Historic Black Settlement of Willow Grove to Be Honored on Canadian Stamp-- Part 1

From the November 22, 2020, CBC by Jordan Gill.

A community outside of  Saint John will receive a stamp during next year's Black History Month according to Canada Post.

For Ralph Thomas, a descendant  of the residents of Willow Grove and a proponent of black history, the honor is a long time in coming.  "We have gone through the years without being recognized with some of our great folks that came to these parts and  went through a very tough time to get started in life."

The community was founded in 1815 as a result  of an 1812 British call to anyone living in the United States would be welcomed in the British Empire.  This was primarily aimed at Blacks, both enslaved and free.  Thousands of the Blacks took them up on it along the coast and especially from the Mid-Atlantic states and ended up living in  New Brunswick looking for a better life.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Graves Marked in Iowa-- Part 2: Black Veterans and a Man With Two Names and Many Spouses

The men whose graves are now marked include Albert Lytle, Robert Dickens and William Early.  All three of these men were Blacks.

Also, William Buzick, a War of 1812 veteran

Grandison Able who was both a veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War.  Even so, however, he had to get the help of a Congressman to get him a $12-a-month pension.

Benjamin Brown spent the last seventeen years of his life at the Old Soldiers Home in Marshalltown.

Dr. John Granville Kimball, who had several spouses and for some reason was known as John Granville and John Kimball.    This has the makings of an interesting story.

Henry Moreland was born in England but rose to the rank of captain during the Civil War.

Jacob Lee Englebert wrote many recollections for the Des Moines Register.

I Am So Glad These Men Are Having Their Graves Finally  Marked.  --Brock-Perry

Model Boat Builder Constructs Replica of the HMS Nimrod

From the June 7, 2013, Falmouth (Ma.) Enterprise" by Christoher Kazarian.

Alan G. Alan G. Lunn loves anything to do with the sea and ocean.  Just look around his home.  he collects, he builds, and the latest is a scale reproduction of the British brig-sloop HMS Nimrod that played a part in Falmouth's history.

He has spent some two hours a day and the last eight months fine-tuning his effort.  He alludes to four  specific traits for someone who makes these reproductions:  "You need to have the eyes of an eagle, the patience of a saint, the hand skills of a surgeon and the ability to curse like a sailor."  (Well, I got one of the three.)

The 84-year-old was able to get the Nimrod's  original plans from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, as well as materials from Woods Hole Historical Museum that proved useful in the project.

During his research, he discovered a factual error in the painting of the Nimrod in the Falmouth Public Library which shows a two-deck ship, the Nimrod only had a single deck.

The process of building a boat like this was, at time, painstaking.  For the rigging he took bristles from a broom, glued them together and painted them black.  He laughed that there were times he needed hands of a surgeon, nut those were all too often overshadowed by cursing like a sailor.

A picture of Mr. Lunn and his model of the HMS Nimrod accompanies the article.

Job Well Done, Mr. Lunn   --Brock-Perry

St. Michael and All Angels Church, England

French prisoners started construction of the church and it was finished by Americans as the Napoleonic Wars were over.  The first service was held in the church 2 January 1814.  Essentially, a lot of the reason the church was built was to provide the prisoners with something to do.

The last American prisoners left Dartmoor 10 February 1816 and the church was closed and locked.

During the time it was open, nearly 1,500 French and 218 Americans died at Dartmoor Prison.

In 1831, the local villagers reopened the church and services were held until 1994 when it was closed and offered for sale, but there were no buyers.  The Church of England's Historic Buildings Trust took it over and the steeple was restored and the structure waterproofed.  Work has also been done on the exterior.

At least it won't be lost.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison and St, Michael Church-- Part 2: American Prisoners from Dartmoor Helped Build the Church

American prisoners started arriving at Dartmoor in 1813 and found the prison to be overcrowded, cold and damp.  Disease set in.  One American prisoner described it as, "an incredibly bleak place.  It is either rainy, snowy or foggy the entire year round."

As they were leaving, the couple were told to visit the church "up the road" because "your people helped to build it."  That would be St. Michael and All Angels Church.  So, the Americans who finished the church were from the infamous Dartmoor Prison.

--Brock-Perry

St. Michael and All Angels Church in England-- Part 3: Stained Glass Window from USD1812

One of the church's windows is a beautiful stained glass one by Mayer of Munich which was installed in 1910 in memory of the American prisoners of war who helped build the church.  This window was partially funded by the donation of 250 pounds from the National Society Daughters of the War of 1812 as part of their ongoing work to commemorate those who died in the War of 1812.

The graves of some of those prisoners who died while in captivity are in the graveyard of the church.

The church was declared redundant in 1995 and vested by the Trust in 2001.  It is still consecrated and used for service occasionally.

--Brock-Perry

St. Michael and All Angels Church, England-- Part 1: Built By American Prisoners at Dartmoor Prison

In the last post, I mentioned the USD1812  (United States Daughters of the War of 1812) as supporting the preservation of St. Michael and All Angels Church in England.  Why would they be supporting an English church, I wondered?

Some more research was needed.

From Wikipedia

The Anglican Church of St. Michael (sometimes known as St. Michael and All Angels) in Princetown, Devon, England, was built between 1810 and 1814 and is on the National Heritage Trust for England and is built of granite.

And, here is the really interesting fact:  It was built by French and American prisoners.

--Brock-Perry

Another War of 1812 Marker-- Part 2: Supports Old Fort Niagara

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at the cemetery on Angling Road in Corfu, New York, on October 7.

The chapter of the USD1812 marks grave site, assists veteran functions and donates to and supports various museums including Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown.  They also support the preservation of St. Michael and All Angels Church in England which were built by War of 1812 prisoners.

Membership in the USD1812 is open to all with an ancestor who gave civil, military or naval service to the United States between 1784 and 1815.

