Fort Montgomery-- Part 6: Strength

Initially constructed to have a garrison of 800 troops, the fort never had that many and mainly had the role as a military deterrent along the border.  Many of the Third System  forts by design were never  fully garrisoned, ultimately they were to be ready for action as needed.

Contrary to local legend, however,the fort never fired a shot in anger, but this does not mean it didn't have some of its guns mounted.

According to War Department records in 1886, when Fort Montgomery was most heavily armed, it mounted 74 guns of its 125 capacity, including 8 and 10-inch Rodmans, some of the heaviest caliber cannons in the U.S. arsenal.

Most of these cannons were mounted facing Canada.  Although never mounted, two huge 15-inch Rodmans were on site on the parade ground for years.  They were to be mounted on top of the wall.

In 1880, commander of the U.S. Army, William Tecumseh Sherman, toured the fortification and was so im pressed that he wanted the garrison at nearby Plattsburgh Barracks to be stationed there, but public outcry kept that from happening.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain-- Part 5: Joseph Totten

Directly behind the fort itself, between it and the actual shoreline, a massive manmade island was constructed.  Standing higher than the fort itself,  the earthen berm was known as the "cover face" and protected the fort against an enemy on land being able to utilize heavy siege guns to reduce the walls.

It was connected to land by a narrow stone causeway and to the fort itself by a bridge.  Also, during the fort's latter construction, Chief Engineer of the Army, Joseph Totten, invented an iron reinforced embrasure for cannons which would better protect the gunners.

This upgrade was added to the fort's design in the upper tier.  The two lower ones had aleady been completed so were left with the brick embrasures.

Totten was no stranger to the area either, having served as a major under Generals Izard and Macomb during the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh where he had been in charge of constructing the American defenses.

Later, he was brevetted to lieutenant colonel for gallantry under fire.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery-- Part 4: Innovative Design

Fort Montgomery was also one of only nine forts constructed in the United States to have a moat (as was Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas).  This made the fort essentially surrounded on all sides by water and accessible only by drawbridge from the land side.  

Another interesting and innovative design also was a drawbridge which could be mechanically pivoted on a central balance point with one end raising to block the entrance to the fort and the other end dropping into a curved pit in the postern, or sally port, behind the doorway like a seesaw.

Raising the bridge would effectively cut the fort off from any entrance by land as the bottom of the fort's doorway stood a full fifteen feet above the water of the  moat or "wet ditch" below.  A similar entrance from the lakeside, known as the 'water gate", also utilized a drawbridge which accessed a dock extending from the fort to the lake.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery-- Part 3: A Magnificent Structure

Work on the fort continued almost continuously through 1870, with the peak of construction taking place during the Civil War, amidst rumors of possible British intervention  against the Union from Canada.  To assauge concern among area residents, a detachment of the 14th United States actually garrisoned the fort for three months in 1862.

These fears were actually realized during the St. Albans Raid, the northernmost action during the Civil War that took place in nearby Vermont.

Over the roughly 30 years of construction of the fort, no expense was spared and the work constituted some of the most advanced and cutting edge military technology of the day.  At  the peak point of construction, the labor force had around 400 stonecutters and masons plying their trade.

When its basic structure was completed, the fort boasted walls some 48 feet high and gun emplacements for 125 guns on three tiers.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain-- Part 2: Named for Richard Montgomery

When a new survey discovered that the 45th parallel was actually located 3/4th mile south, effectively placing the fort in Canada, all construction on the fort stopped.  Much of the material was scavenged by locals for use in their own homes and public buildings.

There is no evidence that the fort was named before this.  Most contemporary documents list the fortification as the "works," "fortification" or "battery" at Rouse's Point.  It is often mistakenly referred to as Fort Montgomery.  However, the site of the first fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Montgomery in 1977.

It was eventually decided to build a second fort on the site after the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 ceded the strategically important Island Point, the site of the 1816 fort and the northernmost  point on Lake Champlain, to the United States.

Construction began on the new fortification  two years later and it was officially named Fort Montgomery  in honor of the American Revolution's Major General Richard Montgomery who was killed during the 1775 invasion of Canada at Quebec City.

Fort Montgomery was one of the very few "Permanent" ot "Third System" built along the Northern Frontier.  Most of them were built along the Atlantic Coast.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain-- Part 1: How It Got the Name Fort Blunder

From Wikipedia.

FORT MONTGOMERY (ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN)

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain is the second of two American forts built at the northernmost point of the American part of the lake. A first, unnamed  fort was built on the same site in 1816.  Fort Montgomery was built in 1844.

FORT BLUNDER

Construction on the first fort at this location, an octagonal structure with 30-foot high walls, in 1816 to protect against attack from British Canada such as what had happened at the Battle of Plattsburgh/ Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814. 

In July 1817, President James Monroe visited the incomplete  fortification and the adjacent military reservation known locally as "The Commons."

However, due to an earlier surveying error, it was found that this American fort was actually situated on the wrong side of the border.  This resulted it as sometimes being referred to as Fort Blunder.

--Brock-Perry

Not to Be Confused with the First Fort Montgomery on the Hudson River

In the last several posts I have been writing about a U.S. fort on Lake Champlain near the Canadian border that was built after the War of 1812, for the purpose of stopping any further incursion into New York by British/Canadian forces.

The fort was first built on the wrong side of the border and was derisively called Fort Blunder for some reason.  Later, the U.S. negotiated  for the land and it was built and named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolution general who was killed.  (I've also written about two American warships named after him, one in the Revoution and the other in the War of 1812.)

However, this fort is not to be confused with the first Fort Montgomery which was built on the Hudson River.  This fort was built in 1776 and a battle took place there in 1777.  

I'll write about this fort in my Cooter's History Thing blog at some point in the future.

--Brock-Perry

New York's Fort Blunder/Montgomery-- Part 3: New Owners

With advances in military technology, particularly in rifled artillery and high explosives, Fort Montgomery gradually became  obsolete and was abandoned and sold at auction by the U.S. government in 1926.  The fort was plundered by locals for building materials, especially stone, wood and iron work and had several owners.

Over the years,  parts of the walls collapsed or were demolished for landfill.  The previous owners tried to sell the fort on eBay in 2016, but a deal never happened.

In September this year, the fort was sold to two Canadian brothers.  The brothers, Martin Benoit, 55, and Benoit Benoit, 46, purchased the fort and adjoining grounds for $750,000.  They envision using the fort and grounds as a winery and wedding venue. 

They also think that they will restore the fort and have it be a tourist attraction.

A Happy Ending for Fort Blunder? --Brock-Perry

New York's Fort Blunder/Montgomery Has War of 1812 Connection-- Part 2: How It Became Known as Fort Blunder

In order to defend Lake Champlain and the border, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed and started construction of permanent fortifications near that border in 1816.  However, due to some poor surveying, this fort was built nearly  a mile on the northern side of the U.S.-Canadian border.

This was a huge "Oops."  Not surprisingly, this fortification became known as Fort Blunder.

The second fort, properly surveyed this time, was built between 1844 and 1871 at Rouse's Point in Clinton County, New York.  Unlike many contemporary forts of the time, it wasn't built of bricks, but stone instead.

The fort was named after General Richard Montgomery who was killed leading the American attack on Quebec in 1775 (during the first American invasion of Canada).  At its  height,the fort mounted over eighty guns on three levels (it was designed for 125) and was surrounded by a moat which could only be crossed by a drawbridge.

That Was A Big OOPS.  --Brock-Perry

New York's Fort Blunder/Montgomery Has a War of 1812 Connection-- Part 1

Even though it wasn't built during the war.

From the December 5, 2022, Daily Kos  "Mid-19th century New York fortress built to keep the British out sold to Canadians" by  BeeD.

A fortress in upstate New York once designed to defend the  U.S. border from British incursions from Canada was recently sold to Canadian brothers.

The United States has been invaded  by the British using Lake Champlain as their highway three times:  twice during the American Revolution and once during the War of 1812.

The first attack was stalled by Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776 and the withdrawal of the British at the onset of winter, the second ended with the surrender of General John Burgoyne's British and Hessian Army at Saratoga  in October 1777, and the third was stopped by the U.S. Navy  at the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814.

You're Probably Wondering About the Fort Blunder Name.   --Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry & the Battle of Lake Erie-- Part 4

Instead of striking his colors, much to the surprise of the British, Perry lowered his flag on the USS Lawrence and rowed across the water to the USS Niagara, which was still in the fight.   He then raised his colors, a flag with the inscription "Don't Give Up the Ship," the last words of his friend James Lawrence.  He then continued the fight.

He forced the British to surrender.

His victory at the Battle of Lake Erie was a decisive turning point of the War of 1812.  The American people had something positive to cling to and celebrations in dozens of cities took place.  Now there was hope that the momentum of the war would shift.

And it sure did.

Today, Perry's legacy lives on, and perhaps most symbolic of this is the Victory and International Peace Memorial, which was built in 1936  in Put-In-Bay, Ohio, on South Bass Island in Lake Erie.  This dedication to Perry represents lasting peace between Canada, the United States and Great Britain, which in turn created stability and made it possible for surrounding  areas such as Trumbull County to thrive and grow.

--Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry & the Battle of Lake Erie-- Part 3:

At this time, President Thomas Jefferson decided to drastically reduce the Navy from 45 warships to 13 and 42 captains to 9 and  midshipmen from 350 to 150.  This became significant when a few years later, Congress declared war on Great Britain on June 8, 1812.

There wasn't much of a U.S. Navy.

When Perry requested and was granted a command on Lake Erie, he was tasked with building the very ships he needed to fight the British. Not only that, but he seriously lacked the manpower to build and man those ships.

Perry and his ships were underdogs when they went into battle against the British at the Battle of Lake Erie, but he wouldn't give up.

Even after Perry's flagship, the USS Lawrence, was damaged beyond  repair, he refused to strike his colors.

--Brock-Perry

 

Oliver Hazard Perry & the Battle of Lake Erie-- Part 2

Perry's victory at the Battle of Lake Erie had a great impact on the War of 1812 an d gave the U.S. Navy control of Lake Erie, but it also resulted in a huge growth in the population of Trumbull County.  

