189 fi6 T5 opy 2 NAPOLIS HISTORY OF YE ANCIENT CITY I AND ITS PUBLIC BUILDINGS I i PHILLIPS LEE GOLDSBOROUGH, - Governor I ROBERT P. GRAHAM, - - Secretary of State ' ANNAPOLIS I ^ I HISTORY OF YE ANCIENT | CITY AND ITS PUBLIC j BUILDINGS PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNOR Compiled by - HON. OSWALD TILGHMAN t I i». ■■■ ■■■ i». ■■■4.I1 ■ ■! ■■■ ■»■ ■»■ a Three t5,v transfer The White House ANNAPOLIS. History of Ye Ancient City AND ITS Public Buildings. The famous Toleration Act, known as the Act concerning Religion, passed by the General Assembly of the Province of Mar3dand at Saint Mary's in 1649, "the proudest memorial of Maryland's Colon- ial history," attracted to the shores of the Severn river its earliest white set- tlers. It was in this year that ten fami- lies of Puritans from Mans'emond coun- ty, Virginia, headed by Richard Bennett and Edward Lloyd, having been pre- sented by the Sheriff of that county for seditions sectuaries, for not repairing to their church and for refusing to hear common prayer, sought religious tolera- tion in Mar3dand. They sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and established them- selves on the peninsula where Annapolis now stands. They called their settle- ment Providence, and, in the following 3^ear, 1650, sent delegates to the Assem- bly at St. Mary's, which passed an Act ''erecting Providence into a county by the name of Ann Arundel, in honor of Lady Baltimore, the wife of Cecilius Calvert, with Edward Lloyd as com- mander. The success of the Cromwel- lian rebellion in England, about this time, caused the Maryland Puritans to yield obedience to Cromwell, and re- nounce allegiance to Lord Baltimore. The struggles between Puritan and Cav- alier, then being waged in England, was now to have its counterpart in Mary- land, culminating in the BATTLE OF THE SEVERN. On Sunday, March 25th, 1655, Lord Baltimore's Governor, William Stone, with an army of 150 men from St. Mary's, was defeated and captured by the Puritans, under the command of Captain William Fuller at Horn Point, now Eastport, just below Annapolis. Several of Stone's officers were executed and for a time the Puritans were in con- trol of the Colony. Three years later, however, Lord Baltimore regained con- S i.^ trol of the Government of the Province, and the Puritans quietly acknowledged his authority. ANNAPOLIS IN EARLY COLONIAL DAYS. In 1694 the capital was removed from St. Mary's to Ann Arundel Town, which by Act of 1695, Chapter 7, was given the jiame of Annapolis. A few years after Annapolis became the Capital, a writer describing this town, says : ' ' Colonel Nicholson has done his endeavors to make a town of that place. There are about forty dwelling houses in it, seven or eight of which can afford a good lodg- ing and accommodations for strangers. There are also a State House, and a free school, built of brick, which makes a great show among a parcel of wooden houses, and the foundation of a church is laid, the only brick church in Mary- land.'' This church stood upon the site of the present Saint Anne's Church. The free school was King Williams' school, built during tlie reign of William and Mary, and completed in 1701, St. John's College was tiie outgrowth of this school. In 1708, Annapolis was granted a charter as a City, by Queen Anne, on her accession to the throne of England, and for whom the town had previously been named when she was Princess Anne. Between this period and the revolution Annapolis became the centre of refined and attractive society, noted for its gaiety and intelligence, which gained for it the title of ''The Athens of America. ' ' ANNAPOLIS DURING THE REVOLUTION. William Eddis, a noted Maryland Tory during the Revolution, in a letter to Governor Robert Eden, then in Eng- land, written from New York July 23rd, 1777, gives an interesting description of the defences of Annapolis at that date. Eddis says, ''The temper of the leading men in Maryland still continues to be guided by a spirit of rancour and vio- lence ; they appear confident of succeed- ing in their favorite scheme of Inde- pendence, but if conclusions may be drawn from favorable appearances, the majority of the people are disgusted E i If h t with the conduct of their Rulers and ardently wish for a restoration of legal government. ''Annapolis has assumed a very differ- ent appearance since your Excellency left it. They have formed a battery from Mr. Walter Dulany 's lot round the water's edge to the Granary adjoining your Garden ; the cannon are mostly 18- pounders, the works appear strong, and I am told are so. From your wharf to the hill where Callihorne