NHG Library: "In the Words of Women"

Susan reporting:

March is officially Women's History Month. This has always seemed a mixed blessing: yes, it's wonderful to shine the limelight on women of the past, but why does half the world's population only merit one month's worth of attention out of twelve? Perhaps that's more apt then I want to admit, for often it does seem that men garner eleven times the ink in history books.

I've recently discovered a new book that will help tip the balance more fairly. In the Words of Women: The Revolutionary War & the Birth of a Nation 1765-1799 by Louise V. North, Janet M. Wedge, and Landa M. Freeman is a collection of the writings – including letters, diaries, poems, and journals – of dozens of women living in the turbulent era of the American Revolution. Whether addressing matters of daily life such as tending sick children and coaxing unhappy husbands, difficult questions of loyalty versus patriotism, or the shocking violence and loss of the war around them, the voices of these women, both patriots and loyalists, sound with astonishing clarity. This is one of those books that's a treat to read straight through, or to dip into a random, and I can't recommend it enough. For more from the book and about the authors, visit their website/blog here.

This passage from a letter from In the Words of Women shows how vulnerable women were to enemy forces. Eliza Yonge Wilkinson (1757-1813) of South Carolina was a young widow of twenty-three and a firm believer in the patriot cause. When British and American forces converged on Charleston, she took refuge in her sister's nearby plantation house, but on June 3, 1780, the house was ransacked by British troops:

    I heard the horses of the inhuman Britons coming in such a furious manner, that they seemed to tear up the earth, and the riders at the same time bellowing out the most horrid curses imaginable; oaths and imprecations which chilled my whole frame....I'd no time for thought – they were up to the house – entered with drawn swords and pistols in their hands; indeed, they rushed in, in the most furious manner, crying out, "Where're these women rebels?" (pretty language to ladies from the once famed Britons!)....The moment they espied us, off went our caps (I always heard say none but women pulled caps!) And for what, think you? why, only to get a paltry stone and wax pin, which kept [the caps] on our heads; at the same time uttering the most abusive language imaginable, and making as if they'd hew us to pieces with their swords. But it's not in my power to describe the scene: it was terrible to the last degree; and what augmented it, they had several armed negroes with them, who threatened and abused us greatly They then began to plunder the house of every thing they thought valuable or worth taking; our trunks were split to pieces, and each mean wretch crammed his bosom with the contents, which were our apparel. &c. &c. &c.
    I ventured to speak to the inhuman monster who had my clothes. I represented to him the times were such we could not replace what they'd taken from us, and begged him to spare me only a suit or two; but I got nothing but a hearty curse for my pains; nay, so far was his callous heart from relenting, that, casting his eyes towards my shoes, "I want them buckles," said he, and immediately knelt at my feet to take them out, which, while he was busy about, a brother villain, whose enormous mouth extended from ear to ear, bawled out "Shares there, I say; share." So they divided my buckles between them. The other wretches were employed in the same manner....They took care to tell us, when they were going away, that they had favored us a great deal – that we might thank our stars it was no worse.

The detail of the painting, above, by John Singleton Copley, does not directly illustrate Eliza's letter (rather it shows a scene from the 1781 Battle of Jersey between British and French forces) – but it does convey the terror that faced women and children caught in the path of 18th c warfare.

Above: Detail from The Death of Major Peirson, 6 January 1781 by John Singleton Copley, 1783, Tate Collection.
In accordance with some FTC rule or another (which probably doesn't apply to Loretta and me because we're writers, not reviewers, but better safe than sorry), I received a copy of In the Words of Women as a gift from the authors.

Researching in the (Battle) Field: Mount Harmon Revolutionary War Reenactment Festival

Susan reporting:

This past weekend, I had the chance to do some of my favorite kind of research: I stepped backwards in time to the 18th century, thanks to the Revolutionary War Reenactment Festival, held at Mount Harmon Plantation, Earleville, MD on the Chesapeake Bay.

(As always, please click on the photographs to enlarge them.)

Military reenactments are popular with history-lovers throughout the country. There are dedicated groups of re-enactors on every scale and covering just about every action that took place on American soil. The Mount Harmon event was a large one. I'm not adept at estimating crowds, but I heard that the organizers were expecting over 1,000 re-enactors and colonial-style vendors and sutlers who camped for three nights in the surrounding fields. Soldiers by the hundred represented scores of different re-enacting units, including several cavalry groups with their mounts.

