The troubled saga of Michael Bellesiles's struggle with his numerous critics came to a sad close on October 25, 2002, when Emory University announced that he had resigned as professor of history after a crushingly negative report on his book, The Right to Bear Arms, by a committee of outside historians. We have followed this story in the newsletter since the book, which won the prestigious Bancroft Prize, came under attack for its claim that only a small percentage of 18th Century Americans owned guns. Bellesiles spoke to the Round Table about his first book, a much praised biography of Ethan Allen, some years ago. He made an excellent impression and we hoped at first that he could answer his critics satisfactorily. But doubts accumulated as the controversy intensified. Mr. Bellesiles attacked his critics as NRA-sponsored advocates of gun ownership, rather than responding to their questions about his research. Now it would seem that the investigative committee, Stanley Katz of Princeton, Hanna Gray of the University of Chicago and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich of Harvard, has confirmed our doubts. The committee found that Bellesiles's statistics were "mathematically impossible or improbable." They also said "no one has been able to replicate Professor Bellesiles's results [the lower percentage of guns] for the places or dates he lists." They found he conflated wills and inventories, leading to confusion - and he had "a casual method of recording data." Worse, some critical Massachusetts records he claimed to rely on "did not exist." In sum, the committee found that Michael Bellesiles's "scholarly integrity is seriously in question."
Chairman Jacobs announced at our latest board meeting that Lynne Saginaw has volunteered to become the Round Table's book review chair. She will be responsible for obtaining books from publishers and assigning them to members for review.
In a final flicker of the Simon Legree side of his otherwise genial personality, Chairman Dave reported that he is growing impatient to see reviews of three already assigned books: Political Economy and Statesmanship: Smith, Hamilton and the Foundation of the Commercial Republic by Peter McNamara, Pox Americana, the Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82 by Elizabeth A. Fenn and The Day is Ours! An Inside View of the Battles of Trenton and Princeton by William M. Dwyer.
At the December meeting the Round Table will sell the last books left to us by our late chairman, Ed Mills. A Documentary History of the State of New York, published in 1849, is a four volume treasure trove of pre-Revolutionary New York documents. Each volume is 1100 pages long. The collection goes back to 1689 and includes the William Johnson papers, which provide a priceless insight into New York's relationship with the Iroquois and other tribes in the French and Indian War era. There is also, to select only one more gem, a "Treatise on Steam" with letters from George Washington commenting on recent inventions using this new technology. Unfortunately, the passage of time has inflicted quite a lot of wear and tear on the covers. But the 153 year old pages are still surprisingly intact. We're hoping bids will start at $250. The proceeds will go to our Speaker's Fund. For those who want to make a pre-dinner bid by phone, call Tom Fleming at 212 988 9160.
Taking shape in Valley Forge is a project that has extensive meaning for Round Tablers. It represents a determination by a group of American historians and history minded Americans to put the American Revolution on the historical map in a meaningful way. The National Park Service has joined forces with them, and so has the state of Pennsylvania, with hefty grants of public funds. The center plans to raise additional millions from private donors. The goal is to create a complex of buildings around the present historic site at Valley Forge in which exhibits will tell the story of the Revolution, from the ascent of George III in 1760 to the swearing-in of George Washington as our first president at Federal hall in 1789. The president of the Center is Thomas W. Daly, a former Navy captain and McGraw Hill executive. He has assembled a board of scholars, chaired by David McCullough. The other members are Tom Fleming, Gordon Wood, Don Higginbotham, Holly Mayer, Richard Beeman, and the collector, Herman Benninghof, who has donated his treasure trove of over 7,000 Revolutionary War manuscripts and historical artifacts to the center. Tom Daly has selected the distinguished British firm, Haley and Sharpe, to design the exhibits and architect Robert A.M. Stern to create the buildings.
Shirley Fox is the owner of Buttonwood, a 300 year old stone house in Chester County, Pennsylvania, not far from Valley Forge. Recently the Discovery Channel interviewed Tom Fleming there, in connection with a film they are doing on Valley Forge. She told Tom a ghost story that left him wide-eyed. It seems that two Hessian soldiers were killed in the house, not long after the British won the battle of the Brandywine and advanced on Philadelphia. The two Germans may have been foragers, or looters. At any rate, the then owner of Buttonwood killed them and dragged their bodies up to the attic. There is a large blood stain on the attic floor, where the bodies bled after death. In one of the wide beams in the kitchen ceiling is a splatter of round indentations from buckshot. It suggests there was a struggle in the kitchen for the Hessians' guns and one or both of them went off before they died. Their bodies were later buried in a nearby churchyard.
About six months ago, one of Mrs. Fox's horses became ill. She summoned a veterinarian from a local animal clinic. The vet turned out to be a young woman. After examining the horse, she returned to the kitchen to tell Mrs. Fox how she planned to treat the animal. Suddenly the young woman exclaimed: "My God!" She was facing the door on the other side of the kitchen that led to the rest of the house. Mrs. Fox asked what was wrong.
"I just saw a man in the doorway. He was dressed in a uniform," the vet said.
"What did it look like?" Mrs. Fox asked.
"He was wearing a green coat and white breeches," the vet said.
That, as most Round Tablers know, is the uniform of a Hessian jager. It was the first time the young woman had ever visited Buttonwood. She knew nothing of its history. Nor did she have the faintest idea what a Hessian jager looked like.
We want to apologize to Fred Cookinham for omitting his authorship of the profile of Alexander Graydon, a remarkable forgotten hero of the Revolution, in our April issue. We hope this won't discourage future contributions in this series. So far, each one has been a gem.
On the south wall of the Williams Club's Whittlesey Lounge (first floor in the rear) is a portrait of Ranald Slidell MacKenzie, class of 1859. He is pictured in a Federal uniform with background views of the Civil War.
Although beginning his studies at Williams, MacKenzie left to attend West Point, graduating in 1862 at the top of his class. From there he joined Pope's Army of Virginia at 2nd Bull Run, and the Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Petersburg and at Lee's surrender at Appomattox, rising to major general.
What does this have to do with the American Revolution? MacKenzie was the great great grandson of Major General William Alexander, aka Lord Stirling.
New member Adam Edelstein correctly answered the Arnold Memorial quiz. He identified the three monuments: 1. The obelisk at Schulyerville, 2. with an empty niche on the fourth side, the nameless wounded leg at Saratoga, and 3. the plaque in the old West Point chapel which is blank except for the words: "major general."
Persons who collect signatures of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence maintain that one in particular is extremely difficult to obtain. Whose signature is it, and why is it so difficult to find? A free drink to the winner!