INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photo­ graph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are re­ produced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. These are also available as one exposure on a standard 35mm slide or as a 17" x 23" black and white photographic print for an additional charge. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order.

University Microfilms international A Beii & Howeli information Company 300 North Z eeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 1SS8427

The Revere furnace, 1787—1800

Emay, Renee Lynn, M.A.

University of Delaware, 1989

UMI 300N.ZeebR& Ann Arbor, MI 48106

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE REVERE FURNACE, 1787-1800

by Renee Lynn Emay

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture

August 1989

© 1989 Renee Lynn Emay

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE REVERE FURNACE, 1787-1800

by

Renee Lynn Emay

Approved:. J. Ritchie Garrison, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee

Approved: V* Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee

Approved:. ($. dfJUu(Z>J 1 Curtis, Ph.D. br of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture

Approved:. d o Carol E. Hoffecker, Ph.D. Acting Associate Provost foi duate Studies

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...... iv

AN OVERVIEW...... 1

THE EARLY YEARS: 1787-1793 ...... 5

DEFENSE CONTRACTOR: 1794-1800 ...... 20

FOUNDER, BUSINESSMAN AND ENTREPRENEUR...... 52 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 55

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Fig. 1 Revere's drawing of a stove with his recipe for "Mud for thickness of Bell” above ...... 10 Fig. 2 George Fleming's drawing of a howitzer, dated 1799...... 25 Fig. 3 Graph of ordnance production by year of contract ...... 36

Fig. 4 Plan of a tumbrel cart...... 39 Fig. 5 Copper spikes and nails ...... 42

iv

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. AN OVERVIEW

Paul Revere (1734-1818) has become synonymous in American folklore with exemplary workmanship and patriotic fervor. Revere’s activities in the

Revolutionary War were exaggerated and transformed into legend after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published the 1864 poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," and the centennial celebration of the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1875. Although

this legendary Revere is best known to most Americans, modem collectors also

venerate Revere as a fine craftsman of valuable silver goods and cast bells. Few

Americans associate Revere with cast stoves, ordnance and ship fittings, and even fewer know that he once operated a foundry in the North End of Boston.

Constructed in 1787, Revere's foundry produced "Cast Bells and Brass Cannon of

all Sizes, and all kinds of Composition Work. Manufacture Sheets, Bolts, Spikes, Nails, &c. from Malleable Copper and Cold Rolled." 1 In addition to copper and

its alloys, Revere also manufactured iron goods there prior to 1794.

Scholars seldom mention this period of Revere's career. Esther Forbes'

Pulitzer- prize-winning book, Paul Revere and the World He Lived In (1942)

makes cursory mention of Revere’s founding activities while other studies fail to examine this aspect of Revere's life at all, focusing instead on Revere as the

1This listing appears on the trade card of Paul Revere and Son, engraved ca. 1796-1803 by Thomas Clarice. A 1944 restrike of the original line engraving is in the collections o f the Paul Revere Memorial Association, Boston, Massachusetts.

1

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2

quintessential patriot-craftsman. An investigation into Revere's furnace sheds light on Revere's activities as a businessman and the process of social, economic and technological change that transformed American life in the late 18th and early 19 th centuries. The story of Revere's foundry provides an excellent case study of early

metalworking in the United States, illustrating the role of business and social networks, the importance of technological innovation and the significance of

government patronage. This study begins with the construction of the furnace in 1787 and ends at 1800, as Revere's manufacturing activities shifted from foundry

work to experimentation with sheet copper. In January of 1800, Revere purchased land for a copper rolling mill at Canton, Massachusetts. Beginning in 1800, the

accounts and business correspondence, the principal documents used for this study, become muddled, with Revere occasionally noting "Furnace & Mills" as a single entity in the daybooks. The foundry remained in operation no later than October 9,

1804, when it was destroyed by a hurricane. The October 11,1804 edition of the Boston Gazette reported that a hurricane caused no major damage between

Charlestown Bridge and North Battery Wharf "except the blowing down of Messrs Revere’s furnace, and the loss of several pleasure boats and other small craft, lumber, &c." Revere continued to manufacture ordnance at the Canton mill after the furnace was destroyed.

To understand how and why Revere built an iron furnace, we must begin with Revere's interests in metalworking and military science. Bom the son of a

silversmith in Boston in 1734, Revere apprenticed with his father, becoming master

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3

of the shop after his father's death in 1754.2 Revere practiced the silversmith's trade into the 1790's, fashioning silver goods for wealthy merchants, churches and civic organizations. Two political events, the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution, interrupted Revere's work in these years and acquainted him with ordnance and military leaders. During the Revolutionary War, Revere served in the

Massachusetts State's Train of Artillery, and may have learned the methods of casting cannon at the Bridgewater Fumace.3 Following the American Revolution, Revere

resumed work in his silversmith shop and also operated a hardware store in Boston, importing and retailing large quantities of hardware and general merchandise. While

continuing to craft silver objects on occasion, Revere turned his attention to the

construction of a foundry in 1787, and relied on his son, Paul Jr., to manage the

silvershop. Revere's new venture into base metals prompted an expanded interest in metallurgy. In 1791, Revere wrote to John Coaldey Lettsom. an English physician and member of the Royal Academy of Science, requesting Lettsom to procure

samples of shode, stream and mine tin from Cornwall or Devon. Revere wanted

these samples to compare against the tin he had received from a mine near Boston and

in return, he promised to send ore samples to Lettsom since he doubted his "abilities in chemistree."4 Others also noted Revere's interest in science. Addressing Revere

2Revere was still a minor when his father died. Bis mother probably owned the shop until he reached the age of 18 in 1756.

3Esther Forbes, Paul Revere and the World He Lived In (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1942), 321. Forbes noted that in February 1777, the Massachusetts War Council ordered Revere to go to the State Furnace in Bridgewater to 'make Enquiry how they go on in casting Brass and Iron Cannon' and 'if practicable attend the proveing of the Iron & Brass Cannon finished.'

4PR to Doctor Lettsom, Letterbook 1783-1800,3 December 1791, Revere Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society (hereafter referred to as RFP). Shode tin is a loose collection of tin separated by some natural agency from its original position in a vein. Stream tin is rounded particles of tin ore massed together and mixed with alluvial matter.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4

as "Founder," Stephen Rochfontaine wrote of Revere's "fondness of scientific

discoveries" in July 1795.5 Three years later, the former silversmith enthusiastically promoted his innovations in the area of rolled sheet copper. Writing to Benjamin

Stoddert, Esq., Naval Secretary at Philadelphia in December 1798, Revere boasted,

"Could I get a Sufficient Supply of Copper I would undertake to roll Sheet Copper

for Sheathing Ships &c &c."6 In 1801, the Federal government loaned Revere $10,000 for the risky venture, a business that occupied him for the rest of his life.

Revere's detailed records provide an excellent entry point into the economic,

political and social milieu of the late 18th century. Revere’s activities as silversmith,

businessman and entrepreneur are well documented. Although the most incomplete of these three areas, the foundry records include numerous memoranda books,

correspondence received by Revere, and drafts of letters written in Revere’s own hand.7 These documents provide fascinating insight into the construction of the

furnace, and Revere's sources of raw materials, customers, products and laborers. We can view the dynamics of post-Revolutionary business processes and an often

overlooked aspect of Revere's life by analyzing the foundry within its historical context. Viewed within this framework, the legendary Paul Revere was more of a successful businessman than a mythical hero. This study will examine the operation of the foundry and its relation to the larger community from its inception in 1787 through 1799.

5Stephen Rochfontaine to PR, Letter, 22 June 1795, REP.

6PR to Benjamin Stoddert, Letterbook 1783-1800,31 December 1798, REP.

^Unfortunately, no inventory appears to exist for the foundry.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE EARLY YEARS: 1787-1793

The first reference to an operating furnace appears in a draft of a letter from Paul Revere to Messrs. Brown & Benson, owners of Hope Furnace in Providence, Rhode Island. In a November 3,1788 letter, Revere stated, "We have got our fumass a going & find that it answers our expectations & have no doubt the business will do

exceedingly well in the Town of Boston." 1 Preparation for this enterprise can be

traced back to 1787 and possibly even to 1783. Entries ’To Cash" in the second daybook of the silversmith shop begin in 1783 and end in 1789. These funds may have provided some of the capital for the furnace, but Revere's cousins, Samuel and Benjamin Hitchbom, also helped finance the business. Benjamin Hitchbom, a wealthy attorney and member of Boston’s upper class, apparently owned the property on which the foundry was built in 1787-1788. Hitchbom sold the land to Revere on June 28,

1792, stating, "I have this day executed a Deed of a certain peice [sic] of Land situate in

Boston on which there is an air furnace to Paul Revere of said Boston Esq." Benjamin

Hitchbom also provided his elder cousin with £ 59-2-0 in eight installments between

April and December 1787. Samud Hitchbom paid for raw materials and carting on at least five occassions. On November 28,1787, Revere requested Samuel ffitchbom "to pay Mr Samuel Adams two pounds Lawfull Money for Stones Carting &c. for the

Furnace and Charge it to the Furnace." Revere appealed to Samuel ffitchbom again

*PR to Messrs. Brown & Benson, Letterbook 1783-1800,3 November 1788, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 6

in March 1788 to pay £ 24-2-0 for bar iron purchased from Mr. Little 9

The 1787-1788 furnace records reflect Revere's efforts to obtain the materials necessary for the construction and operation of an iron foundry and blacksmith shop,

including bricks, sand, stones, lime, clay and coal. Revere seemingly had litde difficulty in obtaining these materials. On June 19,1787, Revere paid six shillings

for brick moulds. During July 1787, Revere paid £ 9-12-0 in cash to "Mr Richmond brick Maker" and £ 2-14-0 "for Richmonds board 4 Weeks." 10 Revere also employed Mr. Bell and Jonathan Stodder to perform masonry work at various times

between 1787 and 1789. Revere purchased sand from at least one supplier, Mr. Hutchinson, while hiring laborers to cart it to the furnace, including Joseph Belknap,

Captain Jenkins and Samuel Adams. Revere often specified Menotomy (now

Arlington, Massachusetts) sand but he also purchased sand from Martha’s Vineyard

and New York. The cost of carting sand ranged in price from Adams' 5 shillings for

one load to Belknap's £ 1-7-6, probably for several loads. Samuel Adams, a

truckman, also carted stones to the furnace. Peter Bicknell of Braintree charged Revere £ 1-7-0 "For three lods of seler stons Carted by Mr Samuel Adams att a lode

9/." That same month, August 1787, Revere paid £ 4-0-0 for 20 tons of stone from a Mr. Fearing. Gershom Spear charged Revere £ 3-12-0 "for one lighter Load Stones. While Revere purchased clay at £ 3-9-4, he paid £ 3-12-0 for ”4 hogg Stone lime @

18/" and another nine shillings for "1/2 hoggd Stone lime." On November 10,1787,

^Deed, 28 June 1792; Cash & Memoranda Book 1791-1801; PR to Samuel ffitchbom, Letter, 28 November 1787; 8 March 1788, RFP.

