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200:, published a handbill on 15 October, denouncing Stewart (and omitting to mention that the Williams brothers themselves had been the ones who notified him of the tea importation), and stirred up a great deal of popular fervor. Thus the second committee meeting was thronged with people, many of whom had come specifically to make an example of the wicked Mr Stewart and his cronies.
308:. Legal obstacles prevented the plan from being fully realised, but the community still exists today. Despite the significant financial loss he sustained in the "Tea Party", Stewart remained wealthy, although the 1,200 acres (4.9 km) of land he owned in Maryland would be forfeited at the end of the War in 1783. Ironically, he died on a business visit to Annapolis, in 1791.
88:" of 1767. The Customs collector at Annapolis would not allow any goods to be landed, even those not subject to tax, until the tax had been paid. The local committee supervising the boycott would not allow tax to be paid on any goods. Merchants importing the goods, led by James Dick and his son-in-law Anthony Stewart, finally gave up, and sent
22:
133:(some distance from London) Jackson learned that he had been right to suspect the packages and that part of his cargo was going to cause major trouble in America. However, once declared to Customs officials in Britain, the tea had to be taken to its appointed destination — preferably before the autumn gales began, for
284:. The writer was convinced that the plot would have failed if Stewart had followed Joseph and James's lead- but then, the writer knew nothing about the 53 indentured servants, and claimed instead that Stewart, as an owner of the vessel, was "anxious for dispatch, in order that she might proceed to another port."
168:
arrived at
Annapolis on the morning of 14 October 1774, and Anthony Stewart was notified of the tax payable on one small part of the cargo. He went immediately to Joseph and James Williams, Thomas's brothers and business partners, and informed them of the situation. Whatever Thomas had intended, his
241:
did publish a letter from the
Williams brothers in which, among other things, they complained that their complete willingness to co-operate with the committee was "kept entirely secret" from the angry throng, and instead "a most ungenerous piece was drawn up by Mathias Hammond." An anonymous letter
185:
Only four of the committee were available for a meeting that afternoon, so they invited the public to contribute to the discussion, and it was decided that all the cargo except the tea could be unloaded, 12 supervisors being appointed by the meeting to ensure that this stipulation was adhered to. A
116:
Most ships' captains refused to carry tea, but in the summer of 1774, one merchant, Thomas
Charles Williams, the London representative of an Annapolis family firm, thought he had found a cunning way around that problem. He loaded 2,320 pounds (about one ton) of tea, in 17 packages, aboard the brig
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The committee were of opinion, if the tea was destroyed by the voluntary act of the owners and proper concessions made, that nothing further ought to be required. This their opinion being reported to the assembly, was not satisfactory to all present. Mr
Stewart then voluntarily offered to burn the
276:
interests. Stewart was the principal victim, partly because he had voted against a proposal (nominally in retaliation against the
British government's punishment of the people of Boston) for American lawyers to refuse to handle actions for debts due to persons in Great Britain, partly because
275:
on 4 January 1775, just two days after Thomas signed his apology, also in
Philadelphia) he blamed everybody except himself. The letter outlined an alleged plot involving another rival firm, Wallace, Davidson and Johnson- Davidson being Deputy Comptroller of Customs in addition to his business
176:
Stewart knew they could not send the entire cargo back to London because it included the 53 indentured servants, who might easily die in the autumn storms. He therefore guaranteed payment of the tax on the tea himself, got the servants ashore as soon as possible, and left the rest of the cargo
373:
honoring the two-hundredth anniversary of the burning. The incident is also honored by "Peggy
Stewart Tea", a blend sold by Eastern Shore Tea Co. The burning is honored each year by a ceremony in Annapolis. The story was recounted in a children's book
186:
full committee meeting was then arranged for the morning of the following
Wednesday, 19 October, and over five days, a great deal of politics occurred. On the one hand, Stewart and the two Williams brothers met with committee chairman
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was enough to satisfy the mob, so the brig was moved to a convenient spot "with her sails and colours flying", and, after reading out a statement apologising for their conduct (which was subsequently published in the
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brothers had no interest in his mad scheme, so they refused to pay the tax, and arranged a meeting with the committee which supervised the tea boycott, to discuss the problem. Anthony
Stewart feared a rerun of the
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to another newspaper (quite probably written by Thomas
Williams) claimed that "the minds of the people were so inflamed, that they threatened death to Mr. Stewart, and desolation to his store and dwelling-house."
