In the middle of an upstairs room in the Historic Shepherdstown Museum is a detailed scale-model steam boat, made of tin and about three feet long.
The boat was built by Henry Snyder, a Shepherdstown resident who was murdered in 1864, in a violent robbery by masked bandits. The crime caused a stir in Shepherdstown at the time, and for some years after. One of the stories in the Shepherdstown Register, shortly after it resumed publication at the end of the Civil War, was a reprint of an article that had appeared in a Baltimore newspaper in November of 1864. The article told of the robbery at the Snyder farmstead and the murder of a young family member, Henry Snyder.
Who was Henry Snyder and who was responsible for his death? Were they Northern sympathizers or “carpet baggers” as some claimed, or perhaps others closer to home? And why?
Henry Miller Snyder, “a good citizen and esteemed by all who knew him” according to the Shepherdstown Register, was born in 1836 at the family farm, Rock Springs, located off of Ridge Road, a few miles outside of Shepherdstown. A loyal Virginian, he enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army in May of 1861, a month after the state joined the Confederacy. Just two months later, his unit was sent to Manassas, Va., where he was wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run. Sent home to recuperate, he began work on his model steam boat. Partially painted red, it would never be finished.
Henry Miller Snyder
Still in the Confederate Army, in 1863 he married Mary Virginia Moler.
Whenever his unit was encamped nearby, he would at times sneak away from camp without leave to visit his wife and family.
One such occasion was on November 9th, 1864. According to the article in the Shepherdstown Register, four men on horseback— three wearing masks and one wearing blackface — approached the Snyder farmstead at about 8:00 PM and knocked on the door. The robbers apparently knew the area and likely assumed that the elderly Snyders were alone in the house. Mrs. Snyder, Henry’s mother, expecting the return of a family member, opened the door and three of the men barged in. Demanding money, they grabbed Mrs. Snyder and blindfolded her. Henry’s father, John Snyder, who had been sitting by the fire, stood up, only to be knocked down by one of the intruders, who then tied him to a chair. The robbers again demanded money. Mrs. Snyder agreed and they removed her blindfold. She went to an upstairs bedroom to retrieve the money, which was kept in a small purse.
Henry, who lived with his wife in another part of the house, heard the noise and rushed to his parents’ aid. In the scuffle, Henry was shot in the arm and the bullet passed through his abdomen and lodged in his back.
Mrs. Snyder gave the robbers her purse with forty dollars in it. They took the money and then threw the purse on the floor, threatening to shoot the two men’s wives if they didn’t stop their “hallooing.”
Henry Snyder lay bleeding in the front hall of the Rock Spring farmhouse and died some 36 hours later. A tall-case clock that stood in the room still has a hole where another bullet entered, and it is said that the blood stain on the floor where Henry lay dying is still visible.
After leaving the Snyder Farm, the bandits went to the house of Christian Rhinehart, a few miles away. They called for him to come out on his porch and demanded money, saying that just as they knew him, he would know them if they took off their masks. They told him that they had already killed one man and would kill Mr. Rhinehart as well if he didn’t hand over his money. They then hit him with a revolver, knocking him down and taking what money he had in his pockets.
Were the robbers members of a Confederate raiding party, as reported in the Daily National Republican, a Washington, D.C., newspaper a few days later? According to this article, on the evening of the 9th, Major Harry Gilmor, well known at the time for leading daring raids on Union positions, and his men were on their way to attack Chambersburg, Pa. Passing through Shepherdstown, they robbed stores and individuals, and murdered a man named Henry Snyder. Gilmor, in his autobiography, Four Years in the Saddle, admits to being in Shepherdstown at the time, but claims to have gone there to “discover the perpetrators of the fearful robberies, murders, and outrages of all kinds that had been committed in that neighborhood, scarcely a house having been free from such depredations.”
The Snyders apparently knew the identity of the bandits, but never revealed their names “for the sake of their families.” It wasn’t until 1991 that Henry Miller’s niece, Mary Saum, revealed to a select few, who have also remained silent, the names of the murderers. She did add, however, that they all died horrible deaths.