10Cash & Memoranda Book 1791-1801,6,19 & 28 July 1787, REP. Richmond made bricks for Revere again in February 1789.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 7

Revere purchased "4 Chaldron Sea Coal & Carting" at £ 7-2-8.11 Throughout 1787, Revere made numerous purchases of nails.

While Revere procured most of his supplies from Boston and neighboring towns, his search for iron extended to furnaces in Rhode Island and New Jersey. He purchased parcels of "old iron” at various times between 1788-1789. Although Boston merchants probably supplied this iron, Revere attempted to secure large

quantities of pig iron from blast furnaces. The availability of iron varied seasonally

since blast furnaces usually operated at fiill capacity from spring to autumn.

Consequently, Revere had trouble obtaining large quantities of iron, especially in the off-season. This, coupled with shipping problems, hindered Revere in his early

efforts to purchase iron from suppliers outside of Massachusetts. In the first

recorded document concerning iron in November 1787, John Blagge, Revere's agent

in New York, responded to Revere's enquiry into the availability and price of pig iron. Blagge found "the Pigs in question to be those of Atsion Furnace die price at present of which is £ 10 (?) /Ton tho no considerable quantity can be had of those

until Spring," but the Batsto Pigs, "in very good repute for hollow ware" could be

obtained at £ 910/ Ton.12 Later that month, Blagge informed Revere that the Atsion

Furnace in New Jersey had refused to supply pigs until their current obligations had

been met, but he hoped to persuade them out of some iron. Perhaps as a result of this

uncertainty, Revere purchased bar iron in December 1787 from William Little, a

11Peter Bicknell to PR, Receipted M l, 6 August 1787; Cash & Memoranda Book 1791-1801,21 August 1787; 9 June 1787; 21 August 1787 & 29 September 1787; 10 November 1787, RFP. A chaldron was a unit of dry measure equal to, at times, 32,36 or more bushels.

12John Blagge to PR, Letter, 1 November 1787, REP. The Atsion and Batsto Furnaces were in Burlington County, New Jersey.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. s

Boston merchant. Colonel Sargent of Boston supplied Revere with iron several

months later. Revere's concern for a steady supply of pig iron motivated him to

offer a share of the furnace, "either one quarter, or one third of it" to the owners of

the Hope Furnace in November 1788, in exchange for a "constant & regular supply of Piggs." There is no evidence to suggest this arrangement took place, but the Hope Furnace contracted with Revere before and after this offer. On April 11,1788, Brown & Benson acknowledged Revere’s request for six tons of pig iron, noting that "no opportunity has yet presented to ship it to Boston." The price for this pig iron

was twenty eight dollars per ton. Regardless of Brown & Benson’s response to the offer, Revere requested they "ship assoon as possible ten tons of Pigs by the way of

Nantucket without there should be a Vessell coming here from Providence." On October 10,1789, Brown & Benson responded to Revere's query about "the Grey

Pigs," informing him that "the Furnace will not be in Blast till the Spring, the price will not be less than Twenty Five dollars deliver’d here...we may perhaps be able to

furnish you withs o m e ."13 While the Hope Furnace hoped to supply Revere with pigs iron, the State of Massachusetts furnished Revere with old cannons in 1789.

Revere received at least 23 pieces of cannon that year, fourteen of them from

Twisden, Bartolls and Hoopers Hills and the F o r t14 As Revere's business

expanded after 1793, he customarily credited old cannon and bells as payment

towards an account In this case, there is no evidence to suggest that Revere cast any

ordnance for Massachusetts prior to 1794.

^Correspondence between PR and Brown & Benson, Letterbook 1783-1800,3 November 1788; Letter, 11 April 1788; Letterbook 1783-1800,3 November 1788; Letter, 10 October 1789, RFP.

14Receipt, 1789 (no date). Revere paid to have nine of the pieces weighed, suggesting he did not yet have scales.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 9

While the 1787-1789 accounts and correspondence document Revere's preparation

for the enterprise, a frustrating lack of records from 1790 through 1791 hinders understanding of the earliest years of operation. Resuming in 1792, die accounts provide insight into Revere’s products, customers, laborers and suppliers. Although

Revere documented numerous sales of cast iron goods to private citizens between 1792-1794, he began production as early as October 1788. Between October and

January 1789, he sold a small number of window weights, fire backs and stoves.

Revere continued to sell these products as well as iron grates in 1789. In February

1789, Revere paid Mr. Austin "for Carving Stove pattern" at 12 shillings, Simon Hall

for two stove patterns at £ 3 and Bowers and Lucias £ 1-10 for a small stove pattern and back. Revere recorded the sale of a variety of iron goods to a number of clients in 1792 and 1793, including stoves, clothes press plates, sash weights, iron wheels for bridges, chimney backs and iron products used by metalworkers.^in his

accounts, Revere noted the date, name of the customer, product sold, price and

method of payment Stoves, both plate and Franklin, and chimney backs comprised

a large portion of Revere's sales (Fig. 1). Although Revere did not name his supplier, he paid £ 4-6-0 "for a board for Stove patt[em]" on July 18,1793.16 One

month later, he purchased patterns for a stove and a small stove. Revere sold numerous chimney backs to at least eleven Bostonians in 1793. Most customers

remitted cash to Revere, but Revere did credit a few accounts for old stoves. In the

^Cash & Memoranda Bode, 1791-1801. Revere provided at least two customers with "iron dogs” in 1793. Jonathan P. Hall purchased one pair of "Iron dogs" at seven shillings and six pence in September 1793 while John Haskins paid sixteen shillings and three pence for two pair of dogs (Vol 9). The reference is unclear, but these may refer to andirons.

16Memoranda Book 1793,18 July 1793, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 10

lirMV-

«;..■ *.• f \ • :* • • * -"• t ...r* V f V P ^ #' l1 • v< v £ * 'i*

« '■ • - r r r ^ - ' ”■*•*.** * ;.;** :&•! r . i l . . X .. . -r.es/* 'V iA

-/• 1-'«••' - •:

V ■••.'• -V-;

Fig. 1. Revere's drawing of a stove with his recipe for "Mud for thickness of Bell" above. Undated entry in the 1793 Memoranda Book, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 11

beginning of 1794, Revere curtailed the manufacture of these iron goods, switching his emphasis to the casting of ordnance. However, Revere may have continued to retail iron products.*?

While the documents contain numerous references to iron manufactures, Revere failed to record the production of decorative iron or brass metalwork at the foundry. In the mid 1780's, prior to constructing the furnace, Revere imported English decorative objects as well as purchasing these goods from Boston merchants for resale in his hardware store. In this time of heavy imports for the nation as a whole,

Revere imported dozens of brass, brass-balled, iron and plated candlesticks, shovel and tongs and other decorative objects. On December 10,1785, Revere advertised in

the Massachusetts Centinel his "General assortment of Hardware, consisting of

Pewter, Brass, Copper, Ironmongery, Cutlery, Jappaned and Plated Wares "

Revere shifted from artisan of decorative objects to merchant of hardware and decorative objects and finally, to foundry owner and producer of utilitarian iron

goods. Other merchants, such as the Browns of Providence, also expanded into the base metals industry following the Revolutionary War.

Although iron manufactures characterized the 1787-1792 period, Revere initiated bell casting in 1792. Comprising just a small part of his foundry operations, bell

casting became one of Revere’s most enduring enterprises. He sold one bell in 1792, five bells in 1793, and by 1800, he had cast at least 27 church bells, in addition to

17In November 1794, Revere corresponded with Peter T. Curtenius, the New York merchant, ironmonger and Hope Furnace agent, sending "Measures for Cast Iron plates, for Chimney-Backs" with instructions "to have them cast open" as "the broad part of the measures, are the face of the plates." Letterbook 1783-1800,1 November 1794, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 12

numerous ship and schoolhouse bells.18 Not long after the furnace began operation,

Revere contacted Nicholas Brown of the Hope Furnace, requesting information on the recasting of a bell and a copy of Richard Watson's Chemical Essavs (1781- 1787). in an October 10,1789 letter, Brown informed Revere that they had spent

more than £ 60 in recasting a meeting Bell, owing to the labor intensive nature of the

task. Brown found "the best description for making the Mould ...displayed Vol 7th

on Bell Foundry, tho* we did not make the Moulds by the proportion there mention'd, but made the bell shorter."20 Revere may have been referring to this type

of mold customization when he paid eight pence and six shillings in 1793 "for Altring

patterns Mr Brown." Three months later, in September 1793, Revere paid 12

shillings for tin letters for bells; in October he purchased patterns of crowns for large

and small bells. Revere recorded his recipe for "The Mud for thickness of Bell" as

"one part horse dung one part Sand & one part Clay."21

The six bells Revere cast in 1792-1793 include examples of church, schoolhouse

and ship bells, the three types of bells he produced through the 1790's. Revere sold

18Partial Bell lists. Cash & Memoranda Bode 1781-1801 and Stock Book 1793-1828, REP. There is a slight discrepancy between these two lists.

^Published in five volumes between 1781 and 1787, Watson's Chemical Essavs were written for those with little or no experience in chemistry. For further information, the reader is directed to Coleby, "Richard Watson, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Cambridge, 1764-71," Annals of Science 9, no. 2 (30 June 1953).

20Nicholas Brown to PR, letter, 10 October 1789, RFP. Attempts to locate Volume 7 have proven fruitless. Volume 7 of Encyclopaedia Britannica <17971 includes a detailed description of bell founding, but is too late. However, the first volume of the 1797 edition was completed in October 1788, so perhaps the seventh volume had been issued by October 1789. Bell founding is located in Volume 2 of the 1771 edition and Volume4 of die 1784 edition.

21Cash & Memoranda 1791-1801,8 June 1793; 28 September 1793 & 5 October 1793; Memoranda Book 1793, no date, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 13

his first bell, a church bell, to the Newbrick Society of Boston in 1792. He also sold

church bells to the towns of Amherst and Westford, a schoolhouse bell to the Academy of Westford and probably a ship bell to Captain Lane. Bell types were

based on weight, with church bells weighing over 500 lbs., schoolhouse bells

between 100 and 300 lbs. and ship bells under 100 lbs. Revere's market for bells exhibited steady growth throughout the 1790's, probably because church and school

bells were unaffected by the political forces which defined the middle and later periods of foundry operation. With this understanding, Revere’s charges and terms

of payment for church and schoolhouse bells can be considered here. In 1795, Revere charged two shillings and seven pence per pound for a church bell for the

town of Cohasset and an additional 18 shillings for "altering dapper.” Revere

recorded a £ 30 down payment on die £ 99-14-3 bill and credited the town's account for an "Old bell Wt 499 @ 1/ ."22 Revere's prices and extension of credit, as well as

his practice of crediting accounts with old bells, varied little through the 1790’s.

