On October 19, 1785, exactly two-hundred twenty-eight years
ago tomorrow, the auditor general recorded a payment of ₤21.7.9 to "Simon
Ratalick" for iron work to a public pump.[1]
This seemingly unremarkable entry was actually one of several state payments to
Annapolis
"ironmaster" (or blacksmith), Simon Retallick. Throughout the 1780s
and 1790s, Retallick completed various projects for the Maryland State House, including
the dome's famous lightning rod.
In the first of several upcoming features on the lives of
the artisans who worked on the Old Senate Chamber, today's entry will look at a
local blacksmith whose work at the State House can still be spotted by any
passersby today.
Simon Retallick was born circa 1752 in the town of St. Issey in Cornwall ,
England Annapolis as an indentured
servant on board the Peggy Stewart.
The Peggy Stewart
made history upon its arrival in the port
of Annapolis Annapolis
had adopted a policy of refusing any ship that carried tea to unload any of
its cargo. However, a significant part the Peggy
Stewart's cargo included approximately fifty indentured servants on board,
who would likely not survive a return voyage to England . While the people of Annapolis debated what to
do with the vessel, the indentured servants, Retallick among them, were forced
to await their fate aboard the ship. After several days, the indentured servants
were released, and the ship was famously burned on October 19, 1774 in what is
remembered as the "Annapolis Tea Party." This early rebellion was
captured in Francis Blackwell Mayer's The
Burning of the Peggy Stewart, on display in the Old House of Delegates Chamber.
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| The Burning of the Peggy Stewart by Francis Blackwell Mayer, 1896, Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 1545-1111. |
