Did a Tornado Save D.C.?-- Part 4: How the President's Home Became White

There was a debate as to whether the tornado saved Washington, D.C. from the British or if it actually helped them to ruin the city.  Whichever it was, President Madison went back to the city on August 27 and peace between the two countries was achieved by the end of the year.

Congress thought about abandoning the city and constructing a capital elsewhere, but they eventually rebuilt the city.  The granite stone of the  President's residence was burned black with soot and it was decided to repair the structure and paint it white.  This is how the White House got nits name.  So, whenever you hear the White House being mentioned, that goes back to the War of 1812.

Peace negotiations started in the City of Ghent, Belgium in August 1814, as both sides wanted peace since the trade embargo largely impacted the British economy (not to mention the even bigger expenses of fighting Napoleon).

Hundreds of American privateers had put to sea and were wreaking havoc on the British merchant fleet all over the world.  Public support  in the U.S. was also waning, especially in New England where the federalists assembled in Hartford, Connecticut to discuss their grievances (and some even went so far as to desire secession).

Peace terms called the Treaty of Ghent were agreed upon and signed in December 1814, but the conflict did not officially end until Congress ratified it on February 17, 1815.

--Brock-Perry

Events During the War of 1812 Occurring in December: Hartford Convention, Fort Niagara, Embargo Act, Treaty of Ghent, USS Constitution

From the December 2021 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

**  DECEMBER 14, 1814

Delegates of the Hartford Convention meet in Hartford, Connecticut.

**  DECEMBER 19, 1813

Capture of Fort Niagara.

**  DECEMBER 22, 1807

The Embargo Act passes.

*********************************************

**  DECEMBER 24, 1814

Treaty of Ghent signed.

**  DECEMBER 28, 1812

William Henry Harrison formally resigned as governor of the Indiana Territory and takes the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army.

**  DECEMBER 29, 1812

The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Java.

--Brock-Perry

Before There Was a Vietnam War Protest, We Had a War of 1812 Protest

From the History Site.

The first war to be declared by the United States, the War of 1812,  sparked one of the strongest anti-war movements in American history.  As a matter of fact, this anti-war protest almost went as far as certain states seceding from the United States.  Even stranger, these were the states MOST against the southern states seceding in the middle part of that century.

The Federalist Party held sway in the New England states and they especially opposed the war on economic and political  grounds.

New England Federalists  viewed the War of 1812 as a partisan crusade launched by  Democratic-Republican  President James Madison that would disrupt the region's  shipping and fishing industries.

Advocating states rights, the governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut denied  use of their state militias in the service of :Mr. Madison's War."  As a matter of fact, Massachusetts even  attempted to negotiate a separate peace.

In December 1814, 26 New England Federalist leaders convened in the Connecticut capital of Hartford and threatened secession.  The Hartford Convention's proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution arrived in Washington, D.C.  just after news of the war's conclusion.

All this led to the eventual collapse of the Federalist Party amid charges of treason.

--Brock-Secessionist

New England's Hartford Convention Ended This Date in 1815

January 5, 1815

The Hartford Convention was a series of meetings from December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815, in which the New England Federalist Party met to discuss their grievances during the War of 1812.  Also, they were upset at the growing power f the central government.

They discussed removing the 3.5 compromise from the Constitution and requiring a 2/3 Congressional vote to admit new states.

Secession was debated, but rejected as being too premature.  But they did call on the federal government to make special effort to protect New England.

The final report was issued on this date in 1815.  Of course, arrival of news of the end of the war kind of blunted the impact of this convention.  But, how about the idea that a section of the United States was already considering the idea of secession back then?

--Brock-Perry

Beverly Powder House Restoration Complete-- Part 2: Safer Than Keeping Gunpowder in Your House with Walls Four Feet Thick

The Powder House was built in 1809 on land sold to the town by Nathan Dane for $30.  Dane was a Harvard Law School graduate and Beverly lawyer.  He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and helped draft the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.  He was also very involved with the Hartford Convention during the War of 1812.

