Andrew Jackson's Hermitage to Host Commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans-- Part 2

The annual wreath-laying ceremony with keynote speaker Robert D. Tuke and the presentation of the colors with the Tennessee National Guard and Tennessee SocietyUnited States Daughters of 1812 will take place at 1 p.m.

Robert Tuke, who was an active duty Marine Corps officer 1969-1973 and recently retired from his law firm Trauger & Tuke as well as serving as an  as an adjunct professor at the Vanderbilt School of Law.  Following the brief program, the wreaths will be laid on the tomb to honor both General Jackson and his wife, Rachel.

At 2:30, there will be an exclusive event for Hermitage members with the Vice President of Collections, featuring New Orleans-related relics from the Hermitage collection.

"This is one of my favorite days at the Hermitage," said Howard J. Kittell, President and CEO of the Andrew Jackson Foundation.  "This event commemorates a crucial victory for our nation in a conflict with Great Britain.  General Andrew Jackson led a ragtag army of U.S. servicemembers, volunteer militia, free blacks, Native Americans, and even a band of pirates to defend New Orleans in an invasion.

"The battle only lasted about 30 minutes but resulted in more than 2,000 British casualties.  Jackson became an American hero, and national pride was at an  all-time high.  We look forwad to commemorating that  victory with a day filled with events that young and old will not only enjoy, but learn from, including an annual wreath-laying ceremony at Jackson's tomb."

Brock-Perry

Andrew Jackson's Hermitage to Host Battle of New Orleans Commemoration

From the December 30, 2022, Rutherford County Source.

Andrew Jackson's home, the Hermitage in Tennessee will host its annual Battle of New Orleans Commemoration from 9 a.m. to5 p.m., Sunday January 8, 2023 with a keynote address by former Marine Corps officer and recently retired Nashville lawyer, as well as a line-up of activities for the family.

Ground passes to the public will be free to the public with a wreath-laying ceremony at 1 p.m.

ACTIVITIES:

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.:  Children's crafts and games.

10 a.m., noon and 3 p.m.:  Battle of New Orleans Gallery talks by  the Director of Interpretation.

Noon:  A reading from Jackson's orders to rally the 2nd Division of the State of Tennessee will take place on the balcony of the Hermitage Museum.

--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

John S. Roberts

From the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas.

JOHN S. ROBERTS

(1796-1871)

Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, East Texas merchant and political figure.

He was born in Virginia on July 13, 1796.  At age sixteen, he enlisted  in the Tennessee  Militia for service in the War of 1812 and was at the Battle of New Orleans as a member of Colonel John Coffee's regiment.

In May 1815, he was discharged

By 1822, he was a resident of Nagodoches, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Camp Blount Volunteer Days Begins-- Part 3: Led To the State's Nickname and Jackson Becoming President

"We  think we have a little bit of the claim to the reason why Tennessee got its name (Volunteer)," Dr. Farris Beasley said.  "We  were the biggest muster site for the War of 1812.  That's where we come from."

The association said that this was led to General Jackson becoming the seventh president of the United States and the turnout  of Tennessee volunteers earned the state its nickname, the "Volunteer State."

The public is invited to the free and open event  from 9 am until 4 pm Saturday, October 2.  

Volunteer Days will include speakers, music, demonstrations, history and more.

Some of the demonstrations which will be taking place include firing a cannon, rifles and pistols; blacksmithing; spinning and weaving; flint knapping; woodworking and leather working.  Native American, equestrian, local archaeologist, period crafts, period music, women's fashion and historic impression demonstrations will also be held.

Camp Blount is located at 1124 Huntsville Highway in Fayetteville and is Tennessee's eighth historic site.

It's Going On Right Now, So, If In the Area.  --Brock-Perry

River Raisin Veterans 1871 Reunion-- Part 2: Another Reunion in 1872

The occasion was so thoroughly enjoyed by the guests that  a suggestion was made and cordially received that ample preparations for the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the River Raisin should be made the following year (1872), and that general invitations should be extended bu correspondence and published notices in the newspapers of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, to all the survivors of the Battle of the River Raisin.

