Passed 3000 Posts to This Blog

This post marks the 3019th for this blog.  I started it back in 2012 during the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

I started it mostly to find out more about the war, which is often relegated to "forgotten" status.  I found that it was an interesting war and had a lot more about it than just the burning of Washington, D.C., the Battle of Baltimore and "The Star-Spangled Banner" which is about the most many Americans know about the war.

Actually, I had envisioned this blog stopping after the war ended 200 years ago, but as you can see, it continues.

The Brock-Perry sign-off for this blog refers to British and Canadian hero Isaac Brock and American hero  Oliver Hazard "We have met the enemy and they are ours" Perry.

Let's See How Much Longer It Goes.  --Brock-Perry

Edward Johnson, Baltimore's Mayor When British Attacked-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

(1767-1829)

American politician and businessman.  Served as Baltimore's mayor for six terms between 1808 and 1824. He was Baltimore's mayor when the British attacked and was instrumental in organizing the civilian defense of the city.  For several years he was owner of one of the city's largest breweries as well as a director of the Bank of Baltimore.

In 1789 he was listed as a brewer. and by 1807 he was sole owner of it.  He remained as owner of the brewery for his first two terms as mayor (two-year terms) but the brewery burned down in 1812.  he rebuilt it but sold it to George Brown in 1813.

A month afterwards, Mary Pickersgill assembled the famous Star-Spangled Banner flag on the brewery floor.

--Brock-Perry

4th of July: Part of It Is About The Flags

And,, I have plenty of U.S. flags and items up for today outside the house.

Plus, I have a 34-star round flag from 1861-1863.

And, since June 16 I have been writing about that most famous of U.S. flags, the one that flew over Fort McHenry that inspired that song.

Happy 242nd birthday, U.S.A..

In the Mood for Patriotism.  --Brock-Perry

George Armistead-- Part 4: A Flag So Large British Would Have Problem Seeing It From a Distance

When he arrived at Fort McHenry, he immediately ordered "a flag so large the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance."  This became the "Star-Spangled Banner" made so famous by Francis Scott Key.

During the nearly 25-hour bombardment which began before dawn September 13, 1814, and the morning of September 14, Armistead alone knew that the fort's magazine was not bombproof.  When a shell crashed through the roof of it, but failed to explode, Armistead ordered the powder barrels cleared out.and placed under the rear walls of the fort.

Remarkably, only four of his men were killed when two shells smashed into the fort's southwest bastion.

Some 2,000 shells were fired by the British fleet.

--Brock-Perry

Civil War General Cornelius Gilbert Attwood Received Remnants of the Star-Spangled Banner

On June 22, I wrote about George Preble giving this man pieces of the flag that flew over Fort McHenry.

Cornelius Attwood fought in the Civil War with the 2nd Massachusetts.

I have been writing about him in my Saw the Elephant Civil War blog and you can check him out by going to My Blog List to the right of this and clicking on the Civil War blog.

--Brock-Perry

George Armistead-- Part 1: Commander of Fort McHenry

Well, what about the commander of Fort McHenry, the one who wanted the giant garrison flag which became "The Star-Spangled Banner?"

From Find-A-Grave.

Born 10 April 1780 in Caroline County, Virginia.

Death 25 April 1818 (age 38)  Baltimore County, Maryland

Buried Old St. Pauls Cemetery, Baltimore.

United States Army Officer.  Served as Major and commander of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland.  He was in command of the Fort in the War of 1812 when the British unsuccessfully attempted to force its capitulation by a naval artillery bombardment.

The attack was witnessed by Francis Scott Key, who immortalized it in the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner."  Major Armistead was the uncle of Civil War Confederate General Lewis Armistead, who is buried next to him.

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner Flag-- Part 6: Eben Appleton

From the Star-Spangled Banner, Smithsonian.

Eben Appleton was a New York stockbroker who inherited the Star-Spangled Banner upon his mother's death in 1878.  The flag had received a lot of publicity in the 1870s which had transformed it  into a national treasure.  Eben Appleton received a whole lot of requests to lend it for patriotic occasions.  He did lend it to the City of Baltimore for its sesquicentennial in 1880.

