About Private Samuel Helms-- Part 2

According to Bobbie Reno, the court-martial was illegal.  Helms should have been punished for going AWOL, not executed for desertion.

Modern scientific research tools have been deployed to locate Helms' possible burial spot.  Ground penetrating radar swept the elementary school's athletic field last year and identified several possible locations for graves.  Bobbie Reno is attempting to track down Helms' descendants for possible DNA matches.

In order to verify the possible locations, a subsurface investigation is needed and it is the Army policy not to disturb burials of the fallen when possible.

However, reno has noted that soldiers remains have been disturbed in other parts of New York.

On June 14 there will be a ceremony at the state's Lake George Battlefield Park for the reinterment of remains of Continental soldiers who died during the American Revolution.  These remains were uncovered during a construction project in 2019. 

They were believed to have been buried in a cemetery for soldiers who did at a nearby hospital.  The ceremony is sponsored by the State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Courtland Street Reinterment Project.

--Brock-Perry

Elliott and the USS Constitution-- Part 3

Elliott then strong-armed his crew into buying him a set of plates.

When a midshipman was sorely wounded in an unauthorized duel, Elliott abandoned him without funds in a Turkish port.  On his last circuit through the Mediterranean, before returning to the United States, Elliott encumbered the gun deck with stalls to contain his menagerie of hogs, sheep, horses and donkeys.  All this was done without the Navy Department's approval.

When the ship returned to Norfolk, Virginia, in July 1838, he faced down a mutiny when he delayed payment and discharge of the crew.

He was removed from command of the Constitution and court-martialled in 1840 and found guilty on five counts which saw him sentenced to four years suspension from service and loss of pay.

The loss of pay was rescinded and the suspension shortened, thanks to his powerful political friends.

When he was restored to duty in December 1844 and made commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard where he died in office the next December.

--Quite An Interesting Story.  --Brock-Perry

Private Helms Executed-- Part 2

Private Helms was an unknown soldier who was executed during the War of 1812 for desertion at the Greenbush Cantonment (camp), which is now the site of  the Hampton manor neighborhood and Red Mill Elementary School.

Now, Greenbush historian  Bobbie Reno is out to get those charges dropped.

Samuel Helms of Captain Joseph Delafield's Company in the 1st New York Militia Regiment apparently might have had an illegal court martial.

Reno attempted to have the state militia  rule in his innocence but they couldn't.  However, she got the governor of the state, Kathy Hochul, to review her documentation and rule on it.

The issue for Private Helms is whether he deserted his post in Ulster County or went AWOL (absent without leave) to see his wife and three young children.

Reno's research makes it seem that the private was AWOL and shouldn't have been tried at court martial.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

Three 'Dirty' Tricks the British Used on Hull at Detroit-- Part 2: Hull Court-Martialed

They also got the arms and weapons the Americans had in Fort Detroit.  And because of the stunning victory, Indian ally Tecumseh was able to rally even more Indians to his anti-American side and Brock was then able to thtreaten upstate New York.

William Hull was court-martialed and sentenced to death for the surrender, but the sentence was commuted by President James Madison.

Here are the three "dirty" tactics British General Isaac Brock used to cower Revolutionary War veteran William Hull:

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

1.  THEY USED OLD BRITISH UNIFORMS

The total number of  British forces attacking Fort Detroit was around 1,330 and the bulk of Brock's forces were militia members, not the vaunted British regulars that might make the Americans think twice about attacking (or even defending).

He did have some 300 British regulars, but not enough to get the psychological  effect he wanted, so he used old, cast-off coats of regulars.  He dressed his Essex militiamen in as many red British uniforms as he could find.  This made it appear to the Americans that he had more regulars than he actually did.

--Brock-Perry

Captain Abraham Fuller Hull-- Part 5: Poor William Hull

Source continues from the previous post.

From the Memoir of Gem. William Hull.

Only a few months after the sentence of the court martial (finding William Hull guilty in his court martial and sentencing him to death), General Hull met  with a greater misfortune in the loss of his only son, Captain Abraham Fuller Hull of the Ninth Infantry, who fell in the battle at Lundy's Lane, July 1814, while leading his company in a bayonet charge on the enemy's guns.

So, here was William Hull, facing the death penalty for his surrender of Fort Detroit and he then finds out about the death of his only son.  Like I said, poor William Hull.

As his father's aide, Captain A. F. Hull signed "Hull's Proclamation" in July 1812.

(Well, it looks like I'll be looking up Hull's Proclamation to see what that is all about.)

