History: Lightning strike on Sussex courthouse 'melted buttons off their clothes'

“Perhaps this was the most awful scene I have ever witnessed,” Sussex County native William Morgan wrote nearly four decades after the 1805 lightning strike on the Georgetown courthouse.

“[Dr. Jacob] Wolfe and two or three others were set on fire, buttons melted off their clothes … watch cases and silver dollars melted in lumps in their pockets; their clothes torn into ribbon or strings. To hear those groaning that were not dead, or see them gasping for breath, black as if burned with powder, and the strong smell of sulphur was truly appalling to all who beheld them.”

In the first half of the 19th century, William Morgan (no relation to the author) worked as a farmer, carpenter, store keeper, medical doctor and Methodist preacher. His wide experience made him an astute observer of southern Delaware life and politics.

Maryland Woman of Year honoree: Meet Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, the Maryland honoree for Women of the Year

Southern Delaware politics were maritime vs. agrarian interests

In 1805, the political divisions in Sussex County were wide and deep. During colonial times, residents of Sussex County were loosely grouped into political factions that pitted the maritime interests of Lewes and other coastal communities against the agrarian outlook of the interior of the county.

Following the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson championed farmers, small government and strict interpretation of the new Federal Constitution. Followers of Jefferson, including many of the farmers of the inland areas of southern Delaware, coalesced into the Democratic-Republican party, whose members were often referred to by some as “Democrats” and by others as “Republicans.”

On the other hand, those in the coastal region were followers of John Adams and the Federalist party, which promoted a loose interpretation of the Constitution and an active government that protected the growing mercantile interests of the United States.

DELAWARE HISTORY: The infamous 'log cabin and hard cider' campaign of WIlliam Henry Harrison

Bitter rivalry led to infamous Hamilton-Burr duel

The bitter rivalry between the two parties led to raucous elections and violence. A political feud between Federalist Alexander Hamilton, who had been Secretary of the Treasury, and Democrat Aaron Burr, the current vice president, had been simmering for years. On July 11, 1804, Burr shot and killed Hamilton in a duel.

In Delaware, the Federalist had a “holier than thou” attitude that rankled some Sussex County residents. According to Morgan, “To many of them … made a high and loud profession of religion in the Methodist church and then to see them so hot in politics, traducing and impugning the character and motives of others and making so much disturbance in church and state.”

Some feared for their lives at the hands of their political opponents. In July 1805, as Dr. Wolfe was leaving for the Federalist meeting at Georgetown, he told his wife, “I may never see you again for the Democrats will murder me today.”

As Wolfe and the Federalists gathered on the second floor of the courthouse, a fierce thunderstorm rolled over Georgetown. When Thomas Laws offered a motion that Dr. Wolfe be named chairman of the meeting, lightning struck the cupola of the courthouse and sent a charge of electricity coursing through the ironwork of the building.

The roof, rafters, windows, shutters and walls of the front of the building were shattered and splintered. On the second floor, a dozen people, including Dr. Wolfe, who sat on the bench with their backs pressed against the wall that was struck by the lightning bolt, were thrown to the floor.

At first, all 12 were feared dead; but most were revived. Dr. Wolfe, however, was dead. It was not the Democrats nor divine retribution, but Mother Nature, had killed the Federalist, Dr. Jacob Wolfe.

Who wins the Coastys: Who wins the Coastys? The awards recognize major impacts of minor players on our coast

Principal sources

Harold Hancock, “William Morgan’s Autobiography and Diary: Life in Sussex County, 1780-1857,” Delaware History, Vol. 19, No. 1, Spring-Summer 1980, pp. 50-52.

John R. Kern, “The Election Riots of 1787 in Sussex County, Delaware,” Delaware History, Vol. XXII, #4, Fall-Winter, 1987, p. 241.

Virginia Argus (Richmond, Virginia), July 31, 1805.

Portland Gazette and Maine Advertiser, Aug. 5, 1805.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: History: The lightning bolt that killed prominent Delaware Federalist