Dr. Charles Alexander Warfield

A Patriot of the American Revolution for MARYLAND with the rank of FIRST MAJOR. DAR Ancestor # A120934

"One of the first Warfields to become well-known was Dr. Charles Alexander Warfield, who led a group from what is now Howard County (part of Anne Arundel County at the time) to Annapolis in 1774 to protest the arrival of a ship full of tea. Colonists had put an embargo on tea in protest of British taxes, and angry rebels demanded that the ship's owner, Anthony Stewart, burn the ship or be hanged, Keenan said.

Stewart chose to save his life. A 1911 oil painting called The Burning of the Peggy Stewart, on loan to the exhibit from the Daughters of the American Revolution chapter in Annapolis, depicts Stewart on his ship with a torch as Charles Warfield and several other men watch from a dinghy."

from: http://www.snowden-warfield.com/Exhibits-Reunions/ExhibitWarfieldDe... Profile photo from: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=54479185

Dr. Warfield was also a major during the American Revolutionary War. He had two sons who were also doctors- Peregrine and Gustavus.

Sources:

• http://www.snowden-warfield.com/Exhibits-Reunions/ExhibitWarfieldDe...
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=54479185
• http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM7Z5G_Dr_Charles_Alexander_Warf...
• http://wikimapia.org/7816667/Dr-Charles-Alexander-Warfield-Gravesite

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Findagrave.com:

[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54479185/charles-alexander-warf...]

Patriot of the Revolution

Memorial ID 54479185

The first of six children born to Azel and Sarah A (Griffith) Warfield of Howard Co MD, Charles married Elizabeth Dorsey Ridgely in 1771 in Howard Co MD. They settled in at Bushy Park Manor in Glenwood.

Children with Elizabeth: 1) Anna Warfield (1772-1820), m: Samuel Thomas. 2) Henry "Harry" Ridgely Warfield (1774-1839) 3) Dr Peregrine Warfield (1779-1856), m: Harriet Lucy Sappington. 4) Elizabeth "Eliza" Ridgely Warfield (1781-1817), m: Richard Snowden. 5) Dr Gustavus Warfield (1784-1866), m: Mary Thomas. 6) Charles Alexander Warfield Jr (1787-1868), m: Elizabeth "Eliza" Harris. 7) Louisa Victoria Warfield (1790-1820), m: Richard Snowden (widower of her sister Eliza).

Howard Co Old Homes & Families p. 254, by Celia M Holland, 1987: "Bushy Park, with its vast acreage remained in the family until after the Civil War, when it was sold to Mr Chadwick of New York. With each new owner, the extent of the holdings has decreased, until today the farm comprises approximately 200 acres." (Note: Originally 1,300 acres.)

Warfields and Snowdens, www.snowden-warfield.com: "Charles Alexander Warfield, son of Azel Warfield and Sarah Griffith, was one of the initial patriots in Maryland who determined the course that this country would lead in opposition to the King of England at the time of the Revolutionary War. Immediately after his death on Jan 29, 1813, his deeds were chronicled in the "Baltimore Patriot". Dr Charles, who had received professional honors from the University of Pennsylvania and was a distinguished member of the 'Whig Club', had been appointed Major of Battalion.

"The archive entitled 'University of Maryland', cited below, describes Dr Warfield as follows: Charles Alexander Warfield, President of the Board of Regents in 1812-13 was born in Anne Arundel Co MD, (sic)3 Dec 1751, the son of Azel Warfield. He was of the same family as the present distinquished Executive of Maryland [Governor Edwin Warfield]. He is said to have attended lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, but does not appear to have graduated. [His name is not in the list of alumni of that institution and he does not affix the letters indicating the possession of a medical degree in signing a diploma in 1812]. He was a member of a 'Whig Club' at the opening of the Revolution, at the head of which, on 19 Oct 1774, he proceeded to Annapolis and forced the owner of the 'Peggy Stewart' to burn his vessel, which was laden with forbidden tea. Recent paintings by Mr Mayer in the State House at Annapolis and by Mr C Y Turner, in the Court House at Baltimore, represent this great historical event in the history of MD. Dr Warfield was the "first" to propose a separation from the mother country and was a member of the Committee of Observation of his county in 1775. In 1776 he was First Major of the Elk Ridge Battalion and the same year engaged in the manufacture of saltpetre. In 1777 he was Judge of the Anne Arundel County court."

"A Century and a half of Pittsburg and her People", by John Newton Boucher, Lewis Publishing Company, 1908: Online Bios - 'Charles Alexander Warfield, eldest son of Azel and Sarah (Griffith) Warfield, was born December 14, 1751, in Anne Arundel county, Maryland, and it was in his young manhood (being but a year after his marriage) that the incident which has rendered him historically famous occurred. Dn Warfield, who is also remembered as Major Warfield, during the memorable days of October, 1774, called the members of his club around him, and led them, on horseback, from the uplands which now constitute Howard and Montgomery counties through the lowlands of Anne Arundel county and into Annapolis. They rode by day and without disguise, although on their hats was engraved the legend, "Liberty or Death." On arriving at Annapolis they rode to the front of the residence of Anthony Stewart, who was the owner of the brig "Peggy Stewart," and who had paid the tax on the obnoxious tea with which his vessel was laden. Captain Hobbs, who was one of the party, has handed down the following account of Dr. Warfield's actions and words:

Commanding his companions to draw up in line before the house, he addressed Mr. Stewart. in the following words; "You will either go with me and apply the torch to your own vessel, or hang before your own door." His manner, though courteous, conveyed the impression that acceptance of the former proposition would be the safer course, and Dr. Warfield stood beside Mr. Stewart when the latter applied the torch.

Dr. Warfield married Elizabeth, daughter of Major Henry Ridgley, and their children were: Ann, wife of Samuel Thomas; Harry R, attorney at law of Baltimore, Peregrine, Gustavus, Charles Dorsey, Elizabeth, wife of Richard Snowden; and Louisa, who, after the death of Elizabeth, became the second wife of Richard Snowden. Peregrine and Gustavus were physicians.'

Many thanks to Dean for the tombstone photo.