George Washington House, Barbados and Smallpox

Unfortunately, I've been housebound this week because I've been having some problems with the severe cold weather affecting my asthma. If I were able to, I would have traveled to Florida or the Caribbean much the same as Lawrence Washington and his half brother George did in 1750, when the future father of our country was 18.

While this journey must have been initially quite exciting for young Washington, it was a bittersweet time. This stay in Barbados was no picnic. Young George not only watched his brother grow weaker from tuburculosis, but contracted a mild case of TB himself, as well as a nearly fatal case of small pox.

The TB was to affect him intermittantly throughout his life; he also suffered from malaria and other ailments.

However, it was because of this exposure to smallpox that he was able to survive the French and Indian War and American War for Independence. During the six month encampment at Valley Forge, Gen. Washington secretly had his men (and perhaps camp followers) innoculated with cowpox thus becoming the first military man to protect his troops against disease in this way. It was considered his secret weapon - a type of biological warfare.

More on smallpox, Barbados, and Lawrence Washington this weekend, when I'm feeling better.

Until then, stop by the official website or Barbados tourism website and say, "Hello" and "Thank you!", for all their care and respect. Donations would gladly be accepted for their continued work and upkeep.

What a wonderful stop on one of your Caribbean holidays and/or cruises!

Hugh Mercer Apothocary: Leeches

And then she reaches for the leeches!

Figure It Out Friday Answer

The sight of someone putting a hand in a glass bowl filled with water and pulling out a slimy leech usually draws gasps from the eighth graders that I conduct through the Hugh Mercer Apothecary in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Some are revolted but others are mesmerized by the live, wet mass displayed on her hand. "Ooooo!” Questions abound concerning the origin, safety, care, feeding, and possible pain inflicted by the leech.

The colonial reenactors at the apothecary stay in character to interpret colonial medications and extol the benefits of bleeding by this method, making several sales pitches in favor of the good doctor (one of over 5,000). Several students shudder, but most think it’s ‘cool’. They preface the need for leeches in 18^th century terms by first pointing out that an imbalance of fluids (or humors) causes disease; the delicate balance of bodily fluids can only be reestablished by bleeding, purging, blistering and vomiting! It seemed that for every ailment, a vein would be opened for serious bloodletting, and/or leeches pressed into service; sometimes one would perform this on one’s self with a pocket scarificator.

The whole experience of learning about medicine in colonial America both fascinates and disturbs them. A few of the students, after being shown several herbs and roots, thought they were very much like the ones depicted in Harry Potter. However, they are surprised by the coarse, blunt, and dirty surgical instruments used by Doctor Mercer. Sterilization and hygiene are unknown during this time period, so naturally there was a high mortality rate.

Imagine the students’ expressions when I inform them, after our visit, that leeches are still in use in modern medicine particularly for reattachment of fingers and toes as well as for breast cancer patients! They groan again, because there could be a remote possibility of a leech in their future, which is far scarier to them than a horror movie!

I normally go on to explain how the leeches, by their constant sucking, keep the blood flowing and exchange it for the natural anti-coagulants in their saliva. More groans! I also point out that leeches can carry bacteria that are detrimental by causing infection.

The good news, for my squeamish eighth graders, is that a mechanical leech is being developed and tested at the University of Wisconsin. The bell-shaped glass and metal device, measuring about a half an inch long, and patented by Wisconsin Alumni Research Fund, has fluids running through it, irrigating the wound while pulling the blood through. This process keeps the tissue healthy.

After our visit, questions and discussion are encouraged covering modern medicine, education, medication, antibiotics, (which would have allowed General Washington to live longer), diseases, epidemics, laser surgery, hospitals, homeopathic, holistic, and other alternative cures. After all, medicine and health should also be part of the historic picture.

The general consensus: these students would rather have died than to have been subjected to the ‘skill’ of this doctor - which was not unlike the sentiments of much of colonial society. Colonists had a better chance of recovering by doing nothing!

The apothecary was owned by colorful Scotsman Hugh Mercer (1726-1777), who was both a physician and American patriot. He had been a good friend of George Washington’s (Ferry Farm, Washington’s boyhood home is relatively close to downtown Fredericksburg and Washington sold it to Mercer in 1775). Additionally, Washington’s overbearing mother, Mary Ball Washington, was one of his patients. (For a complete biography, please consult this.) He died of his wounds received at the battle of Princeton in 1777.