237:; he had allegedly had a gallows erected outside Stewart's house. Some details of the account seem false, but other sources agree that he led the calls for harsh penalties, whipping up mob hysteria. The
121:, principally owned by Dick and Stewart (business rivals to the Williams firm), which was about to make the Atlantic crossing. The worried captain, Richard Jackson, was told that the packages contained
233:, in 1813 expands greatly on that short account. Warfield, recently appointed a Major in the new Anne Arundel County militia, had not only argued with moderate patriots like Charles Carroll and
84:, bringing goods ordered by local merchants during 1769. Some of the orders had been placed before the local resolutions in June–July 1769, to boycott goods subject to British tax under the "
271:
Thomas Charles Williams, the real cause of the problem, later published an apology for his own actions- but if the anonymous letter really was his work (it was published in the Philadelphia
259:), Anthony Stewart, Nehemiah Moxley, Joseph Williams and James Williams jointly set the vessel and the tea alight. Within a few hours, "in the presence of a great number of spectators"
343:
as an act of heroism, considering the angry crowd who demanded the burning to be devoted patriots for their resistance of the British Tea Act. On October 19, 1904, the city of
339:
A token was produced and circulated in 1875 to celebrate the "Peggy Stewart" incident. After the American Revolutionary War, citizens of Maryland came to view the burning of
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case, for none of the cargo could come ashore until the tax had been paid on that tea tucked away in a corner of the hold—not even the indentured servants.
104:, to sell tea in America without paying tax, but such a one-sided deal seemed as unjust to Americans as the original taxes, eventually leading to the famous
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was, by modern standards, less than conscientious. No mention was made of the indentured servants, no attempt was made to remind readers of the
129:, Williams correctly identified the consignment as tea on his Customs declaration. Hence, when he was clearing Customs at the mouth of the
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was in mid-Atlantic, the British government gave in to the boycott and removed taxes on all goods—except tea. The
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needed an overhaul and leaked quite badly. That made the voyage most unpleasant for the main cargo: 53
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had burned down to the waterline. The event has since become known as the "Annapolis Tea Party".
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and formulated an agreement that they would burn the tea and publish an apology in the
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had taken trade the Wallace firm had lost when a vessel of theirs ran aground in the
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and, following British overreaction, to a widespread re-introduction of tea boycotts.
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366:. On October 19, 1974, the Bicentennial Council of the 13 Original States created a
300:; then in 1783 he attempted, with one Samuel Gouldsbury, to found a community called
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Documents relating to Thomas Williams apology, 24 December 1774 & 2 January 1775
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Contradictory claims from Williams & Co. and James Phillips & John McLure;
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living in New York, where he served on the board of directors of the Associated
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newspaper immediately after the death of successful physician and businessman
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Letter book of Joshua Johnson, merchant of London, letter 157b, 4 August 1774
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imports which had been imposed in retaliation for the British occupation of
359:(1850–1919), painted on the west wall of the Criminal Court Lobby in the
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case, and the report of the fateful second meeting was oddly abbreviated:
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Art Inventory – Baltimore Courthouse – The Burning of the Peggy Stewart
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Baltimore Court House mural by Charles Yardley Turner, unveiled 1904
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Proceedings of Committee to Examine Importation of Goods by the
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Fisher, Richard D. (ed.). "The burning of the Peggy Stewart".
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Anthony Stewart and his family spent most of the years of the
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Letter from Anthony Stewart to the committee, 17 October 1774
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Are There Instances of Raids Similar to the Boston Tea Party?
