Historic Furnishings Report FORT CHRISTIANSVAERN \CHRISTIANSTED National Historic Site I Virgin Islands • Historic Furnishings Report Fort Christiansvaern Christiansted National Historic Site Christiansted, Virgin Islands by Jerome A. Greene Historian, Eastern Team Denver Service Center and William F. Cissel • Curator Christiansted National Historic Site Harpers Ferry Center National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior • 1988 • • • Contents ACKN"OWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................... vii ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ............................................................................ 1 HISTORICAL DATA ......... ............................................................................. 3 ANALYSIS OF HISTORIC OCCUPANCY ................................................ 3 Historical Overview--,St. Croix ........................................................... 3 1734-1830 ..................................................................................... 3 The Height of the Military Establishment at Chris- tiansted, 1830-1855 .................................................................. 7 Analysis of Historical Occupancy-Fort Christiansvaern, 1830- 1855 ................................................................................................. 16 Number of0ccupants ................................................................ 16 Commanding Officers ................................................................ 16 1830-1835; 1837 ................................................................ 16 1835-1837; 1837-1844 ....................................................... 17 1844-1845 .......................................................................... 18 1845-1847 .......................................................................... 18 • 1847-1851 .......................................................................... 19 1851-1855 .......................................................................... 19 Enlisted Men .............................................................................. 20 Biographical Data on Enlisted Men ......................................... 26 EVIDENCE OF ROOM USE, 1830-1855 ................................................ 35 DOl-Dungeon .................................................................................... 36 102-Powder Magazine ...................................................................... 36 103-Cell ............................................................................................. 36 104-Arsenal ...................................................................................... 36 105--,Stable Area ................................................................................ 37 106--0fficers' Quarters ...................................................................... 37 107--0fficers' Quarters ...................................................................... 37 lOS-Gallery ....................................................................................... 37 109-Commandant's Office ................................................................ 37 110-Barracks .................................................................................... 38 111--,Small Cistern............................................................................. 38 112-Storeroom for Commandant ..................................................... 38 113-Barracks .................................................................................... 38 • 114-Hall ............................................................................................ 38 Ill 115-Barracks .................................................................................... 38 • 116, 124, 128-Arcade and Foyer ...................................................... 39 117, 118--Cells ................................................................................... 39 119-Barracks and Commanding Sergeant's Room ......................... 39 120-Artillery Shed ............................................................................ 39 121--Canteen ..................................................................................... 39 122---lnterior ofRavelin ................................................................... .40 123--Corps de Gard .......................................................................... .40 125--Guard Room ............................................................................. .40 126, 127--Cells .................................................................................. .40 129--Commandant's Servant's Room .............................................. .40 130---Hallway ..................................................................................... 40 131-Barracks ................................................................................... .40 132, 133--Commandant's Kitchen ................................................... .41 134--Commandant's Servant's Room ............................................... 41 135-Barracks .................................................................................... 41 136--Non -Commissioned Officers' Cell ............................................ .41 137-0fficers' Cell .............................................................................. 42 138--Cel1 ............................................................................................. 42 139-Royal and Colonial Treasury ................................................... .42 140---Exercise Yard ............................................................................ .42 141-Bread and Water Cells ............................................................ .42 • 142 and 143-Latrines ....................................................................... 42 201-Water Battery........................................................................... .43 202--Common Room .......................................................................... 43 203-Terreplein East Curtain ........................................................... 43 204--Southeast Bastion Gun Deck .................................................. .43 205-Reception Hall ........................................................................... 44 207-Daily Parlor ............................................................................... 44 206, 208, 210--Gallery ...................................................................... .44 209, 211-Bedrooms .......................................................................... .44 212--Closet ......................................................................................... 44 213-Pantry ........................................................................................ 44 214--Southwest Bastion Gun Deck ................................................. .45 215-Terreplein West Curtain ........................................................... 45 216--Northwest Bastion Gun Deck ................................................. .45 EVIDENCE OF ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS ....................................... .45 The Royal Military Depot Account Books ........................................ .4 7 Other Lists .......................................................................................... 61 Furniture for Officers' Quarters ........................................................ 64 The St. Croix Avis ............................................................................... 65 Historic Structure Report ................................................................... 68 Beds and Bedding ............................................................................... 76 • lV FURNISHINGS PLAN ............ 79 OPERATINGPLAN ........ 79 • RECOMMENDED FURNISHINGS . 80 Dungeon (Room 001) . .. 80 Powder Magazine (Room 102) . .. 80 Powder Magazine (Room 102) . .. 81 Arsenal (Room 104) .............. 82 Officers' Quarters (Room 106) . 86 Arsenal (Room 104) . 86 Officers' Quarters (Room 106) . 87 Officers' Quarters (Room 106) . .... 88 Barracks In Southwest Bastion (Room 131) . 89 Officers' Quarters (Room 106) . 89 Barracks In Southwest Bastion (Room 131) .. 90 Barracks in Southwest Bastion (Room 131) .. 91 Barracks in Southwest Bastion (Room 131) .. 92 Working Drawings . .. 93 BIDLIOGRAPHY ................................. 99 • APPENDIXES 107 APPENDIX A--MILITARY UNIFORMS AND AC- COUTREMENTS .......... 108 APPENDIX B--MILITARY SMALL ARMS 122 APPENDIX C--DANISH ARTILLERY AT CHRISTlANSTED, 1830-1855 .... 128 APPENDIX D--THE EMANCIPATION OF 1848 134 ILLUSTRATIONS . 141 • v • • • • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of the following individuals and institutions in the preparation of this report: former Superintendent Thomas A. Bradley and the staff of Christiansted National Historic Site; Archivists Poul Erik Olsen and Erik Gobel, Assistant Librarian Peter Buntzen, and the reading room staff of Rigsarkivet (National Archives), Copenhagen Denmark; Curator Bjom A. Neilsen, Tojhusmuseet (Royal Arsenal Museum), Copenhagen; Assistant Librarian John Christiansen, Royal Library, Copenhagen; Archivists Richard Crawford and Karl Weissenbach, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; Ole Schneider, Roskilde, Denmark; Lisbeth Gustafsen, Lakewood, Colorado; Reverend F. Kenneth Barta, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, former park historian, Christiansted National Historic Site; Associate Professor Arnold R. Highfield, University of