lived they have thrown up a covered way to communi- cate with that part of the town adjacent to the dock. They have another fortifi- cation on Hill 's Point and a third on Mr. Kerr's land, on the North side of the Severn, on a high cliff called Beaumont's Point. Three companies of artillery are stationed at the respective forts, and in spite of experience, they talk confidently of making vigorous resistance in case of an attack." Governor Eden's house stood in the present grounds of the U. S. Naval Academy, a little above where the new Armory building stands. Nine THE STATE HOUSE. The present State House is the third one that has stood upon the same site. The foundation of the first State House was laid April 30, 1696, shortly after the removal of the Capital from St. Mary's to Annapolis. In June, 1697, as is shown by Chapter 6, of the Acts of that year, this building was so well advanced as to be set apart for public use. The officers in charge were Francis Nicholson, Gov- ernor; Hon. Sir Thomas Lawrence, bar- onet, Secretary ; Hon. Kenelm Chesel- dyne, Commissary General. Struck by lightning in 1699, and entirely consumed by fire in 1704, the first State House had but a brief existence. This gave Gover- nor Seymour occasion to say, ''I never saw a public building left entirely to Providence but in Maryland." The sec- ond State House was finished in 1706. It was an oblong square, entered by a hall, a cupola surmounting it. It was used for sixty-six years, when replaced by the present one in 1772. On the north side of it stood an Armory, which was also the ball room. This Armory appears in the small halftone picture of the present State House, here reproduced, from the frontispiece of Ridgely's Annals of An- napolis, 1840, as it appeared in the year 1789. David Ridgely, in his "Annals of An- napolis," published in 1841, in his de- scription of the State House, says: "The hill on which stands this noble edifice is enclosed by a neat and substantial gran- ite wall, surmounted by a handsome iron railing, which is entered by three gates, one situated at the head of Francis street and in front of the building, the second to the southwest and the third to the northeast of the circle." These gates were securely locked at night and a cou- ple of fierce watch dogs were turned loose inside. In 1769, the General Assembly appro- priated the sum of 7,500 pounds sterling to be applied to the building of the third and present State House, and appointed tlie following Building Committee : Dan- iel Dulany, Thomas Johnson, John Hall, William Paca, Charles Carroll, barrister, Lancelot Jacques and Charles Wallace. I Eleven Twelve The foundation stone of this edifice was laid on the 28th day of March, 1772, by the last colonial Governor, Robert Eden. On his striking the stone with a mallet, as was the custom, tradition informs us there was a severe clap of thunder from a clear sky. It was thought to have been an omen of the impending Revolution. This omen was realized, for two years later, when this building was ready for occupancy, it was a revolutionary body that first assembled within its walls. They styled themselves the ''Association of Freemen." Ninety-one deputies from all the counties, upon the calling of the roll, on May 31st, 1774, answered to their names and organized a Convention, with Matthew Tilghman, of Talbot coun- ty — ' ' The Patriarch of the Colony ' ' — presiding. It was a most distinguished body of the colonial gentry of all Mary- land, who evinced their patriotism by passing a series of resolutions denying the right of the British Parliament to tax their American colonies without rep- resentation, demanding the repeal of the duty laid on tea, and offering assistance Thirteen Fourteen to the then blockaded port of Boston. They addressed a letter to the Virginia Committee of Correspondence proposing a Congress of delegates from all the 13 colonies. This Congress met in Phila- delphia on September 5th, 1774, at Car- penter's Hall, and Maryland was the first of the colonies to elect delegates to it. The Continental Congress met again on May 10th, 1775, and on June 15th, 1775, Colonel George Washington, of Virginia, was nominated by a Maryland deputy, Thomas Johnson, Jr., Comman- der-in-Chief of tlie Continental Forces. A copy of the resolutions promulgated by the Association of Freemen of Mary- land, with the autograph signatnres of the signers appended thereto, hangs upon the wall of the Old Senate Chamber. Fifteen Sixteen THE DOME OF THE STATE HOUSE. The interior workmanship on the dome was not completed until 1793. Thomas Dance, Avho executed the fresco and stucco work on the