Steeped in rebellion and patriotism, the Annapolis Tea Party remains a pivotal moment in American history. In Bewitching Hannah, the historic Annapolis Tea Party has a magical connection to the novel’s characters and the event is highlighted in the story’s climax.
It was October 1774, and the Peggy Stewart brig arrived in Annapolis from London…loaded with tea. Since this was not the first time the owner, Anthony Stewart, had tried to import banned goods, he decided in order to unload the two thousand pounds of tea, he would pay the tax.
Colonial Annapolitans rushed into a rage and demanded Mr. Stewart be publicly punished by tarring and feathering him. They protested in front of his house, threatening his life and his family. A local committee of Maryland citizens decided the best course of action was to burn the Peggy Stewart and her cargo in the harbor.
The night of October 19th, 1774, several patriots including Charles Ridgely accompanied Mr. Stewart on board the brig. Mr. Stewart hesitated to touch his torch to the ship until Mr. Ridgely warned him that if he didn’t, his life would be in danger. The ship and her cargo burned and sank in the harbor, thereby entering the Annapolis Tea Party into the history books.
Eventually and in fear for his life, Mr. Stewart relocated to Nova Scotia, Canada. As for the ship, according to the Maryland Historical Society Library, the Peggy Stewart‘s remains lay beneath what is now Luce Hall at the U. S. Naval Academy.
In the excerpt below, Hannah, a reluctant sixteen-year-old witch, discusses her fear of October 19th—the date of the upcoming tea party reenactment.
EXCERPT
“I want to assume you found the trunk key I left for you, and you’ve been studying your father’s notes from the attic. If you’ve been up to anything more than that do not tell me,” Aunt J said.
“I have been reading his notes.”
“Good. Keep doing that, but you should know something else. Your father’s ring, the one on your hand—there is more to it than meets the eye. Your father was working on its secret before he died, but he never figured it out.”
“He always told me it held a secret and secrets would reveal themselves to me once I proved worthy.”
“That’s true, and I have a feeling you’re exactly the worthy kind of witch that ring deserves. You need to pick up where he left off. Uncover its secret. You might need it.”
I stared at the Fitzgerald crest, the weight of my heritage falling heavy on my shoulders. “The way you say it scares me.”
“You need to be scared.” She stared straight ahead, but her knuckles on the steering wheel paled white as she gripped it harder.
“How much time do you think I have?”
“I don’t know. Momentous events surrounding witches usually occur during planet alignments or natural disasters.”
I wasn’t clairvoyant like Mrs. Meier, so predicting a volcanic eruption or tidal wave was out of the question unless the date came to me in a fog-free dream. However, I wasn’t counting on that. I reached for my phone and Googled “upcoming astral events.” I scrolled through the list. My eyes nearly popped out of my head—one impending big, amazing, blood moon-slash-total lunar eclipse. With anxious fingers, I checked my phone calendar. The eclipse was occurring on October nineteenth, the night of the tea party re-enactment. I swallowed the lump in my throat and slipped the phone back in my pocket. Aunt J would be there with other members of the coven for the painting unveiling and everyone else in town for the re-enactment. I sighed, frustrated. “Can you drop me off at Mateo’s.”
“Mateo? We’re talking about your actual life, not your social life.”
“I promised him.”
She frowned. “If you prunus domestica to consider what I’ve told you.”
“I promise that, too.” We parked in front of Mateo’s house. I waved goodbye to Aunt J and dashed to the front door.
Summer greeted me with a huge smile. “Come in. I’m glad you’re okay.” Her gaze drifted to the cloudless blue sky. “Why do you look so damp and disheveled?”
I sighed, filled with frustration and stress. “Long story.”
“Mateo’s in the backyard. He’s been waiting to show you his stupid sacred treasures,” she said as if it wasn’t a big deal to anyone except Mateo. She pointed to the sliding glass doors. “He’s out there, but come back when you’re done.”
“Sure.”
Mateo, sitting at the sunny picnic bench in the middle of the yard, eyed me up and down. He set his small brush down. “You look like you got in a fight with a fish and the fish won.”
“Maybe I did.”
“Seriously?”
I shrugged. “Emme.”
“She doesn’t know when to quit, does she?”
“That’s for sure.”
He puttered around with a shell thingy. “So you gonna tell me exactly what happened after you left the beach by the cliff?”