Their variety reflected the diversity of the original Continental Army and militia, with a wide assortment of uniforms and weapons. The British were represented as well, in equally varied uniforms, as well as German light troops. There were a good number of women and children in colonial dress, too, reflecting not only the soldiers' families, but also the cooks, laundresses, seamstresses, and other women (as well as a few dogs!) who would have travelled with an 18th c. army.

The Mount Harmon event wasn't recreating a specific battle, but staging a representative skirmish as well artillery demonstrations and musket drills. And, as the brochure warned, "Tactical operations (people shooting) will be occurring throughout the site." Even we lowly spectators had to keep our wits about us.

It's all a wonderful, evocative experience for a historical fiction writer. No, I'm not giving up my primary sources, but no book can capture the smell of an open fire or the sharp, acrid smell of gunpowder, or how the resulting smoke stings your eyes. A flintlock musket makes a distinctive sound as it is fired, and the artillery is another sound altogether. You really can feel the hoofbeats of the light cavalry's horses through the ground. And though it's obviously "pretend" - at the end of the day, all the casualties stand up, get in their cars, and drive away - it still goes a long way towards capturing the speed, efficiency, and confusion of an 18th c. battle. You never know where it will all turn up in a book....

Top: British infantry from the Sunday skirmish.
Top left: Continental officers
Top right: Mounted dragoons engage in the skirmish.
Lower left: Women use the time in camp to drape a new bodice (These two knowledgable ladies - Cate Crown and Becky Fifield - are not only members of the Brigade of the American Revolution, but readers of the TNHG, too.)
Lower right: The wide variety of colonial uniforms, from the Continental infantry to the riflemen in fringed hunting shirts.

American Crisis—a fascinating piece of history

Loretta reports:

“'You cannot conceive the uneasiness which arises from the total want of so essential an Article as Money.’”

So wrote General Washington to the governors of the United States in January 1782.  He was pleading for pay for the officers and soldiers who’d fought in the American Revolution—which wasn’t over yet, by the way.

This may be news to the vast majority who believe that the revolution ended with Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown in 1781.  In fact, the war didn’t officially end until November 1783, and the U.S.’s future cohesion and strength was by no means as inevitable as we’re often led to believe.

The army, which hadn’t been paid, was in real danger of mutiny.  In the South, General Greene reported “‘the distress of the Officers are great and many of them have drained every private resource in their power.  Many bear their sufferings to a certain degree beyond which it is dangerous to push them nay ruinous.’”  A similar discontent prevailed in the Army of the North.  Meanwhile, an ineffectual and nearly bankrupt Congress made the long-suffering military promises it couldn’t keep.

This was only one of the daunting problems the new nation faced.  In fact, given the difficulties and dangers—not to mention some extremely bad behavior on all sides—it’s astounding that our forefathers ever managed to forge a nation.

I was never a big fan of U.S. history or any Politics & Wars kind of history.  So when Walker & Company sent me  William M. Fowler Jr.'s American Crisis:  George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years After Yorktown 1781-83,* I wasn't all that excited, I admit.

Then I started reading, and found a fascinating, suspenseful story, just chock full of the exhaustive detail Nerdy History Persons hunger for: yes, lots of quotations from original sources, all beautifully footnoted.

Even better, it’s a terrific example of history’s relevance, offering insights into today’s battling factions in Congress, power struggles between the legislative and executive branch, issues of big vs. small government—and, of course that essential Article, Money.

*Unlike the majority of books referred to in this blog, which Susan and I buy with our own actual money, this one came gratis.

Intrepid Women: Janet Schaw Weathers a Hurricane at Sea, 1774

Susan reporting:

Those of us who live along the Atlantic Coast are well aware that we're in the thick of hurricane season now, and there's much anxious watching of the Weather Channel to see what may be heading our way next. But in the 18th century, there was no radar, Weather Channel, or computer predictions of "weather events." The Royal Navy had such respect for the destructive power of hurricanes that they preferred to send their Caribbean fleet home to England for the storm season rather than risk the catastrophic loss of vessels and lives.

Merchant ships, however, often continued to sail throughout the autumn season. Janet Schaw (c.1731-c.1801) was a genteel, unmarried Scotswoman who sailed on board the Jamaica Packet to the West Indies and North Carolina in October, 1774. Included in her party were several family members, servants, and three North Carolina children returning home after attending school in Scotland. While little is known today of Miss Schaw's personal history, she did leave behind a wonderful, readable diary of her voyage as well as her keen, detailed observations of life in the West Indies and North Carolina on the eve of the American Revolution. Her Journal of a Lady of Quality is available here, or here to read on-line. Highly recommended!

