behavior yet, in an incident which garnished him lasting fame—or infamy. The day before, he had led a crowd to burn a large pile of books; this day he called them to throw their expensive and fancy clothing onto the fire, so as to prove their full commitment to God. Davenport—leading by example—removed his pants and cast them into the bonfire. One woman in the crowd quickly grabbed his pants out of the blaze, and handed them back to Davenport, entreating him to get a hold of himself. "This act broke Davenport's spell," wrote historian Thomas Kidd. Davenport had gone too far, charisma or no, and the crowd quickly dispersed. After the bonfire ended, Davenport was charged with "having the devil in him", and he replied, "He tho't so too", and added "that he was under the Influence of an evil Spirit, and that God had left him" (49) According to the Boston Weekly Post Boy of 28 March 1743, Davenport had exhibited signs of physical distress along with his unorthodox behavior, symptoms that at the time would have been interpreted as evidence of demonic possession. In 1744, after publicly acknowledging his missteps and apologizing to ministers around the colony, Davenport published a letter titled, "Confession and Retraction," appearing in pamphlets and in and in newspapers, including the publication Christian History. The letter claimed he had "fallen into the snare of the devil," confessing to being led astray by impulses and the "false spirit," and spoke of a desire to distinguish the “Appendage from the Substance or Essence, that which is vile and odious from that which is precious, glorious, and divine” (Davenport). Later life In the late 1740s and 50s, Davenport struggled to reposition himself in the clerical mainstream. It was hard for him to convince his fellow ministers that he could be taken seriously after being judged insane by two tribunals in Connecticut and Massachusetts in 1742. Moving to Plainfield Connecticut in 1744 as a supply minister proved difficult, as he departed in 1745, unable to find support from the Old and New Lights of the area, receiving criticism from both sides. In 1749 the New York Synod appointed him to a committee that assigned visiting clerics to northern colonies. Though his career saw improvements in 1750 as a minister in Hanover, Virginia, his preaching differed from that of his earlier sermons—less fiery, less experimental, and without song.