A Parcel of Plundering Scoundrels: The Virginia Navy Part 3

By Frank N. Barker
Assistant Education Coordinator

The departure of Lord Dunmore and his fleet of “pirates and renegadoes” in the summer of 1776 reduced the direct threat to the plantations of the Chesapeake. The war was being fought mainly in the northern states and in the Carolinas.

For much of the war, the British war planners did not completely recognize the importance of the Chesapeake region to the American war effort. Besides providing ground troops, an estimated 400 Patriot privateers, authorized by the Continental Congress or by individual states, operated out of the region. These privateers mustered more power than the state navies or even the Continental Navy. They seized ships and prize cargoes of gunpowder, weapons, salt, and clothing that were critical to supplying Washington’s army. They helped maintain trade, even in the face of the Royal Navy and British and Tory privateers.

In the spring of 1777, Virginia decided to send vessels to trade directly with France, nearly a year before the Treaty of Alliance that would bring France into the American Revolution. The American Congress, just back from a profitable voyage from the West Indies, was loaded with 105 hogsheads of quality tobacco and a long list of military supplies to be purchased. She was accompanied by one of the many Virginia Navy vessels called Liberty. The pair returned to Virginia late in the fall laden with valuable supplies.

From ’77 through ’79, the Virginia Navy dwindled. It was difficult to find able-bodied seamen, especially since most able-bodied men were already serving with the Continental Army or the militia or were aboard privateers.

Guns, on a carriage, like this one would have been used both 
on ships and in forts during the American Revolution.

In May of 1779, Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander in North America, and Adm. Sir George Collier, the senior naval officer developed plans to blockade and invade Virginia to include, according to Collier, “cutting off the resources by which the enemy could continue war, these being principally drawn from Virginia, and principally tobacco.” He set sail from Sandy Hook, NJ, on his 64-gun flagship HMS Raisonable, accompanied by Rainbow (44 guns), Solebay (28), Otter (16), Diligent (8), Haarlem (14), Cornwallis (8), and 28 transports carrying 2500 troops. Faced with that much firepower, the few available ships of the Virginia Navy could only disperse and head for shallower water up the Elizabeth and James Rivers.

Adm. Collier recommended to Gen. Clinton that the shipyard at Gosport be spared and turned into a permanent British base as it “appears to be of more real consequence and advantage, than any other the Crown now possesses in America for by securing this, the whole trade of the Chesapeake is at an end, and consequently the sinews of the rebellion destroyed.”

He was ordered to torch it.

The British destroyed five ships under construction, including the frigate USS Virginia being built for the Continental Navy, and burned tons of wood and stores. In all, the British burned 130 vessels. Instead of securing the area for the British and cutting off the trade so necessary for the Americans, the fleet was ordered to depart.

In 1780 attempts were made to consolidate, rebuild, and re-man the ships of the Virginia Navy. There was little money and few men, and very little progress was made. By the end of the year, a large British fleet and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold with supporting infantry and cavalry aboard transports were off the Virginia coast, bound for the Tidewater area.

By February 1781, few ships of the Virginia fleet were still in service to oppose them. Arnold and parts of the British fleet pillaged and burned their way through the plantations and warehouses around the bay and up the James as far as Richmond, then pulled back into the Portsmouth area. Despite Arnold’s vulnerable position and reliance on the British Navy for supply from the sea, there was little the Virginia Navy could do as they were short of sailors, armament, and vessels.

After the indecisive Battle of Cape Henry between the British and French fleets in March, the French withdrew to Newport, Rhode Island, and the British were able to reinforce Arnold’s command.

Arnold’s force resumed their attacks on Virginia’s economic base and headed back towards Richmond where what was left of the Virginia fleet, five ships, eight brigs, two schooners, and five sloops and about 200 supporting militia stood in their way at Osborne’s Wharf on the James River. The British commander asked the Virginia commodore to surrender his fleet. He proposes to “defend it to the last extremity.”

After a few shots from well-placed British shore batteries, and a short engagement, the Virginia fleet was scuttled or set fire. The British captured the few vessels that were not destroyed.

Meanwhile, the frigate Actaeon and the sloop Savage were spending two weeks cruising unopposed up the Potomac, burning prominent homes along the way. Their ultimate targets were Mount Vernon and Alexandria.

