Battle of New Orleans.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 36: General John Wood

GENERAL JOHN WOOD

1787-1845

Buried at Texas State Cemetery.

Born Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

During the War of 1812, he was a lieutenant-colonel in Claiborn's Regiment of Mississippi Militia.

He was also a veteran of the Texas Revolution.

Died in Austin, Travis County.

The Augustus Jones chapter of the U.S. Daughters of 1812 placed a marker on his grave.

Note:  There is no evidence that he is buried there.

--Brock-Perry

Friday, December 30, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 35 Reverend Silas Witt

I came across this man and another one in my 1812 logs.  I was writing about the Texas War of 1812 veterans buried in that state last month.

REVEREND SILAS WITT

May 28, 1787 to July 15, 1881

Buried at Old Perry Cemetery in Moody, Texas.

Born in Dandridge, Tennessee in Jefferson County.  Married July 28, 1812 in Jefferson County, Tennessee.

Survived by 14 children, including 10 sons.

His marker reads: Private Tennessee Militia.

--Brock-Perry


Thursday, December 29, 2016

Henderson County Also Named for Col. James Henderson of the War of 1812

From the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.

Henderson County was created in West Tennessee by an act of the Tennessee legislature on November 7, 1821, and named for Colonel James Henderson, who served under Andrew Jackson and commanded Tennessee troops at the Battle of New Orleans.

Several of the county's early settlers also served under Henderson's command during the war and during the Natchez and Creek campaigns.

A Lot of War of 1812 Connection in Tennessee.  --Brock-Perry

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Chester County's County Seat, Henderson, Also Named for War of 1812 Veteran

The county seat, Henderson, was founded along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad line in the late 1850s and first known as Dayton.  In 1860 Polk Bray opened the town's first store.

The town's name was later changed to Henderson Station, and finally to  just Henderson shortly before the Civil War.  This was done to honor Colonel James Henderson, a veteran of the War of 1812.

So the County and County Seat Named for War of 1812 Veterans.  --Brock-Perry

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Chester County, Tennessee

From the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.

Chester County is the last county formed in Tennessee in March 1879.

It was named for Colonel Robert I. Chester, a quartermaster in the War of 1812,  He was also an early postmaster in Jackson and a federal marshal for the Western District.

--Brock-Perry

Colonel Robert I. Chester

I have been writing about Chester County, Tennessee being named after War of 1812 veteran Robert I Chester.

From the Sketches of Prominent Tennesseeans.

Born in Carlisle County, Pennsylvania, in 1793.  came to Tennessee and volunteered to serve in the War of 1812 in place of his uncle, Judge John Kennedy.  Served in Mobile as quartermaster of Colonel Samuel Bayliss' Third Tennessee Regiment.

Mustered into service October 14, 1814, at Knoxville with the men destined to join Jackson at New Orleans.

Two regiments, the 3rd and 4th, built boats at Washington in Rhea County and were set to descend the Tennessee River to the Mississippi River.  But that order was countermanded and they marched overland to Mobile where they were stationed until peace was declared in March 1815.

He became a very rich plantation owner and went to Texas and was made a colonel in the Texas Army fighting for independence.  He returned to Tennessee after the Texan victory at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Death came to him in 1892.

--Brock-Perry

Monday, December 26, 2016

Tennessee's William Carroll-- Part 2: War of 1812 Service

William Carroll gained his military reputation during the War of 1812.  He organized and served as captain of a volunteer company.  Andrew Jackson appointed him brigade inspector for the campaigns to Natchez in 1812 and against the Creek Indians in 1813.

On the 1813 campaign, he participated in several battles before sustaining a severe wound during Jackson's victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.  Even with this severe wound, Carroll returned to the field and assumed command of the Tennessee militia, after Jackson was promoted to major general in the regular army.

Carroll's troops provided Jackson with crucial reinforcements which helped him win the Battle of New Orleans.

Because of his contributions at New Orleans, Carroll came out of the war with a reputation second only to that of Jackson himself.