I slid onto the bench opposite him. “Stupid really. Went to the pond, got distracted, and fell into a drainage ditch.”
He laughed. “I’m serious.”
“Me, too. Fortunately, I didn’t die there.”
“What had you so distracted you didn’t see the ditch?”
“Siris, my raven showed up.”
He looked up from cleaning. “I thought familiars were supposed to be helpful.”
“He was helpful. It was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“So what happened?”
I pressed my lips together, not sure how he would take the news. “That’s where William found me.”
BEWITCHING HANNAH
Being a witch is the last thing Hannah wants…
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What is a familiar or a familiar spirit? A familiar is a witch’s mascot; her supernatural spirit companion that takes the form of an animal, but an animal with its own magical powers. This special creature is a guardian and protector, lending support to its witch when needed and, if she is young, guiding her as she comes into her powers.
is a family connection. It is a spiritual partnership with a psychic connection. They are attuned to each other and possess a strong bond. They can communicate without words and interpret each other’s expressions, sounds, and motions. Familiars have an interest in magic-practices and assisting with them.
Here is a little from my paranormal fantasy for your reading pleasure.
We shop local and eat local, now it’s time to read local! There is a social trend of ‘local first’ movements spreading around our nation.
Reading local authors helps you learn amazing new things about the town you live in. When I wrote my second YA novel, Bewitching Hannah, historic downtown Annapolis inspired me. I wanted to highlight what makes my town unique with the hope of making it more of a destination than it already is. I included intriguing details about popular sights and historic houses as the settings where much of the action takes place. The feedback I received from my readers was that they wanted to visit these places. I created a literary tour for them that included all the sights I used in my novel. Here’s a link to the self-guided tour: 
In the 1400s, Henry de Grey, 4th Baron Grey of Codnor, and the fountainhead of the Grey family, was an avid alchemist, going so far as to garner the King’s permission to transmute mercury into precious metals. In 1478, the king appointed Henry de Grey as the Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was also a distant blood relation to Queen Jane Grey.
In 1530, Henry de Grey’s descendant, Lady Elizabeth Grey, the granddaughter of the witch Elizabeth Woodville, married the 9th Earl of Kildare, who was rumored to be a warlock. They produced a son, Gerald FitzGerald, the 11th Earl of Kildare, who is referenced in the poem above. He was commonly called the Wizard Earl for his fascination with alchemy, metallurgy, and ancient magic. He was also known to have magical powers, which allowed him to transform himself into a blackbird. The FitzGerald bloodline claims the magic from Áine, the Irish goddess of summer. She is associated with the Fitzgeralds through marriage to the 3rd Earl of Kildare
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Fitzgerald has always known she is descended from a royal legacy of dark magic. Although a stranger to her coven in Annapolis, she is no stranger to grief and denial. However, when an ancient prophecy reveals the rise of a young, powerful witch and the impending death of another, she realizes she can no longer afford to suppress the magic that has taken away so much. She seeks out the frighteningly scarred, yet mysterious W who is destined to change her life, but even he cannot prepare her for the danger that lies ahead.
I’m celebrating the release of BEWITCHING HANNAH! Share your Bewitching Hannah book selfie to win. 
Hannah and her quirky aunt attend a Chesapeake witches meeting at McDowell Hall (F) on St. John’s College campus. The exquisitely restored interior of McDowell Hall resembles a colonial meetinghouse, which creates an enchanting atmosphere for a coven gathering, wouldn’t you agree?
Charles Carroll House (H), situated behind St. Mary’s Church off Spa Creek, is the setting for the final climactic scene that begins with a celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Annapolis Tea Party. (Has anyone seen the The Burning of the Peggy Stewart on display at the State House? Yup–that tea party.) The coven prophecy calls for one young witch’s death…will it be Hannah’s? Under a spectacular blood moon lunar eclipse, Hannah discovers who her true enemy is at Charles Carroll House. She has to summon all her inner strength and magic, but she isn’t sure that will be enough to save herself and the ones she loves from her nefarious rival.
There is one stop outside of Annapolis that is worthy of a shoutout in Bewitching Hannah—Baltimore House at Riverdale Park. The reason this place is special is not because of the house, but rather the grounds. Several Calvert descendants are interred in the cemetery there and a few fictional witches from Annapolis take it upon themselves to unearth a Calvert family secret during their fiendish field trip. Click 
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Leigh Goff 