Taken up North: Sold for a Carpet

This blog was written by Sarah Lindecke, a Fall 2023 intern at Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site from Siena College ‘s History and Public History program. The letter examined in this blog had been one of interest for various other Schuyler Mansion staff members, but was taken up for examination by the intern. Finding note of an enslaved woman seemingly sold in exchange for a carpet struck interest and thus the 1776 letter in the correspondence between Philip Schuyler and John Taylor presented the basis for this blog post.

Taken up North: Sold for a Carpet

Displays of Wealth and Severance of Social Connections: The Complicated Narratives of a 1775 Schuyler Letter

When Philip Schuyler was appointed as a Major General, he had a promising career ahead of him, especially with his skills as a strategist, honed in the French and Indian War.  But the major campaign he oversaw—the 1775 invasion of Canada—ended in disaster.  Schuyler himself was unable to be present for the actual campaign due to his ill health, but he was the main mastermind behind it and led the troops as best as he could from his military headquarters at his home in Albany. The campaign was partially successful because Brigadier General Benedict Arnold and fellow Brigadier Generals Richard Montgomery and James Livingston held Quebec under siege during the harsh winter months of 1775-1776. The Colonists began to lose ground in Quebec during this winter and the early months of 1776, but were able to hold Montreal until much later in the year when they retreated. During the complicated campaign and sieges, Major General Schuyler sent his close colleague John Taylor into Montreal on separate business, regarding Schuyler’s personal business. 

John Taylor’s connections to Major General Schuyler ran deep. Through an earlier example of correspondence between the two men, this letter shows how their businesses and interests were very much aligned. As a merchant, Taylor had the proper connections to be appointed to the prized position of Clothier General within the colonial militia. This position connected Taylor often to Major General Schuyler, but a later 1780s position would bring the two under the same government office when they were both appointed to the Commission of Indian Affairs. Taylor was an agent for the commission while Major General Schuyler served as the Commissioner. Major General Schuyler and John Taylor’s business interests connected at home in Albany as well, because Taylor was a local land agent and public officer. Throughout their lives these two men often were in contact for various business ventures and the 1776 letter is no exception. 

The letter is a rather compact note, only covering one sheet of paper—front and back. It is dated for March of 1776. The date is hard to decipher as the shape of the numbers is contrary to usual formations. As for the content, Taylor covers most of the page in discussion about the luxury items he was purchasing in Montreal. He also references his given orders from Major General Schuyler. Taylor’s orders are exemplified in the items that he mentions having purchased. Taylor writes in the first paragraph with notes about the various “lace, the cloth trimmings and epelets [sic]” he purchased during the trip. Later in the letter, Taylor mentioned green tea, stockings, and gloves. Beyond mention of expensive clothing and household goods there is reference to "two carpets the one cost 22 the other 16 Dollars.” These sums would be high for the period and well outside the budgeting of most. From these clues and the reference to Taylor requesting forgiveness for “exceeding orders,” it seems he was sent to Canada to purchase various luxury goods. The nature of the purchases also shows the monumental size of General Schuyler’s wealth even during the tumultuous Revolution years.  

Something important to note about Taylor’s mission is the trade embargos between England and the Colonies that existed at the time. These were established to protect English and colonial interests in the war. English embargos sought to block the movement of goods to the Colonies that could have helped their chances at a win. While colonial embargos sought to disconnect England from its deep resources of wealth gained through colonial ownership of trade. It’s important to note that Philip Schuyler was ignoring the embargos by sending a broker to purchase luxury goods in Canada, creating a conflict of interest. Sending a broker to carry out the transactions eliminated some of the culpability for Schuyler but did not ensure he would not see some sanctions if knowledge of this counter-Colonial trade run were to be exposed.  

So far, this letter appears to be a product of the usual whims of those with great wealth. However, there is a crucial other reason this letter is so important: there is reference to the sale of an enslaved woman in exchange for a fine carpet. The text reads:  

“I came across this one after I bought the other two, it being an extraordinary fine one together with a necessity I was under to take it in exchange for the wench, will I hope apologize for my exceeding my orders in buying three”  

Later in the letter, Taylor wrote that he “sold the wench for sixty-eight pounds.” This could allude to the perceived value of the enslaved woman or the carpet. Considering the language, it could also be interpreted as Taylor seeking a third carpet to return with, but he was unable to because he ran out of allotted funds. If this is the case, then rather than leave Montreal without the third carpet, he sought to liquidate other assets to make the purchase. The unnamed enslaved woman represented a liquid asset that would have been trouble to keep, according to Taylor, because her new enslavers began to “complain of her being dirty, imprudent, & lazy.” Taylor follows this statement with “I hope to leave this before she establishes those characters.” This admission from Taylor suggests that he was aware of the tenuous nature of the deal to sell the woman. Nonetheless, seeing the opportunity to please Major General Schuyler, he may have chosen to sell the unnamed woman to obtain another coveted fine carpet.  

