Mammoth Caves Black History

From the February 2, 2023, Wave, (Louisville, Ky) "Slaves explored, discovered cave paths at Mammoth Cave National Park" by Kelly Dean.

According to Molly Schroer, Public Affairs Officer at the park, "They were some of the first people to take our early visitors into the cave.  But they also served as early explorers.

Over 200 years ago, black slaves  worked in the cave to create gunpowder used during the War of 1812.

"What's ironic about the whole thing is they were working hard for us to keep our freedom while they didn't have theirs," said Schroer.

In the mid-1800s,  slaves were used  to not only act as tour guides, but also to go deep down into the caves to discover new paths.

Stephen Bishop was one of the first black tour guides who discovered miles and miles of trails that visitors today walk.

Helping the Cause Even Back Then.  --Brock-Perry

Battle of Sodus Point: Three Americans Taken Prisoner (the Free Mason, the Idiot and the Black Man)

Three Americans were taken prisoner by the British during the confusion of the battle (well, more of a skirmish than battle).

They were Christopher Britton, Harry Skinner and Gilbert Saulter.

Of interest, Gilbert Saulter was a black man who had shouldered his musket to fight side by side with his white brothers.

The enemy put these men ashore before departing.  Tradition has it that Britton was released because he was a Free Mason and that Skinner convinced them that he was a drink or idiotic and carried on in such a manner that the British commander lost his patience and ordered his men to "put the damned fool on shore."

No one knows why Saulter was put ashore, but possibly because of his race.

--Brock-Perry

Richard Hill, OS. --Part 2: So That's an OS.

So, the current OS in the U.S. Navy would not likely hold up in the War of 1812 U.S. Navy.  It would not be Operations Specialist.  Hey, no aircraft or electrical systems in the War of 1812.

So, then, what is an OS in the War of 1812, which is the rank that Richard Hill held?

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

I found the answer at the USS Constitution Museum site.

It gave the five ranks of men serving on the ship.

Commissioned Officers

Warrant Officers

Petty Officers 

Enlisted Men

Marines

Most likely OS would be an enlisted man.  And, since Hill was a black man, it would not likely be as as officer of any sort.

And, I looked at the three ranks of enlisted men:  Able Seaman, Ordinary Seaman and Boy.

Hey, OS.  Ordinary Seaman

I think I have his rank.

OS  --Brock-Perry

Black War of 1812 Sailor Richard Hill gets His Due in Portland, Maine

From the September 15, 2012,  WMTW Channel 8, ABC, Portland (Maine)  "War of 1812 veteran gets his due." 

Yesterday, I included the name Richard Hill, a seaman on the Gunboat 47 in the New York Flotilla during the War of 1812, who is buried at Portland, Maine's Eastern Cemetery.

Seaman Richard Hill, a black man who fought in the War of 1812,  has finally received honors at Portland, Maine's Eastern Cemetery,  150 years after his death in 1861.

The honors were delivered Saturday by the local American Legion and veterans of Foreign Wars posts.

His new headstone, paid for by the federal government,  stands beside the graves of Portland's Black American Revolution veterans who are buried in the historic cemetery.

The Portland Press-Herald newspaper said Larry Glatz of  South Portland came across Hill's name while researching Portland residents who served in the country's federal forces during the War of 1812.

Richard Hill is believed to have witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner."

He was killed by his own son in 1861.

His gravestone says that he served on Gunboat 47 of the New York Flotilla.  I can't find out anything about this gunboat.

--Brock-Perry

Program Highlights Fort Niagara's Hidden Black History

From Jan. 25, 2021, Niagara Frontier Publications.

In honor of Black History Month, Old Fort Niagara will host a special tour  at 10:30 am on Saturday, February 6 which will highlight Blacks who served at the post from the 18th through the  20th centuries.  The tour will recount the life of  Richard Pierpoint, a former slave, who served as a member of Butler's Rangers (a Loyalist military unit) during the American Revolution.

He went on to support the British during the War of 1812.

