip Reed at the battle of Caulk's Field, near Chestertown. But the greater part met the American army, under General William H. Winder, and defeated him at the battle of Bladensburg.* Then the enemy made ready to destroy the ^^ doomed town" of Baltimore. General Ross, who commanded the British army in Maryland, declared that he ^' would make his winter quarters in Baltimore even if the heavens rained militia." As the enemy advanced messengers on horseback hurried ahead of them with the news. And beacon fires on the hills and headlands along the Bay sent the same message. Baltimore was warned and so made ready. Everyone, young men, old men and even boys, went to *ror an account of the battles of Bladensburg and Caulk's Field, see Passano's History of Maryland, pp. 134-136. 1 80 THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER work with pick and shovel to throw up fortifications, or to drill themselves as soldiers. Everything was ready, and at length the troops of the city, seven thousand of them, marched out to meet the enemy. Many of them were young men, hardly more than boys. And as they marched along in their new uniforms, carrying a sword or a mus- ket almost for the first time, the whole affair seemed like a frolic to them. The streets were lined with people to cheer them on. The windows of the houses were filled with women and children waving their hands and handker- chiefs. To the children and young women it was like watching a parade. But to the mothers it meant a son going to danger, perhaps to death. And to the old men who had seen something of the Revolution it meant, not only suffering and bloodshed, but also, perhaps, the destruction of their dear city. This army was commanded by General Samuel Smith. On Sunday, September 11, word was brought that seventy of the enemy's ships lay at anchor off North SAMUEL SMITH From n painting in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society i8i MARYLAND Point. Early next morning they landed their troops, about nine thousand men, under the command of General Robert Ross. At the same time a number of small vessels, commanded by Admiral Cockburn, formed in line ready to bombard the city. General John Strieker, with about three thousand men, had marched out some seven miles along the Phila- delphia road. He had not expected to fight. But when he learned, next morning, that the British had landed, he sent back his baggage and formed his troops in line of battle. The advance guards of the two armies met about two miles from General Strieker's pickets, and some skirmish- ing followed. The Ameri- cans then fell back. At this time General Ross, who had ridden to the front to see what the firing meant, was mortally wounded by a musket ball. This was the end of his vain boast that he would make his winter quarters in Baltimore. The command of the English fell to Colonel Brooke. As he advanced cautiously he was met by volley after 182 JOHN STRICKER From a painting in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society CO pi ?i I ^ ^ I o s o o « MARYLAND volley of musketry. The British returned the fire hotly, and the two armies were soon hid from each other by the smoke. A part of the American left wing broke and fled. BOMBARDMENT OF FORT McHENRY From an old print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society Colonel Brooke advanced rapidly to take advantage of the confusion, but was checked by the American artillery. Their guns had been loaded with ^' grape and canister, shot, old locks and pieces of broken muskets." All along the line volleys of muskets and rifles were fired 184 THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER without ceasing. At length General Strieker ordered a retreat, and the Americans withdrew in good order. The British did not pursue them. This was the battle of North Point, fought on September 12, 1814. The Ameri- can troops were raw militia, while the British were regu- lars, many of whom had fought in the wars against Napoleon. On the next day the enemy marched on to Baltimore. Their plan was that the army should attack the city by land and the fleet bombard it from the water. All that day and late into the night Colonel Brooke waited for the sound of the ships' guns. But nothing was heard until midnight. About two or three o'clock in the morning word was brought him that the fleet could not reach the city. The channel of the harbor was too shallow for any but the smallest vessels, and, besides, had been blocked by sunken ships. The American army was in a strong position on a ridge of hills without the city. Colonel Brooke was afraid to make an attack and so ordered a retreat. The British JOHN AJDA.MS WEBSTER 185 MARYLAND fleet turned back, too, when it found that it could not reach the city. But it stopped at a distance of two miles from Fort McHenry, and for twenty-four hours threw showers of bombs into the fort. The ships were too far away for the fort to reply. In the rear of Fort McHenry was a redoubt called Fort Cov- ington. Between it and Fort McHenry was a battery of six guns. Sailing- master John Adams Webster was in command of this battery. The men had been listening to the bombardment of Fort McHenry, and were eager for a chance to take part in the fight. The cannon were all ''double loaded with eighteen- pound balls and grape shot." It was late at night and raining hard. Sailing-master Webster wrapped himself in his blanket and lay down on the breast-work. About midnight he heard a splashing in the water. It was the enemy coming with muffled oars. 1 86 BATTLE MONUMENT, BALTIMORE THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER There were twelve hundred of them, in a score of boats and a large schooner. On the shore were not one hundred and fifty men to keep them from landing. The enemy had cannon, muskets and scahng ladders, and were coming to storm Fort McHenry in the rear. But the men at