By 1820, the population had almost doubled to 15,546, and continued to grow in the next two decades.  By 1840,  there were 38,107 people living in Trumbull County.

Even as a young boy, Perry was exceptional.  He was born August 23, 1785, to Sarah Wallace Alexander and Christopher Raymond Perry.  By the time he was 13, he had already determined what he was going to do as an adult.  He was going to join the U.S. Navy.

In April 1799, he was made a midshipman on the USS General Green.  During the two years he was that rank, he learned how to board enemy ships and land on enemy shores.  He also learned other valuable skills such as  the art of fighting and navigation.

Perhaps the most important lesson was  how to conduct himself on board a ship.

In 1802, he was promoted to lieutenant when he was just 17 years old.

--Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie--Part 1

From the December 12, 2022, Tribune-Chronicle by Belinda Weiss.

In the early morning hours of September 10, 1813,  Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was instrumental in defeating the British Navy on Lake Erie, despite being the underdog in the fight.

Perry's bravery, determination and sheer stubborness were the driving forces behind the American victory.  The Battle of Lake Erie  proved to be a turning point, not only because of Perry's victory, but also because of the inspirational and emotional impact it had upon the American government and people.

This victory eliminated the British threat from the north and  lessened the Native American threat to American settlers.

Trumbull County, Ohio, was originally part of the Connecticut Western reserve, established on July 10, 1800, and named in honor of Connecticut  Governor Jonathan Trumbull.  However, the population of the county was a meager 1,302 in 1800 and only increased to 8,671 by 1810.

However, Perry's victory in the Battle of Lake Erie changed all of this.

Oliver Hazard Perry is the Perry in the signoffs of this blog.

Brock-Perry

Michigan's Shore Indian Trail and Hull's Trace & the War of 1812

From the October 25, 2022, Thumbwind by Michael Hardy.

The Shore Indian Trail was one of five major routes of land travel leading to Detroit and was well-known by early settlers.  The trail begins at the rapids of the Maumee River to Toledo, then closely follows along the shore of Lake Erie through Monroe and Brownstown to Detroit.

This trail became a crucial tactical element in the War of 1812.  The U.S. was concerned with supplying Fort Detroit early in tnhe war (it was still in American hands).  Since the British Navy controlled the Lake Erie, overland supply was the only option.

Starting in June 1812, troops under the command of General William Hull constructed what became known as "Hull's Trace," a 200-mile military road running from Urbana, Ohio, to Fort Detroit.  One hundred and fifty men under the command of  Hubert Lacroix completed "Corduroy Road" on July 4, 1812, with a bridge over  the River Huron.

--Brock-Perry

Pennsylvania's National Guard Celebrates Its 275th Anniversary December 7

From the December 6, 2022, DVIDS "Top ten moments in Pennsylvania National Guard history" by Brad Rhen.

WAR OF 1812 SERVICE

Of course, they were militia back then.

More than 14,000 Pennsylvanians were drawn into active service during the War of 1812.

During the Battle of Lake Erie, an artillery company provided volunteers to serve as cannoneers on Commodore Perry's fleet.

That unit today is known as Wilkes-Barre's 109th Field Artillery.

--Brock-Perry

81st Anniversary of Pearl Harbor: Herbert Jacobson-- Part 5

Continued from my Down Da Road I Go blog.

Bert Jacobson's name was recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of then Pacific in Honolulu along with other military personnel listed as missing in action from World War II.  A rosette later was placed next to his name to indicate that his remains have been identified.

The identification process began in 2015 when the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed the remains of the unidentified USS Oklahoma crew members for additional analysis.  (They had been buried commingled in several graves in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.)

'It's been a long process," Brad McDonald said.  "My mother, she kind of took up the torch for the whole family to figure out what's going on.  ...I have stacks and stacks of documents of all the agencies she contacted."

Continued in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

War of 1812 Veteran Fought at Battle of Gettysburg-- Part 5: John Burns' Statue

John Burns became a national hero after the battle.  When President Abraham Lincoln stopped in Pennsylvania to deliver his Gettysburg Address he asked to speak with Burns and met him at his home.  Burns was also photographed and even a poem written about him (see last post).

A statue of John Burns was erected on the Gettysburg Battlefield and still stands today.

Am inscription of the base of the statue reads:  "My thanks are specially due to a citizen of Gettysburg named John Burns who although over seventy years of age shouldered his musket and offered his services to Colonel Wister One Hundred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

"Colonel Wister advised him to fight in the woods as there was more shelter there but he preferred to join our line of skirmishers in the open fields when the troops retired he fought with the Iron Brigade.  He was wounded in three places."

These words were from the official report of Union General Doubleday.

Quite the Character.  --Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Veteran Fought at Gettysburg-- Part 4

We're talking about John Burns, of course.

Burns got rid of his rifle and buried his ammunition before passing out. When he came to, he was among the Confederates and tried to convince them that he was just an old man trying to find help for his aged wife, but this account varies depending upon who you read.

He survived his wounds and lived another nine years.

The Battle of Gettysburg turned out to be a major turning point of the war and the hopes of the South to form their own country faded after that.

As the poem "John Burns of Gettysburg," written after the war by Francis Bret Harte, goes:

"So raged the battle.  You know the rest.  How the rebels, beaten and backward pressed, broke at the final charge and ran.  At which John Burns -- a practical man-- shouldered his rifle, unbent his brows, and then went back to his bees and cows."

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Vet Fought at Gettysburg-- Part 3: Wounded Several Times Fighting with the Iron Brigade

This time John Burns was not turned away.  The commanders of the 150th Pennsylvania sent Burns to Herbst Woods, figuring that would be away from where the main fighting would take place.  They were wrong.

Herbst Woods was the site of the first  Confederate offensive of the Battle of Gettysburg.  Burns, sharpshoting for the Iron Brigade, helped blunt this offensive.

John Burns was mocked by the other Union troops for showing up for the battle with an antiquated weapon and "swallowtail coat with brass buttons, yellow buttons and tall hat."  But when the bullets started to fly, he calmly took cover behind a tree and started to shoot back with his more modern weapon.

He fought beside the 7th Wisconsin and later moved over to the 24th Michigan.

He was wounded  in the arm, legs and chest and was left on the field when the Union forces fell back.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: Napoleon, Embargo Act, Treaty of Ghent, William Henry Harrison and USS Constitution

DECEMBER 4, 1804

**  Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France following a coup d'etat.  (Thankfully because he kept the British tied up fighting him  at first in the war.)

DECEMBER 22, 1807

**  The Embargo Act passed.

DECEMBER 24, 1814

**  The Treaty of Ghent was signed ending the war.

DECEMBER 28. 1812

**  William Henry Harrison formally resigns as Governor of Indiana Territory and takes the rank of brigadier general.

DECEMBER 29, 1812

**  The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Java.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Vet Fought at Battle of Gettysburg-- Part 2: John Burns

Many 69-year-olds would be content to spend their golden years taking it easy, but not John Burns.

John Burns fought in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War and even tried to work as a supply driver for the Union Army in the Civil War, but was sent back to his home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  That's when the war came calling on him.

Burns was considered "eccentric" by the rest of his town.  When soldiers of Confederate General Jubal Early captured Gettysburg, Burns was the constable and jailed for interfering with Confederate military operations. When the Confederates were pushed out of town, Burns began arresting stragglers for treason.

In the morning of July 1, 1863, as the battle began unfolding, he picked up his flintlock musket and offered his services to the beleagured Union soldiers.  He borrowed a more modern musket from a wounded Union soldier then walked over to the commander of the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry and asked to join the regiment.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Vet Fought at the Battle of Gettysburg-- Part 1

From the Military.com site "This War of 1812 veteran saw the Battle of Gettysburg from his front porch -- then joined it" by Blake Stilwell, We Are the Mighty.

There have been veterans who have served  from WW II, the Korean War and then Vietnam.  But that was just the space of 24 years separating the beginning of World War II and Vietnam.  But what about a veteran who fought in the War of 1812, Mexican War and then the Civil War?  

That is a span of 50 years.

There was one man who did just  that.

His name was John Burns.

--Brock-Perry

Thirteen Gun Salute for Guernsey Military Hero Isaac Brock

From the October 13, 2022, BBC News.

A thirteen gun salute was fired from Castle Cornet in Guernsey for General Isaac Brock who died in 1812 while leading a Britishh, Cabadian and  First Nation army to victory over an invading American army.

The Guernsey-born British Army general became known as "The Saviour of Upper Canada."

The commemorations mark the 210th anniversary of his death.

Oliver Brock, a first cousin six times removed of General Brock, said his family had been looking forward to the event.  He said:  "The commemorations today are a part of what we can do to show our respect the man that a lot of people of Canada feel started their nationhood."

The Brock in my signoff refers to Gen. Isaac Brock.

--Brock-Perry

Mount Diablo Beacon Relit for Veterans Day-- Part 2

Continued from my Tattooed on Your Soul:  WW II blog.

The original lighting of the beacon dates back to 1928 and Charles Lindbergh.  Lindbergh lit the beacon to assist planes in the early days of commercial flight.  At  the time, the beacon was lit nightly, until December 8, 1941,  the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Following that fateful day, it wasn't relit until 1964, when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz,  Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces  during World War II, attended the ceremony on Mount Diablo's summit in commemoration of the survivors of Pearl Harbor.

He suggested that the Beacon be lit every December 7th to honor those who served and  sacrificed.

--Brock-Perry

What Is Going to Happen to D.C.'s Capitol Rocks?-- Part 2: And, the Corinthian Columns

Along with the Capitol's old Corinthian columns, the stones spent a short stint at the Capitol Power Plant where they remained until as late as 1972.

In the 1980s, the Corinthian columns were removed to the  the National Arboretum where they are still a popular, and officually sancioned tourist attraction.

The stones, on the othernhand were just dumped at Rock Creek Park.

Since then, they have become a beloved landmark for those who know.  Located beside the park offices, they are stacked haphazardly.  Last summer, fencing was put up around them.

Let's hope they can continue to stay where they are as long as they don't pose a danger to anyone.

