Jim Gabler's talk was as entertaining as his ingenious new book, An Evening With Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson: Dinner, Wine and Conversation. Jim told us what gave him the idea for the book. He was reading about Ben's adventures as ambassador to France during the Revolution. Suddenly he was being told that Ben had a wine cellar of 1100 bottles! Jim's previous book was about Thomas Jefferson's passion for wine. He told us about it in 1985. He asked himself: Wouldn't it be great to imagine these titans getting together in France to talk wine and all sorts of events in their momentous lives? Jim soon discovered there actually were ten months when Ben and Tom were together in Paris, before Ben headed home to Pennsylvania, and Tom replaced him as ambassador. Soon Jim was imagining Tom telling Ben about how to deal with those early terrorists, the Barbary pirates. Ben confessed his heartbreak over his son William, who betrayed him by becoming a loyalist and participating in savage guerrilla warfare that climaxed in the unauthorized hanging of Captain Josiah Huddy of the New Jersey militia. To make the book authentic, Jim researched every topic, and used the original quotes of the principals. Before he got to the last page, he had hit 900 citations. It was obvious that he had a wonderful time writing the book -- and not much doubt that Round Tablers and other Revolutionary War buffs will have an equally good time reading it -- and dreaming about sampling those 1100 bottles of French wine!
Our April dinner guests were treated to a feast of reviews. This is undoubted testimony to the good job our books chair Lynne Saginaw is doing. Not only does she lay hands on a steady supply of new books, she makes everyone sign a blood oath to review their assigned tome soon -- or else they will find out why she is nicknamed Simone Legree.
Like everything good in this life, there is a downside to our plethora. We have to condense beautifully written and read reviews to fit into our newsletter. We trust reviewers will understand and forgive us.
Dr. Joanne Grasso told us about The Marketplace of Revolution, How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence by T.H. Breen. Dr. G thought the book read more like a textbook. She convinced us with a quote that sums up the author's premise: "Instead of assuming political collectivities, [the book] asks how such a dispersed population generated a sense of trust sufficient to sustain a rebellion." It was Americans "shared experience as consumers" that gave them their revolutionary bond, Breen argues. Joanne concluded that the author seems to have missed the point that 1776 was an all encompassing revolution that won minds and hearts for many reasons. Economics, while not unimportant, was only one part of the tumultuous story.
Becky Akers reported on Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775 by Thomas Desjardin. Becky admired the judicious leadership George Washington displayed in the orders he issued Colonel Arnold and his men. He told them to discover "the real sentiments of the Canadians towards our Cause." If they were averse to joining the Revolution, so be it. Arnold's column, marching through Maine to Quebec, was supposed to cooperate with another column, led by Richard Montgomery, invading from northern New York. Arnold's route was much more harrowing. He and his men were reduced to skeletons as they struggled along what was little more than an Indian track. Becky had high praise for Mr. Desjardin's vivid, authentic prose, obviously written in his backyard, so to speak -- he lives in Maine. She also found herself praising the heroism of both Arnold's and Montgomery's men in the book's climax, their failed Jan. 1 1776 attack on Quebec, which left Montgomery dead, Arnold wounded and the dream of bringing Canada into the Revolution a shambles.
Polly Guerin gave us a moving account of Unwise Passions, The True Story of a Remarkable Woman and the First Great Scandal of 18th Century America, by Alan Pell Crawford. Polly, a gifted poet, was the ideal reviewer for this heartbreaking story of how Nancy Randolph, daughter of a wealthy Virginia tobacco planter, was accused of killing her newborn illegitimate son. Also accused was her brother in law, Richard Randolph, the child's father. In a sensational trial, lawyers Patrick Henry and future Supreme Court Justice John Marshall persuaded the court to drop the charges. But Nancy was a marked woman. Her reputation declined even further when Richard Randolph died under mysterious circumstances and she was accused of poisoning him. Fleeing to New York, the destitute Nancy became the housekeeper and eventually the happy wife of wealthy Gouverneur Morris. Polly concluded that Nancy was a survivor in an era when slander and moral disarray could literally destroy a woman. Polly also praised the book's vivid historically accurate account of Virginia plantation society.
