Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Enterprise-Boxer Battle-- Part 1

Continued from the Maine Historical Society.

To commemorate the bicentennial of this historic battle,  the Maine Historical Society on conjunction with Portland Landmarks, Spirit Alive and the City of Portland will host a series of events starting Tuesday , September 3, 2013, through Saturday, September 7.  

In addition to the exhibit, "Thundered Over Tide:  200th Anniversary of the Battle of  the Boxer & the Enterprise," will be exhibited at MHS from August 31st through October 25, 2013.

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PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

SEPTEMBER 3

The Navy in the War of 1812:  A Dual  Book Talk: on  September 3 from noon to 1 pm.  Authors  George Daughan "1812:  The Navy's War" and George Emery "In Their Own Words:  The Navy Fights the War of 1812" will discuss their books in context with the Battle Between the Boxer and Enterprise.

SEPTEMBER 4

The War of 1812 Historian's Round Table Wednesday, September 4 from 6 to 8 pm.

SEPTEMBER 5

Graveside Memorial Service Honoring Capt. Burrows, Capt. Blyth and Lt.  Kervin Waters on Thursday, September 5 at Eastern Cemetery, Portland.

And, More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

Battle of the Enterprise and Boxer: Their Captains Both Killed, Buried Next to Each Other in Portland

From the Maine Historical Society "200th anniversary  of the Battle  of the Boxer & the Enterprise"

On September 5, 1813,  the HMS Boxer and USS Enterprise engaged in a naval battle off the coast of Monhegan, Maine, during the War of 1812.  This battle between two fairly evenly matched ships embodied a level of honor and respect not seen in modern warfare.

Both Captain William Burrows of the USS Enterprise and Capt. Samuel Blyth of the HMS Boxer were struck down early in the fighting and neither survived this legendary battle.  After a grueling exchange, the Boxer was forced to surrender and the Enterprise towed  her prize into Portland, Maine, as witnessed by Captain Lemuel Moody from the Portland Observatory on Munjoy Hill.

The City of Portland paid its respects not only for the fallen Capt. Burrows, but also to the much respected Capt. Blyth, with a joint procession through the city, ending with a side-by-side burial at Portland's Eastern Cemetery.

--Brock-Perry

Battle Between USS Enterprise and HMS Boxer-- Part 2: Both Commanders Died

The two ships finally met off Monhegan, where spectators from the local area had flocked to the shoreline to watch.  Within very close range, the two ships opened fire.  Captain Blyth of the HMS Boxer was killed  when an 18-pounder shot cut him in half.

Just minutes later, Burrows was hit by a canister that tore through his leg and lodged in his groin.  He refused to be carried below until the battle was over and the Boxer had surrendered.

For half an hour, the two ships pounded each other until their masts were broken and hanging overboard and their rigging was shot away.

As the Enterprise was maneuvering for  a killing rake,  the surviving lieutenant on the Boxer, unable to strike the colors because they were nailed to the mast, hailed the Enterprise and said he was striking the colors.

Only the HMS Boxer's quarterdeck guns were still manned (under the direction of the purser).  When offered Blyth's sword, Burrows declined it and requested that it be sent to the dead man's family.  He died a short time later and command of the Enterprise was handed over to Lt. Edward McCall who took the two battered ships and their complement of dead and wounded into nearby Portland, Maine.

Quite the Battle.  --Brock-Perry

War Ends 207 Years Ago on December 24, 1814-- Part 2

The Americans launched an invasion of Canada right away, but it was repulsed.  However, the young U.S. Navy  had more luck against the British at sea and especially on the Great Lakes.

When Napoleon fell in 1814, the British were able to turn their attention to the United States and won a series of victories and established a blockade of the American coast.  One of these victories resulted in the burning of the nation's capital at Washington, D.C..

The tide turned on September 11, 1814,  when a rousing American victory on Lake Champlain forced the British to abandon their  objectives in the U.S. northeast and retreat.

On December 24, 1814,  the Treaty of Ghent was signed, though it would take weeks before the news got to the United States (and, of course, the Battle of New Orleans was fought January 8, 1815).As per the treaty, all occupied lands were returned and relations between the two countries remained peaceful until their alliance in World War I which joined them together in a bonded relationship that has lasted to this day.

--Brock-Perry

War Ends 207 Years Ago, Christmas Eve December 24, 1814

From the December 24, 2021, We Are the Mighty "Today in military history:  War of 1812 ends."

On December 24, 1814, the War of 1812 came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of  Peace and Amity in Ghent, Belgium, between the United Kingdom and the United States.

The conflict began in 1812.  The United States declared war of the United Kingdom because of three main issues.

First, the British had declared an economic blockade of France during the Napoleonic Wars.  Second, Britain also began forcing American sailors to serve on British ships in the Royal Navy  (impressment).  Thirdly, the British supported Native American tribes that were hostile against American expansion into their lands.

For their part, Americans hoped Britain would be too occupied with fighting Napoleon and that the Canadians would be happy to kick the British out of their country.

--Brock-Perry

Battle Between USS Enterprise and HMS Boxer-- Part 1

From the Mariners' Museum and Park site.

A Commemorative Medal Replica.

The obverse features a right-facing head and shoulders bust of the lieutenant.

On the morning of September 5,  1813, as the USS Enterprise approached Pemaquid Point on the coast of Maine, Lt. William Burroughs spotted the Royal Navy's brig HMS Boxer in the bay.  Upon spotting the Enterprise, the Boxer fired her guns to summon her shore parties back on board.

Quickly weighing anchor, the Boxer headed for the Enterprise.  The two brigs were fairly evenly matched, with the Enterprise slightly stronger having  fourteen 18-pounder carronades to the Boxer's ten.  As the two ships maneuvered towards each other, the Boxer's Captain, Samuel Blyth, had the ship's colors nailed to the mast and said that they would "never be struck" while he was still alive.

Lt. Burroughs on the Enterprise meanwhile was busy moving his two  long 9-pound3ers from the bow to the stern, saying "we are going to fight both ends and both sides of the ship as long as the ends and sides hold together."

Brock-Perry

Edward R. McCall, USN-- Part 5: Rising Through the Ranks

Advancement through the ranks:

MIDSHIPMAN:  1 January1808

LIEUTENANT:  11 March 1813

MASTER COMMANDANT:  3 March 1825

CAPTAIN:  3 March 1835

DIED:  31 July 1853

--Brock-Perry

Edward R. McCall, USN-- Part 4: His Service in the Navy

United States Navy.  He was appointed midshipman Jan. 1, 1808, and ordered to the USS Hornet.  On 20 March 1811, he was ordered to the USS Enterprise and 16 October, 1811, commissioned lieutenant.

He was highly distinguished in the capture of the HMS Boxer after his commander  (Burrows) had fallen.

In March 1814, he was ordered to Baltimore as one of the lieutenants on the frigate Java.

In 1829, he commanded the Peacock.

--Brock-Perry

Edward McCall-- Part 3: Find a Grave

From Find a Grave.

CAPT. EDWARD R. McCALL

BIRTH: 5 August 1790, South Carolina

DEATH:  1 August 1855 (aged 62) New Jersey

BURIAL:   Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery Bordentown, New Jersey

His wife Harriet who died in 1836 and and daughter  Anna, who lived just 6 days in 1820 and second wife, Eliza are also buried there.

There are people wanting his grave stone replaced as it is no longer readable because of the ravages of time.  I'm all for it.

--Brock-Perry

Edward McCall, USN-- Part 2: The Congressional Gold Medal

Promoted to captain 3 March 1835, he died at his home in Bordentown, New Jersey, 1  August 1853.

Two ships have been named  USS  McCall after him.

EDWARD McCALL's CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL CITATION

"That the President of the United States be requested  to present to the nearest male relative of lieutenant  William Burrows, and to lieutenant  Edward R. McCall of the brig Enterprise, a gold medal with suitable emblems and devices; and a silver medal with like emblems and devices to each of the commissioned officers of the aforesaid in testimony of the high sense entertained in the conflict with the British sloop Boxer, on the fourth of September, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirteen.

"And the President  is also requested to  communicate to the nearest male relative of lieutenant Burrows the deep regret which Congress feel for the loss  of that valuable officer, who died in the arms of victory, nobly contending for his country's rights and fame."

--Brock-Perry

Edward McCall, USN-- Part 1: USS Enterprise vs. HMS Boxer

From Wikipedia.

I am writing about the USS McCall (DD-400) in my Tattooed on Your Soul: WW II blog.  This was the second U.S. Navy destroyer named after Edward McCall who served and gained honors during the War of 1812.

EDWARD R. McCALL

Captain Edward R. McCall (5 August 1790 - 1 August 1853) was an officer  in the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812.  He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

Born in South Carolina, he was appointed midshipman 1 January 1808.  Appointed acting lieutenant on the brig USS Enterprise 16 October 1811, he took command of that ship during action with the HMS Boxer 5 September 1813.  

Early in that action the Enterprise's captain, Lieutenant  William Ward Burrows II was mortally wounded.

In acknowledgement of the victory over the Boxer, McCall received the Thanks of Congress and a Congressional Gold Medal.

--Brock-Perry

USS McCall (DD-400), A World War II Ship (What Does This Have to Do with the War of 1812?)

So, the first thought has to be exactly why is a World War II destroyer here in a War of 1812 blog?

In my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog I am writing about the USS Gridley (DD-380) which was the lead ship of her class of US Navy destroyers and fought in World War II.  This was a relatively small class of destroyers with just four ships. 

One of those other three destroyers was named the USS McCall (DD-400) which served during World War II.  This ship was named after War of 1812 naval officer Edward McCall.

There was also an earlier destroyer named after him, the USS McCall (DD-28), a modified  Paulding-class destroyer that saw service in World War I and was a part of the Coast Guard's Rum Patrol.  I'll be writing about this one in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

--Brock-Perry

USS Constitution Continues Tradition; Names Gun 'Beat Army'-- Part 2: Naming the Cannons and How It Got It's Name

Early Navy sailors frequently named guns they served on, and while there are no available records for the original names of the Old Ironside's cannons, some of her current ones have been given names based on records of her sister ships:  USS Chesapeake and USS United States.

These names include Brother Jonathan, True Blue, Yankee Protection, Putnam, Raging Eagle, Viper, General Warren, Mad Anthony, America,  Washington, Liberty For Ever,  Defiance and Liberty or Death.

The USS Constitutions current cannons are all replicas produced in the 1920s.

The ship is open for visitation from Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.  Just watch out for long lines.

It is also the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat and played a critical role in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812 and actively defended sea lanes from  1797 to 1855.

The Constitution was undefeated in action and destroyed or captured 33 opponents.

The ship earned the name Old Ironsides during the War of 1812 when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off the ship's wooden hull.