--Brock-Perry

What Is Going to Happen to Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Stones?

From the August 16, 2022, Smithsonian Magazine "Is this the end of D.C.'s most-beloved hidden landmark?" by Ellen Wexler.

In the hills of D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, hundreds of stones are piled two stories high and have sat there for quite awhile with very few folks knowing about them.  And, they are not just regular stones.  They were once part of one of the most famous structures in the United States.

What makes these stones remarkable is that they were once a part of the United States Capitol, located about eight miles south of the park.

But soon, these stones' time at the park are going to come to an end.  Officials from the National Park Service have ordered them removed for safety, realignment and preservation purposes.

The stones date back to the early 1800s when thye Capitol underwent extensive restoration after Britrish troops set fire to the building during the War of 1812, causing devastating damage.  More than a century later, in the 1950s,  renovations led to the stones' replacement.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Madison, Iowa, Battlefield-- Part 2

In 2017, the Iowa Historical  Preservation Board approved the NLCHS' application for the War of 1812 Battlefield Park, which was then sent to the National Register of Historical Places through the National Park Service.

The designation that followed opened the door for more grant opportunities.

A monument marking the battlefield where 23 soldiers are buried was installed in 2019.  The granite monument includes a history of the military post on one side and the soldiers' names on another side.

A flag pole was also installed nearby and benches, sponsored with donations from families and individuals, were installed last year.

Next on the lkist of improvements will be walkways and landscaping.  They figure that will cost between $10,000 and $20,000.

Donations can be sent to the North Lee County Historical Society.

--Brock-Perry

New Sign in Fort Madison, Iowa, Announces War of 1812 Battlefield

From the November 2, 2022, Fort Madison (Iowa) Democrat by Robin Delaney.

The War of 1812 Battlefield Park between Fourt and Fifth Street on Avenue G in Fort Madison now has a new sign announcing its place in history for both residents and tourists.

A donation from the Fort Madison Lions Club along with contributions from individuals paid for the $2,000 sign.

The park and all is due in large part to the efforts of  Carol Foss.

Development of the battlefield park began several years ago with the purchase of the property for $50,000 by the North Lee County Historical Society  after a fundraising campaign.

The original Fort Madison battlefield site is located on the eastern half of the Sheaffer Pen property.  RSBR Investments LLC purchased the Sheaffer Pen property in 2014 to construct the east-end Dollar General, but the property was split in half, so that then historic battlefield land could be turned into into an educational tourism site.

--Brock-Perry

John Downes Had Another Son Who Died in the Civil War

Last month, I wrote a lot about War of 1812 naval officer John Downes.  He had two sons who were in the Civil War.  One was a naval officer, John A. Downes and the other was in the Union Army.

Henry Hill Downes was a private who enlisted on  August 11, 1862, in the 124th Illinois Infaqntry Regiment.

He died in Vicksburg, Mississippi,  26 September 1864,  of malaria.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812

From the American Battlefielld Trust 2022 calendar.

NOVEMBER 11, 1807

**  Great Britain passes the 1807 Orders of Council restricting international trade with France.

NOVEMBER 11, 1811

**  The Battle of Tippecanoe.

NOVEMBER 11, 1813

**  Battle of Crysler's Farm

NOVEMBER 21, 1806

**  Napoleon issues his Berlin Decrees.

NOVEMBER 27, 1812

**  Skirmish at Fort Erie

NOVEMBER 29, 1813

**  Battle of Autossee

--Brock-Perry

Siege of Fort Harrison-- Part 2: 'The Fort of the Two Presidents'

The Native American Confederacy continued their siege for eight days and were not able to capture the fort, despite their glaring numerical advantage.  In the end, their casualties were heavy, especially when compared with just three U.S.  fatalities.

The victory for the Americans promoted increased settlement in the area and the municipality that  that grew up in the immediate vicinity of Fort Harrison would latter be named Terre Haute.

Indeed, our city's foundation is a painful, though crucial  reminder that this land we call home has not always belonged to us.  It was annexed through military conquest toward the pursuit of statehood.  The first step to healing injustice is awareness.

If you would like to know more, a display at the Vigo County Histotry Center shows a detailed  model recreation of Fort Harrison as it would have looked in 1812 and was built by Boy Scout Troop 31 in 1966.

Visitors can view everything  from the barracks and store houses to even an original log used in the fort's construction.  

Fort Harrison is aptly called the "Fort of the Two Presidents."

--Brock-Perry

Siege of Fort Harrison

From the October 29, 2022, Tribune-Star "Historical treasure:  Historic model reveals history of Fort Harrison" by Matthew Higgins.

Tecumseh, the leader of the Shawnee Confederacy, allied his nation with neighboring Indian nations  to resist white settlement as he watched his people's ancestral lands being stripped from their hands one treaty at a time.  William Henry Harrison,  Indiana's first territorial governor, was tasked with making the area safe for white settlement as thousands of settlers moved in sought a new life for the territory.

Tragically, these two opposing aspirations could not exist in harmony and thus, conflict was born.

In order to protect white settlements and facilitate trade along the Wabash River, Fort Harrison was constructed.  The primary conflict that took place there was the Siege of Fort Harrison in September 1812.  Warriors of Tecumseh's Confederacy attacked the fort on the night of September 4.

Harrison was not present at the attack and the fort was commanded by another future U.S. president, Zachary Taylor.  His soldiers fought well and were able to fend off the Indians who surrounded the fort and slaughtered livestock in an attempt to starve the fort's defenders into surrender.

--Brock-Perry

One of John Downes' Sons Was a Naval Officer in the Civil War: John A. Downes

From Find-A-Grave.

JOHN A. DOWNES 

BIRTH:  25 August 1822, Massachusetts

DEATH:  21 September 1865 (aged 43), New Orleans, Louisiana.

BURIAL:  Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts

United States Navy officer, Civil War.  Entered naval service September 4, 1837.  Lieutenant in 1851 and commander in 1862.

Commnder of ironclad USS Nahant in attacks on Fort McAllister in March 3, 1863 and Fort Sumter on April 7,  1863, as well as assisting in the capture of the ironclad CSS Atlanta on June 10, 1863.

On July 1, 1965, he took command of the Gulf Squadron at New Orleans and was killed while in service.

--Brock-Perry

John Downes, USN-- Part 5: Around the World in the USS Potomac and End of His Career

Along the around the globe voyage, the USS Potomac became the first U.S. Navy ship to host sitting royalty, when the king and queesn of Hawaii came aboard.

When Downes arrived in Valparasio Chile, Jeremiah N. Reynolds came aboard.  He was an American explorer and author and served as Downes' personal secretary for the trip and wrote a book about his experience, "The Voyage of the United  States Frigate Potomac."

Downes'  sea service ended with this cruise.

On returning home, Downes was severely criticized for his actions in Sumatra, but President Jackson defended his actions, saying that what he did there would deter future aggression by the Malays.  However, that didn't come to pass because in August 1838, another American merchant ship, the  Eclipse, was attacked.  The United States responded with what is called the Second Sumatran  Expedition.

From 1837 to 1842, and again from1850-1852, he commanded  the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston Harbor.  He died there on August 11, 1854.

--Brock-Perry

John Downes, USN-- Part 4: A Questionable Period and Making Sumatra Pay

Downes took command of the USS Macedonian in 1818 and set out on a three year show of American power to South America and beyond.  On this trip he decided to make some money giving protection, passage and banking to pirates, privateers and others.  He became quite rich from this.  I am surprised he was able to keep his rank in the Navy for doing this.

Regardles of this other stuff, John Downes became commodore of the Mediterranean Squadron and from 1828-1829, commanded the USS Java.

From 1832-1834, he commanded the Pacific Squadron.  In 1832, he went to the coast of Sumatra in the USS Potomac to avenge the attack on the American merchantman Friendship, of Salem, Massachusetts.  He attacked four Malay forts, killing all their defenders and then bombarded a village until it caught fire.

He then took the Potomac on an around the world voyage, becoming the second American vessel to circumnavigate the globe.  (The first was the USS Vincinnes, commanded by William B. Finch.)

--Brock-Perry

John Downes, USN-- Part 3: Cruising with the Essex and the Second Barbary War

Among the prizes taken by the USS Essex was the whaler Atlantic.  Captain Porter fitted it out as a cruiser and classified it as a sloop-of-war with twenty guns and named her Essex Junior.  The ship was placed  under the command of Lieutenant Downes.  The Essex and Essex Junior were both captured at the same time on 28 March 1814.

Downes was promoted to master commandant in 1813 and two years later commanded  the brig Epervier in the squadron under the command of  Stephen Decatur against Algiers.  On June 17, 1815, he assisted in the capture of the Algerian frigate Mashouda.  Two days later, the Eperviere and three smaller vessels captured the Algerian brig Estedio off Cape Palos.  

After the conclusion of peace with Algiers, Decatur transferred Downes to his ship, the USS Guerriere.

Downes also served on the Ontario and Independence before becoming a captain in 1817.

--Brock-Perry

John Downes, USN-- Part 2: Service in the First Barbary War and War of 1812

From Wikipedia.

Commodore John Downes (December 23, 1784-August  11, 1854) was a career naval officer, whose service covered the first half of the 19th century.

John Downes was born in Canton, Massachusetts,  on December 23, 1784.  He served as  acting midshipman from September 9, 1800, and was appointed midshipman from June 1, 1802.  He rendered distinguished service during the  First Barbary War in  1804 on the frigate Congress and distinguished himself again on the frigate New York in a boat attack upon Tripolita feluccas (a type of ship).

In March 1807, he was made a lieutenant and served as executive officer for Captain David Porter on the USS Essex during her cruise in the Pacific during the War of 1812..  In an action off James Island (in the South Pacific) Downes was in command of the sloop Georgiana during the capture of three British whalers.

He also participated in the action off Charles Island (Galapagos Islands) before sailing to Nuku Hiva to assist in building America's first base in the Pacific Ocean.

--Brock-Perry

John Downes, USN-- Part 1

From Find-A-Grave

War of 1812 naval officer.

