So, Who Are the Sailing Masters of 1812?

From same source as last post.

"The Burning of the Ships" commemoration planned for tomorrow in Essex, Connecticut sounds like it is primarily an effort by a group who call themselves Sailing Masters of 1812.

So, who are they?

The purpose of the Sailing Masters of 1812 is to perpetuate the art and performance of  ancient fifing  and drumming and to commemorate the role of Essex in the War of 1812.  It is a nonprofit organization for historical and educational purposes.

The corps has adopted the uniform of a U.S. Navy Sailing Master, a warrant officer ranked between a midshipman and lieutenant.

The Corps performs on wooden fifes and rope tension snare and bass drums., and its repertoire includes period tunes and music from the fife and drum tradition.  These include  nautical and military tunes as well as historic songs.

--Brock-Perry

Historical 'Burning of the Ships' To Be Celebrated in Essex, Connecticut Saturday

From the Essex Patch by Karena Garrity.

On Saturday, May 8, a 2 pm, the annual Burning of the Ships in downtown Essex will be commemorated with a special ceremony  and a parade.

Pandemic precautions canceled last year's commemoration, but they are on again this year, though in a smaller format.

The Sailing Masters of 1812 hold the event to mark a British raid on April 8, 1814.  It was the largest loss for the U.S. Navy in a single event until Pearl Harbor in 1941.  In the end, the British destroyed 27 American ships.

This 2021 event is still under virus precautions so will be smaller with just a single drum and fife corps instead of multiple ones in the past.

The Sailing Masters of 1812 will parade  from the town landing onto the Connecticut River Museum grounds where there will be an hour-long ceremony.

--Brock-Perry

Essex's Annual Burning of the Ships Day-- Part 2

The British Raid and the resulting Burning of the Ships is not in most history books.  (I had never heard of it before I began this blog.)

During the War of 1812, private merchant vessels became a part of the Connecticut Privateer Fleet.  This enabled them to capture and auction off British ships and their cargoes and became a highly profitable undertaking for the captains and owners.

Of course, this did not please the British who set out to punish the American privateers..  In April 1814, the British learned that many of the Connecticut Privateer Fleet were operating out of Essex Harbor and a company of Royal Marines on longboats set out from the fleet for a sneak attack on the Americans.

The Essex townspeople put up opposition but were outnumbered and outgunned.  The British burned all the ships they found in the harbor as well as ones being built in the vicinity.  They did take two ships with them, but these grounded and were also burned.  On their way back down the Connecticut River, Americans set up some cannons and there was a brief engagement, costing the British two deaths, but rthey got by and returned to their ships.

There will be a parade which will end at the Connecticut River Museum, where the British landed.  Speeches and re-enacting will follow.

--Brock-Perry

Essex's Annual Burning of the Ships Day-- Part 1

From the May 9, 2017, Zip 06.com  "Essex's Annual Burning of the Ships Day Commemorates Historic Event on May 13" by Jenn McCulloch.

The Reenacting group Free Men of the Sea will be on hand to recreate life in Essex during the War of 1812.

Over 200 years ago, the British burned nearly 30 ships in Essex Harbor, Connecticut, and in the surrounding area.  This will be commemorated on May 13 in Essex from 1 to 4 p.m..  The event is cohosted by the Connecticut River Museum and Sailing Masters of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Trumbull, Connecticut

From the Feb. 21, 2013, The Day (Ct.) "War of 1812 focus at Fort Trumbull" by Judy Benson.

Fort Trumbull State Park at New London, Connecticut.

There will be a series of programs beginning this spring that feature Fort Trumbull, built to protect the mouth of the Thames River and keep the British fleet blockading Long Island Sound in 1813 anchored off Great Gull Island.

Other talks will be about the Raid on Essex, the Battle of Stonington, Battle of Long Island, Battle of Groton Heights and burning of New London.

Today's fort is the third one constructed at the site which was built in 1838 to replace the War of 1812 one which was built in 1809. There is still one building at the current fort remaining from the War of 1812 one, the Block House, made of granite and protecting the powder magazine and also served as living quarters for some of the garrison.