In July 1865, the Shepherdstown Register reported that a man named Enoch Thompson was acquitted in the murder of Henry Snyder. No further information was given. Records of the trial could not be located at the Jefferson County Courthouse, so the full details of the murder may never be known or if the other bandits were ever arrested or even identified.
But the story doesn’t end here. Even though Enoch Thompson was acquitted in this instance, he apparently went on to live a life of banditry and crime. In 2017 an interesting medallion appeared at an auction in Connecticut. The medallion is inscribed:
“We Honor the Brave
Presented to
Sergt. J.F. Wilt
by the citizens of
Shepherdstown, VA
for killing a
noted highwayman
Enoch Thompson”
The donors of the medallion are “J.W. Grant, & many Friends.”
Sergeant Wilt has yet to be identified; no date or other information was given on the medallion, although it is known that J.W. Grant was treasurer of Shepherdstown in the years after the Civil War. It would seem that Enoch Thompson met his fate shortly after his acquittal.
Who was really responsible for killing Henry Snyder will likely continue to remain a Shepherdstown murder mystery.
A Shepherdstown Murder Mystery
In the middle of an upstairs room in the Historic Shepherdstown Museum is a detailed scale-model steam boat, made of tin and about three feet long.
Who was Henry Snyder and who was responsible for his death? Were they Northern sympathizers or “carpet baggers” as some claimed, or perhaps others closer to home? And why?
Henry Miller Snyder, “a good citizen and esteemed by all who knew him” according to the Shepherdstown Register, was born in 1836 at the family farm, Rock Springs, located off of Ridge Road, a few miles outside of Shepherdstown. A loyal Virginian, he enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army in May of 1861, a month after the state joined the Confederacy. Just two months later, his unit was sent to Manassas, Va., where he was wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run. Sent home to recuperate, he began work on his model steam boat. Partially painted red, it would never be finished.
Henry Miller Snyder
Still in the Confederate Army, in 1863 he married Mary Virginia Moler.
Whenever his unit was encamped nearby, he would at times sneak away from camp without leave to visit his wife and family.
Henry, who lived with his wife in another part of the house, heard the noise and rushed to his parents’ aid. In the scuffle, Henry was shot in the arm and the bullet passed through his abdomen and lodged in his back.
Mrs. Snyder gave the robbers her purse with forty dollars in it. They took the money and then threw the purse on the floor, threatening to shoot the two men’s wives if they didn’t stop their “hallooing.”
Henry Snyder lay bleeding in the front hall of the Rock Spring farmhouse and died some 36 hours later. A tall-case clock that stood in the room still has a hole where another bullet entered, and it is said that the blood stain on the floor where Henry lay dying is still visible.
After leaving the Snyder Farm, the bandits went to the house of Christian Rhinehart, a few miles away. They called for him to come out on his porch and demanded money, saying that just as they knew him, he would know them if they took off their masks. They told him that they had already killed one man and would kill Mr. Rhinehart as well if he didn’t hand over his money. They then hit him with a revolver, knocking him down and taking what money he had in his pockets.
Were the robbers members of a Confederate raiding party, as reported in the Daily National Republican, a Washington, D.C., newspaper a few days later? According to this article, on the evening of the 9th, Major Harry Gilmor, well known at the time for leading daring raids on Union positions, and his men were on their way to attack Chambersburg, Pa. Passing through Shepherdstown, they robbed stores and individuals, and murdered a man named Henry Snyder. Gilmor, in his autobiography, Four Years in the Saddle, admits to being in Shepherdstown at the time, but claims to have gone there to “discover the perpetrators of the fearful robberies, murders, and outrages of all kinds that had been committed in that neighborhood, scarcely a house having been free from such depredations.”
The Snyders apparently knew the identity of the bandits, but never revealed their names “for the sake of their families.” It wasn’t until 1991 that Henry Miller’s niece, Mary Saum, revealed to a select few, who have also remained silent, the names of the murderers. She did add, however, that they all died horrible deaths.
