Battle of Longwoods Re-enactors to Bring War of 1812 Back to Life-- Part 1

From the April 24, 2024, Chatham (Canada) Daily News by Trevor Terfloth.

Musket-toting re-enactors in period uniform will gather next month to recreate the Battle of Longwoods and offer visitors a taste of life during the War of 1812.

The Battle of Longwoods will be brought back to life at Longwoods Conservation Area May 4 and 5.  The Upper Thames Military Re-enactment Society and Lower Thames Conservation Authority are partnering in the event.

On March 4,1814, an American raiding party defeated an attempt by British regulars, Canadian militia volunteers and Indigenous forces to intercept them near Wardsville.

About 200 re-enactors, including men, women and children are expected for the Longwoods event.  They're to arrive Friday, May 3, and camp in period tents until Suday night.

Visitors are invited to experience life as a soldier, camp follower, Indigenous member and merchant, while walking through an authentically recreated camp.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Jackson's Head-- Part 3

Samuel Dewey presented Andrew Jackson's head to the Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Jackson and it was presumed that he discarded the head.

But, in fact, he took it home and it descended through his family for generations.  Eventually it ended up with a relative in France.  In 1998 a curator of the Museum of the City of New York located the head in the home of Dickerson family members in the Paris suburbs.

Today, the Museum of the City of New York has in its collection the original Beecher figurehead with a second head  carved by Dodge & Sons of New York in 1834.  The museum also has the original Beecher head decapitated by Dewey.

--Brock-Perry

The Attack on Andrew Jackson's Head-- Part 2

There was a thunderstorm of unusual violence on the night of July 2, 1834 and the young  Sam Dewey, he was just 28,  took his row boat from Billy Gray's Wharf in Boston and rowed over to the USS Constitution.  Climbing over the ship's side by use of the manropes, he went to the bow.

There he accomplished the decapitation and rowed back to safety.  He took the fruits of his labor with him with the idea of presenting the head to President Jackson himself.  However, Jackson was seriously ill and no one permitted to visit him.

He did get to see Vice President Van Buren though, who was not amused.

Dewey then gave the head to the Secretary of the Navy, Mahlon Dickerson, and no charges were filed, however.

You Sure Would Have Thought. --Brock-Perry

The Attack on Jackson's Head-- Part 1: The Offending Figurehead

From the USS Constitution Museum "Off with his head" by Margherita M. Desy and Kate Monea.

I wrote about this episode in a blog entry earlier.

When the USS Constitution entered Dry Dock 1 in the Charlestown Navy Yard (Boston) on June 24, 1833, her docking had been delayed so that President Andrew Jackson and Vice President Martin Van Buren could be in attendance.  However, Jackson was too unwell to attend it.

Jackson was generally liked by the people of New England at the time, but fell out of favor less than a year later after he vetoed a bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States, resulting in financial hardship for merchants.

Just prior to Jackson's fall in popularity, the commandant of the Charlestown Navy Yard, Jesse Elliott had hired a local carver named Leban S. Beecher to create a figurehead of President Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812.

When news of this figurehead got out, Bostonians were enraged.  A call went out to save the famous ship "from this foul disgrace" and threats were made to Beecher.

After the figurehead was installed, the Constitution was refloated from the dry dock and placed under the protective cover of the USS Independence and Columbus.

However, this did not deter one brave local captain named Samuel Worthington Dewey, who took it upon himself to decapitate the offending figurehead.

--Brock-Perry

Elliott and the USS Constitution-- Part 3

Elliott then strong-armed his crew into buying him a set of plates.

When a midshipman was sorely wounded in an unauthorized duel, Elliott abandoned him without funds in a Turkish port.  On his last circuit through the Mediterranean, before returning to the United States, Elliott encumbered the gun deck with stalls to contain his menagerie of hogs, sheep, horses and donkeys.  All this was done without the Navy Department's approval.

When the ship returned to Norfolk, Virginia, in July 1838, he faced down a mutiny when he delayed payment and discharge of the crew.

He was removed from command of the Constitution and court-martialled in 1840 and found guilty on five counts which saw him sentenced to four years suspension from service and loss of pay.

The loss of pay was rescinded and the suspension shortened, thanks to his powerful political friends.

When he was restored to duty in December 1844 and made commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard where he died in office the next December.

--Quite An Interesting Story.  --Brock-Perry

Elliott and the USS Constitution-- Part 2: What Went On Aboard the Ship

Jesse Elliott received orders to sail to the Mediterranean Sea and take charge of the squadron there.  The next years, from 1835 to 1838, were a surreal experience for the Constitution's crew as Elliott repeatedly ignored regulations and abused his authority.

He took advantage of the annual circuits of Mediterranean ports to sightsee and gather memorabilia.  Along the way, he acquired antiques, "exotic" animals including donkeys, a set of papal busts, a stuffed ibis, a pair of Roman sarcophagi, antique coins and large marble spheres.

He toured parts of the Middle East with an entourage from the ship and swam in the Dead Sea.  Elliott also accepted unauthorized gifts from the Marmeluke ruler of Egypt.

Living in Style, That Elliott.  --Brock-Perry

Elliott and the USS Constitution: The President's Head

As you have read in recent pots, Jesse Elliott's time commanding the USS Constitution also led to situations.

This is from the USS Constitution museum blog.

Jesse Elliott took command of the Boston Navy Yard in 1833 where the USS Constitution was beginning its first major restoration.  To impress President Andrew Jackson, Elliott had a full-length figurehead of Jackson carved and installed on the ship's bow.

Bostonians who disliked Jackson were outraged.  To underscore the point, a local sea captain named Samuel Worthington Dewey climbed aboard the ship on the night of July 2, 1834, and beheaded the figurehead.

Jackson was infuriated and embarrassed by the controversy, but no charges were filed.

Elliott received orders to sail the USS Constitution and take command of the Mediterranean Squadron.

--Brock-Perry

Jesse Elliott, USN-- Part 8: Last Years

Because of the allegations, Elliott was recalled to the United States in 1838, where he was politically unpopular at the time (possibly stemming back to his performance at the Battle of Lake Erie and subsequent feud with Perry), and was convicted of the charges.

Suspended from duty for four years until the remaining charges were dismissed by President John Tyler in October 1843.

Appointed commander of the Philadelpha Navy Yard in December 1844, he remained there until his death on 10 December 1845.

He is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia. After being overgrown for many years, his grave was reidentified in 2012.

--Brock-Perry

Jesse Elliott, USN-- Part 7: A Duel, Command of USS Constitution and More Charges

In 1820, Elliott was second to Commodore James Barron when the latter fatally shot Stephen Decatur in a duel.  He was transferred to the Brazil Squadron in 1825, served as the captain of the USS Cyane for two years and commanded the West Indies Squadron from 1829 to 1832.

Elliott commanded the Boston Navy Yard in 1832 and then  to command of the frigate USS Constitution and the Mediterranean Squadron from 3 March 1835 to 18 August 1838.  During his Mediterranean assignment, he was charged for minor offenses by several of his junior officers, including using his official position for personal gain and  transporting animals he had purchased aboard the Constitution.

This looks like an interesting topic for more detail.

--Brock-Perry