Famous descendants of Hugh Mercer are Civil War General Hugh Wheeler Mercer, General George S, Patton, and for my Georgia readers and lovers of popular music, composer Johnny Mercer.

The Hugh Mercer Apothecary, and the Rising Sun Tavern, is administered by the Association of the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) and is located in the historic downtown area of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It’s a wonderful stop between Washington, DC and Richmond/Williamsburg for these two sites (amongst others) and lunch. They are far more interesting and student-friendly than the ones in Williamsburg because they retain the character and charm of the colonial era.

For more information concerning leeches, please see this excellent essay.

Figure It Out Friday #6 - Portland Head Light, Lafayette & Longfellow

Here's the answer to Figure It Out Friday #6

I thought this would be simpler;

Quite frankly I was astounded that no one recognized Henry Wadsworth Longfellow or Lafayette! Perhaps I should have shown the older Longfellow and the younger Lafayette, but I thought showing Lafayette as a mature man would be better, after all, a full length portrait of him as he appeared in 1824 hangs in the United States House of Representative chamber! I wasn't sure though, that anyone would have recognized Longfellow as a young man without his beard! (The reason for the beard is a tragic story. I've given some sites at the end that you can consult about that.)

What they had in common was the Portland Head Light lighthouse in South Portland, ME in 1825. (I had posted 1824 as a clue since that was the date Lafayette arrived in the US.)

Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth is perhaps the most photographed lighthouse in the world and one of my personal favorite places to visit. (I have taken several Quebec City-bound bus tours that I picked up in Boston on unannounced side excursions to see it and then had lunch in Portland..)

Now here is the connection:

Portland Head Light

In 1797 George Washington directed that four lighthouses be built and Portland Light was one of these. He directed that masons build these lighthouses of rubblestone because the government was poor and the materials were to be taken from fields and shores. Because the Federal government was being formed, it looked as if the lighthouses would never be built, however, Alexander Hamilton did eventually authorize appropriations and work could be resumed. The engineers and masons took four years, but Portland Head Light was completed in 1790 and it was first lighted with Whale oil on January 10, 1791. Portland Head Light still stands as one of the first four lighthouses in the United States,. None of them have ever had to be rebuilt. It has remained a source of pride for the citizens of the Portland area as well as Maine.

The light was an imposing and beautiful sight and attracted a number of visitors to it on the rocky Maine promontory overlooking Casco Bay and Portland. It is a romantic vision that juxtaposes the steadfastness of the tower at the edge of treacherous rocks, against capricious weather, and somewhat violent tides. The storms in that area are of legendary proportion; there are many stories and legends of shipwrecks and lives lost.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It was this romantic view that compelled a resident of Portland to write poetry and inspired a poem written over thirty years later. Young Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland in 1807 . While he loved his city, he spent a great deal of time walking to the lighthouse and yearning for the chance to follow its beam of light to distant shores.

In 1822, he entered Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME where he met a classmate named Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was to become a lifelong friend; they graduated together.

Lafayette

In February of 1824, the United States by Presidential (James Monroe) and Congressional Proclamation invited Citizen Lafayette to tour the country he helped to create as a nineteen year old officer. Since he had lost most of his inheritance (and title( as a result of the French Revolution, Congress appropriated $200,000 dollars and a township of land to reward him for his patriotism. In addition to that, American citizens were to raise money through subscriptions in order to lavishly to entertain him with feasts, receptions, parades, and other tributes. The culmination of his visit was a reenactment of the Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill) on its 50th anniversary. Several states extended citizenship to him and his male heirs, thus becoming a citizen of the United States*.

He initially arrived in New York City on August 24, 1824 and spent the next sixteen months spending time with old friends like Thomas Jefferson and touring virtually everyplace in the United States including Maine in June of 1825.

It was at that time that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow crossed paths with Lafayette, who was on his way to visit Portland Head Light.

Lafayette arrived in the United States a poor man, but on December 7, 1825, he returned home a wealthy, honored, and appreciated one

In 1826. Longfellow realized his dream to visit Europe ; he spent three years there and was to become a world traveler. He eventually became America’s uncrowned Poet Laureate.

The first poem below, by Longfellow, probably was inspired by Portland Head Light. it was written in 1837. The second, in my opinion, describes the lives of these two great men.

The Lighthouse
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,
and on its outer point, some miles away,
the lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Even at this distance I can see the tides,
Upheaving, break unheard along its base,
A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides
in the white tip and tremor of the face.

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,
through the deep purple of the twilight air,
Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light,
with strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!