--Brock-Perry

USS Constitution Continues Tradition; Names Gun 'Beat Army'

From the December 9, 2021, Charlestown Patriot-Bridge.

The USS Constitution named one of its 24-pound long guns "Beat Army" in support  of the U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen as they take on the U.S. Military Academy's Black Knights in the  2021 annual Army-Navy game on December 11.

"Beat Army" was chosen  after they named one of their guns "Go Navy" for the 2020 matchup.

Historically, 24-pounder long gun teams consisted of up to 14 men operating two guns on opposite sides of the ship.

When paired in a gun team, the two guns would read "Go Navy, Beat Army."

The official "Beat Army" unveiling can be seen December 11 on the USS Constitution's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

And, by the way, we watched the game at the McHenry, Illinois, American Legion and there was a whole lot of rivalry there, as well as a chili cookoff.  What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with all that tradition and good eating.

And, by the way, Navy won 17-13, in a close game.

Go Navy, Beat Army.

USD 1812 Holds Annual Wreath-Laying in Arkansas

From the December12, 2021, Hot Springs (ARK.) Sentinel-Record.

Continuing a tradition that began in 2015, members of the Baseline-Meridian Chapter, United States Daughters of 1812, recently laid artificial Christmas wreaths at the graves of Unknown Soldiers buried at the Little Rock National Cemetery (Arkansas).

They were able to lay 150 wreaths and plans are in effect to obtain donations so that all the 3,100 soldiers buried there can have one  in the future.

After five years, USD 1812 has been able to lay wreaths for  approximately 2,800 Unknown Soldiers an they still need another 300 wreaths so every soldier will have one. In addition, the bows and some of the wreaths need replacing.

Forty-one volunteers, on December 3,  laid the 2,800 wreaths.

Volunteers came from the following organizations:

U.S.D. 1812, Daughters of the American Revolution,  Dames of the Court of Honor, Colonial Dames 17th Century, Arkansas National Guard,  Sons of Confederate Veterans Robert C. Newton Camp,  Sons of the American Revolution, General Society War of 1812, United Daughters of the Confederacy and Daughters of American Colonists.

--Brock-Perry

The War of 1812 USS Montgomery on Lake Champlain

From Wikipedia.

I wasn't able to find out too much about this ship.

This ship was also named after Richard Montgomery who was an American general in the American Revolution who gave his life for the cause.  (So was the USS Montgomery from that war.)

It was either a sloop or schooner and carried nine 9-pounder long guns and two 18-pounder carronades.

Built in 1813 by Thomas Macdonough and purchased on  6 August 1813 for duty on Lake Champlain in New York.

Its role was to prevent plundering expeditions by the enemy and it also helped convoy Wade Hampton's  troops for their attack on Canada.

She continued her service on the lake until deactivated and sold in 1815.

I am unable to find out any more information on this ship.

--Brock-Perry

USS Constitution Commemorates the 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

From the December 7, 2021, WVCB Channel 5 ABC Boston.

The USS Constitution commemorated the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor Tuesday at the Charlestown Navy Yard.

The commemoration included the laying of a wreath aboard the USS Cassin Young (DD-793), a World War II destroyer named after Captain Cassin Young who received a Medal of Honor at Pearl Harbor and was later killed at Guadalcanal.

The Cassin Young is a museum ship today and tied up across from the USS Constitution.

There was a gun salute from the USS Constitution.

The USS Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat and  played a crucial role in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812 and actively defended sea lanes from 1797 to 1855.

--Brock-Perry

USS Montgomery

Earlier this month, I wrote about a current U.S. warship named the USS Montgomery (LCS-8) in my Cooter's History Thing blog.  I got to wondering if there had been other warships by that name and checked out good ol' Wiki to find out if there were.

There were.

There was a frigate in the American Revolution, a sloop or schooner in the War of 1812, a warship from the Civil War that took part in the attacks of Fort Fisher (of natural interest to me), a protected cruiser from the Spanish American War and a WW II destroyer/minelayer.

I will be writing about these ships in my appropriate blogs: Civil War Navy, History and World War II blogs.

--Brock-Perry

101-Year-Old Pearl Harbor Survivors on the USS Oklahoma Returns for the 80th

This is continued from my Saw the Elephant, Running the Blockade and Cooter's History Thing blogs.  I am writing about Pearl Harbor today in most of my blogs as it is the 80th anniversary of the attack.

In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) exhumed 388 sets of remains from the "Unknown Oklahoma" graves in the National Cemetery of the Pacific.  Using DNA and dental records, they were able to identify 361 of them.

David Russell's brother-in-law was among them.  Fireman 1st Class Walter "Boone"  Rogers was in the Oklahoma's fireroom when the torpedoes hit.  That would be deep in the ship's bowels. His remains were identified in 2017.  He has since been buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

David Russell  remained in the Navy until retiring in 1960.  He worked at Air Force bases for the next two decades before retiring for good in 1980.

His wife Violet passed away 22 years ago and David now lives alone in Albany, Oregon. He drives himself to the local grocery store and the local American Legion in a black Ford Explorer while listening to polka at top volume.

The 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

Tomorrow marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor which launched the United States into World War II, which had been going on since 1939.

I will be putting up my U.S. flags to mark it.

Growing up, most everyone of my friends' dads had been in the service during the war. And, to me, World War II veterans were just there.  So sad now that time has gone by and we are losing them at the current rate.

But, hope they always will know that they are held in high esteem.

Thanks.

Events During the War of 1812 Occurring in December: Hartford Convention, Fort Niagara, Embargo Act, Treaty of Ghent, USS Constitution

From the December 2021 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

**  DECEMBER 14, 1814

Delegates of the Hartford Convention meet in Hartford, Connecticut.

**  DECEMBER 19, 1813

Capture of Fort Niagara.

**  DECEMBER 22, 1807

The Embargo Act passes.

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**  DECEMBER 24, 1814

Treaty of Ghent signed.

**  DECEMBER 28, 1812

William Henry Harrison formally resigned as governor of the Indiana Territory and takes the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army.

**  DECEMBER 29, 1812

The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Java.

--Brock-Perry

Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles: The Catholic Regiment

From the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles site.

The enlistment of this group  was begun in the autumn of 1811 when war with the United States seemed all but inevitable.  On the first of December of that year, Sir George Provost wrote to Lord Liverpool, the Colonial Secretary:

"I have sent Capt. Macdonell, of the King's Regiment, into the townships where the Glengarry  emigrants are settled in Upper Canada, to ascertain their ability to form a  regiment of light infantry.

"Capt. Macdonell is selected for his zeal, ability, and intelligence, with a name and national character acceptable to them, and the same religious persuasion, as they are all Roman Catholics."

--Brock-Perry

Glengarry Light Infantry-- Part 5: Uniforms and Equipment

When Governor General Sir James Craig first tried to form the unit he proposed that it wear the dress of the Scottish highland regiments with a Glengarry tartan plaid.  Prevost intended the unit to be used as a skirmishing light infantry and it adopted a dark green uniform with black facings as worn by the 95th Rifles.

However, they were armed with the smoothbore Brown Bess musket rather than the Baker Rifle.

Also, unlike the 95th, the Glengarry Light Infantry were granted colors.

The regimental badge, worn on the  front of the shako  (cap), was a strung bugle on which the letters "G L I" were superimposed in white metal.  The crossbelt featured the thistle surrounded by   the words "Glengarry Light Infantry."

Officers' uniforms consisted of a dark green dolman and pantaloons, with a crimson sash. They also wore a black shoulder sash, with a silver whistle and chain.  Their shako  badge was the same design as that of other ranks, but was of solver.  They may also  have had a dark green pelisse (a short fur trimmed jacket), with black chords and black fur trim.

Now You Know.  --Brock-Perry

Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles-- Part 4: About Toronto's Mystery Murder

During the remainder of 1814, the regiment performed outpost duty during the unsuccessful Siege of Fort Erie and a detachment was present  at the Battle of Malcom's Mills, the last action of the war  on the Niagara Peninsula.

Two Irish-born soldiers of the regiment, John Henry and John Blueman, are notable for their alleged involvement  in one of Toronto's most enduring mysteries -- the 2 January 1815 murder of John Paul Radelmuller, keeper of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse.  Tradition holds that Radelmuller was killed by several soldiers from Fort York in a dispute over alcohol.

Research by one person has shown that these two were tried in March 1815 for the murder, although they were ultimately acquitted of the crime.

The regiment was disbanded in 1816.

Today the regiment's history and service is commemorated by  the Canadian Army's Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, an Army Reserve regiment headquartered in Cornwall, Ontario.  It has the words Glengarry Fencibles on its badge.

--Brock-Perry

The Glengarry Light Infantry-- Part 3: Action in 1813 and 1814

A company of the Glengarry Light Infantry was at the Battle of York, but didn't play a big part.  They were misdirected by the commander of the Upper Canadian  militia.  Another company  suffered severe losses at the Battle of Fort George trying to prevent American forces landing  on the lake shore from outflanking the fort.

Yet another company was present at the Battle of Sackets Harbor where troops under Prevost and Baynes withdrew after failing to drive American troops from buildings and hastily constructed defenses.

During the latter part of 1813, the entire regiment was concentrated around Fort George and was engaged for several weeks in harassing American outposts  around the captured fort.

They were built back up to full strength during the following winter (1813-1814).  A company took part in the raid on Fort Oswego in the spring of 1814.  During the following summer, the full regiment along with  light infantry companies of four regular line regiments, formed a covering  force on the Niagara Peninsula, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel  Thomas Pearson.

Later, on 25 July, the regiment formed part of a light infantry brigade under Pearson and played a major role in the Battle of Lundy's Lane where they harassed  the left flank of the American Army but suffered casualties when mistaken for Americans by other inexperienced British troops.

--Brock-Perry

The Glengarry Light Infantry-- Part 2: The Battles of Ogdensburg

Edward Baynes was appointed the regiment's colonel, Major Francis Battersby became the units lieutenant colonel and Captain George MacDonnell became the major.

The Glengarry Light Infantry gathered and trained first at Trois-Rivieres in the first half of 1812 and then for the latter part its companies were  deployed to various sites in Upper Canada.

On 3 October, two of its companies were at  Prescott on the St. Lawrence River and were involved in the failed attack on Ogdensburg on the American side of the river.

(Civil War/Fort Fisher hero Newton Martin Curtis is buried in Ogdensburg, New York.)

However, the American town remained a target.  George MacDonnell, who had been promoted to lieutenant colonel and commanded the garrison at Prescott, mounted a successful attack in Ogdensburg, this time across a frozen St. Lawrence River.