interior of the dome, fell from the scaffold just as he had fin- ished the centre piece and was killed. This old building is greatly admired for its architectural proportions, its com- manding site and lofty dome, but its chief attractions are its historic associa- tions, both local and national. Here, on December 23rd, 1783, General Washing- ton surrendered his commission as Com- mander-in-Chief of the American Armies to the Continental Congress then in ses- sion in the old Senate Chamber, and lik(^ the Roman General Cincinnatus, retired to the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, but only to be recalled as the first Presi- dent of the Republic. In this chamber, in 1784, the treaty of peace with Great Britain was ratified and signed and seal- ed in the presence of Congress. Here, 6' f vent c c n Eighteen too, in 1786, a commercial convention of six States met to consider their inter- state trade relations. This led to the Convention of 1787, in Philadelphia, Avhich framed the Constitution of the United States. Nineteen HISTORIC OLD SENATE CHAMBER MUTILATED IN 1878 — RE- STORED IN 1896. Maryland and Massachusetts are the only ones of the 13 original States which can still boast of their original colonial capitols; but from time to time, to sup- ply the public needs, additions have been made to both these historic build- ings, which are entirely out of harmony with the originals. In 1878, the Legis- lature of Maryland attempted to mod- ernize the whole interior of this ancient State House, the old Senate Chamber, hallowed by so many sacred memories and historic associations, was mutilated beyond recognition, the attractive gal- lery and lobby beneath it were torn out, the big cliimney with its immense fire place was taken out, the niche behind the chair of the President of the Senate was concealed behind heavy curtains, the recess seats in the windows removed, and the window sashes, with small panes T 10 V n t y of glass, were replaced by sashes with big panes like shop windows, a desecra- tion that was beyond explanation. During the administration of Gover- nor Edwin Warfieid in 1906, a commis- sion appointed by him for the purpose, restored this old Senate Chamber to its original appearance in the minutest de- tail, so that it has become ever since a mecca for patriotic societies and pious pilgrims, who reverence this spot made sacred by its association with the immor- tal AVashinorton. T w c II t y - O n c THE OLD TREASURY BUILDING. Within tlie circle enclosing the State House stands a quaint old colonial one- story brick building of modest propor- tions, which invariably attracts the at- tention of the visitor. It is venerable as well as memorable, and is supposed to be the oldest building in Annapolis. The ancient tulip poplar tree standing on the campus of St. John's College is the only living witness of its building, more than two centuries ago. It is built in the shape of a Greek cross. The massive lock and key and the heavy handmade iron hinges on the original entrance door are objects of especial interest to all visitors. It was originally designed for the accommoda- tion of the provincial Governor and his Council, as a Council Chamber for the Upper House of the Provincial Legisla- ture ; the Lower House, or House of Bur- gesses, at that time, holding their meet- ings in the State House. It was at one time used as the Provincial Court Room. It was also the Colonial Treasury, and T IV c n t y - T IV for many years the office of the State Treasurer. It is now the office of the State Superintendent of Public Educa- tion. ANNAPOLIS BUILT THE FIRST THEATRE IN AMERICA. Dunlop, in his history of the Ameri- can Theatre, says : ' ' Annapolis has the honor of having erected the first theatre, the first temple to the dramatic Muse. Of this fact there can be no doubt, for as earl}^ as 1752 a theatre was built here in which were performed some of Shake- speare 's best plays." Twenty- Three DE KALB MONUMENT. There stands upon Capitol Hill, on the southeast side of the historic old State House in the ancient city of An- napolis, a beautiful bronze statue, of heroic size, of a Brigadier in the armies of France and a Major General in the American Army of the Revolution, the Baron de Kalb, who fell mortally wound- ed in the Battle of Camden, South Caro- lina, on the 16th of August, 1780, Avhile leading the remnant of the Maryland line and a few Delaware troops against a superior force commanded by Lord Cornwallis. The General is shown as stepping forward, leading a charge on foot, with his sword waved aloft, while tlie head is turned in the direction of the confused