Images(2)

Aera Furnace Fireback

Dateca.1778-1780

Artist/Maker Aera Furnace

Artist/Maker William Hill & Isaac Hayne

OriginAmerica, South Carolina, York County

MediumCast iron

DimensionsHeight: 24 1/4"; Width: 23 1/8"; Thickness: 1"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1999-212

DescriptionAngular tombstone-shaped fireback cast with a miter-jointed molded edge surrounding a relief inscription reading "LIBERTY OR DEATH over "AERA FURNACE." The date "17" and "78" flanks the inscription and fills the top corners, with the initials of the ironmasters "WH" and "IH" below.Label TextOperating along the Great Wagon Road, Aera Furnace was run during the Revolutionary War by two Officers of the South Carolina Militia, both of whose initials appear on this fireback. The manufactory employed a large, enslaved workforce, making Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" quote a blatantly ironic choice for this fireback’s motto.

Since Aera also produced military wares like cannons and cannon shot, the British took note once they arrived in the Back Country as combat operations moved north from Charleston. After destroying the furnace in June of 1781, the British captured Isaac Hayne, one of the partners, the following month. Though released, Hayne broke his parole and was captured once again. For his crime the British tried him in Charleston, and executed him by hanging on August 4, 1781.ProvenanceThis fireback was found in Charleston, South Carolina in the early 1990s.