on fellow ous L g ulletinH e Volume No. A Newsletter of the Friends of the Longfellow House and the National Park Service June Longfellow House to Celebrate 225th AnniversaryB of American Revolution ince the Longfellow House served as Changing Meanings of SGeorge Washington’s headquarters for Freedom” sponsored by ten months during -, it has been inte- the Boston National grally connected to the American Revolu- Historic Park. tion. Beginning in July, it will be one of the The Longfellow House centers of the National Park Service’s cele- will begin its part in the bration of the th anniversary of the eight-year celebration on American Revolution. July st with a living his- The National Park Service’s eight-year tory performance. Ac- commemoration of events—from Paul tress Dorothy Prince will Revere’s ride in to the Treaty of Paris play the role of poet in —will take place at over fifty Phillis Wheatley, the national park sites. Battlefields, encamp- first black person in the ments, military headquarters, locations of colonies to publish a Howard Pyle (-) paintng of Martha Washington’s arrival in Cambridge important meetings, historic homes, related book, who wrote a poem about, and may Glee Club on music of the revolutionary sites of industry and commerce, and have met with, George Washington (see period. Throughout the day Longfellow memorials will all participate. Each of page ). This will be followed by a concert National Historic Site staff member Paul these sites will offer its own commemora- on the lawn featuring music from Washing- Blandford, in his inimitable theatrical style, tive programs and events. In Boston the ton’s era played by the members of the will conduct tours around Harvard Square national celebration began on June nd and Longy School of Music, and chosen from entitled “In the Footsteps of George Wash- rd with a public symposium called “The a s brochure produced by the Harvard (continued on page ) The House Which “Washington Has Rendered Sacred” ven at the height of his fame, Henry W. brother about her delight in living “where we had a thorough explanation of the American lines ELongfellow never felt slighted when Washington [had] dwelt in every room:” & Bunker Hill, Prospect & Winter hills under Mr. strangers knocked on the door and asked [The House] is, moreover, very interesting to us Sparks inimitable guidance who gave a more vivid to see “Washington’s Headquarters.” He for its associations of which we have lately had very idea of the revolutionary days than I had before... might have been bemused at the lack of exact information from Mr. Sparks…. Yesterday In a letter to her brother two months interest in himself, but he shared the same later, Fanny announced the couple’s inten- feelings of awe about Washington’s associ- tion to preserve the house’s appearance and ation with the House. thus honor the memory of Washington’s In when the young Harvard College occupancy: professor Henry Longfellow first came to We have just returned to our home & are enrap- the House as a boarder, he was well aware tured with its quiet & comfort after that Pandemo- of Washington’s earlier presence there. His nium, New York. It has now, too, the sentiment of Harvard colleague and fellow tenant at Mrs. the Future as well as the Past to render it dearer than Craigie’s house, Jared Sparks, was work- ever, for since we left it has become our own, we are ing—in the very rooms Washington had full of plans & projects with no desire, however, to inhabited—to assemble all of Washington’s change a feature of the old countenance which Wash- existing letters for publication. ington has rendered sacred. When Longfellow married Fanny Ap- In the sacred Washington connec- pleton in , his wealthy father-in-law, tion was memorialized inside the House by Nathan Appleton, bought the Craigie House the Longfellows’ prominent display of sev- for them. Shortly after, Fanny wrote her Washington bust, front hall of Longfellow House (continued on page ) ᳚ 225th Celebration (continued from page ) ሖሗመ ington.”These walking tours of the neigh- Lee-Nichols House on Brattle Street will borhood will continue through the summer feature costumed performances by “Loyal- Friends of the Longfellow House and early fall. ists” and Judith Sargent Murray, a success- Board of Directors The July st celebration at the Longfel- ful eighteenth-century writer whose col- Barclay Henderson, President low House dovetails with other City of umn “The Gleaner” in Massachusetts Magazine Edith Hollmann Bowers, Vice President Cambridge festivities, marking this anniver- provided an eyewitness account of Ameri- Robert Mitchell, Clerk Charlotte Cleveland, Treasurer sary of the arrival of George Washington can history. (See schedule on p. ) Frances Ackerly in Cambridge, where he took command of The Longfellow House has worked with Gene A. Blumenreich the Continental Army. Following an open- the Historic Cambridge Collaborative, a Ruth Butler ing ceremony at Fort Washington Park in group of nonprofit historical and educa- LeRoy Cragwell Cambridgeport, a procession of officials tional institutions, to develop other public Dick Dober and onlookers will meet “General George programs that explore life in Cambridge Nancy Fryberger Washington” and escort him to the Cam- during the early months of the Revolution. Victor Gulotta bridge Common. There day-long com- The programs will take place in Cambridge Abigail Houser memorations will include musket firing throughout and . Diana der Hovanessian demonstrations and an encampment by the A schedule of all commemorative events Carol Johnson First Middlesex Regiment as well as sam- nationwide for the next eight years as well Diana Korzenik Arthur Loeb ples of food and drink from the s. In as a - day-to-day journal of Amer- Marilyn Richardson addition, the Cambridge Center for Adult ican Revolutionary War events can be Sally Sapienza Education will host a living history perfor- found on the National Park Service’s Web- Lynne Spencer mance of Abigail Adams. The Hooper- site at: www.nps.gov/revwar. Charles Sullivan Catherine Vickery The House Which Washington “Has Rendered Sacred” (continued from page ) Advisory Board eral Washington artifacts. Longfellow circumstances. People go over land and sea to see just Timothy Anglin Burgard bought the bust of George Washington, a the place where some great man was born and died, Dennis J. Carlone copy of the famous original by and here all day long I can walk the floors this great- Francis Duehay Houdon, which he placed in the entrance est of men to us Americans trod, go up and down the Justin Kaplan hall, and beside it hung the Washington stairs… “Up and down these echoing stairs, Heavy Leslie A. Morris family coat of arms. On a wall by the front with the weight of cares; Sounded his majestic tread” Richard Nylander stairs, he hung an engraving of Washington It is grand to feel the presence of so great a man and Stephen D. Pratt on his white horse. Portraits of Martha and lifts me up quite out of the present life…when you Marc Shell George adorned his study. come back I will read you his letter to his wife when Judith Tick Longfellow enjoyed giving tours of the he received his command and you will say it is full of Lowell A. Warren, Jr. Eileen Woodford House and never failed to pay tribute to its manly, tenderness most inspiring. historic role in the American Revolution. Alice Longfellow lived in the House for Newsletter Committee Blanche Tucker-Macchetta, who received many years after her father’s death. She con- Marilyn Richardson, Editor such a tour in , wrote in The Home Life served the house in her father’s memory, yet Ruth Butler of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that the poet she also honored its connection to George Victor Gulotta Glenna Lang, Designer described his