Commodore Barney's Personal Items-- Part 4

PISTOL:  An unusual European boarding pistol with folding bayonet.  Perhaps purchased by Barney from a local gun dealer ot given to him after the Revolutionary War.

SPYGLASS:  Made by Adams of Fleet Street which was one of the most famous instrument workshops in the 18th and early 19th century in London.  He likely bought it on one of his four trips to England.

WALLET:  When this item arrived at the museum, it had letters and documents written by him and stored in it.  Most date from the War of 1812.

COMMISSION:  Barney's commission to rank of Captain of the Flotilla in the Service of the United States signed by President James Madison on April 25, 1814.

OTHER OBJECTS:  a decanter, a flagon, a Masonic Apron made of silk, and a 19th century trunk made in China.

All these objects had previously been on loan to the Maryland Historical Society for its Star-Spangled Banner celebration.  They were gifted to the museum on December 31, 1814 and will be on display through 2015..  The Maryland Historical Society was founded in 1844.  It's museum and library occupies an entire block in the Mount Vernon District of Baltimore.

Thanks Descendants.  --Brock-Perry

Commodore Joshua Barney's Personal Objects Gifted to Maryland Historical Society-- Part 1

From the January 29, 2015 Press release Packet.

Personal objects belonging to famed War of 1812 Commodore Joshua Barney, including a pistol, spyglass, personal journal along with hundreds of letters and personal objects, have now been donated to the Society.  They have been on display at the "Full Glory Reflected: Maryland in the War of 1812" exhibit at the Maryland Historical Society building at 201 W. Monument Street in Baltimore.

Descendant Anne Helm Galvin said, "I knew that the items we would be donating would be handled in the best possible way...."

I agree with her and am very glad they have been donated.  I hate it when history gets sold to a private collector who then hides it away from the general public.  Though, I appreciated the able caretaking of the items from private citizens.  I always think history should be available to all and no better way than in a museum.

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner and Song Are United-- Part 1

From the Jan. 8, 2014, Yahoo! News, AP "Star-Spangled Banner, song to be reunited in D.C." by Jessica Gresko.

The original hand-written manuscript of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the flag that inspired it will be displayed together at the Smithsonian for what some believe to be the first time ever that the two have been shown side-by-side.

The manuscript normally resides at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore and the flag has been at the Smithsonian since the early 1900s.

The two will be displayed together from Flag Day on June 14th to July 6th, 3 weeks, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of it being written September 14, 1814.

--Brock-Perry