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

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

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

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I found the answer at the USS Constitution Museum site.

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

Commissioned Officers

Warrant Officers

Petty Officers 

Enlisted Men

Marines

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

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

Hey, OS.  Ordinary Seaman

I think I have his rank.

OS  --Brock-Perry

Richard Hill, OS. So, What Is an OS?

Richard Hill is listed as an OS in the U.S. navy on his grave marker at Portland, Maine's Eastern Cemetery.  So, that got me to wondering, what is an OS, presuming it might indicate his ship rank.

I looked it up, and in today's Navy, OS stands for Operations Specialist. They are key members of the ship's combat team with jobs  ranging from navigation and plotting specialists, operations administrator,  warfare operator, electronics systems operator and combat air controller.

None of these would seem applicable to the U.S. Navy of the War of 1812.

So, what was an OS during the War of 1812?

More Research Needed Here.  --Brock-Perry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He was killed by his own son in 1861.

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

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Veterans Buried in Portland's Eastern Cemetery-- Part 4

**  SGT. JAMES HENLEY

Mass Militia  1782  1843

**  SEAMAN RICHARD HILL

Gunboat 47, New York Flotilla 1792 Sept. 12, 1881

**  PVT. DANIEL HOW

Died  Sept. 16, 1819, age 57

**  SGT. JOHN SIMON HOW

Died June 26, 1859

**  CAPT. JOSEPH HOW

Died Aug. , 1820

**  CORP. NATHAN HOWE  

Mass Militia  1781  1859

**  GEORGE INGRAHAM

Mass Militia   1795  1875

**  DEACON WILLIAM JENKS

So, the Hows.  --Brock-Perry

War 1812 Veterans Buried in Portland's Eastern Cemetery-- Part 3

**  EBENEZER M. CORRY

Born May 7, 1793  Died Jan. 12, 1881

**  SGT. JOHN DENNISON

Brewer's  Mass. Mil.

**  PVT. SEWALL DRINKWATER

Mass. Militia   1796-1878

**  COL. SABINE EMERY

9 Me. Vols. /  Feb. 8 1884 / Mar. 24, 1868.  Okay, this one didn't make sense.  I figured it was wrong as far as the war he was credited to and probably the birth date was wrong as well.

As it turns out, I was correct.  He was from the Civil War.  

I will write about him in my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog.

**  ANTHONY FERNALD

Died May 29, 1863

**  ISAAC FICKETT

**  SAMUEL DEANE FREEMAN

Died 17 Sep 1831, age  50 y

**  PVT. RICHARD S. GOODHUE

Died Dec. 6 1856

**  LEONARD GRIFFIN

 

Mass Militia   1793  1822

**  COMPT.  STEPHEN HALL

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Veterans Buried in Portland's Eastern Cemetery-- Part 2

**  LT. OLIVER BRAY

Lieut.  Mass Militia  1776 1823

**  DR. JOHN P. BRIGGS

Died July 28, 1858

**  CAPT. WILLIAM BURROWS

Commanded the USS Enterprise in the battle against the HMS Boxer.  I have already written about him.

**  CAPT. DUDLEY CAMMETT

Died 14 June 1863  age 74

**  CAPT. WILLIAM CAMMETT

Died 6 April 1880 at age 94 years 7 months

**  GEORGE CHADWICK

Mass Militia 1794 1853

**  ENSIGN JOHN W.  CHASE

Ensign Mass Militia 1790 1819

CAPT. SAMUEL  CLARKE

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Veterans Buried at Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine-- Part 1

From Spirits Alive Veterans.

**  Lt. Joseph Baker  Died  July 20, 18__.

**  Col. Thomas Baker   Died September  5, 1838.

**  Private Joseph  Barbour (two Stones)  Died 30 May 1854 at age 78.

**  John Bean  Nichols Regt. War of 1812 1782 to 1822.

**  Corp. Joseph Berry, Massachusetts  Militia War of 1812  1792 to 1871.

**  William B, Berry  Father William.  Died May 28, 1863.   Age at death 73.

**  Captain Samuel Blyth, British.  I have already written about him.  Click on his label.

**  Major Joseph Cotton Boyd   Dist. paymaster, US Army, War of 1812.  1760 to My 12, 1823.  First Maine state treasurer.

**  Pvt  Andrew Bradberry   Mass militia 1780 to 1852

--Brock-Perry

Abel Willard Atherton

Lt.Col. Martin Nichols' Regiment, militia. 

MUSTER ROLL OF CAPT. A.W. ATHERTON'S COMPANY

April 16, 1814,   Service at Portland

RANK AND NAME

Abel W. Atherton, Captain

Henry Smith, Lieutenant

John Watson, Ensign

Also:  4 sergeants, 12 corporals, 1 musician and 43 privates.