The tour will also discuss the accomplishments of the 24th Infantry Regiment, which garrisoned Fort Niagara in the summer of 1909.  The 24th was a black regiment formed in 1869 as one of the "Buffalo Soldier" regiments raised after the Civil War to fight the Indians on the Great Plains.

Tour size is limited to twenty persons, so hurry up and sign up.

--Brock-Perry

St. Mary's County Museum Division Exhibits Detailed Model of British Ship of the Line HMS Albion

From the November 24, 2020, Southern Maryland Chronicle .

The St, Mary's County Museum Division in Leonardtown, Maryland, has partnered with a local  model ship builder to have a special exhibit of a model of the British ship HMS Albion, the flagship of a fleet of British ships that raided Leonardtown and St. Mary's County during the War of 1812 Chesapeake Campaign of 1814 which led to the burning of Washington, D.C., and the Battle of Baltimore.

The model enthusiast is retired Marine Colonel Robert Ballard who has loaned the stunning and intricate model to  display at the Old Jail Museum.

Several display panels give the history of the ship, her raids along the Chesapeake Bay and Admiral Cockburn (I've been writing about him recently because of his proclamation to Blacks to emigrate from the United States.

Mr. Ballard said this model took a year to make and he wanted people to see it.

--Brock-Perry

Historic Black Canadian Settlement Honored-- Part 3: The Land Was Pretty Bad

And, the little amount of land that Blacks did get was not very good for growing anything.

Sail Ralph Thomas, historian and descendant of the original Willow Grove settlers, said:  "When they (Blacks) got here it (the land) was not as good as they had been told."

"You know, the places weren't ready for them.  The grounds that were given to them were grounds that we know, even today,  to do anything as far as growing anything...."

Willow Grove is one of two historically black villages which will be featured on Canadian stamps in February.  The other is Amber Valley in Alberta.

Thomas said these stamps are a good way to start remembering and recognizing more black history in New Brunswick and Canadian history.

Now, this is something that the Black Lives Matter folks need to concentrate more on.

You Can Never Get Too Much History in My Book.  --Brock-Perry

Historic Black Settlement at Willow Grove to Be Honored-- Part 2: Blacks Were Not Welcomed and Those Who Came Got Smaller Plots of Poorer Land

But, the British government ran into problems when they tried to arrange land for the new immigrants in the province of Nova Scotia.   They wanted to send upwards of 3,000 of the new subjects to this province, but the legislature of it  said there were already too many Blacks there already.

So, they turned to New Brunswick, where the reception wasn't much better.

On April 13, 1815, Major General  Stracey Smyth, the Administrator of New Brunswick, asked the Executive Council to consider whether the province should receive 400-500 black refugees.  Although the council voted 3-2 to accept them,  the government was reluctant to take any responsibility for their welfare.

Of the thousands who departed the United States , 371 settled in Willow Grove.  Here they unfortunately found that the good land for farming they were promised was not exactly what they got.  The plots they received were smaller than the ones whites received

The policy of New Brunswick at the time was to give white settlers 100 acres while the Blacks received just 50 acres according to historian W.A. Spray.

And, to make matters worse, the plots Blacks received was not very food farming land.

--Brock-Perry

Historic Black Settlement of Willow Grove to Be Honored on Canadian Stamp-- Part 1

From the November 22, 2020, CBC by Jordan Gill.

A community outside of  Saint John will receive a stamp during next year's Black History Month according to Canada Post.

For Ralph Thomas, a descendant  of the residents of Willow Grove and a proponent of black history, the honor is a long time in coming.  "We have gone through the years without being recognized with some of our great folks that came to these parts and  went through a very tough time to get started in life."

The community was founded in 1815 as a result  of an 1812 British call to anyone living in the United States would be welcomed in the British Empire.  This was primarily aimed at Blacks, both enslaved and free.  Thousands of the Blacks took them up on it along the coast and especially from the Mid-Atlantic states and ended up living in  New Brunswick looking for a better life.