study thus: Washington, as is shown in a letter she James M. Shea This was Washington’s own private room; and received from her cousin Alexander Wads- where my writing desk now stands, there stood his worth Longfellow Jr.: q table. These walls, lined with books, also shelved his I want to see you soon, foregathering as a family, National Park Service literary lore. In fact, I think the arrangement of the and wish I could see you honoring the Father of this Myra Harrison, Superintendent room is exactly the same as when in his time. Country and his admirers at his headquarters, with James M. Shea, Site Manager Other members of Henry Longfellow’s the spirit which you show and feel so deeply. I think Paul Blandford, Museum Educator family took pride in living in Washington’s you very fortunate to have inherited this and be able Nancy K. Jones, Museum Educator former headquarters. After the family cele- to do so much for his memory. Liza Stearns, Education Specalist brated the hundredth anniversary of Wash- —Research by Robert Mitchell Kelly Fellner, Education and Visitor Services Janice Hodson, Museum Curator ington’s arrival in Cambridge, the poet’s Jude Pfister, Museum Specialist daughter Edith wrote to her sister Alice: Anita Israel, Archives Specialist My interest and excitement is reading all about Henry W. Longfellow’s letter to Ferdi- Ed Bacigalupo, Chief of Maintenance this summer years ago in Sparks and Irving, nand Freiligrath, February , : Pat Laffey, Facility Manager and everyday I read the letters for that date written Do not think for a moment of going to New certainly in this room and probably by this very win- York. The roof under which you sleep in Printed by Newprint Offset, Waltham, Mass. dow where I write by dear George! Think what a America must be Washington’s (and mine). privilege to spend this summer of all others in this It is a poem in itself. house. I would not have missed it on any account and ማሜምሞ think it ought to have influenced us to stay under any ᳚ Interview with a Friend…Meet George Washington In each issue of the Bulletin we include an a place called Bunkers Hill, on Charles Town aging the enlistment of Negro troops. interview with an individual whose interest Neck, strongly entrenched and fortifying GW: In December it was represented to in, or whose affiliation with, the Vassall- themselves. Their force including Marines, me that the free Negroes who have served Craigie-Longfellow House is uniquely im- Tories, etc. are computed from the best in this army are very much dissatisfied at portant. We are pleased to offer our readers accounts I can get at about , men. Ours, being discarded. As it is to be apprehended an “interview” with General Washington in including sick, absent, etc., at about ,. that they may seek employ in the Minister- his own words at three different intervals January ial Army, I have presumed to depart from during his stay at the Vassall House. We LHB: Mrs. Washington arrived at Vas- the resolution [of the Continental Con- were delighted he gave his candid opinions sall House in December when soldier and gress] respecting them and have given despite the controversies they might arouse. civilian alike faced another common enemy. license for their being enlisted. GW: The Small Pox is in every part of [In August] several Indians of the tribe September Boston…. If we escape [it] in this camp of St. Francis came here and confirmed the The Longfellow House Bulletin: In and the country round about, it will be former accounts of the good dispositions of June, shortly before your arrival here in miraculous—Every precaution that can be, the Indian Nations, and Canadians to the Cambridge, you told the Continental Con- is taken to guard against this Evil both by interests of America. A most happy event. gress of your hesitation in accepting the March appointment as commander-in–chief of LHB: All reports declare the British have the American forces. What were your fled under the threat of bombardment from thoughts at that time? the fortifications erected by our troops General Washington: As I wrote to my upon Dorchester Heights in just one night. wife: so far from seeking this appointment, GW: The last trump could not have I have used every endeavor in my power to struck them with greater consternation. On avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to Sunday the th at o’clock in the forenoon, part with [Martha] and the family, but the ministerial Army evacuated the Town of from a consciousness of it being a trust too Boston, and…the forces of the United Colo- great for my capacity…. But it has been a nies are now in actual possession thereof. kind of destiny, that has thrown me upon I have great reason to imagine their flight this service, I shall hope that my undertak- was precipitated by the appearance of a ing it is designed to answer some good pur- Work which I had ordered to be thrown up pose. It was utterly out of my power to last Saturday night, on an eminence at refuse this appointment without exposing Dorchester which lay nearest to Boston my character to such censures as would have Neck, called Newkes Hill. The Town, reflected dishonor upon myself and given although it has suffered greatly, is not in so pain to my friends. the General Court and myself. bad a state as I expected to find it. LHB: And what was your opinion of LHB: In the past months there have been The situation in which I found [the the troops of which you took command? great changes in the numbers and the con- enemy’s] works evidently discovered that GW: I found a mixed multitude of peo- dition of your troops. What strategies did their retreat was made with the greatest pre- ple here, under very little discipline, order, you use to bring about such improvement? cipitation. They have left their barracks and or government…. I have already broke one GW: It is easier to conceive than to other works of wood at Bunkers Hill, etc. Colonel and five Captains for cowardice describe the situation of my mind for some all standing and have destroyed but a small and for drawing more pay and provisions time past, and my feelings under our present part of their lines. than they had men in their companies…in circumstances. Search the vast volumes of LHB: Would you favor us with some of short they are by no means such troops, in history through, and I much question whe- your reflections on these past nine months, any respect, as you are led to believe of ther a case similar to ours is to be found; to sir, as you prepare to leave for Philadelphia? them from the accounts which are pub- wit, to maintain a post against the flower of GW: I believe I may, with great truth lished, but I need not make myself enemies the British troops for six months together, affirm, that no man perhaps since the first among them by this declaration, although and at the end of them to have one army dis- institution of armies ever commanded one it is consistent with truth. [There is] an banded and another to raise within the same under more difficult circumstances than I unaccountable kind of stupidity in the distance of a reinforced enemy…[w]hat have done—to enumerate the particulars lower class of these people which, believe may be the final issue of the last maneuver, would fill a volume—many of my difficul- me prevails but too generally among the time only can tell. Three things prompt men ties and distresses were of so peculiar a cast officers of the Massachusetts part of the to a regular discharge of their duty in time that in order to conceal them from the Army who are nearly of the same kidney of action, Natural bravery—hope of reward enemy, I was obliged to conceal them from with the Privates, and adds not a little to —and fear of punishment. The two first are my friends, indeed from my own army my difficulties… common to the untutored and the disci- thereby subjecting my conduct to interpre- LHB: And what was your first assess- plined soldier, but the latter most obviously tations unfavorable to my character…I am ment of the enemy? distinguishes the one from the other. happy however to find, and to hear from GW: I found the enemy in possession of LHB: We hear that Dunmore is encour- (continued on page ) ᳚ Phillis Wheatley’s Poem for General Washington in Cambridge