--Brock-Perry

George Washington Whistler-- Part 4: Got Involved With Railroads

From 1821-1822, he was Assistant Professor of Drawing at West Point.

In 1822 he was reassigned to the artillery corps and was with the commission tracing the international boundary between Lake Superior and Land of the Woods.

In 1827, his brother-in-law and fellow engineer, William Gibbs McNeill, became a member of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  Even though he was still on active duty, Whistler also joined in 1828.  He went with McNeill and Jonathan Knight to England to study railroad engineering as Britain was in the forefront of this new mode of transportation.

--Brock-Perry

From the Chesapeake Mill Website-- Part 2

HISTORICAL VENUE

  The historical significance of this fine building arises first of all from the timber used in its construction.  These timbers come from the United States frigate Chesapeake, which was captured by the Royal Navy during the War of 1812.

Architecturally, the mill is the finest example of re-used ship timbers within an industrial building outside the confines of the Royal Dockyards.

In addition to this maritime heritage, the mill has been a prominent feature of the landscape in the Meon Valley, performing a vital function in the rural economy from its construction in 1820 up to 1976, when it ceased commercial operations.

On My List of Places to Go If Ever in England Again.  --Brock-Perry

From the Chesapeake Mill Website-- Part 1: Lots of Stuff to Buy

You can find it at thechesapeakemill.com.

You can take a virtual tour of the building, which now is an antique/gift store and evidently quite a popular tourist destination.

SIMPLY UNIQUE

We have dealers who offer a wonderful mix of antiques and collectable, antique pine, kitchenalla, and country made furniture, Georgian and Victorian mahogony, oak and walnut furniture for the bedroom, sitting room, dining room or for occasional use.

With some dealers offering Antique and Vintage Jewelry, ceramics and glass from early Staffordshire Pottery, Oriental Porcelain and Victorian Glass through to collectable 20th century ceramics and Quality Glass.

There is an award-winning restaurant on site, currently #1 in Wickham.

--Brock-Perry

The Aftermath of the USS Chesapeake

From Wikipedia.

After the USS Chesapeake was captured on June 1, 1813, it was repaired and taken into service of the Royal Navy as the HMS Chesapeake.  It served on the Halifax Station under the command of Alexander Dixie through 1814.

It sailed to Plymouth in October 1814 and later made a trip to Cape Town, South Africa.

Later commanders of the ship were not too impressed with it and in 1819 it was put up for sale at Plymouth.  A Portsmouth timber merchant bought it for 500 pounds, dismantled it and then sold the timber to Joshua Holmes for 3,450 pounds.

Eventually the timbers became part of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, Hampshire, England.

In 1996 one timber fragment was returned to the United States and is on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum.

--Brock-Perry

"The King Pays for All"

In September 1814, a group of American prisoners from Halifax landed at Plymouth, England, and were marched to Dartmoor Prison.

They came upon a cart of luxuries on the way and "confiscated" it.

They told the angry owner, "The King pays for all."

Well, That Was Their Excuse.  --Brock-Perry

List of British Prison Hulks-- Part 1

List of British Prison Hulks from Wikipedia.

These were used quite extensively by the English.  they were most often decommissioned warships.  These were all ships used during the War of 1812.

Antigua--  1804-1816
Bellerophon--  1815-1824
Belliqueux--  1814-1816
Canada--  1810-1834 at Chatham.  74-gun Third Rate ship-of-the-line commissioned 1765.

Crown--  1798-1802, 1806-1815 in Portsmouth, 64-gun ship-of-the-line (SOL)
Defiance--  1813-1817, 74-gun SOL commissioned 1783.
Edgar--  1814-1835, 74-gun Third Class SOL commissioned 1779.  renamed Retribution in 1814.
Fortitude--  1795-1820 at Chatham 74-gun, Third Rate SOL

Gelykeid--  1807-1814
Glory--  1809-1814, 90-gun Second Rate SOL

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison in Britain-- Part 5: After the War of 1812

Dartmoor Prison was closed, but reopened in 1851 as a civilian prison and operated until 1917 when it became the Home Office Work Centre for conscientious objectors during World War I.  It reopened in 1920 containing some of Britain's worst offenders.

The Dartmoor Mutiny occurred on 24 January 1932, when inmates took over the prison.

In 2001, Dartmoor was converted into a Class C prison for less violent offenders and continues to operate to this day.

--Brock-Perry

Glover Broughton-- Part 2

 Glover Broughton and his brother took command of ships before they were 21.

He was a seaman on the privateer America out of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1812, and was captured and sent to the infamous Dartmoor Prison in 1815. This was the main location for American prisoners, many of them Marblehead men.

While there, he drew a map of the circular prison which is still used as a resource today.

Broughton survived Dartmoor and returned to the United States and became a wealthy and successful merchant.

After retirement from the sea, he became very involved with Marblehead.  One thing he did was help War of 1812 veterans to get benefits.  Back then, pensions and compensation did not come automatically and had to be applied for.

--Brock-Perry

Launch of the HMS Psyche on Dec. 25, 1814-- Part 1: "In Frame"

I already mentioned this, but a little more detail on it.

Launch of the HMS Psyche, 56-gun frigate sent "in frame" from England and assembled in Kingston, Canada.

In the summer of 1813, British Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo struggled to vanquish the growing American fleet in Lake Ontario.  As a result, the crown adopted an innovative approach to shipbuilding: sending prefabricated pieces to expedite the construction of warships.

Transports left Chatham Dockyard, England, early in 1814 with four vessels "in frame."  Three of the ships never made it past Montreal, but sections of "Frigate B", the Psyche, were laboriously shipped up the St. Lawrence River to Kingston, where shipwrights assembled the parts.

--Brock-Perry