|
1831-1832 John James Audubon arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, in mid-October 1831. Already a well-known artist, he had published the first volume of Birds of America and the accompanying text, Ornithological Biography. Audubon needed more subscribers as well as more birds of the Southeast and West for his future publications. He had, in fact, drawn less than half of the required four hundred thirty-five bird portraits. Accompanying him on his trip down the Atlantic Coast to Florida were Henry Ward (a young English taxidermist) and George Lehman (a Swiss landscape artist). Audubon would later write to his wife, Lucy Audubon: "I had passed but one night in the city when I was presented to the Rev. Mr. Bachman who would have us all to stay at his house…Could I have refused his kind invitation? No! We removed to his house in a crack--found a room ready for Henry to skin birds--another for me and Lehman to draw in and a third for thy husband to rest his bones on an excellent bed." John Bachman, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Charleston, was not only a learned theologian but a respected naturalist. The Charleston-style dwelling on Rutledge Avenue that was home to John Bachman, his wife Harriet Martin Bachman, her sister Maria Martin, their mother, and the Bachman children, was a busy household. Audubon's refuge was Bachman's study on the ground floor where he painted many original watercolours for Birds of America. [The house was tore down for the High School of Charleston] Bachman's friends were generous to him. Dr. Samuel Wilson, a friend of Bachman's, presented him with a Newfoundland dog and a handsome silver snuff box. Dr. Henry Ravenel gave him a "fine mess of shells," while M. Noisette, who had an extensive botanical garden near Charleston, furnished him with botanical specimens for his drawings. The ladies of Charleston did their part and presented him with a "capital supply of snuff." Audubon credited himself with painting fifteen birds during October and November of 1831. George Lehman finished the drawings with "views, plants, etc., " for a total of five drawings. While this was an artistically productive period for Audubon, he also delighted in those occasions when Bachman took time from his clerical duties for hunting excursions to Liberty Hall, the plantation home of Dr. C. Desel at Goose Creek, "Round O," the plantation home of Dr. Henry Ravenel, the Heyward Plantation on James Island, and to Sullivan's Island and Cole Island. On Sunday morning, November 8, 1831, Audubon wrote to his wife, Lucy, anticipating an early end to some of the happiest weeks of his life. He was relieved to write her that John Bachman was willing to act as "my agent for my Work." He would store a stock of the first volume of Birds of America and ship volumes to subscribers as ordered. Bachman also agreed to care for Audubon's original paintings produced on this expedition and would dispatch them to London as needed for printing of the second volume. Audubon's next destination was Florida where he expected to spend six months exploring that peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico to the mouth of the Sabine River. He would proceed up the Arkansas to its headwaters then to the Rocky Mountains, and descend the Columbia River. He departed Charleston at daybreak on Tuesday, November 15, on the Agness, a packet that made regular runs between Charleston and St. Augustine. Aubudon took an immediate dislike to the old Spanish town, describing it as "the poorest village I have seen in America." He saw one new bird in St. Augustine he described as a cross between a crow (black vulture) and a vulture (turkey vulture). Audubon promised Bachman he would name it after him, although it turned out to be as Bachman surmised, a caracara, common in South America, and already known to science. Audubon's earlier contacts in Washington finally produced results. He got his wish to travel the St. John's River once he received a copy of an order from the Secretary of the Navy of the United States that directed "the officers commanding revenue cutters on the Charleston, Key West and Mobile Station to take Audubon where he wished to go." He immediately sought out the commander of the Spark and asked that he and his men be taken up the St. Johns River which turned into a short-lived adventure due to a bitter argument between the commander and Audubon. His men boarded the Agness in St. Augustine on March 5 bound for Charleston. Two days later just forty miles from Charleston a strong gale forced the Agness back to Savannah where Audubon went ashore to wait out the storm. Audubon chose to take a coach, arriving in Charleston on March 10, 1832. Everything was set for another productive interlude at Bachman's residence. Snowy Egrets flew in from the South and by March 25 "thousands were seen in the marshes and rice-fields." A Snowy Egret was Audubon's first big painting. Maria Martin copied the egret, but omitted the hunter and wrote on the back of drawing "March 26, 1832. Copied from Mr. Audubon's picture." In Mid-April 1832 Audubon tallied the results of his team's labors, "9 beautiful Drawings and collected an immense deal of information." He had won subscriptions for the Birds from the South Carolina Legislature for the South Carolina College (University of South Carolina), the Charleston Library Society and the Charleston Society of Natural History. The list of the subscribers for the Natural History Society included: Rev. Bachman, Rev. Samuel Gilman, James Moultrie M.D. , J. Bellinger M.D., W. J. Ramsey M.D., H.R. Frost M.D., Samuel Henry Dickson M.D., Edmund Ravenel M.D., Alexander Mazyck, Esq., Hon. Benjamin Faneul Dunkin, Legislature, William Clarkson, Esq., and James L. Petigru, Esq. The U.S. Schooner Marion arrived in Charleston on Saturday, April 13, and Audubon boarded the vessel to meet her commander. James R. Pringle, Collector of the Port of Charleston, issued the order which authorized the Marion to take Audubon where he wanted to go--back to the Florida Keys. Audubon packed up quickly and left his latest drawings--the little blue heron, the Lesser Yellowlegs, and the Boat Tailed Grackles in the care of a "most kind friend, " Miss Maria Martin. The Marion anchored off Key West at sunset on May 14,
1832, and Audubon was met by Maria Martin studied Audubon's paintings of Florida birds and plants with care. Audubon and his assistants worked almost a month in Charleston, painting the Black Crowned Night Heron, the Common Egret, and the sparrow called Bachman's Sparrow. The rare fever-tree (Pinckneya pubens) on which the sparrow perches was a specimen obtained from M. Noisette's garden. Maria Martin painted the sprig of the fever-tree, having completed her apprenticeship in painting botanical subjects, birds and butterflies. Audubon's Florida expedition had depleted him of his financial resources, and he no longer could pay George Lehman and Henry Ward for their services. Audubon returned alone to Philadelphia after eight productive months in the South and was reunited with Lucy and his sons, John Woodhouse and Victor. Audubon and Bachman stayed in close communication during the Audubon family's stay in Boston from the fall of 1832 until the spring of 1833. Bachman's discoveries of new birds and Maria's wildflower paintings assured Audubon's return to Charleston. Although Bachman made many promises to send Audubon information, drawings and skins, only a limited number of Maria Martin's drawings were sent to Boston. Her "Gordonia" or Loblolly Bay was immediately used with the Fork Tailed Flycatcher sketched earlier by Audubon who copied the bird directly onto Maria's flowers. Audubon used Maria's Red Hibiscus in Anna's Hummingbird, and her Begonia in the Mango Hummingbird. He was relieved when Bachman finally furnished him with notes on the life histories of the Great White Heron, Bachman's Finch and the Reddish Egret. |
| Bibliography & Links | Credits | Acknowledgments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|