Continentals, in the act of an impassioned call to rally to his support. The moment chosen is a historically great one, and the sculptor has rendered it well. The statute is the work of Ephraim Keyser, a young Maryland art- ist, and was erected by the United States Government, in accordance with a reso- lution of Congress passed in 1780, a few T to c n t y - F u r days after de Kalb's death, August 16, 1886, one hundred and five years later, this statute was unveiled. BURNING OF THE BRIG PEGGY STEWART. Tile tlirowing overboard of a lot of tea in Boston harbor by a band of masked men has been heralded in every History of the United States as one of the most heroic acts that led up to the American Revolution, but it fades into insignifi- canee when compared with the burning of the Peggy Stewart on Oct. 19, 1774, in tlie liarbor of Annapolis, the first overt act of the Maryland Colonists against the King. This vessel had arrived in Annapolis a few days prior to this event from Lo7idon, having on board an assort- ed cargo of merchandise, among which were seventeen packages of tea, some- thing over a ton in weight, the odious duty upon which had been paid by her owner, Mr. Stewart. A band of liberty- loving patriots from the western section of Anne Arundel county, later known as the Hills of Howard, headed by Dr. (Miarles Alexander AVarfield, hearing of the arrival of this Brig, with tea on board, rode on horseback to Annapolis with the avowed purpose of burning this vessel and cargo. These brave men, in- stead of wearing masks, each wore a printed label on his hat band bearing the motto, ''Liberty and Independence or Death in Pursuit of it." Major War- field at the head of his troopers, in broad daylight, waited on Mr. Anthony Stew- art and addressing him said, "We have come to offer you the choice of two pro- positions, you must either go with us and fire your own vessel, or hang by the hal- ter at your own door. Stewart was at first bold and defiant. By way of intimi- dation a gallows was erected, when, be- lieving they were about to carry their threats into execution, Stewart took a burning chunk of wood from his open fire place in his house and with his own hand set fire to his ship and watched its total destruction, together with its entire cargo. Exactly seven years there- after, to a day, American Independence was assured by the surrender of the army of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Tivcnty-Six MARYLAND STATE FLAG. The flag of the State bears the es- cutcheon of the great seal — the Calvert and Crossland arms quartered. The de- vice seems to have been adopted by com- mon consent, as there was no formal adoption of any design as the official flag of the State until 1904. To Mr. James W. Thomas, of Cumberland, Md., the author of ' ' Chronicles of Colonial Mary- land, ' ' is due the credit of the passage of the Act of 1904. Chapter 48, 'Ho formal- ly adopt and legalize the Maryland flag." That the Colony had a distinct flag or standard we know. The first recorded instance of the use of a Maryland flag occurs in Leonard Calvert's report of the reduction of Kent Island (February, 1638), in which he says that he and his force marched with Baltimore's banner displayed. At the Battle of the Severn, in 1655, where the supporters of the pro- prietary government, under William Stone, the Governor, were defeated by the Puritan party under Captain Will- iam Fuller, Stone's forces marched un- Tivcnty-Scvcn der the flag of Maryland, borne by Will- iam Nugent, ' SStandard-bearer of the Province," while Fuller's party display- ed the Flag of the Commonwealth, charged with the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. It is also said that a Maryland flag was carried by the Mary- landers who accompanied Braddock's expedition against Fort DuQuesne (Pittsburgh), in 1755. The Maryland Flag, like the great seal, was evidently designed and adopt- ed by Cecil ins, Lord Baltimore, and sent out by him with the Colony, as it was unfurled and officially used a few days after taking formal possession of the Province, when Governor Calvert, to more forcibly impress the natives, order- ed the ''Colors to be brought on shore" and a military parade. While there does not seem to be any distinct record of the design of the colonial flag of Maryland, it is believed to have been the same as the one now in use. Maryland is also as unique in her State flag as she is in lier Great Seal, in that it, too, is strictly of ]i era! die design, and is an exact repro- T w V n t y - E i (j h t duction of the shield or escutcheon upon the reverse of the Great Seal of the Pro- vince. Apart from its