MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE See page 316. MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY BALTIMORE December • 1958 You never know what's beneath the surface A man—his son—and a boat. It's a golden moment—one we'd ail like to have last forever. But you, the man, grow older—and your son grows up. Now is the time to provide for his future, and for the rest of your family too. We will be pleased to discuss with you and your attorney the advantages of creating a Trust Fund either during your lifetime or by your will. In so doing, you will be safeguarding your family's future—no matter what is beneath the surface. FIRST NATIONAL BANK Main Office: Light «: Redwood • Office* throughom Ballo. area Capital funds o\cr $20,000,000.00 • Free Parking • Member KDIC of Baltimore m/) 3<^ 5Z%I-I--£U£~ MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE VOL. 53, No. 4 DECEMBER, 1958 CONTENTS PAGE The Comet Harasses the British Edited by Frank P. White, Jr. 295 A Belgian Emigree Looks at America in the Early National Period Joseph T. Durkin, S.J. 317 Talbot County Quakerism in the Colonial Period Kenneth L. Carroll 326 Bloomsbury, A Cradock House in the Worthington Valley William Voss Elder, III 371 An Extract from the Journal of Mrs. Hugh H. Lee of Winchester, Va. Edited by C. A. Porter Hopkins 380 Sidelights 394 Original Land Giants of the South side of Severn River Caleb Dorsey Origin and First Use of the Present Maryland Flag Harold R. Manakee An Eyewitness to the Baltimore Riot, 1861 Reviews of Recent Books 404 Beirne and Scarff, William Buckland, 1734-1774, by Louis B. Wright DeConde, Entangling Alliance, by Eugene H. Bacon Wertenbaker, Give Me Liberty, by Rhoda M. Dorsey Eberlein and Hubbard, Historic Houses of Georgetown, by Eleanor Spencer Patterson Roche, Joseph Reed, by Henry J. Young Smith, Economic Readjustment of an Old Cotton State, by S. Sydney Bradford Weaver, Jonathan Trumbull, by Stuart Bruchey Neilson, Verdict for the Doctor, by David Hackett Fischer Ross, Cities and Camps of the Confederate States, by William H. Wroten, Jr. Wilson, Fort Delaware, by Frank F. White, Jr. Notes and Queries 416 Contributors 420 Annual Subscription to the Magazine 14.00. Each issue $1.00. The Magazine assumes no responsibility for statements or opinions expressed in its pages. Richard Walsh, Editor C. A. Porter Hopkins, Asst. Editor The Magazine is entered as second class matter, at the post office at Baltimore, Maryland, under Act of August 24, 1912. THE MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY H. IRVINE KEYSER MEMORIAL BUILDING 201 W. MONUMENT STREET, BALTIMORE 1 GEORGE L. RADCLIFFE, President; JAMES W. FOSTER, Director The Maryland Historical Society, incorporated in 1844, was organized to collect, preserve and spread information relating to the history of Maryland and of the United States. Its threefold program includes 1. Collection of manuscript and printed materials, maps, prints, paintings, furniture, silver, fabrics, maritime items, and other objects of interest; 2. Preservation of these materials for the benefit of all who care to enjoy them, and exhibition of items which will encourage an understanding of State and National history; and 3. Spread of historical information relating to Maryland and the rest of the country by means of addresses at the Society's home by authorities in various fields; addresses to outside groups by officers and staff of the Society; publi- cation of the Maryland Historical Magazine, a quarterly containing original articles about State history; Maryland History Notes, a quarterly bulletin of news of the Society and other historical agencies; the Archives of Maryland and volumes of the series " Maryland in World War II " under the authority of the State; and the series of useful historical books entitled "Studies in Maryland History." Annual dues of the Society are $8 and up, life membership $150. Subscriptions to the Magazine and to the quarterly news bulletin, Maryland History Notes, are included in the membership fee as well as use of the collections and admission to the lectures. The library, portrait gallery and museum rooms, are open daily except Sunday, 9 to 5, Saturday, 9 to 1. June 15 to Sept. 15, daily 9 to 4, Saturday, 9 to 1. Closed Saturdays in August. WILLIAM BUCKLAND, 1734-1774 Architeft oj Virginia and Maryland • by ROSAMOND R. BEIRNB and JOHN H. SCARFF, F. A. I. A. : The story of the accomplished but little known William Buckland—his : training in 18th century England, his completion of Gunston Hall in ; Virginia, his other work there, his removal to Maryland where the final : expression of his talent may be enjoyed today. Based on careful exploration of records in Oxfordshire, London, Virginia and Maryland, the work throws much light on the life and customs of 18th century Virginia and Maryland, especially on the cultivated atmosphere of Annapolis. : Generously illustrated with pictures of distinguished colonial houses, • floor plans and architectural details. 