Fairmount Gardens and The “Lady Aeronaut”

View of Baltimore City, From Fairmount, 1852

Fairmount Gardens, near the intersection of East Fayette and Broadway, served as a private pleasure ground in the decades before the Civil War. The hotel with observation deck to the right, “situated upon the most lofty pinnacle near our city, stands in the centre of an enclosure of about five acres,” where visitors could treat themselves to ice cream, a lemonade, or a Baltimore seasonal favorite, strawberries and cream.

Fairmount also served as a site for fireworks gatherings, an agricultural fair, and other special occasions. The two September 1837 ascensions of Baltimorean Mrs. Jane Warren, in her tri-color balloon, stand as the most unusual. Warren, dubbed the “Lady Aeronaut” by The Sun, is considered to be the first woman in America to make solo balloon trips. Upon her death in April 1874, The Sun lauded her as “a notable woman” who “was famous for two balloon ascensions… on which she displayed remarkable nerve.”

Digital image from the Maryland State Archives, MSASC 5980-1-24.

President Lincoln’s April 1864 Visit to Baltimore

Interior of the Maryland Institute, April 1864

Acting upon the invitation of the women organizers, President Abraham Lincoln agreed to preside over the opening ceremonies for the Maryland State Fair for U.S. Soldier Relief, also known as the Baltimore Sanitary Fair.* Lincoln’s appearance in Baltimore held symbolic importance for city Unionists, and perhaps, to himself. For loyal citizens it offered both a chance to display their devotion to the man who embodied the Union and cast off doubts about Baltimore’s predominant political sympathy. For the President, coming to Baltimore presented an opportunity to make amends for a past indiscretion. In March 1861, en route to his inauguration, Lincoln secreted himself through Baltimore’s darkened streets in response to the rumor of an alleged assassination plot. Already held in low regard by his affiliation with the perceived anti-Southern Republican Party, many residents regarded the President-elect’s distrustful action as an affront to their city’s honor; even Unionists expressed bewilderment. Later, the President “was convinced that he had committed a great mistake.” By opening the Maryland Fair, Lincoln could both mitigate his wrong and express his confidence in the city’s national loyalty.

The city’s population and the Fair officials received President Lincoln with great warmth during his April 18 visit. Upon his 6 PM Camden Station arrival, “the President was loudly cheered by the people at the depot.” The freshly repainted and refurbished great hall of the Maryland Institute hosted the event [located downtown near the inner harbor at this time].  With her arm taking his, Elizabeth Bradford, fair co-chair and wife of Maryland’s Governor, led the President to the speaker’s platform amid the “waving of handkerchiefs and continuous cheers.” While his main speech concerned the deliberate massacre of African American U.S. troops at Fort Pillow, the Chief Executive’s initial remarks at the opening ceremony revealed the significance of his presence. Surveying the faces of the three thousand Baltimoreans before him, and perhaps, reflecting upon the city’s past hostility toward himself and Union soldiers, Lincoln remarked that “the world moves. . . . Blessings upon those men who have wrought this great change, and the fair women who have sustained them.”  The outpouring of the Unionists’ enthusiasm towards him, Maryland’s recent movement toward emancipation, and the remarkable setting of the relief fair provided ample evidence for the President’s perception. At the ceremony’s conclusion, “large numbers of ladies and gentlemen made a rush for the privilege of shaking hands with the President.”

The fair site appeared at its peak of splendor the night of Lincoln’s visit. With red, white and blue being a favored color scheme, U.S. flags, carved eagles, framed portraits of Union heroes, and evergreen boughs characterized the general decor. A thousand flickering gas lamps made the great hall’s rectangular space “one grand flood of light.” In the center, just behind the speaker’s platform, rose the Floral Temple. Inside, a gently cascading fountain held numerous varieties of fragrant water flowers within its basin. The White House gardens, through the auspices of Mrs. Lincoln, furnished a continual supply of fresh flowers. At either end of the building space stood a large ornamental arch “gaily decorated with national flags, and surmounted by jets of gaslight.” The German Ladies Relief Association featured a tableau from the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale “Old Woman in the Shoe.” The Fish Pond, with mirrors for “water” and potted ferns lining its “bank,” captivated eager anglers of all ages with the chance to haul in “a big one.” With a rustic fishing pole one hooked up a small prize package containing, perhaps, a knitting needle, a ring, or a small doll.

