Fifth day. I suppose,
dear Mammy, thee would not have imagined this house to be illuminated last
night, but it was. A mob surrounded it, broke the shutters and the glass of the
windows, and were coming in, none but forlorn women here. We for a time
listened for their attacks in fear and trembling till, finding them grow more
loud and violent, not knowing what to do, we ran into the yard. Warm Whigs of
one side, and Hartley's1 of the other (who were treated even worse
than we), rendered it impossible for us to escape that way. We had not been
there many minutes before we were drove back by the sight of two men climbing
the fence. We thought the mob were coming in thro' there, but it proved to be
Coburn and Bob. Shewell, who called to us not to be frightened, and fixed
lights up at the windows, which pacified the mob, and after three huzzas they
moved off. A number of men came in afterwards to see us. French and J. B.
nailed boards up at the broken pannels, or it would not have been safe to have
gone to bed. Coburn and Shewell were really very kind; had it not been for them
I really believe the house would have been pulled down. Even the firm Uncle
Fisher2 was obliged to submit to have his windows illuminated, for
they had pickaxes and iron bars with which they had done considerable injury to
his house, and would soon have demolished it had not some of the Hodges3
and other people got in back and acted as they pleased. All Uncle's sons were
out, but Sammy,4 and if they had been at home it was in vain to
oppose them. In short it was the most alarming scene I ever remember. For two
hours we had the disagreeable noise of stones banging about, glass crashing,
and the tumultuous voices of a large body of men, as they were a long time at
the different houses in the neighbourhood. At last they were victorious, and it
was one general illumination throughout the town. As we had not the pleasure of
seeing any of the gentlemen in the house, nor the furniture cut up, and goods
stolen, nor been beat, nor pistols pointed at our breasts, we may count our
sufferings slight compared to many others. Mr. Gibbs was obliged to make his
escape over a fence, and while his wife was endeavouring to shield him from the
rage of one of the men, she received a violent bruise in the breast, and a blow
in the face which made her nose bleed. Ben. Shoemaker was here this morning;
tho' exceedingly threatened he says he came off with the loss of four panes of
glass. Some Whig friends put candles in the windows which made his peace with
the mob, and they retired. John Drinker5 has lost half the goods out
of his shop and been beat by them; in short the sufferings of those they
pleased to style Tories would fill a volume and shake the credulity of those
who were not here on that memorable night, and to-day Philadelphia makes an
uncommon appearance, which ought to cover the Whigs with eternal confusion. A
neighbour of ours had the effrontery to tell Mrs. G. that he was sorry for her
furniture, but not for her windows—a ridiculous distinction that many of them
make. J. Head has nothing left whole in his parlour. Uncle Penington6
lost a good deal of window-glass. Aunt Burge7 preserved hers thro'
the care of some of her neighbours. The Drinkers and Walns make heavy
complaints of the Carolinians in their neighbourhood. Walns' pickles were
thrown about the streets and barrells of sugar stolen. Grandmammy was the most
composed of anybody here. Was I not sure, my dearest Mother, that you would
have very exaggerated accounts of this affair from others, and would probably
be uneasy for the fate of our friends, I would be entirely silent about it, but
as you will hear it from some one or another, not mentioning it will seem as if
we had suffered exceedingly, and I hope I may depend on the safety of this
opportunity.
1 James Hartley, merchant.
2 William Fisher, merchant, who married Mrs.
Samuel Shoemaker's aunt, Sarah (Coleman). He also lived in Arch Street between
Front and Second Streets. He was a member of the Common Council of Philadelphia
from 1767 to 1770, of the Board of Aldermen from 1770 to the fall of the
Charter government in 1776, and Mayor of the City 1773-1774.
3 Andrew and Hugh Hodge, merchants.
4 The late Samuel W. Fisher, President of the
Philadelphia Insurance Company, and President of Select Council 1811-1813.
5 "October 19. Ye 17th of this month,
October, Gen1 Cornwallis was taken, for which we grievously suffered on ye
24th, by way of rejoicing. A mob assembled about 7 o'clock or before, and
continued their insults until near 10, to those whose Houses were not
illuminated. Scarcely one Friend's House escaped. We had nearly 70 panes of
glass broken; ye sash lights and two panels of the front Parlor broke in
pieces; ye Door cracked and violently burst open; when they threw stones into ye
House for some time, but did not enter. Some fared better and some worse. Some
Houses, after breaking ye door, they entered, and destroyed the Furniture,
&c. Many women and children were frightened into fits, and 'tis a mercy no
lives were lost.” — Extract from the Journal of Elizabeth Drinker, p.
137.
6 Edward Penington, who had married Sarah,
the sister of Samuel Shoemaker.
7 Beulah Burge, a sister of Samuel Shoemaker,
widow of Samuel Burge. Their daughter Sarah married, in 1783, William Rawle,
the elder, who was a brother of the diarist.
8 Hannah Rawle, a daughter of William Hudson
and wife of Benjamin Rawle, a great-uncle of the diarist. Their daughter
Rebecca married Jacob Ridgway. The latter were the parents of the late John
Jacob Ridgway, Mrs. Phœbe Ann Rush (wife of Dr. James Rush), and Mrs. Susan
Barton (wife first of Thomas Roach and second of Dr. John Rhea Barton).
9 Joshua Howell's country seat on the
Schuylkill, now in East Fairmount Park, below the Laurel Hill Cemetery.
SOURCE: “A
Loyalist's Account of Certain Occurrences in Philadelphia After Cornwallis's
Surrender at Yorktown. Extracted from the Diary of Miss Anna Rawle.” The
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Publisher, Pennsylvania Magazine of
History and Biography, Vol. 16, 1892 No. 1, pp. 104-7
