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prosecution and false imprison- Robert Sparks member of Mechanic Fire Co No 26 / Killed at Battle
ment” and was awarded $12,000 of Gettysburg July 2nd 1863.”
in damages. His fire engine There was no Robert Sparks living in Philadelphia in the 1850s and
manufactory was flourishing, and 1860s but there was a Richard Sparks, a willow worker, who lived at
he began to acquire property. In 1441 Ridge Avenue according to the 1861 Philadelphia City Directory
1825 he commissioned John and at 1417 Brown (practically next door to the Mechanic Fire
Neagle to paint him at his forge, Company) in 1862 although by then Richard George Sparks had enlisted
not as a gentleman but as a in the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry, more commonly known as the
workman, a “mechanic.” The Philadelphia Fire Zouave Regiment. Sparks joined on August 10,
portrait, Pat Lyon at the Forge, 1861, for a three-year stint but was mortally wounded at the Battle
was finished in 1826 and placed of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, according to the muster rolls of the
on view to the public. Ultimately, Regiment. His rank at the time of death was Sergeant. His widow
Lyon sold it to the Boston Catherine applied for his pension (her application notes he was wounded
Athenaeum for $400. at the Battle of Gettysburg but died on July 6); they had three children.
Neagle did a second copy at Despite the wording on the hat, it is most likely that Richard was the
Lyon’s request which now hangs owner. The Battle of Gettysburg was a bloody one: 192 men were
in the Pennsylvania Academy of killed, 10 officers and 182 enlisted men. The regiment erected a
the Fine Arts. Lyon rescued his memorial in their honor on the battlefield.
reputation, and his story was well
known to those of the day as he
Pat Lyon at the Forge, John Neagle (American, Much of the biographical information on Pat Lyon and background information on
1796–1865), Oil on canvas succeeded in elevating the position his portrait is derived from: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/
of the worker. Lyon died in 1829
Henry H. and Zoe Oliver Sherman Fund, MFABoston digital-encyclopedia/article/patrick-lyon-1769-1829/
but his memory lived on. The
Mechanic Fire Company, established in 1839, chose this painting as its Special thanks to Lee Ryan for his genealogical help on unearthing more information
logo to be incorporated into its parade hats. about Robert Sparks.

Fire Hat Creation Carol W. Smith, the curator and archivist for The Philadelphia Contributionship,
Members of fire companies traditionally provided their own hats authored this article on the Mechanic Fire Company of Philadelphia’s parade
hat, a part of the firefighting collection of The Philadelphia Contributionship, the
purchased from the hatter of their choice. There are then subtle nation’s oldest property insurance company. More information about the company,
differences in the depictions of logos and the skills of the artists who its operations, history, and collections can be found at www.1752.com. The article was
painted them. In this case a paper label affixed to the inside of the later reprinted in the newsletter of the Fire Mark Circle of the Americas, a collectors’
crown identified the maker as James Hill, at 207 Callowhill Street. Hill organization comprised of those interested in the history of insurance, firefighting,
worked from this location from 1857-1861 when he moved to 531 and the artifacts of those industries. Members keep in touch via newsletters, emails
Callowhill Street. He is known for other equally elaborate hats including and annual conventions, this year in Indianapolis, Indiana. To learn more visit:
the Hibernia Fire Company hat that the Contributionship also owns. www.firemarkcircle.org
In the upper right-hand corner of this painting are the initials R.B.,
possibly those of the artist. There is a Robert Barclay painter listed in
the 1858 city directory at 705 Little Pine and a Robert Black painter
living in Richmond above Emory. Early fire hat, made by and bearing the label of
On the inside of the brim, written on the inside of the brim in G.G. Stambach of Philadelphia. Made of
green marker: “R. Sparks Killed at Battle of Gettysburg” and other pressed felt, like most of its kind, the imagery
illegible words. Written in pencil at top of crown “72nd Reg … and decoration appear primarily in sunfire red
and gold gilt paints on a black ground. In the
center of the front is an oval medallion bearing a
Additional Fire Company above in below which, in billowing streamers, are
beautifully executed portrait of Thomas Jefferson,
Hat Examples the words “Independence Hose Co.”
One the reverse, the letters “I.H.”
are painted in fanciful script, to
represent the name of the company,
while on the top of hat, the
initials of the owner, “W.C.W.”
appear within a shield-shaped
emblem. Gilt striping decorates the top
and bottom of the crown. The edge of the
brim is red, as-is its underside. photo: Jeff R Bridgman Antiques

This hat is from one of several volunteer fire-fighting
companies in pre-Civil War America. “It was kind
of a club, but you didn’t just get together as a
fraternity–you did something. You saved property,
you saved lives. You were heroes,” says Lynda Cain,
vice president and department head for American
furniture, folk and decorative arts at Freeman’s
Auction. “Fires were an everyday terror in 18th and
19th century America. Heating, cooking, and lighting
were all hazardous. Volunteer fire-fighters had
a hugely important role to play. The
company was a great melting pot.
You could have laborers, lawyers,
and doctors. You were selected by
ballot, and not everybody got in.”
In this other example from the Mechanic Fire Company, the This fire hat sold for $18,750 at
top of the hat shows another painting and the initials “C.H.L.” Freeman’s in 2017.
This hat sold for $27,500 in 2012 at a Christies Auction.
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