Most Americans have heard about the dumping of tea in Boston Harbor, which famously played out on December 16, 1773. On that cold winter night, members of Boston’s Sons of Liberty proceeded to Griffin’s Wharf, boarded three vessels (Beaver, Dartmouth, & Eleanor) and dumped approximately 340 chests of East India Company tea into the harbor (if you are curious like me, the tea was Chinese Bohea tea (black tea) and green tea from the Chinese province of Anhui). This event culminated after years of anger over the 1767 Townshend Act and recent 1773 Tea Act, which authorized the East India Company to sell tea directly to colonists. While this actually made tea cheaper for colonists (particularly over the smuggled Dutch tea), many saw this as a monopoly on the trade and if they acquiesced, an acknowledgment of Parliament’s ability to tax colonists without representation.
Later dubbed the “Boston Tea Party,” this event has remained one of the most iconic moments from the pre-Revolutionary War period; however, it was not the only one. Between 1773-1774, there are believed to have been at least 17 “tea parties” in cities and towns throughout the British North American Colonies. From Charleston, Philadelphia, Yorktown, to New York & New Jersey, colonists up and down the coast made their anger visible to British officials and Parliament. Another tea party took place in the city of Annapolis, Maryland.
During the tumultuous years in the late 1760s and early 1770s, Annapolis- like many communities in the colonies- experienced unrest. Men such as William Paca and Samuel Chase (two future signers of the Declaration of Independence) organized the local chapter of the Sons of Liberty. Their aim was to coordinate responses to actions executed by Parliament and British officials. During this time, Annapolis experienced boycotts, violence, and continued debate among the citizens of the town.
When the 1773 Tea Act was passed by Parliament in May of that year, local merchants in Annapolis ceased the importation of British goods. On October 14, 1774, the brigantine Peggy Stewart arrived in Annapolis Harbor from England. A co-owner of the ship, Anthony Stewart, had openly stated he would not import any British tea as a protest to the tax; however, nearly one ton of tea was hidden in the hold of the Peggy Stewart. Knowing that none of the cargo could be unloaded (to include 53 indentured servants) if the tax was not paid, Stewart decided to pay the tea tax, which violated local import bans. In response to this, local patriots ramped up their opposition. A gallows was erected outside of Stewart’s home and local patriots, led by men such as brothers Matthias and Rezin Hammond, threatened to hang him if he did not agree to burn the Peggy Stewart.
Stewart finally gave in and the “Annapolis Tea Party” took place on October 19, 1774. What resulted was the burning of the Peggy Stewart in Annapolis Harbor, which included the destruction of all the tea. Soon thereafter, Stewart and his family fled Annapolis for Nova Scotia, never to return.
From a report in the Maryland Gazette from October 20, 1774:
The committee were of opinion, if the tea was destroyed by the voluntary act of the owners and proper concessions made, that nothing further ought to be required. This their opinion being reported to the assembly, was not satisfactory to all present. Mr Stewart then voluntarily offered to burn the vessel and the tea in her…”
Other than the fragments of the Peggy Stewart on display at the Museum of Historic Annapolis, there is essentially nothing physical left of the Annapolis Tea Party (other than the legacy, of course). You can go to the pier at the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, where there is an interpretive sign about the Annapolis Tea Party. From that pier, you can peer out into Annapolis Harbor where the Peggy Stewart was anchored on the night of October 19, 1774, and try to imagine the brigantine burning to the water line. As Anthony Stewart’s business and life quite literally burned before his very eyes, hundreds of patriots ashore cheered.
Sources: Maryland State Archives (https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdstatehouse/html/stairwellrm_revolutionary_bps.html)