A fine, trim suit worn by
Revolutionary war patriot, Samuel Cutts (1726-1801) c. 1780s, will be on view
at the Saco Museum, Saco, Maine, from 14 March – 6 May 2014. The narrow cut of
the blue silk coat with matching buttons reveals an elaborate silk brocade
waistcoat beneath, sporting tiny brass buttons. The fabric for the coat was
most likely English but cut and tailored in New England/New Hampshire, while
the vest was probably pieced together from a kit. The slim cut of the breeches
underscore that this was not the garb of a man involved in physical labor. The
ensemble emphasized a lean silhouette with shallow pockets or artificial flaps,
all serving to eliminate bulk. There are no coat skirts or extraneous material.
His later ensemble on view
at Saco, provides valuable contrast to the suit in which he is depicted two
decades earlier (c. 1763) in a painting by Joseph Blackburn at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. One would not surmise that Cutts would “become something of a
hero among local radicals” just a decade hence. [1]
Cutts, of Portsmouth's
Committee on Safety, greeted Paul Revere at the conclusion of what is
frequently considered his “other” ride at Stoodley’s Tavern in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. Revere’s ride on 13th December 1774 along the Boston Post Road was
cold, icy and dark. Occurring months before his more legendary ride on
April 18, 1775 Revere road to warn the
citizens of New Hampshire of a potential British troop landing. With a tad more
aggression, Revere's "Portsmouth Alarm" could well have ignited an
earlier start to the American Revolution. The ensuing raid on Fort William and
Mary by the seacoast area militia, is still considered by many as the initial strike
of the battle for independence.
As noted by Revolutionary War
authority J.L. Bell “ If we want to spotlight the moment when the political
conflict in New England turned military, then we might want to look at the
shots fired at Fort William & Mary at New Castle near Portsmouth in
December 1774. Nobody was killed there, but that confrontation got closer to being
fatal than the Salem raid [referring to what is popularly known as Leslie’s
Retreat].” [2]
The suit is on loan from
Strawbery Banke Museum (www.StrawberyBanke.org). The mannequin was created by Astrida Schaeffer of Schaeffer Arts (www.SchaefferArts.com)
[1] For detailed account of the Portsmouth Alarm, see Thomas F. Kehr
http://www.nhssar.org/essays/FortConstitution.html
[2] For more on the American Revolution and pivotal moments, see J.L. Bell
http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2014/02/should-today-be-salem-gunpowder-day.html
For an overview, see
http://seacoastnh.com/history/rev/revere.html
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