Privateer General Armstrong (I)

Actually, there were two privateers using this name.  One operating out of Charleston, S.C., and the other out of New York City.

By far, the more famous of the two was the one from New York

This is the other one.

GENERAL ARMSTRONG

Captain:  John Sinclair

Commissioned:  23 November 1812

Operated out of Charleston, S.C.

Owners:  Rensalaer Havens, Thomas Formar, Thomas Jenkins, John Sinclair, John Everingham Smith (New York owned)

Ship:  205 tons

Crew:  120 to 100

16 guns

Prizes:  3 (0)

--Brock-Perry

Privateer Governor Thompkins

GOVERNOR THOMKINS  (named for New York governor during the war and future U.S. vice president)

Captain:  Joseph Skinner, Lewis Smith, Nathaniel Shaler

Commissioned:  8 November 1813

Captured

Out of New York, N.Y.

Owners:  Charles Bulkeley, then Frederick Jenkins and lastly Nathaniel Shaler, Peter Schenck, Martin Brett and Christopher Deshon.

Schooner, 250 tons

Crew:  120  Later 140

14 and then 15 guns

21 Prizes  (5)

--Brock-Perry

Privateer Patriot

This was the ship carrying Theodosia Burr Alston when it disappeared.

From    Jhup books.press.  "American Privateers and Letters of Marque."

Lists the Patriot along with every American privateer during the war.

PATRIOT

Captain William Merrihew

Commissioned 16 October 1812

Lost at Sea 1813

Out of New York, N,Y,

Owner:  George Youle

Schooner, 75 tons

45 crew

3 guns

9 captures   (0)  I'm taking this to mean recaptures

--Brock-Perry

USS Constitution Hosting Daily Virtual Tours on Facebook Live

From the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Tester

Since the mighty warship has been closed to the public since March 14, the ship's crew is hosting daily tours at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

Cmdr. John Benda, the USS Constitution's 75th commander says, "The response has been  outstanding, and we've had people join us from all over the world."

During each virtual tour, the ship's active duty sailors take visitors throughout the ship and include several areas normally off limits to the general public.

At this time, no sailors attached to the Constitution have tested positive for COVID-19,

The Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat and participated in the Barbary wars and War of 1812 and actively defended sea lanes from 1797 to 1855.  During normal times, the sailors give free tours and information to  more than 600,000 people a year.

--Brock-Perry

Privateer Atlas

Captured along with the privateer Anaconda.

Captain:  David Maffet then Lemuel Hawley.

Commissioned  summer 1813

Captured 12 July 1813

Out of Philadelphia, Pa.

Owner:  Andrew Curcier

Schooner 240 tons

Crew 112, then 27

Guns:  13, then 10

Prizes:  3  (2)

--Brock-Perry

Craney Island, Virginia-- Part 5: Most Everything Gone

Continuing with George Wise's letter to his brother describing what happened to him at the Battle of Craney Island.

"They lost a good many men, which gives a little satisfaction.  I am quite out of doors.  I had but one shirt left and that on my back.  At one time I had but a pair of old shoes, one pair of trousers, upper and under jacket  and an old hat, but luckily for me some of the deserters that had took some of them brought them and I recovered three coats, several other pieces with one pair of sheets.  Ten (?) of my spoons and a few other things.

"Our country is compleatly ruined, every day is under arms and our crios are the worst I ever saw.  I will give you a small scetch at sum convenient time of them fight and action with the  gun boats and Frigates, being an eyewitness to the whole.

"My love to your family.  I hope to se you all yet, I am your affectionate brother, Geo. D. Wise."

Again, A Really Bad Day for George.  --Brock-Perry

Craney Island, Virginia-- Part 4: A Bad Day for George Wise

 On August 2, 1945, the old Norfolk-Ledger-Dispatch newspaper ran an interesting article about the Battle of Craney Island by well-known local historian Rev. W.H.T. Squires, D.D..  At the end, he mentioned a letter by George D. Wise, a farmer on Craney Island, describing the attack.  The letter was written on July 19, 1813, 27 days after the attack.

