Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
September 10, 1811
Primary Source Reference:
Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 56
Additional Source Text:
"The branches having the Leaf, Bud of the Blossom, with the nutmegs and their coverings &c."
Notes:
The illustration shows nutmeg fruit (top), dried mace (bottom left), and nutmeg seed (bottom right).
The donor, H. P. Fleischman, was a midshipman aboard the U.S. Navy’s frigate Chesapeake in June 1813 when it was captured by HMS Shannon in Boston Harbor. He was one of seven crew members cour-martialed in 1814 for their actions during the engagement. Fleischman, having assumed a false name in order to gain parole after the Chesapeake’s capture, pled guilty to imposition and unofficer-like conduct. He was convicted but “in consideration of his youth and inexperience” was sentenced to a mere public reprimand.
Specimen Type:
Dead/preserved
Current Common Name:
Fragrant nutmeg; true nutmeg
Current Scientific Name
Myristica fragrans