--Brock-Perry

Friday, December 23, 2016

Tennessee's William Carroll: War of 1812 and Governor-- Part 1

From the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History & Culture.

(1788-1844).

War of 1812 veteran and served as state governor for all but two years between 1821 and 1835.

Born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was oldest son of Thomas Carroll who was an associate of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury for Presidents Jefferson and Madison.

He came to Nashville in 1810, at age 22, with a letter from Gallatin to Andrew Jackson he used to establish connections to open a hardware store and nail factory.  These businesses were very successful and he rose to the forefront of the town's development.

In 1816,he purchased the General Jackson, the first steamboat on the Cumberland River.

His War of 1812 Service Next.  --Brock-Perry

Tennessee's Governor Willie Blount-- Part 6

At the end of his third term, Blount returned to Montgomery County.  In 1827, he ran for governor, but was defeated by Sam Houston.  Blount served as a member of the state's Constitutional Convention in 1834.

He died September 10, 1835, in Nashville and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Clarksville.

--Brock-Perry

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Tennessee's Governor Willie Blount-- Part 5: War of 1812 Governor

Blount was first elected governor in 1809 and then re-elected in 1811 and 1813.  Throughout his tenure as governor, Blount sought to open new areas of Tennessee to white settlement.  During the Creek War, he provided his friend Andrew Jackson with funds and volunteer soldiers, which enabled Jackson and his troops to effectively destroy the military power of the Creek Indians.

During the War of 1812, Blount led the initiative to raise over $37,000 in funds and 2,000 volunteer soldiers, which earned Tennessee the nickname "Volunteer State."

--Brock-Perry

Tennessee's Governor Willie Blount-- Part 4

From the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.

WILLIE BLOUNT (ca 1767-1835)

Governor, was born in Bertie County, North Carolina, to Jacob Blount.  He was half-brother to Tennessee's territorial Governor, William Blount.  Willie (pronounced Wiley) Blount studied law at Princeton and Columbia before returning home to read law with a North Carolina judge.

When William Blount began his term as governor of the Southwest Territory in 1790, Willie accompanied him to Tennessee, serving as one of his brother's three private secretaries.

In 1794, he secured a license to practice law and in 1796, the new state legislature elected him as a judge on the Superior Court of Law and Equity, a position he declined.

He settled in Montgomery County about 1802 with his wife and two daughters, and represented the county in the state legislature from 1807 to 1809.

--Brock-Perry

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Tennessee Governor Willie Blount-- Part 3:

The War of 1812 took place during Willie Blount's second and third terms as governor.  During the first months of the war, he struggled with a  lack of communication with the U.S. War Department and waited for permission to order his state militia south to New Orleans.

Following the Fort Mimms Massacre, in Alabama, north of Mobile, in 1813, he issued a call to arms and 3,500 Tennesseeans answered it.  All this support earned Tennessee its nickname "Volunteer State."

Blount then raised $300,000 to fund the expedition.  This force was divided into two divisions and ordered south.  This ended with the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

This success made him very popular with the people of Tennessee after the war.

--Brock-Perry

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Tennessee Governor Willie Blount-- Part 2: Supporter of the War of 1812

Born in North Carolina of wealthy parents, he attended the current Princeton and Columbia universities before becoming a North Carolina lawyer.  His older half-brother, William Blount became the governor of the Southwest Territory and Willie accompanied him there which is how he came to live in Tennessee.

He became governor in 1809.

With the troubles with the Indians, brought about a fair amount by British interference and his citizens' desire to push into Indian lands, it is no surprise that Governor Blount was a big supporter of the war.

His efforts to raise funds and soldiers in the War of 1812 helped earn Tennessee its nickname "Volunteer State."

--Brock-Perry


Tennessee Governor Willie Blount-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Born April 18, 1768, at Blount Hall in Bertie County, North Carolina.  Died September 18, 1835.

Governor of Tennessee from 1809 to 1815.

He spent much of his early tenure as governor dealing with hostilities between Indians and white settlers.  He constantly sought to acquire land from the Cherokees and Chickasaws while fighting the hostile Choctows and Creeks.