IsaiahThomas, leading publisher, Freemason and spokesman for the Committee at

Worcester, wrote to Revere in July 1798, ordering a new bell of 1150 or 1200 lbs. Revere quoted Thomas a price of "one Shilling pr lb for the broken Bell, and two Shillings and seven pence per lb for the new one."23 The Committee could purchase

a new bell for two shillings and six pence, but they would give Revere "the preference," probably because of his friendship with Thomas.

^Memoranda Book 1788-1795,6 February 1795, RFP.

■^Isaiah Thomas to PR, letter, 30 July 1798, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 14

Revere’s need for equipment, supplies and raw material grew in proportion to the volume of production. In 1792, Revere paid to transport unspecified patterns from

Eastown and back, while in 1793, Revere purchased "4 Core Moulds" and "Iron

plate & hoops for Moulds" as well as stove and bell patterns. Revere recorded the purchase of sand from particular locales: molding sand from Norton, and sand from Watertown and Menotomy. Joseph Belknap often carted this sand to the furnace. In

1792, Revere paid 48 shillings per chaldron of coal, an increase of at least eight

shillings per chaldron over 1787. Revere continued to purchase loads of clay and

nails. Absent from the 1792-1793 accounts are payments for lime. If Revere encountered difficulty in obtaining any of these supplies, or iron, he failed to record it A series of entries in the 1793 Memoranda Book occurring mostly between August 15 and September 1,1793 simply state "Iron from Philadelphia." Revere obtained 9401 lbs. of "Iron New from Hanover" in four parcels in 1793. Another

entry from that year mentions iron from Providence. Purchase prices are conspicuously absent Revere did pay £ 30-7-0 in September 1793 to "Mr Widde for 607 lb Copper @ II." Flialrim Morse, merchant & druggist on Dock Square, sold 387 lbs. of block tin to Revere in September 1793. He charged one shilling and six pence per pound, with the order totalling £ 29-0-6.24

Revere's business network of suppliers, as well as customers and laborers,

proved to be instrumental for die continued success of die foundry. While Revere's bell clientele of town councils and academies provided him with business contacts

receipted bill exists for this purchase of tin, 9 September 1793, RFP. Revere recorded the other purchases of equipment, supplies and raw materials in his Cash & Memoranda Book 1791- 1801, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 15

throughout Massachusetts and into New Hampshire, his customers for the chimney backs and other iron manufactures had the greatest impact on his business in later years. Harrison G. Otis, chimney back customer in November 1793, played a vital

role in directing ordnance contracts to Revere in the late 1790's. Boston merchant

Andrew Leach, who purchased iron from Revere in 1793, purchased copper bolts in 1801. Customers for products used in metalworking later became Revere's jobbers and suppliers. Revere sold "Mr Howe Tinman" a cast iron mold in June 1793. Four

years later, Howe & Son provided Revere with patterns for ship p a r t s . 2 5

Coppersmith Joshua Wetherly, supplier and occasional jobber for Revere in the mid-

1790's, purchased an iron block and iron swage from Revere in 1793.

Founding requires both specialized and unspecialized labor. Between 1787 and 1789, Revere recorded the names of ten laborers: Paul Read, David Hooper, Joel

White, Zebulon White, Samuel Carthy, Samuel Clap, Nash, Simmons, Whitney and

Brown. With the exception of Zebulon White, these laborers do not reappear in later documents, suggesting that they may have been unspecialized workers involved more in the construction of the furnace than in die founding process. Revere paid the

laborers to cord wood, cart clay and clean out a well Paul Read seemed to be most

versatile and specialized, earning £ 3-7-6 "To building Rough fence round Furnace" and £ 1-15 to cast an iron press and small press. Typical of 18th- and early 19th-

century business practices, Revere paid wages and board to his labor force. In November 1788, Revere paid Zebulon White 5 shillings/day for 45 days work and Samuel Carthy 4 shillings/day for 31 days work. Joel White earned 6 shillings/day

^Receipted bill to Henry Jackson for Frigate Constitution, 28 October 1797, RFP. Howe & Son provided patterns for sheves, screws and pump boxes.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 16

for 50 days work. In December 1788, Revere debited the furnace for 9 weeks board

for Joel White, 7 weeks for Zeb White, 5 weeks for Carthy and 1 week for Clay. At other times, Revere recorded board for Read and David Hopper.26

Revere's 1792-1794work force formed the core of his waged labor force for the

next four years. Revere engaged six laborers repeatedly between 1792and 1798.

Nelson Miller, Stanley Carter, William Story, John Freelove and Zebulon White all

traveled to the furnace when needed; Solomon Oliver may have been employed on a

more regular basis. Miller, a blacksmith, lived in Foxborough; Carter resided in

Raynham Town, Bristol County. Story lived in Boston, while Freelove came from Freetown, Bristol County. Two listings for Zebulon White appear in the 1790Heads of Families index, one for Freetown, the other for Norton. Solomon Oliver,

probably a minor, does not appear in the Census indices or Boston City Directory.

Revere also employed a few other laborers in 1792-1793to work at the foundry, including Mathew Metcalf, Stephen Metcalf, Mr. Whitney and Henry, a black man.27 The 1792-1793accounts record wage payments to Miller, Story, Carter,

White, Solomon and Freelove, with the bulk of the entries running from May through November, the foundry's peak period of operation. Of these laborers, Zebulon White had the longest association with Revere and earned the highest daily wage. In terms of wages, Revere paid Zebulon White £ 25-13-4 in November 1793 for "77

S e v e re recorded early foundry records, including these labor records, in die Rising States Lodge Record Book, now in the possession of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons, Boston.

^Mathew Metcalf may have been a journeyman in Revere's silver shop before the Revolutionary War. In September 1762, Revere charged two weeks board to Mathew Metcalf. For further information, the reader is directed to Federhen, "From Artisan to Entrepreneur," in Paul Revere - Artisan. Businessman, and Patriot. (Boston: The Paul Revere Memorial Association, 1988), 73.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 17

days work at the fumace...@ 6/8." In September 1792, 'Wiliam Story and Stanley Carter each received five shillings per day while Nelson Miller earned she shilllings per day for 95 days of work between May and December 1793.28 Revere deducted £

1 each from their accrued earnings. John Freelove also earned five shillings per day

and Solomon Oliver earned the lowest wage of three or four shillings per day. Revere rarely mentioned what tasks these men performed at the foundry. It appears

that he often dispatched them to pick up raw materials at Hanover, Watertown and Norton.29

Revere crammed his record of the laborers’ schedule from May 23,1793 through October 9,1793, onto one page in the 1793 Memoranda Book. The laborers often worked at the foundry for several weeks at a time during the busy season. Revere

noted, "Mr Miller came Thursday the 23 [of May] at night Mr White &M r Story came Saturday the 25 at Night..Capt White Mr Miller Mr Story went home Saturday Morfning] June 15." Revere also paid laborers for a week's work or just a day or two. Revere recorded numerous entries "to cash paid Solomon Six day @4/" while

in June 1793, Freelove "went to work one day, & one day fishing." With the exception of Solomon Oliver, Revere continuously mentioned that his laborers "came to work" and then "went home." Surprisingly, Revere failed to mention board for

these laborers, suggesting that they boarded themselves or lived with relatives. He made only one reference to board in 1793. He paid "Henry a black Man for 3 Weeks

^Receipted accounts, 14 November 1793; 13 September 1792; 2 December 1793, RFP.

2®In the Cash & Memoranda Bod: 1791-1801, Revere specifies "To my Expences going to ..." but then also makes note of T o expences going to_" The latter probably refers to die laborers.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 18

Work at furnace" and then debited the furnace's account for "3 week board for Henry

@ 15/ [per week]."30

In the early years, Revere's organization of labor and materials and his

manufactures were essentially traditional. Revere produced goods for a regional

clientele, utilizing the talents of Massachusetts workers and the raw materials of New England. The foundry, like others of the time, operated within the framework of a provincial economy. While the foundry’s activities proved unexceptional in this period, Paul Revere demonstrated a talent for record keeping and organization. As

his workers made castings, Revere established a business network, keeping meticulous notes on customers, raw materials and suppliers. In March 1788, Revere traveled to Marblehead and in August 1788 and October 1792, he went to Providence on business.31

In addition to making contact with suppliers and overseeing the operation, Revere

sought a position with the Federal government and participated in civic affairs. On

May 7,1789, Samuel Otis, a business acquaintance from the hardware store,

informed Revere that "fewer appointments than are generally imagined will be made." On January 24,1791, Massachusetts representative Fisher Ames responded to

Revere's enquiry into an appointment as Director of the United States Mint or in the

Custom's Service, informing him that "the circumstances will not much encourage

the hope of an appointm ent."^ With his political aspirations thwarted, Revere

30Cash & Memoranda Book 1791-1801, April-May, 1793, REP.

31The Rising States Lodge Record Book.

-^This subtle response may be referring to the unpopularity of Revere's known Federalist beliefs.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 19

expanded his energy with his business, concentrating on establishing a network of suppliers and influential clients for the foundry during the 1787-1793 period.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEFENSE CONTRACTOR: 1794-1800

The year 1794 marked a watershed for the Revere foundry. While continuing to

cast bells, Revere curtailed his manufacture of iron goods in favor of the production of ordnance and, by 1795, ship fittings. This shift corresponded with the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. In 1793, France declared war on Britain, Spain

and Holland. The new United States government, lacking a strong militaryand

economic base, proclaimed neutrality. With western Europe preoccupied by war, the United States played a preeminent role in international shipping, bringing prosperity to the shipping industry and other sectors of the American economy. Following the

American Revolution, the closure of British ports to American vessels, coupled with an economic depression, had crippled the New England shipbuilding industry. The

outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars offered American merchants and shipbuilders an

opportunity to prosper. Wartime demand for men and ships and England's

domination of the seas limited the opportunity for European merchants to engage in overseas trade. American vessels filled the void left by these powers, importing and reexporting European goods.

The dynamics of the situation varied continually over the course of the war as diplomatic circumstances shifted. Soon after the declaration of war, Britain

recognized the 1778 French-American treaty and began seizing American ships in the

20

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 21

French West Indies. President Washington responded to this crisis by sending Chief

Justice John Jay to England in 1794 to negotiate a treaty. This 1795 Jay Treaty effectively nullified the 1778 alliance with France and provoked the ruling Directory

in France to order the seizure of American vessels carrying British goods. Hoping to

avert war with France, President John Adams sent a team of negotiators to Paris. Elbridge Gerry, John Marshall and Charles Pinckney found they could not even open

negotiations until they paid $250,000 to Foreign Minister Tallyrand's agents. This scandal in 1797, known as the XYZ Affair, provoked anti-French sentiment in the United States and cries for war. Congress ordered American ships to capture French vessels, beginning an undeclared war fought in the West Indies between French

privateers and American warships. Hysteria preceding this quasi-war stimulated increased appropriations for defense and led to the creation of die United States Navy

in the spring of 1798. In this milieu of military madness between 1794-1799, the Federal and several state governments contracted with Revere for field artillery, and ordnance, bells and ship fittings for the new naval warships.

