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A Gore painted canvas
trunk cover, found
discarded under the eaves
of the mansion, is now returned
to fine condition and on display
in the mansion.
It would have covered up a
traveling trunk on a coach
and was certainly a necessity
for frequent travelers like
the Gores. The
conservation was made possible
by a grant from the Institute
of Museum and Library Services,
a Federal agency.
Another cover-up is described
in a letter written by Christopher
Gore to his close friend Rufus
King, Governor of New York.
The letter dated 30 August
1803, reveals the international
tensions that concerned Gore:
“I must tell you
one anecdote, though you
will be careful not to mention
it – Fulton wrote
to Boulton & Watt for
one or two steam engines
to be shipped to Brockholst
Livingston, in New York,
who would pay for them,
the engines to be made according
to directions of Joel Barlow.
The Government here took
it in their heads, to believe
these were intended for
Fulton’s diving machines
that are to blow up the
British Navy, the dock yard
at Portsmouth, etc., of
which they have some, certainly
not strong, apprehensions.
Boulton & Watt do not
ship the machines, lest
the destination to New York
should be only a trick,
and soon as the vessel carrying
them should be in the Channel,
they might be transported
for France and affixed to
their terrible instruments
of destruction. I told him
[Hammond] that L[ivingston] & Fulton
were finally concerned in
the construction & patent
for constructing & using
a boat that was designed
to work against the stream & I
entertained no doubt, that
that was the real purpose
of the engines desired.
He said, however, that he
had orders not to ship them.”
In 1801, Robert Fulton, supported
by the French government,
experimented on a type of
submarine for warfare against
the British. The experiment
failed and the French became
disenchanted. Fulton changed
sides and began to work with
the British against the French
but the torpedoes didn’t
work any better on the other
side of the channel. Both
the French and the British
were convinced that this was
a cover-up by Fulton. By 1806,
Fulton was back in the United
States and was hard at work
on his steam boat, the “Clermont”.
The New York Historical Society preserves
the personal correspondence of Rufus
King. Thanks to our President Debbie
Gates, we now have copies of the
more than 400 letters between King
and Gore in the collection. These
letters are being transcribed by
our Collections Manager Lana Lewis
for easier reading.
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