--Brock-Perry

Action Around Apalachicola Bay-- Part 10: Action After the Battle of New Orleans

Not knowing that the Treaty of Ghent  had been signed in December, Admiral Cochrane moved his forces back to Mobile and Prospect Bluff.  Just after his marines captured Fort Bowyer in a second attack at Mobile Bay, Cochrane got word of the Treaty of Ghent and began to withdraw from Mobile.

However, he left Nicholls and Woodbine  in command of the black Colonial Marines and Choctow Indians at the fort at Prospect Bluff.

The War of 1812 on the Gulf of Mexico began and ended at Apalachicola River.

But the departure of the Royal Navy did not end  the conflict with the blacks and Seminoles.  Attempts to recover Forbes & Company's losses during the three successive wars occupied Forbes and the Innerarity brothers for the rest of their lives, and led to the second largest Spanish  land grant in Florida's history.

Called the Innerarity's Claim of Searcy's  1829 map of Florida, the grant extended from Apalachicola to the Choctawhatchee River.  The story of how that land claim was settled  and the gradual decline of the John Forbes and Company's trading firm in the Territory of Florida is another story in itself.

--Brock-Perry

Seven Things You Didn't Know About New York's Central Park-- Part 5: Seneca Village

7.  One of the first African American communities in the city was razed in order  to create Central Park.

About three decades before the creation of the park, the area  was home to Seneca Village, a small community founded by free black property owners, one of the first ones in New York City.

It had three churches and a school and stretched between West 83rd and 89th streets.  By the 1840s, German and Irish immigrants moved to the area, making it one of the few integrated areas of the time.

In 1853, the city took possession of the area through eminent domain and destroyed Seneca Village to make way for Central Park.  The history of the village was largely ignored until 2011, when historians and archaeologists from the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village excavated six areas within the former village.

They found thousands of artifacts, including household items that revealed signs of middle-class life.  Last year, the central Park Conservancy  launched an outdoor exhibit to teach visitors about Seneca Village.

--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

War of 1812 Graves Marked in Iowa-- Part 2: Black Veterans and a Man With Two Names and Many Spouses

The men whose graves are now marked include Albert Lytle, Robert Dickens and William Early.  All three of these men were Blacks.

Also, William Buzick, a War of 1812 veteran

Grandison Able who was both a veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War.  Even so, however, he had to get the help of a Congressman to get him a $12-a-month pension.

Benjamin Brown spent the last seventeen years of his life at the Old Soldiers Home in Marshalltown.

Dr. John Granville Kimball, who had several spouses and for some reason was known as John Granville and John Kimball.    This has the makings of an interesting story.

Henry Moreland was born in England but rose to the rank of captain during the Civil War.

Jacob Lee Englebert wrote many recollections for the Des Moines Register.

I Am So Glad These Men Are Having Their Graves Finally  Marked.  --Brock-Perry

Paul Jennings Describes the White House That Day-- Part 2

He said that the people who actually saved the painting were:  "John Suse (Jean Pierre Sioussat, the French doorkeeper) and Magraw (McGraw), the President's gardener, took it down and sent it off on a wagon, with some large silver urns and other such valuables  as could hastily be got  hold of.

"When the British did arrive, they ate up the very dinner, and drank the wines, &c.,  that I had prepared for the President's party."

The soldiers burned the President's home and fuel was added to the fires that night to ensure they would continue burning  into the next day.

--Brock-Perry

Paul Jennings Describes the White House That Day

From Wikipedia Burning of Washington.

In the last post I mentioned James Madison's personal slave, 15-year-old Paul Jennings describing the events at the White House 24 August 1814.  He later purchased his freedom from the widower Dolley Madison and in a memoir he published in 1865. related those events.

"It has often been stated in print that when Mrs. Madison escaped  from the White House , she cut out  from the frame of the large portrait of Washington (now in one of the parlors there), and carried it off.  She had no  time for doing it.

