Francis B. Gamble

From records of officers and men on New Jersey in wars 1791-1815" by New Jersey Adjutant General's Office.

Another one of the Gamble Boys.

GAMBLE, FRANCIS B.

Midshipman, May 18, 1809

Ordered to Frigate "Essex,"  Captain David Porter, North Atlantic Squadron February 5, 1812.

Captured with British ship "Alert," a prize of the "Essex," and sent to Halifax, N.S., August 1812

Exchanged and returned to duty, October 17, 1813

Ordered to sloop-of-war at Navy Yard Boston, Mass., December 21, 1813;

Ordered to duty  on Lake Champlain, 1814.

Ordered to New York, N.Y., for duty with Captain David Porter, November 17, 1814;

Lieutenant December 19, 1814, and remained on station until the close of the war, 1815.

(For subsequent and continued record, see War with Algiers."

--Brock-Perry

An American Spy (for the British) in the War of 1812-- Part 1

From the September 27, 2021,  Press-Republican " 'In plain sight':  New museum exhibit reveals American spy in War of 1812" by Fernando Alba.

Keith Herkalo, president of the War of 1812 Museum in Plattsburgh, New York, was looking over some documents  from the University of Michigan when he saw something of great interest.  It was from an American merchant to a British merchant in Montreal after the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814.

The merchant wanted to move his goods north into the St. Lawrence River and then on to Halifax in Canada.  The letter was sent just three months after a British invasion had been turned  back at the Battle of Plattsburgh.

Only, that letter was treason since the U.S. had an embargo on.  The merchant was in New York City and wanted to "go around" the embargo and make some money.

But, he would need  support from someone in the British government for safe passage.

So. Who Was This War of 1812 American Spy and What Info Did he Give the British?  --Brock-Perry

Timeline of Captain Gwinn's Life-- Part 1: 1791 to 1823

 From the John Gwinn Papers, Library of Congress.

1791, June 11  Born in Taneytown, Maryland

1809   Appointed midshipman

           Duty on John Adams (frigate)

1814   Duty on Frolic  (sloop of war), West India Squadron

           Prisoner of War, Halifax, Nova Scotia

1815   Duty on Boxer (brig), Mediterranean Squadron

1817   Duty on the Hornet (sloop of war), European Station

1819   Duty on the Independence (ship of the line) 

1823   Married  Caroline S. Lynch

--Brock-Perry

Black Nova Scotia Man Fights For Land Title Dating Back to Early 1800s

From the August 9, 2020, Pique Magazine  "Black Nova Scotia man 'overjoyed'  as struggle for land title moves forward" by Canadian Press.

Christopher Downey  finished building his home in 2012 in North Preston, Nova Scotia, on land that had been in his family for generations.  Only, he found out he didn't own the land.  This set off a years-long effort to get title to it.

Downey is among scores of Blacks who have struggled for years to have their title claims recognized.  But now, after he won his case in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, this is going to make it easier for other Blacks to win their titles.

The problem dates back to the 1800s when the Nova Scotia government distributed land to white and black Loyalists -- people who had stayed loyal to the British government during and after the American Revolution.  They moved to Canada.

Yet, the white settlers received claim to their land, their black counterparts did not.  They were allowed to occupy the land they were given, but did not receive title to it.

Downey said that his ancestors fought alongside the British in the War of 1812.

It is good to see a wrong being set right.

--Brock-Perry

U.S. Navy in War of 1812-- Part 4: Woefully Unprepared to Take on Britain

To say the U.S. Navy was in no shape to fight the British Navy is a huge understatement.  In 1812, the British Navy included 130 ships of the line mounting 60-120 guns and 600 frigates and smaller warships.

The U.S. Navy at the time had 7 frigates fit for the sea, 3 frigates needing repairs, 8 brigs, schooners or sloops, and 165 gunboats (of which 103 were in ordinary or in need of repairs).  The Navy was never large at any time and almost evaporated after hostilities ended with Tripoli in 1805.

Further cuts continued even after the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair and even up to 1810, despite worsening tensions with Britain.

Naval historian Charles O. Paullin described the shape of the U.S. Navy when war was declared being "unprepared in every essential means, instrument, and material of naval warfare.  It had no dry docks.  It had few ships.  With the exception of the naval establishment at Washington, the navy-yards were in a state of neglect and decay."