--Brock-Perry

Abel Willard Atherton Service in Lt.Col. Martin Nichols' Regiment 1814

From the same source as Captain Atherton's 1813 service.

Lieut.  Col. M. Nichols' Regiment

Martin Nichols, Lieutenant. Lieutenant Colonel, Portland

John Pratt, Major, Portland

John Storer, Major, Portland

John Sampson, Adjutant, Portland

Edward Barneywell, Adjutant, Portland

 Christopher Wright, Quartermaster, Portland

William Swan, Paymaster, Portland

Nathaniel Coffin, Surgeon  (Personally, I might have a problem seeking his help with that name.)

John Merrill, Surgeon's Mate,  Portland

George Hall, Chaplain

--Brock-Perry

Abel Willard Atherton again commanded a company in the 1814 call out.

--Brock-Perry

Maine Was a Part of Massachusetts During the War of 1812

In case you're wondering why the militia defending Portland, Maine, was called out by the governor of Massachusetts in 1813, that was because Maine was still a part of that state.

However, being physically separated from Massachusetts, Maine was not keen on that idea of being part of Massachusetts.  Secessionist sentiment in Maine was stoked  during the War of 1812 when Massachusetts' pro-British merchants opposed the war and refused to defend Maine from British invaders.

In 1819, Massachusetts agreed to permit secession, sanctioned by the voters of the rapidly growing Maine the following year.

Formal secession and admission as the 23rd state came on March  15, 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise, which maintained the  balance between slave and free states.

In Case You Were Wondering.    --Brock-Perry

Some More on Abel Willard Atherton-- Part 3: Service in the Militia

From Maine Genealogy Archives  "Maine Militia, War of 1812: Lieut.  Col. M. Nichol's Regiment.

Source:  "Records of the Massachusetts volunteer militia called out by the  Governor of Massachusetts to suppress a threatened invasion during the War of 1812-1814.

A CONSOLIDATED MUSTER ROLL OF CAPTAIN A.W. ATHERTON'S COMPANY, FROM TIME OF ENTRY  TO OCT., 17, 1813, AND FROM  OCT. 17 TO DISCHARGE.

Service at Portland

RANK AND NAME:

Abel W. Atherton, Captain

Henry Smith, Lieutenant (31 days)

John Watson, Ensign (31 days)

Benjamin Tukey, Adjutant (30 days)

James Chase, Adjutant (31 days) (substituted Benjamin Tukey)

John Chadwell, Commissary  (30 days)

In addition 4 sergeants and five corporals, two musicians and 53 privates.

Atherton served for 69 days according to payrolls.  The other officers served for 62 days and most of the privates for 61 days.

The governorof Massachusetts from 1812 to 1816 was Caleb Strong.

Was this a time he served at Fort Burrows?

--Brock-Perry

Some More on Abel Willard Atherton-- Part 2

We Relate.org has Abel Willard Atherton:

BIRTH:  Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

MARRIAGE:  3 July 1809 to Margaret Weeks

DEATH:  15 August 1821  Prospect, Waldo, Maine

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Atherton-2018.one-name.net said he had a brother"

CHARLES ATHERTON:  BORN: 16 March 1787, Lancaster, Middlesex, Massachusetts  DIED: 3 October 1852, Hancock, Maine.  Age 65.

Abel Willard Atherton had a father:

ISRAEL  ATHERTON  BORN:   20 November 1741, Harvard, Worcester, Massahusetts,  DIED:  Date unknown.

His mother was R. Prentice.

Little Old Genealogy Me.   --Brock-Perry

Some More on Abel Willard Atherton

From the July 2, 2021, Vita Brevis site "July 4 and My Family" by Scott C. Steward.

He was looking around for something to write about things happening to his family on  or around July 4.

"On my father's side,  my great-great-great-great grandfather Abel Willard Atherton was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts on the first anniversary of Independence Day:  July 4, 1777.

"Willard Atherton was in Portland, Maine to marry the widowed  Margaret Duncan in 1809, and he died in Castine, Maine in 1821.  His daughter, my ancestor Eliza Robinson Atherton, married Samuel Henry Foster of Boston in Portland in 1830; they later lived in New York...."

Footnote:  Colonel Abel Willard Atherton (1777-1821) married  Margaret (Weeks) Duncan in 1809.

--Brock-Perry

The Coast of Maine in the War of 1812 and a Threat to Portland

With the end of the war against Napoleon, the British had more resources to use against the United States which had essentially been on the back burner for efforts as Napoleon posed a much worse threat to Britain.

By August 1814, the British were blockading Portland Harbor in earnest.  By September they captured Castine and held the Maine coast east of the Penobscot.  Rumors abounded in Portland warning that "a large fleet with troops" under  the flagship HMS Bulwark had left Castine headed for Portland.

