By Gene Pisasale
Contributing Writer

“My deeds are dust in air… My words are ghosts of thought… I ride through the night alone, detached from the life that seemed… And the best I have felt or known… Is less than the least I dreamed.”  --Bayard Taylor, in the poem titled “The Ghosts of Night”

How many people are you aware of who have: 1) written dozens of popular books read widely around the nation, 2) travelled most of the known world and 3) been friends and exchanged letters with some of the most recognized names in American history? One local person did that and so much more. Yet, despite strong popularity during his time, he has largely faded from memory and is now almost unknown to the general public. That man was Bayard Taylor.

Bayard Taylor was born on January 11, 1825 in Kennett Square to a Quaker farming family. Named after Senator and Congressman James A. Bayard of Delaware, the boy was reading at age four and composing poetry at seven. 

After displaying little interest in farming, Bayard eventually became apprenticed to a local printer. Bayard’s first publication was a narrative of his visit to the Brandywine Battlefield, printed in the West Chester Register in 1840 when he was just 15. Persuading publishers of the Saturday Evening Post, the United States Gazette and Graham’s Magazine to fund a long-desired adventure, he set out in 1844 for a two-year walking tour of Europe, promising to send back narratives of his exploits to a nation eager to learn of foreign lands. His letters back home were printed and very popular with readers. They were later turned into his first book “Views A-foot, or Europe Seen with Knapsack and Staff.” The book was a hit, going through 24 editions in its first 13 years.

Taylor became acquainted and friends with numerous celebrities, including well-known authors and politicians. The list of people he exchanged letters with reads like a Who’s Who of America and includes Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Washington Irving, Commodore Matthew Perry and Mark Twain as well as Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Rutherford B. Hayes.

Taylor was extremely productive, writing dozens of books over the next 30 years, most detailing his travel to exotic places like the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as the rural backcountry of the American West, the latter of which was detailed in “Eldorado, or Adventures in the Path of Empire”, which was quite popular and one of his finest works. By 1860, he decided to settle down near his roots. He built his home called Cedarcroft outside Kennett Square. Attendees at his housewarming party included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Horace Greely, John Greenleaf Whittier and James Russell Lowell. He later started work on his ode to Chester County life with his third novel “The Story of Kennett,” published in 1866. Despite his fervent love of poetry which he hoped would be his legacy, this book would become by far his best-known work.

“The Story of Kennett” detailed life in Kennett Square in the late 1790s, highlighting the activities of Gilbert Potter, emotionally consumed and ashamed by his suspicion of being born out of wedlock, his family’s meager living on a farm and his seemingly unrequited love for a wealthy neighbor girl, Martha Deane. Introduced into the narrative is “Sandy Flash,” a character representing a real-life outlaw/highwayman named James Fitzpatrick who terrorized southern Chester County and vicinity after his desertion from the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. It is ironic that after writing dozens of poems detailing intense emotions and experiences in exotic places around the world (which he considered his finest works), a fictionalized outlaw would become Taylor’s most notable imprint on literature and local history.

In the decades following the publication of “The Story of Kennett,” Sandy Flash became embedded within local lore, his exploits seemingly multiplying with each narrative of his activities. The interesting thing is, he wasn’t around for long. Fitzpatrick’s robberies were fairly limited, occurring for only about one year, between 1777 and 1778. He was captured, then escaped and subsequently captured again and put on trial at the old Chester County Courthouse. Fitzpatrick was convicted and hung for his crimes. Local news reporters and others seemed to be mesmerized by his actions, each story printed from the late 1800s onward embellishing and romanticizing his ‘achievements’ as a modern Robin Hood. 

“The Story of Kennett” set the stage for this glorification of Fitzpatrick, with scenes depicting his almost superhuman ability to overpower and elude dozens of people sent out to capture him. In the novel, Flash frightened large groups of armed men into paralysis by simply pointing his pistol at them. Despite overwhelming odds, Flash always escaped unharmed, much to the astonishment of local citizens, the novel giving “larger-than-life” status to the outlaw. 

Over subsequent decades, the real-life Fitzpatrick was transformed into the fictional swashbuckling Sandy Flash in the minds of people around the area. It seems Fitzpatrick no longer existed—only the romanticized version survived. This transformation even spurred the creation of another book: “Sandy Flash, The Highwayman of Castle Rock” by Clifton Lisle. How many of his exploits occurred as described is left to the imaginations of readers of those books and people who viewed regional newspaper stories written well into the 20th century. 

The legend of Sandy Flash has an uncanny resemblance to that of a convict who escaped from the Chester County Prison in late August of 2023, a man who amazingly eluded large groups of law enforcement personnel positioned all around the area. Despite the efforts of as many as 500 men and women in law enforcement dedicated to pursuing him, Danelo Cavalcante avoided capture within the somewhat limited area of Chester County for 14 days while frightening local residents with his presence near their homes. At one point, he wandered within the confines of Longwood Gardens—which has security cameras around its perimeter—and managed to elude detection despite State Police and others unknowingly being in very close proximity. Finally, after an extensive manhunt utilizing an enormous number of law enforcement officials, he was taken into custody, allowing people to breathe easier again.

In an interesting twist, Taylor seemed to make his mark on literature and, in an offhand way, have a curious link to local events. Both Sandy Flash and Danelo Cavalcante avoided capture for what seemed an interminable amount of time, terrorizing citizens throughout Chester County as the drama unfolded around them. Dozens of newspaper articles written in recent years keep the legend of Sandy Flash alive. As the best-known citizen of Kennett Square, Taylor is memorialized in a beautiful cylindrical gravestone in Longwood Cemetery across from the Longwood Fire Station on Baltimore Pike. His home Cedarcroft was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark in 1971. If you want to learn more about Bayard Taylor, there is an excellent exhibit showcasing his books and personal items at the Christian Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford. Visit their website at https://sandersonmuseum.org. The new Kennett Library has the Bayard Taylor Room on its first floor dedicated to him, with three framed articles written by this author covering his life and many accomplishments.

Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square. His 11 books focus mostly on the history of the Chester County/mid-Atlantic region. Gene’s latest book is “Heritage of the Brandywine Valley”, showcasing the fascinating people, places and events of this region over more than 300 years. His books are available on his website at www.GenePisasale.com and also on www.Amazon.com. Gene can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].