historic interest, the Maryland Flag, as may be seen from the accompanying illustration, possesses marked symmetry and beauty. The parallel and diagonal lines of the Cal- vert quarterings being in singular har- mony with the crosses and transposed colors of tliose of the Crossland arms. The combination, too, of the colors of the former — gold and black — while in brilliant contrast with those of the latter quarterings — silver and red — are both effective and pleasing. Silver being a white metal, the white color is substi- tuted for silver in Maryland flags made of bunting or silk, and is so provided for in the Act of 1904, Chapter 48. When painted on panels or printed in colors, however, the rich heraldic colors, gold and black, silver and gules (blood red), should be adhered to. This flag appear- ed for the first time printed in the four purely heraldic colors in the Maryland Manual of 1906, edited by Oswald Tilgh- iiuiii. Secretary of State. T IV c n t y - N i n c THE GREAT SEAL OF MARYLAND. The Great Seal and Flag of Maryland are so intimately connected the one with the other that their history is insepar- able. The flag of the State bears the escutcheon of the Great Seal — the Cal- vert and Crossland arms quartered. Maryland is unique in her Great Seal, and presents a marked contrast with those of the other States of the Ameri- can Union, in that it consists of Ar- morial bearings of a strictly heraldic character, while the others bear '^ em- blems indicative of agriculture and com- merce, plenty and prosperity, or kindred subjects represented in a more or less pictorial or allegorical manner." The first Great Seal brought over by Governor Leonard Calvert, in 1643, was ''Treacherously and violently taken away by Richard Ingle, or his accom- plices, in or about February A. D., 1644, and hath ever since been so disposed of it cannot be recovered." In 1648, Bal- timore sent to the Province, through Governor William Stone, a second Great Seal cut in silver. The escutcheon bore Thirty the Calvert and Crossland arms quar- tered. The first and fourth quarters consisted of ' ' six pales ' ' or vertical bars, alternately gold and black with a bend dexter counter charged — that is, a diagonal stripe on which colors are re- versed — being the Calvert arms; the second and third quarters consisted of a quartered field of red and silver charged with a Greek, or equal-limbed cross, classified as ' ' Bottony ' ' — its arms ter- minating in trefoils — and also counter- charged, that is, with the colorings re- versed, red being on the silver ground and silver on the red — the latter quar- terings being from the Crossland, Balti- more 's maternal arms — Alicia Cross- land having been the mother of the first Baron of Baltimore, George Calvert. These quarterings were surmounted by an earl's coronet and full-faced helmet, which indicated his rank in America as that of a Count Palatine — his rank in England being that of a Baron only — a distinction which no other American Colonial charter conferred. On tli(' hel- T h i r t y - n e met rested the Calvert crest, a ducal crown, with two half bannerets, one gold and one black. The escutcheon was supported on one side by the figure of a farmer, and the other by that of a fish- erman — symbols of each his two estates, Maryland and Avalon. Below them was a scroll bearing the Calvert motto : Patti maschii Parole Femine' man- ly deeds, womanl}^ words, or more strict- ly, deeds are males, words, females. Be- hind the escutclieons and coronets was engraved an ermined-lined mantle, and surrounding all, on a border encircling the seal, was the legend: ''Scuto Bouse Voluntatis tuse Coronasti Nos" — -with favor wilt thou compass us as with a shield. The heraldic terms used in de- scribing the colors in the Calvert arms are Or and Sable, meaning gold and black; Or has been so frequently misin- terpreted as an abbreviation of Orange, that orange and black have been errone- ously adopted as the colonial colors of Maryland by the leading institutions of learning in the State. This error has, furthermore, been perpetuated by the State itself, for the two circular car- toons, depicting in colors both sides of the Great Seal, which have hung on the walls of the State House for the past thirty-five years, and which Governor John Lee Carroll in his message to the Legislature of Januaiy 7, 1880, states, are the work of Robert Goodloe Harper Pennington, although artistically exe- cuted, has the Calvert colors on the escutcheon or shield, orange and black, instead of gold and black, and the Cross- land colors red and white, instead of red and silver. Thirty-Three THE