On the Yard of the Naval Academy is a bronze figurehead named "Tecumseh". The original wooden figure was salvaged from the man-of-war ship "Delaware" and sent to the academy in 1866. The builders of the ship intended the figurehead to portray Tamanend, but the midshipmen of the period renamed the bust "Tecumseh", warrior chief of the Shawnee and Tecumseh's Confederacy. In 1891 the bust was immortalized in bronze.
Tamanend, also know as Tammany, was the chief of Lenni-Lenape nation and played a prominent role in establishing peaceful relations between the Native American tribes and the English settlers of Pennsylvania. A quote attributed to Tamanend : "live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure."
By the early 1770's Tammany festivals were held annually on May 1 in Philadephia and Annapolis . Even George Washington and his army, while camped at Valley Forge in 1778, celebrated the day... The "men spent the day in mirth and jollity...in honor of King Tammany" (Military Journal of George Ewing, 1928)
(Originally published on 1/27, but it got layered over by the large blank area, so I'm reposting it)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.