the guns opened fire. For two hours they and the men at Fort Covington kept it up steadily, and drove the enemy off. If the enemy had landed they might have captured Fort McHenry. Then the whole British army could have landed and marched on to Baltimore. The city of Baltimore and the State each presented John A. Webster with a gold mounted sword. The city, and indeed the whole country, rejoiced at the news that the British had given up the attack on Baltimore. A year later, in Baltimore, Battle Monument was built to commemorate the event, and the twelfth of September was made a public holiday in the city. Year after year, on that day, those who had taken part in the defense of Baltimore were publicly honored, until the last of the ''old defenders" died in 1898. FRANCIS SCOTT KEY 187 MARYLAND On a ship in the British fleet was a Marylander, Francis Scott Key. He had gone there to arrange for the exchange of prisoners. He was received kindly, but was told that he must remain until the attack on Balti- more was over. From the deck of the ship he w^atched all night the bombardment of the fort, with no means of knowing whether it had surrendered or not. But with the first glimpse of dawn he saw that the flag was still flying. And it was the sight of this flag which inspired Francis Scott Key to write his patriotic song, ' ' The Star Spangled Banner." He says that he commenced his famous song on the deck of the British ship, when he saw the enemy retreating and the flag flying over the fort. He wrote some brief lines on the back of a letter which he had in his pocket. Some of the lines he kept in his memory. He finished the song in the boat on his way to the shore, and finally wrote it out, as it now stands, at the hotel in Baltimore when he arrived there at night. So you see how it was that the hatred the British felt towards Baltimore, that ''nest of pirates," led to the writing of The Star Spangled Banner, the National Song of America. The Star-Spangled Banner. O say, can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming; Whose broad stripes and bright stars thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming; i88 THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there; O say does that star-spangled jjanner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? From the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows half conceals half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam. In full glory reflected now shines on the stream; 'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! And where is the band that so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave; And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! And thus be it ever when freemen shall stand Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation; Blest with victory and peace may this Heaven-rescu'd land Praise the Power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation; Then conquer we must when our cause it is just And this be our motto " In God Is Our Trust; " And the star-spangled banner, O long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 189 XVII BALTIMORE TOWN. ALL of you know of the great fire in Baltimore in the year 1904. Many of you saw the fire and tlie ruins it left. Many of you have seen, too, how quickly the city has grown again, fresh and new, from its ashes. But how many of you know how many years it took Baltimore to grow into the great city that the fire almost destroyed? One hundred and seventy-four years. Baltimore was founded in 1730. The planters living near the Patapsco River needed a convenient place for ships to load and unload their cargoes. So they bought sixty acres of land from Charles and Daniel Carroll for forty shillings an acre, and the site of Baltimore was surveyed. The town grew slowly at first. At the end of twenty years it had only twenty houses and one hundred inhabi- tants. Then it began to grow faster, and before long became the largest town in the State. Do you remember Mr. Smyth the Tory, and the troubles he had in Baltimore? He had made visits to the town before, and this is the way he describes it in his book : It is " Si large, flourishing and very fine town, lately erected, thirty miles farther back in the country than 190 BALTIMORE TOWN Annapolis; situated upon Patapsco River . . . with an excellent harbour and commodious wharfs. This town, built on a spot which but thirty-six years ago was covered with woods, contains already more houses than every other town in the province together, and between LAYING OUT OF BALTIMORE TOWN twelve and fifteen thousand inhabitants. . . . It is built on a declivity ... on the north side of a large bason, or rather bay, the water whereof is not deep enough for vessels of any considerable burden. The harbour of Baltimore is named Fell's Point, about two miles from 191 MARYLAND the town itself, although the houses are now continued almost all the way." He even says that Baltimore must soon become the capital of the State. But in this he was wrong, as we know. Beautiful old Annapolis is still the capital of Maryland. BALTIMORE IN 1752 From a print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society The patriots who gave Mr. Smyth so much trouble in Baltimore had wives and daughters as patriotic as them- selves. At the time when the British fleet was burning and pillaging in Chesapeake Bay, General Lafayette was sent to defend the State. The people of Baltimore, to welcome him when he visited their town, gave a ball in his honor. But he seemed sad and low spirited. One 192 BALTIMORE TOWN of the ladies at the ball said to him, " General Lafayette, why is it you seem so sad?" ^'Ah, madam," he replied, ''how can I help being sad when my poor soldiers are clothed in rags?" " Your men shall have clothes!" cried the lady. The next day all the ladies of Baltimore gathered to- gether in the same ballroom. There they stitched and cut busily — and talked, too, I should think — until they had a great lot of clothing made for General Lafayette's sol- diers. General Lafayette visited Baltimore again w^hen he was an old man. This was after the colonies had won their independence and after he himself had passed through all the terrors of the French Revolution. The people welcomed him with wild joy. Men, women and little chil- dren crowded to see him. Arches of triumph were built for him to pass under. He, and his children forever, were made citizens of Maryland. Fayette Street and Lafayette Square in Baltimore were named in his honor. You must not think of the city that Lafayette visited, and that the British tried to destroy in the war of 1812, LAFAYETTE 193 MARYLAND as being like the one that you know. There were only about fifty thousand people in it. Now there are more than ten times as many.