"Dear Brother: I am alive  and tolerably well. but stripped nearly of all.  I have my plantation laid waste by the English and by our own people.  They have taken the Island and my plantation overrun by the soldiers.

"The British made an attack on the island and landed at my house landing and destroying all at the house even to the ... and when they went to attack the island they threw a rocket  on the house where I lived and destroyed it, when they were driven back they commenced plunder.

"They got my sheep and nearly all of my hogs and part of my cattle.  They went so far as to burn down plows sand every other trifling thing."

A Real Bad Day for George.  --Brock-Perry

Craney Island, Virginia-- Part 3: The Battle of Craney Island

 During the War of 1812, it was the scene of the bloody Battle of Craney Island on June 22, 1813.

The British had launched a ground attack to retake the area and the state of Virginia and 1,500 British soldiers took part in the effort according to historian W.H.T. Squires.

In February 1813, a very impressive British squadron of ships showed up and sailed through the Virginia capes to blockade the Chesapeake Bay.  This greatly alarmed residents all through the area.  Fortifications were hastily thrown up.  Men from all over joined up, including mountain men from the western frontier came to offer their help.

The British had fifty barges, led by the 52-foot barge called the Centipede.  Within a short time, all the barges were sunk.  British losses were very heavy, but not one single American was lost, however one soldier  was killed by a careless sentry who tried to celebrate the victory by lighting up a pipe in the powder magazine.

General Robert Taylor and Captain Arthur Emmerson were heroes of the battle.  Taylor, of Norfolk, threw a floating barrier across the mouth of the Elizabeth River.  He ordered a fort to be built, and earth mounds to be dug for the attack on Craney Island.

Emmerson, of Portsmouth, formed a militia and became the captain of the Portsmouth Light Artillery Blues.  His group's artillery fire on the British was particularly devastating.

--Brock-Perry

Craney Island, Virginia-- Part 2: Quarantine Station, Fuel Depot and That Big War of 1812 Battle

 After the Civil War, the island belonged to several owners, including the city of Norfolk which used it as a place of confinement in the 1900s due to the many contagious diseases that occurred there.  Many suffering from small pox and yellow fever were quarantined there.

In the 1920s, the U.S. Shipping Board took over the island and built 18 huge fuel oil storage tanks.  Later, the board leased the island to a molasses company (hopefully they didn't use the fuel tanks to store the molasses.)

In the 1940s, ownership of the island passed to the U.S. Navy and a huge expansion took place due to the increased war demand for fuel, oil and gas.

Today, the island is overseen  by the Navy, which runs the fuel depot and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

But, the biggest military action took place at this island during the War of 1812.  It was the scene of the bloody June 22, 1813, Battle of Craney Island.

--Brock-Perry

Craney Island, Virginia-- Part 1: Origins of the Name and American Revolution and Civil War

 From the September 16, 2020, Virginia-Pilot (Norfolk) "Craney Island has stories to tell" by Robert Hitchings.

In the beginning, Norfolk and Portsmouth shared a small island in the Elizabeth River.  It was named after the birds who nested there.  The problem is that early colonists thought the birds were cranes, but they were actually  white and blue herrons, so it probably should have been called Heron island, but Craney Island stuck.

For years the island was used for primarily agricultural pursuits by farmers, but the Wise family actively raised cows and sheep on it.  Many fishermen used the site to dry their nets.

The island has a long and interesting history.  During the American Revolution, the British Army occupied it and were greatly plagued by smallpox.  During the Civil War, Craney Island became a safe haven for the many runaway slaves who poured into Norfolk after the city fell to Union forces in May 1862.

The biggest military action to occur on the island, however, came during the War of 1812, which I will write about in the next post.

--Brock-Perry

Possible Naval War of 1812 Artifact Found in New Mexico Sent to USS Constitution

From the Nov. 9, 2019, Santa Fe, New Mexican "Possible 1800s naval artifact found in Taos sent to Boston Museum" by Jesse Moya.