175 pp. 8" x 10" ^7.50 per copy (plus 19c. postage. Md. sales tax 15c. extra.) Published by The Maryland Historical Society r)—>—»—>~^—v^—^—l—v^—>=^»—^—)—^—i—)—^—>^—v^—•>—'>—)—^—i=^>—i—^—i MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE A Quarterly Volume 53 DECEMBER, 1958 Number 4 THE COMET HARASSES THE BRITISH Edited by FRANK F. WHITE, JR. IN JULY, 1812, Captain Thomas Boyle sailed from Baltimore on the first of his three voyages in the private armed schooner Comet to win for himself the reputation now forgotten as one of the most daring figures in the annals of American naval history. For a privateersman to achieve that distinction was no mean ac- complishment. Yet this honor fell to Captain Boyle who matched his ships successfully against regular British naval craft to become known as a man of extraordinary courage. He left such a trail of destruction behind him that by the time the war had ended, all England knew his prowess and respected him. He annoyed the enemy " wherever he chanced to steer . carrying dismay and terror to British trade and commerce," so that the Comet soon became one of the chief objects of civilian fear and naval search.1 The sources of information about Boyle's fabulous exploits are 1 Edgar Stanton Maclay, A History of American Privateers (New York, 1899), p. 279; and John Phillips Cranwell and William Bowers Crane, Men of Marque (New York, 1940), p. 125. 295 296 MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE a logbook,2 Niles' Register,3 and a contemporary newspaper ac- count.4 The logbook, which deals with the first two voyages, was kept by an officer who does not reveal his name. There is reason to believe, however, that he was Dr. James B. Stansbury, the Comet3s surgeon who accompanied Boyle on his voyages.6 The Baltimore Patriot published Boyle's letter describing his third voyage in its issue of April 4, 1814.° Historians know very little about Thomas Boyle's life. Of his early life, there is no information except that he was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on June 29, 1775.7 He came to Balti- more when he was very young, and at an early age he seems to have become a sailor. In 1794, he married a Baltimore girl, and thereafter he made that city his home. At the outbreak of the war in 1812, he took the Comet to sea and remained with her until 1814. In the latter year, he took charge of the Chasseur in which vessel he achieved his greatest renown.8 In the Chasseur, Boyle " defied the most powerful navy the world had ever seen, and had the monumental effrontery to proclaim a blockade of Great Britain. Boyle and the Comet had been considered the epitome of privateering, but Boyle and the Chasseur were its apotheosis," comment Cranwell and Crane.8 Following the close of the war, Boyle entered the merchant service. He died at sea on a voyage from Alvarado to Baltimore, on October 12, 1825.10 Boyle was but one of the many sea captains who, during the War of 1812, helped Baltimore to take the lead in fitting out armed vessels for use as privateers which did their full share of damage to British shipping.11 This statement is not surprising for I The logbook, owned by the Maryland Historical Society, was acquired in 1949 by purchase. 'Niles" Weekly Register, IV (March 27, 1813), pp. 71-72. 4 Baltimore Patriot, April 4, 1814. 0 The log contains entries relating to the sales of drugs, medicines, and store fixtures in 1837 in addition to the narrative of the Comet's two cruises. There is no other information available on Dr. Stansbury. ' The Baltimore American also published Captain Boyle's letter in its issue of April 6, 1814. ' Information furnished by the Office of Chief of Naval Operations, Naval History Division. 8 The Chasseur's log was published in the Md. Hist. Mag., I (1906), 168-180, 218-240. 9 Cranwell and Crane, op. cit., p. 226. 10 The Baltimore Gazette for November 24, 1825 carried the notice of Boyle's death. II George Coggeshall, History of American Privateers (New York, 1856), p. 6. THE " COMET " HARASSES THE BRITISH 297 at the declaration of war, because of the embargo, there were a large number of idle Baltimore seamen who could easily be en- listed for that type of service.12 On July 4, 1812, a Baltimore newspaper announced that " several small, swift privateers will sail from the United States in a few days. Some have already been sent to sea, and many others of a larger class, better fitted and better equipped, will soon follow." 13 One of the vessels referred to was the Comet. The result was that " what had been a peaceful merchant marine was being transformed into a fleet of fast-sailing, hard-hitting commerce raiders." 14 Because of British supremacy at sea, Americans relied more on their privateers to achieve naval victories than on their regular navy.