Daily, the British would sail up to the lighthouse, but the mighty fleet never materialized.  Even so, Governor Strong  called up six to seven hundred militiamen from Cumberland and Oxford counties to defend Portland.

Portland also appropriated  $10,000 for  public defense.

It was during this scare that the former HMS Boxer was pressed into service.  The battery of the prize ship San Jose Indiano was  ordered to be mounted on her.  (The Boxer's cannons had been removed to the privateer Hyder Ally.)  The Boxer was then hauled into position so as to command the approaches to Vaughan's Bridge.

The ship's gunners amused themselves by  firing into the steep bankings on Bramhall's Hill.  All this went on for about two weeks, but since nothing happened, everyone was sent home.

Fun and Games in Portland.  --Brock-Perry

Abel Willard Atherton

From Wikitree.

Was he the one that was stationed temporarily at Fort Burrows in Portland, Maine?

BORN: 4 July 1777 in Lancaster,  Worchester, Massachusetts.

HUSBAND of Margaret (Weeks) Atherton.  Married  3 July 1809 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine.

DIED:  16 August 1821 in Castine, Hancock, Maine

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There is a gravestone in Castine Cemetery in Castine, Maine, for Abel Willard Atherton.  

He is listed as Colonel Abel Willard Atherton.

He is listed as Col. Abel W. Atherton on Find-A-Grave.  The gravestone is in very bad shape.

So, did he get as high as a colonel in the Maine militia?

--Brock-Perry

Abel Willard Atherton Served at Fort Burrows

I did come across Willard Atherton Nichols in a book titled "The Constitution and Register of the Membership of the General Society of the War of 1812" from 1908.

WILLARD ATHERTON NICHOLS was living at Redlands, California, at P.O. Box 536.

He was the grandson of Abel Willard  Atherton (1777-1821), in United States service as  Captain, Third Regiment (Nichols) Massachusetts Militia, September 16, 1813.

Detached on special service at Fort Burrows, Maine.

Also as Captain, Portland Rifle Company, same regiment, September   7-9, 1814, in defense  of Portland, Maine, and as  Aide-de-Camp on the staff of  Major General  Alford Richardson; September 10-November 9, 1814, for the defense of Portland.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Burrows in Portland, Maine

From North American Forts site.

FORT BURROWS  (1813-1815)  Portland, Maine.

A state militia fort located at  58 Fore Street, near Mountfort Street at Jordan's Point.  

No remains left.

Named after the commander of the USS Enterprise William Burrows who died in the battle with the HMS Boxer off Portland, Maine.

This is all the information I can find on this fort.

--Brock-Perry

Privateer Hyder Ally-- Part 4: The First Capture Is then Lost

Near the Cape of Good Hope, the Hyder Ally was chased all day by a British  East India Company sloop of war, but escaped under cover of darkness.  After rounding the cape, she captured an East Indian merchant ship with a valuable cargo.

Thorndike sent it off with a prize crew to Portland.  This prize never made it home as it was captured off Cape Elizabeth by the British privateer Tom.

That this prize was captured there is no big surprise because the coast of Maine was virtually under siege by the British for most of 1813 and 1814.  Maine had begun fortifying its coast as a result.

In Portland, the militia had built a defensive earthwork they named Fort Burrows, after the captain of the USS Enterprise in the famed battle.  Other batteries were around as well.  Also, out toward the harbors entrance, there were Fort Preble at Spring Point and Fort Scammel on House Island.  Both of these were built in 1809.

--Brock-Perry

Privateer Hyder Ally-- Part 3: The Captain and Good Crew and the Bad Luck

The Hyder Ally's captain was Israel Thorndike of Beverly, Massachusetts; second in command was Lt. Henry Oxnard of Portland, Maine, and the third officers were a Perry of Salem and Noah Edgecomb, a Portland rigger.  Thorndike ran a tight ship with strict discipline.

There was a crew of fifty men, many from Portland including Isaac Fickett, a relative of the builder and caulker on the shop during her entire privateer career.  Historian Goold received most of his information on the ship from this man.

BAD LUCK?

Maine authorKenneth Roberts wrote that the Hyder Ally's bad luck came to her initially because of the HMS Boxer's guns being transferred to her.

The new privateer set sail from Portland across the Atlantic Ocean on January 31, 1814, and no one was thinking about bad luck.

The ship took several prizes in the Indian Ocean, but none of them were ever able to make to an American port for the prize money.  As a mater of fact, neither did the Hyder Ally herself.

Bad Luck.  --Brock-Perry

Maine's Privateers-- Part 2: Building, Buying and Outfitting the Hyder Ali

After the battle between the USS Enterprise and HMS Boxer, the Boxer was auctioned off as a prize for $11,674. Of that, $9755 was put into three lots including the Boxer,  its guns and 36 tons of kentlage (iron ballast).  The prize money was shared between Captain Burrows' heirs received $1,115 prize money and each seaman $54.31.