Though we do not have the enslaved woman’s name, there is plenty that can be gleaned from what the letter doesn’t say, mainly regarding her life after being sold hundreds of miles from Albany. Without her name or any other biographical details, this cannot be an individual look at the experience of being sold far away from home, but her story provides us with a way to consider the different aspects of the sudden change until future research reveals the identity of the woman.    

One of the first things to think about is any choice or agency she may have possessed in her own sale. She joined the trip to Montreal likely without much, if any, choice. Her status as an enslaved person meant that her willingness to go was barely, if at all, considered. She would have been forced and expected to comply with the wishes of her enslaver, though this letter does not make clear whom this person was. Unfortunately, from the letter we do not have a concrete location as to where this woman came from before the trip. She may have been from Albany or Saratoga which would have seen her travel with Taylor the entire journey. If this was the case, it is possible she had been made aware of the impending trip to Montreal, but may not have been made aware of any of the specifics, such as the method of travel or purpose of the trip. It's also entirely possibly no explanation was given. In this case it would be possible to suggest that the woman was purchased along the way up to Montreal. As we do not hear the woman in Taylor’s letter’s voice, we cannot know the conversations presented to her before the trip.

Detail of a 1776 map showing part of the trip to Montreal.

Another important factor to consider is the role of community. Before the trip, when living in Albany, or some other local, this woman would have created and had a community around her. She could have had friendships, possibly romances, and even bonds between parent and child, whether that was her own parents or her own children. These connections were the foundation of social lives for enslaved people. Within Albany, the enslaved community was connected within and across households. During holidays like Pinkster, enslaved people had the opportunity to reconnect with people living both nearby and from a distance away. Some enslaved people had opportunities to connect through their labors. Through these meetings, they had strong friendships and familial bonds that made leaving the place they were living in—whether through force or choice—extremely painful.   

When John Taylor took the enslaved woman mentioned in the letter to Montreal, he was forcibly separating her from social community. She may have had a life partner, children, parents, or a friend she would likely never see again after she was sold. These people may have known where she went, but would likely have had no way to contact her. Information about her was possibly entirely withheld from her friends and family. Once she was separated from her community in Albany, she’d need to reestablish social connections in Montreal with those now around her.  

As she was being brought to Canada, there were also possible language barriers. Montreal, and Quebec by extension, was a multi-cultural city. French and Indigenous roots blended with new British influence all within the city's bounds, leading to many different languages being spoken by residences and those there to do business, as Taylor was. The enslaved woman may have had to contend with language barriers from her new owners and the people around her. She likely had some degree of proficiency in English, whether it was a second or first language for her, but probably didn’t know French, leaving her unable to communicate with a lot of people around her. It’s possible the entire transaction selling her away may have been in French. If that was the case, the transaction was potentially outside of her understanding until she was passed over to her new enslaver. As we do not know the language skills of both Taylor and the enslaved woman this can only be posited.  

Overall, this letter has importance in multiple contexts. It shows the lengths the wealthy would go to when obtaining luxuries during the Revolutionary War. Major General Philip Schuyler, and, by extension, his broker John Taylor, circumnavigated trade embargos and utilized the present military campaign to their personal advantage. They considered the trip during the campaign a necessary convenience beyond any other concern. Beyond this letter’s usefulness in understanding the concerns of men like Schuyler, it demonstrates how enslaved people were seen as expendable commodity to their enslavers. The woman mentioned in John Taylor’s letter leaves no biographical details beyond this letter, but researchers at Schuyler Mansion will continue the search for the enslaved woman traveling to Montreal. She is described simply as “wench”, and denied the opportunity to reclaim her story from the men who owned and sold her in exchange for fine carpets. 

Even with only one letter to tell her story, it’s important to examine the letter because it is important to consider the situations that illustrate the perspective of this woman and enslaved populations collectively. With this letter there is space to ponder the feelings of the woman that could fall between frustration, isolation, relief, etc. Her life is not known outside this singular letter, but by asking questions and consulting similar accounts of other enslaved people, perhaps she can be better understood, and her story finally told. 

Bibliography

 

Foster, Frances Smith. ’Til Death or Distance Do Us Part Love and Marriage in African America. Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2010. 

Harris, Leslie M. (Leslie Maria), and Daina Ramey Berry, eds. Sexuality and Slavery Reclaiming Intimate Histories in the Americas. Athens,Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2018. 

Kerr, Don. "The Gamble for Canada: In 1775, American Rebels Wanted Independence... and Canada, Too." The Beaver, Dec, 2003, 8-12.  

Malone, Ann Patton. Sweet Chariot : Slave Family and Household Structure in Nineteenth-Century Louisiana. Place of publication not identified: University of North Carolina Press, 1992. 

Williams, Heather Andrea. Help Me to Find My People the African American Search for Family Lost in Slavery. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012. 

YOUNG, ALFRED F. The Democratic Republicans of New York: The Origins, 1763-1797. University of North Carolina Press, 1967. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9780807838204_young.