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Warfield family web page, including quotation of 1813 letter
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The "patriotic" version of the story (one of many examples)
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was a Maryland cargo vessel burned on October 19, 1774, in
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A revolution centennial commemorative medallion showing
61:. This event became known as the "Annapolis Tea Party".
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Archived correspondence about Goldsbury family research
125:, but to avoid the possibility of being prosecuted for
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back to London, still fully loaded. Ironically, while
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by Maud Esther Dilliard, published by Dutton, 1956.
196:. On the other hand, one committee member, Mathias
320:A commemorative ingot issued in 1875 to honor the
518:Apology over allegations against Capt. Jackson;
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16:Cargo ship burnt in the "Annapolis Tea Party"
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657:Letter from "Americanus", reprinted in the
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767:looks back at the affair, 19 November 1892
759:from www.seakayak.ws, accessed Nov 10 2007
177:aboard to await the committee's decision.
466:Affidavit by Capt. Lambert Wickes of the
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204:The second committee meeting, 19 October
757:An essay by a local maritime enthusiast
578:, Hammond-Harwood House, archived from
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549:Letter from Williams & Co. in the
100:of 1773 allowed only one company, the
45:as a punishment for contravening the
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208:The reporting of this affair in the
160:, which was named after his daughter
801:Maryland in the American Revolution
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29:, 1896, depicting the burning of
796:History of the Thirteen Colonies
349:The Burning of the Peggy Stewart
806:History of Annapolis, Maryland
776:, vol. 5 (1910), pages 235–45.
402:, accessed September 24, 2011.
1:
231:Dr Charles Alexander Warfield
774:Maryland Historical Magazine
347:commemorated the event with
288:Anthony Stewart's later life
221:vessel and the tea in her...
553:, 27 October 1774, page 2-3
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811:Maritime incidents in 1774
474:, 10 November 1774, page 2
294:American Revolutionary War
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156:, (1728–1791) co-owner of
102:British East India Company
730:, Maryland State Archives
664:, Maryland State Archives
661:, 10 April 1775, page 2-3
613:, Maryland State Archives
610:, 20 October 1774, page 2
556:, Maryland State Archives
525:, Maryland State Archives
522:, 3 November 1774, page 3
477:, Maryland State Archives
447:, Maryland State Archives
444:, 27 October 1774, page 3
421:, Maryland State Archives
361:Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr.
499:, British History Online
27:Francis Blackwell Mayer
782:, accessed Nov 10 2007
769:, accessed Nov 11 2007
753:, accessed Nov 11 2007
635:, snowden-warfield.com
357:Charles Yardley Turner
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69:In February 1770, the
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312:Legacy of the burning
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145:Arrival in Annapolis
745:Further information
400:Teachinghistory.org
376:Ahoy, Peggy Stewart
246:Burning of the ship
139:indentured servants
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250:The offer to burn
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394:Buescher, John. "
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25:Painting by
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416:Good Intent
306:Nova Scotia
214:Good Intent
171:Good Intent
94:Good Intent
90:Good Intent
76:arrived at
74:Good Intent
790:Categories
734:2008-04-18
712:2007-11-11
690:2007-11-11
668:2007-11-10
639:2007-11-12
617:2007-11-10
586:2007-11-10
560:2007-11-10
529:2007-11-10
503:2007-11-10
481:2007-11-10
451:2007-11-10
425:2007-11-10
382:References
364:Courthouse
65:Background
345:Baltimore
298:Loyalists
127:smuggling
78:Annapolis
43:Annapolis
468:Neptune
442:Gazette
324:burning
257:Gazette
239:Gazette
198:Hammond
98:Tea Act
47:boycott
418:, 1770
368:silver
82:London
55:Boston
371:ingot
353:mural
304:, in
123:linen
80:from
763:The
351:, a
164:The
71:brig
355:by
51:tea
49:on
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