revolutionary leaders (nearly all landed aristocrats) who viewed such behavior as a threat to public order. With the exception of the Goddard incident and a few other cases of physical intimidation, neither political turbulence nor mob violence ever rose to serious levels in the town. Nevertheless, the landed elite harbored an abiding suspicion of ’s political volatility that tempered their appreciation of the town’s major contributions to victory in the Revolutionary War. Baltimoreans did indeed play significant role in the war. Many served in the or on one of town’s many privateering ships. Several local leaders achieved military prominence. Mordecai Gist, and Samuel Smith won fame as battlefield commanders and James McHenry served on General Washington’s staff and later as aide-de- camp to General Lafayette. On the sea, Baltimore’s 248 privateers, commanded by a number of outstanding captains such as Jeremiah Yellott and Joshua Barney, took a heavy toll on British shipping and brought in huge sums of prize money and tons of captured goods. In no subsequent war did so many Baltimoreans occupy major military positions. The town itself emerged from the conflict completely unscathed and more prosperous than it had been in 1776, growing from 6,700 to over 8,000. This enviable situation stemmed in part from the skill and hard work of its leaders, plus a very large element of plain good luck. Baltimore was the only major American port to escape occupation or attack by the British. Those responsible for the town’s defense did build an earthen fort at the tip of the Whetstone Peninsula to protect the harbor, but luckily the small battlement never came under attack since it could never have withstood a naval bombardment. Whether the British thought Baltimore too small to be worth capturing or, more likely, concluded that the shallow waters and shifting channels of the Patapsco were too dangerous for their war ships, no hostile vessel ever entered the river. The British navy did attack Norfolk in 1776 (it burned to the ground during the battle) and attempted to halt Baltimore’s trade by a naval blockade at the mouth of the bay; however, the town’s fast schooners and sloops found little difficulty slipping past the British vessels. Excluded from the British islands of the West Indies, Baltimore merchants quickly built up an extensive commercial trade with the French and Dutch islands. Under the direction of David Poe, Baltimore’s quartermaster, vessels loaded with government purchased flour visited these islands, returning with much needed military supplies. Altogether, the town’s trade doubled during the war. The war also stimulated artisan manufacturing in and around the town. With cut off from British goods, and called upon to help supply American troops, a large market for all types of manufactured items developed. Baltimore artisans turned out everything from leather goods and cookware to uniforms, tents and artillery pieces. Large furnaces and forges in the vicinity produced tons of iron, an essential item for both domestic and military goods. Shipbuilding and repair in Fells Point grew rapidly. Employers hired large numbers of white workers and when this supply ran short, rented or purchased slaves from surrounding planters

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