--Brock-Perry

The Unfortunate Surrender of Detroit-- Part 2: Hull Sentenced to Death by Court Martial

The next morning, British General Isaac Brock crossed the Detroit River and arrived at Springwells unopposed.  His army marched  just north to May's Creek and set up a defensive position along the ravine.  Then Brock and the Natives advanced north to Fort Detroit, setting up positions just 1200 yards away.

Despite having a very sizable force inside the fort, William Hull was convinced   that he and his men were outnumbered.  He surrendered to Tecumseh without firing a shot.

About 2,500 U.S. soldiers were taken prisoner of war and moved to British Canada for imprisonment.

Hull was relieved of his command and later court martialed in 1814 for treason, cowardice, neglect of duty and misconduct.  He was sentenced to death, but spared from hanging by President James Madison.  General William Hull remains the only U.S. general to be sentenced to death by an American court martial.

--Brock-Perry

John Gwinn-- Part 4

 

In Distinguished Men of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, John Gwinn listed as graduating from St.  John's College and being a Captain in the U.S. Navy.  St. John's College is one of the oldest educational institutions in the U.S.

David Glasgow Farragut,  John Gwinn, John Lowe, the Porter Family lists  John Gwinn's (1791-1849) papers with the bulk of material from 1825 to  1849 consisting of  personal journals, official and general correspondence.

In 1843, John Gwinn was serving on the Naval Court Martial Board.

There is correspondence between  John Gwinn and  E.A.F.  Lavalette, regarding affairs of the U.S. Navy Yard at  Pensacola  from 1845 in the Handbook of Manuscripts in the Library of Congress.

--Brock-Perry

Naval Officers Dueling: An "Honorable" Way to Die, the End of Stephen Decatur

Captain Stephen Decatur himself died in a duel in 1820. 

As a military officer, Decatur believed he was obligated to accept  a challenge from anybody who was his social or professional equal or better.  He had survived a 1799 duel  and he was actually opposed to duels between midshipmen under his command.

However, Captain James Barron had taken offense in the role Decatur had taken at his court-martial after the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, and he increasingly grew bitter afterwards.

He finally challenged Decatur and mortally wounded  him at Bladensburg, Maryland, the most famous duel in U.S. Navy history.

The blog entries on dueling were all taken from "Dueling Frigates" New London (CT.) Historical Society by Andrew W. German.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of the Thames-- Part 8: Consequences for Henry Proctor

**  Henry Proctor was relegated to minor commands for the rest of the war.

**  His career was essentially over.

**  In May 1814, he was charged with negligence and improper conduct,

**  His court martial was delayed because of operational reasons.

**  It was finally held in December and the judge chastised him for his conduct of the retreat and he was suspended from rank and pay for six months.

**  He never held a senior command again.

--Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry and the Sinking of the USS Revenge-- Part 2

On january 9, 1811, the USS Revenge ran aground off Rhode Island was lost.

"seeing fairly quickly that he could not save the vessel, [Perry] turned his attention to saving the crew, and after helping them down the ropes over the vessel's stern, he was last to leave the vessel."

A court-martial exonerated Perry and placed the blame for the ship's loss on its pilot.

In January 2011, divers claimed to have found the remains of the USS Revenge.

--Brock-Perry

U.S. Navy Recovers Cannon Off Rhode Island-- Part 3: Perry's?

The Navy raised the cannon earlier this year on May 24.  It is encrusted with sea life and calcium carbonate from the interaction between salt water and iron.

Perry's career languished after the sinking, even though he was exonerated of the loss in a court-martial.  Later, he was sent to the Great Lakes where he became a hero because of his victory at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 and his famous quote, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

Archaeologists will be looking for foundry marks on the cannon to determine whether or not it is from the Revenge.

The cannon is 5.5 feet long and weighs over 1,000 pounds.  It is estimated that the preservation of it will take about two years.  Meanwhile, the Navy continues to map the site.

--Brock-Perry

Some Confusion on Thomas O. Selfridge in the Last Post

In the last post on the court martial trial of William S. Cox, for the surrender of the USS Chesapeake on June 1, 1813, I wrote that Naval hero Stephen Decatur served as president at the proceedings and Thomas O. Selfridge was judge advocate.  This was according to the June 28, 2014, "The War" newspaper.

The name Selfridge is a very familiar one to me because of Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr.,'s service during the Civil War.  Must be his father.

The problem with Thomas O. Selfridge being the judge advocate in Mr. Cox's court martial is that Thomas was born April 24, 1804 and that would have made him just ten years old in 1814.  Kind of young to have been a judge advocate, I think.

Plus, Wikipedia says Thomas O. Selfridge was appointed a midshipman on January 1, 1818, at age 13.