Lincoln toured the main hall for two hours with an entourage of fair officials and Washington dignitaries. At the “German Ladies” stand, the member costumed as “‘the Old Woman who lives in a Shoe’ presented President Lincoln with a beautiful bouquet, and was kissed by him in payment.” Though most tables also offered gifts of flowers, the Baltimore County contingent proffered an expensive vase. The Central Relief Association of Baltimore bestowed a prize afghan, valued at one hundred dollars, as a gift for the First Lady. While viewing the Fish Pond, “the President seemed half inclined to bait a line and try his skill.” Leaving the site around 11 PM, the evening culminated at the Mt. Vernon Place brownstone mansion [702 Cathedral Street] of William J. Albert, the fair’s co-chair and Unconditional Union Party leader, where the President was regaled by “a handsome supper at midnight.” He retired at the Albert residence that night.

The Chief Executive boarded a train to Washington the next morning. This time he departed from Baltimore’s Camden Station in full daylight. Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House, who had accompanied the Chief Executive to the Fair, believed that Lincoln “was delighted with his visit.”

*An overview of the entire Fair (April 19-30, 1864)  is featured in this on line exhibition: http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc5400/sc5494/html/title_page.html

Digital image from the Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 5477, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, May 14, 1864.

Baltimore’s Monument Square

Battle Monument, c. 1930

Baltimore’s Monument Square was a popular nineteenth century gathering place. With Guy’s Monument Hotel, The Gilmor House, and Barnum’s Hotel all nearby, travelers could witness political rallies, hear stump speeches and watch torch-lit parades from the comfort of their rooms. Frederick Douglass spoke here during the celebration of the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870. This circa 1930 view of the Battle Monument features the Baltimore Courthouse, opened in 1900, to the left. A notable twentieth century fixture at the base of the monument is Abe Sherman’s newsstand. The beloved, irascible Sherman, from 1919 to 1971, ran his very successful business here under the philosophy that “you either wanted to buy a newspaper or you needed to go to the Enoch Pratt [Library] or go home.”

Artist note: Gabrielle de V. Clements, artist and etcher, produced this print.

Digital image from the Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 5980-1-39.

Baltimore African Americans and the Civil War

Baltimore from Druid Hill Park, 1873

Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park formally opened to the public in 1860. During the Civil War, U.S. military encampments with temporary wooden barracks populated this park as well as several others around the city. Citizens still visited the parks and sometimes made flag presentations to the troops.

The Birney Barracks, occupied by African American troops, stood south of Druid Hill Park in the vicinity of Madison and North Avenues. The above post-war print depicts Druid Hill Park looking south to where the Birney Barracks were once located.

On two separate occasions in August 1863, the city’s African American community made flag presentations to the Fourth U.S. Colored Troops, a regiment composed of many Baltimoreans, at the Birney Barracks. Ceremonies were held each time on the parade ground. A magnificent silk regimental flag (costing $75 in 1863; the equivalent of $1,200 in 2013 currency) was given to the Fourth in a ceremony that included some 3,000 African-Americans joining their voices together in the song “Johns Brown’s Body.”  In late August, a group calling itself “The Colored Ladies of Baltimore” bestowed a silk national flag in a program that included Baltimore’s Bethel A.M.E. choir “sing[ing] some of their choicest pieces on the occasion.”

Who were “The Colored Ladies of Baltimore?”* Mary A. Prout, 64, appears to have headed the committee. The 1864 Baltimore City Directory lists her as a confectioner, but census sources describe her as a “preceptor” and a “doctoress,” both terms that seem to indicate a knowledge of medicine. She also taught at the Bethel Church Sunday school.

Prout, evidentially, was a skilled and dedicated fundraiser. “During the early days of Bethel [Church], when it was poor and in debt, she was constantly devising ways and means of relieving it; now leading off in a festival; now an excursion; and now [walking] the streets with a subscription book. At one fair… she led $800.00 was cleared; and at another, $500.”