Having burned the plantation house across the river from Mount Vernon, Captain Thomas Graves of the Savage then threatened to do the same to Gen. Washington’s home. During the raid, 17 of the slaves from Mount Vernon escaped to the British. Lund Washington, George Washington’s cousin and caretaker of Mount Vernon during the war, came aboard Savage to negotiate with the British to spare the plantation. Capt. Graves said he respected Gen. Washington’s character and would not destroy his home. Lund Washington returned ashore and immediately sent provisions of sheep and hogs to the British in gratitude.

This clip from the VA Gazette discusses
the desertion of a Fairfax resident from
the Virginia Navy.

The two ships never reached Alexandria as they ran aground near Mr. Digges’ wharf at Warburton Manor (at present day Fort Washington in Prince George’s County, MD).

George Washington, hearing of his cousin’s negotiations with the British via a letter from him, was incensed. He wrote to his cousin “It would have been a less painful circumstance to me, to have heard, that in consequence of your non-compliance with their request, they had burnt my House, and laid the Plantation in ruins….[T]o go on board their Vessels; carry them refreshments; commune with a parcel of plundering Scoundrels, and request a favor by asking the surrender of my Negroes, was exceedingly ill-judged, and 'tis to be feared, will be unhappy in its consequences, as it will be a precedent for others, and may become a subject of animadversion.”

Some measure of revenge came in September 1781 when the Savage was defeated and captured in a battle off South Carolina by the Congress, a privateer from Pennsylvania.

By the Battle of Yorktown, most of the remaining sailors of the Virginia Navy were helping support the Continental Army. The Virginia Navy had one vessel left—the armed boat Liberty. She would serve Virginia until 1787. She had served longer than any other vessel in any state navy or the Continental Navy, from 1775 until 1787.

Sources
"George Washington to Lund Washington, 30 April 1781," The Writings of George Washington, Vol. 22, 14.
Hirschfld, Fritz. "George Washington and Slavery." Google Books. University of Missouri Press, 1997. Web. 24 June 2014.
Linder, Bruce. Tidewater's Navy: An Illustrated History. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute, 2005. Print.
Park, Edwards. "Virginia's Very Own Navy." Colonial Williamsburg Journal. Colonial Williamsburg, Spring 2002. Web. 24 June 2014.
Stewart, Robert Armistead. The History of Virginia's Navy of the Revolution. Richmond: Mitchell & Hotchkiss, Printers, 1934. Print.
Tilp, Frederick. This Was Potomac River. Bladensburg, MD: Tilp, 1978. Print.

Beautiful Ladies of the Garden

Frank N. Barker
By Assistant Education Coordinator

Adjacent to the kitchen yard herb garden at Gunston Hall is a beautiful row of naked ladies. Their appearance is fleeting, but they will surely be here at least a week.

These fragrant blossoms are the flowers of the Amaryllis belladonna. Native to the Western Cape of South Africa, they were probably spread by slave traders and colonialists to other parts of the world. They came to America in the late 18th century, probably coming through Jamaica or the West Indies. It is unknown if George Mason actually had these in his garden, but Thomas Jefferson was sent belladonna lily bulbs by noted nurseryman Bernard M’Mahon in 1812. M’Mahon recommended they be planted in pots of good, rich mellow soil and be kept in the greenhouse.

In South Africa, the plant is known as the March Lily as it blooms in the Southern Hemisphere in March. Elsewhere, it is also known as the Surprise Lily, Resurrection Lily, and Magic Lily.

All these common names describes the plant’s habit of sending up foliage in the spring (around late March or early April here on Mason’s Neck) which dies back and withers away. Then in August, the plant sends up tall spikes which bloom quickly with large, lily-like flowers. They come up so quickly that one can almost watch them grow.

Our Resurrecting-Surprise-Magic-Naked Ladies are planted in a row near the herb garden except for a couple of plants that apparently grew feet and moved over to the herb garden. Right now, they are blooming in all their glory, and unlike much of the flora on the plantation, these plants are deer resistant. In fact, even though they are unrelated to Atropa Belladonna, also called Deadly Nightshade, all parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested.