In July 1865, the Shepherdstown Register reported that a man named Enoch Thompson was acquitted in the murder of Henry Snyder. No further information was given. Records of the trial could not be located at the Jefferson County Courthouse, so the full details of the murder may never be known or if the other bandits were ever arrested or even identified.
The donors of the medallion are “J.W. Grant, & many Friends.”
Sergeant Wilt has yet to be identified; no date or other information was given on the medallion, although it is known that J.W. Grant was treasurer of Shepherdstown in the years after the Civil War. It would seem that Enoch Thompson met his fate shortly after his acquittal.
Who was really responsible for killing Henry Snyder will likely continue to remain a Shepherdstown murder mystery.
Historic Shepherdstown Museum Participates in Annual Museum Day!
The Smithsonian Magazine holds an annual museum day each year–and we’re joining!
The Historic Shepherdstown Museum will open its doors free of charge to all Smithsonian Museum Day ticketholders on Saturday, September 21, 2019, as part of the Smithsonian Magazine’s 15th annual Museum Day, a national celebration in which participating museums emulate the free admission policy at the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington D.C.-based museums.
“The Shepherdstown Museum is pleased to participate in this Smithsonian event. It’s a chance to join with others in highlighting the fascination of museums. Our focus is on items that reveal Shepherdstown’s story, which is at the heart of much of American history, and we welcome visitors to share that with us,” says Historic Shepherdstown president Jerry Bock.
Museum Day tickets are available for download at Smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present a Museum Day ticket will gain free entrance for two on September 21. Other participating museums can be found at Smithsonian.com/MuseumDay/Search.
The Shepherdstown Museum is joining the Smithsonian in celebrating their “Year of Music,” with permanent and temporary displays that reflect the history of music in the community. Among these are the Museum’s massive 1870’s square piano that belonged to the Show family of German Street; a piece of original sheet music for a bugle march, found in a Shepherdstown attic; and several vintage instruments, including two dulcimers, a concertina, and an accordion.
The Shepherdstown Museum is open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Museum will be open on weekends from now through October and during Christmas in Shepherdstown. Visitors who would like to visit at other times may inquire at the office (304-876-0910 or HSC1786@gmail.com).
Speaker Series, 2019 – Four Experts to Discuss Artisans of the Lower Shenandoah Valley
On Wednesday, September 11th, Historic Shepherdstown will present “Artisans of the Lower Shenandoah Valley,” a panel discussion by four experts on the history of decorative arts in this area. Located at the Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on the Shepherd campus, the free event will begin at 6:45 with Historic Shepherdstown’s annual meeting followed by the talks from 7 to 8:30. Light refreshments will be served afterwards.
Matthew Webster, former Shepherdstown resident, now Colonial Williamsburg’s Director of the Grainger Department of Architectural Preservation and Research, will lead the discussion. He assembled this group of young speakers, saying that they are “up and coming stars in their field. I have seen their lectures develop from research and each is highly regarded. This is a great opportunity for them and Shepherdstown.”
The three additional speakers will be: Kate Hughes, Decorative Arts Trust Curatorial Intern and Research Scholar of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Katie McKinney, Colonial Williamsburg’s Assistant Curator of Maps & Prints; and Nicholas Powers, Curator of Collections, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.
The titles of the individual talks will be:
Each talk will take place at 7 p.m. at the Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education.
Shepherdstown Museum to Open with Display of Local Silver
The Historic Shepherdstown Museum will open for the season on April 6 with a display of historic Shepherdstown and Jefferson County silverware.
Beginning on April 6, the Museum will be open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. It is located in the Entler Hotel building at 129 E. German Street in Shepherdstown.
The silver display, which includes spoons and serving pieces made by a number of local craftsmen, is on loan from the extensive collection of Eric Hendricks Jenkins, a twelfth-generation resident of the Eastern Panhandle. He is an avid collector of local silver and other artifacts, a history teacher at Wildwood Middle School, and a docent at the Shepherdstown Museum.