The Boxer was auctioned to Thomas Merrill, Jr. for $5600 and wet to sea under Captain William McLellan as a merchant ship. Although her final fate is unknown, she did see service one more time on the American side during the War of 1812.  In August 1814, she put in a short stint protecting the city of Portland, Maine.

The Hyder Ally was built in Portland by shipwright Samuel Fickett at a dock near the foot of Park Street.  William Goold who gives the most complete account of the Hyder Ally in his history of Portland says "she was not especially built to be a privateer but was so constructed to carry a battery (of cannons), as no vessel was then safe on the high seas without one."   She was built for speed.

The ship's keel was laid before the declaration of war in June 1812. There was no market for ships at the time, but Fickett continued her construction and after awhile, he found a buyer.  The merchants Bryant and Sturgis of Boston bought her.

They also purchased the Boxer's armament at the auction and must have added some cannons as well  for privateering.  Ten 18-pound and two 6 pound cannons were brought on board.  The final count of weapons was twelve 18 pounder  carronades, two long 18 pounders and two long nines.

--Brock-Perry

Maine's Privateers-- Part 1: Money to be Made

I am writing about the Maine privateer Hyder Ali or Hyder Ally, I've seen several spellings for the ship.  I will put this ship's name as Privateer Hyder Ali in my labels.

From The Maine Story:  "The Hyder Ally:   Maine's Unluckiest Privateer." by Pat Higgins.

At the onset of the War of 1812, the American Navy had about 17 ships.  Their foe, the British Navy, had about 1,000 ships.

A privateer navy would be needed to fill the breech.

Maine and New England jumped into activity.  Here was a business proposition that would recoup losses suffered because of the Embargo Act of 1807 and the Non-intercourse Act of 1809.  Both of these hit New England interests particularly hard.

Ships were built for speed and armed for battle.  Shares were sold.  Money was there to be made and the New Englanders were just the people to take advantage of it.

A privateer infestation soon occurred for any and all British shipping along the North American coasts.  This extended into the Caribbean Sea and across the Atlantic to the Irish Sea.  It was also in the Mediterranean and even as far as the Indian Ocean (where the Hyder Ally went).

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Hyder Ally (Ali): What's in a Spelling?

I've seen this ship with the Hyder Ali spelling and the Hyder Ally spelling. Also sometimes spelled Hyder Alley.

From Wikipedia.

A privateer from Portland, Maine.  Received a Letter of Marque in 1814 and sailed to the eastern Indian Ocean where she captured three prizes before the Royal Navy captured her.

The Hyder Ally sailed out of Portland Harbor under the command of Captain Israel Thorndike, who received a Letter of Marque on 18 January 1814.  (I have also seen the ship commanded by an R. Thorndike.  The Wikipedia article dies not say anything about Israel Thorndike sailing a privateer in 1814,so not sure if the commander's name is correct.  Israel Thorndike was involved with privateering quite a bit during the American Revolution.)

One source says that after the capture of the HMS Boxer on 5 September 1813, that her guns went to arm the Hyder Ally.  However, the list of Hyder Ally's guns and carronades does not match what the Boxer had.

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Hyder Ali

I couple posts ago, I wrote that the HMS Boxer's cannons were placed on the privateer Hyder Ali which went on what appears to be just one cruise with a little bit of success, not much, before it was captured by a British frigate HMS Owen  Glendour.

From Three Decks.org.

HYDER ALI

I also thought this was kind of a strange name for an American ship.  Sounded more Middle Eastern.

12 guns of American registry.  Captured May 1814.

Fifty-man crew under command of  Captain (privateer) R. Thorndike.

Taken by Owen Glendower.

367 tons, twelve 18-odr. carronades, two long 18-pdrs., some from the captured HMS Boxer.

There is a report saying that when captured, the Hyder Ali had 30 men after a ten-hour chase near the Nicobar Islands.  Before the capture, the Hyder Ali had been chased for 3 days by HMS  Salsette, but got away.

The Nicobar Islands are over by Southeast Asia by the Indian Ocean.

--Brock-Perry

February War of 1812 Events: France Declares War on Britain, Battle of Ogdensburg, Treaty of Ghent and USS Constitution

From the American Battlefield Trust.

FEBRUARY 1, 1793

**  France declares war on Great Britain.

FEBRUARY  22, 1813

**  Battle of Ogdensburg.

FEBRUARY 16, 1815

**  The United States Senate  ratifies the Treaty of Ghent.

FEBRUARY 18, 1915

**  The Treaty of Ghent is declared, officially ending the War of 1812.

FEBRUARY 20, 1815

**  The USS Constitution engages the HMS Cyane and HMS Levant, not knowing that the War of 1812 was already over.

--Brock-Perry