So come visit Gunston Hall and our row of beautiful naked ladies. But just look and smell. Don’t snack on them.

Source
Loewer, H. Peter. "Jefferson's Garden." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Aug. 2014. 
"Naked Lady." Recent Changes RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Aug. 2014. http://daviswiki.org/naked_lady

Mason Family Beakers

By Lydia Blakemore
Intern

The silver beakers on the card table in the Palladian room likely never touched the lips of George Mason IV. The beakers have slightly tapered bodies made from rolled silver and applied molded bands at the top and bottom. Each of the four beakers bears a bright-cut engraved “M” on the face. However, the four pieces were not all made at the same time or even by the same silversmith. Two of the beakers (1982.78 and 2007.8) bear the mark “C.A. Burnett” on the bottom and a third (1982.14) is marked “C.A.B.” Both of these marks were used by Alexandria silversmith Charles Alexander Burnett throughout his career. Burnett worked in Alexandria from 1793-1796, and then Georgetown from 1796-1840. Burnett probably produced these beakers in his Georgetown shop in the early 19th century.

The first beaker (1982.78) was included in the exhibit “In the Neatest, Most Fashionable Manner: Three Centuries of Alexandria Silver” held at the Lyceum in 1994. This cup was presented to Anna Maria Mason, John Mason’s wife, as a prize for the best weaving from the Columbian Horticultural Society of Washington in 1811. She won again in 1812, when she may have received a second beaker. The two “C.A. Burnett” beakers have the same engraved “M” on their face. The second beaker (2007.8) was recently acquired by Gunston Hall from descendents of John Mason.

The fourth cup bears the mark “B.Barton.” This mark was used by Benjamin Barton, Sr. and his son Benjamin Barton, Jr. The senior Barton worked mostly as a clock and watch maker in Alexandria from 1801-1816. Barton, Jr. trained as a clock maker in his father’s shop and then kept a watch-making business in John Adams’ shop from 1823-1834. In 1834, he moved to his own shop, where he produced silver goods alongside clocks and watches until his retirement in 1878. It is more likely that Benjamin Barton, Jr. produced this beaker, as there are very few known pieces of silver created by his father. A very similar beaker, with the same “M” engraving, was included in the Lyceum exhibit, attributed to B. Barton, Jr.

Sources:
Catherine B. Hollan. In the Neatest, Most Fashionable Manner: Three Centuries of Alexandria Silver (Alexandria: The Lyceum Company, 1994).
Catherine B. Hollan, Virgina Silversmiths, Jewelers, Watch- and Clockmakers, 1607-1860 (Hollan Press, 2010).

Man's Best Friend in the 18th Century

By Louise Higgins
Gunston Hall Docent

Girl and Dog by Charles Bridges, c.1715

“Strayed or stolen from the subscriber, at Leed’s town, on the 18th of September, a spaniel bitch, with white and brown spots, answers to the name of Madame, had a silk collar round her neck with a buckle. Whoever returns her to me , in Williamsburg, shall have a half a pistole reward.” This advertisement was posted in the Virginia Gazette in October 1751. I realize that when doing research, we should not make assumptions about what we find in history. On the other hand, to just make a meaningful study of history takes a certain amount of imagination. When I read the previous ad, what I picture is a father whose daughter’s (or wife’s) dog has gone missing. I realize that silk was used by both men and women in the 18th century, but in my mind’s eye, all I can picture is a pink silk collar with a silver buckle put on a much loved family pet by a young girl. That may not be at all the reality, but that view certainly grabbed my emotions and interest enough for me to continue the research with enthusiasm.

Dogs were a complex and ubiquitous part of colonial America as they are in our society today. Because dogs were so integrated into society, we, looking back, may have a hard time seeing them: people don’t write about what’s commonplace, and dogs were everywhere. What is certain is people across all social strata interacted with dogs in both positive and negative ways.

Dogs played many roles in 18th century Virginia; one of the most obvious and useful was for protection and security. Virginia at the time was a largely agrarian society, made up mostly of small independent farms. Having a dog on the property added another layer of security to an isolated farm. Another job held by dogs in the 18th century was herding sheep. These sheep dogs were not the modern Old English Sheepdog that we know today. They were not a specialized breed, though typically the dogs used for sheep herding were rough coated and short tailed. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were among those employed sheep dogs for their flocks. Thomas Jefferson was recorded as presenting George Washington with some puppies from a litter of his “shepherd’s dogs.” (Jefferson letter to Thomas Mann Randolph, www.Monticello.org) As with all working dogs, modern and colonial, they had to be intelligent and strong.

