Object of the Month

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site has a large museum collection consisting of thousands of objects, many of which are not regularly displayed in the house's furnished exhibit rooms. Every month, an object will be featured on this page, providing a look at an unusual piece from the collection.

 

A handwritten letter book kept by Henry Wadsworth in 1803-1804.

NPS

The USS Constitution was successfully launched, after two previous failed attempts, on October 21, 1797. Two of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s uncles served aboard the ship at different times, including the uncle he was named for, Henry Wadsworth. Henry Wadsworth served on the Constitution from 1803 until April 1804 when he was promoted to 1^st Lieutenant and First Officer onboard the newly commissioned USS Scourge. Scourge, originally a British warship named HMS Transfer, was sold to the Tripolitans in 1802 and then captured by the United States in March 1804. While aboard the Constitution and Scourge, Wadsworth kept a record of the letters he wrote to family back in Maine.

The letters detail Constitution’s operations and activity aboard Scourge in the Mediterranean during the First Barbary War. Among the events Wadsworth recorded were an audience with the “Emperor” of Tangier Sultan Moulay Slimane, enjoying liberty during Carnival on Malta in January 1804, and being confined to the Constitution for three months due to sickness. Wadsworth also lamented the fact that his flute and paintbox had been left behind on Constitution when he transferred to Scourge. His record gives a personal account of life as a sailor in the still-young U.S. Navy, and interesting details about the First Barbary War.

The last entry in the letter book is dated July 16, 1804, less than two months before Wadsworth’s death. In August of 1804 Wadsworth volunteered to serve on a special mission aboard USS Intrepid to destroy much of Tripoli’s navy. Intrepid was turned into an “infernal”, a ship loaded with explosives and intended to act as a bomb that would be set off after sailing into the midst of the enemy fleet in Tripoli’s harbor. On September 4, 1804, under unclear circumstances, Intrepid exploded before reaching its goal, killing Wadsworth and all others aboard. Wadsworth was nineteen years old. His remains and those of his fellow sailors rest in a cemetery in Tripoli to this day.

 

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