The Beverly Powder House was built on the then-undeveloped Powder House Hill following an 1805 ordinance that barred residents from keeping more than 25 pounds of gunpowder in their homes or businesses in recognition that the previous powder house was too close to residences and the town center.

Through the mid-nineteenth century, powder houses were built to hold large amounts of gunpowder because it was much safer than having residents store  the gunpowder in their homes.

The Beverly Powder House  is located on Prospect Hill (originally Powder House Hill) and is the second oldest municipal building  in Beverly after City Hall.  The structure is the only octagonal powder house extant in New England, with brick walls that measure four feet thick.

However, it saw its only wartime use during the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812, 200 Years Ago: Hartford Convention Ends

JANUARY 5TH, 1815:   Hartford Convention--  A group of 22 delegates from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, meeting since December 15, 1814, wind up the convention and issued a report condemning the federal government for failing to defend New England and recommending that states negotiate arrangements with that government for their defense.

They also propose 7 Constitutional amendments to protect the influence of the northeastern states and their increasingly minority status in the United States.  Primary would be it requiring a 2/3 vote by Congress to impose embargoes, admit a western state into the Union, or begin a war (unless in case of an invasion).

It is surprising how much these seems like the situation Southern states found themselves in as the years rolled on toward the Civil War.  At that time, the New England states stood against the things they seemed to want in 1815.

Times and Economic Interests Change, I Guess.  --Brock-Perry

The Hartford Convention Begins

DECEMBER 15, 1814-JANUARY 5, 1815:

The Hartford Convention, meeting secretly in Hartford, Connecticut, began today, 200 years ago.  Twenty-six New England delegates gathered to address grievances of the Federal government's management of the war and especially its control of militia, conscription and the financial burden of defense.

They even went so far as to consider secession.

I always find this odd, because in the years leading up to the Civil War, these very same states were so much against Southern secession.

--Brock-Perry

New England Thinking of Secession?

OCTOBER 18TH, 1814:  The Massachusetts General Court calls for a convention of New England states whose livelihood depends on British trade to coordinate a regional grievance against the federal government.  From December 15 to January 5, delegates from some of the New England states met in Hartford, Connecticut to discuss grievances against Washington, D.C. and to provide alternative solutions to talk of secession from New England radicals.

And, yet, 46 years later, New England was against secession of the the Southern states.

--Brock-Perry

Ten Things You Didn't Know About the War of 1812-- Part 4

7.  THE ILL-FATED GENERAL CUSTER HAD HIS START IN THE WAR

Well, actually, it was Colonel Custer at the Little Big Horn.  The Battle of the River Raisin took place in Michigan in 1813 and resulted in a big defeat for the Americans.  The British Indian allies afterwards attacked the wounded and prisoners and it turned into a massacre which sparked the American battle cry "Remember the Raisin."

William Henry Harrison led Americans to later victories and on his tomb is inscribed "Avenger of the River Raisin."

George Armstrong Custer grew up in Monroe, Michigan, along the Raisin River.  There is an 1871 photograph of him standing with some War of 1812 veterans by a monument for the battle.  Five years later, he himself was killed at another massacre.  Of course, Custer was no stranger to massacres, having done it often in his Indian fighting.


8.  THERE WAS ALMOST A UNITED STATES OF NEW ENGLAND

The New England states came close to seceding from the Union because of the war, which they felt would hurt their economic interests.  The Hartford Convention of the states of New England came as close to secession as anything before South Carolina seceded in 1860.  The states viewed  it as a separation of two sovereign states.

These states had been considering such a move for the fifteen previous years, especially after southerner Thomas Jefferson was elected in 1800.  The New Englanders stood solidly against the Louisiana Purchase and the Embargo Act of 1807.  They felt this would help the Southern states at their expense.

Kind of strange that they would be on the other side of secession less than fifty years later.

Brock-Perry