At one point, early in his governorship he suggested to Washington, D.C., that the Cherokees be removed to west of the Mississippi, something later carried out by President Andrew Jackson.

--Brock-Perry

Camp Blount, Tennessee-- Part 3: Mustering Point for Other Wars

Camp Blount served as the mustering grounds for other wars than the War of 1812.

Tennessee troops mustered here for the Seminole Wars of 1818 and 1836.  Later they did the same for the Civil War.

It is likely that both Confederate and Union troops mustered here during the Civil War, though, obviously, not at the same time.

--Brock-Perry

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Camp Blount, Tennessee-- Part 2: Mustering to Fight the Creeks

From the July 16, 2013, Elk Valley (Tn.) Times.

During the War of 1812, the Tennessee state government issued a call for volunteers.  Some 3,500 Tennesseeans responded, earning them the state nickname "Volunteers."    The reason for this muster  was that the Creek Indians had attacked Fort Mims and massacred 250 men, women and children.

The soldiers were ordered here by Tennessee Governor Willie Blount.  They trained under the leadership of Andrew Jackson, then major general of Tennessee militia.  Most of the men who reported were from middle Tennessee.

They left Camp Blount oin October 1813.  Less than a year later, the troops again mustered at Camp Blount and this time marched to New Orleans.

--Brock-Perry


Friday, December 16, 2016

Camp Blount, Tennessee-- Part 1

From Tennessee Historical Marker.

This is in conjunction with blog entries on Sam Houston posted Nov. 22 and 23, 2015, in this blog.

In September 1813, the Army of West Tennessee assembled at Camp Blount on the Elk River.  It took the Oath of Allegiance on October 7.  Major General Andrew Jackson arrived at Fayetteville to take command of the army which included Sam Houston and David Crockett.

The Army then marched to Alabama and defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

The marker on the site of Camp Blount is at US-231/US-431 in Fayetteville, Tennessee, behind the River Oak Shopping Center.

--Brock-Perry

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

39th U.S. Infantry

From the NPS.

First Muster, June 18, 1813:  John Williams, colonel; Thomas H. Benton lt.-col.

Others in July 29, 1813:

1st Majhor--  Lemuel P. Montgomery
2nd Major--  William Peacock
1st. Lt. and adjutant--  Willie Martin
2nd Lt. and quartermaster--  Gyt Smith
Surgeon's Mate--  John Reed
Sgt. Major--  Anthony Palmer
2nd Master Sergeant--  Ezekial W. Hudnall
Drum Major--  Edward Hunt

--Brock-Perry


Monday, December 12, 2016

Thomas Hart Benton-- Part 2: Got Into Brawl With Jackson

From Wikipedia.

Born March 14, 1782   Died April 10, 1858.

Thomas Hart Benton moved his family to a plantation in Tennessee, near Nashville, and continued his legal education.  While there, he came to know Andrew Jackson.

With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Jackson made Benton his aide-de-camp with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.  Jackson then assigned Benton to go to Washington, D.C., to represent his interests there.  Benton did not like this assignment.

In 1813, he engaged Jackson in a frontier brawl in which Jackson was wounded.

--Brock-Perry


Friday, December 9, 2016

Thomas Hart Benton in the War of 1812

From the Civil War in Missouri.

Thomas Hart Benton was born into a wealthy Virginia family in 1782 and later moved to Tennessee.

During the War of 1812, he offered his services to Col. Andrew Jackson who made him his aide-de-camp.  Benton engaged the Creek Indians but really wanted to fight the British.  He would get that chance with Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.

He was so proud of that, that for years afterwards he signed his correspondence "Lieutenant Colonel. 39th Infantry."

In 1815, he moved to Missouri Territory.

--Brock-Perry

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

This Is No Drill! Pearl Harbor 75 Years Later: Gene Reinhardt, U.S. Army

From the December 4, 2016, Shelby (NC) Star "Pearl Harbor survivor from Gaston County part of a dwindling breed"  by Michael Barrett.

Gene Reinhardt, 95.