The domestic political scene allowed Revere to take full advantage of the

international crisis. The Federal government, comprised of the intellectual and military leaders who had risen to power during the Revolution, sought out those with

military ties and experience. Having served in both die French and Indian War and the American Revolution, Revere had these ties. In 1756, the third year of the French

and Indian War, Revere was commissioned a second lieutenent of artillery in the

Massachusetts expedition sent to Crown Point Revere served again in another

artillery regiment in the Revolutionary War. Originally commissioned a major in the

Massachusetts Militia in April 1776, he became a lieutenant colonel in the

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 22

Massachusetts State's Train of Artillery seven months later, serving at "The Castle," a fort protecting Boston Harbor. Revere commanded an artillery detachment sent to collect British prisoners at Worcester in 1777 and later in that year, participated in the campaigns in Newport, Rhode Island. Following the unsuccessful attempts to oust

the British from Newport, Revere com m and ed the artillery on an expedition to

Castine, Maine. Lack of cooperation among American commanders and panic by the

troops caused the mission to fail miserably and Revere was charged with failure to

obey orders. Although he was cleared of these charges in 1782, and his lackluster

military career had ended in 1779 amidst unpleasant circumstances, Revere was familiar with ordnance and had contacts with military leaders, such as Henry Knox,

Washington's first Secretary of War. This combination of experience and

connections in an era of heightened military tensions boded well for Revere's

ordnance business.

The First Phase: 1794-1796

The military build-up from 1794 through 1796 occurred gradually. Revere's first

documented production of ordnance can be traced back to April 1794. That month he contracted with the State of Massachusetts to cast twelve brass 3 pounder cannon.

Revere charged one sh illin g and four pence per pound for casting and finishing the cannon in addition to passing along his costs for raw materials and melting the brass

into pigs. He completed the job in October 1794; the cannon totalled 4944 lb. and the bill came to £ 423-13-1. By June 1795, Revere boasted that he had cast for

Massachusetts "upwards of 30 pieces" and had orders "to cast ten more all three

pounders." He completed twelve 3 pounders for Massachusetts in September 1795,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 23

again charging for raw materials and raising his rate to one shilling and five pence per pound of finished cannon.33 Revere cast these cannon from Stoutes pattem.34

As a result of his contacts and promotional activities, Revere's client base

expanded into other stales. Revere contracted with the Alexandria Artillery Company

in 1795to provide "1 Six pounder with travelling Carriage Compleat" and "2 Three pounders with travelling Carriage CompleaL"35 Learning of Revere through Major

Samuel Hodgdon, Superindentent of Stores in Philadelphia, the Company expected Revere to "furnish good & Warranted pieces of such a length as are most generally

approved of' and offered payment from Thomas Patten of Alexandria through Mr Joseph May of Boston. The Artillery Company, unaware of the time and expense

involved in casting cannon, wished to modify their order at a late date, delaying payment for Revere. On May 23,1795,James Lawrason of the Artillery Company informed Revere that Patten had paid "about 750Dollars which sum...will pay for the two three pounders” but that the Company no longer desired the six pounder as they had received "one of that size from this State." Revere explained that he could not

sell the cannon to Massachusetts, as they "do not supply their Militia with Six pounders" and it had already been inscribed with "ALEXANDRIA ARTILLERY." Furthermore, Revere noted that Joseph May had only received $300 on the

33 Account with Massachusetts, Cash & Memoranda Book 1791-1801; PR to James Lawrason, Letterbook 1783-1800,14 June 1795, RFP.

^ P R to Captain James Byers at Springfield, Letterbook 1783-1800,24May 1795,RFP. In this letter, Revere advises Byers to cast his cannon from this pattern and offers to send him a draught if he does not have one. I have not been able to locate the source.

35James Lawrason to PR, letter, 1795 (the date is obliterated, but it had to be before May 11, 1795), RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 24

Company's account and warned Lawrason that "the Carrige maker & Blacksmith,

will not lett either of the Cannon go from them till they are paid, and are very uneasy

that they have not got theirm o n e y ." 3 6 This exchange was Revere’s first encounter

with difficulty in exacting payment, but it certainly was not the last The mechanisms

for communication and exchange simply failed to keep pace with the expanding markets. Although Revere's business network had expanded, as evidenced by Hodgdon’s involvement, communication rapidly broke down after the initial inquiry,

with Patten, May and Revere uncertain of their contractual obligations and payments.

While the Artillery Company's and Massachusetts' contracts provided jobs for

Revere, the Federal government became his most important client in this period. Beginning in 1794, Revere forged a link with the United States government, ultimately establishing himself as a defense contractor by the start of the 1798 quasi­ war with France. On July 23,1794, Revere contracted to cast and deliver ten brass howitzers to the United States (Fig. 2). Revere must have informed the federal government about his foundry through General Henry Knox, since Knox responded

to Revere’s "favor of 3. Ultimo". Revere and Knox knew and respected one another from their participation in the Sons of Liberty organization and the Revolutionary

War. This connection played a pivotal role in Revere’s negotiations with the Federal government. President Washington, wary of private arms manufacturers, urged

Congress in April 17>4 -'

and Magazines." While Knox selected the first arsenal site at Springfield, Massachusetts, he also entertained Revere's offer to contract for ordnance. In his

36PR to James Lawrason, Letterbook 1783-1800,14 June 1795, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Jivldl ('A t Z’-uylA'.'tK yf-trcv*: j Fig. 2. George Fleming's drawing ofa howitzer, dated 1799. Revere's howitzer of 1794 probably looked much like the one pictured here. Loose manuscripts, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 26

letter of March 11,1794, Knox, Secretary of War, informed Revere that the government had obtained brass cannon from the Federal arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts, but in case more were wanted, Knox asked Revere "For how much pr pound could you find the metal, and cast an eight inch howitzer weighing 1500 lb and finish the same off in the best manner supposing you had six or ten to casL"37

Tench Coxe, Commissioner of the Revenue, soon took over the negotiations and in

June, requested Revere to specify his prices. Coxe inquired of Revere," ...at what

price you will deliver [the howitzers] finished and thoroughly proved, you finding the materials; also at what price completely proved you will make them, if the materials are furnished by the United States."38 The contract between Revere and Coxe,

executed July 23,1794, stated that the federal government "agrees to furnish the said

Paul Revere with the necessary quantity of Copper and other materials requisite for

the composition of the Brass for the said ten Howitz." The contract also specified that Revere shall receive "seventeen Cents for each pound weight" of the howitzers,

with the total weight "ascertained after they shall be bored out and completely finished.” In return, Revere agreed to deliver the first pair of howitzers to a specified wharf in Boston within six weeks of receiving the metal and an additional pair at least

every month thereafter. Captain James Byers of the Federal arsenal at Springfield,

Massachusetts, received a contract with identical terms at the same time.

Completing this order proved challenging. Revere's first difficulty was to locate

raw materials. The contract specified that the government was to furnish Revere with

37Henry Knox to PR, letter, 11 March 1794, RFP.

38Tench Coxe to PR, letter, 16 June 1794, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 27

the metals, but Revere actually had to procure the copper and tin for himself and for

Byers. Just two days before the contract was signed, Coxe asked Revere how much copper he could procure at what price while suggesting that "it may be found best to purchase the metal for Mr Buyers at Boston also."39 Produced in negligible

quantities in the United States until the Civil War, copper had to be imported.

Consequently, Revere found it easiest to locate scrap copper in port cities. This

process of locating metal in Boston and other ports was complex and time consuming

because few merchants imported large quantities of copper. In 1796, Revere expressed his frustration to Comptroller John Davis, "[The] Copper I purchased my Self & in such parcels as I could git it, and from upwars of thirty different people. "40

Boston artisans seem to have comprised the bulk of these suppliers. Six suppliers appear repeatedly in the 1793-1795 Memoranda Book: Cordwell & Wells, James,

Wetherley, Austin, Boardman and Winship. A host of others are mentioned sporadically. Cardwell & Wells are listed in the 1796 Boston Directory as coppersmiths, Edwards' Wharf, Back Street The Mr. James referred to by Revere is

Enoch James, an anchor smith on Lewis's Wharf in Boston. The name Joshua

Wetherley is scrawled across a page in the 1793 Memoranda Book. Wetherley, a coppersmith, owned land adjacent to Revere’s furnace. Austin refers to Samuel Austin, a founder. Austin was in brief partnership with one of Revere's contractors,

Robert Crocker, a brass founder on Edwards' Wharf, Back Street Although these

Boston suppliers provided much copper to Revere, he sought out the metal in other colonial ports as well In November 1794, Revere wrote to Edward Edwards, a

39Tench Coxe to PR, letter, 21 July 1794, RFP.

^ R to John Davis, Letterbook 1783-1800,4 March 1796, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 28

Philadelphia merchant, requesting Edwards "to enquire wether one or two tons of Old

Copper can be purchased in your City & at what price. "41 Providence, Rhode

Island, was also another source of copper for Revere. In a series of 1793-1795 entries of "Copper from...", Revere recorded "Providence." Revere also sent copper

to a contractor in Providence on occasion.

Much of the copper Revere purchased was imported from the West Indies. The utensils utilized in sugar production, such as stills and ladles, often burned out or melted to an unusable state and were sold as scrap copper. Revere's correspondence

supports this point. Writing to Tench Francis in the naval department in February

1795, Revere stated that "it is very dificult to procure Copper, and will take a some

time to git it" since he was "obliged to purchase it in small quantities... imported from the WestIndies. "42 The quality of this copper proved problematic. While explaining

to Nathaniel Gorham, Esq., Supervisor of Massachusetts, why his losses in

producing 10 howitzers were greater than James Byers of Springfield, Revere stated,

"I was obliged to purchase [copper] in small parcels which were utensils that had

been burned in the West Indies and their was frequently among it Iron that I could not

fond..." While the government restricted Revere to one shilling and two pence per

pound of copper, Boston suppliers soon "raised the price to 1/6" forcing Revere to

purchase parcels such as the one "which consisted of three Stills, which were Dutch made..."43

41PR to Edward Edwards, Letterbook 1783-1800,3 November 1794, RFP.

42PR to Tench Francis, Letterbook 1783-1800,16 February 1795, RFP.

43PR to Nathaniel Gorham, Letterbook 1783-1800,27 January 1796; PR to John Davis, Letterbook 1783-1800,7 March 1796, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 29

Locating tin, the other metal requisite for the howitzers, proved less troublesome.