A model of the 1812 fort is in the visitors center and there is a painting of it at the Lyman Allyn Museum.

--Brock-Perry

Essex Goes to NRHP for Raid-- Part 2

Essex, Connecticut was attacked by the British because it was a regular hotbed for privateering.. The town, called Pettipaug back then, had lost a lot of trade and commerce because of the British blockade on Long Island Sound and had turned to privateering to make money.

The traditional belief was that when the British attacked, Essex gave up without a fight. For years the town marked the anniversary of the date with a parade on "Loser's Day" as it was referred to, but researchers have now found evidence of intense fighting.

There is also evidence of a shipwrecked privateer which was discovered in the Connecticut River in several feet of water this past September. It is off Watrous Point, a mile south of Essex Harbor. The ship has long since disintegrated, but tell-tale ballast stones have been found.

The National Park Service oversees the American Battlefield Protection Program and expects to rule on the application this spring on the bicentennial of the raid.

--Brock-Perry

Essex Goes for NRHP for Raid-- Part 1

From the Jan. 10, 2014, Hartford (Ct.) Courant "Essex Researchers To Submit Sites For Historic Register" by Erik Hesselberg.

Several sites along the Connecticut River played a key role in the famed 1814 British Raid on Essex, Connecticut, when 27 American ships were burned, will be submitted for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This is the result of six years of study by researchers in the Battlefield Essex Project, coordinated by the Connecticut River Museum in Essex.

The researchers were identifying sites along the river linked to the raid by 136 Royal Marines who stormed ashore and burned the town's fleet (and some of the ships were still in their stocks while under construction).

--Brock-Perry

Some More On the Connecticut River Mystery Ship-- Part 2

Based on the age and location of the ships knee, it is likely from one of two American privateers the British attempted to take downriver with them after their attack on the privateer base at Essex in 1814 in which 27 American ships were destroyed.

They burned the Young Anaconda and Eagle after running them aground in shallow water near where the ships knee was found.

The knee is in a tank undergoing a two-year conservation process and can be seen at the Connecticut River Museum at 67 Main Street in Essex.

The museum is also home to the permanent "Burning of the Fleet" exhibit which includes artifacts from the British raid, a 14-ft long mural, paintings, dioramas and audio clips of the event. A second piece of wood was found in the same location last week. It is believed that a heavy spring freshet (flood) uncovered them. Last year, the museum was given a British sword found in the area.

And I Had Never Heard of the Raid on Essex Before Starting This Blog. --Brock-Perry

Some More On That Connecticut River Mystery Shipwreck-- Part 1

A follow up to yesterday's post from the October 12, 2013, Connecticut Day "Mystery Shipwreck Discovered in Connecticut River."

On June 20th, while dragging nets for sturgeon research in the Connecticut River just south of the town of Essex, Tom Savoy and his state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection snagged an old ship's knee (a large wooden L-bracket used to fasten the deck beams to the ribs of wooden ships).

They took it to the Connecticut River Museum where it was identified and preservation begun.

It is tentatively identified as a wooden knee made in America prior to the 1820s due to its hand-carved wooden trunnels (pegs) and lack of metal fasteners.

So, the Knee Knew. --Brock-Perry

1814 British Raid on Essex, Ct.: More US Ships Lost Than at Pearl Harbor

From the April 5th East Haddam (Ct) Haddam Patch by Philip R. Devlin.

Most War of 1812 action in Connecticut took place in and around Long Island Sound.  The American attempt to blow up a British ship in New London Harbor caused a British retaliatory attack against Pettipaug Point, today's Essex, Ct..

To free Commodore Stephen Decatur's squadron from British blockade, a barge steered toward the HMS La Hogue with a torpedo deployed on the front, but the hauling line got tangled in the ship's anchor line and the torpedo blew up prematurely causing no damage.

The next day, some Americans in a small skiff were captured and agreed to lead the British to Pettipaug Point.  On April 8, 1814, 220 British soldiers went 6 miles up the Connecticut River.  A deal was struck whereby homes would be saved, but 28 American ships were torched and two were taken.

Essex still celebrates the "Burning of the Ships"  the second Saturday in May.

Something I Didn't Know.  --Brock-Perry