BIRTH:  December 1784, Canton, Massachusetts

DEATH:  11 August 1854, Charlestown, Massachusetts

BURIAL:  Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts

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From U.S. Navy Officers 1798-1900.

Midshipman:  1 June 1802

Lieutenant:  6 March 1807

Master Commandant:  24 June 1813

Captain:  5 March 1817

Died 11 August 1854

--Brock-Perry

Ceremony Is Tribute to War of 1812 Veteran William Burch

From the September 7, 2022, Observer (Fredonia, N.Y.).

The local Celea Sampson Cole chapter of the United States Daughters of 1812 will hold their first grave marking ceremony since receiving  their charter September 11, 2020.  The ceremony will be at Plot  E/30 Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredonia on Sunday.  The ceremony will honor William "Billy" Burch.

Burch is the 3X great grandfather of 1812 Daughter Sandra Johnson of Lakewood.  He was born November 19, 1787 in New York state.  He entered U.S. service in Cooperstown into the 23rd Infantry of the Regular Army on August 12, 1812, and served until February 1815.

He was stationed at Fort Niagara, Fort George and Sackets Harbor.

After the war, he settled in Pomfret and married Jemima Adams in November 1817.  He died  February 16, 1818 at the age of 33 in Randolph.

His Find-A-Grave site says he died  16 February 1881 at age 93.

(Fredonia was also the home of Civil War heroes Alonzo and William Barker Cushing.)

--Brock-Perry

River Raisin Massacre-- Part 12: 'Remember the Raisin' and Aftermath

This deliberateness of behavior from the Indians did not diminish, and perhaps intensified, the horror many survivors later described.  Indeed, the most vivid recollections related to to the systematic nature of the killings and treatment of the remains.

The battle ended in what was described as a "national calamity" by Major General, and later president of the United States, William Henry Harrison.  

It also left an impact on the broader American consciousness.  The Americans who pushed north to liberate Detroit went to destroying the British-Canadian-Indian coalition in the west at the Battle of the Thames, near present-day Chatham, Ontario, on October 5, 1813.

Fueled by the battle cry, "Remember the Raisin!" their massive victory sealed the War of 1812 in the western theater for the United States, claimed the life of the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh, and resulted in the end the American Indian Confederation.

In an even broader sense, the aftermath of these battles resulted in the implementation of the U.S. policy of Indian removal from the Northwest Territory at the conclusion of the War of 1812, leading to the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a policy that continues to resonate today.

--Brock-Perry

River Raisin Massacre-- Part 11: Was It an Orderly, Utilitarian Massacre?

As Dr. Gustavus Bower later described what transpired with the Indians:  "They did not molest any person or thing upon their first approach, but kept sauntering about until there were a large number collected (one or two hundred) at which time they began plundering the houses of the inhabitants and the massacre of the wounded prisoners."

Even then, the killings followed a method that -- however brutal -- might be described as utilitarian.  The wounded who could nottravel were the primary victims, and they were killed swiftly.  The looting, the taking of able-bodied and the burning of buildings and structures were done methodically --  Dr. John Todd, a surgeon with the Kentucky 5th Regiment Volunteer Militia later described these actions as a kind of "orderly conduct."

(By the way, seeing the name John Todd in the paragraph above and him being from Kentucky, I had to wonder if this man might be related to Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.  He was.  He was her uncle.  Small world.  For more on him in the War of 1812 click on the label below.)

(I am taking these last two paragraphs directly from the article and have a hard time accepting them.  There is no such a thing as a utilitarian or orderly conduct massacre.)

A Massacre Is a Massacre.   --Brock-Perry

Horrors of the River Raisin-- Part 10: A National Calamity Turned Into a Rallying Cry

When the British departed, they left the Americans who were too wounded to walk in the homes of the French inhabitants under a small guard of British troops.  On January 23, in retaliation for past brutalities, Native warriors returned to the River Raisin to plunder, burn homes, killing and scalping many of the remaining Americans and taking others captive.

Official U.S. estimates of the aftermath include a dozen named individuals killed and up to 60 more who were probably killed in this manner.

The event became known as the "River Raisin Massacre" and was not a sudden burst of collective violence.  Rather, it began as a somewhat incredulous confirmation that no U.S. forces had arrived, then progressed to a deliberate taking of valuables and able-bodied captives that was later punctuated by the killing of the most severely wounded survivors.

--Brock-Perry

Horrors of the River Raisin-- Part 9: An Unmitigated Disaster for the Americans

These were brave words, but the Kentuckians' position was dire.  Their ammunition was low, they were completely hemmed in on the south, British artillery was in position to fire volleys of gunfire through their defensive lines and Confederacy warriors were firing into the heart of the settlement while preparing to set it on fire.

In short, Major George Madison of the Kentucky 1st Regiment had two choices:  surrender to the British or, as he put it, "be massacred in cold blood."  Still, Madison was commited to holding out long enough to influence the terms of surrender.

After some back-and-forth with the British over the disposition of prisoners, protection from Confederacy forces and care for the wounded, Madison formally capitulated.

Expecting American reinforcements from General Harrison's troops, the British quickly withdrew due to heavy casualties.  The battle was costly for the British Regulars and Canadian militia, but for the Americans it was an unmitigated disaster:  Of the 934 who had heard the morning's reveille, 901 were either dead, sounded or prisoners of war.

--Brock-Perry

Horrors of the River Raisin-- Part 8: Things Going Better for the Kentuckians

Over the course of two hours, the British regrouped and made two more frontal assaults, but the Kentuckians position was too strong --  British losses were perhaps four times greater than those suffered by the entrenched Kentuckians --  you know, being that puncheon fence they were behind.

As the British pulled back and evaluated their seemingly weakening situation, they received word about what was going on elsewhere on the battlefield.

American General James Winchester, now a prisoner of war and unable to give orders to those still engaged, arrived in the area.  When told that his men would otherwise be burned out of their position and attacked by a much larger force of Indians, he agreed to send a message encouraging the Kentuckians to surrender.

When they received this message, the Kentuckians balked, feeling that they could still carry the day.  As Private Elias Darnell later recalled, "Some plead[ed]  with officers not to surrender, saying they would rather die on the field."

--Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Cry-- Part 7: The Rout of the U.S. Infantry

An attempt was made  to send a few companies of Kentucky militiamen to the aid of the 17th Infantry, but the effort proved disastrous.

General Winchester, arriving from his headquarters, ordered the infantrymen to fall back to the north bank of the river where they they could rendezvous with the Kentuckians.  Together they made a brief stand, but were soon overwhelmed by the pursuing Canadian, Wyandot and Shawnee fighters.

After a frantic retreat to the south side of the river and another futile stand, the American position disintegrated entirely.  Within 20 minutes, about 220 U.S. soldiers were killed and another 147 captured.  Only 33 American Regulars managed to escape to the Maumee River.

Bit the actions east and south of Frenchtown barely registered for the British Regulars and Kentuckians still entrenched behind that puncheon fence line.

Instead, they remained locked in what seemed to be the main battle area.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: Battle of the Thames and Battle of Queenston Heights, Isaac Brock, Tecumseh

From the American Battlefield Trust  "War of 1812 Timeline."

OCTOBER 5, 1813

**  Battle of the Thames.    British defeat and death of Tecumseh.

OCTOBER 7, 1813

**  Andrew Jackson establishes camp at Fayetteville, Tennessee, to recruit American forces to combat  the Creeks in Alabama.

OCTOBER 9, 1811

**  Major General Isaac Brock is appointed administratior of Upper Canada.  (He is the Brock in my Brock-Perry sign off each post, and an amazing general.)

OCTOBER 13, 1812

**  British-Canadians win the  Battle of Queenston Heights, Upper Canada (Ontario).

OCTOBER 13, 1812

**  British General Isaac Brock killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

OCTOBER 26, 1813

**  Engagement at Chateauguay.

--Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of River Raisin Became a Rallying Call-- Part 6: Things Go Bad on the Eastern Flank of Americans

Well, that line of "soldiers" that the British saw in the early morning hours proved to be that PUNCHEON FENCE thing.  And the Kentuckians, who were behind it delivered a withering fire on them from relative protection.

Meanwhile, the British artillery was overshooting the mark.  The British suffered many casualties in this part of the battlefield.

Matters, however, were different on the eastern part of the battlefield.  The Canadian militia men quickly adjusted the aim  of their artillery and wreaked havoc on the exposed position of the U.S. 17th Infantry.  

As cannon fire tore through the encampment and shattered breastworks, the Regulars also had to contend with militiamen and Wyandot fighters who had taken possession of some nearby buidings from which they could fire at will into the American encampment.

The Americans struggled to hold their ground, but eventually faltered when mounted warriors came around their right flank.

--Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Cry-- Part 5: The Second Battle at the River Raisin

Arriving before dawn on January 22, 1813, and unnoticed by the American sentries, a force of 600 British Canadians and 800 Native warriors gathered into battle positions along the Mason Run Creek, about 250-350 yards to the north of the settlement.  

British regulars and artillery were positioned in the center, a dispersed clustering of Native warriors made up mostly of Anishinaabeg (Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi) and Miami, accompanied by some Canadian militia were to the west, and to the east was a large number of Native warriors, mostly Wyandot and Shawnee, in the forward position, supported by Canadian militia and artillery to their rear.

Reveille sounded, and an American sentry spotted the British in the pre-dawn light. He fired a shot into the forward line that killed the lead grenardier, and the report of his musket sent 1,000 just awakened soldiers scrambling for their battle positions.

Almost immediately, the British opened with their artillery and the infantry pushed forward from its center position.  As they drew within range of the settlement, the British infantrymen fired a powerful volley at what, in the still dark distance, had seemed to be a line of soldiers.

Well, It Wasn't a Line of Soldiers.  --Brock-Perry

Okay, So What Is a Puncheon Fence?

In the last post I mentioned that the Americans set up camp inside a puncheon fence.  I know what a fence is, but what is a puncheon fence?

I had to look it up.

According to "Remember the Raisin vocabulary,"  a puncheon fence is one that is made up of split logs with one side smooth and the other still naturally round.