A company of Glengarry Light Infantry and some militia made a frontal attack while the main body of MacDonell's force turned the  American right flank.  The Reverend Alexander Macdonell was conspicuous  in urging the militia and Glengarry soldiers in their advance.

--Brock-Perry

The Glengarry Light Infantry-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Alexander Macdonell was much involved with this military organization. 

The Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles  was a light infantry group raised primarily in the Glengarry District of Upper Canada shortly before the outbreak of the Anglo-American War of 1812 (another name for the War of 1812).  It was disbanded shortly after the war ended.

Many of the inhabitants of the Glengarry District  were Catholics from Glengarry, Scotland and many had already served in the Scottish Glengarry Fencibles from 1794 to 1802.  During that time, they performed duty on the Channel Islands and fought in the Irish Rebellion of 1798

The fencible unit raised in Canada would serve the same enlistment as  regular soldiers, but would only have to serve in North America.

By 1812, as war with the United States appeared more and more inevitable,  Governor General of Canada, George Prevost,  decided he'd raise the unit of his own accord, and appointed Captain George Macdonell of the 8th (King's) Regiment to raise the "Glengarry Levy."

Originally it was to have  376 members.  Recruits received a bounty of  four guineas on enlistment and were promised 100 acres at the war's conclusion.

Partly through the efforts of the unit's chaplain, Alexander Macdonell (it was composed mostly of Catholics), the unit soon exceeded 600 men.  Prevost raised the corps level to regiment and named it the  Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles.

--Brock-Perry

Will the Real Alexander Macdonell or Alexander McDonell Sign In?

One man with two different spellings of his last name or two different men?

From Wikipedia.

Wikipedia says not to get confused with Alexander McDonell, a politician.  Will the real Alexander Macdonell or is it McDonell please stand up?

I can see where there might be some confusion between the two because of the same first name and possible spellings of their last name.

They were both emigrants from Scotland, both fought in the War of 1812 on the British side and Upper Canada Rebellion.  Alexander McDonell was born in 1786, Macdonell was born in 1762.

Both were politically involved and both also worked with immigrants.  However, the Wikipedia article did not say anything about the Catholic religion work that Macdonell did in the McDonell article.

So, Who Is Who?  Perhaps Two Different Men Then.  --Brock-Perry

Alexander Macdonell in the War of 1812

From the Catholic Encyclopedia.

"During the War of 1812, Alexander Macdonell's powerful influence was successfully used  in rousing the martial spirit of his countrymen, and, indeed, the other inhabitants in defence of their adopted land.

"With the reorganized 'Glengarry Fencibles' he was present at several engagements against the American forces.

"His civil and military service was recognized by the British government in 1816 by an addition to his own government allowance, and by  an annual grant of 100 pounds (money) each, to three clergymen and four school-masters."

--Brock-Perry

Alexander Macdonell-- Part 5: Becomes Catholic Bishop of Upper Canada

A central figure in the religious and political life of the Crown Colony of Canada, Macdonell was appointed vicar general in 1807 and vicar apostolic in 1820 and was  consecrated bishop or Regiopolis in 1826.

During his tenure thousands of Irish immigrants arrived, and by 1840, there were 34 priests and  48 parishes in  Upper Canada (today's province of Ontario) for which Macdonell had secured financial assistance from the local and British governments.

A firm conservative, Macdonell was a legislative counsellor  from 1831, and soon came under fire from the Reform Movement.

He died while in Britain attempting to secure funds for the Regiopolis College and recruiting more Catholic emigrants.  Alexander Macdonell was buried at  St. Margaret's Convent in Edinburgh, Scotland, but his remains were removed to  St. Mary's in Kingston in 1861.

--Brock-Perry

Alexander Macdonell-- Part 4: Bringing Catholicism to Canada

From the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Alexander Macdonell, Roman Catholic   bishop.

Born at Fort Augustus, Glengarry, Scotland 17 July  1762. Died at Dumfries, Scotland, 14 July1840.

Ordained in 1787, he spent the next several years  in the Scottish Highlands.  In 1793, he persuaded  the British government to establish the Catholic corps, the Glengarry Regiment, of which he was the chaplain.

In 1802, the regiment was disbanded and two years later Macdonell got the British government to promise 200 acres to every soldier who emigrated to Canada.  Macdonell and a large group of Catholic settlers did just that.  They settled in what became known as Glengarry, Upper Canada.

--Brock-Perry

Canada's First Catholic Bishop Alexander Macdonell-- Part 3

By 1822, the Catholic population of York had grown to 1,000 and Macdonell moved from Glengarry to York (Toronto) and built a home at the corner of Jarvis and Richmond in 1832. of Upper Canada's Catholic crusade.

That home is barely noticeable today, but at one time it was the center of Upper Canada Catholic crusade.

Macdonell has been described by  William Foster Coffin as "a medieval churchman, half bishop, half baron, [who] fought and prayed with equal zeal, by the side of men he had come  to regard as  his hereditary followers."  

Thomas D'Arcy  McGee referred to him as the "greatest Tory of Canada."

Macdonell was definitely a man of many talents, despite his allegiance to the Crown and chief among him were his power of political persuasion.  As a member of the Legislative Assembly, he would eventually push for government salaries to be paid to Catholic priests and teachers in the colony in return for their loyalty to the Crown.

However, this effort met with resistance from Anglican Church heads of Upper Canada and John Strachan in particular.

It turns out that  the political ties between Strachan and Macdonell were not enough to overcome their religious differences.

--Brock-Perry

About Canada's First Catholic Bishop, Alexander Macdonell-- Part 2

Before he came to Canada, Alexander Macdonell  raised a Catholic regiment to defend British interests during the Irish Rebellion in 1798.  The regiment would be disbanded and its men left destitute, but Macdonell  persuaded the Crown to give them land in Upper Canada in return for their loyalty. 

Macdonell first settled in Glengarry near Kingston.  He went to the Upper Canada capital in York in 1806 and found that Catholics were few and far between.  The town had a population of 200 of whom less than a quarter were Catholic.  In all of Upper Canada, there were only three Catholic churches and three Catholic priests.

Macdonell reported to his superiors on what he had seen at York and was given the task of acquiring more land for churches in the town.  (Of course, York eventually became Toronto.)

A plot on George on present-day Adelaide would be set aside "for the purpose of erecting a chapel for public worship."  But, it was destroyed by fire during the War of 1812.  (Likely burned by American troops when they torched the town.)

--Brock-Perry

About Canada's First Catholic Bishop, Alexander Macdonell-- Part 1

From the November 14, 2021, "NowToronto  "Hidden Toronto:  First Catholic  bishop's residence" by Enzo Dimatteo.

It's barely noticeable today but it was once the home of the man behind Upper Canada's Catholic crusade.  It's at 113 Jarvis in Toronto.

John Strachan was Canada's first  Anglican bishop and known for his Tory politics and ties to the Family Compact.  He was also a member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada.  Today there are schools and a street named for him near where his home used to stand at University and Front.

It was there that  loyalist forces gathered on the first night of the rebellion against the Family Compact led by Mackenzie in 1837.

But his equal, and the subject of this article was Alexander Macdonell (sometimes called McDonell).  This man was also a staunch Tory and he became John Strachan's religious counterpart as Upper Canada's first Catholic bishop.

Like Strachan, Macdonell was born in Scotland and his Catholic upbringing preached obedience to the Crown, but he was perhaps an even more strident  crusader of Tory values.  Indeed, he would take up arms in defense of the Crown in a number of wars, including the War of 1812, when he raised a regiment against the American forces.

--Brock-Perry

What's in a Name? 'The Anglo-American War' Is There a New Name for the War of 1812?

From the November 12,2021, CVBJ.biz site  "Veterans Day:  These are the main wars the US has participated in."

This site is calling the War of 1812 the Anglo-American War (1812-1815).

Here is what it says:

"Also known as the 'Anglo-American War' or 'War of 1812'.  It was a war that pitted the United States against the United Kingdom and its Canadian colonies.

"Among other causes of the war are the restrictions placed on trade imposed by the United Kingdom because of the war  in Europe against France, the forced recruitment of US merchant sailors to serve in the British Royal Navy and British support of the indigenous peoples of North America who opposed the expansion of the US.

"The confrontations took place by land and sea.  286,730 Americans served, among these were 2,260 deaths and 4,505 wounded."

Well, Which is It?  --Brock-Perry

A USS Constitution Spar at Topeka High School

From the September 29, 2021, Topeka (Kansas) Capital-Journal "A spar from the USS Constitution, 'Old Ironsides,' is flagpole at  Topeka High School" by Tim Hrenchir.

A school in the capital of landlocked Kansas proudly displays a spar from what is probably the best-known ever U.S. warship, the USS Constitution, also known as the "Old Ironsides."

That spar rises high in the air while serving as the flagpole in Constitution Plaza on the east side of Topeka High School, 800 S.W.  10th Avenue, which recently kicked off a year-long celebration of its 150th  anniversary.

Topeka High acquired the spar (a piece of wood used to support the sail) on 1930.  Barton Phelps, a Topeka High graduate and Santa Fe Railway official was inspecting the Boston Navy Yard for the Department of the Navy, found the spar in storage as the USS Constitution was being refitted.

With the help of then-U.S. Vice President Charles Curtis, a fellow Topeka High graduate, Phelps arranged for the school to acquire the spar, which was dedicated as a flagpole there in October 1931.

By 2004, time and woodpeckers had caused the spar to deteriorate to the point where the school retired it and it was replaced with another spar from the Constitution.  Sadly, the second spar was destroyed by lightning three years later and then replaced with the current spar.  (The article did not say whether this one is also from the USS Constitution, however.)

Topeka High's Constitution Plaza  also is home to the ship's bell of the light cruiser USS Topeka (1944-1969.

--Brock-Perry

This Veterans Day: A Grave Marker Dedication for War of 1812 Vet Sgt. Elias Breese

Today being Veterans Day, one of the greatest things we can do is marking the graves of out veterans.

From the September 29, 2021, Daily Telegram (Adrian, Michigan) "Grave marker  ceremony at Canandaigua Cemetery recognizes veteran's service in War of 1812"  by David  Panian.

Sgt, Elias Breese served under  Lt. Jacob Smartwood's regiment in General Mathew  Carpenter's 18th  Brigade of New York Militia during the War of 1812.  He and his wife, Deborah Bennett, came to Michigan when Elias' son, Solomon, moved here.  This information provided by Elijah  Shalis, webmaster of the Michigan Society of the War of 1812.

Shalis continued:  "More than 3,400 veterans of the War of 1812 are buried in Michigan.  Many moved here after the war for the land or with their children like Elias Breese and his wife."

Of interest, according to the article, Elias Breese is the third great grandfather of Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.

