The Cypress Tree
Dublin Core
Title
The Cypress Tree
Subject
Historic trees--North Carolina--New Bern
New Bern (N.C.)--History
Description
Broadside, apparently published in 1929, reprinting an 1882 newspaper article detailing the history of the Cypress Tree in New Bern, N.C.
Creator
Whitford, John D. (John Dalton), 1825-1910
Source
New Bern-Craven County Public Library
Publisher
[Publisher not indicated, possibly New Bern Historical Society]
Date
1929-06-11?
1882-09-10
Contributor
R.A. Nunn Collection (#3.21)
Rights
This item is presented courtesy of the New Bern-Craven County Public Library for research and educational purposes. Prior permission from the New Bern-Craven County Public Library is required for any commercial use.
Format
jpg
Language
English
Type
Leaflets
Identifier
MS.3.21
Coverage
New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
THE CYPRESS TREE
BY
J. D. WHITFORD
Copied from New Bern Daily Journal, Sept. 10th, 1882
“We find before us a large Cypress Tree; it was originally the property of the Spaights. Historians fix the building of the first vessel in North Carolina in New Bern and it was under that tree, so said our fathers living in the Revolution who received the information from their fathers, and we think it can be taken as truth.
“Stern dweller” of the shore,
Two centuries thou canst count
And perhaps as many more.
This tree is on the margin of the Neuse, with its haughty crest lifted up above the elms and cedars on the street west of it. Under the shadow of its bows, amid the thunders of the Revolution, when gloom and darkness seemed to be encircling the American Army, Nathaniel Greene stood—the friend and associate of the elder Spaight—it was then Spaight’s tree.
Some years pass by, the smoke of the war rises, the echo of the last gun is hushed in the distance, liberty is assured, our country is free, George Washington stands beside that old tree.”
-----
From History of the Presbyterian Church of New Bern, N. C., by Rev. L. C. Vass
“A large cypress tree stands near an old wharf on the Neuse, on the premises of Mr. Samuel Smallwood, but originally the property of the Spaights. Under this monarch tradition says the first vessel in North Carolina was built. Under its shade have stood General Washington, Nathaniel Greene, during trying times to his command, John Wright Stanly, who lost fourteen vessels during the Revolution, the Spaights, Hon. Edward Everett, and many of the noblest of men.”
BY
J. D. WHITFORD
Copied from New Bern Daily Journal, Sept. 10th, 1882
“We find before us a large Cypress Tree; it was originally the property of the Spaights. Historians fix the building of the first vessel in North Carolina in New Bern and it was under that tree, so said our fathers living in the Revolution who received the information from their fathers, and we think it can be taken as truth.
“Stern dweller” of the shore,
Two centuries thou canst count
And perhaps as many more.
This tree is on the margin of the Neuse, with its haughty crest lifted up above the elms and cedars on the street west of it. Under the shadow of its bows, amid the thunders of the Revolution, when gloom and darkness seemed to be encircling the American Army, Nathaniel Greene stood—the friend and associate of the elder Spaight—it was then Spaight’s tree.
Some years pass by, the smoke of the war rises, the echo of the last gun is hushed in the distance, liberty is assured, our country is free, George Washington stands beside that old tree.”
-----
From History of the Presbyterian Church of New Bern, N. C., by Rev. L. C. Vass
“A large cypress tree stands near an old wharf on the Neuse, on the premises of Mr. Samuel Smallwood, but originally the property of the Spaights. Under this monarch tradition says the first vessel in North Carolina was built. Under its shade have stood General Washington, Nathaniel Greene, during trying times to his command, John Wright Stanly, who lost fourteen vessels during the Revolution, the Spaights, Hon. Edward Everett, and many of the noblest of men.”
Original Format
Leaflets
Envelopes
Collection
Citation
Whitford, John D. (John Dalton), 1825-1910, “The Cypress Tree,” Craven County Digital History, accessed September 29, 2024, https://kellenberger.mycprl.org/digital/items/show/751.