The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/311328
22 SAR MAGAZINE By Philip M. Anders, President Philadelphia Continental Chapter O n Sunday, April 6, a monument to Patriot James Forten was unveiled at the historic Eden Cemetery in Colingdale, Pa., just outside Philadelphia. The monument was sponsored by the NSSSAR, the PASSAR and the Philadelphia Continental Chapter. President General Joseph W. Dooley presided over the dedication ceremony. The colors were presented by the Philadelphia Continental Chapter Color Guard, and the invocation was presented by Rev. Dr. Thomas Snowden, associate minister of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, with other officials of the church participating. Also attending were members of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. Past Master Barrington W. Lessene, Worshipful Grand Director of Music Emeritus, gave remarks on behalf of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. Forten was a member of both the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. Also representing the Prince Hall Masons were members of Holmesburg Lodge No. 137. Comments on the life of Forten were given by Julie Winch, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts and author of A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten and James Forten: Liberty's Black Champion. Michael C. Quinn, president and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution, commented on FortenÕs contribution to the Revolution, and the significance of his whole life. After the unveiling of the marble monument, Snowden gave a memorial prayer. Wreaths were presented by the National Society SAR, the PASSAR, the Pennsylvania DAR and the Philadelphia Continental Chapter. Snowden closed the ceremony with a benediction. Forten was born in 1766 in Philadelphia to free black parents. His father was employed as a sailmaker and, at age 8, James joined him as an apprentice. Unfortunately, his father passed away at an early age, but James had found favor with their employer, Robert Bridges, who kept him on. Sometime during these years, his mother enrolled him in a Quaker school. According to biographer Winch, Forten stood in PhiladelphiaÕs Statehouse Yard and heard the Declaration of Independence read to the people for the first time when he was 10. From that moment, he became a patriot, and throughout his life, he would remember it as a deeply emotional experience. Forten believed the Declaration applied to all Americans, and when hostilities broke out, he volunteered for service on a privateering vessel, the Royal Lewis. In 1781, the Royal Lewis was captured by a British warship. The British captain, who had a son of his own about the same age as Forten on board, took a liking to Forten, recognized his intelligence, and saw the 15-year-old Forten as a good influence on his son. The captain offered to take Forten back to England and educate him with his own sonÑprovided Forten switch sides. Forten refused to abandon the American cause. It was, he declared, his cause. Forten was transferred to the infamous British prison ship Jersey, where he spent seven long months in the New York harbor. Eventually, he was freed and returned to Philadelphia to an overjoyed mother and sister, who had presumed him to be dead. After the war, Forten rejoined BridgesÕ loft as a sailmaker and rose steadily in his employerÕs business. In 1798, Bridges retired and asked the then 32-year-old Forten to take over, lending him enough money to purchase the business. Forten was a creative sailmaker and a good businessman. He implemented new products that proved beneficial to his trade, and the sail loft became one of the most successful and prosperous in the whole city. Independence from England had brought American merchants great opportunity, but it was not without risk on the high seas, and they needed to have the best and fastest sails and rigging, regardless of who was providing such materials to them. In the early 1800s, FortenÕs company was fully integrated, sometimes employing more than 30 men. He had strict rules regarding work, church attendance, Left above, the Philadelphia Continental Chapter Color Guard was joined by African-American historical re-enactors; left, among the dozens of attendees at the Forten monument dedication were members of Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. James Forten was member of this Lodge. Joining the Prince Hall Masons is George Clark, who also is a Mason; opposite page, the monument to Patriot James Forten, erected by the National Society, the Pennsylvania Society and the Philadelphia Continental Chapter. James Forten A Man—and a Patriot—Before His Time E.B. Coggins Jr. photos SPRING_14_sar22-27.indd 22 5/7/14 4:44 PM