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Lot Essay
Commissioned by a Revolutionary patriot for his new house in Tennessee, this sideboard and the pembroke table offered in the following lot are important survivals documenting the transmission of high-style design to the American frontier. Made from local woods in the fashionable Federal style, the sideboard and table were part of the original furnishings of Cragfont (fig. 2), a limestone mansion built by General James Winchester (1752-1826) from 1798 to 1802 near Gallatin in central Tennessee. Cragfont's architectural splendor and elegant interiors befitted its prestigious patron, who entertained notables of the day such as Andrew Jackson and General Lafayette.
GENERAL JAMES WINCHESTER OF MARYLAND AND TENNESSEE
Born in Carroll County, Maryland in 1752, James Winchester was the son of Richard and Lydia (Richards) Winchester who immigrated to Maryland from Westminster, England. His remarkable military career began in 1776 when he enlisted as a private in the Third Maryland Regiment, part of George Washington's army. Throughout the Revolutionary War, he was noted for his acts of bravery and was taken prisoner while protecting the retreat of Washington's forces from the battle of Long Island. After his release, he served under General Nathaniel Greene in the South where he fought in many battles including those of Guilford Court House, Hobkirk's Hill and Eutaw Springs and was present at Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown. His successes earned him promotions to Lieutenant in 1778 and Captain in 1782 and after the War, he was granted large tracts of land in the Cumberland area in Sumner County, Tennessee. After organizing the Maryland chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati, Winchester set out to claim his grants in 1785. There, he became a military and civic leader, undertaking numerous expeditions against Native Americans and serving as justice of the peace and speaker of the state senate while at the same time developing a successful business importing goods from the East Coast. Just prior to the War of 1812, he was appointed brigadier-general in the U.S. Army by President James Madison and with his close friend, Andrew Jackson, helped defeat the British forces. He was one of the founders of Memphis, reputedly named by Winchester, and his son, Marcus Brutus, served as the city's first mayor (see Walter Durham, James Winchester, Tennessee Pioneer (Gallatin, Tennessee, 1979); Edwin M. Yerger, Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769-1923, vol. 2, p. 265).
Around the time of his marriage to Susan Black (1777-1864), Winchester undertook the construction of Cragfont, importing numerous craftsmen from the East Coast. One of these artisans was his nephew, William Winchester (b. 1781), a cabinetmaker from his home state, Maryland, who in all likelihood made the original furniture for the house. Bearing identical string-inlay on the legs, the sideboard and table offered here as well a pair of card tables from Cragfont appear to have been made en suite and indicate a unified scheme of interior decoration. With almost identical inlay found on Baltimore-made furniture, these items illustrate William Winchester's adaption of urban design to suit a more rural setting. Other furniture surviving from Cragfont and attributed to William Winchester includes a dining table, secretary and tall-case clock, all made in the same restrained Federal style. By 1802, Cragfont was largely complete and in that year visited by the French traveller, Francois Andre Michaux, who described it as "very elegant for the country." (see William and Harsh, The Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture and Its Makers Through 1850 (Nashville, Tennessee, 1988), plate IX , figs. 125 and 129, pp. 73, 110 and 127; Montgomery, American Furniture: The Federal Period (New York, 1966), figs. 291, 321; McPherson, "Adaption and Reinterpretation: The Transfer of Furniture Styles from Philadelphia to Winchester to Tennessee," in Luke Beckerdite, ed., American Furniture 1997 (Hanover, NH, 1997), p.303).
After Winchester's death in 1826, Cragfont and its interior furnishings remained intact until the death of his widow in 1864. The Civil War had devastated the area's economy and Winchester's youngest son, George Washington Winchester was forced to sell the house. Some of its furnishings, however, were distributed amongst George's siblings. The sideboard and table offered here were inherited by James Winchester's daughter, Almira Winchester Wynne (1805-1883) who lived in Wynnewood, a large log house neighboring Cragfont, with her husband, Colonel A. R. Wynne (1800-1893). Remaining at Wynnewood until 1973 when the house was converted into a museum, the sideboard and table are being sold by Wynne family descendants.
GENERAL JAMES WINCHESTER OF MARYLAND AND TENNESSEE
Born in Carroll County, Maryland in 1752, James Winchester was the son of Richard and Lydia (Richards) Winchester who immigrated to Maryland from Westminster, England. His remarkable military career began in 1776 when he enlisted as a private in the Third Maryland Regiment, part of George Washington's army. Throughout the Revolutionary War, he was noted for his acts of bravery and was taken prisoner while protecting the retreat of Washington's forces from the battle of Long Island. After his release, he served under General Nathaniel Greene in the South where he fought in many battles including those of Guilford Court House, Hobkirk's Hill and Eutaw Springs and was present at Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown. His successes earned him promotions to Lieutenant in 1778 and Captain in 1782 and after the War, he was granted large tracts of land in the Cumberland area in Sumner County, Tennessee. After organizing the Maryland chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati, Winchester set out to claim his grants in 1785. There, he became a military and civic leader, undertaking numerous expeditions against Native Americans and serving as justice of the peace and speaker of the state senate while at the same time developing a successful business importing goods from the East Coast. Just prior to the War of 1812, he was appointed brigadier-general in the U.S. Army by President James Madison and with his close friend, Andrew Jackson, helped defeat the British forces. He was one of the founders of Memphis, reputedly named by Winchester, and his son, Marcus Brutus, served as the city's first mayor (see Walter Durham, James Winchester, Tennessee Pioneer (Gallatin, Tennessee, 1979); Edwin M. Yerger, Tennessee the Volunteer State 1769-1923, vol. 2, p. 265).
Around the time of his marriage to Susan Black (1777-1864), Winchester undertook the construction of Cragfont, importing numerous craftsmen from the East Coast. One of these artisans was his nephew, William Winchester (b. 1781), a cabinetmaker from his home state, Maryland, who in all likelihood made the original furniture for the house. Bearing identical string-inlay on the legs, the sideboard and table offered here as well a pair of card tables from Cragfont appear to have been made en suite and indicate a unified scheme of interior decoration. With almost identical inlay found on Baltimore-made furniture, these items illustrate William Winchester's adaption of urban design to suit a more rural setting. Other furniture surviving from Cragfont and attributed to William Winchester includes a dining table, secretary and tall-case clock, all made in the same restrained Federal style. By 1802, Cragfont was largely complete and in that year visited by the French traveller, Francois Andre Michaux, who described it as "very elegant for the country." (see William and Harsh, The Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture and Its Makers Through 1850 (Nashville, Tennessee, 1988), plate IX , figs. 125 and 129, pp. 73, 110 and 127; Montgomery, American Furniture: The Federal Period (New York, 1966), figs. 291, 321; McPherson, "Adaption and Reinterpretation: The Transfer of Furniture Styles from Philadelphia to Winchester to Tennessee," in Luke Beckerdite, ed., American Furniture 1997 (Hanover, NH, 1997), p.303).
After Winchester's death in 1826, Cragfont and its interior furnishings remained intact until the death of his widow in 1864. The Civil War had devastated the area's economy and Winchester's youngest son, George Washington Winchester was forced to sell the house. Some of its furnishings, however, were distributed amongst George's siblings. The sideboard and table offered here were inherited by James Winchester's daughter, Almira Winchester Wynne (1805-1883) who lived in Wynnewood, a large log house neighboring Cragfont, with her husband, Colonel A. R. Wynne (1800-1893). Remaining at Wynnewood until 1973 when the house was converted into a museum, the sideboard and table are being sold by Wynne family descendants.