HMS Menelaus and Nisus-- Lively-Class Frigates-- Part 7

I have already written a lot about the HMS Menelaus which entered service in 1810 under the command of Captain Peter Parker. The ship lasted a long time before being broken up in 1897.

HMS NISUS Entered service 1810 and used in the Napoleonic Wars. Laid up 1815 and broken up 1822.

--Brock-Perry

British Lively-Class Frigates-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

The class consisted of 16 Royal Navy 38-gun frigates built starting in 1799 to the design of Sir William Rule. They served in the Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812, the most famous of them probably were the HMS Macedonian and Menelaus.

The prototype, the HMS Lively, was launched in 1804. By then, an additional four had been ordered to the same design and then eleven more to a similar design.

Even the United States Navy ordered one to the design of the captured HMS Macedonian in 1832 and launched in 1836 as the USS Macedonian. I'll write about this ship in my Civil War Navy Blog as it served during the war.

Up Next, A Short History of the Lively-Class Ships. --Brock-Perry

HMS Menelaus

From Wikipedia.

Built at Plymouth Dockyard and completed 21 June 1810. Sold for breaking up in 1897 (a long time for a ship). Lively-class 38-gun frigate. 154 feet long, 284 crew.

Original commander Captain Peter Parker whose father was son of Admiral Peter Parker and mother was daughter of Vice Admiral John Bryon. Killed at the battle of Caulk's Field.

This started sounding familiar and I looked the ship and Peter Parker up in my labels. I've written a lot about them. See HMS Menelaus, Parker Peter and Battle of Caulk's Field.

--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

The War of 1812 in Maryland-- Part 2

The exhibit focuses on individual stories that happened.

Some of the Maryland/Chesapeake Bay stories:

**  Gabriel Hall, a slave from Calvert County.  He and two others escaped to the British fleet in the Patuxent River and eventually moved to Halifax, Canada.

**  Four slaves escaped to a British ship, probably the HMS Menelaus, off Poole's Island in Kent County in 1814 and led the British attack at Caulk's Field where the British were ambushed and soundly defeated resulting in the death of  Captain Peter Parker (whom I have written a lot about).  It is believed that the slaves lied and deliberately led the British into the attack.

**  Mrs. Dawson was a young Quaker mother.  She and her two small children were captured by the British while on a small commercial sloop traveling between Easton Point and Baltimore.  They were taken to Tangier Island for a dew days and entertained lavishly.

One night, she was feeding her infant and an admiring British officer gave her a silver spoon on which he had her name engraved.  That spoon is now a cherished family heirloom.

Little Stories Like These Make History So Much More Interesting.  --Brock-Perry

Sir Peter Parker, 2nd Baronet, Killed at Caulk's Field

That newspaper article awhile back has sure led to a lot of different areas.

From Wikipedia about his early life.

Sir Peter Parker (1785-1814) was the son of Vice Admiral Christopher Parker and Augusta Byron, the daughter of Admiral John Byron.  His father was the son of Admiral Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet.

He entered the Royal Navy in 1798 and served under his grandfather and his grandfather's friend, Lord Horatio Nelson on the Victory.  He rapidly rose through the ranks.

In May 1804, he was promoted to commander and 1805, was given the brig HMS Weazel.  This was the first ship to spot the Franco-Spanish fleet leaving Cadiz, which preceded the Battle of Trafalgar.  Parker was promoted to captain after the battle and in 1810, give command of the new HMS Menelaus.

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

Sir Captain Peter Parker-- Part 2

Lt. Henry Crease reported that Captain Parker had been wounded while leading his men and carried off the field where he died in a few minutes.  Back at the Menelaus, the body was placed in a coffin filled with whiskey.  The next morning, his right show was found with a great deal of blood inside it. (So, was he placed in a coffin or a barrel?)

On September 3rd, the Menelaus carried off another raid, this time at the home of Thomas Mitchell, Commissary of Supplies for the Kent County Militia.

On September 7th, the HMS Menelaus sailed down the Chesapeake Bay with its pennant at half-mast in honor of its fallen commander.

It anchored with other British ships in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore. (Wonder if this is the ship where Francis Scott Key was held?) 

Parker's remains were transferred to the frigate HMS Hebrus and taken to Bermuda and buried at St. George's Church.  In the spring of 1815, the body was exhumed and taken to St. Margaret Church at Westminster, London, and buried again.

Quite the Hero.  --Brock-Perry

Sir Captain Peter Parker-- Part 1

From the Maryland In the War of 1812 Blog.

This all started out as a newspaper article about the Battle of Caulk's Field, but has expanded a bit.

Sir Captain Peter Parker (1785-1814) was the descendant of several Royal Navy flag officers and received the command of the HMS Menelaus when it was launched in 1810.

The story is often told that when Parker was mortally wounded that he was carried to the Thomas Mitchell home (on the Maryland Parkway, off Route 21) and that he died in the kitchen and his men "got a blanket and sheet to wrap Sir Peter in."

