William Thornton Re-examined by Bob Arnebeck

The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck   Table of Contents I am revising this chapter.  Sir Archy, an engraving of Tayloe's most famous horse In April 1797, Mr. Tayloe of Virginia rode into the city. The 26 year old head of the richest family in Virginia, as measured by land, slaves, horses, ship building and iron furnaces, had either challenged or accepted a challenge from 36 year old Charles Conan Ridgely for a match race on April 18 for 500 Guineas or $2,600. By tradition, match races were held at a spot equidistant between the opponents. Ridgely's estate was just north of Baltimore and Tayloe's estate, Mount Airy, was just north of Richmond. Nicholson's hotelier Tunnicliff, late from England, prepared a race course near the Capitol where four mile heats could have a convenient start and finish, and conform to the rules of the Annapolis Jockey Club. Two more days of racing would follow with a ...

  The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Table of Contents I am revising this chapter  Chapter Seven: Thornton v. Hadfield 84. Hadfield's simplification of the 1793 Conference Plan In Thornton's papers in the Library of Congress, there are drafts of two long letters attacking Hadfield as an architect. Thornton made a fair copy of the November 1795 letter. The president replied in such a stern way that Thornton never sent him another letter raising issues about the Capitol design. A June 1798 letter drafted after Hadfield was fired was never sent. It was evidently meant to guide President Adams' secretary of state as he responded to Hadfield's demand for an investigation. Thornton's draft described events that occurred in 1795 and 1796 and suggests how he substituted his design for Hallet's. However, the letter that was never sent described events that never happened. In 1798, Thornton cla...