s the first black person in America to headquarters in Cambridge. In her accom- According to Wheatley scholar Julian D. Apublish a book, Phillis Wheatley stands panying letter she concluded, “Wishing your Mason Jr., “It has been pointed out that her at the head of the formal African American Excellency all possible success in the great use of the term ‘Columbia’ for her country literary tradition. Her poems sometimes cause you are so generously engaged in.”The in this poem may be the first use of the term dealt with the momentous political events forty-two lines of rhymed couplets close with this meaning in print in America.” of her times, including a moving tribute to with the pronouncement that: On February , , Washington re- the then General George Washington. Fix’d are the eyes of nations on the scales, plied from Cambridge. After apologizing She had arrived in Boston Harbor on For in their hopes Columbia’s arm prevails. for such a delayed response he thanks her the slave ship Phillis, in , as a sickly Anon Britannia droops the pensive head, “…most sincerely for your polite notice of African child, about seven years old. John While round increase the rising hills of dead. me, in the elegant lines you enclosed; and and Susannah Wheatley, wealthy Bostoni- ...... however undeserving I may be of such en- ans, purchased the little girl to be a lady’s Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side, comium and panegyric, the style and man- maid. They named her after the ship on Thy every action let the Goddess guide. ner exhibit a striking proof of your poetical which she had suffered the trauma of the A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine, talents; in honor of which and as a tribute Middle Passage. With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine. justly due to you, I would have published the The Wheatleys soon realized that their poem, had I not been apprehensive, that, slave was, in fact, a prodigy. Within six while I only meant to give the world this new months she could read and write English. instance of your genius, I might have in- She went on to study the Bible, history, lit- curred the imputation of vanity.” erature and astronomy. She read Virgil and Vanity aside, it would have caused a polit- Ovid in the original Latin. By her early ical uproar had Washington sponsored the teens, she was writing and publishing publication of a poem in which he is envi- poetry, and eventually became widely sioned crowned and seated on a throne of known throughout the colonies and abroad. gold. Wheatley’s poem and letter did appear In , the year of the Boston Tea Party, two months later in the Pennsylvania Magazine, Phillis Wheatley traveled to England where edited at the time by Thomas Paine. her collection of verse, Poems on Various Sub- While Washington did not choose to jects, Religious and Moral, was first published. publicize Wheatley’s accolade, he did, in the She was received by, among others, the same letter, extend an unusual invitation. Lord Mayor of London and Benjamin The general, who owned hundreds of slaves Franklin. Not long after her return, she was during his lifetime, wrote to the black poet, Note: In the North “servant” was a common term for slave given her freedom. “If you should ever come to Cambridge, or Wheatley had been enslaved throughout This portrait is thought to be by Scipio near head-quarters, I shall be happy to see a most of her writing career. In a few poems Moorhead, a slave belonging to the family of person so favored by the Muses, and to she dared speak eloquently against tyranny Boston Presbyterian minister John Moorhead. whom nature has been so liberal and benef- and oppression, often couching her per- Wheatley wrote this poem in praise of the young icent in her dispensations.” He concluded, sonal feelings in the more acceptable form artist’s work as both a painter and a poet: in the convention of the time and appar- of political commentary. Her most clearly To S.M.A Young African Painter,On Seeing His Works ently with no ironic intent, “I am with great autobiographical statement appears in a To show the lab’ring bosom’s deep intent, respect, your obedient humble servant.” poem to the Earl of Dartmouth, Sec- And thought in living characters to paint, Did Phillis Wheatley visit George Wash- retary of State for the Colonies: When first thy pencil did those beauties give, ington at Vassall House? Mason wrote in And breathing figures learnt from thee to live, that “Phillis accepted Washington’s …I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate How did those prospects give my soul delight, invitation that same year and was courte- Was snatched from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat: A new creation rushing on my sight? ously received.” In a volume, William What pangs excruciating must molest, Still may the painter’s and the poet’s fire H. Robinson, who devoted much of his What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast? To aid thy pencil, and thy verse conspire! career to Wheatley’s life and work, is less Steel’d was that soul and by no misery moved And may the charms of each seraphic theme certain. He cites Benson J. Lossing’s brief That from a father seiz’d his babe belov’d: Conduct thy footsteps to immortal fame! account of such a meeting, but warns Such, such my case. And can I then but pray ...... But when these shades of time are chas’d away, that “Phillis’s visit with Washington is Others may never feel tyrannic sway. And darkness ends in everlasting day, nowhere else cited, Lossing should be used Wheatley was an astute observer of the ris- On what seraphic pinions shall we move with caution.” The thousands of docu- And view the landscapes in the realms above? ing tide of revolution and revised some of ...... ments in the Longfellow House archives her work as necessary to accommodate pa- For nobler themes demand a nobler strain continue to cast light upon the history and trons on either side of the Atlantic. And purer language on th’ ethereal plain. inhabitants of the House. Information on In October , Wheatley sent a poem Cease, gentle muse! The solemn gloom of night this question might well lie somewhere to George Washington at Vassall House Now seals the fair creation from my sight. within those many pages. (later to become the Longfellow House), his —Research by Marilyn Richardson ᳚ Head Quarters, Cambridge: Washington’s Occupancy of the Longfellow House