Saluting Our Veterans Today.  --Brock-Perry

Marines in the War of 1812

Happy 246th birthday United States Marine Corps!!

From Wikipedia.

During the War of 1812, Marine detachments on ships took part in the great frigate duels that characterized the war at sea.  These were also the first and last engagements of the war.

Probably their most significant service took place when they held the center of General Andrew Jackson's defensive line at the Battle of New Orleans, the final major land battle and one of the most one-sided engagements of the war.

Then, there were victories of American ships over the HMS Cyane, HMS Levant and HMS Penguin in the last engagements of the war where the Marines gained a reputation as expert marksmen in ship-to-ship action.

They played a large role in the 1813 defense of Sackets Harbor, New York, and Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia.

--Brock-Perry

Victory and Valour Service Will Honour Indigenous Veterans

From the November 3, 2021, Niagara Falls Review (Canada).

Niagara Parks will host a ceremony to honour Indigenous veterans at the Landscape of Nations  Memorial in Queenston Heights Park, Saturday.

It will be held on sacred grounds where Six Nations and Native allies  fought alongside their British and Canadian compatriots throughout the War of 1812.

The program will include guest speakers, the laying of wreaths, a traditional tobacco ceremony and sacred fire.

Six Nations and Native allies helped to secure victory at pivotal events  at Queenston Heights and throughout the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

Gen. Hull's Proclamation-- Part 3: A British Proclamation

William Hull also believed that his invasion would frighten the native tribes.  In a letter to the Secretary of War, he wrote,  "It is likewise  probable that when the Indians see the American standard erected on both sides of the river it will have a favorable effect."

Like many Americans who lived on the  frontier, Hull was wary of native warriors.  In his proclamation, he wrote that their method of warfare "respects no rights  & knows no wrong."

To persuade locals from joining with indigenous warriors to resist  the American invasion, Hull informed them that any white man fighting alongside the warriors would receive no quarter.  Instead, "Instant destruction will be his Lot."

Hull intended his proclamation to coerce its inhabitants of Upper Canada into accepting the authority of the United States.   

The British commander (Isaac Brock), in turn, issued his own proclamation promising to defend Upper Canada -- and, in later  engagements, took advantage of Hull's fear of indigenous warriors to force his surrender.

--Brock-Perry

Gen. Hull's Proclamation-- Part 2: To Liberate Upper Canada from British Tyranny

To announce his presence in Upper Canada, William Hull printed a proclamation to  distribute amongst its inhabitants.  "This army under my Command has invaded your Country," he wrote, "and the standard of the United States waves on the territory of Canada."

Hull was convinced that the inhabitants of Upper Canada would welcome the Americans as liberators from oppressive British rule.  His experience in the American Revolution had taught him to hate the British and to believe in American freedom.  he reassured the people, "I come to find enemies not to make them, I come to protect not to injure you."

Convinced hat being an American citizen was better than being a British subject, Hull offered to battle the British  army on behalf of its inhabitants.  

"You will be emancipated from Tyranny and oppression," he assured them, "restored  to the dignified position of freedom."

--Brock-Perry

'I Come to Find Enemies Not to Make Them': Gen. Hull's Proclamation to the People of Canada-- Part 1

From the National Park Service.

As I said in the last post, I need to find out about General William Hull's Proclamation that his son, Captain and Aide de Camp Abraham Fuller Hull (who I have been writing about) witnessed in official capacity.

The whole quote from the headline:  "I come to find enemies not to make them, I come to protect not to injure you."

When American General William Hull made an early invasion of Upper Canada he was convinced that the inhabitants there desire freedom from the tyranny of the British.  He also feared attack by native warriors.  In one sweeping proclamation, Hull tried to impress  and threaten the entire region into compliance.

On July 11, 1812, American Brigadier General William Hull led his army across the Detroit River into Upper Canada, capturing  the town of Sandwich.  Hull's invasion was the first major offensive since Congress declared war on Britain in June 1812.

--Brock-Perry

Captain Abraham Fuller Hull-- Part 5: Poor William Hull

Source continues from the previous post.

From the Memoir of Gem. William Hull.

Only a few months after the sentence of the court martial (finding William Hull guilty in his court martial and sentencing him to death), General Hull met  with a greater misfortune in the loss of his only son, Captain Abraham Fuller Hull of the Ninth Infantry, who fell in the battle at Lundy's Lane, July 1814, while leading his company in a bayonet charge on the enemy's guns.

So, here was William Hull, facing the death penalty for his surrender of Fort Detroit and he then finds out about the death of his only son.  Like I said, poor William Hull.

As his father's aide, Captain A. F. Hull signed "Hull's Proclamation" in July 1812.

(Well, it looks like I'll be looking up Hull's Proclamation to see what that is all about.)

--Brock-Perry

Captain Abraham Fuller Hull-- Part 4

From the July 25, 2012, War of 1812 Chronicles.

Captain Abraham Fuller Hull, of the Ninth Infantry, died on July 25, 1814; killed at Lundy's Lane.

In the History of the Ninth  U.S. Infantry, his burial is described:

"Only one other body of an American has been dug up on the battle-field at Lundy's Lane.  It was that of Captain Abraham Fuller Hull of the  Ninth Infantry, to which regiment  of the nine other Yankees, as their buttons showed, belonged.

"The bones of Captain Hull, unearthed several years ago, were reburied in an isolated spot at the south end of the Drummond Hill Cemetery.  The grave into which the remains remains of his nine comrades were laid yesterday is close beside it."

--Brock-Perry

Capt. Abraham Fuller Hull-- Part 3

In 1910, the remains of nine more American dead were found and placed in a similar grave nearby with quiet ceremonies  in which historical societies from both countries took part.  The monument that marks these graves is the gift of the Niagara Frontier Landmarks Society of Buffalo.

The name "Bridgewater" that appears in the inscription was given by American officers and historians to this battle  because of the long-vanished hamlet of that name, near Burning Spring, was  the last place the Army passed through before it became engaged, and near where they had their base hospital and supplies during the fight.

How many American dead are buried in this field will never be known.  Many who fell in the action were removed and a number of them were burned.  But certainly, many were interred in unmarked trenches.

Adjutant Thomas  Poe, of the Pennsylvania Volunteers was killed here, but he was buried  at Fort Niagara, New York.

--Brock-Perry

Captain Abraham Fuller Hull-- Part 2

Of the American soldiers who lie here the only one whose name  and resting place are known is Captain ABRAHAM FULLER HULL, of the 9th U.S. Infantry, who lost his life in one of the desperate charges against the British battery.

He was the son of Gen. William Hull, a captain  in the 13th U.S. Infantry and aide-de-camp to his father at Detroit when that place surrendered on August16, 1812.  He was exchanged on the 18th of January 1813 and given a captaincy in the 9th U.S. Infantry with which he served until he was killed at he age of 28 years.

For years, his grave was marked by a humble white marble slab.  In 1901, the bones of nine men of the same regiment were found elsewhere and re-interred on October 19th beside their captain with full U.S. military honors.

The troops performing the honors (13 U.S. Infantry) from Fort Niagara, who on that day  laid their predecessors to rest fired three volleys over the open grave, were the first United States troops to enter Canada under arms since 1815.

--Brock-Perry

Abraham Fuller Hull (Son of Gen. William Hull)-- Part 1

While researching about William Hull's surrender of Fort Detroit to the British and their Indian allies in 1812, I came across Abraham Fuller Hull's name, the son of Gen. William Hull.  

From Find-A-Grave.

BIRTH:  8 March 1786

Newton, Massachusetts

DEATH:  25 July1814 (age 28)  Killed at the Battle of Lundy's Lane.

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

BURIAL:  Drummond Hill  Cemetery

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

--Brock-Perry

The Unfortunate Surrender of Detroit-- Part 2: Hull Sentenced to Death by Court Martial

The next morning, British General Isaac Brock crossed the Detroit River and arrived at Springwells unopposed.  His army marched  just north to May's Creek and set up a defensive position along the ravine.  Then Brock and the Natives advanced north to Fort Detroit, setting up positions just 1200 yards away.

Despite having a very sizable force inside the fort, William Hull was convinced   that he and his men were outnumbered.  He surrendered to Tecumseh without firing a shot.

About 2,500 U.S. soldiers were taken prisoner of war and moved to British Canada for imprisonment.

Hull was relieved of his command and later court martialed in 1814 for treason, cowardice, neglect of duty and misconduct.  He was sentenced to death, but spared from hanging by President James Madison.  General William Hull remains the only U.S. general to be sentenced to death by an American court martial.

--Brock-Perry

The Unfortunate Surrender of Detroit-- Part 1

From the Thumbwind site, Finding  Fun in Michigan.  "The tragic surrender of Detroit by General William Hull.

On a foggy morning in August 1812, American General William Hull made one of the worst decisions of his life.  Undder a flag of truce, British authorities warned him that the warriors under Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and Mohawk War Chief  John Norton (Teyoninhokarawen) were about to lay siege on him at Fort Detroit.

And, the British could not vouch for what the Indians might do to the Americans if they attacked.

Native warriors had crossed the  river and arrived south of the fort at Springwells that same night.  (Springwells later became the site of Fort Wayne.) Then, they moved along the edge of the western woods  which bordered the farmlands below the fort.

They went unnoticed as they surrounded the fort.  At the same time, British ships moored in the river, began shelling the fort.  The bombardment set parts of the fort on fire and killed a few civilians who were taking shelter there.

The Americans could not return fire.

--Brock-Perry

Hull's Trace & the War of 1812: Remains of Part of the Old Corduroy Road Still There

From the Michigan Historical Marker on Hull's Trace (Trail).

"Hull's Trace, which linker Detroit and Ohio, was to be Michigan territory's inland lifeline during the War of 1812.  However, the Detroit River and Lake Erie gave the British easy access to the Michigan portion of the road.

"American efforts to use the road to bring supplies  and men from Frenchtown, present-day Monroe (Michigan), were foiled twice before Hull surrendered Detroit on August 16, 1812.

"After the war, Hull's Trace was used  for ever-improving roads, beginning in 1817 with a new military road.  In 2000, low water levels in the Huron River revealed a quarter-mile of old corduroy road, lying three to six feet beneath Jefferson Avenue.

"Ax marks were  visible on some of the logs.  This rare example of a surviving corduroy road is listed in the National Register of Historic Places."

--Brock-Perry

Hull's Trace & the War of 1812-- Part 3: The State of Michigan Marker on the Trace

"In April 1812, as the United States prepared for possible war with Great Britain, Michigan's Territorial Governor, William Hull,  became commander of the Army of the Northwest.    His first task was to lead his army from Dayton, Ohio, to Detroit, building Hull's Trace, a two-hundred-mile long road, as it marched.