"It would have required a large ladder to get it down.  All she carried off  was the silver in her reticule (purse in case you're wondering), as the British were thought to be but a few squares off, and were expected an moment."

He went on to tell who were responsible for saving the painting.

Who Saved the Portrait?  Tomorrow.  --Brock-Perry

Casualties At Battle of Fort McHenry

From the September 26, 2016, Burlington County Times  "There were few American deaths at Fort McHenry"  Leon C. Czartoryski  "Opinion."

Of the Americans in Fort McHenry, around 1,000 under the command of Major George Armistead, at the time of the attack, only four were killed. including Lt. Levi Claggett and Sgt. Clemm, were a black soldier, Private William Williams, and a woman who was cut in half by a bomb as she carried supplies to the troops.

There were also 24 wounded.

I had read in several places that four Americans were killed and knew two of them were Claggett (Clagett) and Clemm and was wondering who the other two were.I'll find out some more about these other two.

--Brock-Perry

And, All This Started With Ann Stokes, Black Nurse in the Civil War

I had never heard of Richard M. Johnson before, but he has a very interesting story as you have been reading over the last two weeks.

Ann Stokes was the reason I found him.  She was one of the first women ever to be in the U.S. Navy, noteworthy in itself.  But, she also was "contraband," a runaway slave.  So, not only was she one of the first women in the Navy, she was also one of the first black women.  She was also the first woman to receive a Navy pension for her service, not her husband's.

I wrote about her in several posts in my Running the Blockade Civil War Navy blog if you want to find out more.

She spent her latter years in the really small town of Belknap, Illinois, and died there.  I can't find out where she was buried.

Population of Belknap in 2000 was 133.  It is in Johnson County, pop. 2010 12,382.  But what got me was that it was named after Richard M. Johnson in 1812, who was then a Kentucky Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives and commanded a Kentucky regiment in the War of 1812 and at the Battle of the Thames and claimed to have killed Indian leader Tecumseh in hand-to-hand combat.  He later became U.S. vice president.

Well, I just had to find out more about this interesting fellow.

And, So It Was.  --Brock-Perry

Richard M. Johnson-- Part 1: Kentucky Politician, Vice President and Killed Tecumseh

From Wikipedia.

I have been writing about Ann Bradford Stokes in my Running the Blockade Civil War Naval Blog.  She served on the hospital ship USS Red Rover during the Civil War, one of the first women to serve on a U.S. naval ship.  She also became the first woman to receive a pension based on her wartime service.  She was also a black woman and former slave.

She died in the town of Belknap, Illinois, in 1903, which is in Johnson County, named for this man.

I wrote about that today and am looking to see where her grave is and whether or not it is marked (but have been unsuccessful so far).

Richard Mintor Johnson was born October 17, 1788, apparently in Virginia, and died November 19, 1850.  He was a War of 1812 leader and the 9th vice president of the United States, serving under Martin Van Buren (1837-1841).

I'd never heard of Him.  --Brock-Perry

Ten Strange Tales From America's Second War For Independence-- Part 4: T.J.'s Library

2.  Along with other buildings in Washington, D.C., the British also burned the nation's Library of Congress, consuming all the accumulated books.  Thomas Jefferson sold his 6,487 books to it in 1815 to settle debts he had incurred.

1.  Black refugees:  The British promised black slaves their freedom if they joined them and served.  Some 4,000 did.

After the war, they settled in Trinidad, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the West Indies.

--Brock-Perry

New Orleans' Jordan B. Noble-- Part 4: The Drum Is One of the Most Impiortant Historical Artifacts of New Orleans.

Jordan Noble was sold back into slavery four times, but died a free man.

Historian Shelene Roumillat said:  "In my opinion, the drum is one of the most important historical artifacts that we have here in New Orleans.

I certainly agree and not just because of its connection to the battle, but also his service in four wars as well as his impact on New Orleans music, traditions and the movement for equality.  I certainly hope someone or some group buys it and puts it on display for all to see.

--Brock-Perry