Mr. Jenkins tells some great stories about his pieces and the people who made them. Among the items featured are spoons by Frederick Jerome Posey (1815-1881), who lived at the Entler Hotel and had his workshop there at one point. An opponent of slavery, Posey attempted to assist a group of slaves to escape from their owner to Canada in 1857. Posey lent his carriage to the group, which was led by an enslaved man named William Henry Mood and included a woman named Belinda Bivans. Bivans was attempting to find her father, who had escaped to Canada earlier. She said that her owner, though a Christian, was a “backslider,” and added that “money was his church.” Unfortunately, the group was caught in Chambersburg.
Also on display will be silver items made by Jacob Craft and John Bernard Woltz, both also makers of tall clocks, several of which are on display in the Museum. Clockmaking clearly was only one source of their income.
The Shepherdstown Museum houses a varied collection of other Shepherdstown objects, from prehistoric tools to an early Rural Free Delivery mail cart to two mid-twentieth century dial phones on which guests can call each other.
A suggested donation of $4 for adults is welcome. Admission for children and members is free.
For more information about the Museum opening or the exhibits, contact the Historic Shepherdstown Commission office at hsc1786@gmail.com or 304-876-0910.
Bee Line March, 1775, Speaker Series talk by Doug Perks, May 2025 now online
Historic Shepherdstown’s 2025 Speaker Series featured a May 14 talk by local historian and Jefferson County, WV, native Doug Perks about the history around the summer of 1775 Bee Line March. The talk, which begins the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Bee Line March, focused on the stories around the remarkable 26 day 600 mile journey in summer 1775 of 95 Virginians known as the Bee Line March, under the command of Captain Hugh Stephenson, who set out from what is now Shepherdstown, WV to Cambridge, MA to join General George Washington.
Doug Perks – Bee Line March
Bee Line March map
The route of the Bee Line March was recently mapped by Jefferson County GIS and Addressing Department and Historic Shepherdstown, using Henry Bedinger’s diary, as quoted by Danske Dandridge’s Historic Shepherdstown. See Bee Line March map
Speaker Series – 1775 Bee Line March, May 14, Doug Perks
Doug Perks
Historic Shepherdstown’s 2025 Speaker Series will continue with a May 14 talk by local historian and Jefferson County, WV, native Doug Perks about the history around the summer of 1775 Bee Line March. The talk, which helps to kick off the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Bee Line March, will take place at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center in Shepherdstown, WV, at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 14.
This talk will focus on the stories around the remarkable 26 day 600 mile journey in summer 1775 of 95 Virginians known as the Bee Line March, under the command of Captain Hugh Stephenson, who set out from what is now Shepherdstown, WV to Cambridge, MA to join General George Washington. In June 1775, the Continental Congress had established the Continental Army, which would include a Virginia company formed in Berkeley County, WV and which gathered in Shepherdstown (then Mecklenburg) for the journey to Cambridge.
The speaker, Doug Perks, recently retired as the Historian of the Jefferson County Museum. He serves as Historian for the Elmwood Cemetery Association and is a Director of the Jefferson County Historical Society. In 2023, he published The Civil War Years in Jefferson County, VA. He was named a West Virginia History Hero in 2017 and in 2022 was named the Historian Laureate of Shepherdstown.
The route of the Bee Line March was recently mapped by Jefferson County GIS and Addressing Department and Historic Shepherdstown, using Henry Bedinger’s diary quoted by Danske Dandridge’s Historic Shepherdstown. See Bee Line March map
Kentucky Rifle Speaker Series, 2025, now on line
Speaker Series – Brian LaMaster and Tim Hodges of the Kentucky Rifle Foundation – Kentucky Rifles
Speaker Series – April 16 to focus on new Sheetz rifle exhibit in museum
Kentucky Rifle Foundation rifle display case being installed.
A special exhibit, Longrifles by the Sheetz family and Other Gunsmiths from Jefferson and Berkeley Counties, will open at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum on Saturday, April 19. The exhibit, co-sponsored by Historic Shepherdstown and the Kentucky Rifle Foundation, will feature 15 rifles made between 1740 and 1840, including 10 signed Sheetz rifles.
