Alexander Cortee Hanson and the Baltimore Lynch Mob-- Part 1

In the last post I mentioned how Baltimore Mayor Edward Johnson risked his life to save this man and Robert E. Lee's father, Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee from a lynch mob in Baltimore in 1812.  I'd never heard of this before so some more research was in order.

From Wikipedia.

February 27, 1786 to April 23, 1819

Lawyer, publisher and statesman.  Born in Annapolis, Maryland.

He studied law and was admitted to the Maryland bar and had a practice in Annapolis.  From 1811 to 1815, he was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Hanson established and edited the Federalist Republican an extreme Federalist newspaper in Baltimore.  On June 22, 1812, four days after the declaration of war on Britain, a mob that was irritated by  his articles denouncing the Madison administration destroyed his office.

Anti-Federalists?  --Brock-Perry

British Flag Captured in War of 1812 On Display at USNA Museum

From the April 6, 2018, Annapolis (Md) Patch  "British Flag Captured In War Of 1812 To Go On Display"

Viewing of a British Royal Standard flag will take place at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) Museum in Dahlgren Hall April 7.  It flew over York (now Toronto) Canada and was captured by U.S. forces during the War of 1812.

Both Congressional and Presidential Directives require the USNA to preserve and exhibit captured flags.

This will be the first time this particular flag has been seen by the public since the 1880s when it was "lost,"  The flag is 35' by 25' in size.

The museum has over 60,000 items and several War of 1812 flags.  Among its flag collection are 200 battle flags and over 600 flags altogether.

--Brock-Perry

700 Slaves Took British Up on Freedom Offer

Twenty-one of them were from Annapolis.  Twenty of them came from one plantation.  The men, women and children fled from Henrietta M. Ogle's plantation.  She was the widow of Governor Benjamin Ogle of Maryland.

Following the war, Maryland slave owners submitted claims for compensation for their loss of slaves and other property.  The claim for the twenty Ogle slaves was submitted by her son, Benjamin Ogle, as she had died in the meanwhile.  I didn't find out if he was compensated.

--Brock-Perry

Annapolis and Chesapeake Bay Commemorate the War of 1812

From the March 8, 1813, Eye on Annapolis "Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay Celebrate War of 1812 Bicentennial."

It will be part of Maryland's Star-Spangled 200.

No major sea or land battles were fought in or near Annapolis.

The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis is opening a 2,500 square foot exhibition April 1, 2013, a part of "Seas, Lakes & Bay: The Naval War of 1812."  It features hundreds of artifacts including the anchor of the USS Constitution and carved wooden figureheads from the USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon.

A self-guided walking tour of historic War of 1812 sites in Annapolis was unveiled last summer.  It features ten stops: five at the Naval Academy and five in Annapolis' Historic District.  Stops at the Academy: USNA Museum, Mahan Hall, cannon from the HMS Confiance that surrendered at the Battle of Lake Champlain and the HMS Macedonian monument.

In Annapolis:  Chase-Lloyd House where Francis Scott Key got married, St. John's College where Key was educated, St. Anne's Church where he attended services, the Historical Annapolis Museum and the Maryland State House.

Tour guides are available.

--Brock-Perry

The HMS Menelaus and Maryland Slaves

From "The Enemy Nearly All 'Round Us" exhibit website. "African Americans and the War of 1812."

An article from the Maryland Gazette, Annapolis, Thursday, Dec. 22, 1814: "Upon the return of the British frigate Menelaus down the Bay on Sunday last, she came to anchor nearly opposite the city, where she continued for the night.

"While at anchor negroes to the (?) of between twenty and thirty, property of different individuals in this city and neighborhood, went off to her and were taken down the Bay."

Runaway Slaves. --Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Exhibit Opens At Annapolis: An Emancipation Proclamation

From the Jan. 25, 2013, Capital Gazette.com "Around Annapolis: War of 1812 Exhibit opens at State House" by Diane M. Rey.

On August 20, 1814, the HMS Menelaus was at anchor off Annapolis. The British fleet sailed past the port and shortly thereafter, Washington, D.C. was captured and burned. Then the fleet sailed past again on its way to attack Fort McHenry protecting Baltimore. Annapolis, however, was never directly attacked.

A new War of 1812 exhibit opened at the Maryland State House on Jan. 14, 2013 "The Enemy Nearly All 'Round' Us." The centerpiece is a 16-by-24-foot enlargement of a painting by Frederick artist Richard Schlecht showing British ships off Annapolis as seen from the State House dome. A circular inset on the painting shows the 38-gun frigate Memelaus under full sail.

Hundreds of slaves escaped to the British ships, seeking their freedom. On April 2, 1814, British Admiral Sir Alexander Cochran issued an emancipation proclamation to any slaves who joined the Colonial Marines and settled in British colonies. Some 700 Maryland slaves took him up on it, 21 of them from Annapolis.

The exhibit also has a personal log of a British officer on the Menelaus.