The “Colored Ladies” flag has survived and is now housed at the Maryland Historical Society.  Follow this link for an image of the flag:

http://www.mdhs.org/digitalimage/fourth-regiment-united-states-colored-troops-flag

*Other women involved include Mary Jane Cephas, a porter’s wife, Mary Jane Hill, a dressmaker, Elizabeth Cox and Sarah Crane, whose husbands both worked as waiters.  Three, possibly four, of the women lived on Raborg Street, just west of the city center.

Digital image from the Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 5980-1-8.

Winter, Mount Vernon Place

Winter, Mount Vernon Place, 1925

Every house on Mount Vernon Place has a unique story to tell. Take, for instance, the Tiffany-Fisher House (1842), a fine example of Greek Revival architecture seen at the extreme left of this print. Built by William Tiffany, a prominent Baltimore merchant, the home has witnessed an ever changing set of owners and visitors.  By the early 1860s, the mansion served as the Allston Art Club described as being “a ‘front’ for Southern sympathizers” during the Civil War. This gentleman’s group “gave frequent receptions to ladies.” It served next as the EdgeworthSchool for Young Ladies, a day and boarding institution under the watchful eye of Miss Sarah Kummer. Girls could learn foreign languages, literature, fine arts and scientific studies. After the school’s demise the property reverted back to a private residence until its 1942 purchase by the Mount Vernon Club, a women’s social organization. Among the club’s most famous visitors were the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who stayed there overnight in 1959. The Duchess, the former Baltimorean Wallis Warfield Simpson, grew up just a few blocks north on Biddle Street.

Digital image from the Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 5980-1-53.

Artist note: Gabrielle de Veaux Clements, initially a painter, learned etching from her companion, the artist Ellen Day Hale. For more biographical information on Clements:

National Museum of Women in the Arts

http://www.nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/gabrielle-de-veaux-clements

Snowfall in Baltimore

Winter, Mount Vernon Place, c. 1930

Mount Vernon Place in winter proved to be a popular subject for artists and printmakers.  From its inception as an early subdivision carved out of the John Eager Howard estate, it was a place of culture, refinement, and celebratory events.  In the 1840s, citizens congregated around the Washington Monument to listen “to the soul-stirring eloquence of… many distinguished orators” giving patriotic speeches on the Fourth of July.  The annual Flower Mart, held here almost continuously since 1911, features neighborhood groups selling flowers and plants of wide variety.  In 1929, an “old English Christmas Eve celebration” that featured trumpeters playing carols from atop the Monument was held. Three inches of snow blanketed the ground just before the event, making everything look very much like this etching, a cooperative venture by two artists.  Hungarian-born Andrew Karoly contributed the park and architectural elements, including the Walters Art Gallery on the far left and the Peabody Institute on the right, and Louis Szanto, a Hungarian-American, contributed the seventeen pedestrians.

Digital image from the Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 5980-1-22.

A Mystery!

Going through the City Librarian’s papers from 1898, I came across this letter, addressed to the Mayor of Baltimore [BRG29-4-2-3-12]:

The handwriting isn’t the best, but it says something along the lines of:

Memphis Ten. July 13th, 1898
Mayor of Baltimore
Dear Sir
Will you kindly mark this inquiry and let me know if any of the relatives of John Wilkes Booth the Slayer of Pres. Lincoln live in Baltimore or can you ascertain where any of his relatives live. I have an important message for those of his relatives living who would recognize him. Your attention will greatly oblige
Yours, etc.
F.S. Bates

I was curious, so I did a quick search of F.S. Bates in conjunction with John Wilkes Booth, and found that he wrote a book claiming that John Wilkes Booth escaped from the Union Forces and later took F.S. Bates as his lawyer and made what he believed to be a deathbed confession to being John Wilkes Booth in 1878.  The man who supposedly made this confession survived his illness and moved away, later to confess the same thing to a clergyman before committing suicide in 1903 in Oklahoma. F.S. Bates heard about it, went to check it out, and, convinced that the man was in fact John Wilkes Booth, he wrote a book about it in 1907.  (See http://rarebooksmailinglist.com/pipermail/rarebooks_rarebooksmailinglist.com/2004-February/000371.html for more information about F.S. Bates’ book.  Here’s the reprint on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Suicide-John-Wilkes-Booth/dp/0766160319)

If this timeline of F.S. Bates is accurate, why was he trying to reach John Wilkes Booth’s relatives through the Baltimore City government in 1898?