Mark Domowne dealt expertly with Revolution in America, Considerations and Comparisons by Don Higginbotham one of the Round Table's favorite writers. Essentially, the book is a paean of praise to Washington's generation. Mark read us Jefferson's marvelous summary of Washington's character and talents. He especially praised Don's careful delineation of the social character of America's different sections -- with special emphasis on the South's fondness for military thinking. There were points to ponder on every page. Mark urged us all to "read this book."
Peter Ford got our attention by reading the title of his book: Flint and Steel: Miniature Wargame Rules For the American Revolution and the Age of Reason by Richard J. Kane. Peter added a sub-subtitle: Clash of Arms Games #9509.53C, and proceeded to tell us that military experience has always been the target of serious tacticians -- and toy makers. Peter confessed to being a lifelong war gamer and defended himself by citing ancient precursors, Chinese sages who played Wei Hai (encirclement) now known as "Go" and the Indian board game, Chaturanga, the precursor of modern chess.
So far so good. But Peter had his doubts about Mr. Kane's attempt to bring the wargame closer to reality. There were innumerable rules and no less than 33 charts in his book. Others might be put off by the ten sided dice. But if you want to test your skills as an 18th Century general, this book is for you. The only problem may be finding someone as obsessed as yourself -- it takes two to tango on a miniature battlefield. But if you persevere, Peter assured us, eventually "the fun will begin!"
Fraunces Tavern is offering -- for the fourth year in a row -- a walking tour of Revolutionary New York which begins at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, July 4, and ends at 6 a.m. at the Tavern. Veteran tour guide James S. Kaplan will lead the group and fill their sleep-deprived ears with little known lore about Revolutionary War heroes buried in lower Manhattan and information on how the colonists lived and prospered in the days of 1776. Tickets are $20 ($15 for Fraunces Tavern members). Call 212 425 1778. Happy somnambulating!
We hear from one of our Pennsylvania informants that there is now a Western Frontier Revolutionary War Round Table. They are associated with the Fort Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh. So far they have had three meetings. Welcome to our expanding club, fellow scholars!
They haven't set sail yet but descendants of 17th Century Virginia pioneers joined with British officials in early April to mark the 400th anniversary of the Virginia charter, which created the colony of Virginia. At the event at Clothworker's Hall in London, participants signed commemorative charters that bore the seal of James I. The Adventurers of Virginia displayed pieces of a New World tapestry, which depicts the lineage of the families who braved the Atlantic to settle the colony. The tapestry, which took 20 years to complete, consists of 24 panels totalling 267 feet in length. Tom Mor, the tapestry's designer, said one of his motivations was to remind people that it was the Adventurers, not the Pilgrims who established the first English colony in America. Mor claimed machinations by Mayflower descendants had tended to make the Jamestown settlement "forgotten or ignored."
Tom Fleming spoke at Mount Vernon on March 28 about his book, Washington's Secret War. He came back wide-eyed about the changes that are about to transform Washington's plantation into one of the most electrifying tourist attractions in America. Executive Director James C. Rees told Tom about the new Ford Orientation Center and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center, both of which will open in October. They are the major additions on which the Mount Vernon Ladies Association is spending $95 million dollars to, in Rees's words, "show visitors why George Washington, the most dynamic leader of his time, was chosen again and again by the founding fathers to lead this country." In 23 galleries and theater spaces, visitors will learn about Washington's exceptional life and accomplishments through interactive displays, a major movie, short films produced by the History Channel, and high tech immersive experiences. Responding to the desire of the Ladies Association that these new additions did not overwhelm or distract from the historic mansion, the designers have tucked 65 percent of the 66,700 square foot complex under the four-acre pasture just inside Mount Vernon's main gate. This guarantees that the vista Washington and his friends enjoyed in their lifetimes, with sheep grazing in the pasture, will remain unsullied.