oday visitors to the Longfellow House of Marblehead Mariners, who pitched Quebec from the rear, over the Maine moun- Tfrequently are surprised to learn that their sailcloth tents on the lawns. The only tains. And in late September , it was here George Washington lived in the house and scrap of information we have about Wash- that Washington confronted Dr. Benjamin used it as his headquarters during the Siege ington’s actual move to the Vassall House Church, one of the most trusted Massachu- of Boston from July to March . No comes from his account book: “Cash paid setts patriot leaders, with evidence that he visitor in the nineteenth century would have for clearing the House which was provided was a spy for the British. had to be reminded of this historical fact. for my Quarters & had been occupied by In the southwest corner of the house, to For them the house was inextricably associ- the Marbleh. Regimt.” The amount was the left of the entrance, was Washington’s ated with Washington’s occupancy and the two pounds ten shillings and ninepence. reception room, which Martha Washington early days of the Revolutionary War. After In Washington’s time, a general’s staff was used as her parlor and probably for the gala all, Washington had lived in the House referred to as his “family,” no doubt because party the Washingtons gave that winter to cel- longer than anywhere else during the war. they lived and dined with him daily. Wash- ebrate their wedding anniversary. Behind In June the Second General Con- Washington’s study, was the General’s writ- gress from Virginia voted Washington, one ing room, where his aides were kept busy of its delegates, the commander of the drafting orders, maintaining Washington’s New England militias besieging Boston. extensive correspondence (most of the over He hastened to Cambridge and arrived on six hundred letters were headed “Camp in July , . That evening he was received Cambridge” but some read “Head Quar- by the officer corps, all New Englanders ters, Cambridge”), and keeping his ac- and all strangers to him including Massa- counts. Washington slept in the southeast chusetts General Artemas Ward whom he room above his office. was to replace as Commander-in-Chief. In this House during the Siege of Bos- The next day he officially assumed his ton, Washington struggled with numerous position. Popular legend describes Wash- problems. He had to defend an extensive ington taking formal command under the coastline against an attack by the well- “Washington Elm,” but a small unpub- photo of Longfellow House trained British troops only a few miles lished soldier’s diary found in the Longfel- ington’s family in Cambridge was remarkably away, supported by a squadron of British low House archives and several other con- small and consequently overworked. It con- ships.The Commander worried about his temporary diaries record that the troops sisted of several young aides and General army’s lack of discipline and training, the stationed across the front lines from Horatio Gates, who served as adjutant gen- officer corps’ suspicions of him as an out- Charlestown to Roxbury received the new eral. When Martha Washington arrived on sider and Southerner, an unexpected and Commander-in-Chief. December , with a small party that extremely serious shortage of gunpowder, Meeting in nearby Watertown, the included the Commander’s step-son Jackie insufficient troops to man his extended lines, Massachusetts Provincial Congress ar- Custis, and Mrs. Gates, the family increased and the ever-pressing need to find salary, ranged for Washington and his second in in size. The household was attended to by a supplies, and arms for his troops. command, Major General Charles Lee, to retinue of servants and slaves: a steward, By spring , however, Washington’s live in Wadsworth House, Harvard Col- Ebenezer Austin, whose monthly pay of army was reasonably disciplined with a sta- lege’s president’s house, which still stands seven pounds ten shillings included the ser- ble command structure, and new enlistments today in Harvard Square on Massachusetts vices of himself, his wife and daughter; a increased its strength. On March Wash- Ave. Since it was customary for generals to French cook, Adam Foutz; Mrs. Morrison, ington miraculously placed a cannon on use their residences as their headquarters, kitchen-woman; Mary Kettel, washer- Dorchester Heights and forced the British Washington needed a conveniently located woman; Dinah, “a negro woman;” Peter, “a to evacuate Boston. He won the Siege of house large enough to accommodate staff negro man;” and William Lee, Washington’s Boston without a battle, which would have meetings and councils of war, provide work slave and body-servant from Mt. Vernon cost many lives and demolished Boston. For space for his small group of aides, and have who served him throughout the war. this Congress voted him a medal, and Har- room for his large number of daily visitors. The Commander used the ground floor vard gave him an honorary degree. Wadsworth House could not accommodate room to the right of the entrance as his din- While in the House, Washington put in those uses. The Vassall House—as the ing room where he entertained numerous place a secret network of spies in Boston to Longfellow House was then known—could. official and unofficial visitors, including stay ahead of British plans. He approved the The Vassall House had been built in Benjamin Franklin and Abigail and John building and arming of ships to prey, with for Major John Vassall, a Tory sympa- Adams. Washington also used the same some success, on British ships supplying thiser, who was forced to flee with his fam- room as his office, just as Longfellow did Boston, thus inaugurating the United States ily from Cambridge to Boston in Septem- later on. During Washington’s councils of Navy. More important still for the future of ber . After the battle of Lexington and war, his major generals and their aides the nation was the crucial precedent he set Concord, it was used as a hospital until crowded into this room to debate strategy. of deferring to civilian authority in all June , , when it was assigned to Cap- In this room Washington gave Benedict important matters. tain John Glover’s newly arrived regiment Arnold command of a small army to attack —Research by Robert Mitchell ᳚ The Past and Present Here Unite: ince the Longfellow family first occu- on the back of a stereograph card on which Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. com- Spied the Craigie House in , it served he recorded “July , Centennial Cele- mented in a letter to his mother, Elizabeth as the setting for many celebrations of bration of Washington’s Clapp Porter Longfel- anniversaries, birthdays, and national holi- taking command of the low: “I took in the days. Of particular interest to the family American Army.” Craigie house costume were the House’s associations with George On January , ball and it was awfully Washington and the American Revolution. George and Martha pretty. We met young The Longfellows literally reveled in living Washington had cele- faces under powdered in the house where George and Martha brated their sixteenth wigs and looked deli- once resided during the early years of the wedding anniversary— ciously fresh. Frances American Revolution. once the General was [Dana] as Lady Wash- In his poem “A Gleam of Sunshine” convinced that it would ington did not get her Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote: be seemly to do so under troubled and responsible the circumstances—with look off till they went by This is the place. Stand still, my steed, a Twelfth Night Party at the second time. Dickie Let me review the scene, the House. A hundred [Dana] was quite at And summon from the shadowy Past years later, on the home and to see all the The forms that once have been. evenings of January distinquished characters and , the Longfel- announced by Harry The Past and Present here unite lows marked the occa- Frances Dana as “Lady Washington,” [Dana] in a long brown Beneath Time’s flowing tide, sion for their family, friends, and neigh- silk coat with ruffles and to see them march Like footprints hidden by a brook, bors with a grand in and bow and curtsey and then to see But seen on either side. Twelfth Night cen- them get out of the room it was fine. All- tennial celebration ston [Dana] and little Lyman girl as Pep- The poet’s three daughters of the Washing- perell chuildren in the picture were fasci- traveled to Philadelphia during tons’ wedding anni- nating and Delia [Dana] as a pink fairy through to see the versary party. They with star and wand was the sweetest of all. international exposition which turned the library Aunt Mary [Mary Longfellow