Samuel & Phoebe Fraunces and General Washington - The Grand ...

Samuel & Phoebe Fraunces and General Washington
By Ed Halpaus, MPS
Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Minnesota, Grand Lodge Education Officer
First Published in the February 1, 2004 issue of Masonic Matters, a Masonic Education Newsletter.
February is an active month. It is the month when we celebrate the birthdays of two U.S.
Presidents, (Washington & Lincoln,) it is the month for lovers with Valentines Day; the
day when all husbands will get a card for the wife, and do something nice for her too, and
it is also Black History Month here in the U.S.
Being that it is Black History month I would like to relate a couple of items I came across
about blacks and their involvement with George Washington, and the American
Revolutionary War.
When General Washington crossed the Delaware River in December 1776 and had a
successful victory over the enemy forces, there were two black soldiers with him. The
names of these men are Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell. Prince Whipple is depicted
in the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, (he is sitting in the seat next to
where Washington is standing.)
An interesting fact is that General Washington, at the end of the Revolutionary War,
stressed that blacks who fought in the American Colonial Army in place of their owners,
who were assigned to serve, would not return to slavery. Fighting on the American side
established the validity for their freedom from bondage. i
"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct
themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil
government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."
Brother George Washington
It was on December 25, 1776 when Brother Washington had the decisive victory I
alluded to above, but it might not have been possible if it had not been for the heroic
observations and actions of a young girl earlier in the year.
There was a Tavern that has become somewhat famous, because that is where General
Washington gave his farewell address to his men at the end of America’s War for
independence. The name of the place was Fraunces Tavern, and it was established in
1762. ii But it had a different name back then. Its name at that time was the Queen
Charlotte Inn named for the bride of King George III. It was located at the corner of Pearl
and Broad Streets on the southern edge of Manhattan in New York City and it was owned
and operated by Samuel Fraunces, thus the change in the name to Fraunces Tavern
toward the end of America’s war for independence.
Samuel Fraunces owned and operated his business with the help of his daughter Phoebe
for a total of twenty three years. This was a very popular business in 1768; the first New
York Chamber of Commerce was created in Fraunces' Tavern. It was also the place
where the Sons of Liberty gathered to mobilize popular sentiment for the coming

evolution against the British Crown. At a meeting of the Provincial Congress of New
York, Samuel Fraunces befriended George Washington, who often dined at the tavern.
Samuel Fraunces' young daughter, Phoebe, because she helped her father in the business
also became acquainted with the General.
I should point out that according to the book 10,000 Famous Freemasons; Samuel
Fraunces was a free black man of West Indian heritage who lived from 1722 to 1795, and
who was a Brother Mason being a member Holland Lodge Number 8 in New York City.
The history of the then emerging new country would have been quite different had it not
been for Phoebe Fraunces. As the serving girl at George Washington's headquarters at
Richmond Hill, she is credited with foiling an attempt to assassinate the general with a
dish of poisoned peas!
Samuel Fraunces was an ardent patriot and, through his influence, his daughter Phoebe
shared his patriotism for this new country. Phoebe was always aware of what was going
on in the tavern. Depending on how the struggle for independence was going, the ground
where the Queen Charlotte Inn (Fraunces Tavern) was located was sometimes under
British occupation and the Fraunces’ were virtually under house arrest, at other times
when the Americans held that ground there were free, because they supported the
Revolution.
During these times there were many men from both sides of the war, who were both in
and out of uniform, frequenting the tavern, and on one particular occasion Phoebe
overheard Thomas Hickey mention his intent to poison General Washington. One version
of the story says that Hickey actually asked Phoebe to put the poison in the Generals
food, the other version is that she overheard him discussing this with another man, but in
any event the plan was for Thomas Hickey, a member of Washington’s personal guard, to
mix Paris Green, a poisonous green powder, with the peas for Washington’s personal
plate. The British had bribed Hickey and he was prepared to follow through with the
plan, but Phoebe told her father what she had overheard and together they both told
General Washington and his dinner party about the plot.
One of the men at the table took the peas, went into the backyard and scattered them to
the chickens. Six chickens very quickly died. Hickey was arrested, tried, found guilty,
and a few months later hanged before a crowd in New York City.
By a special act of Congress a monetary award was given to Brother Samuel Fraunces,
and when our Brother George Washington was inaugurated as President of the United
States on April 13, 1789 the President appointed Brother Fraunces as the White House
Steward.
“In the final days of the struggle, the newly christened Fraunces Tavern served for ten
days as the general's last residence - meaning that Washington did indeed sleep there!
And it was in the Tavern's Long Room that he delivered the famous and tearful farewell

to the officers of the Continental Army on December 4th 1783, before returning to Mount
Vernon.” iii
So if your Lodge should have a short program about our Brother Washington, and the
Brothers are enjoying some traditional Cherry Pie, maybe there will be a mention of
some Black Americans, two of whom were a Mason and his Daughter, and how their
efforts were of an immense help to our Brother and first President.
"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience."
Brother George Washington
i Dr. Edward Beasley
ii A Brief History of Fraunces Tavern
iii A brief History of Fraunces Tavern