Caption 1
This horn supposedly belonged to Edward Braddock, British
General during the French and Indian War. Braddock died in battle after disregarding
his colonial compatriots’ advice. Acquiring the horn, the Tempest family added
the metal fixtures and their own names. In doing so this Philadelphia family connected
themselves to the colonial period when Americans began developing an
independent identity.
Caption 1 – Thoughts
For this caption, I wanted to get a sense of the larger,
national narrative in which the Tempest Powder Horn fits. This caption relays
the traditional interpretation of Braddock and the French and Indian War. The
horn serves as a link between the family and the larger narrative. For visitors
this mediation could be a way to think about the relationships between people
and famous historical figures and begin a conversation about why these
relationships exist. If the overall exhibit focuses on commemorating the
founding of the new nation and we were organizing it by chronology of the event
remembered, than this would be a potential label. The chronology in this case
would go from the French and Indian War to the War of 1812.
Caption 2
In 1834, Robert Tempest added his name to a new silver band on
this recently inherited powder horn. According to family legend, the horn
belonged to British General Edward Braddock who died in the French and Indian
War. By altering the horn Tempest family members claimed their place in the
story of America’s colonial foundations.
Caption 2 – Thoughts
With this caption I wanted get a little more personal and
use the experience of one Robert Tempest as a way to relate to the visitors. Often,
families will have stories of objects that are meaningful, regardless of
whether or not they are true. The feeling of inheriting one of these objects can
be like owning a little bit of history. In this way visitors can access the
object through an individual and understand commemoration by feeling what is
like to think about family and personal histories. This caption leaves the
horn’s history before the Tempests acquired it and its elaborate decorations as
mysteries that the visitor can ponder if they wish. I imagine that this would
be an appropriate label if we did the exhibit about how commemorating the
founding of America comes from different sources. The powder horn, in this
scenario, would be about families and individuals remembering personal
histories in ways that thy feel are significant to the nation as a whole. Other
object come from companies, clubs, and official organizations.
Caption 3
Robert Tempest acquired this powder horn in the 1750s and passed
it to his son. Five generations of Tempests owned this horn, among them weavers,
soldiers, and silversmiths. Reportedly belonging to notorious British General
Edward Braddock in the French and Indian War, this horn became a canvas for one
Philadelphia family to create their own legacy in the new American nation.
Caption 3 – Thoughts
This caption focuses on the Tempest family as a whole and
the question of what it means that they continuously used and altered the
powder horn. Like Caption 2, this caption relies on the visitor’s sense of
family as an entry point for relating to the powder horn. The idea that the
family tried to write out Braddock, commonly made out to be a fool in the
historical record, and insert themselves could be a good conversation point for
thinking about how different people can relate to past figures and events when
they do not feel any connections. If the exhibit focused on how people use
commemoration as a way to construct their histories than this caption would fit
in.
Final Thoughts
A challenge I had with beginning to write these exhibit
captions was deciding on a main subject and action. The horn has so many names
on it and potentially all of these names tell a story. How to roll
commemoration in with it and make sure that the writing is relevant to the
mission of Independence Hall and the theme of building a new nation added more
challenges. Doing this in fifty words is definitely more difficult, and took
way more time, than I originally assumed.
To fit in with the mission of Independence Hall and the
other artifacts I tried to use Braddock as a way to link the colonial period
and the French and Indian War to the colonists beginning to view themselves as
somehow independent from Britain. This connection in combination with the ways
the Tempest’s engraved their own names on the horn provides a good platform to
think about how people commemorate the founding of the nation. One thing that
sets this particular artifact apart from the others is that specific
individuals initiated the commemorating on the Tempest Powder Horn. Most of the
artifacts were either mass produced, manufactured, purchased, or created for
profit.
Each caption places the Tempests, Braddock, and
commemoration in a particular relationship with slightly different
connotations. Right now I like Caption 3 because it give a sense of the family
and the generations that the horn lived through. Additionally, Caption 3
focuses on how, in addition to commemorating the colonial era, the alterations allowed
the family to create a legacy. For thinking about commemoration, this type of
active history making would be a useful conversation point.
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