--Brock-Perry

Southern Maryland's Role in the War of 1812-- Part 1

From the September 9, 2012, Washington Post "Recalling Southern Maryland's role in the War of 1812" by Justin Babcock.

How's this for some action during the war: The largest naval battle fought on the Chesapeake Bay was fought at St. Looner's Creek, Calver County's Courthouse was burned, Benedict was the landing point of 4500 British troops and farms and homes in St. Mary's County were raided.

The British did not terrorize the Chesapeake Bay area until 1813 and 1814. In August 1814, 45 British warships sailed up the Patuxent River as part of the operation against Washington, DC. They burned plantations along the way.

On April 7, 1813, British ships began probing the Potomac River. The April 22, 1813, Maryland Gazette reported five British ships were anchored in the harbor of Annapolis and state records were moved from the capital.

And, It Gets Hotter. --Brock-Perry

Some More On Fort Madison

I have looked, but can't find any picture of the fort.

FROM THE MARYLAND WAR OF 1812 BLOG

On August 27, 1814, the Maryland State Armory delivered 28 muskets and 28 cartridge boxes to Fort Madison.


FROM THE MAY 1, 1861, NEW YORK TIMES

The 6th New York Regiment reported that armed men (Confederates) had been seen around Fort Madison.  Two armed vessels were placed in the Severn River and 200 men positioned in the hills behind the fort.

In the early days of the Civil War, there was great worry about Maryland becoming a Confederate state.

Brock-Perry

Fort Madison: Lost and Found?

From the April 25, 2012, Military Times "Possible remains of Army fort found at USNA" by Tina Reed.

There is a giant slab of marble in the middle of the firing range at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  It is a piece of a fort long buried.  Records show Fort Madison was built of 100,000 bricks and likely had a dry moat around it.

Today, it is completely flattened with just that slab of marble to show its former existence.  Nearby Fort Severn is much-better known even though today it is beneath a wing of Bancroft Hall of the Academy.

Fort Madison was built at the request of President Thomas Jefferson and among 62 forts built along the US Atlantic coast between Maine and Florida.

It was razed in the 1930s for the firing range.

So, That's What Happened to It.  --Brock-Perry

Fort Madison in Annapolis, Maryland-- Part 2

From the Maryland in the War of 1812 Blog.  This is an excellent site and I've gotten quite a bit of Peter Parker information from it.

Fort Madison (1809-1909) as described by U.S. secretary of War William Eustis on December 10, 1809:  "An enclosed work of masonry with semi-elliptical face, circular flanks, calculated for 13-guns with brick magazine and barracks for one company."

On April 19, 1813, it fired an alarm gun when several Maryland privateers being chased by Royal Navy ships sought shelter there.

So, It Must Have Been garrisoned At One Time.  --Brock-Perry

Fort Madison in Annapolis, Maryland-- Part 1

On February 8th, I wrote about Captain Peter Parker having two officers go ashore from his HMS Menelaus and reconnoiter Annapolis, Maryland.  It sounded like they essentially just walked around the town and even American Fort Madison guarding the town.  This would lead me to believe that it wasn't garrisoned at the time; well, hopefully.

I'd never heard of Fort Madison, so that meant a little research on it.  And, there is not much on the fort, which doesn't even exist now.  But, it was definitely there, on the grounds of the present day U.S. Naval Academy.

From the North American Forts Site:

1808-1873/1896.  Was a 13-gun elliptical fort located at Carr Point in Annapolis.  Rebuilt in the early 1850s and abandoned after the Civil War.  Transferred to the Navy in 1873 for the Naval Experimental Battery for training USNA midshipmen.

The Coast Guard acquired the site in 1896 for the Annapolis Lighthouse Depot.  The fort's remains were evident until World War II construction eradicated them.

Where Is the Fort?  --Brock-Perry

Why It Takes So Long to Do These Darn Blog Entries

This all started with a article about the Battle of Caulk's Field in Maryland.  Then, it led to his ship, the HMS Menelaus and then on his various raids and expeditions in Maryland.  Then to the ship's commander, Captain Peter Parker. 

I found more information about his pre-Menelaus life as well as his family which consisted of several Royal Navy officers.  Then, at one point, I found that he had sent two men to walk around American Annapolis and they evidently walked right through Fort Madison there.

This fort will be the subject of the next several entries.

One Thing Leads to Another.  --Brock-Perry

British Spies in Annapolis

From the Maryland in the War of 1812 Blog.

Before the Battle of Caulk's Field, Captain Parker had anchored his HMS Menelaus undetected near Annapolis, Maryland.  Two of his officers rowed a boat six miles to the city and reconnoitered it.

They even walked around the American Fort Madison without even a challenge.

This led Captain Peter Parker to report to his superiors that Annapolis could easily be taken by even a token force.

This Peter Parker kind of reminds me of William Cushing of the US Navy during the Civil War.  Obviously, he was afraid to take chances and led by example and without fear for his life.  Also reminds me of British General Isaac Brock.

A Hero.  --Brock-Perry