Major Thomas Dade by Thomas Gainsborough, 1755.
Courtesy of the Tate.

For the average Virginia farmer, hunting wild game and fowl helped to supplement the family diet. The landed plantation owner who also hunted this way. Though well to do, they would have had to feed quite a large number of people, and additions to the plantation diet through hunting would have been very welcome. Dogs were kept and bred for hunting and tracking purposes. Deer, of course, was a natural favorite to hunt, but “Practically everything … that moved was fair game, from bears and wolves to possums.” (Jane Carson)

Hunting was both a necessity and a pastime. And dogs, like horses in the 18th Century, were kept for pleasure as well as work. Many plantation owners during this period that enjoyed fox hunting, which was a purely aristocratic amusement. Unlike subsistence hunting, fox hunting was an elaborate endeavor, which could last for days. There were proscribed rules regarding the fox hunt. Those rules encompassed the everything from how and when the hounds were released after the fox, to the activities both preceding and following the hunt itself. If the fox was caught, it might very well be brought back alive and turned out again the next day for further sport. George Washington kept and bred fox hounds at Mount Vernon, and went fox hunting often. John Mason tells us in his Recollections that his father, George, enjoyed riding to the hunt even up to his middle and older years. In the 18th century, dogs developed through the efforts of George Washington and others, came to be known as the Virginia Hound (or Foxhound,) as it is known to this day. For an amusing contemporary illustration of how devoted Virginia Plantation owners were to the sport of fox hunting, please visit the article Personable Pooches.

Virginia Foxhound

Aside from the working aspect, dogs then, as today, provided companionship. This is such an interesting topic. Dogs have been welcomed and loved as pets by the aristocracy since antiquity. One interesting stained glass image from Cologne, France, circa 1520 shows an almost modern picture of a pet dog sleeping at the foot of the owner’s bed. This piece of stained glass is currently in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and is available online here.

Christian Stelle Bannister and Son by Gilbert Stuart,1773.  Courtesy of the Redwood Library 
and Athenaeum.

Among the colonial gentry, dogs were very popular and beloved pets. The Virginia Gazette has many lost dog advertisements. In every case the, dog owner is willing to pay for the return of the dog. One example tells of General Lee whose Pomeranian dog, Spado, was lost or stolen. The general is so intent on retrieving him that, not only will he offer a reward, but if the dog is returned, “no questions will be asked.” The Governor was also subject to dog theft, and just as intent on the return of his animals: one of which was a bull dog named Glasgow. From this collection of dogs, we can see the loving consideration that the gentry had for their dogs. Other evidence of the owner’s fondness for their dogs is how they were immortalized in art by their owners. Throughout the period, family portraits included dogs. One somewhat extreme example of how the family dogs were remembered comes from a member of the wealthy was from a Lightfoot family. He had buttons made for his coat that represented his favorite dogs.

George Booth by William Dering, 1748-1750.
Courtesty Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Discussing lost and stolen dogs brings us to another aspect of the dogs’ place in colonial society. There was a fear of stray dogs and the diseases they might carry. Rabies was a very real threat, then as today. And like today, there were laws regarding loose dogs within the town boundaries. All dogs needed to have a collar with the name of their owner, barring that, it was lawful to kill a dog with no collar. (October 1772, Williamsburg City Council, Mayor, and Alderman) Now it becomes more clear the urgency with which those ads where placed. If the dog was lost or stolen, and by some means had lost its collar, it could very well be legally killed.
This brings us back to the relationship between the working dog and his family. Unlike with the gentry, pets kept solely as companion animals are rare among the lower classes. This could be due to several reasons. Primarily, the lower classes may not have had the means to keep an animal that was not an active contributor to the family. Also, we just don’t know much about the lower classes as we do the gentry. If they were keeping pets, there is little record of it. Having said all of that, the people that were accused of stealing the dogs that were in the advertisements mentioned above were often indentured servants. In one particular case, the reason given for the theft by the indentured servant was because the dog was “a great favorite” of his.