Robert Smith said he found a copy of "Grecian History" in a garbage bag ready to be thrown out and held on to it for some time before realizing that it might have survived a sea battle during the War of 1812.

One day he opened the cover and found that a sailor named Charles F. Waldo , who served on the USS Constitution during the war had written an inscription.  Smith later sold it to a close friend living in the Taos area for $200.  He got the book back after his friend's death.

Since then, Smith has been doing some research on the book and has donated it to the USS Constitution Museum in Boston.

--Brock-Perry

Action Around Apalachicola Bay, Florida, During the War-- Part 1

From the January 17, 2018, Times (Appalachicola and Carrabelle, Florida) "Apalachicola Bay and the War of 1812" by Robert Register and James Hargrove.

British preparation for the attack on New Orleans began at St. George Island (Florida) in May 1814, when Captain Henry Pigot of the Royal Navy anchored the HMS Orpheus in Apalachicola Bay, and Captain George Woodbine of the Royal Marines unloaded 2,000 muskets for delivery to the Creek Indians and escaped black slaves who were living along the Apalachicola River.

At the same time, the British Navy began their blockade of Mobile and New Orleans.

The British advance into Apalachicola Bay was part of a three-pronged British attack planned by Admiral Alexander Cochrane.

--Brock-Perry

Some More on Susanna Tucker Shanstrom

From a Standard History of Kansas.

JOHN A. SANDSTROM

He was born in Sweden March 3, 1842, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1852.  Susanna was his second wife.

John grew up in Iowa and later moved to Kansas where he had a large ranch.

On October 15, 1871, he married Susan Tucker of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, a daughter of John Tucker.  His mother was the sister of Robert Morris, a prominent Pennsylvania  merchant who financed the Continental government through the Revolution.

She was the youngest of eight children.

Among her brothers were three who served in the Union Army during the Civil War.

--Brock-Perry

Lt. John Tucker's Sword Offered at Auction

From Invaluable auction site.

Ross Auction Company in Chillicothe, Ohio, had his sword in Lot 208:  1810 Lt. John Tucker's  War of 1812 officer's sword.

It sold, but I couldn't log in.

This was from the Florence Shanstrom Barrett estate, so likely this is Susanna Tucker Shanstrom's father's sword that I was writing about in the last two posts.

It was estimated to bring $2,000 to $4,000.  Other family papers were also available to the purchaser.

--Brock-Perry

New York City's Blockhouse No. 1 in Central Park-- Part 3: Completed Two Days Before Treaty of Ghent Signed

 The fort consists of a two-story bunker surrounding a small area, inside which, a wooden platform would have originally stood. The wooden platform was sunken with a revolving turret for a cannon (not quite sure what this means).

The sides of it held small gunports.  The structure was likely connected to the ground by a small staircase.

Construction on the tower was completed December 22, 1814, , two days before the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war.

The second phase of its history involved it being used as an ammunition and storage building.  During this time, the top two feet of stone-work was completed.  The fort/blockhouse is noticeably different in color, composition and stonework.

Later at the turn of the 20th century, the current entrance and staircase were added, as was the tall flagpole at the center of the fort.

In 1905, it was described as standing 19 feet tall at the western wall and  having a base of 34 feet square.

Blockhouse No. 1 stands in North Woods at the northwest corner of Central Park, at a location that is still rugged, high and difficult to reach.  It is located south of North Crive and north of Huddlestone Arch.  It overlooks Harlem Meer (lake) and the Lasker Rink to the east.

Interesting Site to Visit.  --Brock-Perry

New York City's Blockhouse in Central Park-- Part 2: Originally Built By the British in the American Revolution

The Blockhouse was likely built on the foundation of a structure dating back to a much earlier date.  In 1776, during the American Revolution, British and Hessian troops  sealed off lower Manhattan from colonial armies by controlling the pass and defending it through a series of fortifications.

From trial excavations performed in 1995, it has been determined that the foundation of Blockhouse No. 1 date back to this time of British occupation of New York.

