Contrary to many held beliefs of the early days riding up to the Revolutionary War, the Boston Tea Party was not the only major direct action taken by protestors. There was another event equal in its grandiosity but decidedly shameful in execution.
After the Boston Tea Party, the event was heavily defended and publicized by Samuel Adams. He is stated as saying that the work of the men who participated in the event were not the actions of a crazed mob, but rather protestors defending what he called ‘the civil constitution’ using the only action left to them.
Then there is that other event I mentioned earlier. This event in American history seems to be forgotten in lieu of the Boston one. Join me below as we spotlight how revolutions can be a messy ordeal, even our own.
The Peggy Stewert is, or more rather after the action ‘was’ a cargo vessel. Owned and operated by a one Anthony Stewert. Anthony Stewert grew up around Aberdeen Scotland. Tutored under his father he eventually moved to Maryland in 1753 to begin his own business. Very quickly he established a very profitable and sizable trade company. In the year 1764 he was married to the daughter of James Dick. James Dick was owner and operator of one of the more sizable and profitable trading businesses in the Maryland area. He very quickly partnered with his son in law and the two became some of the most influential people in the Maryland area.
The Stamp Act and the excessive taxes surrounding many of those same goods, had forced colonists to start boycotts on all goods that carried those duties. These boycotts continued long after the Stamp Act repeal. As boycotts rose like wild fire around the coast, The Association of Anne Arundel County decided to join in as well. The Association of Anne Arundel County agreed to ban all goods that carried those import duties, namely chocolate, glass, tea, and paint. All merchants in the area were asked to sign a pledge and agreement to monitor their trade routes, and to assist in enforcing the boycott.
James Dick signed the agreement.
Anthony Stewert did not, a decision he would come to regret very soon.
In the year 1770, most likely out of retaliation for not signing the agreement, Stewerts merchant vessel Good Intent was turned away at port having its goods declared as contraband by The Association. This forced the ship and cargo to return to England, at a considerable expense to Stewart and James. The Association warned James and Stewert to not protest against the groups action to turn the ship away otherwise it would be construed as an attempt to bypass the boycott. They were also warned said actions would be ‘considerable consequences’.
During February of 1774 another ship The Peggy Stewert had been commissioned by Stewert and James main rival, the firm of Wallace, Davidson and Johnson, to ship a cargo load of tobacco and misc goods to London. Before departure Stewert instructed the captain that upon arrival once selling the goods to also sell the ship and to return back under a profitable cargo run with the proceeds. One caveat that Stewert placed was to not sell the ship for less than 550 pounds.
Unable to sell the ship, it was then contracted to bring over a load of various goods the bulk of which being tea. It was contracted by another Maryland merchant named Thomas Charles Williams. Unbeknownst to Stewert and Thomas however, the Wallace group had gotten information of the possible contraband. They then sent a letter to Annapolis in an attempt cause a headache for Russell and Stewert.
The Association by now had been informed, and tempers rose against the merchant Thomas. Thomas was defiant as the co signer for the cargo, as he is stated as saying ‘he would ship anything he wanted and the Association could go to the devil’
The Peggy Stewert docked on October 14th. Upon arrival Stewert found his ship in tatters. The hull had taken a beating in the crossing and was leaking. The trip was a hardship on the crew as well, all of them sick. And worse yet, he found a hold full of tea. He was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Returning the ship without delivering the cargo would devastate the business and sending a tattered ship across the Atlantic with a sick crew would be unthinkable. If he wanted to release the cargo he would then be forced by law to pay duty on the lot including the contraband.
Forced into a decision of worse or worse, Stewert paid the duty and landed the tattered ship. Everything was taken off except for the tea.
The Williams group however by now had a change of heart. Seeing the Association so incensed and the fervor with which the revolutionaries had towards all things London, they had changed their mind about the boycott, mostly out of fear. The Williams group because of this refused to pay the duty back to Stewert. They even wrote a letter to the Association essentially finger pointing to Stewert and promising to hand over the contraband.