Greenleaf] celebrated the centennial anni- into an elaborate was all about with her poor eyes… Mr. versary of the founding of their stage for a theat- Roger Sherman signed the Declaration of country. To commemorate the rical presentation. Independence with high hair and powder.” centennial, G.J. Raymond and Over one hundred Thirteen years later, Christmas Eve Co. of Boston photographed guests attended. In , Alice Longfellow hosted another cos- places associated with the Amer- her letter to her tumed event in the parlor to commemorate ican Revolution and published cousin Mary King the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the them commercially as stereo Edith, Alice, & Annie Allegra Longfellow, Longfellow, Edith Craigie House. Family members dressed up views. The Longfellows were Philadelphia Centennial, Longfellow vividly as a particular former resident of the house. proud to have their house included in the described the event: “The stage is a great It must have been difficult to decide who series, as evidenced by the poet’s signature success. So large and prettily arranged and would portray George and Martha. draped. We seated a hundred Even before Washington’s birthday guests last night and proba- became a national holiday in , George bly more tonight.” Twenty years later in Alice Longfellow, the poet’s daughter, held another great Twelfth Night party in the parlor of the family’s house in honor of the one hundred twentieth anniversary of the Washingtons’wedding anni- versary party. Guests arrived dressed as historic figures from the original party and were announced by the young but already flamboyant Hen- ry Wadsworth Longfellow Two women from“When Washington Came to Cambridge,” (Harry) Dana. Alice’s cousin Five soldiers from“When Washington Came to Cambridge,” ᳚ Commemorations at the Longfellow House Washington’s birthday was always a favorite brother-in-law Lieutenant-Governor Tho- time to commemorate around Boston and mas Oliver has been forced to resign, Vas- Cambridge. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sall and his family flee the house. Then “the often acknowleged the day in his journal Revoluionists decide to keep the house as and letters. Usually Head-Quarters for their future there was a party at leader,” Harry Dana wrote in his Mrs. Harrison Gray playscript. Otis’s house in Bos- Act II portrays Washington ton or at the Craigie taking command of the army, House. Mrs.Otis’s Martha arriving in Cambridge, birthday fell on the and President Langdon of Har- same day as Wash- vard College reading a declara- ington’s, as did tion from Congress on the taking James Russell Low- up of arms. In Act III Washing- ell’s, Andrew Crai- ton returns from Dorchester gie’s, and Henrietta Heights to announce that the Dana Skinner’s (the British have evacuated Boston. daughter of Rich- Following an exuberant celebra- ard H. Dana Jr.). tion, Harvard College confers on The tradition con- Washington an honorary degree. tinued throughout The play seems to have been a Mary King Longfellow as Nelly Custis (Martha the early twentieth real community event with the Washington’s granddaughter), century at the “actors” from the local commu- and the Committee from Congress. The Craigie House. On nity and Harvard University program announced that the children in the February , Harry Dana, , in his great-great- staff. The cast also included two cast were from the Cambridge Neighbor- there was a huge grandfather’s (Francis Dana’s) vest, of Henry W. Longfellow’s and hood House, a settlement house. African- nationwide celebra- still in the House collection Richard Henry Dana’s grandchil- Americans participated in the production tion of the bicentennial of George Wash- dren: Harry Dana as Major John Vassall in roles as revolutionary-era blacks. ington’s birth. Harry Dana, grandson of and Anne Thorp as Mrs. John Vassall. According to the printed program, Henry W. Longfellow and resident of the There were over sixty cast members in all, Harry Dana’s extravaganza was directed by Craigie House, was on the local bicenten- playing the roles of the Chronicler, the Mr. Frederick C. Packard Jr. and Miss nial committee. He hosted a number of Tories, children of Tories, Tony Vassall Pauline Jones. Fortunately, the complete special tours and events at Craigie House (Negro boy), the Minuet Dancers, Towns- playscript, cast list, program, and photos in honor of George Washington. Three people, Harvard College professors, the survive in the Longfellow House archives. years later, the National Broadcasting Continental Army, Washington’s relatives, —Research by James M. Shea Company transmitted a special national program on George Washington’s birthday from the House’s study. One of the most ambitious commemo- rative events ever to take place at the House occured on the occasion of Cambridge’s tercentennary: the staging on the Longfellow House lawn in of a three-act play writ- ten by Harry Dana entitled “When Washington Came to Cambridge.” A tour-de-force complete with songs, poetry, and dance, Dana’s play opens with John Vassall and his friends and rel- atives at his new house on “Tory Row” drinking a toast to King George III while the townspeople watch through the hedge and mock them. mbridge,” When he learns that his Martha Washington’s arrival from“When Washington Came to Cambridge,” ᳚ Washington Interview (continued frm page ) Friends Acquire Richard Henry Dana Jr. Letters different quarters that my reputation he Friends of the Longfellow House to retrace his steps to San Francisco and the stands fair—that my conduct hitherto has Tgenerously voted to purchase a group Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and from there given universal satisfaction… of letters written to Richard Henry Dana sail to China and Japan. Five days out of LHB: So to sum up the matter thus far… Jr. while he was on his trip around the port his ship, The Mastiff, caught fire and sank, GW: It is a great stake we are playing world in -, which complement the although all but one aboard were rescued. for, and sure we are of winning if the cards Dana collections already in the Longfellow When Dana reached Hawaii, there was no are well managed. House archives. The letters were offered for ship bound for China, so he returned to San sale by a rare-book dealer from San Fran- Francisco and booked passage for China Sources: George Washington: Writings, (The cisco at the Boston International Antiquar- from there. He traveled via Hong Kong to Library of America, ) ian Book Fair in November . Canton, where he was one of the first for- Henry Steele Commanger and Richard B. Included in this group of about twenty- eigners to enter the gates of the city. Morris, eds., The Spirit of Seventy-six: The Story of five letters are six letters from Dana’s wife, From there he went to Japan and sent an the American Revolution as told by Participants (New Sarah Watson Dana, and six from his father, application to Townsend Harris, the U.S. York: Da Capo Press, ) Richard Henry Dana Sr. One of the minister at Yedo [Tokyo] for per- George Washington Papers, at the Library letters, dated November , mission to visit that city. By of Congress is from eight-year-old Richard treaty Yedo was closed to Henry Dana III who tells his Americans or foreigners not Rehabilitation Update papa that this is his first connected with the em- attempt at letter writing bassy. Mr. Harris replied f you walk by the Longfellow National and “I have done it all with his regrets in a let- IHistoric Site, which has been closed to myself.”This is probably ter that resides in the the public for about a year and a half, you one of the “three letters House archives. After will see signs of the extensive rehabilitation from Dick” that Richard further travels in Japan in progress. The project aims to improve Henry