Davenport Baby Shoes
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Not on View
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This pair of baby booties is said to have been made from a captured British redcoat for James Davenport and Esther Mellish’s first child. During his teenage years, James was a shoemaker’s apprentice before he enlisted in the Continental Army in 1776. As sergeant in the 8th Massachusetts Regiment, Davenport fought in the battles of Saratoga and Monmouth, and camped at Valley Forge. James’s letters written during his service reveal his weariness with the war and his desperation to maintain relationships with friends and family. After witnessing the surrender of the British Army at Yorktown in 1781, he returned home to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1783 and married Esther Mellish. The couple had 11 children together.
Object Details
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Shoes
Unidentified Maker
Massachusetts
1784-1789
Wool, Leather, Silk
Museum of the American Revolution, Gift of James B. Richardson III
2015.08.0003a,b
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