"The army left Dayton on June 1.  As they cut the trace through the wilderness from Urbana north, it laid logs crosswise across swampy areas to create a rough, but stable corduroy roadbed that could support supply wagons.

"In late June, a detachment  from Frenchtown, commanded by Hubert Lacroix also worked on the road, attempting to follow a route laid out  under an 1808  territorial  Legislative Council act.  (This must have been McCloskey's work, see previous post.)

"On June 18, 1812, war was declared.  Hull's army arrived in Detroit on July 5."

--Brock-Perry

Hull's Trace & the War of 1812-- Part 2: Who Was McCloskey?

Evidently, the route of this road/trace was originally laid out by someone named McCloskey who won a lottery in 1808 (to mark the route?)  and there is a map of it in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library.

The article says that he must have traveled   the existing (Indian?) trail, taking compass readings as he traveled.  Somewhere around the Huron River, he may have deviated from the trail because Hubert Lacroix wrote in 1812 that he wasn't able to find the slashes on the trees  for the original route.

Hull's Trace ran close to Lake Erie and the Detroit River, making it vulnerable to British attacks by water.  As a matter of fact, the first land-based skirmish of the war, the Battle of Brownstown, was fought on a road just  north of this section.

The later battles of Maguaga and Frenchtown were also  fought along the trace. 

Hull's Trace has been considered Michigan's first road at the beginning of the settler era.

--Brock-Perry

Hull's Trace & the War of 1812: 200 Miles Long from Ohio to Detroit

From the October 2, 2021, Thumbwind site (Having Fun in Michigan)  "Michigan's Shore Indian Trail-- Hull's Trace & the War of 1812" by Michael Hardy.

The Shore Indian Trail was one of five major routes of traveling by land out of Detroit and the best-known for early settlers.  The trail began at the rapids of the Maumee River in Ohio to Toledo then closely along the Lake Erie shore through Monroe and Brownstown to Detroit.

From Detroit, it went northward along the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, past Fort Joseph, Fort Gratoit, to the Thumb.

The Trail became a crucial tactical element during the War of 1812 when the United States became concerned about supplying Fort Detroit and the surrounding Michigan Territory area.  The British controlled Lake Erie, so overland supply was the only option.

Starting in June 1812, troops under the command of General William Hull constructed what became known as "Hull's Trace" (also called Hull's Trail), a military road running 200 miles from Urbana, Ohio, to Fort Detroit.

One hundred and fifty men under the command of Hubert Lacroix completed the "Corduroy Road" on July 4, 1812, with a bridge over the River Huron.   (A corduroy road uses logs to get across swampy, wet areas, in case you're wondering.)

--Brock-Perry

A Partial List of the War of 1812 Veterans Listed on the New Marker in Nagodoches, Texas

I haven't found them listed anywhere yet, other than on pictures of the marker and haven't seen the whole one, but these are the names I can see:

George G. Alford

Bailey Anderson Jr.

Perter Ellis Bean

Asher Branch

James Whitis Bullock

Joseph Thomas Cook Sr.

Jesse H. Crawford

Warren Davis

Elias M. Eubank

Sylvanus Everett

Jesse Gibson

Oran William Haltom

James Wilson Henderson

Israel Holt

Martin Lacey

George W. Matthews

Houston McClure

These War of 1812 veterans also played a big role in the Texas Revolution against Mexico.

--Brock-Perry

John S. Roberts

From the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas.

JOHN S. ROBERTS

(1796-1871)

Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, East Texas merchant and political figure.

He was born in Virginia on July 13, 1796.  At age sixteen, he enlisted  in the Tennessee  Militia for service in the War of 1812 and was at the Battle of New Orleans as a member of Colonel John Coffee's regiment.

In May 1815, he was discharged

By 1822, he was a resident of Nagodoches, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

John S. Roberts: War of 1812 Veteran and an Important Man in Early Texas

From the John S. Roberts Chapter National Society United States Daughters of 1812.

He was a very important person in the early days of Texas, but also fought in the War of 1812 before that.

The Battle of New Orleans had a great impact on the future of Nacogdoches, Texas, because so many future east Texans participated in it.  Some of those men were Bean, Bullock, Goyens, Perry and John S. Roberts.

John S. Roberts was 19 years of age when he traveled  from Nashville with militiamen under the command of General Carroll, to join Coffee and Jackson with a contingent of Tennesseans.

An account of the battle written in 1840 in France by Cardinal  Moyne credits Roberts  with being  "in the thickest of the historic battle" and conducting himself "in a brave manner" where he fought with "conspicuous bravery."

--Brock-Perry

Historic Marker Placed in Downtown Nacogdoches Honoring 32 Veterans of the War of 1812

From the October 9, 2021,  Channel 7 ABC, Texas by Briananna Linn.

Members of the John S. Roberts  chapter of the Texas State Society of the United States Daughters of 1812 wanted to honor the 32 veterans who fought in the War of 1812 and later made Nacodoches their home.

They chose the site at the old general mercantile and string shop downtown because it was the site of the John S. Roberts home, who is the namesake of their group.  The building is one of the towns least altered storefronts.

All of the men on the marker were  leaders in the community and served with great patriotism.  They also participated in the state of Teas' battle for independence.

It took the group over three years to get the marker.

--Brock-Perry

Arkadelphians Honored for Their War of 1812 Service-- Part 2

I really like the name of this town.

Some of the graves of the War of 1812 veterans in Arkansas will never be found, but, nearly 700 of their names are inscribed n on the War of 1812 Memorial Fountain erected by the U.S.D. 1812 at the State Capitol.  This is the largest listing of the war's veterans on any U.S. monument.

The other residents of Clark County, Arkansas, already  marked include William Hart and Wiseman Moore.  The location of other graves in the county is an ongoing investigation and include  Edwin Crosslin, William Adcock, Jacob Wingfield, John Caruthers (who also served in the American Revolution) and Walter Crow.

The dedication team  was comprised of U.S.D. 1812 State President and Pine Bluff Simon Bradford  Chapter President Jerrie Jones Townsend; SAR  State President Charkes McLemore; U.S.D. 1812 State Markers Chair Sheila Beatty-Krout; Patricia McLemore Baseline-Meridian President; Bobbie Lovell, Baseline Meridian Markers Chair and her husband, Dale Lovell, GSW 1812.

Keep On Marking Them.  --Brock-Perry

Arkadelphians Honored for Their War of 1812 Service-- Part 1

From the October 10,2021, Sentinel Record  (Arkansas).

Neat name for a town.

The Baseline-Meridian Chapter, United Daughters of 1812 and the Arkansas General Society War of 1812 recently marked the graves of two War of 1812 veterans in Arkadelphia.

Assisted by the Sons of the American revolution and the Clark County Historical  Association, permission was obtained to mark the graves of Solomon  Spence Sr., buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, and John Browning, buried on private land at the Bozeman Cemetery.

Many War of 1812 veterans settled in Arkansas due to receiving Bounty Land for their service.

Over 6,000 Federal Bounty Land Grants  were allotted in Arkansas and although most did not claim the land, or sold it, it is estimated some 15% of the veterans did.

The Arkansas Society U.S.D. 1812 has been  searching for the grave sites of War of 1812 veterans buried in Arkansas since 1908.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 October Events: Thames, Tecumseh, Jackson, Brock, Queenston Heights, Chateauguay

1813

OCTOBER 5

**  Battle of the Thames.  Tecumseh killed.

1813

OCTOBER 7

**  Andrew Jackson established camp ay Fayetteville, Tennessee (Camp Blount) to recruit Americans to fight the Creek Indians in Alabama.

1811

OCTOBER 9

**  Major General Isaac Brock appointed Administrator of Upper Canada.  He is the Brock in my signoff, Brock-Perry.

1812

OCTOBER 13

**  British and Canadians win the Battle of Queenston Heights, Canada.  Isaac Brock killed.

1813

OCTOBER 26

**  Engagement at Chateauguay.

--Brock-Perry

Replica of James Monroe's Birthplace Dedicated-- Part 5

In 1976, the College of William and Mary conducted an archaeological survey of the Monroe  birthplace site and uncovered  a 20-by-58 foot foundation, which coincided with known  1845 etchings of the Monroe birth home.

In the early 2000s, plans for developing  the birthplace site came to the attention of the James Monroe Memorial Foundation, which was established  in 1928 by Monroe's  great-great-grandson, Lawrence Gouverneur Hoes.

Partnerships with and donations from Westmoreland County and many state and local  chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters of 1812, Daughters of Colonial Wars, Order of Founders and Patriots and the Daughters of Founders and Patriots, as well as individuals, enabled development  to begin.

"If we mentioned  everyone involved in the project, we'd be here until lunchtime," said Woody Hynson, vicechair of the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors.

A visitors center has been open at the site on weekends  for several years and now the house, which is lightly furnished, is part of the experience.

The birthplace park is open free of charge  on Saturdays and Sundays.

--Brock-Perry

Replica of James Madison's Birthplace Dedicated-- Part 4: His Formative Years

Ron Wittman, who represents the First Congressional District, which includes Westmoreland County, in Congress-- said the foundation for Monroe's decades of public service was laid at his birthplace and childhood home.

"We can imagine a young James Monroe here with his siblings, doing his chores, taking care  of the animals and garden," Wittman said.  "What he learned here, he took with him the rest of his life.  This place keeps alive an important part of  history -- the formative years of James Monroe.

Monroe sold  his birthplace property in  1783, describing it  in a newspaper advertisement as, "About 500 acres of land in Westmoreland county on Monroe's creek, within a mile and a half of Potowmack river," with "a dwelling house  with a passage and several rooms below and above, with a kitchen, barn, stables, and other necessary out-houses...."

--Brock-Perry

Replica of James Monroe's Birthplace Dedicated-- Part 3: A Presence in Early U.S. History

 After serving as Virginia's governor, Monroe served as ambassador to Great Britain and special envoy to France -- where he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase -- under Thomas Jefferson.  Under James Madison's presidency, Monroe served as both Secretary of State and Secretary of War.  

Om 1816, he was elected to the first of two terms as president of the United States.  His presidency is sometimes referred to as the Era of Good Feelings due to a sense of national purpose and unity following the War of 1812.

"Like the wind, sometimes quietly  and sometimes boldly, [Monroe] was always making his presence known" in the early history of this country," G. William Thomas said.  After reading the last two entries I fully agree with that statement.  This man did a bit of everything in our early history.

--Brock-Perry

Replica of James Monroe's Birthplace-- Part 2: Service in the American Revolution and Virginia

James Monroe, still a teenager, joined the 3rd Virginia Regiment, commanded by Hugh Mercer, and served in campaigns led by George Washington in  New York and New Jersey.