One of the most vivid passages captures the fear, desperation, and uncertainty of being a passenger on board a wooden sailing ship in the middle of a hurricane:

"On the fourth evening of the gale (as it was now termed) the whole elements seemed at war: horror, ruin and confusion raged thro' our unfortunate wooden kingdom, and made the stoutest heart despair of safety. Just after the midnight watch was set, it began to blow in such a manner, as made all that had gone before seem only a summer breeze. All hands, (a fearful sound) were now called; not only the Crew, but every man who could assist in this dreadful emergency. Every body was on deck, but my young friend [18-year-old Fanny Rutherford] and myself, who sat up in bed, patiently waited that fate, we sincerely believed unavoidable. The waves poured into the state-room, like a deluge, often wetting our bed-clothes, as they burst over the half door. The Vessel which had one moment mounted to the clouds and whirled on the pointed wave, descended with such violence as made her trembled for half a minute with the shock, and it appears to me wonderful how her planks struck together, considering how heavy she was loaded. Nine hogsheads of water which were lashed on the deck gave way, and broke from their Moorings, and falling backwards and forwards over our heads, at last went over board with a dreadful noise. Our hen-coops with all our poultry soon followed, as did the Cab-house or kitchen, and with it all our cooking-utensils, together with a barrel of fine pickled tongues and above a dozen hams. We heard our sails fluttering into rags. The helm no longer was able to command the Vessel, tho' four men were lash'd to it, to steer her. We were therefore resigned to the mercy of the winds and waves. At last we heard our fore-main mast split from top to bottom, a sound that might have appalled more experienced Mariners, but we heard all in silence, never opening our lips thro' the whole tremendous scene...."

Above: De Windstoot (The Gust) by Willem van de Velde II, 1680, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Henry Laurens: The Only American Imprisoned in the Tower of London

Susan reporting:

While the name of Henry Laurens (1724-1792) doesn't jump to the minds of most modern Americans as swiftly as does Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, he was another of the Founding Fathers, and an important figure in the American Revolution.  A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Laurens was an influential man, a wealthy merchant, plantation owner, slave-trader, and rice planter. Prominent in colonial politics, he hoped for reconciliation with Great Britain rather than a complete break.  But as relations with Britain worsened, he joined the revolutionary effort, serving as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as its president.

The choice for revolution was not an easy one for men like Laurens with strong personal ties to England. His decision was not lightly made, and his conscience continued to be troubled by conflicting loyalties to the English Crown and to the fledgling country of his birth.

In 1779, Laurens was named by Congress as minister to the United Provinces (now The Netherlands.) Returning from a mission in Amsterdam in 1780, Laurens' vessel, the Continental packet Mercury, was captured by the British Navy off the banks of Newfoundland. He attempted to destroy his papers by throwing them over the side, but the British retrieved the pages from the water. The documents were considering sufficiently damning for Britain to declare war on the Dutch, and for the Navy ship to carry Laurens to London as a political prisoner. After being lodged briefly in Scotland Yard, he was charged with suspicion of high treason, and transferred to the Tower of London.

Laurens was the first and only American ever to be imprisoned in the Tower. The British realized the significance of their prisoner. As Laurens recorded in his diary, on his arrival at the Tower, "the guards on parade [chose] the tune of Yankee Doodle, played, I suppose, in derision of me, [but instead the tune] filled my mind with a sublime contempt & rather made me cheerful." He was held in the Tower for fifteen months, and was finally released on bail in December 1781. Soon after, he was officially exchanged for Lord Cornwallis, and permitted to continue his diplomatic work. With John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, he negotiated the first draft of the peace treaty with Great Britain – the peace he had always wanted.

For the most part, Laurens was treated as a gentleman in the Tower, without the physical hardships often faced by lesser prisoners during the war.  He suffered small, calculated deprivations, such as being denied paper and pen for writing, but he was permitted visitors, and he sat for the portrait, above left, while he was a prisoner. In this picture, the walls of the Tower are visible through the window, and Laurens' sober expression is reinforced by the text of the letter in his hand: "I have acted the part of a faithful subject. I now go resolved still to labour for peace at the same time determined in the last event to stand or fall with my country. I have the honour to be Henry Laurens."

Above: Henry Laurens, by Lemuel Francis Abbott, 1781, United States Senate.
Many thanks to the Learning Team of the Historic Royal Palaces (including the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, & Kew Palace) for their help with this post. If you're on Twitter, please follow them for interesting historical information of all kinds: @HRP_learning.