Herman Brimmer, listed in the 1789 Boston Directory as a merchant, provided

Revere with block tin in September and November 1794. Revere recorded each

block by number and weight, suggesting that he wanted certain grades of the metaL

The September order totalled £ 120-10-0 while the November purchase of three

blocks came to £ 106-18-0.44 Revere paid 2 shillings per pound for this tin. In the

1793-1795 Memoranda Book, Revere also recorded tin from Cordwell & Wells and

in July 1796, he purchased block tin from Klialrim Morse. Revere purchased a total

o f 4712 lbs. of tin, sending 1800 lbs. of it to Byers. Revere also sent Byers 15,473

lbs. of copper, keeping 22,559 lbs. for himself.45 The bill for the raw materials, and

for packing and carting, totalled £ 2733-2-2. Nathaniel Gorham, Supervisor of

Massachusetts, paid a series of cash payments to Revere between August 1794 and

September 1795.46

Although the difficulties locating raw materials may have frustrated Revere, he encountered greater problems with the Federal government's expanding bureaucracy.

Misinformation from the War Office concerning the weight of the howitzers delayed

Revere's progress. Explaining the problem to Tench Coxe in November 1794,

Revere stated, "I under Stood at the War office, that the Howitzer I saw there, and

which is the moddle [sic] from which I cast mine, weighed but 1500 wt, I find...that

they will weigh near or quite 1900 when finished." Because of this misinformation,

^Receipt, 26 November 1794, RFP.

45PR to John Davis, Letterbook 1783-1800,4 Much 1796, REP.

■^Howitzer Account, Cash & Memoranda Book 1791-1801, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 30

Revere "made a miss Cast for want of metal" and requested an additional 4,300 lbs. of copper and 450 lbs. of tin.4*? A perceived lack of communication in the chain of command may have induced Revere to inform General Knox of his request to Tench Coxe. Knox, an influential figure in the government, helped Revere overcome bureaucratic sluggishness and inefficiency numerous times during the next six years.

Just one week after writing to Coxe and Knox, Coxe informed Revere that Nathaniel Gorham had been requested to furnish him with the additional metal required for casting the howitzer. In February 1795, Revere informed Timothy Pickering, the new Secretary of War after Knox resigned, that the howitzers were ready for proving

and "part have been ready a month." Although willing to honor his contract, Revere

saw no need to prove the howitzers and attempted to persuade Pickering of this, arguing that it would "be only Waisting Amunition to prove them" as they were "So

very thick on the Chamber."4** Since Pickering failed to respond, Revere appealed to

Coxe in March, informing him that he had not received orders to have them proved or to finish them without proving. This appeal may have prompted Pickering to respond

in April 1795. Pickering’s note to Revere revealed the disruption resulting from a

change of staff. On April 3,1795, Pickering informed Revere that not only was he

unfamiliar with the terms of Revere’s contract, the only person he knew of near

Boston employed to prove cannon had been dispatched to Rhode Island. One day later, he added a postscript that this man, Major Lillie, was now in Boston and had

been ordered to prove the howitzers4^ Much to Revere's dismay, one of the

47PR to Tench Coxe, Letterbook 1783-1800,3 November 1794, RFP.

^PR to Tinothy Pickering, Letterbook 1783-1800,16 February 1795, RFP.

49Timotby Pickering to PR, Letter, 3 April 1795, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 31

howitzers burst in proving and had to be cast over again, resulting in a loss of metal

and additional wages for laborers.

On August 31,1795, thirteen months after receiving the contract, Revere

completed the job, informing Coxe that the ten howitzers were ready for delivery. Although Revere delivered the howitzers to Major Caleb Gibbs at the Navy Yard in Boston and forwarded his account to Tench Coxe, he found that he had to contend with the process of bureaucratic review in collecting his payment Coxe had not responded by November, prompting Revere to seek the aid of General Knox. Revere

requested Knox to "hint to him [Coxe], that I am in want of the pay, that it has been a

long Job, and that the money would do me a great deal of Good. "50 Nathaniel

Gorham and John Davis, Comptroller, reviewed Revere's account, and decided to

delay payment until Revere explained why his metal losses were greater than those of

Byers. Revere offered a lengthy explanation in January 1796, citing the inferiority of

the copper, the bad casts caused by the War Office's misinformation and the burst howitzer, among other reasons.51 Davis, apparendy satisfied with this explanation,

notified Revere on March 24,1796 that his account had been adjusted and "a balance

of Two thousand four hundred and ninety eight Dollars and thirty nine Cents" would

be paid to him by Gorham. The howitzers weighed a total of 16,917 lbs. and Revere

charged two dollars each for finishing the Arms of the United States on die

howitzers. He also passed along the $2.50 cost for having the Arms pattern carved.

This totaled $2898.39, and Revere had already received $400 from Gorham,

50PR to Henry Knox, Letterbook 1783-1800,30 November 1795, RFP.

51PR to John Davis, Letterbook 1783-1800,27 January 1796, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 32

explaining the balance of $2498.39. Correspondence from April 1798suggests that

at least six of the howitzers were placed on board a ship. Writing to Captain Barry in

Philadelphia,Revere noted, "Six of the 8 Inch howitzers are Sent to Philadelphia as I suppose for your Ship...they are of myCasting."52

Revere relied on his six laborers, plus the Metcalfs, to cast the howitzers and brass

cannon at the foundry. Nelson Miller, blacksmith, seemed especially important to the

casting operation. After his howitzer burst in proving, Revere wrote to Miller, asking

him to help "Cast that one [howitzer] over again, & to Cast a Bell."53 Miller and his

son responded to Revere's request, earning $24 for work from May 18,1795 to June 2,1795. Although Revere's laborers cast the howitzers at the foundry, they did not finish them there. Revere subcontracted, or jobbed this work out to Eleb Faxon, an

edgetool maker, listed in the 1810 Massachusetts Census as a resident of Roxbury,

west of Boston. A 1795-1796 receipted bill from Faxon to Revere documents

Faxon’s involvement with the howitzers. Beginning in 1795 and signed on April 2,

1796, this bill itemized eight tasks and their costs, including a charge of £ 75-0-0

'To boring turning & filing 10 Howitzers @ £ 7-10" and £ 3-0-0 'To Cleaning 5

Howitzn @ 12/." Faxon also worked on the brass cannon intended for Massachusetts

or Alexandria, but finishing the cannon commanded a lower price than the howitzers.

Faxon chaiged £ 36-0-0 "To Turning & boring boring [sic] & filling 12 pieces of Cannon @ £ 3 ea." Faxon also finished a mortar for Revere at 18 shillings. The

single most expensive item on the bill, drawing copper bolts, totalled £ 430-2-9. The

52PR to Captain Barry, Letterbook 1783-1800,29April 1798,RFP.

33PR to Nelson Miller, Letter, 1 May 1795,REP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 33

entire bill came to £ 551-14-3; Revere subtracted £ 281-16-4 for Faxon's account and paid a balance of £ 269-17-11.54

While Revere's laborers worked on the cannon and howitzers, Revere attempted

to negotiate a contract with the United States government for six carronades, short,

light, large caliber cannons placed on ships for use at short range. The negotiations

for this contract became mired in the government bureaucracy for four years, until the

impending war with France prompted action. Shortly after commissioning Revere

for the howitzers, Coxe requested Revere to provide an estimate of the necessary

metal and his terms for six carronades agreeable "to a Patent of those used on board the Frigate La Concorde." Coxe warned Revere that that the job would be contracted

to the lowest bidder but urged Revere to submit low terms "as for particular reasons it would be agreeable to employ you in preference. "55 Just five days later, before

Revere had submitted his terms, General Knox informed Revere that he had

requested Coxe to grant Revere the contract for the carronades. Revere furnished

Coxe with his terms on November 23,1794, asking twenty-two cents per pound and

estimating the need for 6,000 lbs. of copper and 600 lbs. of tin. Concerned that this price would seem exorbitant when compared with the seventeen cents per pound he

charged for the howitzers, Revere explained that "it is as expensive, to prepare the implements for the Moulds, for six, as for sixty" while "there is double the risque,

work, & dificulty, in moulding & Casting, a Carronade, that there is in a Common

^Receipted Account, 2 April 1796, RFP. Months are not specified on the bill, with the exception of a notation for August

55Tench Coxe to PR, Letter, 10 November 1794, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 34

Gun."56 Having no trunnions, carronades required a loop cast underneath the piece

to secure it to the carriage. The walls of the gun barrel were also thinner than an ordinary cannon and more susceptible to bursting.

Revere endured continual delays after submitting his terms. Coxe replied that the ordering of the carronades was a naval matter that fell under the jurisdiction of Tench

Francis and that he had forwarded the information to Francis. When Revere received

no acknowledgement from Francis by February 1795, he wrote to him, informing Francis that Knox requested him "to go on board the French Frigate the Concord, and take a drawing of the Brass Charonades...and send him a draught "57 This letter

elicited no response but Revere must have assumed that he would receive the contract and cooperate with James Byers since he shipped 350 lbs of fine brass "reserved for the Carronades" to Byers in May 1795. One month later, Revere appealed to Pickering, Secretary of War, to have the job authorized as he was fully prepared to cast the carronades. Again, Revere received no orders to cast the carronades. General Knox, now an influential private citizen residing in Maine, acted as an

intermediary between his old friend Revere and the government. Learning of the situation in February 1797 on a visit to the foundry, Knox counselled Revere to

correspond with Captain Samuel Nicholson. Revere explained to Nicholson that

Knox "advised me to mention the Matter to you for per haps you would write to the

Secretary of War about them for [Knox] thought they were the best peice [sic] of Ordnance, He ever Saw on Board a Ship."58 Nicholson successfully persuaded the

56PR to Tench Coxe, Letterbook 1783-1800,23 November 1794, RFP.

57PR to Tench Francis, Letterbook 1783-1800,16 February 1795, RFP.

58PR to Samuel Nicholson, Letterbook 1783-1800,13 February 1797, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 35

Secretary of War to provide him with the carronades and on April 29,1798, Revere

noted that he had received orders to cast them. Several months later, Revere recorded

in the 1796-1798 Memoranda Book "Henry Jackson, EsqTTo 10 Carronades Wt

1463 lb." Following this entry, Revere mentioned another order for "4 Carronades

for Ships Mercury and Washington weight 585 lb @ 50 Cent"

The negotiations for these carronades, as well as the contract for the howitzers,

point out the paradoxical role of the government during this time period. Revere recognized that the government could be the critical ingredient in his recipe for

success; however, bureaucratic inefficiency hindered his efforts to ran a well- organized buiness. This paradox may have become more bearable when the threats of war intensified, giving Revere the leverage to capitalize on the government contract

The Second Phase: 1797-1800

Revere benefitted greatly in this period by the rapid military build-up stimulated by

the impending war with France (Fig.3). State governments sought to arm their

militia while the Federal government built a new navy. Revere and other Americans

believed it was just a matter of time before Congress declared war on France. In June 1798, Revere wrote,"I think it is probable that we shall be at War with France, as

We are now Arming—and Government are purchasing & Arming every vessel that

is fitt." The House of Representatives even "agreed on a resolution authorizing the

purchase of one or more foundries in case the President cannot procure the cannon on contract"59 President Adams did not purchase foundries, but a plethora of

59Hairison G. Otis to PR, Letter, 16 April 1798, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 36

Ordnance Production By Year of Contract Source: Revere Family Papers

1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 n1799 Year of Contract

Fig. 3. Ordnance Production By Year of Contract. While the lack of orders in 1796 may reflect incomplete records, it also reflects Revere's diversification into ship fittings at that time. Source: Revere Family Papers

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 37

correspondence documents Revere’s production of goods for the government, including artillery, bells and ship fittings.