* Where the Washington Monu- ment now stands was then in the country. And where now are stores, and banks, and shops, were then the resi- dences where the people lived. BALTIMORE IN 1831 From an old print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society There was a young man living in Baltimore at about this time named John Pendleton Kennedy. He after- wards won renown both as a writer and as a statesman. He was born, he says, in a house ^'half way between St. Paul's Street and Charles, on the north side of Market [now Baltimore] Street." *See Passano's History of Maryland, p. 302. 194 BALTIMORE TOWN He describes the city in the days of his boyhood, with its ''hipped-roofed wooden houses in disorderly array . . . painted, some bhre and white, and some yellow; and here and there ... a more magnificent mansion of brick, . . . with reverential locust trees, under whose shade . . . school boys, ragged little negroes and chimney-sweeps . . disported them- selves at marbles." As we stroll down Mar- ket Street we meet stately old gentlemen in long blue coats with brass buttons. Their coat collars rise high up in the back, and in front are ruffled shirts or stocks showing. They wear beaver hats and when one of them meets a lady, he takes off his hat with a great sweep and makes her a very low bow. Here is a grayhaired old man who still wears the dress of Colonial days. He has on "well-worn knee breeches, yarn stockings, silver buckles on his shoes and ruffles on his shirt bosom and sleeves." He has grown childish in his old age. But everyone speaks to him kindly and with JOHN PENDLETON KENNEDY 195 MARYLAND the greatest respect. He is Luther Martin. He used to be Attorney-General of Maryland, and was a famous lawyer in his day. Here is another famous Maryland lawyer coming down the street. This is AVilliam Pinkney. He was an ardent 1— ^ ._._. _ JiL m ^ .-r^...^l,^^-.^- I - - ■ ,, —f^'^v'wxm am ■ . 1 OLD CITY HALL, BALTIMORE From a painting patriot during the Revolution, but his father was a Tory. His father's property was confiscated — that is, taken by the government — so that he had to start out in life as a poor boy. You would not think it to look at him now. He is dressed in the very latest style, and is a great 196 BALTIMORE TOWN ''dandy." He has lived much abroad, where he has been sent to various countries to represent the United States government. As he goes smiUng and bowing on his way, let us stop to watch these two gentlemen talking. One of them is a merchant and has ships sailing over all the seas. There is no wireless telegraph to tell him his ship is coming in when she is still hundreds of miles at sea. There is no tele- graph of any kind. When his ship sails it may be a year before he hears of her again. The other man is a ship builder. And such ships they were. They were built of wood not of iron, they went by sails not by steam, and they were as beautiful as a bird. They were called Baltimore ''clippers," and were the fastest vessels afloat. As the saying was, "They start before the wind has time to reach their sails, and never allow it to come up with them." All the shops have swinging signs before them, great LUTHER MARTIN 197 MARYLAND wooden keys, and boots, and bells, and anchors. If we walk along a little farther we shall come to the first music store in America. It was here as early as 1794, for in that year there was the following advertisement in the Mary- land Journal: " Musical Repository, Market-Street, near Gay-Street, Baltimore. J. CARR, Music Im- porter, LATELY FROM LoNDON, Respect- fully informs the public that he has opened a Store entirely in the Musical line, and has for SALE, Finger and barrel organs, double and single key'd harpsichords, piano forte and common guitars." The shop-keepers live in the houses over their stores. Instead of telegraph poles along the streets we see trees. There are no elec- tric cars with their clang- ing bells, not even horse- cars. People ride in carri- ages or on horse-back, but most of them walk. An automobile would have been to them the eighth wonder of the world. But we do see gaslights. Balti- more was the first city in the United States to manufac- ture gas for public lighting. WILLIAM piNKNEY But thc qulet was soon 198 BALTIMORE TOWN to be disturbed. On the Fourth of July, 1828, there was a vast crowd of people gathered together in Balti- more. They had come to take part in a great event. This was the laying of the corner-stone of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, then more than ninety years old. The road ran from Bal- timore to Ellicott's Mills. The cars were drawn by horses at first. Two years later a locomotive built by Peter Cooper ran over the road People were astonished because it ran so fast, fif- teen miles an hour! Not many years later the first electric telegraph line in America was built, between Baltimore and Washington. This marks the end of the old quiet and the beginning of the modern city. But the change did not take place all at once. There was