OK. So You Learn Something Every Day.  -Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Cry-- Part 4: The Fight

In "the woods the fighting became general and most obstinate," wrote one Kentuckian.  "[T]he enemy resisting every inch of ground as they were compelled to fall back."  

Over the course of two miles the slow-moving battle continued until darkness fell, with the retreating forces taking cover to fire on the pursuing Kentuckians, then dashing to another protected area before the pursuers could regroup or return accurate fire.

The victorious Kentucky Volunteers set up camp within the protection of the puncheon fence and the French habitant homes.  Upon word that the area was liberated, Winchester assembled four additional companies and proceeded to the River Raisin on January 20, 1813, bringing the number of American troops close to 1,000.

Upon arriving, the 17th Infantry set up camp 200-300 yards outside the puncheon fence line in the bitter cold and deep snow.  Meanwhile, the British and Native warriors prepared a counterattack across the frozen Lake Erie at Fort Amhurstburg in Canada.

--Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Call-- Part 3: Efforts to Recapture Detroit

The British and their Native allies were able to secure firm control over much of the Old Northwest as they pushed the frontier back to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Upon liberating Fort Wayne, Major General William Henry Harrison soon turned his sights on coordinating efforts to recapture Detroit.  He established a base at the Maumee Rapids, south of present-day Toledo, Ohio.

In January 1813, these American forces were assembling for a winter campaign to retake Detroit.  American Revolution war veteran Brigadier General James Winchester, an early arrival, received a request from River Raisin settlers to lift British control of their community.

Winchester dispatched more than 550 men from the 1st and 5th Kentucky Volunteer Regiments, under the command of Colonels William Lewis and John Allen to the River Raisin.

Once there, American efforts to outflank allied Canadian militiamen and Confederacy warriors proved unsuccessful, and the fighting dissolved into a series of fierce skirmishes through the dense woods to the north.

--Brock-Perry

Some More on Destroyers Named USS Jacob Jones

The USS Jacob Jones (DD-61) was sunk by a German U-boat during World War I.  It was named after War of 1812 veteran naval officer Jacob Nathaniel Jones.

It was sunk on December 6, 1917, with the loss of 66 men of a crew of 99.

This was the first ship in the U.S. Navy with the name.

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

But, there was another USS Jacob Jones (DD-130), Wickes-class destroyer.  Commissioned in  1919 and it too was sunk by torpedoes from a German U-boat on February 28, 1942 during World War II.  Only 11 of her crew of 113 survived.

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

Then there was a third USS Jacob Jones (DE-130) commissioned in 1943.  It was a destroyer escort.  It was not sunk by a torpedo and decommissioned in 1946.

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

So, there were three vessels in the U.S. Navy named after Jacob Jones.

--Brock-Perry

Jacob Jones and the Destroyer Named After Him

Today, I posted about the discovery of the shipwreck of the destroyer USS Jacob Jones this past August in my Cooter's History Thing blog.  It was discovered off the coast of England's southwest side.  It was the first U.S. Navy destroyer sunk in enemy action.

It was torpedoed by a German U-boat, the U-53, on 6 December 1917, after the United States had entered World War I.

It was named after Jacob Nicholas Jones who had quite a career in the American Navy that spanned the Quasi-War with France, The First Barbary War, the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War.

I have written a whole lot about him.  Just click on his name in the labels below.

--Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Cry-- Part 2: The Surrender of Detroit and the Michigan Territory

American mobilization continued as Brigadier General William Hull, commander of U.S. forces in theOld Northwest -- accompanied by 1,200 Ohio militia and 200 regular soldiers -- arrived in Detroit on July 5, 1812, and began preparations for the attack.

Invasion of British-held present-day Ontario began on July 12.  While Hull assailed the British at Fort Amherstburg, a small British force surrounded and took control of the unaware U.S. garrison at Fort Mackinac.

Hull, unable to hold the captured Fort Amherstburg and protect an overextended supply line that stretched back to Ohio, returned to Detroit in the first week of August.

Hull surrendered Detroit and the entire Michigan Territory on August 16 after a siege by the British and Native warriors.  Hull did this, knowing that more Native warriors were on their way from the upper Great Lakes, and that he was cut off from American support assembling at the River Raisin close to the Ohio border.

--Brock-Perry

The Annual Observance at Ground Zero, the World Trade Center

I was unable to do my annual commemoration of 9/11 in my blogs yesterday, but am doing it today.  It will be in seven of my eight blogs.

From the 911 Memorial Org. "21st Anniversary Commemoration."

The heart of the mission of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum remains the annual commemoration ceremony.  Family members of the 9/11 victims will once again gather on the Memorial plaza to read aloud the names of those killed in the 9/11  attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Throughout the ceremony, six moments of silence will be observed to mark when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck and fell and the times of the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93.

The program will commence at 8:30 am and the first moment of silence at  8:46.

How the Horrors at the River Raisin Became a Rallying Call-- Part 1

From the Summer 2022 American Battlefield Trust Hallowed Ground "A National Calamity." 

In 1812, as war between the United States and Great Britain was on its way, the Michigan Territory emerged as a critical theater of operations with its location north of the state of Ohio (admitted in 1803) and its border with the British Upper Canada.  It was an obvious avenue of nvasion, both ways.

American militias were called into service building preparatory roads  even before Congress declared war on June 18, 1812.

While the ongoing war in Europe between Britain and Napoleon kept most British troops occupied, few could be spared for operations against the United States, much to our benefit.  The British commander in North America, Major General Isaac Brock had to rely more on Canadian militia and the cooperation of the Native American Confederation under the Shawnee war chief Tecumseh.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: A Big Month for the Star-Spangled Banner

SEPTEMBER 10, 1813

**  The Battle of Lake Erie

SEPTEMBER 11, 1814

**  Battle of Lake Champlain, New York

SEPTEMBER 12,1814

**  Battle of North Point, Maryland

SEPTEMBER 13, 1814

**  Bombardment of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland

SEPTEMBER 14, 1814

**  The flag was still there.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Encampment at Old Fort Niagara-- Part 2: Schedule of Events

Scheduled demonstrations:

**  Infantry drills and firing at 10:30 daily

**  Artillery firing at 11 daily

**  Uniforms of the War of 1812 at 11:30 daily

**  Musket firing at noon, 1, , 2, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday and noon, 1, 2, 4 and 5 p.m. Sunday

**  Regency women's fashions at 12:30 daily

**  "Hot Shot" artillery firing at 1:30 daily

**  Firepower weapon's program at 3:30 Saturday and 2:30 Sunday

There will also be a tour of  Fort Niagara in the War of 1812 at 3:15 p.m. Sunday.

Sounds Like a Great Time.  --Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Encampment Returning This Weekend to Old Fort Niagara

From the September 4, 2022, Niagara Gazette (New York) by Robert  Creenan.

One of Old Fort Niagara's favorite events is returning this weekend to show visitors what life was like during the War of 1812.  There will be close to 100 re-enactors present and it is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from  10 a.m. to 5 p.m..

In addition, there will be other activities:

Lecturer   Richard V. Barbuto, Ph.D. will speak about the Battle of New Orleans at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Visitor Center auditorium.

There will be a "Hot Shot" artillery demonstration showing how cannonballs were heated and what kind of specific damage they could do to a fort or ship.

There will also be musket and other artillery firing.

There will be ongoing demonstrations of  early 19th century soldier life, including blacksmithing, silversmithing, laundry, cooking and foodways.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 5: 'We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Ours'

Despite losing his flagship, Oliver Hazard Perry was able to disable and scatter the British fleet.

When it came time for their surrender, he had the site moved back to his flagship, the USS Lawrence, so they could see the damage they had done to the ship.

He wrote a letter to General William Henry Harrison with the now famous statement:  "We have met the enemy and they are ours.  Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop."

This enabled Harrison, then, to launch his invasion of the western part of Upper Canada, which ended in the British total defeat at the Battle of the Thames and the death of Indian chief Tecumseh.

Perry was hailed as the "Hero of Lake Erie."

Dedicated in 1931, Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial is a testimony of the American victory on Lake Erie and a nod to a long-standing peace among the U.S., Britain and Canada.  Initially, three American and three British military members were buried at the monument as a reminder of the losses suffered by both sides during the fierce 1813 battle.

The bodies were later exhumed and reburied at De Rivera Park.

There is no doubt that the towering structure embodies a history of great proportions.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 4: 'Don't Give Up the Ship'

At 7:00 am, Perry ordered his two largest ships, the USS Niagara and the USS Lawrence, to set full sail and proceed directly toward the British line.  But the Great  Lakes' notorious winds put up a long resistance.  Despite Perry's wishes, the wind wouldn't back his ships.  

Nonetheless, at 10:00, just as he was readying to steer his ships away, the tricky wind suddenly shifted, situating itself directly behind the Americans.

Commanding the British vessels was Commander Robert Heriot Barclay, an experienced Royal Navy officer from Scotland, who ordered his ships to go with the wind, taking the British vessels into battle.

The British ship HMS Detroit crippled the American flagship USS Lawrence, forcing Perry to transfer his men to the USS Niagara.  He made sure to bring his battle flag --  emblazoned with the words "Don't Give Up the Ship," the dying words of his friend James Lawrence, who had been killed earlier in the war.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 3: The Battle of Lake Erie

Since August 1812, with the fall of Detroit, the British Royal Navy had controlled Lake Erie.  But, with Perry's new fleet, the British were in store for a reckoning.  

In July 1813, the British abandoned  the Great Lakes due to the new American threat, poor weather conditions and a shortage of supplies, as Perry's fleet had severed the critical British supply route from Fort Malden to Port Dover.  So, now the Royal Navy set out to break through Perry's line.

While the British squadron was composed of six ships, mounting 63 cannons, the Americans could counter with a fleet of nine vessels and 54 guns.

The British had the numbers when it came to long range cannons, while the Americans had the advantage in shorter range guns, carronades.

Perry definitely had to rely and pray on the wind to help him get up closer to the British ships to exploit his short range advantage.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie: Perry's Monument-- Part 2: The British Fleet is Sighted

The monument's construction started in 1915, the centennial of the War of 1812's conclusion, with the intention of honoring the brave souls who battled at the site 102 years prior.