"He is our only  president to have  served on active military duty in the Revolutionary War  aside from George Washington," said G. William Thomas, president of the James Monroe Memorial Foundation, in the opening ceremony.

At the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, Monroe sustained a bullet wound to his shoulder and nearly died.  He carried that bullet in his body for the rest of his life. 

Following his military service, Monroe served in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress and then was elected by state legislators to be one of the first U.S. senators from Virginia.

Washington appointed him  ambassador to France, and in 1799, he was elected governor of Virginia.

--Brock-Perry

Replica of James Monroe's Birthplace Completed in Virginia-- Part 1

From the October 4, 2021, Fredericksburg (Virginia) Free Lance-Star by Adele Uphaus.

After more than a decade of planning,  fundraising and building,  a replica of former President James Monroe's  birthplace farmhouse is finally complete and open to the public.

The James Monroe Memorial Foundation has overseen the reconstruction process ever since signing a 99-year lease on the land with Westmoreland County in 2005, held a grand opening ceremony this past Saturday, October 2.

For decades, the site near the town of Colonial Beach where the nation's fifth president was born and lived until his teens was nothing more than a dusty pull-off from State Route 205--  the James Monroe Highway.

James Monroe was the son of a middling plantation owner and carpenter Spence Monroe and  his wife Elizabeth was born in the family home  on April 28, 1758.

He lived there until the age of 16 when both of his parents died, and he enrolled at the College of William and Mary, where he studied law for two years until he joined in the American fight for independence against Great Britain.

--Brock-Perry

Camp Blount Volunteer Days Begins-- Part 3: Led To the State's Nickname and Jackson Becoming President

"We  think we have a little bit of the claim to the reason why Tennessee got its name (Volunteer)," Dr. Farris Beasley said.  "We  were the biggest muster site for the War of 1812.  That's where we come from."

The association said that this was led to General Jackson becoming the seventh president of the United States and the turnout  of Tennessee volunteers earned the state its nickname, the "Volunteer State."

The public is invited to the free and open event  from 9 am until 4 pm Saturday, October 2.  

Volunteer Days will include speakers, music, demonstrations, history and more.

Some of the demonstrations which will be taking place include firing a cannon, rifles and pistols; blacksmithing; spinning and weaving; flint knapping; woodworking and leather working.  Native American, equestrian, local archaeologist, period crafts, period music, women's fashion and historic impression demonstrations will also be held.

Camp Blount is located at 1124 Huntsville Highway in Fayetteville and is Tennessee's eighth historic site.

It's Going On Right Now, So, If In the Area.  --Brock-Perry

Camp Blount Volunteer Days Gets Underway-- Part 2: How Tennessee Got the Nickname Volunteer State

"Fayetteville was involved in two of the muster sites that supplied troops to two of the major battles in the War of 1812," said Dr. Farris Beasley, a member of the association, who said that Tennessee at that time was considered a frontier state.  "There was no Alabama, no Mississippi, or no Louisiana."

In September 1813, a call for troops went out from President James Madison to Tennessee  Governor Willie Blount.

"The governor called on General Andrew Jackson, in charge of the Tennessee militia, to raise militia and volunteers,"  Beasley said, adding that they met at Camp Blount.  "The governor gave the order to meet on the south bank of the Elk River at the big oak trees."  Those oaks would have been  in front of where the Walmart in Fayetteville sits today.

They called for 2,500 volunteers,"  Beasley said.  "4,500 showed up.  And for the first time, a Nashville newspaper used the term Tennessee, the volunteer state."

Beasley said that Andrew Jackson kept a diary and often the words "my Tennessee volunteers" are found within those pages.

So That's How We Got "Tennessee Volunteers."  --Brock-Perry

Camp Blount Volunteer Days Gets Underway in Tennessee This Weekend-- Part 1: Played a Major Role in the War of 1812

From the September 28, 2021, Elk Valley Times (Tennessee) "Camp Blount Volunteer  Days gets underway Friday and Saturday" by Lora Scripps.

Members of the Camp Blount Historic Site  Association are getting ready for the first Camp Blount Volunteer Day set for this Friday and Saturday, October 1 and 2.  It will be held on the site of the historic Camp Blount in Tennessee.

The camp was located on the banks of the Elk River, just a little over a half mile south of downtown Fayetteville and is the site where Gen. Andrew Jackson mustered troops for the Creek  Indian War in October of 1813 during the War of 1812.

The muster of volunteers back then was the beginning of a campaign that culminated  in the Creeks defeat at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

Nine months later, Tennesseans again mustered at Camp Blount under Jackson and marched to New Orleans where they took part in the Battle of New Orleans, the final defeat of the British in the war.

--Brock-Perry

An American Spy (for the British)-- Part 3: A New Exhibit

Keith Herkalo did 18 months of research on Cadwallader R. Colden and found that Colden was a British loyalist, a regular at the racetracks and lacked a lot of skills.  Herkado termed him  an overall "schmuck."

Colden's story, along with  the fate of the British fleet from the Battle of Plattsburgh, is now the latest exhibit in the War of 1812 Museum in Plattsburgh.

The guy hid in plain sight for over 200 years.  Nobody knew what he had done.

The museum's exhibit features plaques retelling Colden's story, including his influential mother who wrote to early American figures like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, and a new display made from walking sticks made from British warships at the Battle of Plattsburgh.

Looks like I am going to have to do some research myself about this act of treason Colden was going to initiate.

--Brock-Perry

An American Spy (for the British)-- Part 2: Will the Real C.D.C. Please Stand Up

The letter was written in disappearing ink and it was initialed, not signed.  The Clements Library at the University of Michigan identified the initials as belonging to  Cadwallader D. Colden, who, according to the library, was  an American militia colonel and former lieutenant governor of New York.

Keith Herkalo found that he wasn't the lieutenant governor, his grandfather was.

He found more discrepancies in the story and started tracing the Colden family and found that  they were indeed rich and influential.  He then took a closer look at the initialed letters and decided that they weren't C.D.C., but C.R.C.

So, the person in question was Cadwallader R. Colden.

So, then Herkalo did another 18 months of research into Cadawallader R. Colden.

Getting to the Bottom of This.  --Brock-Perry

An American Spy (for the British) in the War of 1812-- Part 1

From the September 27, 2021,  Press-Republican " 'In plain sight':  New museum exhibit reveals American spy in War of 1812" by Fernando Alba.

Keith Herkalo, president of the War of 1812 Museum in Plattsburgh, New York, was looking over some documents  from the University of Michigan when he saw something of great interest.  It was from an American merchant to a British merchant in Montreal after the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814.

The merchant wanted to move his goods north into the St. Lawrence River and then on to Halifax in Canada.  The letter was sent just three months after a British invasion had been turned  back at the Battle of Plattsburgh.

Only, that letter was treason since the U.S. had an embargo on.  The merchant was in New York City and wanted to "go around" the embargo and make some money.

But, he would need  support from someone in the British government for safe passage.

So. Who Was This War of 1812 American Spy and What Info Did he Give the British?  --Brock-Perry

Camp Perry Receives Federal Funds

From the September 21, 2021, Sandusky (Ohio) Register by Andy  Ouriel.

Camp Perry, located near Port Clinton, Ohio was the primary training center for the Ohio National Guard for much of the 1900s.  It was established in 1907 and named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval War of 1812 hero.

Ohio State's Controlling Board recently  approved $271,000 in federal funding request for Camp Perry and its historical lighting project.

I will be writing more about Camp Perry in my Cooter's History Thing Blog.

Oliver Hazard Perry is the Perry in my signoff.

--Brock-Perry

James Wilkinson: Military Hero or Traitor?

From the September 21, 2021, We  Are the Mighty "4 American traitors more destructive than Benedict Arnold" by Team Mighty.

James Wilkinson was one of the most trusted soldiers in American history, serving in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812.  He took on the role of governor of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and became  one of the Army's most senior officers.

There were many problems with Wilkinson's service, but the foremost among them was that he had been spying for the Spanish most of the time.

When his role in Aaron Burr's own treason was discovered, he placed New Orleans under martial law and imprisoned anyone who might be able to prove Wilkinson was complicit in the plot.

Wilkinson was never caught in his own lifetime, but his papers were discovered in 1854, leading  Theodore Roosevelt to say, "In all our history,  there is no more despicable character."

--Brock-Perry

Vergennes Shipwrights Played Role in Battle of Lake Champlain-- Part 7: A Complete and Total American Victory

During the battle, the massive broadsides of both fleets could be heard as far away as Highgate, on the Canadian-Vermont border.  Macdonough's superior tactics won the day.

He anchored his ships in a way that allowed him to swing his vessels quickly to fire a second  broadside at the British  line of ships.  This means that the Americans would fire a broadside and then the ship would swing around so that the guns on the other side of the ship could then fire a broadside and rake the British ships.

So, for every one broadside the British fired, the Americans would get in two.

The tactic worked to a devastating effect.  In a battle that lasted barely two hours, Macdonough captured the entire British fleet except its swift gunboats, which were able to flee.

The American victory proved to be a turning point in the war.  Having lost the support of the British fleet, the British Army had its supply line threatened and commenced a retreat back to Canada.

The war in North America officially ended  in December 14, 1814, with the Treaty of Ghent, although news of the treaty did not reach America until  weeks afterwards.

Naval historian and future British prime minister Winston Churchill later called the Battle of Plattsburgh, sometimes called the Battle of Lake Champlain, "the most decisive engagement of the war."

If not for the work of the shipwrights at Vergennes, the outcome of this decisive  engagement might have turned out differently.

--Brock-Perry

Vergennes Shipwrights Played Vital Role in Battle of Lake Champlain-- Part 6: A Fairly Even Battle

When the American and British navies met in Plattsburgh Bay (also called Cumberland Bay), the British had a slight advantage in terms of number of ships and guns aboard them.  But the work done at Otter Creek made it a fair fight.

The British shipwrights had had to rush their work to prepare for this battle.  In fact, work aboard the HMS Confiance was still underway when it was launched.  According to one account, the frigate had to stop at Cumberland Head, in Plattsburgh Bay, to drop off the last  of the carpenters aboard before the battle.

Brock-Perry

Shipwrights in Vergennes Were Key to Battle of Champlain-- Part 5: A Naval Arms Race on the Lake

Learning of the new larger threat of the HMS Confiance, Macdonough pleaded with the Navy to build another large ship.  Navy Secretary William Jones rejected this request saying there was not enough money.  However, President James Madison intervened.

This time, the Navy hired Adam Brown, Noah Brown's brother, who brought along with him about 200 shipwrights.  In just 19 days, they built the Eagle, a 120-foot long, 20-gun brig and launched it on August 11,  two weeks before the Confiance was launched.

The Browns and their bands of shipwrights were invaluable to the American cause, as was proven on September  11, 1814.