still much of the old time peacefulness. And the city always proved a delight to visitors. Several Englishwomen have written about their visits to Baltimore at that time. They say JAMES CALHOUN, FIRST MAYOR OF BALTIMORE From a -painting in the City Hall, Baltimore 199 MARYLAND the streets were broad and clean. There were many fountains. Instead of the brightly painted wooden houses, there were now neat red brick houses with shining knockers and white marble trimmings. They A BALTIMORE CLIPPER From a print in the possession of the P. Dougherty Company, Baltimm-e speak of the beauty of the Baltimore women, and praise the good manners of the children. The Baltimore hotels were famous. An Englishman, named Alexander Mackay, says that Barnum's Hotel was '^ one of the most admirably managed establishments of the kind on the continent." He tells us, too, how the 200 BALTIMORE TOWN hotels tried to get guests. When he got off the train at Baltimore there was a crowd of colored men waiting. Each was shouting the name of the hotel to which he be- longed, and trying to get the travelers to go along with him. MARKET STREET From an old print in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society ^'Barnum's, gen'lemen — Barnum's — now for Barnum's — only house in town — rest all sham — skin but no 'possum — yhaw, yhaw — Barnum's, Barnum's!" '^ 'Cause Eagle eaten all de 'possum up, and left nuffin but de skin — de Eagle's de house, gen'lemen — hurra for de Eagle!" 201 MARYLAND Baltimore is called the Monumental City, and is honored by having the first monument erected to AVashington by any State. The corner stone was laid in the year 1815. Colonel John Eager Howard gave the ground on which the monument is built. His children presented to the WASHINGTON MONUMENT IN 1835 From a steel engraving in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society city the surrounding squares of Mount Vernon and AVashington Places. When Charles Carroll laid the corner stone of the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad he said it was one of the most important acts of his life. But about a year later an event, even more important, took place in Baltimore. 202 BALTIMORE TOWN This was the opening of the first public school in the city. It was in the basement of a church on Eutaw Street between Saratoga and Mulberry. The school was in charge of William H. Coffin, who was the first public school teacher in Balti- more. It is well to make our cities beautiful and it is well to honor great men. But a nation can progress without monuments. The build- ing of a railroad is a great achievement. And the building of the first railroad in our State is something to be proud of. But a nation may be great without rail- roads. But no nation can be TANEY STATUE MOUNT VERNON PLACE, BALTIMORE great, no nation can advance without knowl- edge. So it is that the opening of the first public school in Baltimore is a great event. It meant that knowl- edge was to be within the reach of all the people of our city. 203 XVIII NORTH AND SOUTH IN story XIV we learned how the thirteen colonies united to form our nation. We have now come to a time when that nation came near being broken up. Indeed it was divided for a few years. Eleven States in the south separated from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Then war began between the Union and the Confederacy, between the North and the South. This long and bloody war was fought to settle two questions. First, could the States secede? That is, could they separate themselves from the Union if they wished to do so? And secondly should there be negro slaves in the United States? The South said the answer to these questions was '' yes." The North said '' no." On which side was Maryland? She was on the border between North and South. Our State was a slave State but did not secede. Some of her people thought that slavery was wrong. Many of them thought it was not wrong. Some of them wished to join the Confederacy. But most of them thought the State should remain in the Union. The result was that her sons joined, some the Southern and some the Northern armies, and fought against each other. 204 NORTH AND SOUTH When the war began the First Maryland Regiment left Baltimore to join the Federal Army in Virginia. It was commanded by Colonel John R. Kenly. In the meanwhile Captain Bradley T. Johnson of Frederick had raised a company of volunteers for the Confederate army, and had marched with them into Virginia. Others soon joined them, and before long they were organized into the First Maryland Regiment of the Confederate army. Bradley T. Johnson soon became its colonel. This Confederate First Maryland Regiment was with- out arms, clothing, or supplies. They could not ask for arms from their own State to fight against the Union to which she belonged, and Virginia could hardly supply her own regiments. A woman came to their rescue. Mrs. Bradley T. Johnson journeyed all the way to her native State of North Carolina to ask for help. She returned to her husband's camp with enough rifles, cartridges, blankets, kettles and other camp furniture to fit out the regiment. Both of these First Maryland regiments soon distin- guished themselves, and, oddly enough, in fighting against each other. General Banks of the Union army was at Strasburg, Virginia, and '' Stonewall" Jackson formed a plan to capture his force. He wanted to get to the rear of General Bank's and take him by surprise. But at Front Royal Colonel Kenly and his regiment were in the way. So Jackson sent Colonel Johnson to drive them out. 205 MARYLAND When the attack began Colonel Kenly lost no time. He at once sent off a messenger to General Banks to warn him of his danger. Then for two hours he kept the Con- federates in check. But then they attacked him on the flank. He tried to cross the Shenandoah River and burn the bridge behind him. At the first movement he