Edward McCall-- Part 3: Find a Grave

From Find a Grave.

CAPT. EDWARD R. McCALL

BIRTH: 5 August 1790, South Carolina

DEATH:  1 August 1855 (aged 62) New Jersey

BURIAL:   Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery Bordentown, New Jersey

His wife Harriet who died in 1836 and and daughter  Anna, who lived just 6 days in 1820 and second wife, Eliza are also buried there.

There are people wanting his grave stone replaced as it is no longer readable because of the ravages of time.  I'm all for it.

--Brock-Perry

Edward McCall, USN-- Part 1: USS Enterprise vs. HMS Boxer

From Wikipedia.

I am writing about the USS McCall (DD-400) in my Tattooed on Your Soul: WW II blog.  This was the second U.S. Navy destroyer named after Edward McCall who served and gained honors during the War of 1812.

EDWARD R. McCALL

Captain Edward R. McCall (5 August 1790 - 1 August 1853) was an officer  in the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812.  He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

Born in South Carolina, he was appointed midshipman 1 January 1808.  Appointed acting lieutenant on the brig USS Enterprise 16 October 1811, he took command of that ship during action with the HMS Boxer 5 September 1813.  

Early in that action the Enterprise's captain, Lieutenant  William Ward Burrows II was mortally wounded.

In acknowledgement of the victory over the Boxer, McCall received the Thanks of Congress and a Congressional Gold Medal.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the American Revolution: Battle of Hanging Rock and Battle of Long Island

The War of 1812 is sometimes referred to as the Second War for American Independence.

These events took place this month during the first war for American independence.  I am thinking of moving the American Revolution from the Cooter's History Thing blog to here.

From the American Battlefield Trust 2021 August calendar.

AUGUST 6

1780:  Battle of Hanging Rock, South Carolina.

AUGUST 16

1777:  Battle of Bennington, New York

AUBUST 16

1780:  Battle of Camden, South Carolina

AUGUST 27

1776:  Battle of Long Island

--Brock-Perry

The American Revolution's Battle of Hanging Rock

From the American Battlefield Trust August 2021 calendar.

A picture by Brian Keeley accompanies the calendar page.

HANGING ROCK, S.C.

172 acres saved.

The site of a surprise attack on a British outpost by Patriot militia on August 6, 1780, Hanging Rock will be a new battlefield park along the Liberty Trail.

This innovative driving route -- planned in cooperation with the South Carolina Battlefield Trust -- will more fully tell the story of America's fight for independence in the Southern Theater.

With the support of the American Battlefield Protection Program, the South Carolina Conservation Bank and Lancaster County, 172 acres have been preserved here.

I am so happy that the Civil War Battlefield trust has expanded its aims to protect the battlefields from the other two wars fought on American soil, The American Revolution and the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

The Battle of New Orleans, American Battlefield Trust

From the American Battlefield Trust 2021 calendar.

The calendar features a different battlefield from the Civil War, War of 1812 and American Revolution every month.  This organization, as I said in the last post, is committed to saving historic acres in these wars that were fought in the United States.  They originally started off just for Civil War battles, but I am glad they have expanded their efforts to the other two.

This month's full page picture by Buddy Secor features the Chalmette Battlefield Jean  Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Chalmette, Louisiana.

Text:

"NEW ORLEANS, LA.

On January 8, 1815, Major General Andrew Jackson's outnumbered army defended New Orleans from British capture and secured the greatest American victory of the War of 1812.

To date, the Trust has saved 25 acres of War of 1812 battlefields, with more on the horizon.  Future preservation and education efforts will continue to elevate the battlefields of this important, but often overlooked, conflict."

I belong to this organization, and as this blog is titled "Not So Forgotten."

There is also a small picture of  the Cowpens National Battlefield in Gaffney, S,C., by Brian Keeley.

--Brock-Perry

Disappearance of the Patriot-- Part 2

Logbooks from British warships off the North Carolina coast  reported a severe storm that struck January 2, 1813, after the Patriot left South Carolina.  The Patriot would have been a bit north of Cape Hatteras when the storm was at its fiercest and facing hurricane-strength winds in the early morning hours of January 2.

The Patriot was never heard from again.  Despite the many conspiracy theories and tales about Theodosia surviving it is most likely she perished with the rest of the ship's passengers and crew that day.

(I have also read that the British ships had stopped the Patriot, but after seeing a letter from Joseph Alston, the governor of South Carolina, asking for them to allow the ship to continue on its way, they did.  But, who will ever know.)

--Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 4: First Lady of South Carolina

6.  SHE WAS THE FIRST LADY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

Her husband, John Alston, became governor of South Carolina in December 1812, making Theodosia the First Lady.

Unfortunately, she only held that position for  21 days, before tragedy struck.

Columbia was chosen as the site of South Carolina's capital in 1786.

--Brock-Perry

Roadtrippin' Through History: How I Got Here

Whenever I am researching for any of my eight blogs, I also look up any names and places I find to see where it goes.

