17
Turn of the century silver service
In 1907, North Carolina’s General Assembly approved the purchase
of a 122-piece sterling silver presentation set that included
punch bowl, tea, water, wine and cigar services as well as plates and
finger bowls, inventory information documents.
Navy men were considered diplomats, and other nations had
silver on their ships for entertaining. Often, silver was presented
to U.S. Navy ships named for states or cities, and the public raised
money to pay for it.
“Those people felt that the ship named after their state was their
ship,” Langrock says. “And what made every one of those ships
stand out from the others was, and still is, that the silver service
represented various aspects of that home state.”
Majestic American eagles, patriotic flags and sea shells adorn the
Clockwise from top left: Punchbowl with electrified
candelabras. The state seal of North Carolina on the sugar
bowl. One of the crystal wine decanters, missing the topper.
The match holder’s base has three niches for cigarettes
and is supported by three fish-shaped legs. Opposite page:
Standing tea kettle has the State seal and Navy Department
seal with cotton boll accents on opposite sides; rope border
on lip, encircling both seals.
pieces, primarily the set’s prized punch bowl.
North Carolina state legislative records show the General
Assembly appropriated $5,000 for its silver service for the USS
North Carolina armored cruiser. A committee then sought to raise
another $5,000 from the public — in donations of $10 to $25.
Former state legislator Martin Stevenson Willard of New
Hanover County was among about 300 prominent citizens contacted
for a donation.
Willard’s son, Emerson Willard of Wilmington, found the letter
sent to his father in 1907 by a chairman of the Battleship North
Carolina Silver Service Committee that appealed for the donation,
stating, “We assure you that our efforts are energetic to make the
gift worthy of our great State and of the New Navy.”
North Carolina got its silver, and the USS North Carolina was
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM