From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina.
I found this huge book at Books-A-Million in Goldsboro, NC, a few days ago for just $5. I've been enjoying looking through it where I found the article about the privateer Wasp and its captain, Johnston Blakely (which I had never heard of before) and the CSS Wilmington ironclad (which is in my Running the Blockade blog).
During the War of 1812, US fortunes were down when North Carolina heard about the captures of the British sloops Reindeer and Avon by the Wasp in the summer of 1814. I was wondering why the Wasp would be in this book until I found out its commander, Captain Blakely, was a Wilmington resident, and to honor him, on December 7, 1814, the General Assembly voted to present him a superb sword on his return.
Unfortunately, that never came to be as the Wasp and all aboard was lost sometime after Oct. 9, 1814. The General Assembly waited until the end of December 1816 to find out his fate and finally determined to deliver the sword to his widow, Jane Blakely, who they located in Boston.
Something Else. --Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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