Dana Jr. received and China, Dana wrote fire protection, security, and environmental on June , on his in his journal on June , control systems, collections storage, and one-day stopover in Singa- : “Westward and handicapped access. pore, and almost missed Home bound at last!” Beginning this spring, the driveway was receiving! On June th Dana arrived excavated to lay new utility lines and geo- Richard Henry Dana Jr. is in Singapore for one day, and thermal heating system wells. Exterior best known as the author of Two most likely picked up the recently work will continue through early summer. Years Before the Mast. After dropping out of acquired letters there. His journal entry Upgrades to building systems and storage Harvard College due to eyesight weakened reads, “…drive to Boustead & Co. to see if inside the House will take place over the by measles, Dana, the son of a noted poet, my letters have been sent here fr. Calcutta, next year, and will be followed by the return chose to travel as a common sailor on the as I directed. The junior partner says ‘No’ of the collections. The ,, contract brig Pilgrim bound for California in . positively. Great disappointment. Let out was awarded to Lumus Hahs Corporation From his journals of the voyage, he wrote some of my grief & surprise to the Senior, of Wakefield, Massachusetts his famous book as a truthful prose narra- who sends for the file, looks it over & finds National Park Service staff spent many tive, a marked departure from Romanticism a complete budget for me, fr. Calcutta, & I months preparing for this project by pack- to Realism. Published in , Two Years sit right down & read them all—dates are ing and storing over , paper archives, Before the Mast achieved great popularity. fr. Dec. to Feb. & fr. all the family, & all are thousands of fine and decorative art ob- Aboard the Pilgrim, Dana was deeply dis- alive & safe. Three letters fr. Dick,—dear jects, and , books from the Longfel- turbed by the captain’s flogging of the sailors, little fellow.” low family library. The Park Service used and he resolved to devote himself to doing Dana headed home via India and Egypt, this opportunity to assess the condition of away with this cruel practice. He returned to then on to Greece and Venice, through these items and determine which were most Harvard in better health, and graduated from Switzerland and up the Rhine to Cologne. in need of conservation. Local conserva- Harvard Law School. After being admitted He took a train to Antwerp, then a steamer tors have already begun treatment on more to the bar, Dana often took up cases of sea- to London, arriving on September th. In than a dozen pieces of furniture, Japanese men against rich ship owners and merchants. London he found letters from home await- screens, and gilded frames, with more to He associated the flogging of sailors with the ing him, the first he had received in six follow. The vital work is being funded whipping of slaves, and after the passage of months. On September th he boarded the through grants from the Fidelity Founda- the Fugitive Slave Act, became involved steamer Persia for New York and arrived in tion and the White House “Save America’s with the cases of several escaped slaves and the U.S. on the th. The last entry in his Treasures” program, as well as generous further antagonized rich Boston cotton journal of this trip reads: “This day opens gifts from private donors. merchants. While walking home after de- in America—home. Been absent days, You can stay up-to-date on the rehabili- fending fugitive slave Anthony Burns, Dana of wh. spent about days on the water & tation progress by visiting our Web site at: was hit on the head by thugs. on land. New York completes the cir- www.nps.gov/long In Dana was advised by his doctor cumnavigation of the globe!” or E-mailing us at: [email protected] to take a voyage for his health. He decided —Research by Anita Israel ᳚ Danas in the Revolution Dana Papers Catalogued at House wo members of the Dana family figured promi- oined to the Longfellows through the the House archives is divided into two pri- nently in the American Revolution, and a third Jmarriage of the poet’s daughter Edith to mary subcollections: played a role in commemorating it. Richard Henry Dana III, the Danas left I. The Dana Family in America Records con- T their substantial collection of family history sists of records generated in researching Richard Dana (-) was born in to the Longfellow House archives. This year and writing the comprehensive genealogy, Cambridge, graduated from Harvard, and the Northeast Museum Services Center will including correspondence, notes and note- became a representative to the General complete a two-year project of cataloging books, genealogical questionnaires, orders, Court of Massachusetts from Marblehead the Dana Family Papers: Collected Manuscripts, proofs, and an annotated copy of the pub- in -. He and his wife, Lydia Trow- Genealogies, and Research Materials, -. lished work. bridge, moved to Charlestown about This archival collection was originally II. The Dana Family: Research and Col- and from there to Boston in where he compiled by Elizabeth Ellery Dana (- lected Manuscripts consists of research remained until his death. Richard Dana was ) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about specific family members and occa- an eminent lawyer, Justice of the Peace and (Harry) Dana (-) from their re- sionally their extended families. It is ar- of the Quorum, Magistrate, ardent patriot search into Dana family history. Elizabeth ranged, as is The Dana Family in America, into and an original member of the Sons of Ellery Dana became interested in genealogy five individual series: Liberty. He was a leader in the town meet- at the age of nineteen and pursued this pas- A. Richard Dana (-) and Family ings at the Old South Meeting House and sion until her death at (the first of the Danas at Faneuil Hall where he spoke out boldly the age of . Collab- to come to America for American Independence. He was active orating with her ne- from England), fol- in the defeat of the Stamp Act and admin- phew Harry Dana, lowed by his sons and istered an oath of non-enforcement to An- she intended to pub- their descendents; B. drew Oliver, secretary of the colony, under lish a genealogy called Descendents of Jacob the Liberty Tree. Dana signed the official “The Dana Family in Dana (⁄-); C. record of that fact, thereby exposing him- America.” Descendents of Jo- self to charges of treason. He was on the Their book, how- seph Dana (- committee to investigate the Boston Mas- ever, remained unfin- ⁄); D. Descen- sacre. He and his wife had nine children, ished at her death and dents of Benjamin seven of whom survived. Their fourth child the responsibility for Dana (⁄); and was Francis Dana. completing it was E. Descendents of Francis Dana (-) was a lawyer turned over to Harry Daniel Dana (- and patriot. A member of the Sons of Lib- Dana. Two years la- Three Richard Henry Danas: (l. to r.) Sr., III, and Jr. ). erty and married to Elizabeth Ellery, the ter in , Harry published The Dana Saga: Within each series the papers are ar- daughter of William Ellery of Rhode Is- Three Centuries of Danas in Cambridge, but the ranged chronologically by the birth date of land who signed the Declaration of Inde- more comprehensive work remained in- the Dana family member, and thereunder pendence, he took an active part in the complete when he died in . Finally in into two sections: Research and Personal American Revolution and in American for- Harry’s nephew, Henry Longfellow Papers. Research includes notes, correspon- eign diplomacy. On the eve of the revolu- DeRahm, with the help of Thomas de Val- dence, photographs, photocopies and other tion, Francis carried secret letters to Britain court who