At the time, the British had troops invading south along the New York side of Lake Champlain and many of those troops were in the Plattsburgh area.  The British commander wanted to wait for the Royal Navy to defeat Macdonough's ships before storming Plattsburgh. (Plattsburgh with an "h" at the end of it because  that's the most common way the Battle of Plattsburgh is described.)

--Brock-Perry

Shipwrights in Vergennes Were Key to Battle of Lake Champlain-- Part 4: Battle at Fort Cassin and the HMS Confiance

The British learned from spies the position of Macdonough's shipyard.  Alarmed by the extent of the American shipbuilding effort,  they sent a small fleet in May 1814 to land a detachment of  more than 150 soldiers.  British vessels intended to blockade the river to prevent Macdonough's fleet from living, while soldiers would   march to the falls to burn the American fleet.

But, Macdonough anticipated the British move and had an earthwork named Fort Cassin constructed at the mouth of Otter Creek. For an hour and a half, the fort traded cannon shots with the British ships. American marksmen positioned themselves on the shore to ward off any attempted troop landing.  The British withdrew.

Unwilling to be outgunned, the British set to work on a large warship at their shipyard at Ile Aux Noix on the Richilieu.  The ship was named HMS Confiance and was designed to carry 37 guns and remains the largest warship ever in service on Lake Champlain.

--Brock-Perry

Shipwrights in Vergennes Were Key to Battle of Lake Champlain-- Part 3:

In a mere 40 days, for example, they built a 143-foot-long, 26-gun frigate named the USS Saratoga, to serve as Macdonough's flagship.

To give Noah Brown and his men a head start on a second vessel, Macdonough purchased  the completed hull of a merchant steamship under construction in the yard.  Macdonough decided to convert it into a sailing vessel.  It was a safer  course of action as  steam power was notoriously  unreliable and never used in battle at the time.

Macdonough had Brown use the steamer's hull as part of a 120-foot sailing  schooner which was armed with 17 guns and christened the USS Ticonderoga.

The shipwrights also built  six 70-ton row galleys, each measuring about 75 feet in length.  These each were armed with two large cannons.

The galleys were named the Viper, Nettle, Allen, Borer, Burrow and Centipede (the latter perhaps because of its appearance when using the oars).

Once work was completed, Brown and his workers returned to New York.

Shipwrights in Vergennes Were Key to Battle of Lake Champlain-- Part 2: On to Noah Brown and Otter Creek

The two American sloops lost to the British on July 3, 1813, were the USS Growler and USS Eagle, each with 11 guns.

Subtracting those two sloops from the American side and adding them to the British essentially gave them control of Lake Champlain.

The U.S. Navy authorized Thomas Macdonough to spend the money needed to bolster  his Lake Champlain fleet.  When winter came in 1813, he moved his ships six miles up Otter Creek from its delta on Lake Champlain, where they would be safer from naval attack from the British.

There, below the falls of Vergennes, Macdonough took over and expanded an existing commercial shipyard.  The location was ideal.  It was near forests that could provide plenty of lumber, and furnaces and forges that produced iron.

The Navy hired shipbuilder Noah Brown of New York City to supervise the shipyard.  The work accomplished in just a few months by Brown and the more than 100 workers he brought with him is staggering.

--Brock-Perry

Shipwrights in Vergennes Key to Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814-- Part 1

From the September 12, 2021, Vermont Digger  "Then Again:  Shipwrights in Vergennes were key to critical 1814 battle" by Mark Bushnell.

September 11, 1814, was the day Americans won a critical engagement in the War of 1812 called the Battle of Lake Champlain.  The British lost that battle and the war turned out to be essentially a draw, but it might have been a different conclusion had they won at the fight.

And, this victory was in large part because of the prodigious work  of an accomplished naval shipyard  on the banks of Otter Creek.  This place built the vessels that helped repel the British invasion on Lake Champlain. 

As it had in the American Revolution, Lake Champlain played a vital role in the military strategy of the conflict.  American commanders knew that the British would likely use the lake as an invasion path. 

Twenty-eight-year-old Thomas Macdonough was given a really small fleet of ships to stop the British.  Under his command  were six sloops and two 40-ton row galleys.  This small fleet was further diminished  in July 1813, when two of the sloops ventured too far up the Richelieu River at the north end of the lake and were seized by British forces, who repaired the damage they did to them and began using them against the Americans.

--Brock-Perry

Interviews with First Responders Told the Story of 9/11

From the September 10, 2021, Chicago Tribune.

Karen Lamanna was a paramedic on an EMS unit summoned from the Bronx.  She and her partner got separated amid the confusion of Manhattan's unfamiliar streets.  But she made her way to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal where she heard pleasure craft and tugs were arriving.

She bandaged civilian victims before they were ferried to hospitals on Staten Island or New Jersey.

"A lot of firefighters wanted to be treated, and they went right back to the scene," Lamanna recalled.  "There was just no way of keeping them out."

When things slowed down, Lamanna was able to phone a friend and try to locate her partner.  Two days later, they met and exchanged hugs.

Liz and My 9/11 Experience

Every September 11, I take time out on all my blogs to remember this day.

Liz was at Ellis  Elementary School in Round Lake Beach, Illinois,  teaching 3rd graders when she was told about what had happened and was told not to say anything about it for fear her students wouldn't know what was going on and get afraid.

I found out about what happened between 1st and 2nd periods at John T. Magee Middle School in Round Lake, Illinois, as I was watching the hallway during passing time.  A fellow teacher came down the hall and was quietly telling teachers about what was happening.

That was it for my plans for the day.  The rest of that day was spent listening to the radio after I was unable to get anything on my TV.  I would locate the places on a map in the room (I taught social studies, so, of course, had lots of maps) and talked about how the the hard feelings between Arabs and non-Arabs goes back to the Roman times.

We spent the next several days talking about it and I had the students write 500 word reports on their experience since I told them this was, in effect, their Pearl Harbor or Kennedy assassination.

Southwest Georgia Played Key Role in War of 1812-- Part 3: Forts, Fort Mims, Battle of Horseshoe Bend and Negro Fort

Not only was a trail hewed from the Wilderness, but Gen. David Blackshear also built a series of forts along that trail:  Fort Telfair, Fort Twiggs, Fort Jackson, Fort Pike, Fort Mitchell, Fort Green Fort Lawrence, Fort Adams, Fort Clark and Fort McIntosh.

Other forts in the region included  Fort Gaines, Fort Mitchel, Fort Morgan and Fort Scott.

Military action in the region began on August 30, 1813, when a war party of Creek Indians under Spanish and English influence, attacked  Fort Mims in what is now in Alabama and 500  mostly white settlers were killed.  In retaliation, Gen. Andrew Jackson would lead his Tennessee volunteers with the aid of Cherokee warriors, killing around  800 Creeks in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

Another battle of note which highlighted the alliances formed during the War of 1812 would take place on the Apalachicola River at a fortification called British Fort, but more commonly known as Negro Fort.  There, the British enlisted runaway slaves and Indians to harass the white settlers of the region.

--Brock-Perry

Southwest Georgia Played a Key Role in the War-- Part 2: The Blackshear Trail and Andrew Jackson

Much of the defense of Georgia's south border fell to General David Blackshear, who was instructed to construct a series of  fortifications for that purpose.  Blackshear, like many who fought in the War of 1812, had gained military experience during the American Revolution.  He had been at an early engagement of that war at Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina.

After the war, he became a surveyor, moving to Springfield in Laurens County, Georgia, settling on a land grant he received for his Revolution service. 

After war was declared in June 18, 1812, he returned to military service and was authorized to construct 11 forts along Georgia's southern and western borders.

The first clue to this effort he made can be found on a Georgia historical marker on Highway 300 in  Crisp County.  It reads:  "Blackshear Trail. made by General David Blackshear during the War of 1812, was used by General Andrew Jackson when he led  his troops from Fort Hawkins, near Macon,  through Hartford, now Hawkinsville, to Fort Early in 1818.

"The section was roadless except for this and a few Indian trails.  General Jackson used it in his campaign against the Seminole and Creek Indians.  The Battle of Skin Cypress Pond was fought on the Blackshear Trail.  During the battle, three  U.S. soldiers and a number if Indians were killed.

"They were buried at the site in unmarked graves."

--Brock-Perry

Southwest Georgia Played a Key Role in the War of 1812-- Part 1: The Causes of the War

 From the September 7, 2021, Albany (Georgia) Herald by Tom Seegmueller.

Sometimes referred to as America's Second War for Independence, the War of 1812 was fought against Britain and its Canadian and Indian allies.  Many Americans know about the battles along the country's northern borders, the iconic naval battles, the burning of the White House, Battle of Fort McHenry and Andrew Jackson victory at the Battle of New Orleans (after the war was over).

One of the primary reasons often cited as a reason for the war was the impressment of American sailors into the British Navy, estimated to have been as high as 15,000.

There is also proof that the British were stirring up the Indians, who were increasingly fearful of American encroachment on their lands.

Florida was under Spanish control at the time and that too was a threat to the U.S., especially in the state of Georgia.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: Two Big Naval Victories and 'The Star-Spangled Banner'

From the September 2021 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

These events took place in September during America's "Forgotten War."  I say it's not so forgotten.

SEPTEMBER 10, 1813

Battle of Lake Erie, Ohio  "We have met the enemy...."

SEPTEMBER 11, 1814

Battle of Lake Champlain, New York

SEPTEMBER  12, 1814

Battle of North Point, Maryland

SEPTEMBER 13, 1814

Bombardment of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the American Revolution: A Treaty, Saratoga, Nathan Hale and Yorktown

From the American Battlefield Trust 2021 Calendar, September.  Since this was the First War for American Independence and the War of 1812 is sometimes called the Second War for American Independence.

SEPTEMBER 3, 1783-- The Treaty of Paris was signed, bringing the American revolution to an end.

SEPTEMBER 19, 1777--  After a series of defeats,  Continental soldiers fighting under  American General Horatio Gates defeated the British at Saratoga, New York.

SEPTEMBER 22, 1776--  American patriot Nathan Hale was hanged for spying on the British.  As he was led to the gallows, he uttered the famous words:  "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

SEPTEMBER 28, 1781--  The Siege of Yorktown, Virginia begins.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 in Illinois Territory-- Part 4: Enter Zachary, Exit Zachary, British Offensive

Other desultory expeditions marked the campaigns of 1813 and 1814.

The Indians, meanwhile, gaining courage, began near continuous marauding raids on American settlements.

Later, in 1814,  an expedition led by Major (later U.S. president)  Zachary Taylor ascended the Mississippi River as far as  Rock Island, where he found a large force of Indians supported by British regulars with artillery.  Finding himself unable to cope with so formidable a foe, Major Taylor retreated down the river.