The current fort was constructed in three phases.

In the first phase, under the direction of General Joseph Gardner Swift, the fort was hastily constructed by New Yorkers during the War of 1812 in anticipation of a British invasion.  It was assembled by volunteers who brought the building materials with them, hence the red sandstone blocks included with the Manhattan schist.

--Brock-Perry

New York City's Blockhouse in Central Park-- Part 1: A Picturesque Ruin

Continued from August 30.

From Wikipedia.

The Blockhouse is the second oldest structure in New York City's Central Park after Cleopatra's Needle.  It is a small fort in the northern part of the fort and is located on a overlook of the Manhattan schist. (Manhattan schist is the bedrock that enables the tall buildings to stand. I didn't know that and had to look kit up.)  It has a clear view of the flat surrounding areas north of Central Park.

Finished in 1814, the fort was part of a series of fortifications in northern Manhattan, which originally included three fortifications in what was then Harlem Heights, now known as Morningside Heights.  The fortifications were built in fear of a British attack during the War of 1812 which never came.

The Blockhouse is the last surviving fortification from those defenses.

Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, designers of Central Park, decided Blockhouse No. 1 was a picturesque ruin, romantically overgrown with  vines and Alpine shrubbery.

--Brock-Perry

9-11 Was a Result of Events That Took Place Nearly 2000 Years Ago

 I was teaching at John T. Magee Middle School in Round Lake, Illinois, on September 11, 2001, when I was told by another teacher that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York City.

At that time, all my lesson plans for that day were suspended and we listened on the radio to the events as they transpired.  In between, I told the students about how this attack could be traced back to around 2,000 years ago when the Romans made the Jewish people leave their homeland in Israel and move elsewhere.

With the Jewish people gone, Palestinians moved into the land and it became an Arab country.  After World War II and the Nazi Holocaust, the world was so appalled by what had happened, that the country of Palestine was partitioned to give the Jewish people a homeland of their own.

This did not take into account the fact that Palestinians had lived there for all that time in between.  They and the other Arab countries around them fought back. The United States supported Israel and with that became an enemy of the Arab countries.

And that was why we had 9-11.

--Brock-Perry

The Day Word Came That Gen. Hull Surrendered Fort Detroit-- Part 3: Why Hull Surrendered the Fort?

Then, Tecumseh would have his warriors appear out in the open where the Americans could see them, then they would disappear into the forest, then to appear again in a different spot.  These tactics unnerved some of the American officers and especially William Hull.

Hull was past his prime as a field commander and despite his junior officers urging him to fight, decided to surrender.  This especially after British General Brock (the Brock in my sign-off "Brock-Perry) had told Hull that if it came to a fight between the two forces, that he couldn't guarantee American safety from his bloodthirsty Indian allies.

Some say that Hull had his daughter in the fort as well and that he greatly feared for her safety.

Either way, Hull surrendered Fort Detroit, which opened Lake Erie up to British control.  With it in their control, they also held sway over upstate New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

A year later, the war took a different course in September 1813, when a pivotal battle took place on the lake.  That battle's hero has something to do with the second half of my sign-off.

Covered in Next Post.  --Brock-Perry

The Disappearance of the Schooner Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston

I have been writing about the HMS Nimrod captured the French privateer Nouvelle Enterprise, which was taken into the British Navy as the HMS Venturer and afterwards the HMS Theodosia.

From the August 5, 2016, Mental Floss  "7 ships that disappeared without a trace" by Claire Cock-Starkey.  Also from the North Carolina Shipwrecks February 9, 2012, Schooner Patriot  and tye mystery of Theodosia Burr Alston."

Also August 13, 2018 History.com  "Wreckers scavenged a living by snatching shipwrecks' loot" by Hadley Meares.  How Nags Head got name.  Also Bermuda Triangle Central  The Patriot

The Patriot:  The Disappearance of Theodosia Burr Alston. (1783-1813)
--Brock-Perry

The Day Word Came That Gen. Hull Had Surrendered Fort Detroit-- Part 2: Indian Allies

Historian Alan Taylor doubts that the Indians would have attacked Pittsburgh, but other historians disagree.  Andrew E. Masich says that the Indians were led by a chief named Tecumseh who led Delaware, Huron and Wyandot warriors whose land had been taken by insatiable white settlers.

