Henry Armistead

In 1844, numerous newspapers reported the death of President John Tyler’s enslaved servant, referred to in various accounts as “Henry” or “Armistead.” Read about him in an article from the White House Historical Association, excerpted below.

“…There is another documented enslaved individual—President Tyler’s valet—though there is some confusion over his actual name. Contemporary accounts refer to him as either “Armistead” or “Henry”; another possibility may be that his name was actually Henry Armistead. Regardless, he appears in the news as one of the six victims of the tragic explosion aboard the USS Princeton on February 28, 1844. New Jersey Congressman George Sykes, who was on board the Princeton, described him as “the president’s servant…a stout black man about 23 or 24 years old and lived about an hour after” the accident. While Sykes doesn’t give a name, he did mention that “the blackman’s” coffin was made of cherry, and “the president’s servant was buried by the coloured persons—and his relations—the next day.” [1]

[1] Costello, Matthew. “The Enslaved Households of President John Tyler,” White House Historical Association, 3 Jan. 2020, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-households-of-president-john-tyler.