Today, the house is a popular Bed and Breakfast, but Parker was never there, but taken directly back to the Menelaus, which was laying off today's Parker Point (named after him?).

Lt. Henry Crease assumed command of the ship after Parker died.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

A Congreve Rocket Burns Henry Waller's Farmhouse

From the Maryland in the War of 1812 Blog.

This took place August 28, 1814, two days before the Battle of Caulk's Field.

On this date, Royal Marines and sailors from the HMS Menelaus, under Captain Peter Parker, landed at Fairlee Creek, in Kent County, Maryland.  At 10:30 AM, they encountered militia cavalry near the bayside home of Henry Waller's 308 acre farm.

The British officer, Lt. Henry Crease, aboard the Menelaus, ordered Congreve rockets and an 18-pdr carronade fired at them.  One rocket failed to launch and burned furiously on the deck before they were able to throw it overboard.

Later that afternoon, there was a second British landing made.  The farmhouse was set afire as were the corn fields and musket volleys exchanged with the American militia  It is a bit confusing as to whether the British set fire to the house on land or whether a Concreve rocket hit it, causing the flames.

In 1829, Henry Waller made a claim to the federal government and retained a Georgetown attorney by the name of Francis Scott Key (wonder where we've heard that name before?)  He received his compensation.

One of the Congreve rockets that set fire to his house is at the Fort McHenry National Monument. (I would think it would have burned up had it hit Waller's house.)  If Crease was on the Menelaus and I believe he was second in command, was Peter Parker leading the landing party?

Just Some More Raiding.  --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

Digging for Answers at Caulk's Field-- Part 3

The Americans ambushed the British and in an hour-long battle, 14 British soldiers (actually Marines and sailors), died, including Captain Peter Parker, the expedition leader and captain of the HMS Menelaus.  He bled to death from a gunshot wound.  You would not generally expect a ship's commander to lead an onshore expedition like this.  Normally that job would fall to junior officers.  Three Americans were wounded.

With their commander dead and the Americans holding the high ground, the Brits retreated back to the ship.

The ship then participated in the Battle of Baltimore (Fort McHenry) and left the Chesapeake after that failed.  Fort McHenry, of course, is what inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Archaeologists are looking for where the forces actually stood and where camp was made.  According to Julie Schablitsky, "It's really like a crime scene.  You have to let the artifacts-- the evidence-- tell you what was going on."

Two sets of post-battle reports exist, one British, one American.  She enlisted the help of the New Jersey-based Battlefield Restoration and Archaeological Volunteer Organization to scour the field and mark each artifact with a flag.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

HMS Menelaus: Peter Parker's Ship

From Wikipedia.

The HMS Menelaus was a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate of 1,071 tons, 154 feet long, 39.5 foot beam with 285 crew carrying twenty-eight 18-pdr, four 9-pdr and fourteen 32-pdr carronade guns.

It was built at Plymouth Dockyard and launched in 1810, entering service under Captain Peter Parker who commanded it until his death in battle at Caulk's Field on August 30, 1814.  With the article, I was under the impression that Parker was the commander of the Marines on the ship, not the whole ship.

Within a week of being commissioned, it was involved in the suppression of a mutiny on the HMS Africaine, then later in 1810 was stationed in the Indian Ocean.  In 1812, it was blockading the French port of Toulon in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars.  It cruised the south France coast keeping an eye out for privateers.

In 1813, it started escorting convoys across the Atlantic to Canada during the War of 1812.  Later that year, it raided positions along the Maryland coast and destroyed an American convoy.

In 1814, it was ordered to operate against French ships in the Atlantic.  After the French surrender, it returned to the U.S., where the captain was killed in Maryland and just after that, the ship took part in the Battle of Baltimore (Fort McHenry).

Edward Dix took command of the Menelaus and continued in that position until the ship was laid up in 1818.  In 1832, it became a hospital ship and later a quarantine ship.  It was finally scrapped in 1897, 87 years after its launch.

The Story of a Ship and a Busy One at That.  --Brock-Perry

Digging for Answers At Caulk's Field-- Part 2

The dig is a project of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, which secured a $40,000 federal grant to do it.  Julie Schablitsky, 43, has been involved in other digs related to the war, but is most famous for her work the Donner Party campsite in the Sierra Nevada and John Paul Jones' birthplace in Scotland.

Caulk's Field is close to the town of Fairlee, on Maryland's east shore Chesapeake Bay.  Executive director of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, Bill Pencek says, "This is easily the best-preserved 1812 battlefield in the Mid-Atlantic, thanks to the excellent stewardship of the owners, Tulip Forest Farming Corp., who understood its importance and protected it."


THE BATTLE

Late on August 30, 1814, Parker's troops came ashore from the HMS Menelaus with plans to get information about Baltimore's defenses.  Washington had already been burned and they were preparing to lay siege to Baltimore..

But, the Americans knew the British were coming and ambushed them in an hour-long battle.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry