Books and Manuscripts: Rare Americana

A Very Rare Broadside for the First Official Boston Memorial Service for George Washington

Peace to his soul! the fatal hour is past,
And silence o'er him has her mantle cast:
His deeds, his virtues are enroll'd by Fame,
Nor shall oblivion ever shroud his name.
Then let Fraternal Love attune the lyre,
And snatch a ray of Genius' sacred fire,
Whilst the sad strain, in soft and solemn lays,
Dwells on his merit, and records his praise.
Let the full chord to yon blue arch arise,
Our WASHINGTON's translated to the skies.

(Boston, ca. January 9, 1800). Printed broadside with black mourning border, 16 x 7 7/8 in. (406 x 200 mm). Expertly conserved; edges trimmed; creasing from contemporary folds; scattered spotting. Evans 36999; Sabin 101868; Hough, Washingtoniana, pp. 88-90; ESTC W36080

A very rare broadside printing of the program for President George Washington's memorial service at Boston's Old South Meeting House, on January 9, 1800. This was the first official memorial service held by the city of Boston to honor the late first president, and occurred less than a month following his death, on December 14, 1799. The city came to a standstill that Thursday as most businesses closed and a procession of over 2,000 mourners made their way through Boston's streets. The procession started at the Massachusetts State House and concluded at the Meeting House, where a memorial service was then held for the city's municipal authorities. The ceremony opened with an instrumental performance, followed by a prayer led by Reverend Joseph Eckley (1750-1811), a hymn conducted by Reverend John Sylvester John Gardiner (1765-1830), and a eulogy by Judge George Richards Minot (1758-1802). It concluded with words set to music, written by Oliver Holden (1765-1844).

According to historian Franklin Benjamin Hough, this was only the second ceremony held in Boston after news of Washington's death reached the city on Wednesday, December 25. It was preceded by an honorary military funerary procession, held on Thursday, January 3, at Fort Independence on Castle Island in Boston Harbor by the fort's soldiers, after orders were given to do so by Alexander Hamilton, then Major General of the Army, and Washington's former aide-de-camp and Treasury Secretary. According to Hough, upon the news of Washington's death in Boston, "bells were at once tolled, offices and stores were closed, and a handbill from the theatre announced a postponement of amusement. The colors on Castle Williams and on all the shipping in the harbor were displayed at half mast, and an aspect of gloom and sorrow appeared everywhere." (p. 81, Washingtoniana, Or, Memorials of the Death of George Washington, Giving an Account of the Funeral Honors Paid to His Memory..., 1865). The state legislature opened the day following the official Boston memorial, on January 10, where resolves were passed by both houses for future ceremonies. On February 8, Fisher Ames delivered a speech in honor of Washington before the Lieutenant Governor, the Council, and the General Court, again at the Old South Meeting House. More ceremonies were held by the courts and council on February 22, in observance of the official national day of mourning passed by Congress. Overall, over 100 ceremonies were held in 60 different places in Massachusetts in the weeks following Washington's death.

Very rare. Only four institutional copies located: Boston Athenaeum; Houghton Library, Harvard University; Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery; John Carter Brown Library, Brown University. We can trace only two others in the auction record, from 1976 and 1916.