The titular "Perry" is famed  U.S. naval officer Oliver Hazard Perry, who, in February 1813, was sent to Erie, Pennsylvania, to complete the building of an American squadron that could hold its own against the powerful British Royal Navy in the Great Lakes region during the War of 1812.  By early fall, his fleet was ready to engage.

On the morning of September 10, 1813, a lookout aboard one of the American ships spotted six British vessels to the northwest of Put-in-Bay, beyond Rattlesnake Island.  Word spread quickly to Master Commandant Perry who issued orders to cobfront the British ships.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 1: Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

From the Summer Hallowed Ground Magazine, American Battlefield Trust.

Just five miles south of the Canadian border, on an isthmus near downtown Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, stands a 352-foot-tall monument towering over the town and lake.  Free-standing, Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial is the world's tallest Doric column -- a plain, thick column that is a common sight at federal buildings throughout D.C..

The monument stands 47 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty when measuring  the New York Harbor landmark from the ground to the tip of Liberty's torch.

It is indeed a striking sight, usually simply referred to as Perry's Monument.  It is also the only international peace memorial overseen by the National Park Service.

However, it is so much more than these pieces of trivia.

--Brock-Perry

Three 'Dirty Tricks' The British Pulled at Detroit-- Part 3: What About the Indians?

3.  BROCK PLAYED ON THE AMERICAN FEAR OF INDIANS

The British-Canadian  force opposing the Americans at Fort Detroit had an additional 600 native warriers under their leader Tecumseh.  Captured dispatches from the fort showed  that the Americans were alarmed by that large number of natives.  

Furthermore, Brock sent a message that he allowed to be intercepted saying that his food reserves were running low because he had 5,000 Indians with him.  The Americans then believed that he had 5,000 Indians in addition to his force.

So, when Brock sent a surrender demand to William Hull, he played up the Indian strength and further frightened the Americans saying:  "It is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware, that the numerous Indians who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond ontrol the moment the contest commences."

From my readings on the Detroit surrender, it would seem that the main person worried about the Indians was William Hull, but he was the one with thea authority to fight or surrender, and we know what he did.

--Brock-Perry

Three 'Dirty Tricks' the British Used on Americans at Detroit in 1812

2.  THEY TRIED TO LOOK LIKE THEY HAD MORE SOLDIERS

To add to the illusion that the Americans were facing more enemy troops than they actually were, Isaac Brock had his men create individual campfires instead of one per unit.  It's a very old trick, used often in major battles throughout history.

Plus, the Canadian militia would march across the American field of view, then duck under their defenses, then run back to the end of the line, reform and march past again.  They did this as they  were going to camp meals as well, picking up rations, then marching out of sight, dumping their food and repeating the same action.

Sneaky, Very Sneaky Guy, You Know.  --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:

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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

Three 'Dirty' Tricks the British Used on Americans at Detroit in 1812

From the June 15, 2022 We Are the Mighty "3 dirty tricks Canada used to gain control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812."

Chief among American  embarrassing moments from the War of 1812 was General William Hull's surrender of Fort Detroit in Michigan to a numerically smaller British force.

The British, led by  Maj. Gen. Isaac Brock (the Brock in my signoff Brock-Perry for each blog entry) used a massive deception ploy to scare Hull into surrendering without firing a shot.  Hull infamously  complied with Brock's surrender demand despite having more troops and a fortified position.

Having taken Fort Detroit (site of present-day Detroit) and having the superior naval force on the Great Lakes meant the British had  control of Upper Canada (today's Ontario), the Great Lakes and the Michigan Territory for part of the war.

--Brock-Perry

About That Controversial Third Verse of the 'Star-Spangled Banner'

From the June 12, 2022, Twisted Sifter.

You've heard the "Star-Spangled Banner" countless times in your life.  It was written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key as a poem after he witnessed the U.S. flag flying high and proud over Baltimore's Fort McHenry after a long night of bombardment in the War of 1812.

But, we only hear the first of three verses and some folks today have a real problem with one part of the third verse.  Who was Key talking about when he wrote:  "Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.  No refuge could save the hireling and slave from terror of flight  or the gloom of the grave."?

According to the Library of Congress, Key could have been talking about how the British recruited escaped slaves to fight Americans in the war and Key could have seen them as enemies just like British soldiers.

It should be noted that Key was a lawyer and later in life helped slaves fight for their freedom.  (He also owned slaves.)

--Brock-Perry

Anne-Louis Toussard-- Part 4

After being named  inspector of U.S. artillery in 1800, Toussard became commander of the  Second Artillery Regiment in January 1801.

Incredibly, when West Point was finished on  1802, President Thomas Jefferson passed over Toussard for its first superintendent because he was French.

Toussard resigned his commission in  March 1802, and returned to France and rejoining the French Army as a battalion commander in GeneralVictor Leclerc's failed attempt to conquer Haiti.

He served as French consul in the United States from 1805-1816.

In 1816, he returned to France where he died in Paris 10 April 1817.

--Brock-Perry

Anne Louis Toussard-- Part 3: Impact on American Artillery, Forts, West Point and DuPont Gunpowder

Again, I have seen Toussard's name spelled with just one "s" and also with two of them.  I am using the double "s" spelling.

In April 1795, President Washington appointed Toussard  a major in the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers, beginning a period during which he had  enormous influence on the American military.  After supervising the construction of several significant fortifications, he restructured the U.S. artillery service on the French model, bringing uniformity to its use of cannons.

In 1798, he laid out the plans for what would become the  Military Academy at West Point.

Also, his "American Artillerists Companion" (1809) became the standard text for artillery instruction.  Along the way,  he aided Eleuthere Irenee du Pont in establishing gunpowder  mills in Delaware, which would prove vital to American interests.

Again, I don't know how I never came across his name before his letter about the Hurricane of 1812.  

An Important Person in American History.  Sadly, One Who Is Not Known. --Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: Brownstown, USS Constitution, Battle of Fallen Timbers, Bladensburg and D.C.

From the American Battlefield Trust 2022 calendar.

AUGUST 5, 1812

**  Skirmish near Brownstown, Michigan

AUGUST19, 1812

**  The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere

AUGUST 20, 1794

General Anthony Wayne defeats a Native American confederation at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, paving the way for the settlement of Ohio.

AUGUST 24, 1814

**  Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland

AUGUST 24, 1814

**  Burning of Washington, D.C.

--Brock-Perry

Anne Louis Toussard-- Part 2: Back to France and Then to Haiti

Considering that I had never heard of this person before I came across his name in regards to the Hurricane of 1812.  He obviously had quite a varied and impactful life in both France and the United States.

Back in France, he received the Royal Order of St. Louis on 3 July 1779 and was made a major in the artillery on  5 April 1780.

In 1784, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Fernch Army and stationed on Saint-Domingue (Haiti).  In the slave revolt  led by Toussaint  L'Ouverture, he commanded troops battling the slaves and tried to persuade the local government to arm free Blacks but was ignored.

Nonetheless, Tousard was blamed for the failure of the colonial officials to obey orders from France in this regard and was arrested and imprisoned.  U.S. pressure caused his release  in February 1793 and he went to the United States and settled on a farm outside of Wilmington, Delaware.

And, his story still isn't over.

--Brock-Perry

Anne-Louis de Toussard-- Part 1

I've seen his last name spelled both Toussard and Tousard.  This source spells it with one "s."

Encyclopedia.com

French and U.S. officer. In America he was a captain attached to the Marquis de Lafayette's staff.  Took part in the Battles of Germantown and Brandywine and spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge.  In March 1778, he was appointed military advisor to the allied Oneida Indians and was present with them when they covered Lafayette's retreat at the Battle of Barren Hill in 21 May 1778.

Then transferred to the staff of  General John Sullivan in his unsuccessful French-American  campaign against Newport, Rhode Island.  Lost his right arm at the Battle of  Quaker Hill on 28  August 1778.

Because of this service, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army on 29 October 1778.

After this, he returned to France.

I probably should have put these entries about hinm in my Cooter's History Thing blog as they pertain more to the American Revolution.  But, I came across his name first in relation to his description of the Hurricane of 1812.  And that, of course, would be the War of 1812.

Had Quite a Bit to Do with the American Effort to Achieve Independence.  --Brock-Perry

Lt. Col. Anne-Louis de Toussard-- Part 3: A Major Force in Creation of the USMA

In 1798 he proposed the idea of a national military school, with a comprehensive curriculum, to  Secretary of War James McHenry.  He helped convert the West Point garrison into that academy in 1800.  He then began instruction to the first twelve cadets in the first Class at the academy on 1800.

His regiment was disbanded in 1802 and he returned to France via Santo Domingo in 1802.  French Vice-Consul in Philadelphia in 1805.  Served as the French Consul ad interim in New Orleans  1811-1816 (when he wrote the letter about the Hurricane of 1812).  Supported the work of General Jackson during the War of 1812.

Returned to Paris in 1816.  Made a Knight of the Royal Military Order of St. Louis in 1799  Wrote "American Artillerists Companion" in 1809.  Married  Maria Francisca Joubert in 1788 and then Anna Maria Geddes in 1795.

A grandson of his, Lt. -Col.  Anthony Eugene Stocker MD (1819-1897), a grandson, succeeded him in the Society of the Cincinnati, being admitted as a Heriditary Member in 1888.  He was a medical doctor during the Civil War, most of the time in a position of leadership in the medical corps.

--Brock-Perry

Lieutenant Colonel Anne-Louis de Toussard-- Part 2: A Man of Much History

Lt. Colonel in the Continental Army in the American Revolution.

Born 13 March 1749 in Saint Eustache, Paris, France, and died  4 or 8 May 1817, in Paris, France.

Studied at the artillery school of La Pere.  Graduate of the Artillery School in Strasbourg, France, in 1769.  Commissioned a second lieutenant in the French Royal Artillery  Corps in 1769.  Resigned to join the American Revolution.