Whether one is a subsistence farmer, indentured servant or slave, doesn’t necessarily mean that they weren’t emotionally attached to the dogs that they were around. Just because a dog has to be a working contributor to the family does not mean that it is not a loving relationship on both sides.

Sources
Brieg, James. “The Eighteenth Century Goes to the Dogs” Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Autumn 2004. Web. 23 July 2014. http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Autumn04/dogs.cfm 
Carson, Jane. Colonial Virginians at Play. Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg, 1965. Print. "Dogs." Thomas Jeffersons Monticello Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014. http://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/dogs 
"Herding Dogs in Colonial America." Stockdog Savvy. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014. http://stockdogsavvy.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/herding-dogs-in-early-america/ 
Hood, Graham. “Personable Pooches” Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Autumn 206. Web. 23 July 2014. <http://history.org/Foundation/journal/Autumn06/dog.cfm> 
"Virginia Foxhound Club." Virginia Foxhound Club. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014. 
"Virginia Gazette, Hunter, October 17, 1751, Page 3." Virginia Gazette. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014. "Virginia Gazette, Purdie and Dixon, April 28, 1774, Page 2." Virginia Gazette. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014. 
"Virginia Gazette, Purdie and Dixon, September 24, 1772, Page 2." Virginia Gazette. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2014.

A Walk Through the Boxwoods

 By Nicole Morton
Leader of Business Enterprise

Do you ever just stop and take time to relax? It can be just a moment, a second where you remember the sound of the ocean, the feel of snow on your cheek, or the smell of fresh cut grass. For me, my moment is taking time out of my busy schedule and to walk through the Boxwood Allèe at Gunston Hall. There is something quite magical about walking in the footsteps of historical figures such as George Mason, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. The boxwoods have a rather calming effect on me. I feel like I can gather my thoughts better walking between their 250 year old twisting trunks then I can walking between magnolias or even oak trees.

I think back to John Mason and what he said about his father George Mason, “My father was fond of his garden… There were then some falls on the brow of the hill looking toward the river. It was here that my father- in good weather- would several times a day pass out of his study and walk for a considerable time wrapped in meditation, and return again to his desk…” I feel blessed getting to walk around such scenic and historical grounds for my job, especially following in the footsteps of George Mason.

Part of my responsibility as the Leader of Business Enterprise at Gunston Hall includes coordinating events such as weddings and luncheons. When I am showing prospective couples around our venue, the first place they want to get married is in the Boxwood Allèe or on the point overlooking the Potomac River. The view draws couples to that point overlooking all things Gunston Hall. Excitement builds inside me every time I show a couple the grounds. There is a moment on each person’s face as they walk down the drive and see the Mansion, as they walk through the Boxwood Allèe, and as they stand on the point looking out at the Potomac River and grounds. Each person is experiencing Gunston Hall for the first time in a unique way, and I am lucky enough to be a part of that experience. I encourage everyone to experience Gunston Hall in that same light as well; it’s something you will never forget.

There is one other magical part of the grounds that not every guest ventures over to see. The gravel drive lined with reaching cedar trees makes the walk to the Burying Ground that more enchanting.

George and Ann Eilbeck Mason are both laid to rest in the Mason family cemetery, along with other Mason family members and descendants. Knowing the touching words that George wrote about Ann after her death on March 9, 1773, the cemetery becomes a place of honoring loved ones such as George Mason did in 1773. These words echo in my ear every time I walk down the drive towards their final resting place, “… Once she was all that cheers and sweetens life, the tender mother, daughter, friend and wife, once she was all that makes mankind adore …”

I encourage you to come walk in the footsteps of historic men of the 1700s and even again in the early 1900s such as the Coolidge family, Mrs. Edith Wilson, and artist Pierre Bonnard. Take a moment to soak in the history that is Gunston Hall. You will not regret it!

If you are planning an event such as a small luncheon, business conference, dinner party, or even wedding, I encourage you to think about Gunston Hall as your venue! For more information about our rental program, please contact Nicole Morton at (703) 550-9220 or by email at nicole.morton@gunstonhall.org.