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Stephen Pleasanton was a man who had absolutely no maritime experience. However, from 1820 to 1852 he was the man in charge of America’s lighthouses.
Pleasanton was a civil service employee who worked his way up to the position of Fifth Auditor of the U.S. Treasury, a position at the time which was also responsible for overseeing all the aids to navigation in the United States of America.
However, the responsibilities of the fifth auditor were great and widespread with lighthouses being just a small part of his responsibilities. Pleasanton acted as the Chief Superintendent of Lights and appointed Collectors of Customs in each district to be regional superintendents.
History has shown that Pleasonton was a “tight-wad” and at times he even boasted of how he was able to return money to the treasury that he been allotted to spend, and how he ran the lighthouse service using much less money than other countries spent. He thought this was a good thing, when in fact his penny pinching actually caused many more problems than good.
Public outcry and various studies and reports finally put a stop to Pleasonton’s way of running things and in 1852 Congress created a nine-member U.S. Lighthouse Board to run our nations lighthouses, ending the 32-year rule of Stephen Pleasanton.
Although he was an honest man, lighthouse historians have not dealt favorably with Pleasanton. More than likely without him at the helm of our nation’s lighthouses, we would have developed into a stronger maritime nation much faster.
However, most historians and even educators have forgotten what a vital role Pleasanton played as a young government clerk in the turbulent days of the War of 1812.
For in fact it was decisive action by Stephen Pleasonton that saved most of America’s valuable historical documents.
In August of 1814 Secretary of State James Monroe rode by horseback to observe the landing of British troops along the Patuxent River in Maryland. Monroe realized the nation’s capital was in imminent danger and hastily sent a hand-written note back to his senior clerk, Stephen Pleasonton, with instructions to secure as many valuable documents as quickly as possible and remove them from the capital.
Pleasonton received the message and hurriedly ran out and purchased coarse, durable linen, which he and other clerks cut up into bags. Together they stuffed into those bags as many historic documents and books as they could find, including the correspondence of George Washington, which included the historic letter of Washington’s resignation as General.
As they worked in the passageway of the War Department, the Secretary of War, John Armstrong Jr., passed by and gave Pleasonton and the others, what might have been interpreted as a direct order to stop doing what they were doing, with Armstrong stating that the British would not destroy Washington. Pleasonton reportedly replied at once that he felt differently. Exactly what words were said will never be known, but reports indicate Armstrong walked off in a huff.
Pleasonton loaded the bags in wagons that he borrowed and drove them to an abandoned mill for safekeeping. However, soon realizing that the mill was opposite a munitions factory, he decided to move the documents again. He then drove 35 miles to Leesburg, Virginia where he found an empty farmhouse where he placed the documents and secured the building. In the meantime, the sky behind him was glowing from the fires set by British troops. Washington, D.C. was burning.
Pleasonton had saved America’s most valuable documents.
Among the many valuable documents inside those linen bags were the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States of America.
A man who would later run our nation’s lighthouses for 32 years had saved America’s most valued historical documents.
This story appeared in the July 2001 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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