Enlisted in the Army after dropping out of Shelby High School in 1940.  Was a technician fifth grade and oversaw radio and telephone communications on Oahu.  Schofield Barracks was 15 miles away and Wheeler Army Airfield much closer and a major target of the Japanese pilots.

After Pearl Harbor he transferred to Australia and participated in many landings in the Pacific Theater, including New Guinea.  Discharged 1945.

Officials are not sure how many Pearl Harbor veterans remain, but in 2013, it was estimated their numbers to be between 2,000 and 2,500.

True American Heroes.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Andrew Keown, Veteran of America's Forgotten War-- Part 2

The Illinois Society of the War of 1812 held a ceremony on October 23 and unveiled a marker.  Seventy attended, including many of his descendants.

Andrew Keown was born April 11, 1793, in Butler County, Kentucky, and served as a private in Lt.-Colonel William Mitchusson's 14th Regiment of Kentucky Militia.  He came to Illinois in 1819, but returned to Kentucky before bring his family back in 1825.  He started receiving a War of 1812 pension in 1871 until his death.

Death came on February 20, 1880 at the age of 86.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Keown, Veteran of America's Forgotten War-- Part 1

From the October 26, 2016, Bellevue (Illinois) News-Democrat "Veteran of America's 'forgotten war' is remembered' by Curt Libbra.

Andrew Keown was with Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 on January 8, 1815 as a member of the Kentucky militia.

He returned to Kentucky after the war and married.  Eventually, he and his family moved to Illinois, purchased land and raised a family.

He died in 1880 at the age of 86.   Burial took place in the Vincent Cemetery between Alhambra and Livingston.  The cemetery was neglected over the years and became overgrown as well as a dumping ground.  The cemetery has now been restored.

--Brock-Perry

Ohio War of 1812 Veteran John Funk-- Part 2

Officers, NCOs and musicians in Captain Thomas Morgan's Company from Scioto County, Ohio.

Capt. Thomas Morgan
Lt.  James Emerson
Ensign James McLain
Ensign John Clemus

Sergt. Nathaniel Barber
Sergt. Samuel Wilson
Sergt. George Weider
Sergt. Job Goslee
Sergt. Isaac Johnston

Corp. James Dawson
Corp. Jesse Martin
Corp. William Sullivan
Corp. Thomas Lasborough
Corp. James Furnace
Corp. John Thebus

Fifer John Funk
Drummer Isaac Wheeler

There were also 84 privates.

--Brock-Perry

Monday, December 5, 2016

Ohio War of 1812 Veteran John Funk Honored-- Part 1

From the December 1, 2016, Community Common (Ohio).

John Funk was a fifer in Captain Thomas Morgan's Company from Ross and Scioto counties, Ohio,  and served in the militia twice.  The first time from July 28 to September 9, 1812 and second from February 13 to March 18, 1814.

He was born March 30, 1790, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and died February 18, 1859, in Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio.

Members of the Scioto Valley Volunteers (SW) Chapter, United States Daughters of the War of 1812, Ohio Society, are planning a grave marking ceremony for John Funk in the next several weeks.

--Brock-Perry

Monument Hill: Texas State Historic Site

Located south of LaGrange, Texas.

On September 18, 1848, the remains of Texans killed at the Dawson Massacre and the Black Bean Episode were buried in a ceremony at this site.  Their remains were dug up from the shallow grave they were buried in in 1842 and reinterred here.

They are in a common tomb in a sandstone vault and the location is now known as Monument Hill.

Over 1,000 attended it, including U.S. Senator Sam Houston.

The monument itself is quite impressive.

--Brock-Perry

The Dawson Massacre-- Part 3: Reinternment

Mathew Caldwell, in the meantime, had defeated the Mexicans in the Battle of Salado Creek and found the dead of Nicholas Dawson's command buried in a shallow grave.

In late summer 1848 (after Texas had become a U.S. State), a group of LaGrange citizens retrieved the remains of Dawson's men and reinterned them at Monument Hill, Texas.