No one alone: from each projecting cape
And perilous reef along the ocean’s verge,
Starts into life a dim, gigantic shape,
Holding its lantern o’er the restless surge.

Like the great giant Christopher it stands
Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave,
Wading far out among the rocks and sands,
The night o’er taken mariner to save.

And the great ships sail outward and return
Bending and bowing o’er the billowy swells,
And ever joyful, as they see it burn
They wave their silent welcome and farewells.

They come forth from the darkness, and their sails
Gleam for a moment only in the blaze,
And eager faces, as the light unveils
Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze.

The mariner remembers when a child,
on his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink
And when returning from adventures wild,
He saw it rise again o’er ocean’s brink.

Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same,
Year after year, through all the silent night
Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame,
Shines on that inextinguishable light!

It sees the ocean to its bosom clasp
The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace:
It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp,
And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece.

The startled waves leap over it; the storm
Smites it with all the scourges of the rain,
And steadily against its solid form
press the great shoulders of the hurricane.

The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din
of wings and winds and solitary cries,
Blinded and maddened by the light within,
Dashes himself against the glare, and dies.

A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock,
Still grasping in his hand the fire of love,
it does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock,
but hails the mariner with words of love.

“Sail on!” it says: “sail on, ye stately ships!”
And with your floating bridge the ocean span;
Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse.
Be yours to bring man nearer unto man.

A PSALM OF LIFE

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN
SAID TO THE PSALMIST

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

HAPPY 200^th , Henry!

Note:

* Sir Winston Churchill was the first to gain US citizenship through Presidential and Congressional proclamation)

Educational Tours and Family Holidays:

As this is a blog dedicated to educational student tours, naturally, I would like to urge you, your families, and students to visit Portland Head Light, Portland, Bowdoin College, Harvard, and all the other sights related to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 200th birthday. Two of my groups this year will be dining at Longfellow's Wayside Inn at Sudbury, MA after a literary tour of Concord concentrating on the Alcotts and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Wayside Inn was where Longfellow wrote, Tales of a Wayside Inn which included the very famous, Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. The references contained in the body of the post as well as below will have visitors' information and educational programs.

References and Further Research:

Lafayette in America

Excerpt from a journal immediately before Layfayette departed for Portland

Tributes to Lafayette Idzerda, Stanley J. Lafayette: Hero of Two Worlds: The Art and Pageantry of His Farewell Tour of America, 1824–1825: Flushing, N.Y.: Queens Museum, 1989.

Marquis de Lafayette Collection: Fascinating artifacts and tributes of his visit to America

Longfellow Bicentennial 2007:

Longfellow Society

Maine Historical Society Website

Tribute Blog from Blogspot’s Philobiblos (Wonderful site!)

Longfellow National Historic Site

Postscript: : The reason for the delay in posting this is that I am currently waiting for his exact itinerary from the Maine Historical Society, who are in the process of forwarding me excerpts of his itinerary. When I receive it, I shall add it to this post.

Thursday XIII:6 Washington Rules!

George Washington's Rules of Civility

Thirteen Great Tips for Teenagers

(Not in the original order)

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1. Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.

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2. When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usualy Discovered.

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3. In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.

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4. If You Cough, Sneeze, Sigh, or Yawn, do it not Loud but Privately; and Speak not in your Yawning, but put Your handkercheif or Hand before your face and turn aside.

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5. Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out your Chamber half Drest.

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6. Make no Shew of taking great Delight in your Victuals, Feed not with Greediness; cut your Bread with a Knife, lean not on the Table neither find fault with what you Eat.

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7. Shake not the head, Feet, or Legs rowl not the Eys lift not one eyebrow higher than the other wry not the mouth, and bedew no mans face with your Spittle, by approaching too near him when you Speak.

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8. Keep your Nails clean and Short, also your Hands and Teeth Clean yet without Shewing any great Concern for them.

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9. Run not in the Streets, neither go too slowly nor with Mouth open go not

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10. When you see a Crime punished, you may be inwardly Pleased; but always shew Pity to the Suffering Offender.

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11. Do not laugh too loud or too much at any Publick Spectacle.

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12. Wear not your Cloths, foul, unript or Dusty but See they be Brush'd once every day at least and take heed that you approach not to any Uncleaness.

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13. Eat not in the Streets, nor in the House, out of Season

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Happy Birthday!

Wordless Wednesday - Answers for Week #1 What's Missing?