The States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and South Carolina contracted for cannon in this period of political uncertainty. Between May and September 1799, Revere melted metal to cast two brass 3 pound cannon and one 12 pounder for Massachusetts. Revere sold at least twenty 3 pounders and six 12 pounders to Amasa Davis, Quartermaster General of Massachusetts, between November 1797 and January 10,1800.60 Revere's attempt to obtain a drawing for these 12 pounders

reveals little improvement in the bureaucratic process. Informed of the 12 pounders at West Point by General Knox, Revere then wrote to Harrison G. Otis. Otis showed

the letter to Secretary of War McHenry and finally, George Fleming sent the desired

sketch to Revere.61 In May 1798, W illiam Rhodes and Nathan Fisher, agents for

the State of Rhode Island, learning of Revere's ordnance manufacture from Colonel

John Carlile of Providence, requested Revere’s terms for twelve four pound brass cannon. Revere replied that four pounders were no longer in use, only 3,6,12 and

24 pounders, but he would cast them if desired as "it is immaterial to me what the

Size of the Calliber is." Revere charged fifty cents per pound, the State Arms were

an extra expense and proving was at the expense of the purchaser. For the carriages

and related equipment, Revere offered an itemized list of prices: "The Catriges

Compleat, Wood & Iron Work &c &c will Cost 190$ each, the Harness Tube boxes,

6PRevere recorded the Massachusetts accounts in the Cash & Memoranda Bod: 1781-1801 and kept notes on raw materials melted in his Bank Bod: 1798-1799.

61George Fleming to PR, Letter, 18 August 1798, RFP. Fleming recorded this series of events in his letter to Revere.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 38

Jacks &c &c Compleat will cost 75$, A Tumbrell Cart, Compleat, will Cost 60$, there must be one to each pair of Cannon" (Fig. 4). Revere expected half the

payment on delivery and the other half in ninety days, with the same terms for the

carriages and equipment Rhodes and Fisher contracted for six three pounders. The

bill totalled $1299.75 and Revere "reced 450, the Ballance was due the 30th Novemr [1798]." Rhodes & Fisher paid $357 in January 1799, leaving an unpaid balance of $492.75 in February 1799. Revere asked Rhodes & Fisher for this money, stating,

"I shall be exceedingly obliged to you if you will exert yourselves to send me the ballance."62 While Revere charged Rhode Island fifty cents per pound for brass

cannon three pounders in May 1798, in November 1798, he quoted John Rutledge,

Jr. of South Carolina, the price of 53 Cents per pound, with the cost of proving &

decorations as extra expenses. Having no other correspondent in Boston, Rutledge initially contacted Harrison G. Otis, explaining that a constituent raising an artillery

company had heard of Revere's foundry and desired Revere's terms for cannons

made according to the specifications in John Muller's A Treatise of Artillery (1756, 1768,1780).Revere informed Rutledge of the superiority of his own longer, heavier patterns and stressed the proven reliability of his product, noting that he had cast 100 cannons from this pattem.63 Rutledge contracted for two three pounders, with

62PR to William Rhodes and Nathan Fisher, Letterbook 1783-1800,16 May 1798; February 1799, REP. Colonel John Cadile was related to Revere's second wife, Rachel Walker Revere, through her mother, Rachel Carlile Walker. Two 3 pounders attributed to Revere exist in the collection of the Newport Artillery Company, Newport, Rhode Island. These cannon weigh 422 and 424 lbs., matching the weights listed in Revere's account with Rhodes & Fisher.

^P R to John Rutledge, Jr., Letterbook 1783-1800,11 November 1798, RFP. Although Revere speaks of "my patterns,” he may be referring to Stoutes pattern. Muller’s A Treatise of Artillery, the standard eighteenth century technical work on artillery, includes instructions for the dimensions and construction of ordnance and carriages. The book was published in Philadelphia in 1799. It is not clear whether Revere owned a copy of this bode. John Carlile of Providence wrote to Revere on May 10,1798, asking Revere to procure a copy of the book for him.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 39

tur. (iXlurf.S(.w(.- r. Uaj/t'Mc/anf Tum brel

22322225E3E5E2E55S

.V j Aw .»

Fig. 4. Plan of a tumbrel carL Plate fiom John Muller's A Treatise of Artillery, 1780. (Courtesy, Hagley Museum & library)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 40

Revere completing this order in February 1799 and shipping the cannon aboard the

Mohawk, which sailed on March 7,1799. The bill totalled $451.00 for "2,3 pd.

brass Cannon wight 828: @53c $438.84/To finishing Arms & Motto $4.00/To 3 lb powder $4=50,4 Shott 66c post fires, wads & proving $3." For payment,

Rudedge had assured Revere to "send you a Bill on Boston or you draw on me of

this payable at 30 days." The financial complexities of interstate commerce at this time made it crucial for Revere to receive the money in Boston currency, as the value of Charleston currency differed gready and would be difficult to negotiate. Contrary to his previous assurances, Rudedge paid Revere with a bill drawn on Charleston and as Revere anticipated, Boston merchants would not negotiate it Rudedge later

apologized to Revere, explaining that since Charleston bills commanded cash in Philadelphia, he expected that to be the case in Bostonalso. 64 Misunderstandings and payment delays not only hampered the successful execution of Revere's

contracts, but reflected the persistence of a rudimentary and inadequate system of

communication and exchange in this transition period from a colonial to a national economy.

Despite the difficulties of interstate trade, the orders for ordnance generated profits

for the foundry. These profits were important sources of capital that sustained

Revere's foundry as he searched for other goods to manufacture. Contracts for ship

fittings, stimulated by the construction of new merchant vessels and especially, the

new naval warships, may have proved more lucrative and certainly had greater impact

on his future endeavors. Revere was most innovative in the area of ship fittings,

^Rutledge Account, Bank Book 1796-1799,9 February 1799; PR to John Rutledge, Jr„ Letterbook 1783-1800,13 March 1799; John Rutledge, Jr. to PR, Letter, 21 March 1799, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 41

discovering "after considerable labour & expence...the method of melting Copper,

making it Malable, and drawing it into Bolts, Spikes &c for Ship building" (Fig. 5).

Revere had ventured into this field by October 1795, when he advised Naval Agent Jacob Sheaf that it would be unwise to cast copper bolts to a smaller size since cast objects are not very malleable and tend to break. Instead, Revere suggested that the copper bolts be drawn down to size. Revere explained this again in April 1797 to Providence merchant John Brown, urging him to "be Sensible that Bolts Cast from a

Composition of Metal, Cannot be tough enough for bolts used in Ship building" since

cast metal is far more brittle than hammered m e t a l . 6 5 Revere boasted of the malleability of his drawn objects as opposed to cast copper, stating, "I will risque my

reputation, that you shall take one of those [drawn] bolts and place it a cross two

block of [iron] and Strike with a large Black smith Sledge, backwards, and forwards, three hundred times, before you can break them." Seeking to prove die malleability

and toughness of copper bolts drawn under a trip hammer, Revere made "a TryaL," finding that the bolts "acted under the hamer as [tough?] as Iron. "66

Revere convinced many naval agents and merchants of the desirability of his

products. In the index to his 1799-1804 Ledger, Revere listed his many customers,

including ten ships and numerous merchants. He received orders as early as 1795,

with a large number of contracts between 1797 and 1800. Naval agent General

Henry Jackson employed Revere in the autumn of 1795 to draw copper bolts to a

smaller size for the fiigate building in Boston. Revere completed this job in October

65PR to John Brown, Letterbook 1783-1800,24 April 1797, RFP.

66PR to unnamed recepient, Letterbook 1783-1800,7 February 1796, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 42

oC •x:2 o 1 o

C8 •co aE

o 3 C3 Oh

Ow t: O3 a

C2 C •a3 C3 OC/5

*S.C/5 tO . o. oO' a to ch E

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 43

1795, delivering fifteen tons of drawn copper bolts to the frigate. Although Revere failed to name this frigate, an October 28,1797 bill to Henry Jackson, "Agent for

Frigate Constitution" indicates that he drew these bolts, along with staples and other goods, for the Constitution. This itemized bill, running from May 9,1797 through at least July 8,1797, lists 22 entries of raw materials or work performed and the corresponding charges. Revere provided a wide range of products and services, including:

To 887 lb of Brass Coggs @42 Cents = $372=54 To 179 1/2 of Forged Copper Staples @42 75=39 To Casting 3976 lb of Braces & Pintles @20 795=20 To Casting 2089 lb of Brass Sheves, Boxes &c @20 417=80 To a Bell for Frigate Weigt [sic] 242 lb @45 108=90 To Casting a Copper Rudder chain/weight 5271b @25 131=75 To 124 lb of Brass pump Chambers @45 55=80^7

A series of entries in the 1796-1798 Memoranda Book, titled "Deliverd at Naval

Yard" and running from April through October 1797, corroborate this bill. Occasional entries tided "Received from Naval Yard" suggest that Revere credited

the Constitution’s account for returned items, such as "6 pieces of bolts Wt 340 lb."

Revere received nine casks of copper from Philadelphia sometime between 1796 and

1797, possibly for use on the Constitution. In August 1797, he noted, "Made use of

Casks No 2 & No 3 of Copper from Philadelphia for to Cast Sheves."

The committee building a frigate at Hartt's shipyard in Boston requested an estimate for ship fittings in 1798. Revere responded, "I will furnish suitable Spikes of Composition, Rudder bands, Chain for Rudder pendants, butt Bolts, and all the

67Receipted bill, 28 October 1797, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 44

Coggs that may be necessary for the Ship at thirty seven Cents pr pound." Revere charged more for drawn items, informing the committee that he would provide spikes & butt bolts of malleable Copper for forty one cents per pound. The committee

chose the spikes and bolts made of malleable copper and by December 1798, Revere had "nearly compleated the Spikes, tho' not the Bolts” for the ship. In January 1799,

Revere noted, '1 have supplyed Mr Hart for die Frigate he is now building with Upwards of 1500 lb of Spikes & 400 of bolts."68

Revere supplied Jacob Sheaf, naval agent at Portsmouth, with "616 lb of wrought Copper Spikes at 50 c Cent lb" in December 1798. Less than one month later, Sheaf tried to return the spikes. A Colonel Hacket had examined them and informed Sheaf that the heads of these composition spikes were too large and one side uneven.

