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8. Mary Nobody in the Republic of Virtue
- The University of Alabama Press
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8 Mary nobody in the republic of virtue Until just before the outbreak of the American War of independence, britain continued to rely heavily on transportation as a criminal punishment. The Justitia, under the command of captain John Kidd, departed london in February 1776 with sixty-five convicts on board, including sixteen women.1 The vessel probably arrived in Maryland in late April or early May 1776, although this seems to have been overlooked by the Maryland Gazette, no doubt preoccupied at the time with themoreweightymattersofmonarchicaltyrannyandtaxation.TheJustitia’scargo of transportees was possibly the very last prewar shipment—occurring after the start of hostilities. The trade then ceased completely for the duration of the war. yet britain’s county courts continued to make out transportation orders, and local jails, which were never intended to hold prisoners long term, started to run out of capacity. Assuming that the need for prisoner accommodation was only temporary, the british government decided to provide relief to its county jails by housing convicts awaiting transportation in decommissioned ships. These usually had their masts and rigging removed and were thus termed “hulks.” initially the hulks were moored in the Thames river at Woolwich or at deptford and later in the harbors of Plymouth and Portsmouth as well. The government contracted with convict shipper duncan campbell to manage all the hulks in the Thames. campbell’s ship the Justitia was one of the vessels adapted for the purpose. soon “hulk after hulk, hung with bedding, clothes, weed and rotting rigging, lined the river like a floating shantytown.”2 in these makeshift prisons the mortality rate was appalling and the convicts, with nothing left to lose, posed a continuing and serious security risk. The government saw that a solution was needed and, before the peace treaty with the United states had even been signed, it had secured the services of a londonmerchantnamed georgeMooreforthepurposeofrecommencingtheconvict trade to America. Moore was promised 500 pounds from the treasury in addition to whatever profits he might make from selling the convicts’ labor in Maryland. An initial cargo of 143 prisoners was prepared for transportation on the George.3 in november 1783 the Maryland Gazette carried a “report from london”: Mary Nobody in the Republic of Virtue / 139 “on saturday morning early about 90 convicts under sentence of transportation at newgate, were put on a lighter at black Friars which proceeded with and put them on board the Swift, captain Pump, lying at blackwall, for their reception, and bound for nova scotia (the land of frost and freedom).”4 in fact, this was a ruse; the Swift was actually the George renamed. it was bound for the United states and, after a disaster-ridden voyage, was shortly to arrive in baltimore. however, owing to an extremely severe winter, the vessel became trapped in ice that was “thick enough to bear a hogshead of tobacco.” on december 24, 1783, eighty-seven convicts were landed in baltimore, but there was little seasonal cheer. george Moore’s Maryland factor, george salmon, found that the frigid weather kept buyers away, but there was little interest in the convicts anyway and sales were sluggish. by the middleofJanuaryonlythirtyhadbeensoldandothershadbecameill—someclose to death. costs mounted for food, clothing, and medical care. Although salmon (by offering credit) eventually disposed of all the convicts, a number of purchasers were highly dissatisfied; within a month their new servants had absconded. salmon and Moore both lost a great deal of money.5 The Swift was destined to be the last transport ship to successfully land convicts in America, although there were two further attempts to do so.6 in 1788, on the motion of Abraham baldwin, the continental congress resolved: “That it be and is hereby recommended to the several states to pass proper laws for preventing the transportation of convicted malefactors from foreign counties into the United states.” Maryland’s government was urged “to take suit as may be necessary for the safety of citizens and the integrity of government which we think most grossly insulted.”7 The twelve women on the Swift, including london thieves Mary Andrews, Mary graves, Mary Walker, Mary Williams, and Mary White (a pickpocket), were thus the last female convicts to be sold into servitude in Maryland .8 They were also the last of a line of involuntary exiles whose contribution to colonial Maryland was to be largely overlooked or forgotten by history—perhaps deliberately. This was not unconnected with the momentous political and philosophical questions that were intrinsic to the...