After that, he returned to France in 1784.  Imprisoned as a Royalist 1792-1793.  Lt. Colonel in the Regiment  du Cap in Santo Domingo in 1794 where he led his regiment to suppress the slave  uprising that became the Haitian Revolution. Imprisoned by Haitian forces in 1794.

Escaped to America and emigrated to Philadelphia.  Commissioned a Major of the 2nd Artillery in the U.S. Army and then promoted to Lt. Colonel.

Helped plan and supervise the construction of Fort Mifflin,  Pennsylvania.

This Guy Sure Saw a Lot of History.  --Brock-Perry

Lieutenant Colonel Anne-Louis De Toussard, Society of Cincinnati

From the Society of Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey.

Lt.Col. Anne-Louis Toussard was the French consul in New Orleans who wrote about that horrific 1812 hurricane.

Original member of  the French Society and Represented Propositus in New Jersey.

Began his service in the American Revolution when he arrived in Portsmouth,  New Hampshire in 1777.  Joined the Continental Army and served on the staff of  General Washington in June 1777.  Fought in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown.

Served at Valley Forge.  Aide de camp to Major General Lafayette.  Lost his arm in the retreat from Rhode Island.  His arm was shattered when he attempted to capture some British artillery.

--Brock-Perry

The Hurricane of 1812 Hits New Orleans-- Part 2: A Category 4 Storm?

French consul in New Orleans, Louis Tousard wrote a letter to a friend describing it.

He said "the waters of the lake and the waters of the river married and churned.  There were over ten feet of water that killed animals and men.  It destroyed houses."

The final words of his letter said that if it went on for another few hours, there would be no one to tell what happened.

It is believed that the Hurricane of 1812 was a Category Four level storm.  Oer a hundred people perished.

The American Meteorological Society believes the hurricane moved nto land somewhere southeast of New Orleans with winds over one hundred miles an hour.

--Brock-Perry

That Horrendous Hurricane of 1812 Hits New Orleans-- Part 1

From the June 5, 2022, WGNO News "The Hurricane of 1812" by Christopher  Leach.

This mega storm happened during a time of war.  A very unique letter at the Historic New Orleans Collection gives an account of this hurricane.  It was written in French by  French consul Louis Tousard to a friend.  (I've also seen his named spelled Toussard.)

Cecilia  Hock is an interpreter at the place and says that the year 1812 was a particularly trying one in New Orleans  There were three slave uprisings, a number of earthquakes along the  New Madrid Faultline that began the  previous December that caused levee breeches in New Orleans.  The war with Britain had just started.  

And then came the hurricane.

The hurricane hit at nightfall.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Soldiers Reburied in Vermont-- Part 2

Some more information on the story.

From the June 4, 2022, U.S. News & World Report "Vermont officials to rebury remains of War of 1812 veterans" by AP.

Thirty sets of remains were reburied Saturday, June 4, at a ceremony  in Vermont's largest city, Burlington.  They had been buried at different locations.  State and city officials will be attending the  ceremony which will take place at Lakeview Cemetery.

An estimated 500 American soldiers died in the Burlington area during the war between 1812 and 1815.  The area around Burlington's Battery Park was a military encampment overlooking Lake Champlain.  And, it was also the location of a major Army hospital.

No battles occurred in Burlington.

Military records indicate that more than 550 soldiers along with state militiamen, prisoners of war and civilian camp followers died in the Queen City.  All the burials were done on the then-undeveloped sandy plain to the north of the camp.

Over the last twenty years, the thirty that were found were located in the area known locally as the the Old North End.

Between 2002 and 2005, the remains of 23 were excavated in advance of a street improvement project.  In 2020, a housing construction project in the area recovered additional remains.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Soldiers Exhumed and Reburied in Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington, Vt.

From June 4, 2022, WCAX 3 News.

The remains of 30 War of 1812 soldiers were given a new resting place at  Burlington's Lakeview Cemetery.

Vermont's state records say that some  550 U.S. regulars died during the war.  "Because of its strategic location along Lake Champlain, which faciltated the movement of supplies and troops," said Laura Trieschmann, the State Historic Preservation Officer.

The veterans were unknown even back when they were originally buried, because they were moved from private properties in the Old North End.

In the past two decades,  30 became unearthed during various construction projects.

Now, a new columbarium and headstone added to the cemetery to mark the final resting place for them.  Some are from states all along the eastern seaboard.

--Brock-Perry

So Where Is Sodus, New York?--Part 2: And, a Civil War Connection

From Wikipedia.

I must admit some confusion while writing the recent posts between the area sometimes being called Sodus Point and sometmes Sodus.  Evidently, Sodus Point is a section of the town of Sodus, which had a population in 2010 of 8,384.

It is halfway between  Rochester and Syracuse, New York.

Members of the Shakers settled in the early town, but moved away when the began to feel that  Sodus was becoming too worldly.

Sodus claims to be  the birthplace of Arbor Day, established by Sodus native Edward C. Delano.

Among people listed as notable from there is Union Civil War General Gordon Granger.  He achieved fame during the war and when it ended, he was given command of the Department of Texas.  On June 19, 1865, in the city of Galveston, he read to the people his General Order No. 3 which proclaimed that all slaves were free.

This is where all this Juneteenth stuff comes from.

Perhaps we need a new federal holiday to honor Gen. Granger for bringing the freedom message to Texas.

--Brock-Perry

So, Where Is Sodus Point, New York?-- Part 1

I have to admit, I'd never heard of this place before coming across it preparing for this blog.

It is about 1/3 of the way in eastern New York's Lake Ontario.  Looking at a map you will see a fairly big indentation of a body of water which is Sodus Bay from whence the village takes its name.  It is in the northeastern part of the Town of Sodus.

During the War of 1812, it was burned (except for one building) by a British raiding party (which I have been writing a real lot about lately).

In the 19th century, the area became an important port on Lake Ontario, but the locating of the Erie Canal to the south shifted transportation patterns.  By the late 19th century it became a popular vacation resort.

Population in the 2010 census was 900.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Sodus Point: Bryam Green

U.S. Congressman.  Graduated from Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1808.  While a student there in 1806, he was one of five participants in the Haystack Prayer Meeting which is regarded as the launching point of the American Church Missionary service.

He was a professor at a college in South Carolina in 1810.  He studied law, was admitted to the bar and  practiced it in Sodus, New York.

During  the War of 1812, he  served in the military and fought  in the Battle of Sodus Point.

After the war, he was  a member of the New York State Assembly (1816-1822) and served in the New York State Senate (1823-1824).  In 1843, he was elected Democrat to the Twenty-eighth  U.S. Congress, serving  until 1845.

After leaving Congress, he lived in retirement until his death at age 79.

--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

This Month in the War of 1812, July

From the American Battlefield Trust.

JULY 3, 1814

**  American troops under  Major General Jacob Brown cross Niagara River and capture Fort Erie.

JULY 12, 1812

**  General William Hull invades Canada from Detroit.

JULY 17, 1812

**  Fort Michilimakinac surrenders to British-Canadian forces.

JULY 22, 1814

**  Treaty of Greenville

JULY 25, 1814

**  Battle of Lundy's Lane, one of the fiercest battles of the war.

--Brock-Perry

The Battle of Sodus Point, Asher Warner's Grave

Asher Warner is buried in the  Brick Church Cemetery, his grave marked by a  monument erected years later  by the younger son, Jonathan.  While the date of death on the tombstone is given as  June 12, 1813, and this date is sometimes given in newspaper accounts of the period, affidavits filed in attempts to get compensation, and other credible evidence, establish the 19th as the correct date.

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The marker reads:

In memory of  ASHER WARNER who fell in the Battle of Sodus  June 12, 1813 while fighting in the defence of his country.

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In 1927, the General Swift Chapter, Daughters of 1812, placed two boulders with bronze plaques at Sodus Point, one at the site of the engagement, and the other at the site of the Mansion House where Mr. Warner died.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Sodus Point, Some More on the Death of Asher Warner: The Pathetic Story

The story of the return of Asher Warner's remains to his home is a pathetic  one.  The Warner family -- Asher, Mrs. Warner and two boys (children of Mr. Warner by a former wife) -- lived about one-half mile from the Brick Church (near Wallington).

Word reached the family that Mr. Warner had been killed.  Twelve year old Daniel harnessed a horse to the lumber wagon and drove his lonely way through the many miles of woods to Sodus Point, reaching there between sundown and dark.

Isaac Davidson and another man helped take his father's blood-soaked body from the tavern and place it in the wagon.  In utter darkness and with his gruesome burden, the boy wended his way back, counting every hoof beat that brought him nearer home.  But he arrived to find the log house dark and deserted,  His stepmother, displaying  shameful callousness, had taken five-year-old Jonathan with her and departed fo a neighbor's house two or three miles away.

Daniel had to go nearly a mile for help.  He got John Peeler, a boy about his own age,  and the two children alone and at midnight carried the body from the wagon to the house, keeping watch over it until nine or ten o'clock the next morning when neighbors came and prepared the remains for burial.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Sodus Point: The Story of Asher Warner and Charles Terry

Two Americans were mortally wounded and several others were struck in the initial British volley.  The next morning, the British opened a slight cannonade, landed a small force, seized te few supplies in the warehouses and then  set all the buildings except one on fire.

The building saved was the Mansion House.  This building was spared because Asher Warner, one of the two Americans wounded in the initial volley, had been picked up by the British and carried to the tavern where he died a few hours later.

It is said that   the man who had been locked in the  Lummis Mill (Isaac Davidson), found the dead man in the tavern.  Clutched in his hand still was the pitcher of water the British had given him.]

Charles Terry, also wounded in the fray, lived about seven miles south of the point.  He returned home by wagon soon after  receiving his wound.  It is said that when his wife heard he was on his way home, injured,  she started on foot through the mud and rain to meet the wagon.

He was in bed  for about two weeks and it was thought that he would recover.  Feeling better, he got up and walked to the door, caught cold and died some days later, aged about 48 years.

--Brock-Perry

Some Sodus Point Stories-- Part 3: 'Hide and Seek' in the Woods

The British did not get as much of the American supplies as they had hoped for.