It was afterwards determined, as the anniversary would occur at such an inclement of the year (January) that few of the old survivors could attend  from such a distance, to hold a convention on the following 4th of July, 1872.

--Quite a Reunion.  --Brock-Perry

General Nathaniel Taylor-- Part 2: A Question of Guns

As they marched southward, the men did a lot of road building and guarding wagons.

Many were stationed at Camp Mandeville near Mobile in February 1814, where they encountered much disease.  Captain Joseph Scott's 104-man company had 31 listed as sick in their final muster.

From the East Tennessee Historical Society.

From 1800 to 1814, Nathaniel Taylor became quite a rich and successful businessman and even had iron forges.

In 1814-1815, after the defeat of the Creek Indians, the U.S. Secretary of War directed a call for 2,500 Tennessee militia to march south and man forts in the recently captured territory.  Taylor's brigade was part of this.  Evidently, there was an acute lack of weapons and a bit of a confrontation along the way with the commander of a regular U.S. Army regiment about his having surplus guns.

On November 9, at Fort Jackson, half of Taylor's troops were without guns.

Brock-Perry

General Nathaniel Taylor-- Part 1: Brig. Gen. Tennessee Militia

In the last post I wrote about the historic 200-year-old home in Elizabethton, Tennessee, Sabine Hill, which was built by the general's widow opening for the public back in November.  Gen. Taylor was mentioned as participating in the defense of Mobile, Alabama, during the War of 1812.

Ancestry says he was born in 1772 and passed away in 1816 in Carter, Tennessee.  Carter is the county Elizabethton is located in.

Find-A-Grave says he was a brigadier general in the War of 1812 and was born February 4, 1771.

Part of his brigade of drafted Tennessee militia were mustered in at Knoxville and marched to Mobile via Camp Ross (present-day Chattanooga), Fort Jackson, Fort Claiborne and Fort Montgomery.

--Brock-Perry

After 200 Years, Sabine Hill Opens to the Public

From the October 4, 2017, Johnson City (Tennessee) Press  "After 200 years, the front door of Sabine Hill will open to the public in November."

Elizabethton.  Closed for several years for renovation, Tennessee State Parks on Wednesday began taking applications for guided tours for the historic house.

Built by Mary Patton Taylor, the widow of Brigadier General Nathaniel Taylor who participated in the defenses of Mobile, Alabama, during the War of 1812.

The house will open November 4.  Guests will be shuttled to the home which was completed around 1817.  It is part of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park.

--Brock-Perry

Montgomery Bell-- Part 3: His Money used for the Montgomery Bell Academy

Montgomery Bell gave $20,000 in his will to educate children ages 10-14 who would otherwise not be able to get an education and that bequest has resulted in the Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee

The Montgomery Bell Academy was established in 1867 as the successor to two previous schools, one of which was the Western Military Institute, which Sam Davis, the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy" attended and the University of Nashville.

In 1881, the school moved to an estate and received the name Montgomery Bell Academy because of his endowment to the school with the stipulation that it remain all male.

It still exists.

--Brock-Perry

Montgomery Bell-- Part 1: "The Iron Master of Middle Tennessee

Wikipedia

Born June 3, 1769 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  Died April 1, 1855, in Dickson County, Tennessee.

A manufacturing entrepreneur who was credited for much of the economic development of early Middle Tennessee.  He earned the title "Iron Master of Middle Tennessee."  He also founded one of the largest non-sectarian all-boys private secondary schools in the country.that still bears his name.

He purchased James Robertson's ironworks at Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, in 1804 for $16,000.

--Brock-Perry

Montgomery Bell State Park

Montgomery Bell has a state park in the state named for him.

A Tennessee State Park located east of Dickson, Tennessee, off US-70.

Consists of an inn, cabins, a restaurant called the Forge Room and a conference center.