acted as curator and librarian of material collected by Elizabeth and/or for Benjamin Franklin. Upon his return he the Longfellow House and its collections Harry Dana relating to that individual. Per- reported to George Washington that rec- after Harry’s death, published The Dana sonal Papers includes original documents onciliation was impossible. He was elected Family in America. written, signed, or owned by the individual, to the Continental Congress in December Not only did Elizabeth Dana corre- many of which were purchased from dealers of and in January became chair- spond with every Dana she could find in by Harry Dana. man of the congressional committee to order to get genealogical information, but The finding aid includes an outline of visit the army at Valley Forge. There he she also collected family history facts, pho- the collection listing the Dana family mem- spent several months conferring with tographs, and original manuscripts. Conse- bers, as well as biographical notes and George Washington and helped him devise quently, the collection of Dana papers in genealogical charts. plans that were submitted to Congress. Later, he went with John Adams to procure rine refused to see him because she did not ington in April of . He was well known help for the United States from France and want to alienate either Britain or France. because of the speech he delivered at that Holland. In December of Francis Upon his return Dana was re-elected to event. According to a letter in the Dana Dana was appointed minister to Russia to Congress. In he was appointed Judge collection at the Longfellow House ar- gain recognition for the Americans from of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and chives from a lady artist, her milkman, Catherine the Great. John Adams’s four- served as chief justice for fifteen years. while waiting to be paid, saw the portrait teen-year-old son, John Quincy Adams, Richard Henry Dana Jr. (-), she had painted of Richard Henry Dana accompanied him as Dana’s private secre- great-grandson of Richard Dana was the Jr. When asked if he recognized the man, tary. Although Francis Dana spent two featured orator at the centennial celebra- he exclaimed, “Of course, that’s the Lex- years in St. Petersburg, the Empress Cathe- tion of the American Revolution in Lex- ington orator.” ᳚ Longfellow House in Print Recent Discoveries in the House In American Art Review’s “Eastman Johnson, While excavating for new utility lines on the west side of the House, a bricked-over- -,” Theresa A. Carbone includes cellar doorway was discovered below the formal west entrance of the addition built by information on thirteen portraits commis- Craigie in the s. A brick pavement leading up to the doorway at the same elevation sioned by Henry W. Longfellow which are as the present cellar floor was also unearthed. This passageway provided access to the all at the Longfellow NHS. Four of these cellar via a ramp or stairs and would have been hidden from view by the porch to the portraits are traveling with the Eastman first floor entrance. Fill soil outside this entrance revealed a one-cent piece dated . Johnson retrospective organized by the l Brooklyn Museum of Art. Under the driveway two small trash deposits contained numerous pieces of locally l made earthenware or redware representing a large milkpan, jar, and flowerpot, and This September the Library of America the complete base of a Chinese export porcelain plate. The second deposit consisted will publish Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems of a layer of dark soil with broken wine-bottle glass. Neck and base fragments indi- and Other Works, edited by J.D. McClathy. cate bottle forms in common use during the second half of the eighteenth century. This will be the most comprehensive vol- Accompanying the glass were pieces of redware, English creamware, and bone frag- ume of Longfellow’s works available in the ments. This deposit dates somewhere within Vassall’s and Craigie’s occupation of past twenty-five years. the House or possibly during Washington’s (-). Washington’s accounts reveal l that a total of bottles of Madeira wine were purchased in one two-week period Martha Brookes Hutcheson’s book The for the headquarters. (See photo below.) Spirit of the Garden has been reprinted by the l Library of American Landscape History. It Trenching has also revealed the site’s history through its soils. The ground surface includes photographs of the Craigie House present at the time of Vassall’s original construction appears as a dark brown layer garden from that time. approximately three feet below the present west yard surface. On top of this layer is l soil that was probably deposited when the cellar for the north addition was excavated In the March New England Quarterly, a during Craigie’s tenure in the s. Eighteenth-century artifacts were found in this feature article by Matthew Gartner called layer—including ceramics, glass, nails, and bone fragments from past meals . “Longfellow’s Place: The Poet and Poetry of Craigie House” describes how the House inspired Henry Wadsworth Long- fellow’s poetry. l Daniel G. Donoghue in Harvard Magazine’s To A Child March/April issue wites:“Seamus Heaney is not the first Harvard professor Longfellow’s poem “To a to translate Beowolf. In fact one of the ear- Child” includes a moving medita- liest was attempted by Henry Wadsworth tion on Washington’s cares within Longfellow, LL.D., , who as a profes- the walls of Vassall House during sor of Romance languages in pub- the first months of the Revolution- lished a few dozen lines in the North Ameri- ary War. can Review within a long article on Anglo- Once, ah once, within these walls, Recent archaeological finds during rehabilitation Saxon Literature.”The article, “Beowolf in One whom memory oft recalls, the Yard: Longfellow, Alfred, Heaney,” also The Father of his Country, dwelt. Longfellow’s Ancestor includes a picture of and information on And yonder meadows broad and damp Longfellow. The fires of the besieging camp in the Revolution l Encircled with a burning belt. hile growing up in Maine, Henry In March the Massachusetts Historical Wadsworth Longfellow often heard Society reprinted Paul Revere: Three Accounts of Up and down these echoing stairs, W stories from his maternal grandfather, Cap- His Famous Ride (one of which is Longfel- Heavy with the weight of cares, tain Peleg Wadsworth (-), who had low’s poem) with an introduction by Ed- Sounded his majestic tread; played an important role in the American mund S. Morgan and fine illustrations. Yes, within this very room Revolution. Wadsworth achieved recogni- Sat he in those hours of gloom l tion as the officer who designed and super- The premier issue of the new annual Massa- Weary both in heart and head. vised the construction of the fortifcations chusetts Historical Review, , contains an arti- Thirty years later, on August , on Boston’s Dorchester Heights, which led cle entitled “The Hinge of the American , the poet used these lines to to the defeat of the British troops and their Revolution: George Washington Confronts commemorate the one-hundredth evacuation from Boston. He later became a a People’s Army” by Fred W. Anderson. anniversary of Washington’s Cam- general under Washington’s command and l bridge period. was responsible for the whole district of The Old House Journal (February ) in an Maine, which at the time also included article on Georgian Colonial houses suggests Massachusetts. the Longfellow House as a place to visit ᳚ Stanley Paterson Lecture and Fellowship Henry W. Longfellow’s Journal, he Longfellow House recently cele- dent of the Nahant Historical Society. October , : Tbrated the memory of Stanley Pater- Gretchen A. Adams received the first- A stranger called today, to see Washington’s son—a founding