made the Confederates charged and drove him over the bridge. But Colonel Kenly fought every step of the way until darkness came. Then he had to surrender. But Jackson's force had been held in check so long that Banks was in safety. In the whole of this campaign of Jackson's, Colonel Johnson's regiment served with great bravery. In a battle near Harrison- burg, a Virginia regiment was engaged with the Penn- sylvania '^Bucktails." The fight was close and bloody. Colonel Johnson came up with his regiment in the hottest part of the fight. By a dash- ing charge he drove the enemy off and killed a great many of them. ^'In commemoration of this gallant conduct I ordered one of the captured 'Bucktails' to be appended 206 JOHN R. KENLY NORTH AND SOUTH as a trophy to their flag. . . . Four color-bearers were shot down in succession, but each time the colors were caught before reaching the ground, and were finally borne by Corporal Daniel Shanks to the close of the action." This is what General Ewell said in his report of the battle. The war had gone on for about a year and a half when General Robert E. Lee crossed the Poto- mac to ^'deliver Maryland and invade Pennsyl- vania." Many fierce and bloody battles had been fought in Virginia. That State was so laid waste that General Lee could not get food for his men nor forage for his horses. The crops had been burnt or trampled into the earth by the feet of horses and men. The wheels of wagons and cannon had rolled over the fields. Houses and barns were burned to the ground. General Lee hoped to get in Maryland all the supplies he needed. Besides, many persons declared that Mary- BRADLEY T. JOHNSON 207 MARYLAND land wanted to join the Confederacy. If she really wished to do so General Lee wanted to give her the chance. So he marched his army into Maryland. His wagons had no food in them. His soldiers were clothed in rags. Thousands of them had no shoes. But the Maryland men in his army forgot all their troubles when they once more entered their beloved State. Tears came into their eyes. They tossed up their hats. They A PIECE OF CONFEDERATE PAPER MONEY kissed the ground. Then all at once the bands began to play '' Maryland; My Maryland." The soldiers sang until the air rang with it. The army marched on to Frederick. Everyone was excited. The soldiers were orderly and well behaved. All the food and clothing and supplies that he took Gen- eral Lee paid for — in Confederate paper money. Of 208 NORTH AND SOUTH course, after the war this money was worthless. But the people in Western Maryland were, for the most part, for the Union and against slavery. So General Lee did not succeed in getting many supplies. In the meantime the Union army was marching to meet the Confederates. They met and fought at South Mountain and at Antietam. The C onf e derate army was de- feated and the first invasion of Maryland ended with Lee's re- treat into Vir- ginia. The battle of Antietam (Sep- tember 17,1862,) was one of the severest of the war. One hun- dred and fifty thousand men were engaged in it on both sides, and the loss was more than twenty-five thousand. A visitor to the field soon after the battle says, ''We reached a wood, every tree pierced with shot or cut with bullets, and came to the little brick Bunker church on the turnpike. ... A hundred round shot have pierced its DUNKER CHURCH NEAR ANTIETAM 209 MARYLAND walls, while bullets by thousands have scarred and bat- tered it." And a little beyond, in ''a narrow country lane ... in the length of five hundred feet, I counted more than two hundred of their [Confederate] dead." A number of Maryland regiments were engaged in this battle. In one regiment of the Union army there had been seven hundred and seventy-nine men. But after the Maryland campaign only two hundred and fifty of them were left. Twice again was Maryland invaded by the Confeder- ates, once, under General Lee, in 1863, in the campaign which ended with the battle of Gettysburg, and again by General Early in 1864. General Early's cavalry took possession of Hagerstown. Their commander. General John McCausland, said to the people of the town, ^'I will give you three hours within which to pay me twenty thousand dollars. Be- sides, you must send me ^1500 suits of clothes, 1500 hats, 1500 pairs of shoes, 1500 shirts, 1900 pairs of drawers, and 1500 pairs of socks. If you do not send me these things within four hours I will burn your town." The people of Hagerstown did their best to collect the clothing. But they could get only a few hundred of each article although General McCausland gave them two hours extra time. But they paid the twenty thousand dollars, and so General McCausland did not burn their homes. He made Frederick also pay a ransom of two hundred thousand dollars. 210 NORTH AND SOUTH Bodies of Confederate cavalry rode in every direction. They burned bridges, cut telegraph wires, captured rail- road trains, and carried off horses. One small party, under Colonel Harry Gilmor of Baltimore, came within five miles of that city, and burned the country house of Gov- ernor Bradford. This com- pany visited also Towson, Reisterstown, Mount Wash- ington and other places, but did little damage. Colonel Gilmor served with distinction throughout the war, and saw much service as a scout. Here is one of his adventures as he tells the story himself. Colonel Gilmor with Lieu- tenants Swindler, McAleese, Hurst and Marshall, took out a small squad ^'to look up the enemy." He soon discovered so large a body of their cavalry that he sent his squad back, in command of Lieutenant Hurst. Colonel Gilmor, with his three other lieutenants and a '' young man named Mountjoy Cloud, who acted as orderly, proceeded to worry the [enemy's] pickets, . . . relying on the ^^^^^H |p "^ 'IShI^^^^h ^^^^^Bsi-— ^""^^^feizi'^^^^^^B ■p^^^'^H B9L- ■* ^^^J^B^^^B kh HARRY GILMOR 211 MARYLAND fleetness of our horses to get us out of