Featured Artifact: Yes

On December 16, 1773, the event now referred to as the Boston Tea Party took place when men dressed as Mohawk Indians destroyed several hundred cartons of tea belonging to the East India Company. In response to this, the British Parliament passed a series of laws called the Coercive Acts (dubbed the Intolerable Acts by the colonists) in order to punish the colony of Massachusetts. When news of the retaliation by Great Britain made its way through the colonies, sympathy and support for the cause of colonial representation in Parliament steadily grew and gained momentum, and in Philadelphia at Carpenters’ Hall on September 5th, 1774, the Continental Congress met for the first time. 

One of their resolutions was in the form of this handbill, or broadside, which was printed during the First Continental Congress and intended for mass circulation to communicate a request to all local merchants, urging them not to place further orders with England or to take delivery of goods already on order. It is signed by Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, 1774 to 1788. The broadside was printed by W. and T. Bradford of Philadelphia who also printed Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

To date this is one of only two known copies to have survived this historic event in American history; the other is located at the Library of Congress.

The carvings on this powder horn read:

Steel Not This Horn for Fear of Shame for on it is the Onours name
James Garthwait His Horn made at Fort Edward September the 15 1759

Other carvings include geometric and floral designs, a line of fish, and a solider smoking a pipe.

Born in 1737, James Garthwait was from Elizabethtown (Elizabeth), New Jersey. He served as a private in the Jersey Blues, the only regiment of troops raised by New Jersey during the French and Indian War. When Garthwait was carving this horn, the fighting had moved north into Canada, meaning James was one of the troops left to hold Fort Edward.

After his service in the Jersey Blues, Garthwait returned home and married Ann Crane in 1761. They had one son, Jeremiah C. Garthwaite, who enlisted into the Continental Army when he was only 13.

​This just may be the smallest artifact in the Old Barracks’ collection!
 
Thought to be an insert for a cufflink, this artifact is evidence of someone at the Trenton Barracks expressing their personal political views in a subtle but recognizable way to the people around them.
 
Archeologists from Hunter Research, while searching for physical evidence of the 18th century wooden fence surrounding the Old Barracks, discovered the tiny artifact in 1995. The “Wilkes & Liberty” refers to John Wilkes, a British politician who actively spoke out in support of free speech and independence for the American colonies. The “No. 45” is in reference to issue 45 of the periodical The North Briton, published on April 23, 1763, where Wilkes criticized the policies of King George III and was subsequently jailed because of it.  Uproar resulted, with crowds taking up the chant “Wilkes & Liberty No. 45!”. Ben Franklin, then in London, wrote that he saw the number “45” painted on house doors not only in London but also continuing for miles outside the city.

​This “Pine Tree Flag” is one of the oldest known flags in North America, and perhaps even the British Isles. Written accounts and research tell us the motif of a pine tree was featured heavily on early American flags but this is the only known example to have survived.
 
The flag was found in an 18th century trunk on Long Island in 1992 by Mr. Gary Laube of Easthampton. Previously it was in possession of the Woodward family, whose ancestor Jacob Woodward was an ensign in the 6th Company, 5th Connecticut Provincial Regiment during the French and Indian War (Note the embroidered ‘5th Regt’ in the center).
 
The flag is homemade, truly making it one of a kind, and research has shown the missing pieces along the right-hand side were cut away on purpose, most likely as souvenirs for the remaining soldiers of the 5th Regiment. Saint George’s Cross in the top left suggests North America was still part of the British Empire when the flag was constructed, and the symbol of the pine tree connects it with the colony of Connecticut. Professional textile conservators are confident the flag could date from at least the mid-18th century.