Thankfully for our Navy, Napoleon in France had the British attention, nor had they expected a declaration of war.    Of all the British ships, just one ship of the line, 7 frigates and a dozen smaller warships were operating out of the main base in Halifax, Canada.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Shannon Legacy-- Part 2: Provo Wallis

**  The Shannon's bell is displayed at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.  It also has a surgeon's chest and mess kettle from the Chesapeake.

**  A cannon, believed to have been from the Shannon, is on the north side of Province House., Nova Scotia's legislative building.

A lieutenant named Provo Wallis was acting captain of the Shannon for six days following the wounding of Captain Broke.  because of this, he became senior to many other lieutenants during the Napoleonic-era Royal Navy.

This enabled him to eventually become Admiral of the Fleet.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Shannon Legacy-- Part 1: Graves and Point Pleasant Park

From Wikipedia.

**Graves of the Shannon's crew, killed during the battle with the Chesapeake are marked in the cemetery of the Royal Navy Dockyard in Halifax and the city's St. Paul's Church, at the time the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia.

A plaque was erected in 1927 to commemorate the battle and is in the Point Pleasant Park.  This park was also the site of several artillery batteries over the years and also the Prince of Wales Tower, the oldest martello tower in North America.  Also, there is the Halifax Monument, more commonly called the Sailor's Memorial to honor Canadians who have died at sea and especially the 3257 who died during the world wars.

**  Shannon Park in Nova Scotia.

--Brock-Perry

The Body of James Lawrence-- Part 2: Many Burials

The battle between the USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon took place on June 1, 1813, off Boston.  James Lawrence, the Chesapeake's commander, was mortally wounded, taken below and taken prisoner when the ship surrendered a few moments later.  He died on June 4, en route to Halifax, Nova Scotia,  where he was buried with full military honors at what was Her Majesty's Canadian Dockyard.  It is now the Canadian Forces Base Halifax (CFB-Halifax).

However, his body is  no longer there.

It was disinterred at some time afterwards and taken to Boston where another funeral was held.  Later, he was reburied in Salem, Massachusetts.  Later, again, he was dug up and buried for a final time at the trinity Church cemetery in Manhattan, New York City.

A Long Way From Halifax.  --Brock-Perry

The Body of James Lawrence-- Part 1

In the last post I mentioned the burial of U.S. Navy Captain James Lawrence in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by the British with full military honors.

From Wikipedia.

The body of James Lawrence was reinterred at Trinity Church in New York City which also contains quite a few other notables:  Robert Fulton, Albert Gallatin, Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and John Peter Zenger.

Also buried there are two War of 1812 veterans:

Franklin Wharton (1767-1868).  Commandant USMC 1804-1818.
Silas Talbot 1750-1813, U.S. Navy.  Second captain of the USS Constitution.

--Brock-Perry

The USS Chesapeake's Legacy-- Part 2: A Cannon Remains in Nova Scotia

**  The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, holds artifacts from the battle, including the mess kettle and an officer's chest.

**  One of the Chesapeake's 18-pounder cannons is mounted beside the Province House which is the home of the Nova Scotia legislature.

--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

The HMS Sappho-- Part 4: After the War of 1812

The Sappho recaptured the brig San Francisco Navier on 3 December and on 1 Jan. 1814, captured the Ann.  After that it underwent repairs at Chatham in 1815 and was recommissioned in 1818.

After that it was involved in stopping the smuggling trade.  On 13 August 1820 it captured the American vessel Liberty and August 14th, the Clinton  On 12 October 1820, it captured the American schooner Maria smuggling 400 bales of tobacco.

On 14 September 1824, the Sappho arrived in Halifax with some damage from a storm and was stranded on Sisters Rocks.  The incoming tide floated her.  On September 25th, she arrived at Quebec and shortly afterwards was wrecked on the Canadian coast and condemned.

It was broken up in Halifax in 1830.

--Brock=Perry

A Prisoner of the British-- Part 1

"A Prisoner of the British: The Journal of a Prisoner of War in the War of 1812" by Benjamin Waterhouse.  Friendly Press, 2010, 260 pages.

This is an account originally published in 1816 with the rather long title of "A Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts, Late a Surgeon on Board an American Privateer Who Was Captured at Sea by the British."  This was an account of the author's experiences.

He was first held at Melville Island, Halifax, then on a prison ship in Chatham, England.

One account I have read had Major Watson, who is buried here in McHenry County and whom I have written about in other entries, both here and in my Cooter's History Blog as he was also a Revolutionary War veteran., being held there.    Click labels to find out his interesting history.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: The USS Constitution Captures Two British Ships

Even though the war by now was officially over with the U.S. ratification of the Treaty of Ghent three days earlier, there were still ships and places who didn't know about it.