member of the Friends of ever Paterson Fellowship, created by the Headquarters. He asked me if Shakespeare the Longfellow House and author of two Friends as part of their mission to promote did not live somewhere about here. I told him volumes of annotated transcriptions of research and scholarship related to the Vas- I knew no such person in the neighborhood. Longfellow's diaries—with a lecture and the sall-Craigie-Longfellow House and its oc- awarding of the first Paterson Fellowship. cupants. Ms. Adams is working on her doc- On Sunday February , the Friends and the torate in history at the University of New Nahant Historical Society came together at Hampshire. Her thesis titled “The Specter Thematic Connections the Nahant Country Club for a lecture by of Salem in American Culture” explores Workshop William Fowler, Director of the Massachu- how the Salem witch trials became an n March and representatives setts Historical Society and maritime histo- important cultural metaphor, and includes Ofrom the seventeen National Park Ser- rian, entitled, "Washington by Land and by a look at Longfellow as a “major force in vice sites in New England gathered to dis- Sea." His talk explored the era of George the perpetuation of a New England-cen- cuss the themes and untold stories that link Washington at the onset of the Revolution- tered telling of the nation's past.” She has their sites. Through lectures and discussions ary War in recognition of this 225th anni- used the Longfellow House archives to the group identified what stories emerge versary. This was the first in an ongoing research “HWL and his circle” and pro- when we expose thematic links among dif- series of annual lectures honoring Stanley mises to share the results of her research ferent sites. Participants considered how Paterson, who was also the long time presi- with the Friends in the near future. these links help people understand each site’s significance, and how this awarness of thematic ties and larger stories benefits pub- ĻUpcoming Events ļ lic appreciation of National Parks. The workshop was moderated by Na- Walking Tours : June -October , Wed. through Sat., .. “Footprints on the Sands tional Park Service historican Dwight Pit- of Time: Longfellow’s Cambridge.” Meet at the Longfellow National Historic Site. caithley and featured a keynote talk by Ed- Saturdays, : .. “George Washington in Cambridge.” Meet at the information booth in Harvard Square, just outside the MBTA Red Line subway entrance. ward T. Linenthal, author of History Wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past. Revolutionary Cambridge Discovery Day (Partial) Schedule of Events, July , In “The Problems and Promises of Public -: .. Opening ceremony at Fort Washington Park, the only surviving site of the History,” Linenthal looked at the role of patriot defenses in Cambridge. Flag raising, poetry reading, fife and drum music. historic sites in forming America’s collec- :-: .. Walk from Fort Washington Park along Putnam Avenue, stopping at tive memory, and how sites such as Little site of Revolutionary War Fort No. ( Putnam Ave.). Bighorn and Harper’s Ferry become battle- : .. Marchers arrive at Wadsworth House to meet General Washington and grounds between history and heritage. escort him to Cambridge Common, site of encampment. The audience attended a panel discus- ..- .. Events on Cambridge Common, including First Middlesex Regiment sion of model theme-based collaborative encampment, musket firing, tent for children. Christ Church and Old Burying Ground programs underway in the Boston area. open with interpreters on site. Hooper-Lee-Nichols House (Brattle Street) activities: Small group discussions explored stories th Regiment of Foot Soldiers; reading by Judith Sargent Murray, th century woman and themes currently interpreted at New (performance by Bonnie Smith); story of Baroness Riedesel (Claus deBansa, interpreter). England sites and sought new connections :-: .. “In the Footsteps of Washington: A Walking Tour.” Meet at Longfellow and partnerships. National Historic Site, Brattle Street. Most of the Longfellow House staff - .. “Music of Washington’s Day.” Concert featuring musicians from Longy participated in this workshop. This was a School of Music. At Longfellow National Historic Site, Brattle Street. great opportunity to explain the House’s diverse collections to the other sites—col- July : Longfellow Summer Festival Family Day. Noon- .. Activities for all ages. lections related to Washington’s Headquar- Program includes poetry reading by X.J. Kennedy, garden painting, conversations with ters, Charles Sumner’s writings on abolition, children’s book author and illustrator, Eva Deutsch Costabel, and the Armenian Chil- Longfellow’s poems about New England dren’s Chorus of Greater Boston. sites and figures such as Paul Revere and July : Longfellow Summer Festival Garden Concert. .. The Apple Hill Cham- Evangeline. As a result, during Patriots’ ber Players perform Beethoven’s “Ghost”Trio, Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D Minor, Week, Longfellow interpreters worked with and Shubert’s “The Trout.” Boston National Historical Park, the Paul July : Longfellow Summer Festival of Poetry on the Lawn. .. Works and com- Revere House, and the Old North Church mentary by F.D. Reeve, Lloyd Schwartz, and Diana der Hovanessian. on a reenactment of Paul Revere’s crossing July : Longfellow Summer Festival Garden Concert. .. A performance of clas- from the North End to Charlestown, and sical music by the Boston Saxophone Quartet featuring works by Bach, Debussy, Dvo- with Minute Man National Historical Park rak, Mozart, Puccini, and Poulenc. on a reading of “Paul Revere’s Ride” at the All Summer Festival events are on the east lawn of the Longfellow House and are free and open to all. site of his capture. ᳚ ¢ potlight on an bject Join us as a Friend and help support an international collection of nS each issue of the newsletter,O we focus Fine & Decorative Arts, Rare Books, Letters, and Historic Photographs Ion a particular object of interest in the Longfellow House collection. representing three centuries of American History… This time our spotlight shines on a K $1000 Benefactor K $100 Supporter revolutionary bayonet which was found K $ 750 Donor K $ 60 Contributor in the Longfellow garden. The original K $ 500 Patron K $ 30 Family news story appeared in the March , K $ 250 Sponsor K $ 20 Individual Boston Post and ran as follows: K Recent examination by a firearms expert of $ 15 Student a bayonet dug up from a garden of the Henry Make checks payable to: Wadsworth Longfellow home…has revealed that Friends of the Longfellow House the bayonet was used in the revolution and prob- Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts ably belonged to a sentinel when George Washing- For more information, call ⁽⁾ -. ton made the house his headquarters, according to H.W.L. Dana, Longfellow’s grandson. Name The bayonet was found some time ago by a Address gardener and turned over to Mr. Dana, who kept City it at his home at Brattle Street, Cambridge. Although realizing that it was of historic signifi- State Zip cance, Mr. Dana said that it was only recently Telephone that he had attempted to have its origin traced. Special area(s) of interest in the Longfellow House: A firearms expert, after studying its design and the quality of its material, gave his opinion K that it was a French bayonet, brought to this coun- I would like someone to call me about volunteer opportunities. try by a soldier during the French and Indian Contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. wars. Later, he said that it fell into the hands of revolutionary soldiers, as did a great quantity of French military equipment.
Friends of the Longfellow House Brattle Street Cambridge, Massachusetts