It will be preceded by a free Speaker Series talk History of Kentucky Rifles from the 18th to 20th century on Wednesday, April 16, at which master gunsmith Brian LaMaster will speak about Kentucky Rifles in general and Kentucky Rifle Foundation board member Tim Hodges will speak specifically about the rifles in the exhibit. The talk will be given at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Robert C. Byrd Center on the Shepherd College campus. The talk is free and open to the public.
The Kentucky Rifle Foundation is the educational arm of the Kentucky Rifle Association. The KRA is an organization dedicated to those people interested in collecting and preserving the art and history of antique Kentucky Rifles, pistols, horns, and accoutrements. Both LaMaster and Hodges are past presidents of the KRA.
This will be the largest display of rifles in the Historic Shepherdstown Museum in its more than 40-year history. The exhibit is the first event for Shepherdstown’s 250th Anniversary Celebration of the Bee Line March, which occurred in the summer of 1775.
The exhibit will feature rifles by several members of the Sheetz family, including a restocked Philip Sheetz, and rifles by Jacob Sheetz, Martin Sheetz, and William Miller Sheetz, all of Shepherdstown. It will also include a rifle by Frederick Sheetz, the son of Henry Sheetz, who worked in Hampshire County. There will also be rifles by Martin Rizer of Martinsburg, and Daniel Marker, who worked in Martinsburg and in towns in Maryland.
Brothers Philip and Henry Sheetz were working in Mecklenburg (now Shepherdstown) as early as 1768. By 1776, they had a contract to supply 24 guns per month to the state of Virginia for use by the militia during the Revolutionary War. Demand for military guns declined after the Revolution, and civilian arms like the Kentucky rifle became the focus. The Sheetz family remained active in Shepherdstown, and they also spread throughout the area. Henry eventually moved to Hampshire County.
While most of the rifles in the exhibit are being loaned to Historic Shepherdstown Museum by members of the Kentucky Rifle Association, the museum owns two William Miller Sheetz rifles, and an Entler fowler, which will also be on display.
One of the museum’s William Miller Sheetz rifles was commissioned by Rezin Davis Shepherd, grandson of Shepherdstown’s founder Thomas Shepherd, for his grandson Peter C. Brooks. The rifle is signed W M Sheetz Shepherds Town VA No 85” in script on the top flat of the 44-inch rifled barrel. A rectangular silver plate (added later) inlaid behind the cheekpiece is inscribed “Peter C Brooks From his Grandfather Shepherd”.
To commemorate the Bee Line March, the museum will also have on display a mannequin dressed as a Virginia militiaman, and a large map of the marchers’ route. The marcher’s outfit and the map are both based on entries in the diary of Henry Bedinger, who along with his brother George Michael Bedinger both participated in the Bee Line March. Henry served as 4th Sargeant and George Michael served as 4th Corporal for the company. Their brother Daniel also eventually served during the Revolution. The mannequin represents Adam Sheetz, a member of the Sheetz family, who also completed the march.
On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress asked Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania to send companies of militiamen to Massachusetts to help General George Washington blockade Boston. Under the command of Captain Hugh Stephenson, one company left Shepherdstown, Virginia, on foot on July 17, 1775, and arrived in Cambridge on August 11, completing the nearly 600-mile journey in 26 days.
The Bee Line March committee is sponsoring several events this summer. A complete schedule can be found at Bee Line March 250th Anniversary
An article published in the April 2025 KRA Bulletin of the Kentucky Rifle Association tells the story of the exhibit – KRA partners with Historic Shepherdstown
The Exhibition Guide for the exhibit is available at Guide for Longrifle Exhibition – Historic Shepherdstown and Kentucky Rifle Foundation – page 1 and Guide for Longrifle Exhibition – Historic Shepherdstown and Kentucky Rifle Foundation – page 2
Recording of Speaker Series – The History of Pottery Making in Shepherdstown – Pam Parziale, 2025
Bee Line March 250th Anniversary Celebration Will Begin with Museum Exhibit & Talk
Philip Sheetz, DAR marker, Shepherdstown Lutheran Cemetery
The town of Shepherdstown will begin a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Bee Line March during the third week of April with the opening of a special exhibit of Revolutionary War-era rifles at the Historic Shepherdstown Museum.