Norwich Connecticut resident Lewis Randall has been telling startled residents that there is a totally forgotten tradition in the town: black governors. The story predates the Revolution. It seems that in Connecticut and some other states, blacks, both slave and free, chose leaders to represent them before the town council. In some cases they were called "kings." In Norwich they were "governors." Dressed as one of these forgotten leaders, Randall recently spoke to the Norwich Historical Society. The tradition began in the 1750s, when slaves who accompanied their masters to Hartford for the annual election of the colony's governor began to choose their own local leaders. All told, there were 27 black governors in Connecticut before and after the Revolution. Ira Tossett, the man Randall impersonates, held the job until 1811.
For sixteen years, Benjamin Franklin lived at 36 Craven Street in London, near the Strand and Charing Cross. He moved into the house in 1757, beginning a campaign to oust the descendants of William Penn as the rulers of Pennsylvania. Many think his landlady and owner of the house, widowed Margaret Stevenson, became his second wife when his Philadelphia spouse, Deborah, declined to brave the Atlantic and join him. Now the house has been restored to its 18th Century condition, which Franklin described as "genteel." It remained a lodging house until the Second World War, during which it suffered some bomb damage. For several decades thereafter, it was the headquarters of The British Society for International Understanding. In 1978, Mary, Countess of Bessborough, founded the Friends of Benjamin Franklin House to rescue the building, which was in a sad state of disrepair. Over the next decade and a half, the Friends, aided by big givers such as the British Heritage Lottery Fund, spent 2.8 million dollars to restore the house. Inside, they have created an Historic Experience tour which will enable visitors to recapture Franklin and the London he experienced until his return to America in 1775 with the Revolutionary War looming. The house opened for visitors on January 17, 2006, Ben's 300th birthday. It thus became the only surviving house in which Ben actually lived.
Who's buried in John Paul Jones's crypt at the U.S. Naval Academy? According to Washington College history professor Adam Goodheart, author of an article on the naval hero in Smithsonian Magazine, there is a good chance that it is not the bones of the combative sailor who roared: "We have not yet begun to fight!" Goodheart is calling for a DNA test to make sure they have the right man. A test is within the bounds of possibility. A brother and a sister are buried in the United States and there is a braid of Jones's brown hair mounted on the back of a miniature portrait at the Academy. But the Academy's leaders have coolly rebuffed the historian, saying they are confident that the evidence from an autopsy performed shortly before the body was moved from Paris to Annapolis proved beyond reasonable doubt that it was the Commodore.
Those of us who have followed the lives of American Revolutionary figures after the war know that "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, after returning to England following his defeats at Bennington and Saratoga, pursued a career as a playwright. Well, the Continental Army had a budding Shakespeare, also. Royall Tyler was born in Boston near Faneuil Hall in 1757. At the age of nineteen, in 1776, he not only graduated from Harvard, but received a second degree from Yale a few months later. He decided to practice law, choosing John Adams as his mentor and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1780. Joining the state militia in 1778, he eventually became an aide to General Benjamin Lincoln, serving him in 1787 during Shay's Rebellion.
Moving to Vermont, Tyler became a state's attorney, served on the Vermont Supreme Court from 1801-1813, the last six years as Chief Justice, and even taught law at the University of Vermont from 1811-1814. A poet and essayist, Tyler made history as the author of the first performed American comedy "The Contrast" a satire concerning fashion-conscious New Yorkers. He wrote several other plays and a fictitious memoir "The Algerine Captive" published in 1797. Tyler died in 1826 in Brattleboro, Vermont. "The Contrast" was recently performed in Manhattan by The Mirror Repertory Company. It opened exactly 219 years to the day that it was first produced in 1787.
Five winners knew that the two Founding Fathers in the boat were George Washington and Thomas Paine and that they were searching for proof of "swamp gas."
Aided by information supplied by Becky Akers (who receives a free dinner), the Quiz Master presents:
My five brothers and I all served in the American cause; one was at Lexington & Concord, two were captured at Fort Washington. My fame came about when I wasn't fighting, and now, through eyes that cannot see, I watch over New York City. Who am I?