The Sword Myth

The portrait from the original Figure It Out Friday post is NOT the famous Gilbert Stuart "Landsdowne" portrait that was saved by Dolley Madison before the British burned the White House, but the portrait painted by John Vanderlyn which hangs in the U.S. House of Representatives Chamber in the U.S. Capitol.

The full-length portrait of George Washington that hangs in the East Room of the White House is one of several copies painted by Gilbert Stuart of his "Landsdowne" portrait. It is the only object known from the original White House that has continuously remained there except during the various periods of reconstruction.



The Vanderlyn portrait of George Washington that hangs at the right of the Speaker's rostrum, is the real subject of this post. You probably noticed it during the annual "State of the Union Address".

This portrait was commissioned in 1834 from American artist John Vanderlyn as a companion to the portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette. The portrait is life-size and depicts Washington standing at a desk next to a window, with a chair and red drapery behind him. Washington directs his glance at the viewer. He is wearing a black suit with a lace-collar shirt, typical of Revolutionary times.

For years I had heard from the U.S. Capitol Guide Service guides that the sword on the Vanderlyn painting had been, 'painted out' because it is against the rules for a House Member to have a side arm on the 'Floor of the House'. This is patently untrue; a sword was never a part of this portrait. It emphasizes President Washington's statesmanship.

The office of the Clerk of the House has a wonderful inter-active website about the This will give you a far more detailed account of Vanderlyn's life and association with Aaron Burr.

Wordless Wednesday #1 - What Seems to be Missing?

Who is the artist and where does this portrait hang?

(Sorry about the delay, Blogspot seemed to be having some difficulty today and I was unable to post.)

Do you know where the original painting is?

CALLING ALL

ART HISTORIANS AND DETECTIVES!!

This just in from:

http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com/index.html
"History Is Elementary" - 1 new article
An Internet Challenge...Your Help Is Needed

So, I'm wondering...I'm wondering how powerful the Internet can be. I'm wondering if it's possible through the power of the Internet to locate the whereabouts of a historic painting that could be worth well over a million dollars. I'm wondering if the power of blogging and emails could locate a painting that has not been documented or seen since 1976. This all started when I was attempting to come up with an idea for a post at American Presidents. I try to post there at least every eight to ten days. As I was looking through the official White House site I stumbled upon the official White House Christmas card and an idea for a post was born. I posted Have You Received Your White House Christmas Card? While I was looking at different cards I came across the Nixon card for 1971 and was simply awestruck by it. The image for the 1971 cards was different. It was a colonial design showing what appreared to be George Washington with a White House under construction. I'd never seen a painting like so I quickly researched it and decided to post the image as my Wordless Wednesday and asked commenters to guess about the picture. Then I would later post about the image and how it was used for an official Christmas card. You can see my postings here and here where I explain more about this unique painting. Firefly over at Bioluminescence left a comment that really intrigued me. She found an article from the year 2,000 which explained how the White House and others were attempting to locate the original painting for this image. It all started in 1930 when the Pennsylvania Roadroad, the largest company in the United States until World War I, commissioned the artist, N.C. Wyeth, to complete a series of images for a poster series titled 'Building the Nation. There were supposed to be twelve images but only four were ever known to be completed. Pennsylvania Railroad later became Penn Central and in 1976 was taken over by Conrail. The White House would love to know the whereabouts of the painting as it is a rare image of George Washington with a scaffolded White House. Wyeth is the only known artist to have painted the White House under construction. Estimates state the painting could be worth well over $1 million dollars. Posters of the image do exist, however, the original painting the posters were taken from has been lost. The last time the painting was documented in in an Appendix dated 1976 for the Pennsylvania Railroad listing items that were to be turned over to Conrail. The painting was listed as having minor surface damage. Perhaps someone took the painting home, not realizing what they had, or perhaps it was given as a present at a retirement dinner. While some believe the painting is gone I don't think so. It's in an office closet underneath things someone thinks is a bunch of junk. It's under someone's bed with all of 'Granddad's stuff' he had when he worked for the railroad. Maybe it's hanging unceremoniously in someone's attic. I need your help to get the word out. Copy this post and put it in an email and send to as many people as you can and ask them to do the same. Place a post on your blog or website. Perhaps one of your readers knows someone who worked for Pennsylvania Railroad or Conrail and knows several other people who did as well. Wouldn't it be fantastic to tell people you helped to locate a painting that had historical significance plus it was worth over $1 million dollars? Will YOU join in with this national scavenger hunt? Information can be obtained through this blog and emails can be sent to historyiselementary@yahoo.com

Please help!

The Tour Marm