Port Tobacco to send him a model of it from the convent there. A large doll, fully dressed in the habit of the Order, was forwarded to the Bishop. This convent at Port Tobacco was a Carmelite house, so while the costume adopted provisionally at this time was Carmelite, it was changed by the Bishop; the white bandeau of the Teresian Carmelites was replaced with the black, and in this respect, at least, the Georgetown sisters were able to conform to Visitation requirements. Having gained this much, the Bishop, undismayed by those doubts and tremors which beset even some of his loyal co-workers, resolved to admit the sisters to simple vows. This was done on the feast of St. Francis de Sales, January 29, 1814. The secluded life of this community, with its constant, patient, obscure struggles and peaceful joys, was threatened with destruction by the war of 1812 and in 1814, when a formidable movement was begun against the Capital city by Cockburn and General Ross, and the battle of Bladensburg was fought. The sisters were greatly alarmed by the rapid advance of the enemy and the burning of the Capitol, which they witnessed from the upper windows of their monastery. They, however, were spared. In 181 5 Archbishop Carrol died at the age of eighty years, and Bishop Neale succeeded him in his high office, becoming the Archbishop of Baltimore. The Archbishop received authority for the admission of his beloved sisters to solemn vows, and the date he fixed upon was the Feast of Holy Innocents, December 28, which was the one hundred and ninety-fourth anniversary of the death of St. Francis de Sales. The three who were chosen for admission first were the oldest members, Alice Lalor, Mrs. McDermott, and Henrietta Brent, who were known, the first as Sister Teresa, Sister Frances, and Sister Agnes, Sister Teresa (Alice Lalor) was appointed Superior; Sister Frances (Mrs. McDermott), the second assistant, and Sister Agnes (Henrietta Brent) Mistress of Novices.