--Brock-Perry

Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee-- Part 1: Still a Town There

From Wikipedia.

In the last post I mentioned the Tennessee militia on their way to New Orleans in November 1814 having cannonballs made by Ironmaster Montgomery Bell from his Cumberland Furnace.

There is still an unincorporated town of Cumberland Furnace in Dickson County.  It, of course, received its name from the ironworks.  The Cumberland Furnace Historical District was designated September 28, 1988.

Cumberland Furnace is the oldest community south of the Cumberland River between Nashville and Clarksville.

--Brock-Perry

Tennessee Volunteer Militia Leave Clarksville for New Orleans

The Tennessee Volunteer Militia left Clarksville, Tennessee, on November 15, 1814 and got to New Orleans in time to take part in the night battle on December 23, 1814, and then the decisive Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815.

In addition to guns, powder and supplies, the transport boats also carried cannonballs made by Ironmaster Montgomery Bell from his Cumberland Furnace in Dickson County.

Clarksville had a reenactment of the event on November 15, 2014, two hundred years later.  Bicentennial, you know.

--Brock-Perry

Clarksville, Tn., and Andy in the War of 1812-- Part 1: British meddling In Indian Affairs

From the November 2, 2014, Clarksville (Tn) Leaf-Chronicle "Remember When: Andy and Tennessee in the War of 1812" by Rubye Patch.

The last two posts were about Tennessee militia leaving Clarksville to go to fight with Andrew Jackson at New Orleans at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.  A marker was placed by where they left Clarksville for their river trip.

As it turns out, in this article, the general and militia had left from the same place the year before in what ended up as a move down the Mississippi that was ordered back by the U.S. government.

A big reason for the War of 1812 was British meddling with American Indians and getting them to resist and fight white settlers moving into their territory.  This was a huge reason Tennessee supported the war.

--Brock-Perry

Marker Dedication in Tennessee-- Part 2: Sponsored By the Andrew Jackson Foundation

Later, there will be a talk by Dr. Tom Kanon, archivist of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, and author of "Tennessee At War, 1812-1815."

The free presentation is sponsored by the Andrew Jackson Foundation and is just one of the events taking place throughout Tennessee in commemoration of the 250th birthday of the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson was born March 15, 1767 and died June 8, 1845.

--Brock-Perry

Marker Dedication in Tennessee-- Part 1: With Jackson to New Orleans

From the October 4, 2017, Clarksville (Tn) Online  "War of 1812 talk, marker dedication set for October 15th."

The Clarksville-Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Council along with the Customs House Museum will unveil a historical highway marker commemorating Clarksville's role in the War of 1812.

It will be placed at Riverside Drive near the site where Tennessee militia boarded flatboats for the long journey to fight with Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.

The marker will be unveiled between 2 and 4 p.m. at the Customs House Museum.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Jackson's Birthday Commemorated at the Hermitage-- Part 2

Thursday, the Tennessee National Guard will have a concert and there will be a 19th century-era steeplechase as well as a presentation by the Tennessee Militia reenactment group.

There will be a person playing the role of Andrew Jackson in attendance and throughout the day, a chance to see "An Evening With Five Presidents.

Friday and Saturday they will have 150 re-enactors having a War of 1812 encampment.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Jackson's Birthday Commemorated at the Hermitage-- Part 1

From the March 13, 2017, Lebanon (Tenn) Democrat "Trump to visit Hermitage for Jackson's birthday."

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767.  On his birthday, yesterday, President Trump visited the Hermitage and placed a wreath at his grave.  However, unfortunately, the Hermitage was closed to the public that day, but with all this anti-Trump and anti-Jackson feelings around, probably a good thing.

However, the Hermitage is open today, March 16th, for what they're calling a Jackson Education Day.  This is the 250th anniversary of his birth.  They will be having Hickory Pole Racing, chocolate sampling and birthday cake.

--Brock-Perry

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

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

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

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