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ARCTIC INDIAN MITTENS – COLLECTED 1866 – 1882 BY
CAPT. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN REYNOLDS, USN – WELL KNOWN 19TH
CENTURY ENGINEER, EXPLORER, & NAVIGATOR –
PARTICIPANT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE USS MONITOR:
This pair of 19TH
Century Arctic Indian Mittens was originally collected
by Captain Benjamin Franklin Reynolds, US Navy, during
one of his expeditions into the Arctic Seas. Often
overshadowed by the post-Civil War western expansion
onto American Frontier, the last half of the 19TH
Century was also an era of notable explorations into the
yet uncharted and unknown regions of the earth – the
Arctic being one of the primary focal points of these
efforts.
Purchased at a 1983 sale of the property from “John
Brown’s Cave”, a small private museum in Nebraska City,
Nebraska – probably the least likely place one would
expect to find an Arctic Expedition relic – the
acquisition of these mittens prompted me to research the
fascinating life and accomplishments of Captain
Reynolds.
Captain Benjamin Franklin Reynolds, a well known
engineer, explorer and navigator – who was commonly
known and entered into official records as “Frank” - was
born in Mansfield, Connecticut on January 29, 1833.
Reynolds had 11 siblings, many of whom were involved in
engineering, and in 1859 an older brother, George H.,
became the chief draughtsman at the Delamater Iron Works
of Brooklyn, New York, where John Ericsson would soon
begin construction of the famous U.S.S. Monitor. George
Reynolds, known as one of the nation’s preeminent
mechanical engineers, was a friend of John Ericsson and
in fact, it was George Reynolds who invented, and built
the engine that powered the Monitor.
The 1860 Census for Brooklyn, New York listed George
Reynolds as the head of household and recorded his
brother “Frank” as residing in the same household,
listing Frank’s occupation as engineer. In an October
15, 1899 edition of the Omaha World Herald
newspaper, Frank Reynolds stated he assisted in the
construction of the Monitor. Given that he was living
with his brother at the time and he was an engineer, it
is quite certain that Frank was given a job at the
Delamater Iron Works by his brother, and that Frank was
assigned to work on the Monitor during its construction
in 1862.
In the same 1899 article, Frank Reynolds also reported
that he served on the crew that sailed the Monitor from
the shipyards in New York down the coast to Fortress
Monroe, Hampton Roads, Virginia, where the Monitor was
joined by her permanent crew.
Reynolds subsequently joined the US Navy, serving for
the duration of the Civil War aboard the ironclads
“Dawn” and “Roanoke” and attaining the rank of Captain.
In 1866 Reynolds departed New York on his first Arctic
expedition, a whaling venture that was also charged with
attempting to locate the ill-fated Sir John Franklin
Expedition and in the course of that voyage some relics
of the Franklin party were recovered. The 1845 Franklin
Expedition had disappeared into the Arctic and by 1850
the general opinion held that the crew had succumbed.
During the 1850’s through the 1880’s several expeditions
were launched to search for survivors without result,
and in 1880 a US Army expedition was sent to find the
expedition records. In 1872, Reynolds joined an
expedition to the South Pole and the seas surrounding
Antarctica in the employ of the United States Fur
Company.
Reynolds made his second expedition to the Arctic-North
Polar region in 1881. He probably acquired this pair of
mittens during this second expedition - the date used on
the museum display card described below being in error.
The second expedition resulted in Reynolds’ ship being
caught in an ice floe and destroyed, and Reynolds and
the crew had to take refuge at the government station at
Point Barrow (Alaska). Having lost most of their
personal possessions with the ship, Reynolds related the
men were outfitted in native clothing, and I suspect
this is where these mittens originated. Being a
keepsake of that rescue, the mittens would have been
special to Reynolds and it makes sense that he would
have retained them in his personal lifelong collection
of artifacts.
Reynolds’ collection was described in some detail in a
news article printed in the Omaha World Herald,
July 8, 1894 and from the description of the contents of
the collection, Reynolds maintained many artifacts he
collected on these earlier expeditions, to include
pieces of native equipment and clothing.
Having retired from the sea after this last ill fated
voyage, Reynolds returned to engineering work and in
1885 he took employment as the chief engineer at the
Florence Water Works being constructed near Omaha,
Nebraska. Reynolds remained in that post until his
death in 1905 at the age of 72. Reynolds’ residence in
Nebraska until his death explains how this pair of
mittens came to rest in a museum so far from any
seafaring center.
These adult sized mittens, measuring 10 ˝” long and 5”
wide, are made of what appears to be native tanned hide
– most likely seal or walrus. The leather is stiff with
age as is to be expected, but they are in excellent
condition. The mittens retain their full form with no
loss of leather surface, all the welted and finely sewn
seams are intact, and each mitten is fitted with a
fabric liner.
Acquired with the mittens at the time of the museum
sale, is a hand lettered display card bearing “ALASKA
INDIAN’S FISHING MITTENS PRESENTED BY PROF. DAWSON
COLLINS” within a blue and gold decorative border.
On the opposite side of the card, written lightly in
pencil in period script is the inscription,
“Brought by Capt. Reynolds of the Omaha Water Works at
Florence, Neb when in command of the Government
Expedition to the Artic Sea in 1859-60.” I was
not able to identify Prof. Dawson Collins, but it is
apparent that Dawson obtained the mittens from Reynolds
and subsequently donated the mittens to the John Brown
Cave Museum. The pencil inscription is legible to the
naked eye, but due to the tone of the back of the card,
and the minimal contrast with the pencil lead, this
inscription was very difficult to photograph as can be
seen below. The inscription does read as it is recorded
above in this paragraph.
Provided with the mittens to the new owner is a
considerable amount of research which fills a 1” thick
binder that includes: US Census records which reflect
the residences of Benjamin F. Reynolds; photocopies of
period news articles about the Reynolds’ family, Capt.
Benjamin F. Reynolds, and the USS Monitor; an original
printing of the Connecticut Magazine article “In
Unknown Southern Seas – Being the story told by Captain
Frank Reynolds who sailed from New London, Conn. …in
1872”; a copy of Reynolds’ death certificate, his
obituary, and funeral service records, and a photograph
of his tombstone.
Artifacts identified to any of the early Arctic
Explorers are by their very nature, and the environment
in which they were used, very rare items in today’s
collectors market. This pair of mittens not only has
survived the passage of time in excellent condition, but
is identified to a respected explorer who also is
associated with the construction of the U.S.S. Monitor.
This is a very long description, however an
understanding of the full depth of Reynolds’
accomplishments and historical associations is necessary
in order to appreciate the significance of these relics.
These mittens will be a notable addition to any nautical
or explorer related collection. $450
Historical Note of Interest: The U.S.S.
Monitor was the first warship to have flush toilets.
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