Think about that for a minute. Stewert had docked the ship and paid the duty only so that the men on board the ship could land and be properly cared for. All goods except the tea were taken, Essentially Stewert was acting in good faith. The Williams group used this opportunity to essentially take out a rival trader, for you see the letter did absolutely nothing except spread the news that contraband tea was on board the Peggy Stewert.
Soon Mathias Hammond who happen to be a huge political opposition to Stewert started to print up and hand out hand bills in the streets. The bills made the argument against Stewert, and the Williams Group. This was the match that lit the fire and very soon activists and protestors were in the streets screaming for action. Quite literally Annapolis Tea Party was born over night.
Stewert appealed to those on the Annapolis council with who he had respect with. He was rebuffed and told the only way to save himself at this point, was to torch the tea. I say save him, because at this point the Maryland citizenry was on the verge of tar and feathering him AND burning the boat to the water.
At a meeting on October 19th Stewert attempted to defend himself against the mob. Charles Carrol, who was then on the Annapolis Council and also a friend to Stewert, presented a letter of apology by Stewert and Williams brothers for them sign publicly. This letter denounced their actions and acquiesced for the tea to be unloaded and summarily burned. Facing down a very obvious angry mob the parties signed it.
It was not enough to quell the mob though. Shouts and jeers to ‘Burn the ship!’ came from the crowd. A call from the crowd came to vote on the issue, to burn the ship or not. The crowd, not unanimously mind you, voted to burn the tea only and leave the ship be.
It was then that the crowd’s attention was drawn to a speaker. This speaker whipped the crowd into a frenzy again, into calls to burn the boat. Despite the vote held earlier in the day, the crowds emotions running high along with the incendiary words of the speaker tipped the scale. Stewert and Williams brothers were quite literally escorted by the mob down to the waterfront.
It was there that they were forced onto the boat. The rigging done, sails unfurled, it was then sailed over to Windmill Point where it was then set on fire and burned into the water. Tea and all gone.
James Dick was ruined financially from the event and spent the entirety of the revolution hold up in his home. Stewert made efforts to rebuild the business but was black listed at every corner. His reputation and name were drug through the mud, and every effort he made to rebuild them fell apart. He eventually went back to England and petitioned the King for compensation where he was awarded a moderate pension.
Eventually he returned to New England as a loyalist. However by the end of the war he was branded a traitor, sentenced to death by Maryland. He escaped and fled back to England once again and lived out his days as a successful merchant.
What was the point of this history lesson?
In Boston we find an event that resulted in the direct destruction of property. However nothing was harmed other than the item of issue, tea. Also historians agree that the event was mostly planned in advance, likely with the help of Adams.
In Annapolis however, we have mob rule and a huge injustice against a man. A man whose only guilt was trying to do right for the servant sailors aboard the Peggy Stewert.
These two events directed at the same entity of tyranny of a king, though executed vastly differently teach us that it is easy to get caught up in the moment. The burning of the Peggy Stewert happened nearly a year after the Boston Tea Party. Emotions were high. We even see in the event an attempt to brings things back into the world of justice and rule when the crowded voted to burn the ship or just the tea. However the quick words of an orator whipped the crowd into a frenzy where they forced the tipping point.
We also see a clear lack of scruples and ethics in the Williams group. They very easily could have taken possession of the tea by paying the duties and offering to burn the tea, or pay to smuggle it elsewhere and profit. But it was clear that Williams saw this as an opportunity to take down a competitor. As had they not sent that letter, more than likely the whole thing would have blown over, as much of Annapolis to that point had no idea of the contraband sitting in port. Even much of the Council had no clue as to the contents aboard the Peggy Stewert.
In short, doing the right thing is hard. It is work, and it is often frustrating. It helps however to look back at events through history and remember others who had those choices to make. They say that unless we look back at our history, we are doomed to repeat it. Remember an event like the Peggy Stewert next time you have a choice to ‘do right’.