I couldn't find any other Selfridge who would have been a naval officer during the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

William Sitgreaves Cox: Victim or Coward?-- Part 2

William Cox was convicted in an 1814 court martial for dereliction of duty and for abandoning his watch station while under fire.  he was discharged from the Navy in disgrace.

His great grandson, New York architect Electus D. Litchfield fought for many years to have William Cox's conviction overturned.  Finally, in 1952, a resolution passed by Congress was signed by President Truman overturning the conviction and restoring Cox's rank.

Personally, from what I have read, I think this was long overdue.

--Brock-Perry

William Sitgreaves Cox: Victim or Coward?-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

In the last post I mentioned what happened to the USS Chesapeake's Third Lt, William Sitgreaves Cox who ended up taking the blame for the loss of the USS Chesapeake to the HMS Shannon on June 1, 1813, off the shore of Boston.  For this he was found guilty at a court martial the next year.

I had never heard of him or the case before so did a little more research.

1790-1874.

Served below deck in charge of a gun crew during the battle, but when his crew abandoned their post, he went to the upper deck to continue the fight.  When his Captain James Lawrence was wounded, he took him below deck to the ship's doctor.

However, the rest of the officers were all wounded or killed so Cox had become the senior, non-wounded officer present.

--Brock-Perry

Burial Places of William Hull and Isaac Hull

From Find-A-Grave.

William Hull was put on court martial after his surrender of Fort Detroit and convicted of cowardice, neglect of duty and unofficerlike conduct.  President Madison commuted the sentence, though.

William Hull was born June 24, 1753 in Derby, Connecticut.  He died November 29, 1825 and is buried at East Parish Burying ground in Newton, Massachusetts.

Isaac Hull was born March 9, 1773 in Derby, Connecticut and died February 13, 1843, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

--Brock-Perry

What the Hull?-- Part 2: Court Martialed and Sentenced to Death

William Hull, his uncle, was also born in Derby, but in 1753.  He fought in the American Revolution.  In the War of 1812, he was a brigadier general commanding Fort Detroit and given the mission of invading Canada by President Madison.

He was defeated in this effort and even forced to surrender Fort Detroit on August 16, 1812.

For the disgrace, many felt the surrender was not necessary, William Hull was court martialed and condemned to death by a military President Madison who later commuted it.

William died in 1825 and Isaac 18 years later.

--Brock-Perry

A Frontier in Flames-- Part 10: The Surrender of Detroit

When American General William Hull refused to surrender, the British shelled Fort Detroit and prepared to attack.  At this time, Hull lost his courage.  Although the fort was strong and well-equipped to withstand a siege, he decided to surrender.

This was due in large part to fear of Indian atrocities if he fought and lost.  British General Brock assured him that he he couldn't control his Indian allies if it came to a fight.  In addition, Hull had his family along with him.

On August 16, 1812, he agreed to surrender in exchange for promises of safe conduct back to the U.S. for his soldiers and civilians.

Hull and his party safely left the fort and returned home, where he was court-martialed for cowardice.

--Brock-Perry

Robert Lucas' Journal-- Part 4: Capt. Rupe's Court Martial

MAY 7, 1812:  Robert Lucas organized three companies from his brigade with the companies of Lucas and Rupe into a battalion.

JULY 17, 1812:  "I was now informed that the sentence of the Court martial I left Siting on the trial of Capt. Rupe was that he should be Cashiered and not permitted to bare arms as an officer in the Defence of the United States.

And, we know that his men immediately re-elected him to be their captain.

--Brock-Perry

Robert Lucas' Journal for Detroit Campaign 1812-- Part 2: Capt. Rupe Arrested

JULY 11, 1812:  "This day Capt. Cunninghams and Capt. Rupe's Company refused to cross the river, but after Some Statement by Colo (Colonel) Cunninghams Company agreed to go to Rupe and his Company through obstinacy refused to march,."

"The Genl demanded a list of the names of those that refused to cross the river Capt. Rupe returned his whole Company the adjutant rashly abused the whole company as Cowards under the name militia, unfortunately attached to Colo McArthur Regiment, and then arrested Captain Rupe-- for ungentlemanly and unofficerlike conduct."

--Brock-Perry

Robert Lucas-- Part 3: War of 1812

Service in the War of 1812 .

One person wrote of Robert Lucas:  "As a spy he was productive and brave-- as a soldier he had no superior."

Robert Lucas rose to national prominence during the court martial of General William Hull for his surrender of Detroit.  Lucas' journals were used as evidence and helped convict Hull.

Rapidly rose to political power after the war and became Ohio's governor for two terms from 1832-1836.

Later appointed the first governor of Iowa territory and is buried at Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City, Iowa.

--Brock-Perry