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Lot Essay
The engraved powder horn illustrated here is an important record of the American Revolution. Prince Hamblen (1759-1836), whose name and ownership are engraved on the powder horn, was a native of southeastern Maine who served in the Revolution and whose experiences outside his native town of Gorham appear from all surviving documents to have been limited to his military service as a soldier in the Continental Army and in the state forces of Massachusetts. The horn illustrated here was carved during Hamblen's service for American independence.
At the end of the 18th century, Maine was still a province of Massachusetts and as such retained close social, politcal and economic ties to its governing colony. Accordingly, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 and the immediate outbreak of revolution, the call to arms was heard equally in both regions.
Prince Hamblen responded following the Lexington Alarm in 1775 and served as a private in Captain Hart Williams's company, Phinney's Regiment at the Siege of Boston. Following this service, he enlisted in the 18th Continental Regiment on 1 January 1776, marching north to Ticonderoga and serving there until discharged at the close of the year. Hamblen later served in Mitchell's regiment on the Penobscot Expedition of 1779, a failed American amphibious expedition against British forces in Castine, Maine and possibly the inspiration for the nautical motif of the horn.
After the American Revolution, Prince Hamblen appears in both census and American Revolution veterans' and pension records in vivid detail. Hamblen was recorded in each Federal Census of Maine, from the first in 1790 until that of 1830, six years before his death. During this time, his household fluctuated from six inhabitants in 1790 to its peak of nine in 1800, and successively less with each subsequent recording. By 1830, the Hamblen household was down to three people. Hamblen's appearance in various pension applications began in 1818 when he requested assistance from Massachusetts and was granted a pension of $8 per month. By 1820, Hamblen described his condition and household in a Federal application as, "I have no pension, and from my reduced circumstances in life I stand in need of assistance from my country for support." Prince Hamblen died in Gorham on April 17, 1836.
This horn is sold complete with an extensive documentation package including copies of Hamblen's Revolutionary War pension and service records. For further information on American powder horns, see William H. Guthman, Drums A'Beating, Trumpets Sounding: Artistically Carved Powderhorns in the Provincial Manner, 1746-1781 (Hartford, 1993).
At the end of the 18th century, Maine was still a province of Massachusetts and as such retained close social, politcal and economic ties to its governing colony. Accordingly, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 and the immediate outbreak of revolution, the call to arms was heard equally in both regions.
Prince Hamblen responded following the Lexington Alarm in 1775 and served as a private in Captain Hart Williams's company, Phinney's Regiment at the Siege of Boston. Following this service, he enlisted in the 18th Continental Regiment on 1 January 1776, marching north to Ticonderoga and serving there until discharged at the close of the year. Hamblen later served in Mitchell's regiment on the Penobscot Expedition of 1779, a failed American amphibious expedition against British forces in Castine, Maine and possibly the inspiration for the nautical motif of the horn.
After the American Revolution, Prince Hamblen appears in both census and American Revolution veterans' and pension records in vivid detail. Hamblen was recorded in each Federal Census of Maine, from the first in 1790 until that of 1830, six years before his death. During this time, his household fluctuated from six inhabitants in 1790 to its peak of nine in 1800, and successively less with each subsequent recording. By 1830, the Hamblen household was down to three people. Hamblen's appearance in various pension applications began in 1818 when he requested assistance from Massachusetts and was granted a pension of $8 per month. By 1820, Hamblen described his condition and household in a Federal application as, "I have no pension, and from my reduced circumstances in life I stand in need of assistance from my country for support." Prince Hamblen died in Gorham on April 17, 1836.
This horn is sold complete with an extensive documentation package including copies of Hamblen's Revolutionary War pension and service records. For further information on American powder horns, see William H. Guthman, Drums A'Beating, Trumpets Sounding: Artistically Carved Powderhorns in the Provincial Manner, 1746-1781 (Hartford, 1993).