Of course, a big part of the reason was that the Americans had moved the supplies of flour, pork and whiskey farther inland.  This was a result of a sugestion by Daniel Arms.  The town of Sodus was organized  in his home and he had seen to it that the supplies were removed.

The other reason is that the British were careless with what they did find.  They rolled barrels out of second floor windows which caused them to crash and break open.

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Other Incidents

**  Charles Eldridge was heard to yell from the bushes early in the fighting:  "I am killed.  I am killed."  Examination showed that he had only a slight flesh wound in his neck.

**  George Palmer said that while making a good run for the rear, he passed Elder Norton, then not a young man but a gruff one.  Norton said, "Go on, don't wait for me, I won't run."

**  Major Farr and Lieutenant Nathaniel Merrill played some kind of "Hide and Seek" with each other in the woods, each thnking the other was an enemy.  Farr got so tangledd up in the woods that he did not find his way out until the morning.

--Brock-Perry

Some Sodus Point Stories: Leadership and Tactics Changes

Eventually, some sixty Americans gathered in town to defend it.  Leadership of the group passed around.

When they first gathered they chose as leader the Rev. Seba Norton, called "Elder" Norton, the builder and pastpr of  the Brick Church near Sodus Center (the oldest church in Sodus).  He had been a soldier in the American Revolution and was known as a man of courage.

Later, however, Captain Elias  Hull of Lyons, a regular member of the militia, arrived and took command.

"When the British were about to land at Sodus Point, Captain Norton was there with some 50 to 60 men.  He divided them intosquads of about 10,  placed them in different ambuscades, pointing out the way to retreat if assailed, and told them to pop away as fast as they could.

"Before the British landed, however, a Colonel from Seneca Fall arrived with reinforcements.  Captain Norton told what he had done, and the colonel said he must recall the men and make what show they could in front.....  The British advanced from the water with lanterns or torches at their head.  Amasa Johnson shot down several of their lights, producing some delay and confusion."

--Brock-Perry

Some Stories from the Battle of Sodus Point: Ammi Ellsworth and Isaac Davidson 'Who in Hell Am I?'

Frim the Historic Sodus Point site.

One of the men who was at the battle on the American side was Ammi Ellsworth who lived between the point and the village of Sodus  It is said that he was one of a pair of identical twins with his brother Levi.

"Ammi, on occasion,  partook of the cup that cheers and does inebriate, and when he reached a certain stage of exhuberance, was wont to turn to a bystander and say, 'Am I Ammi, or am I not Ammi?  If I am not Ammi, then who in hell am I?' "

Another was Isaac Davidson, who was the miller at Dr. William Lummis' grist mill some  two miles west of Sodus Point near the mouth of Salmon Creek.  That evening, Davidson had been locked in the mill by mistake.  We do not know how he got out, but got to the Point in time for the battle.

The great wrought iron  hinges and superb handle of the mill is now on a resident of Sodus' home and the author wonders what it was like for Ike to get out that night.

To Get Out and Then Go Get Shot At.  Oh Boy.  --Brock-Perry

Lead Up to Battle of Sodus Point-- Part 4: His Home destroyed Because Militia Stationed There

Asabel Bannister stated that during the British attack of the village of Sodus, that he acted as Quartermaster for  in Col. Swift's regiment of  militia, then in gthe service of the United States.  He was the bearer of a flag of truce to the enemy and met them also under a flag of truce.

The British officer told Bannister that they would spare the village and not burn or destroy any private property upon the condition that the public stores and provisions which had been removed, be given to them.

Quartermaster Bannister replied that he was not authorized  to make any such stipulation, but would report the request to his superior officers and in three to four hours return with an answer.  Those officers refused the offer and Bannister returned to the British with the news.

This led to the nighttime engagement that took place a little west of William Eadus' home which reslted in the  killing and wounding of several of the British.  In his claim to the U.S. government, he stated that the reason for his home's destruction was that military stores were in Sodus and that his home had been used as barracks for some of the American soldiers.

--Brock-Perry

Lead Up to Battle of Sodus Point-- Part 3: The British Arrive and Do Damage

William Burnett,  brigadier general of the 24th Brigade of New York Militia. said that on June 16, 1813, information was received that the British had landed on the Genessee River and were coming to Sodus Point where they knew a large supply of provisions and stores were being kept.  He immediately ordered the regiment of militia commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Swift into service for the country and to go to Sodus to protect that public property.

They assembled there and removed a large part of the public property to safety.  On the morning of the 19th, the British not having shown up, the greater part of the militia was dismissed and only a guard left.  

That night, the British did arrive and put a party of men on land  whocarried away or destroyed all public property remaining in the storehouse of Nathanie Merrill, and then burned it down and destroyed several other buildings, among them the house of William Eadus who later filed a petition for reimbursement with the U.S. government.

--Brock-Perry

Lead Up to the Battle of Sodus Point-- Part 2: British Raiding Parties

Lake Ontario provided the best east-west travel in the area and the British took full advantage of it having the strongest Navy on the lake at the time.  Whenever possible, they would land and steal U.S. government supplies housed in warehouses  at locations such as Oswego, Rochester port at Charlotte and Sodus Point.  

On June 15, 1813, they had done just that at the Rochester port at Charlotte.  When word of this reached Sodus Point, the militia was called to defend the Wayne County village should  the British continue moving eastward.

For five days the village waited anxiously.  In the meantime, residents hurriedly hid likely targets of the British such as  flour, whiskey and pork in the woods.  However, on the morning of June 19, with no British arrival, the militia was sent home.

And, of course, that afternoon, the British hove into view, and, about sixty residents and militia men who vcould be flagged down, gathered to defend the village.

About 100-150 British came ashore at midnight and engaged in a short battle with the Americans before retreating.  They discovered that the warehouse was essentially empty, and in anger, returned the next day to plunder and burn the village.

The only building spared was a tavern where  injured local resident Asher Warner was brought to die.

--Brock-Perry

Asahel Bannister

From Find-a-Grave.

ASAHEL BANNISTER

BIRTH:  17 July 1784, Goshen, Massachusetts

DEATH:  16 January1858  (aged 78), Geneva, New York

BURIAL:  Joslyn Cemetery  Phelps, New York

An officer in the American Army in the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

Asahel Bannister and the Battle of Sodus Point

Asahel Bannister was born at Goshen, Massachusetts, on July  17, 1784, and he died at Geneva, New York, on January 16, 1858, at age  74.    He married  Polly Mighells on February 22, 1807.    She was born on May 10, 1787, and died  on January  23, 1837, at age 50.

As did many male members of the Bannister lineage, Asahel, at the age of 28,  volunteered to defend  American interests and was named as an officer in the War of 1812.  Asahel is mentioned in at least one accound as being the quartermaster of the 24th Brigade of the New York Militia under the command of Brigadier General William Burnett.

Colonel Asahel Bannister was involved in the battle with the British at Sodus, New York, on June 19, 1813.  He was  responsible for the successful storage of provisions and military equipment which were the target of the British raiding party at that battle.

--Brock-Perry

Lead Up to the Battle of Sodus Point-- Part 1

From Historic Sodus Point site "Lead up to the Battle  of Sodus Point."

Scott Bannister has been doing a lot of research on  his abcestor  Colonel Asahel Bannister who was the Quartermaster in charge of the supplies and barracks at Sodus Point during the War of 1812.  The information comes from the efforts of  William Eadus who in addition to Captain William   Wickham, applied  to Congress for compensation for their destroyed homes that were used to store supplies for the militia and provided barracks as well.

Ultimately, neither man succeeded in this endeavor.  Congress denied their petition.

There was some question as to why the British did not attept to procure the Sodus Point supplies as they did at Pultneyville where they negotiated the release.  The answer was that they had spent some four hours under a flag of truce.

Why did the British attack at night, something that rarely happened during the American Revolution and War of 1812.  Such action was considered very dangerous.  The answer could be this, and that was that the British knew that the American militia knew they were there and they hoped to attack before the Americans got reinforcements.

--Brock-Perry

Red Brick Church Meeting House in Sodus, NY

From the Town of Sodus Historical Society.

This is where the Brick Church Cemetery is located.

The single American fatality from the Battle of Sodus Point in 1813, Asher Warner is laid to rest in the cemetery  along with over twenty soldiers of the American Revolution and the War of 1812.  And there are over 140 honored veterans of domestic and foreign conflicts also laid to rest.

Another person who was very influential  in the establishment of the meeting house was Elder Norton.  who initially was in charge of the volunteers who showed up to defend Sodus Point during the British attack in the War of 1812.

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From Wayne NY Gen Web.

Located about six miles north of Lyons village, in the town of Sodus.  In the restoration of this cemetery, the stones were taken up, the land cleared and leveled, the stones replaced with no regards to family.  It is a tragic sight.

--Brock-Perry

Asher Warner

ASHER WARNER

BIRTH:  1777

DEATH:  12 June 1813 (aged 35-36)

BURIAL:  Brick Church Cemetery, Sodus Center, New York

Inscription:  In memory of Asher Warner who fell in the Battle of Sodus Point while fighting in the  defence of his country.

(His wife preceded him in death almost three years earlier.)

Wife:  HANNAH FIELD WARNER

BIRTH:  7 January 1779, Deerfield, Massachusetts

DEATH:   August 1810, Sodus, New York

BURIAL:   Brick Church Cemetery

The Brick Church Cemetery is also known as Baptist Rural Cemetery.

--Brock-Perry

The Battle of Sodus Point-- Part 3: The Peace Garden

The memorial marker that the last two entries were from is part of a Peace Garden.

Modeled on the international Peace Garden concept that originated in Canada, a permanent rail of  Peace gardens  have been established where events  of the War along the historic route where events of the War determined the future of Canada, the United States, and the  fate of many First Nations and Native  American people.

The garden route covers over 600 miles  including USA and Canada.  This is a cooperative initiative undertaken by the International Peace Garden Foundation, 1812 Legacy Council and its many Devoted volunteers.

The Bicentennial Peace Garden Trail is designed to attract international visitors as well as residents of this historic region to experience and enjoy the natural beauty that these gardens provide while commemorating the peace that has existed between  Canada and the United States over the past two hundred years.

--Brock-Perry