They found a good ally in the British who were quick to enlist their help, arm them and treat them with respect. The British commander in Canada was Isaac Brock who hit it off with Tecumseh, regarding him as a noble Indian and a man of great genius.

Against William Hull at Fort Detroit, Brock and Tecumseh's men were greatly outnumbered by the Americans who had nearly twice their number.  They made the Americans think they were the ones vastly outnumbered.  One ploy was to have soldiers and Indians each light a campfire instead of a mess where just one fire would be lit for many men.  Americans peering over the fort's walls saw many campfires around them and were led to believe that they were the ones outnumbered.

--Brock-Perry

The Day Word Came That Gen. Hull Had Surrendered Detroit-- Part 1: Pittsburgh in Fear

 From the August 22, 2020, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Marylynne Pitz.

Three months into the War of 1812, word came that William Hull, an American revolution veteran, governor of Michigan Territory and commander of the North West American Army had surrendered the strategic Fort Detroit to British General Isaac Brock (that's the Brock part of my sign-off).

A postal rider from Warren, Ohio, delivered the news to Pittsburgh.  More than 200 years ago, the Pittsburgh Gazette, a predecessor of this paper, published the story on August 23, 1812, "with heartfelt regret."

Located 300 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Fort Detroit  connected to western Pennsylvania by Indian trails.

Pittsburgh was greatly alarmed because of the British Indian allies who would begin raiding into Ohio with Fort Detroit out of the way.  And, from there, Pittsburgh would be a definite target.

One of today's historians, however, believes that wasn't true.  Alan Taylor says Indian raids at the time did not extend very far east or south.

--Brock-Perry

Seven Things You Didn't Know About New York's Central Park-- Part 5: Seneca Village

7.  One of the first African American communities in the city was razed in order  to create Central Park.

About three decades before the creation of the park, the area  was home to Seneca Village, a small community founded by free black property owners, one of the first ones in New York City.

It had three churches and a school and stretched between West 83rd and 89th streets.  By the 1840s, German and Irish immigrants moved to the area, making it one of the few integrated areas of the time.

In 1853, the city took possession of the area through eminent domain and destroyed Seneca Village to make way for Central Park.  The history of the village was largely ignored until 2011, when historians and archaeologists from the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village excavated six areas within the former village.

They found thousands of artifacts, including household items that revealed signs of middle-class life.  Last year, the central Park Conservancy  launched an outdoor exhibit to teach visitors about Seneca Village.

--Brock-Perry

Seven Things You Didn't Know About New York's Central Park-- Part 4: The Whisper Bench and the Surveyor Bolt

5.  The park is home to the "Whisper Bench" in Shakespeare Garden.  It is similar to the whispering walls of Grand Central.  It is named in honor of Charles B. Stover, a park advocate and co-founder  of the University Settlement.  It is a curved  granite bench that can be found in the four-acre Shakespeare Garden.

If you sit at one end and whisper , the sound travels to the other side, creating a way to share secrets, even in this age of social distancing.

6.  There is a surveyor bolt put in place by the mastermind of the Manhattan Grid that remains unmarked. 

John Randel Jr., the chief surveyor who designed the Manhattan street grid more than 200 years ago, traversed the city  for about a decade to mark nearly 1,000 future intersections.  Randel and his team were not exactly loved by New Yorkers at the time and some destroyed his markers, set their dogs after him and even threw vegetables at him.

Only one of his many bolts has been found at a location originally marked as Sixth Avenue and 65th Street but is now a part of Central Park.  Embedded in a rock on the southern end of the park, the bolt's location remains unmarked in order to preserve it, as well as create a treasure hunt for history and city planning buffs.

--Brock-Perry