OBVERSE OP THE GREAT SEAL. As displayed in the other circular car- toon, represents Baron Baltimore as a Knight in full armor, with drawn sword and helmet decorated with feathers. He is mounted on a richly caparisoned charger, in full gallop, adorned with his paternal coat of arms, below which are engraved a strip of seashore, grass and flowers; around the whole is an inscrip- tion containing his name and titles, ' ' Ce- cilius Absolutus Dominus Terr^e Marias et Avaloniae Baro de Baltemore." The Great Seal of the State, or Nation, stands as her symbol of honor, and the signet by which her official acts are au- thenticated and accredited. In colonial Maryland to every deed granting lands by the Proprietary, wlio held the fee therein, to the colonist settlers, was sus- pended by a piece of linen tape, a large wax seal, with the impression of both the obverse and the reverse of the Great Seal thereon. Upon the accession of William and Mary to the throne of England, Maryland became a Royal Province and the Church of England became the es- tablished church of the Province. Dur- ing the sway of the Royal Governors, from 1692 to 1715 other seals came into use, but upon the restoration to Lord Baltimore in 1716 of the Province, ^'The Greater Seal at Arms" was again used. The convention of 1776 adopted the Great Seal of the Province as the Great Seal of the State, until a new one could be devised. Later, notably in 1794, and in 1817, many changes were made in it, but in 1876 a joint resolution of the Llaryland Legislature was passed restor- ing the seal to the exact description given of it in Lord Baltimore's Commis- sion to Governor Stone on August 12, 1648. T hir t y - F iv e THE LAND OFFICE BUILDING. In 1858, in order to relieve the crowd- ed condition of the State House, and to provide a safe place for the archives of the State, a large two-story brick build- ing was erected at the foot of the State House circle directly opposite the west end of Maryland avenue for the Com- missioner of the Land Office, who is the custodian of the land records, the chan- cery and will records and other archives. In addition to the valuable papers pre- served in the Land Office, there are many maps and relics of colonial times of more than ordinary interest. This building was torn down in 1906. THE COURT OF APPEALS BUILDING. This liandsome fire proof building, coQipleted in 1906, stands on the west side of the Capitol. The rooms on the first floor are occupied by the offices of the Land Commissioner, the State Treas- urer, the State Tax Commissioner and the Commander of the State Fishery Force. The rooms on the second floor Thirty-Sidp by the Court of Appeals and the State Library. Over the landing of the mas- sive marble stairway in this building is a handsome stained glass w^indow, by Tif- fany & Co. of New York, depicting both the obverse and reverse of the Great Seal of Maryland under the proprietary gov- ernment of the Lords Baltimore. THE EXECUTIVE MANSION. The handsome home of the Governors of Maryland, with its ample grounds, is a credit to the State. The State having sold to the United States Government, in 1866, the old Executive Mansion that stood within the present Naval Acad- emy grounds, built this mansion during the administration of Governor Thomas Swann. It has cost the State about .^250.000. THE TANEY STATUE. Immediately in front of the entrance to the State House stands the bronze statue of Roger Brooke Taney (March 17, 1777 — October 12, 1864), Chief Justice of the United States from 1836 to 1864. This is the work of William Thirty-Seven Henry Rinehart, a Maryland sculptor, and was unveiled on March 17, 1874, the anniversary of Taney's birth. Of this work Severn Teackle Wallis, in his mag- nificent address, said : ' ' The artist has chosen to present us his illustrious sub- ject in his robes of office, as we saw him when he sat in judgment. The statue is heroic, but with that exception the traits of nature are not altered or disguised. The weight of years that bent that ven- erable form has not been lightened, and the lines of care, and suffering, and thought, are as life traced them. The figure has been treated by the artist in the spirit of that noble and absolute sim- plicity which is the type of the highest order of greatness, and is, therefore, its grandest, though its most difficult, ex- pression in art." OLD COLONIAL CANNON. On the northeast front of the old State House, mounted on a granite pedestal, is an old colonial iron cannon, being one of five guns which furnislied the armament of the Ark and the Dove, the two pin- naces which brought over from England T h i r t y - E i