The Bee Line March was a trek made in the summer of 1775 by a company of riflemen from Shepherdstown to join General George Washington at his siege of Boston. The Shepherdstown company was one of 10 such companies raised in the colonies that summer in response to a call for volunteers from the Continental Congress. The raising of these companies is generally recognized as the beginning of the United States Army. The Shepherdstown company is of particular significance because it covered the 600 miles to Massachusetts in just 25 days. This was an extraordinary feat for the time, and it was quickly dubbed the “Bee Line March.”
The Historic Shepherdstown Museum exhibit will open on April 19. It will feature choice examples of flintlock rifles made by the famous Sheetz gunsmithing family and other 18th- and early 19th-century gunsmiths of the region, along with gunsmithing tools and related items. It is being assembled in cooperation with the Kentucky Rifle Foundation, one of the nation’s leading organizations dedicated to the collection and preservation of American flintlock long rifles.
The Historic Shepherdstown Museum exhibit will be open every weekend from April 26 through October 19, on Saturdays from 11 am to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m., and by appointment. A $5 donation will be requested for admission; members of the military and children will be admitted free.
The exhibit’s opening will be preceded by a talk the evening of Wednesday, April 16, about the rifles that will be displayed and gunsmithing of the period in general. Sponsored by Historic Shepherdstown, the talk will be held at 7 pm In the auditorium of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on the Shepherd University Campus. The presenters will be master gunsmith Brian LaMaster, of High View, WV, and Kentucky rifle expert Tim Hodges, of Winchester, VA. Admission will be free.
The Bee Line March anniversary celebration will continue through the summer with a series of events and activities, all free, including the following:
The anniversary celebration is being made possible by contributions from the Jefferson County Historical Society, the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown, Historic Shepherdstown, the Friends of Music, the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission, the Jefferson County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Shepherdstown Community Club, the Adam Stephen Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Pack Horse Ford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
(Photograph of Martin Sheetz rifle courtesy of Tim Hodges of the Kentucky Rifle Association)
Speaker Series – The History of Pottery Making in Shepherdstown 1700s to Present Day – Pam Parziale, March 26, 2025
Pam Parziale
The 2025 Historic Shepherdstown Speaker Series will kick off with three events in the spring, starting with Pam Parziale who with her late husband Ren established Sycamore Pottery near Shepherdstown over 50 years ago. She will talk about the “History of Pottery Making in Shepherdstown 1700s to Present Day.” The event will be held on March 26 at 7 pm in the Byrd Center on the Shepherd University Campus.
It was no accident Pam and Ren Parziale settled near Shepherdstown when they established Sycamore Pottery in 1971. They were continuing the Shenandoah Valley tradition of pottery making. They were also looking for an affordable place to live, moving from Washington, DC. Pam will tell the story of working in clay by placing craftwork in a larger historical context of Jefferson County’s beginnings to the present day. This includes the story of Shepherdstown’s Weis family, three generations of potters who made pottery from the late 1700s to 1901. Present day potters around Shepherdstown continue to turn clay into beautiful pottery.
“The past is prologue. West Virginia is known for its tradition of craftwork, basketry, woodworking, quilting, and pottery,” Pam says. “There’s a lot of history behind what we’re doing, which made it possible for us to move here seamlessly in the 1970’s. People here understood working with your hands.”
When Pam won the Governor’s Distinguished Arts Award in 2005 for lifetime achievement, recognizing her service on numerous local, state and regional arts advocacy organizations, she said “we had quit our jobs with steady incomes to live a dream that was vague on details, but full of romance: to work the land, raise our children with food from our garden, and make pots the way our biblical ancestors did – on the potter’s wheel.” The couple received the West Virginia Governor’s Excellence in Support of the Arts Award in 2016. Ren died in March 2024, and has left a legacy of workmanship, kiln building, and design. Ren and Pam’s work for Historic Shepherdstown spans fifty years.