--Brock-Perry


Saturday, December 3, 2016

The Dawson Massacre-- Part 2: Surrendered, But Fighting Continued

On September 11, 1842, the Mexican Army occupied San Antonio.  Matthew Caldwell organized 210 militia and marched against them.  On September 17, he sent a small band of Rangers to San Antonio to draw the Mexicans out.

A separate company of 54 Texans, mostly from the Fayette County area, under the command of Nicholas Dawson arrived and advanced on the Mexicans.  After much fighting, they were surrounded by the larger Mexican force and surrendered.

But, the fighting continued and Dawson and 36 Texans were killed in the ensuing action.  Fifteen were captured and two escaped.  Zadock Woods was one of the dead.  Son Henry Woods managed a daring escape and son Norman was severely wounded, captured and died while imprisoned in Mexico.

Zadock Woods was buried in a mass grave, but was dug up and reinterred six years later at Monument Hill, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

The Dawson Massacre in Texas-- Part 1: Near San Antonio

From Wikipedia.

Back on November 25th, while doing Texas War of 1812 veterans, I mentioned that Zadock Woods was killed at what is called the Dawson Massacre in 1842.  I did some more research on it.

Looks like we'll get some more Texas history.

It is also referred to as the Dawson Expedition.  Where 36 Texas militia were killed by Mexican soldiers on September 17, 1842.  (Find-A-Grave lists Zadock Woods as being killed on September 18, 1842).  It took place near San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, now San Antonio, Texas.

It was a part of the larger Battle of Salado Creek.

After Texas declared its independence, there was a quarrel over area between the Rio Grande and Nueces rivers.  Texas claimed everything to the Rio Grande but lacked the military power to hold it, resulting in Mexican military incursions.

--Brock-Perry

Friday, December 2, 2016

The History of the Republic of Texas

After writing the blogs about the War of 1812 Texas Veterans, I'd have to say I really came up with a how and why history for the Republic of Texas and early years as a state.  And, I just used a small fraction of the ones listed in Texas 1812 Veterans site of Find-A-Grave.

Many of the men came from Southern states, with several moving to the colonies that wer being built.  They fought against th Mexicans in the Texas Revolution as well as the Indians..  Most did not die during the War of 1812 and did many years later.

--Brock-Perry

The Grave of Moses Austin

From Find-A-Grave.

Moses Austin is  buried at the Potosi Presbyterian Cemetery in Potosi, Missouri.  He was first buried at Hazel Run and then moved to the Potosi Presbyterian Cemetery.

His grave was covered with cement to keep Texans from stealing the body.

--Brock-Perry

Austinville, Virginia

From Wikipedia.

In the earlier posts on Moses Austin, I mentioned the town of Austinville, Virginia, which was named after Moses Austin.

An unincorporated community in New River in southern Wythe County, Virginia.  New River State Park is there as is the Shot Tower Historical State Park which is nearby.

Stephen F. Austin was born here.

I have driven by the Shot Tower often on I-77, but never stopped.  Hey, lead in those shoy.

--Brock-Perry

Moses Austin-- Part 3: Another Failed Business and Texas Colonization

Moses Austin became founder and principal stockholder of the Bank of St. Louis, but that failed in the Panic of 1819 and he lost his entire fortune.  This most likely is where Zadock Woods ended up losing his money.  Them, Moses became involved in the colonization of Texas.

He died in 1821 of pneumonia and is buried in Potosi, Missouri.

--Brock-Perry

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Moses Austin-- Part 2: Failed Business and On To Missouri

Moses Austin then moved to southwest Virginia and got into the lead business in Wythe County.  He and his brother Stephen (namesake of his son) and others industrialized the area, building several smelters and furnaces.  The small village that grew up there became known as Austinville and Moses got the name of the "Lead King."

But, he incurred debts and his company collapsed and Moses skipped out of the state to avoid imprisonment.  His next stop was Missouri for its rich lead deposits, but it was then part of Spanish Louisiana.  In 1798, he was granted land in return for declaring allegiance to the Spanish Crown.

In 1803, Missouri became part of the United States as a result of the Louisiana Purchase.

--Brock-Perry