the way, if necessary. " McAleese and Swindler crept upon the pickets on the left, and Swindler killed one of them. This roused the enemy, and they made a dash, cutting off Swindler and McAleese from joining us. Swindler jumped a fence and escaped into the mountains. McAleese was following him, when his horse was killed, but he too escaped into the woods, and reached camp next day. In the me n- time, we were galloping along ahead of their squadron, stopping occasionally to get a shot as they would charge us around a turn in the road or over the crest of a hill. '^ And now for our escape, owing to the cool, deliberate courage of Cloud. He was dressed in dark clothes and wore [a hat with] a black feather in it, with the initials of the Sixth Ohio Cavalry and crossed sabres on the front, making Cloud look, at a short distance, not unlike a Federal. I had sent him with a message to Lieutenant Hurst to station his men at the ford. " Between us and the ford were heavy woods, and when Cloud rode into them he saw a sentinel, with drawn sabre, sitting quietly on his horse. Cloud merely nodded to him as he rode by, the other returning his salute. Riding on a little farther, he came upon a whole company drawn up in single rank, with carbines resting on their hips, ready to fire on anything coming along the road. Cloud still rode on, coolly looking on them. 212 NORTH AND SOUTH '^ He had scarcely passed them in safety before he dis- covered another company, drawn up as if ready for a start. These also he passed in the same cool, deliberate manner . . . and could now have safely run for the ford. But, instead of saving himself and leaving us to be taken prisoners, he leisurely turned about and rode by them again, making dumb signs, as much as to say, 'All right, boys; we'll have these Rebels yet.' /'As soon as he got clear of them he lost no time in gidng us warning. There we stood in the road, with a force on each side of us, almost within rifle shot. Nothing w^as left then but to take the river which we reached by going across the fields; nor did we look for a ford, but plunged in, and all got safely over, with no other incon- venience than a good ducking." In reading of war we are too apt to think only of the glory of its victories and of its romantic adventures. But we should remember that war is the killing of men. In the battle of Antietam, as we have seen, one-sixth of the soldiers engaged were slain. The soldiers are not to blame, they are sent to the war to fight. But if people thought more of the horrors of war, of its bloodshed and cruelty, they would realize that the great nation is not the one which has a large army and a large navy and which is always eager for war. The truly great nations are those which by peaceful industry, by the quiet achievements of the arts and sciences, do most to elevate mankind, to make mankind nobler, better and happier, and less like the brute beasts. 213 XIX POE AND BOOTH IN our stories we have read about some of Maryland's famous statesmen, judges and lawyers. We have learned about the merchants who made her rich and prosperous. And we have read about some of the soldiers and sailors who did honor to their State. We shall now hear about two men whose life work was altogether different. The most famous of American actors and one of the greatest of American poets were Marylanders. Their lives teach us different lessons. Both were men of genius and, therefore, to be admired. But Edwin Booth can also be loved for the charity and unselfishness of his nature. He should be esteemed for his fortitude in suffer- ing, and for his steadfastness to a noble ideal. Edgar Poe is most to be pitied. He was proud and sensitive, a bitter critic of the writings of others, but quickly angered at criticism of his own. He was envious, cynical and morbid. His most redeeming characteristic was his great love for his wife and his reverence for all women. Edwin Booth, the man, will be held in loving remembrance long after the actor is forgotten. Edgar Poe, the man, will be forgiven and forgotten in the remembrance of " the singular and exquisite genius." 214 POE AND BOOTH Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809; but he belonged to a Maryland family, honorable, and of long standing. The poet's grandfather, General David Poe, served with distinction in the Revolution and was a friend of Lafayette. His eldest son, also named David, was Edgar Allan Poe's father. The poet's mother was Elizabeth Arnold, an English actress. David Poe gave up the study of law and went on the stage with his wife. It was during one of their theatrical tours that Ed- gar Allan Poe was born. He had a brother and a sister, children of the same mother, a mother whose memory Edgar loved passionately. She did not live long enough for her children to learn to love herself. She died at Richmond, Virginia, when Edgar was about three years old. The poet's father had died not long before at Norfolk. They were in great distress at the time. It is said, they were without money, food, fuel and clothing. The two little children, Edgar and Rose, were almost ELIZABETH ARNOLD From a miniature in the possession of J. H. Ingram 215 MARYLAND starved. The eldest child, William Henry Leonard, was with his grandfather in Baltimore. The beautiful httle boy Edgar was adopted by John Allan, a merchant of Richmond, and in that city he pass- ed his childhood. His life was comfortable but simple. Mr. Allan was not a wealthy man until Poe reached the age of sixteen. Edgar was taken to England by Mr. Allan, and lived there for about five years near London. He went to school and learned English, Latin, French and Mathematics. The boy was 'Wery beautiful, yet brave and manly, . . . [and] a leader among his playmates." But he was spoiled and wayward, and retiring in disposition. At the age of seventeen, Poe entered the Universit}^ of Virginia. Even then he wrote