After that he became concerned about the flag's deteriorating condition so he began keeping it in a safe deposit box in New York City.

In 1907, he loaned it to the Smithsonian and in 1912 converted it into a gift.

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner Flag-- Part 5: Three More Fragments

From Natural Museum of American History, Smithsonian.

The museum has three fragments of the Star-Spangled Banner that were presented to William Carter bybalt Major Armistead's grandson, Eben Appleton.  Carter was a local historian who carried the flag in a parade during Baltimore's Sesquicentennial Celebration 13 October 1880.

The flag was later being packed for shipment to New York and Appleton cut off three pieces and gave them to Carter.  Later, Carter's daughter gave the pieces to the Maryland Historical Society who later donated them to the Smithsonian.

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner Flag-- Part 4: 25-Hour Bombardment and Gifted to the Smithsonian

The British fleet bombarded Fort McHenry for 25 hours between September 13-14, 1814.  When they were unable to force the fort to surrender, the attack ended and they sailed off.  The flag was still flying.

This so impressed Francis Scott Key that he wrote his famous poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry."  This became the "Star-Spangled Banner" that we know today.

The flag that flew there at the end of the bombardment became a significant artifact, yet remained in the possession of Major Armistead and later, his family.  He was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel for his action.

Eben Appleton, his grandson, inherited the flag in 1878.  In 1907, he loaned it to the Smithsonian Institution and in 1912 made it a formal gift.

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner Flag-- Part 3: Original Size Was 30 by 42 Feet

Mary Pickershill stitched the flag using a combination of cotton and dyed English wool.  She was assisted by her daughter, 2 nieces and a black indentured servant.

The flag consisted of fifteen horizontal red and white stripes and fifteen white stars on a blue field, that according to the Flag Act of 1794 when Vermont and Kentucky entered the Union.

The flag was originally 30 by 42 feet and each star was two feet in diameter.  After the battle, the Armistead family occasionally would give away pieces as souvenirs and gifts.  This and deterioration of the flag over the years has resulted in the loss of several feet.  It now measures 30 by 34 feet.

And, there are just 14 stars, the 15th was given as a gift and unfortunately the recipient or whereabouts is unknown.

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner Flag-- Part 2: The Great Garrison Flag

The larger of the two flags made for Armistead is referred to as the Great Garrison Flag and it was the largest battle flag ever flown up until that time.

The smaller one was known as the Storm Flag and was more durable and less prone to fouling in inclement weather.

The flag was most likely sewn by Mary Young Pickersgill, a noted Baltimore seamstress.  She received a government commission to make it in 1813.  Cost of the flags was $405.90.  Major George Armistead specifically wanted "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance."

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner Flag-- Part 1: The Great Garrison Flag

From Wikipedia.

The Star-Spangled Banner Flag is also referred to as the Great Garrison Flag and flew during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore.  This is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry."

This was retitled using words near the end of the first stanza.  It was set to music to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven" by John Stafford Smith.

When it became apparent that the British were going to attack Baltimore, the fort's commander, Major George Armistead expressed the desire for a very large flag to fly over the fort.

General John S. Stricker and Commodore Joshua Barney placed an order with a prominent Baltimore flagmaker to make two large flags.

--Brock-Perry

Fort McHenry's Defenders' Day-- Part 2

The sewing on the reproduction 30-by-42-foot "Star-Spangled Banner" began on July 4, 2013, with more than 1,000 volunteers at the Maryland Historical Society.  It required some 150,000 stitches.  (I don't sew, but sure would have liked to do so on this project.)

At 1:30 p.m. it was unveiled in the society's courtyard where the U.S. Army Old Guard Color Guard will fold it and prepare it for its 3.6 mile journey to Fort McHenry.  It weighs 42 pounds.

Re-enactors will be at the Fort McHenry grounds and a grand celebration will be held when the "Star-Spangled Banner" once again waves proudly over the old fort.

--Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner and Song Are United-- Part 3

Visitors will be more familiar with the flag which was given to the Smithsonian by the family of Major George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry during the attack. He was also the one who commissioned the huge banner to be made. (His nephew, Lewis Addison Armistead, later was killed while a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. So it is likely that the flag was in southern hands during the war.)

Except for a brief period during World War II, when the flag was housed in Virginia for safe-keeping, it has been in Washington, D.C., ever since the early 1900s.

Francis Scott Key's manuscript was purchased by the Maryland Historical Society in the 1950s and kept at their museum except for two times.

In 2011, it was taken by armored vehicle and police escort to Maryland's State Capitol in Annapolis and then to Fort McHenry. In 2013, it was taken to Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Md., where Key is buried.

"Oh Say Can You...." --Brock-Perry

The Star-Spangled Banner and Song Are United-- Part 2

Francis Scott Key was a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet and watched the Fort McHenry bombardment from a British ship for 24 hours. He was there attempting to get the release of an American who had been taken prisoner. When he saw the Stars and Stripes flying proudly the next morning after that huge bombardment, it inspired him to put his thoughts to pen.

It was originally called "The Defense of Fort McHenry" and later set to music. It became the official National Anthem in 1931.

He wrote the four stanzas (though most often only the first is sung)with quill and ink. He first wrote "Oh say can you see through the dawn's early light" but crossed out "through" and wrote "by."

More to Come. --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

Blacks a Key to War of 1812-- Part 1: Blacks in the War

From the June 20, 2012, Afro by Zemtha Prince.

For many blacks it was a "first major pathway to self-determination and freedom." Thousands played a role.

Their options: Fight for the United States, run away snd seek freedom with the Indians or join the British.

Many chose the British who promised free emigration to British colonies in Canada and West Indies in exchage for their service.

When the British fleet entered the Chesapeake Bay in March 1813, hundreds of slaves and their families made their way to the fleet and claimed their freedom. Many joined the Colonial Marines, an all-black fighting unit which had a hand in the burning of Washington, D.C. and the Battle of Baltimore.

And yet, some elected to fight with the Americans, despite slavery. Some 60% of the defenders of Fort McHenry at Baltimore were immigrants and one in five was black. The huge flag that Francis Scott Key wrote about was partially sewn by blacks.

More to Come. --Brock-Perry

Talbot County and the War of 1812

From the Feb. 22, 2012, Maryland Star Democrat by Jean Griffith.

Most Americans do not know much about the war. (That is why I started this blog which has been very informative to me.). Actually, I was supposed to teach it the last eight years I taught, but I never got much past 1800.) Some Marylanders, of course, know about Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner.

St. Michaels can be remembered as "The Town That Fooled the British." Before the declaration of war in June 1812, a new armory was established in Talbot County and there was also an organization of local militia.

Not too far away, the HMS Leopard attacked the USS Chesapeake.

The original Star-Spangled Banner that flew over Fort McHenry was sewn by Mary Pickersgill, her daughter, two nieces and a servant. Much of its original length has been lost to time and souvenir hunters.

A Preview of the War Before I Started My Blog Last Year. --Brock-Perry

Baltimore's One really Big Flag-- Part 2

At 1:30 PM, the flag was unveiled in the Society's courtyard, then the U.S. Army's Old Guard Color Guard folded it and prepared it for the 3.6 mile journey to Fort McHenry. And, this is a heavy flag, weighing in at 42 pounds. The flag was to be raised at Fort McHenry on Saturday.

Bombs Burst In Air. --Brock-Perry

Fort McHenry Flag Still Inspires After 200 Years-- Part 2

In 1912, what was left of the flag was presented to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. After many restorations, including a recent one, it is on permanent dispaly at the National Museum of American History.

ANOTHER HISTORIC FLAG

On Flag Day, June 14th this year, three restored threads of the Fort McHenry flag were sewn into "The National 9-11 Flag," a tattered remnant of that day that was found in the rubble of the World Trade Center buildings. That flag is on tour.

The threads were taken from seven small patches of the flag that are at the Star-Spangled Banner House Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

"By the Dawn's Early Light..." --Brock-Perry