On the site of the present-day town of Warsaw, Illinois, he threw up fortifications which eh named Fort Edwards.  However, he was subsequently compelled to retreat.

The same year, the British with their Indian allies, descended from Mackinac and capture Prairie du Chien and burned Forts Madison and Johnston, after which they retired to Cap Au Gris.

The Treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, 1814, closed the war although no formal treaties were made  with the tribes until the following year.

--Brock-Perry

The War of 1812 in Illinois Territory-- Part 3: Enter Thomas E. Craig

Meanwhile, Governor Edwards had reached the head of Peoria Lake (where Peoria is today) and now didn't meet up with Samuel Hopkins' Army, so returned to Fort Russell.

About that same time, Captain Thomas E. Craig led a party of two boats up the Illinois River to Peoria.  His boats, as he alleged, were fired upon  in the night by Indians who had been harbored and protected by the French citizens of Peoria.

He then burned the greater part of the French village and captured a number of its people.  He carried them downriver  and put them ashore in the early part of winter just below Alton.

--Brock-Perry

The War of 1812 in Illinois-- Part 2: A Two-Pincer Movement Against the Indians

An independent company of about  twenty-one spies, of which John Reynolds(afterwards governor) was a member was also formed and led by  Capt. Samuel  Judy.  The governor organized his little army into two regiments under Colonels Rector and Stephenson, Colonel Russell serving as second to the commander in chief, other members of his staff being  Secretary Nathaniel Pope and Robert K. McLaughlin.

In October 18, 1812, Governor Edwards and his men  set out for Peoria, where he expected his force to meet up with General Samuel Hopkins and his army, who had been sent from Kentucky with 2,000 men.  En route, two Kickapoo villages were burned and a number of Indians unnecessarily slain by Edwards' group.  Hopkins had orders to  disperse Indians in the Illinois and Wabash rivers and destroy their villages.

Hopkins determined, however, on reaching then headwaters of the  Vermilion River that he could proceed no further.

--Brock-Perry

The War of 1812 in Illinois-- Part 1

From Free Pages Roots Web."

Upon the declaration of war  in June 1812, the Potawatomies and most other Indian tribes in the Illinois Territory strongly sympathized with the British, whom they saw as valuable allies in keeping the intruding American settlers from taking their land.ar of 1812."

They had been  hostile and restless for some time previous and blockhouses and small family forts were the order of the day for American settlers who were mostly in the southern part of the future state. There were often Indian  attacks on them.

Territorial Governor Ninian Edwards, becoming apprehensive of an outbreak of Indian hostility as the situation between the United States and Britain worsened, constructed Fort Russel a few miles from the present-day city of Edwardsville (named for him).  Sadly, the exact location of this fort is not known today (probably north of the city).

Taking the field in person, he made Fort Russell his personal headquarters and collected a force of 250  mounted volunteers who were later reinforced by two companies of rangers, under  Col. William Russell, numbering about 100 men.

--Brock-Perry

Old Fort Niagara to Host Encampment-- Part 2:A Full Lineup of Activities

In addition to Richard V. Barbuto's talk on the turning point of the War of 1812 in September 1814,there will also be a variety of living history activities.  re-enactors will establish period camps and  demonstrate what life was like for common soldiers during the War of 1812.  In other words, no RVs or Glamping.

Throughout the day, troops will perform musket demonstrations, volley firing, artillery firing and other tactical exercises.  Other programs feature period cooking, laundry, blacksmithing, children's games and Native Americans in the War if 1812.

Scheduled programs are:

10:30 am, infantry drill and firing

On the hour and at 3:45 pm, musket firing demonstrations

11:30 am, uniforms of the War of 1812

12:30 pm, regency women's fashions

1:30 pm, "Hot Shot" artillery demonstration 

2:30 pm, firepower weapons program

3:30 pm, Tour:  Fort Niagara in the War of 1812

Activities run from 10 am to 4 pm.  This program is sponsored by the United States Daughters of 1812.

Old Fort Niagara is currently open daily from  10 am to 4 pm.  It is a Registered National Historic Landmark and a New York State Historic Site operated by the Old Fort Niagara  Association.

--Brock-Perry

Old Fort Niagara to Host a War of 1812 Encampment-- Part 1

From the August 24, 202, Niagara Frontier  Publications.

The encampment is scheduled for  Labor Day weekend September 4-5.  This year's event will focus on U.S. troops who garrisoned the fort from June  1812 through December 1813, when the British captured the fort.

Activities include a Saturday afternoon presentation by acclaimed  historian  Richard V. Barbuto who will speak about "Seven Days in September 1814:  Turning Point of the War of 1812."  Her is author of  numerous books about the War of 1812, including "New York's War of 1812," recently published by  the University of Oklahoma Press.

He is also emeritus professor of history and has served as  deputy director of the Department of Military History at the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  A 1971 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he served for 23 years as armor officer with tours of duty in Germany, Korea and Canada.

--Brock-Perry

Jacob Jones, USN-- Part 3: A Victory Then a Loss

As the two vessels continued to close, the Wasp collided with the bowsprit of the HMS Frolic.  Jones immediately ordered his men to board the Frolic, where they overwhelmed the British crew and captured the ship.

It was all over in 45 minutes.  Out of110 sailors aboard the Frolic, 90 had been killed or seriously wounded.  The Americans suffered only five killed and five wounded.

The victory over the Frolic was complete, but just then the sails of another ship were seen, which turned out to be the HMS Poictiers, a 74-gun British ship-of-the-line, appeared on the horizon.

Under normal circumstances. Jones' ship could easily outsail the slower, more powerful Poictiers; but the rigging of the Wasp was in tatters.  After the Poictiers fired a warning shot at the smaller American vessel, Jones was forced to surrender.

Regardless of the loss of his ship, Congress presented Jones with a gold medal for his action.

The Delaware native served four more decades in the U.S. Navy.

Jones had weathered a turbulent childhood and failure in several occupations before ge found himself a home in the Navy.

--Brock-Perry

Jacob Jones, USN-- Part 2: A Short, Violent Fight Between the Wasp and the Frolic

The capture by Tripoli did not stop Jones' career in the Navy.  At the beginning of the War of 1812, he now found himself in the command of the sloop USS Wasp.  In the early months of the war, American ships aggressively  sought out British ships in the Atlantic sea lanes and along the Atlantic coast.

On this cruise, before he even found the British, the Wasp encountered a violent storm which destroyed part of the ship's rigging and killed two men.  The rigging had just barely been repaired when a small convoy of British ships was spotted being escorted by the British sloop HMS Frolic.

Both being sloops, the two ships were about evenly matched for a battle that would be short and bloody.  The Wasp and Frolic were about sixty yards apart when the first broadsides were exchanged.  According to future President Theodore Roosevelt in his book "The Naval War of 1812, "The (Frolic) fired very rapidly, delivering three broadsides to the Wasp's two, both crews cheering loudly as the ships wallowed through the water.

"There was a very heavy sea running, causing the vessels to pitch and roll heavily.  The Americans fired as the engaged side of their ship was going down aiming at their opponents hull, while the British delivered their broadsides while on the crest of the seas, the shot going high."

So, Who Won?  --Brock-Perry

Jacob Jones, USN-- Part 1: The Oldest Midshipman and Capture at Tripoli

From the August 14, 2021, Delmarva ""War of 1812 hero, Jacob Jones found a home in the United States Navy" by Michael Morgan.

Master Commandant (a rank in the early U.S. Navy, now called commander) Jacob Nicholas Jones had weathered the storm.  In October 1812, the U.S. and Britain were at war.  He had guided his 18 gun sloop USS Wasp past Cape Henlopen and out into the Atlantic in search of enemy warships.

The Delaware native and resident of Lewes was born near Smyrna, Delaware in 1768.  His mother had died when he was an infant; and his father married Penelope Holt, the granddaughter of Ryves Holt of Lewes.  When he father passed away, Penelope raised the boy in Lewes, where he lived at the Ryves-Holt House at Second and Mulberry streets.

After he completed his elementary education in Lewes, Jones studied medicine and hung out his shingle as a doctor; but had few patients.  He considered a legal career, worked as a store keeper and took up farming.  But nothing seemed to satisfy him.

In 1799, ate the age of 31, Jones joined the fledgling U.S. Navy as one of the service's oldest midshipmen.  (Midshipmen were usually in their early to mid teens).

In 1803, Jacob Jones was now a lieutenant and on board the frigate USS Philadelphia, when the ship ran aground in the harbor of Tripoli in what is now Libya.  The American crew was captured and imprisoned  for twenty months.

--Brock-Perry

Hargrave Family & War of 1812-- Part 3: Then Came Craig and a Little Girl Named Ninian

A second attack on Peoria occurred beginning on November 5 and ended on November 9 and was carried out by men under the command of Captain Thomas  Craig of the Illinois militia.  A large number of French citizens and Potawatomie were killed.

These attacks not only angered the people of Peoria, but angered the U.S.  Government as well because they had been carried out against Indians loyal to Black Partridge and Gomo, two leaders who had not gotten involved in Tecumseh's  War and were considered friendly to U.S. interests.

Ninian Edwards, having lost the confidence of the Madison  administration, then left the Illinois Territory and moved to Kentucky, but continued as governor of the Illinois Territory until 1818.

She mentions that one of the Hargrave families named a little girl Ninian.

--Brock-Perry

The Hargrave Family and War of 1812-- Part 2: Ninian Edwards Attacks

Following the massacre at Fort Dearborn (present-day Chicago), Illinois Territory Governor Ninian Edwards Became convinced that  the Potawatami and Kickapoo Indians were going to launch a major attack on settlements in southern Illinois.  In his capacity as commander-in-chief in the Territory, he took it upon himself to launch a campaign against them.

The force of 400 that he assembled included mounted militia volunteers commanded by  Charles Rector and Benjamin Stephenson.  On October 18, 1812,  Edwards and his force marched out of Fort Russell (near present-day Edwardsville).  Near present-day Springfield, he burned  two Kickapoo villages on  the Saline Fork of the Sangamon River.

From there, they turned west and marched to present-day Peoria where they attacked villages associated with the Kickapoo, the Miami and the Potawatomi.  According to Edwards' account to the U.S. Secretary of War, they burned the villages and large amounts of provisions.  They also captured 80 horses, killed more than  two dozen Indians and captured 4 prisoners.

That accomplished, they returned to Fort Russell in November 1, 1812.  There Edwards proclaimed that the Indian problems had been solved and he released the militia.

Two of the men with Benjamin Stephenson were Robert Hargrave (son of John Robert) and Joseph Palmer (son-on-law of John Robert.)

--Brock-Perry