strange, wild stories which he would read aloud to a few friends gathered together in his room. He was regular in his attendance and a suc- cessful student, but, like many others of the students, he gambled. The result was that he wasted his money and made debts amounting to thousands of dollars. He left the University after about ten months. It is believed that after this Poe returned to Richmond and entered the counting house of Mr. Allan. But he had a bitter quarrel with Mr. Allan on account of his gaming debts at the University. He left Mr. Allan's house and for some years we know nothing of his life. But we do know that in 1827 there was published at Boston a little volume called ^'Tamerlane and other Poems. By ^i6 Jen iA>-j J tcrUiMCj J tcUir/i^ J Jluit OAJL laACiiMjA.'cd. Ca/LCcaU cLU^tcuibicL ^crrn. }Aju>l >rcnM -^oMl Skcrui^ ; ^ cAyid, tkuA fU/vLCj d' l6 c^^ ^^ '> — Jn. OL ^ott of c/li'i/yuc ^wm^/ FACSIMILE OF MSS. OF "THE BELLS" MARYLAND a Bostonian/' which was the work of Poe. Only forty of these volumes were printed, and a copy has since been sold for twenty-five hundred dollars. The poems in the volume, Poe said in the preface, were written when he was only about fourteen years of age. In this same year Poe enlisted in the United States Army under the name of ''Edgar A. Perry." His record was good but after about two years' service he was honor- ably discharged. He went to Baltimore and brought out under his own name, a volume of poems* called '' Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems." In the next year Poe was appointed to a cadetship in the MiUtary Academy at West Point. He stood high in his studies, but neglected his military duties. He was wild and disorderly and was often punished. His con- duct was so bad that he was court-martialed and dismissed from the Academy in about six months. There is much uncertainty as to how and where Poe spent the next two and a half years. He may have gone to Europe, he may have lived with an aunt, Mrs. Clemm, in Baltimore. But in 1833 he reappears, made famous by the winning of a prize of one hundred dollars offered by a weekly paper, called the Baltimore Visiter. The story which won the prize was his ''MS. Found in a Bottle." The committee which awarded the prize was composed of three well known Baltimoreans, John P. Kennedy, J. H. B. Latrobe and James H. Miller. *A copy of this volume can be seen in the Peabody Library, Baltimore. 2l8 POE AND BOOTH A day or two after the story was published Poe called on Mr. Latrobe, a stranger to him, to thank him. Mr. Latrobe says, ''He was . . . below the middle size. . . . His figure was remarkably good, and he carried himself erect and well. . . . He was dressed in black, and his frock coat was buttoned to the throat. . . . Coat, hat, boots. and gloves had very evi- dently seen their best days, but so far as mend- ing and brushing go, everything had been done to make them presentable. . . . His manner was easy and quiet. . . . The ex- pression of his face was grave, almost sad, except when he was engaged in conversation, when it became animated a n d changeable." Poe lived with Mrs. Clemm at the time and was earning a little by his writing, but he was wre^ "hedly poor. He seems to have expected that his adopted lather, Mr. Allan, would leave him some- thing, if but little, on his death. But when this took place, in 1834, Poe's name was not even mentioned in the EDGAR ALLAN POE 219 MARYLAND will. He had offended Mr. Allan seriously, and has been accused of leading an evil and dissolute life. It is even said that he forged Mr. Allan's name. But these evil reports of his life were spread by his enemies. At about this time Poe married his cousin, Virginia poe's cottage at fordham From an Old Engraving Clemm, a beautiful girl about thirteen years younger than himself. They removed to Richmond, where Poe became the literary editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. His affairs improved and he published many stories, essays and reviews. But he became des- 220 POE AND BOOTH pondent, and complained of ill health. In fact, the habit of drinking began to grow on him, as well as the evil habit of borrowing money. He was befriended at this time in many ways by John P. Kennedy, whose recom- mendation had gotten him the position in Richmond. After twelve months Poe left Richmond and lived in New York and Philadelphia with his wife and her mother. Their home life was charming, and broken only by his occasional fits of intoxi- cation. Poe laved his wife dearly, and no mat- ter what his condition might be she received from him only loving treatment. Poe met with success in literary and social life. But the number of his enemies increased and he did much to add to the number. He lived for some time at Fordham, a suburb of New York, in a cottage ''half buried in fruit trees," in the midst of birds and flowers, but still in deep poverty. His wife had been an invalid for years, and here at THE POE MONUMENT BALTIMORE 221 MARYLAND Fordham she died. It was in midwinter^ but they were so poor that Poe could not even get bed clothes to cover his dying wife. She lay in her bed holding a large pet cat in her bosom to keep warm. But some friends came to them and relieved their wants. Shortly after his wife's death Poe met Mrs. Sarah Helen AVhitman, to whom he became betrothed. But on the eve of marriage her friends broke off the engage- ment. Poe had lost all control of himself. He seemed almost mad. He says: ^'I am full of dark forebodings. . . . My life seems wasted." But he grew better and went to Richmond where he renewed old acquaintances pleasantly for a time. He then started on his return to New York on business. He reached Baltimore, and there the end came. He was found, drunk or deranged, lying in the streets. He was taken to the hospital, where he died of brain fever on October 7, 1849. Edwin Thomas Booth was born near Bel Air