FEBRUARY 20, 1815:  The USS Constitution captured the British sloops of war HMS Levant and HMS Cyane off the coast of North Africa.

Also, this date:  The Privateer schooner Dove out of Liverpool, England, captured the American brig Georges.  It is the last captured vessel to be brought into Halifax Harbor.

--  Brock-Perry

Halifax Lighthouse on Sombro Island

The Halifax Lighthouse, also called the Sambro Island Light, is at the entrance to Halifax Harbor, Nova Scotia,  and is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North America.  It was built during the 7 Years War between 1758-1759.

During the War of 1812, the American privateer Young Teazer  captured two vessels at night off the Sambro Island Light and was pursued and trapped by British warships near Chester, Nova Scotia, where the crew blew the American ship up with heavy loss to prevent its capture.

During both world wars, German U-boats torpedoed Allied ships in the area.

In 1920, the Norwegian freighter Romsdals Fjord struck a ledge near and and sank with no loss of life.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: British Establish Customs Office at Castine, District of Maine

SEPTEMBER 21, 1814:  This customs office was designated as the commercial headquarters of the occupied territory.

The announcement that trade with the enemy through Castine was music to the ears of the mercantile communities of Saint John, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.  And since imports and exports through the Maine port were taxed, customs officials amassed a tidy 10,000 pounds in the eight short months they were there.

After the war, the British government directed that this "Castine Fund" must be used for public improvements in Nova Scotia, and it eventually covered the new library for the British garrison, and of Dalhousie College (now Dalhousie University).

New Brunswickers were consoled in November 1817 when a boundary commission appointed by the Treaty of Ghent awarded them most of the disputed Passamaquoddy islands and Grand Manan Island.

Ezra Dean was involved in making the border between Maine and New Brunswick.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: Part of British Invasion Force Leaves Maine

SEPTEMBER 18TH, 1814:  Half of the British invasion force departs from the District of Maine for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Timeline for April, 1814: Napoleon's Abdication Really Bad News for Americans

APRIL 1, 1814: Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane was appointed to command the Royal Navy's North American Station. 

APRIL 4TH: French emperor Napoleon abdicates, enabling the British to send more men and ships to North America. 

This was a really bad thing for the United States. After Napoleon's defeat, Britain picked up its pace on all North American fronts. With more ships available, Cochrane increased pressure on the Chesapeake and extended the blockade northward to include all of the New England states. This extension stifled the licensed trade and Halifax merchants loudly protested. Meanwhile, New Brunswick counterparts were deeply involved in smuggling with Americans. 

Cochrane ignored the protests, but, even with more ships, was unable to effectively seal the increased blockaded areas, especially in New England where smuggling was rampant. 

--Brock-Perry

A Play About Nova Scotia's Role in the War of 1812

From the March 24, 2014, Halifax (Can.) Herald "How Nova Scotia fared in War of 1812."

Paul Robinson has done a lot of research on Halifax and Nova Scotia's role in the war and has made it into a play "Never a Syllable."  He says the title comes from an American Congressman opposed to the war back then who said that never a syllable was mentioned about the importance of Halifax.

One of the topics of the play is the 220 sailors from the naval ship who were sent from Halifax overland to crew a ship at Kingston, Ontario, despite the fact that there were no roads.  A character in the play is Enos Collins, a privateer from Nova Scotia, who made a lot of money from it.  Collins was born in Liverpool in 1774 and was said to be the richest man in Canada when he died in 1871.

Entertainment and History At the Same Time.  --Brock-Perry

November 1813 Timeline: Hurricane and Skirmish

NOVEMBER 12TH:

A hurricane strikes Halifax, Nova Scotia, causing extensive damage to British ships there.

NOVEMBER 13TH:

Skirmish at Nanticoke Creek, Upper Canada. Norfolk County Militia engage a group of American sympathizers (marauders). Light casualties on both sides.

NOVEMBER 16TH:

British extend blockade to all middle and southern states.

NOVEMBER 24TH

Loyal London Volunteers, a unit of Upper Canada militia is formed.

NOVEMBER 25TH:

Loyal Kent Volunteers formed.

NOVEMBER 29TH:

Battle of Autosse, Mississippi Territory. Americans inflict significant casualties on Muscogee (Creek) Nation warriors but fail to achieve a clear victory.

--Brock-Perry