Revere denied these allegations, citing that he provided malleable copper spikes and that "all die English one [spikes] have large head & the French ones have stil larger & or square." Moreover, the spikes "were made by the same Workman as for Mr Hart

& from the same kind of copper," as well as from Hart’s pattern. For these reasons, Revere could not consent to a return. Sheaf kept the spikes but encountered difficulty

in driving them into the hard, oak hull. Revere discussed this problem with Mr. Ham and offered his suggestion, "that they might bore with two gimblets, a large & a small one, & within two Inches of the length of the Spikes.”*® Compared with Revere's

often tedious communication with the Federal and state governments, seeking the

^P R to Committee building a frigate, noted on bottom of letter, 31 August 1798; PR to Jacob Sheaf, Letterbook 1783-1800,7 December 1798; 4 January 1799, RFP.

®PR to Jacob Sheaf, Letteibook 1783-1800,4 January 1799; 10 February 1799, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 45

advice of Edmund Hartt, his neighbor in the North End, must have been relatively

easy.

Even before contracting with Sheaf to furnish those troublesome spikes, Revere anticipated work for the ship Minerva, noting, "the Committe [sic] at Salem are only waiting for the Minerva to Arrive, to engage me to do their Copper Work." Revere provided an estimate for the Essex, the frigate building at Salem in 1799. Revere informed Captain Waters that he could "supply Spikes..ibr 50 Cents pr pound to be made from Malable Copper...the Rudder Braces & Pintles & all other Cast work..for thirty eight & one half Cents pr pound." If awarded the contract for the cast work, Revere would deduct four & one half cents per pound, delivering the spikes at 45 1/2

cents per pound. He delivered 22 lbs. of spikes in April 1799,133 lbs. in May and 1101/2 lbs. in June. In June 1799,Revere received $500from Joseph Waters while Waters paid another $350 two months later.70 inaddition to this work, Revere

received commissions for work on at least five ships, the Boston, Herald, Massachusetts, Bamco, and Neutrality, in 1799. Revere may have received a

government contract for all this work. On January 4,1799,Revere noted that his

malleable copper spikes "are such as the Screty for the Naval department ordered to

be drove into every Vessell building for the United States."?! However, Revere had

written to Benjamin Stoddert only five days previously, informing him that he could

"manufacter old for New Copper, into Bolts, Spikes, Staples, Nails & &c or

70PR to Jacob Sheaf, Letterbook 1783-1800,7 December 1798; PR to Captain Waters, Letterbook 1783-1800,19 February 1799; Waters Account, Bank Bock 1798-1799, April - August 1799, RFP.

71PR to Jacob Sheaf, Letterbook 1783-1800,4 January 1799, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 46

anything that is wanted in Ship building." Revere corresponded with Stoddert again

in February 1800, boasting, "Within the last 16 Months, I have Manufactored into Bolts, Spikes, &c &c upwards of 10000 thousand weight for the Ships Boston & Essex. "72

Revere also informed Stoddert that he had provided "upw[ards] of 13000 lb for

the Merchants of Boston, & Salem." The 1799-1804 Ledger book lists at least 12 merchants who had accounts with Revere in 1799. The merchants, often shippers and gendeman-traders, purchased a variety of goods ranging in price from $3.60 into the hundreds of dollars. In July 1799, Revere charged James Dunlap for "2 Copper

Boxes for Capstain 9 lb $3.60." Other merchants demanded copper bolts, spikes

and nails. Andrew Leach purchased 902 lbs. of copper bolts while Samuel Smith

paid $121.75 for copper bolts & spikes. Most of the merchants who purchased goods in 1799 only settled their accounts by cash while those merchants, ship

captains and naval agents with running accounts offered returned bolts or old copper.

Revere strived to convince this clientele of the quality of his products compared with the English imports. The imported English drawn copper spikes and bolts

proved to be Revere's m ain competition. Promoting his spikes to Jacob Sheaf,

Revere boasted, "I have no doubt they are equal to any English ones that can be imported." Sheafs discontent with the spikes prompted Revere's defense that "they

are such as as came from England for & was drove into the Constitution" while the

workmen at Hartt’s shipyard told Revere "they were equal to the English o nes. "73

72PR to Benjamin Stoddert, Letterbook 1783-1800,31 December 1798; 26 February 1800, RFP.

^PR to Jacob Sheaf, Letterbook 1783-1800, Between 22 & 31 December 1798; 4 January 1799, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 47

Revere sought the protection of the federal government from this competition with

English imports. Revere wrote to Naval Secretary Benjamin Stoddert, "I understand

you have advised the Committee for building the Frigate in Boston, not to send abroad for anything they can git Manufactored in this Country; those Sentiments has

induced me to trouble you with this letter.”1 Revere then stated his manufacturing capabilities.

This expansion of manufacturing capabilities coupled with the great demand for

products necessitated a large supply of raw materials. While the Federal and state governments seemingly abandoned price restrictions in their effort to acquire armaments, Revere still had difficulty locating copper. Revere sought out copper in Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Providence. Writing to John Fenns of Philadelphia in 1798, Revere inquired into a "Spanish prize," reputed to have 200

tons of copper on board. Revere asked Fenns to ascertain the price of the copper, where it would be sold and "wether it is in Junks, Pigs, or Sheets." Revere hoped

for eight or ten tons. The State of Massachusetts, "determined to Arm them selves," impowered Revere to purchase the two tons of copper through Edward Edwards of Philadelphia, even though the price was "at least three Cents higher than

any...given." Revere reluctantly purchased copper from a New York merchant in

April 1799. Revere explained to John Murray & Son, New York, that he expected to

have purchased as much copper in Boston as desired, but now fearing he could not

meet his obligations, requested twenty hundredweight even with "the price being so

very high." Revere continued to purchase copper parcels imported from the West

!pR to Benjamin Stoddert, Letterbook 1783-1800,31 December 1798, RFP,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 48

Indies, receiving a receipt from Benjamin Thompson in October 1798 for "One Old

Still & head Weight 11101b @ 1/4." In addition to copper, Revere continued to purchase tin, brass and old guns and bells. In July 1798, Revere bought 34 blocks of tin from Samuel & Stephen Salisbury, hardware merchants on Marlboro Street The Saliburys charged one shilling and four pence for the 2,274 lbs. of tin.75

Revere's January 1798 inventory of "Stock in furnace," recorded in the 1796-1798

Memoranda Book, succinctly identifies the metals necessary to his operation at this point in time:

Copper 4394 lbs. Brass 12S Gun Metal 260 Tin 565 Bell Metal 100 4 Bells 3425

Corresponding with the growing demands for raw materials was the need to

increase the existing labor force. Revere expanded his corps of jobbers while the

waged labor force experienced change. In addition to Eleb Faxon, Revere jobbed out

to John Ward, Robert Crocker, Leonard & Kinsley and others. However, Faxon still performed a number of varied services between 1798 and 1800. Faxon's bill to

Revere for services rendered between January 1798 and January 1799 totalled

$749.91 and included 22 items, a substantial increase over the eight item 1795-1796 bilL Faxon continued to finish ordnance for Revere while producing a number of

ship fittings. Faxon charged $90 "for Boaring & turning 18 Carronades" and $119

75PR to John Fenns, Letterbook 1783-1800,13 September 1798; PR to Edward Edwards, Letterbook 1783-1800,23 December 1798; PR to John Murray & Son, Letterbook 1783-1800,22 April 1799; Receipt from Benjamin Thompson, 29 October 1798; Receipt from Salisbury's, 21 July 1798, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 49

"for Skrews & Ears & Bolts for Ditto.” Revere paid Faxon $33.33 "for the iron work & Copper work for 4 pump boxes for the Frigate Constitution" as well as $5

for leather for the pump boxes. On this 1798-1799 bill, Faxon charged for drawing

5822 lbs. of copper bolts and 1493 lbs. of spikes. Revere used 616 lbs. of Faxon’s spikes, possibly the ones on this bill, to fill Jacob Sheafs order. In addition to working on ship fittings and ordnance, Faxon performed more traditional blacksmith services.^ In contrast to this diversity of services, Faxon's May 1799 through December 1803 account records only ship fittings, such as copper bolts and spikes. Revere debited Faxon’s account six times in 1799 for a total o f2796 lbs. of copper

while crediting him for copper spikes and bolts, rings, rucks, sheathing nails, brace nails and sundries. Entries in ihe 1796-1799 Bank Book corroborate this ongoing exchange of metal and finished goods.

As well as subcontracting to Faxon, Revere employed John Ward to manufacture

ship fittings in 1799 and the partnership of Ward & Faxon to finish ordnance and draw copper spikes and bolts. Ward, a resident of Roxbuiy, manufactured spikes,

bolts, rings, brace nails and sundries for Revere between June 1799- May 1801.

Revere settled the account on September 25,1802, noting, "this account was settled

in this way vz this Copper was delivered to be made into Bolts Spikes &c &c & the

Balance Settled by Cash." Revere settled his October - December 1799 account with

the partnership of Ward & Faxon on January 1,1800. Ward & Faxon bored twelve

4 pounders, sixteen 3 pounders and twelve 6 pounders for Revere. Charges for ship

76Receipted bill, signed 28 January 1799; Bank Book 1796-1799, RFP. In die Bank Book, Revere noted "From Faxon" in the margin next to Sheafs order.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 50

fittings comprised the remainder of die 38 item, $244.87 bill.77 Other jobbers

Revere employed on occasion include Robert Crocker, Leonard & Kinsley and Nelson Miller.

The labor force seemed to undergo change in this last phase. Revere’s sons, Joshua and Joseph Warren, assisted at the foundry. In May 1799, Revere noted that

the young men, both trained silversmiths, took inventory of the furnace's stock.78 Solomon Oliver, Nelson Miller and Stanley Carter appear in the documents with the

additions of David Oliver and Phineas Bruce. Solomon Oliver worked year round for Revere between July 1796 and May 1798. Revere did record in February-March

1798 that Solomon Oliver was "Lame for 4 week from a fall." David Oliver must

have worked for Revere prior to March 28,1798 since he "returned" on that day,

with Revere agreeing "to give him three dollars pr Week or half a dollar pr day."

Revere also stipulated that he would provide David Oliver with breakfast and dinner,

a common business practice in the pre-industrial era

While the workmen and jobbers produced the cannon and ship fittings, Revere

kept the books and actively experimented with new technologies. The foundry books demonstrate an attention to detail, especially in the area of ship fittings. Revere

77john Ward Account, Ledger 1799-1804; Ward & Faxon Account, Ledger 1799-1804, RFP.

