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Stairwell Room: Revolutionary Annapolis Wall

Burning of the Peggy Stewart

Artist: Francis Blackwell Mayer (1827-1899), 1896
Medium: Oil on canvas
MSA SC 1545-1111

burning of the peggy stewart   

The Annapolis Tea Party

On October 19, 1774, Annapolis experienced its own “tea party,” much like the uprising the year before in Boston Harbor. Angry mobs forced Anthony Stewart to burn his ship, Peggy Stewart, and the tea it carried, because he had violated the non-importation resolution implemented by the colonists. Stewart paid the tax to ensure that the ship’s main cargo of indentured servants would be allowed to disembark at the port of Annapolis.

Colonists had boycotted the importation of tea and other goods from Britain because they felt they were being unfairly taxed without representationtheir permission. The burning of the Peggy Stewart in the Annapolis harbor was a violentpowerful demonstration of the revolutionary fervor brewing in Maryland just prior to the outbreak of the war.

The original painting is on display in the Old House of Delegates Chamber.

 
 

 
 



KEy Images on the
Wall

Samuel Chase
Burning of the Peggy Stewart
Plan of the Harbour and City of Annapolis
The Honorable Thomas Stone
A Front View of the State House...
Charles Carroll of Carrollton

William Paca

Lord Ligonier Advertisement

Charles Calvert and Slave

The Fatal Stamp


Key Documents on the Wall

The Deputy Commissary's Guide...

Exhibits in the Stairwell Room

John Shaw # 1 Des