in Harford County, on November 13, 1833. His father, Junius Brutus Booth was an actor of great genius. He is com- monly known as ^Hhe elder Booth." He was born in London, but emigrated to America and bought the farm in Harford County where Edwin was born. The boy Edwin received but little education. And his education was often interrupted, because he used to be his father's companion on his acting tours. But his father had a small library of good books and these books the boy read. 222 POE AND BOOTH His father wished Edwin to be a cabinet maker and seklom spoke to him of the theatre. He was not even allowed to see any plays. But while waiting in his father's dressing room he used to hear the actors speaking their lines. In this way, he says, ''at an early age my memory became stored with the words of all the parts of every play in which my father performed." ^ ^i» ^. /^ ' m wi f 1 ^ 1 ifii 1 :1 } . .i 1 ^ Hfti^ EDWIN booth's birthplace AS IT NOW STANDS, NEAR CHURCHVILLE, HARFORD COUNTY Edwin Booth's first appearance on the stage was in 1849 at the Boston Museum, in the character of Tressel in Shakespeare's play of Richard III. His taking any part was accidental, and done to relieve an overworked mem- ber of the company. Before the time came for his entry 223 MARYLAND he was called to the dressing room of his father, already dressed for the part of Richard III. His father said to him, ^'Who wasTressel?" '^A messenger from the field of Tewkesbury." "What was his mission?" ''To bear the news of the defeat of the king's party." ''How did he make the journey?" "On horseback." "Where are your spurs?" Edwin glanced quickly down and said he had not thought of them. At his father's bidding he took off his father's spurs, fastened them to his own boots and went on for his part. Booth's second appearance was in the court house at Bel Air, during the following summer. He and J. S. Clarke gave selections from several of Shakespeare's plays and even sang a number of negro melodies to the accom- paniment of banjo and bones! It was in 1851, however, at the National Theatre in New York, that he won his first great success. Edwin Booth gives the following account of the incident: '^One evening, just as he [the elder Booth] should have started for the theatre to prepare for his preformance of Richard III., he feigned illness; nor would he leave the bed where he had been napping, .... but told me to go and act Richard for him. This amazed me, .... but he could not be coaxed to waver from his 224 POE AND BOOTH determination not to act that night, and as it was time for the manager to be notified, there was no course to pursue but to go to the theatre to announce the fact." When he arrived at the theatre the manager said, '' We 1^ ^ Bil 1.1' «W,l«iP - /a /A M i^AM^m W^- m^mml ^fli^BHV^ ^ .^^HH 1 BOSTON MUSEUM WHERE BOOTH MADE HIS FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE STAGE must close the house — unless you will act the part." Edwin Booth did act the part and was greeted with applause, being at first mistaken for his father. But the applause came to his own acting as the play went on. 225 MARYLAND From this time on he worked his own way upward on the stage without help or advice from his father. He acted in Cahfornia and other parts of the new West, and made a trip to Austraha. Four years later he returned and acted in Baltimore and other southern cities. From there he went to Boston and New York, winning success as he went. At about this time he mar- ried Mary Devlin, whom he dearly loved, but in a little over two years she died, and Booth never ceased to mourn for her. Pie was steadfast in his love and in his friendship. Clara Morris sa3'^s of him, '^ My gods were few, . . . . and on the highest, whitest pedestal of all, grave and gentle, stood . . . Edwin Booth. . . . He had a wonderful power to win love from other men It was not mere good-fellowship or even affection, but there was something so fine and true, so strong and sweet in his nature, that it won the love of those who knew him best." A dreadful blow fell upon him when his brother, John Wilkes Booth, assassinated Lincoln. He left the stage and thought he should never act again. But he did return 226 EDWIN BOOTH POE AND BOOTH and was welcomed back with loving enthusiasm. In 1867 he was presented with a gold medal in honor of one hundred consecutive performances of Hamlet by him in New York, and also in recognition of ''his life-long efforts to raise the standard of the drama." Booth acted in America, in England, and in Germany. Of his triumphal recep- tion in Germany he wrote, " The audience . . . . formed a passage from the lobby to my carriage till I was in and off; yet I was nearly an hour in the theatre after the play." In 1889 Edwin Booth had a stroke of paralysis, but he continued to act after his recovery until 1891. Then he quietly retired from the stage. He settled himself in his rooms at the Players' Club in New York. His health suffered from the exces- BOOTH AS HAMLET 227 MARYLAND sive use of tobacco, not from drink as is sometimes said. But to the end he was cheerful and took pleasure in his friends and his family. He died at the Players' Club on June 7, 1893, and was buried at Mount Auburn cemetery, near Boston, by the side of his first wife. We have come to the end of our stories. We have read about the lives of some great and noble men. We have heard about the brave deeds of others. If we cannot be as brave as these let us, at least, be as willing in our service. If we cannot be as great as the others let us, at least, be as earnest in our efforts. One thing we can all do. We can promise to take up the work where our fathers leave it off and do all that in us lies for the honor and welfare of Maryland. i FIRST LOCOMOTIVE, BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD 228 H82 89 War' ^ •*' -^^f ^'*^ ':^&' '^°^ -^i^." -:i *0.-'.^.*A* %*^^*6** \.'^*