78Joshua and Joseph Warren Revere are noted occasionally in the furnace documents, but the extent of their involvement is unclear. Joshua, Paul and Rachel Walker Revere's oldest child, wrote of chest pain on a business trip to Portland, Maine in 1795 and died six years later at the age of 27. Joseph Warren Revere (1777-1868), made his career in the family’s copper business. In 1811, together with his nephews Paul Revere m and Thomas Eayres Jr., Joseph Warren assumed control of die Revere enterprises.

^Record of labor for Solomon Oliver, Memoranda Book 1796-1798; Record of labor for David Oliver, Bank Book 1796-1799, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 51

certainly had little to do with the actual founding or finishing processes. He notes only once, in July 1799,a charge of $6.00 to the frigate Boston for "my time & attendance to prove Cannon. "80 Managerial concerns consumed most of Revere's time. In correspondence to Edward Edwards in January 1799,Revere noted that a mutual acquaintance had "stopped me in Roxbury." Presumably, Revere went to Roxbury on occasion to speak with his jobbers, Faxon and Ward. Revere's

expanding business network and increasing sales dem and ed additional bookkeeping.

While overseeing the daily operation of the foundry, Revere innovated in the area of

drawn copper ship fittings and then directed his energies to the production of rolled sheet copper, an untried and risky venture. He purchased land for the copper rolling

mill at Canton, Massachusetts, in January 1800, and with the aid of $10,000 from the

Federal government, Revere founded a highly successful enterprise. The former silversmith had come a long way from the days when he hammered out teapots.

80Frigate Boston Account, Cash & Memoranda Book, 1791-1801, REP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. FOUNDER, BUSINESSMAN AND ENTREPRENEUR

Although he was a highly skilled craftsman, Revere’s greatest skill was his business

acumen. He utilized his familial, militaryand Masonic connections to form a business network and then ably capitalized on the politico-economic situation to make the foundry profitable. Revere’s connections were the main factor in his success. la his study of

colonial Boston, James Henretta found, "Even in an expanding and diversifying economic environment the best opportunities for advancement rested with those who could draw

upon long-standing connections, upon the credit facilities of friends and neighbors and upon political influence."* Revere did just that, first financing the iron foundry with the

assistance of his cousins, Benjamin and Samuel ffitchbom. Military connections played a major role in the next phase of the foundry, the switch to the production of ordnance and ship fittings. Throughout both periods, Revere relied on old friends and business

associates while cultivating a new, expanded business network.

As the economy expanded in the federal era, Revere's business shifted from a regional emphasis to a national enterprise with far-flung connections to customers and suppliers. Revere's more extensive business network provided him with greater opportunity to obtain

contracts from clients as far as South Carolina; however, dealing with other regions posed

difficulties since the mechanisms of credit and exchange failed to keep pace with the

Barnes A. Henretta, "Economic Development and Social Structure in Colonial Boston,” William and Marv Quarterly 22 (January 1965): 77.

52

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 53

expanding markets. Uncertainties concerning contractual obligations and difficulties in collecting payment hampered Revere and others. Revere's experiences seem typical of a period in which the country was moving from a colonial economy of

separate states to one driven by a system of industrial capitalism.

The Federal government played a pivotal role in the expansion of Revere's

business. While he was responsible for most of the success of the foundry, Revere received timely assistance from the Federal government. The government’s decision

to create a navy contributed to technological innovations in the American shipbuilding

industry during the quasi-war of 1798 by increasing demand for ordnance and ship

fittings. Government contracts for howitzers, carronades and ship fittings provided Revere with capital, enabling him to invest time and money in experimentation with

malleable copper. Revere did not purchase his own equipment for finishing cannon

until February 1802, noting in a letter, "we have finished our works for Turning &

finishing Cannon."^ This practice of jobbing work out reduced Revere's overhead,

lessened his risk of financial failure and allowed him to invest his capital in

technological innovation.

Assistance in die form of contracts from the Federal government contributed significandy to the success of Revere’s foundry. The endeavor also required a trained labor force, raw materials, technical information and managerial skill.

Obtaining raw materials proved to be the largest obstacle for Revere, with availability

dependent on seasonal cycles and price. Revere sought to educate himself in base

metals technology and combined this knowledge with his silversmithing experience

to ? (name obliterated), Letterbook 1783-1800,23 February 1802, RFP.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 54

and an able work force to become a leader in his field. A competent silversmith,

Revere applied his hammering, drawing and casting skills to die base metals industry. Copper, the most malleable of the base metals, could be worked much like silver, providing Revere with an opportunity to transfer his craft techniques to large scale production of drawn ship fittings. Combining his experience in metalworking with

his entrepreneurial spirit, Revere pioneered in triphammer technology, an early metalworking technique that blossomed under industrial capitalism. Adopted by the

sm all arms industry after 1808, thetriphammer method mechanized the welding of gun barrels, enabling manufactureres to produce arms more quickly and efficiently.^^

Revere's experiments with this time and labor-saving technique to produce ship

fittings was a harbinger of the mechanization that transformed die metalworking industry in the 19th century.

Paul Revere, entrepreneur and inventor, conjures up an image much different from

the Paul Revere who rode off to warn the minutemen of approaching British

grenadiers, or of the silversmith crafting teapots for Massachusetts nabobs. There is

no doubt that Revere considered him se lfa patriot and skilled craftsman; but, as this

study suggests, Revere was a complex, multifaceted individual of inventive spirit

The real Paul Revere is more interesting than the mythical one-and equally important

^ M e r r i t t Roe Smith, Harpers Ferry Armory and the New Technology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977), 114.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Manuscript Sources

The Boston Directory. Boston: John Norman, 1789. Microfiche, The Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum Libraries. The Boston Directory. Boston: John West, 1796,1798,1800. Microfiche, The Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum Libraries. The Boston Gazette. 11 October 1804. Microfilm, The University of Delaware.

Massachusetts Centinel. 10 December 1785. Microfilm, The University of Delaware. The Revere Family Papers, 1746-1964. Massachusetts Historical Society. Microfilm, The Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum Libraries.

Rising States Lodge Record Book. Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons, Boston.

Suffolk County Registry of Probate, Estate Inventory, Eleb Faxon, 1830. Microfilm, The Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum Libraries.

Published Sources

Bishop, J. A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to I860. Philadelphia: Edward Young & Co., 1864.

Boucher, Jack E. Of Batsto and Bog hen. Batsto, NJ: The Batsto Citizens Committee, 1973.

Bridenbaugh, Carl. The Colonial Craftsman. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1950.

Brownless, W. Elliot Dynamics of Ascent A History of the American Economy. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1974.

55

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 56

Bruchey, Stuart. The Roots of American Economic Growth. 1607-1861. New York: Harper & Row, 1968. Clark, Victor S. History of Manufactures in the United States. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1929. Reprint, New York: Peter Smith, 1949.

Coleby, L. J. M. "Richard Watson, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Cambridge, 1764-71." Annals of Science 9, no. 2, (June 1953): 101-123. Collison, Robert Encyclopaedias: Their History Throughout the Ages. New York: Hafner Publishing Co., 1966. Dyer, Walter A. Early American Craftsmen. New York: The Century Company, 1915.

Encyclopaedia Brittanica: or. a Dictionary of Arts. Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature. 18 vols., 3rd ed Edinburgh: A Bell and C Macfarquhar, 1797. Forbes, Esther. Paul Revere and the World He Lived In. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,1942. FFoulkes, Charles. The Gun-Founders of England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1937. Reprint, London: Arms and Armour Press, 1969. Forsythe, Dali W. Taxation and Political Change in the Young Nation. 1781-1833. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977. Gilchrist, David T., ed. The Growth of the Seaport Cities. 1790-1825. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia for the Eleutherian Mills- Hagley Foundation, 1967.

Goss, Elbridge Henry. The Life of Colonel Paul Revere. 2 vols. Boston: Joseph George Cupples, 1891. Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790. Massachusetts. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1908.

Hedges, James B. The Browns of Providence Plantations: The Nineteenth Century. Providence: Brown University Press, 1968.

Henretta, James. "Economic Development and Social Structure in Colonial Boston." William and Marv Quarterly 22 (January 19651: 75-92. Hughes, B. P. British Smooth-Bore Artillery: The Muzzle Loading Artillery of the 18th and 19th Centuries. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1969.

Jackson, Melvin H. and Card de Beer. Eighteenth Century Gunfounding. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 57

Jackson, Ronald Vem, Gary Ronald Teeples, and David Schaefermeyer, eds. Massachusetts Census Index. 1800,1810. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1977. Kauffman, Henry J. American Copper & Brass. Camden, NJ: T. Nelson, 1968. Reprint, New York: Bonanza Books, 1968. Kelly, Patrick. The Universal Cambist and Commercial Instructor: Being a Full and Accurate Treatise on the Exchanges. Monies. Weights, and Measures of all Trading Nations and their Colonies: with an Account of their Banks. Public Funds, and Paper Currencies. London: Printed for the author, 1821.

Kennaid, Arthur. Gunfounding and Gunfounders: A Directory of Cannon Founders from Earliest Times to 1850. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1986.

Ketcham, Ralph. From Colony to Country: The Revolution in American Thought 1750-1820. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1974.

Larkin, James. The Practical Brass and Iron Founder's Guide. Philadelphia: A. Hart, 1853.

Manucy, Albert Artillery Through the Ages. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1949. McCusker, John J. Money and Exchange in Europe and America. 1600-1775. Chapel HQ1, NC: The University of North Carolina Press for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1978.

and Russell R. Menard. The Economy of British America. 1607-1789. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1985. Mercer, Henry C The Bible in Iron. Doylestown, PA: Bucks County Historical Society, 1914. Muller, John A. A Treatise of Artillery: Containing I. General Constructions of Brass and Iron Guns used bv Sea and Land, their Carriages. II. General Constructions of Mortars and Howitzes, their Beds and Carriages. HI. Dimensions of all Carriages used in Artillery. IV. Exercise of the Regiment at Home, and Service Abroad in a Siege or Battle. V. Its March and Encampment Ammunition. Stores, and Horses. VI. Lastly. The necessary Laboratory Work for Fire-Ships. &c. London: John Millan, 1756. Reprinted 1768,1780. Nettels, Curtis P. The Emergence of a National Economy. 1775-1815. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962.

Paul Revere - Artisan. Businessman, and Patriot: The Man Behind the Mvth. Boston: The Paul Revere Memorial Association, 1988.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 58

Shepherd, James F. and Gary M. Walton. Shipping. Maritime Trade and the Economic Development of Colonial North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972. Smith, Merritt Roe. Harpers Feirv Armory and the New Technology: The Challenge of Change. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977.

Stickney, Edward C. Revere Beils. Published by the author, 1956.

Walton, Gary M. and James F. Shepherd. The Economic Rise of Early America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Watson, Richard. Chemical Essavs. 5 vols. Cambridge: F. Archdeacon, Printer to the University, for Dodsley, Cadell, Evans, Merrill and Fletcher, 1781-1787.

Whitehill, Walter Muir. Boston: A Topographical History. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1968.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.