A Fine Day Out for Washington and Rumsey
A Fine Day Out for Washington and Rumsey
by Nick Blanton
George Washington leaves on the Rumseian Experiment – photographer Harriet Wise
In 1993 the architect of the US Capitol, George White, organized a bicentennial celebration to commemorate the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol in 1793, by George Washington. It was decided to have a re-enactment of the event. George had been brought up river from Mt Vernon for the occasion ( boats were often the more comfortable way to travel in early America), and an actor portraying Washington was therefore to be dropped off at the Georgetown waterfront. Rather than a long haul from Mt Vernon, it was also decided that transporting him from Roosevelt Island would be enough.
A historic boat was needed. The Alexandria Seaport Foundation was contacted. There were a few appropriate boats available. But the event had grown beyond, say, George stepping off a rowboat. He’d laid the cornerstone in full Masonic regalia, and so naturally the bicentennial celebration turned into a very Masonic event, Masons everywhere wanting in on the mortar, so to speak. Grand Masters of 50 lodges came. George himself was to have a small entourage. Someone – likely Bill Hunley- suggested the Rumseian Experiment for transport, given James Rumsey’s associations with Washington. It was also the biggest craft available. In any case, Jay Hurley jumped at the chance.
On the afternoon of September 17, therefore, the boat was hitched to Jay’s truck, a crew of Dan Tokar, Ernie Fuss and Roy Leblanc was stuffed into the cab with Jay, and the boat was hauled down to Gravely Point. From there it was given a tow up to the Georgetown Waterfront, and tied to the dock. As soon as the engine was re-assembled, Jay bid good evening to the crew. Where are we supposed to spend the night? They asked. On the boat, said Jay. What are we sleeping on? Oh, rake up some of those life vests and sleep on those. What if it rains? There’s a tarp over the life vests, use that. And off he went to a dinner and a bed.
The crew took turns walking into Georgetown and found a few trucks to feed them, then passed an uncomfortable but uneventful night. I arrived early the next morning, and found Roy, Ernie and Dan naturally somewhat stiff and bleary. Jay appeared, and Bill, both richly attired. We got a tow to Roosevelt Island, and the small convoy of historic watercraft assembled; an elegant captain’s gig with matching oarsmen, an immensely charming miniature square-rigged vessel named The Federalist, and a ramshackle James River bateau.
George Washington and hangers-on arrived, and at the appropriate time we got up steam. Then, as was typical, we ran the engine until it stopped, cleared the main valve of boiler grunge, ran it again until it stopped, fixed a problem, raised steam again, ran it, fixed another problem. Buckets of water, oil cans, bags of wood were moved around, used. Time went by… Eventually, we actually got underway. As the crew had to swarm about to start and then swarm about to keep the boat slowly going, it was fortunate the actor was deep into Washington’s character, stoically holding a straight face. Eventually, the landing was reached. Washington and entourage disembarked at the Waterfront, Masons and people of importance crowded around and bore him away.
George Washington Lands in Georgetown – photographer Harriet Wise
Flotilla docked in Georgetown – photographer Harriet Wise
We were left to hang out; converse with the other boat people, explain ourselves. We did get to the Capitol, then came back. In the afternoon we steamed up again and chugged about in front of the waterfront, then got another tow downstream to Gravely Point, where the boat was hauled out and trailered back home. And the crew got to sleep in their beds.
Flotilla in Potomac River near Georgetown (photography by Harriet Wise)
Frederick photographer Harriet Wise took a lot of photos ( tempting to say a boatload- but let’s not). She recently gave them to the Museum, so here is a selection. When she was shooting, Harriet always had a fixed grin on her face, as though she wouldn’t be anywhere else for the world. There was a lot to grin at, that day.
Apparently they’ve already scheduled a tricentennial celebration for 2093.
Ernie Fuss, Bill Hunsley and Jay Hurley converse at the Capitol. – photographer Harriet Wise.
Shepherdstown Tour of Historic Churches, 2024