Right now, in my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog, I am writing about the Defenders of Charleston statue in that city and most recently about William Robert Greer, who was at Fort Sumter in those horrific attacks in 1863 and later was captured at Fort Fisher in 1865 and sent to Elmira Prison in New York and was one of those fortunate enough to survive their six months' incarceration.

I started my Roadtrip Through History in that blog with the 80th anniversary of the movie "Gone With the Wind" and the role of Alicia Rhett  in it as the India Wilkes, the sister of Scarlet's love interest, Ashley Wilkes.  Did you know that this was the only time she ever was in a movie?  Or that her grandfather was a Confederate soldier?  Might her last name have something to do with a prominent character in the movie?  Plus, her father, although not a Confederate soldier, was a West Point graduate who died in 1918.

Well, I had to figure that meant he was killed in World War I, but I found out he died in Delaware during the Spanish flu pandemic.  How's that for coincidence in these days of coronavirus.

Anyway, there will be lots more "RoadTrippin' " in that thread.

In that blog, I did the "Roadtrippin' " for this thread in this blog.  You can view in the My Blog List section to the right of this.  Click on the blog Saw the Elephant: Civil War and and then scroll back to April 18, "An Added Little Nugget for Col. William Robert Greer."

No Wonder It takes So Long To Do These Blogs.  --Brock-Perry

Disappearance of Schooner Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 3: A Duel, Conspiracy Then a Disappearance

From the February 9, 2012, North Carolina Shipwrecks blog  "Schooner Patriot and  the Mystery of Theodosia Burr Alston by Judi Heit.

Wife of South Carolina governor John Alston and daughter of former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, but the 1804 duel between her father and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton that led to the latter's death, complicated her life. During Burr's murder trial, Theodosia traveled several times to New York to support her father.

He was acquitted, but still politically intriguing and next got in trouble when he tried to get several western states/territories to secede and make him leader.  In 1807, he defended himself against conspiracy allegations.  He was acquitted, but went into exile in Europe.  Theodosia defended him in this as well.

After return to South Carolina from the conspiracy trial, Theodosia's health became worse and then she lost her ten-year-old son.  In the meantime, Aaron Burr had returned from Europe and in 1812, was living in New York and convinced his daughter to come see him there during the holidays.  At this time, Great Britain and the United States were at war, so her husband couldn't come with her because he was governor of S.C..

--Brock-Perry

The Disappearance of the Schooner Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston in 1813-- Part 1

From the August 5. 2016, Mental Floss "7 ships that disappeared without a trace" by Claire  Cock-Starkey.

While looking up the HMS Theodosia after the last several posts, I came across this article.  It wasn't about the HMS Theodosia but definitely had a War of 1812 connection.

Theodosia Burr Alston (1783-1813) was the daughter of the third U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr.  She had a privileged upbringing and was well-educated.  In 1801, she married wealthy landowner  Joseph Alston who went on to become South Carolina's governor (1812-1814, so, the war years).

Sadly in 1812, she lost her only son and, stricken with grief, boarded the schooner Patriot in South Carolina to visit her father in New York.

After it sailed, it was lost to history.

What Happened to the Patriot and Theodosia?  --Brock-Perry

Descendants of Christopher R. Perry-- Part 3: A Rough Rider, Confederate General and Union Naval Officer

**  Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont (1858-1908) was a wealthy American socialite and U.S. Representative from New York and second husband to suffragist and socialite Alva Vanderbilt Belmont.

**  William Tiffany (great grandson)  (1868-1898) was 2nd lt. in 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry (Roosevelt's Rough Riders), died of yellow fever shortly after returning to the United States following his service in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

**  Matthew Calbraith Perry (1836-1909), son of Captain Perry's daughter Jane Tweedy Perry Butler was an American military leader and politician from South Carolina who served as major general in the Confederate Army in the Civil War, a post-bellum three term U.S. senator and was a major general in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War.

**  Commander George Washington Rodgers (1822-1863), a grandson of Captain Raymond Perry, and brother of Rear Admiral C.R.P. Rodgers, "was distinguished for his bravery in silencing Fort Sumter and the batteries of Morris Island (Charleston, S.C.)" during the Civil War.

As I Said, Quite the Distinguished Family.  --Brock-Perry

Looking For Charleston's Revenue Cutter Gallatin

From the April 4, 2013, Charleston (SC) Post and Courier "Search for War of 1812 ship in Charleston Harbor ongoing."

Searchers have found some promising sites, but nothing definitive of the U.S. revenue Cutter Gallatin which exploded on the morning of April 1, 1813.  An official investigation of the incident determined it to be accidental.

News 4, ABC, says searchers are looking in the Ashley River and using a magnetometer. The ship had been tied up off a pier that no longer exists when it blew up.  They think a crew man was cleaning a musket and set off a spark that set off the ship's gunpowder.  The Gallatin had just returned from a five-day voyage when it happened.

Searchers hope to find the ship's cannons.

Hope They Find It.  --Brock-Perry