Skirmish At McRae's

The Old Northwest Notebook blog contained the following information (and much more):

"The situation of the place where we were encamped at McRea's as aforesaid was on the banks of the River Thames about fifty-five miles above Detroit. The soldiers' quarters was a frame house near the river immediately in front and about 45 feet distant was the house set apart for the guard adjoining the last house and distant from the soldiers quarters about 61 feet...".

Historical Marker - Skirmish At McRae's House 

McRae's House - War Of 1812 Skirmish Location (Google)

McRae's on the banks of the River Thames (in what is now Ontario, Canada):

Curiously, the most important pioneer settlements on the Thames were, not at Chatham, but above and below Simcoe’s townsite. In 1792, Jan Van Dolzen, an elderly loyalist of Dutch descent, settled on the Thames about four miles below Chatham. A son, Isaac Dolsen—as the name was speedily Anglicized—located on the Raleigh side, and another, Matthew, in Dover. About Matthew’s homestead, there grew up, in the course of years, a considerable trading community, with a tavern, store, blacksmith shop, distillery and other small pioneer industries. Another trading center grew up around the Thomas McCrae homestead on the Raleigh side; and both McCrae’s and Dolsen’s were thriving communities when Chatham was merely a name. [Kentiana]

General Smyth Was Fired At

(Partial) Map of Erie County, New York at the LOC (Including Black Rock)

Secret murmurs then broke out into loud complaints threats and denunciations [of General Smyth at Black Rock]. General Peter B. Porter said publicly that Smyth was a scoundrel and a traitor [see report on duel].

On his way...[to a meeting]...while riding along the beach, he (General Smyth) was fired at. The ball passed through the clothes of his aid, who was by his side.  [Source]

See Smyth's Proclamation here.

Robert Pogue's Mother

Robert Pogue built Fort Amanda in Ohio; his mother was Ann McGinty, a notable figure at Fort Harrod in Kentucky, according to this blog (and Fort Amanda expert).

Ann McGinty's Grave Marker At Fort Harrod

A Docent Portrayed Ann McGinty Here At Fort Harrod

Shot For Desertion

An excerpt from A North End Journal blog post:

"I have reached the names on the list that begin with the letter M and it’s the first time I have come across the comment that someone ‘deserted to the enemy’. That made me sit up a little straighter but it was the fate of Private McMillan that gave me the greatest shock. The notation after his name said ‘shot for desertion, Oct. 1814’."

From the Executed Today website:

HEAD QUARTERS, FALLS OF NIAGARA

OCTOBER 28TH 1814.

At a General Court Martial, held at Stamford, on the 25th instant, and continued by adjournment to the 28th of the same month, Private John McMillan, of the 2nd regiment of Lincoln Militia, was arraigned on the following charges, viz.: —

Source

Talbot Chambers Ordered To Detroit

Enclosed a copy of an order to repair to Detroit dated July 11, 1815....

Fold3 Source

See another blog post concerning Talbot Chambers here.

October 1812 Massacre

Source

The October, 1812, Pond settlement massacre, near New Haven in what is now Indian Creek Township [White County, Illinois], "spread terror over that section for a long time."

Indians of the Pi-an-ka-shaw tribe who were then living far up the Wabash "had been skulking about the settlement" so the chase, which included John Pond, Pearce, a brother of Hosea Pearce, and Trousdale, "promised to be a long one." [Source]

Note: More of the story is posted in my Detour Through History blog.

William Sanford Eveleth

A dictionary of all officers: who have been commissioned, or have been ...:

Source

A random entry:


Wm. Sanford Eveleth (D.C.) Cadet July '13; bvt Sec Lt. Engrs 4 Mar '15; Am Prof. Engrg. M.A. fm Jan. '15 to Sept. '16; drowned 4 Oct '18 in Lake Michigan. 

More about the circumstances of Lieutenant Eveleth's death in an Inland Seas article.

"As the double-masted craft Hercules was leaving port for the evening voyage to Detroit, Eveleth [who had been inspecting military sites near Chicago] hitched a ride on the sailboat as its only passenger besides a crew of five.  "...the Hercules was the “first decked vessel to operate on a regular basis on the lake” west of the Mackinac Straits. Within a day of the time the boat departed Chicago, it also became the “first documented vessel to be destroyed on” Lake Michigan."

Lieutenant Eveleth was a cadet at West Point during the War of 1812.  His grave is noted here in a John Farmer map.


See a portion of Eveleth's map here at the University of Michigan Clements Library Chronicles, Fort Mackinac Captured By The British.

House Of The Widow Fairlee

Early Era Tavern (NOT IN BERNE)

The house of the widow Fairlee, in the village of Berne, was built for a tavern in 1809. It was used
as a recruiting station during the war of 1812. [Source]

Note:  This blog features the history of Berne, New York

Hamilton Military Museum

The Hamilton Military Museum* is affiliated with Dundurn Park.

*Source

See Dundurn Park post at In Deeds.

Peter Curtenius, General And Marshal

“Aliens” in America: British Citizens during the War of 1812, a blog entry from the New York Historical Society, stated that "the...Peter Curtenius Papers [indicated that]...much of Curtenius and Smith’s duties involved overseeing British citizens living in New York."


Peter Curtenius in the New York Directory in 1794 (State Auditor was the elder Peter Curtenius):

Source

A biography of Frederick W. Curtenius added more detail:

Source

"...Gen. Peter Curtenius, commanded the State troops quartered in that [New York] city during the War of 1812.  He was subsequently Marshal of the State for a number of years and in such capacity arrested Aaron Burr, then charged with treason."

General Benjamin Whiteman

In Gano Papers

Jim's Photo Of Clifton Mill

The Clifton Mill website stated that:

"The first mill at this site was built in 1802 by Owen Davis, a Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman miller.  The mill was built in this location to take advantage of the natural power of the concentrated water funneled into the gorge.  Owen Davis and his son-in-law, General Benjamin Whiteman [link added] also built a saw mill and a distillery."

General Benjamin Whiteman's memorial at FindAGrave.

The Ohio legislature created a fifth division in February, 1813, under Major General Benjamin Whiteman [link added]. [Source]

Hendrys Of Ashtabula

United States, War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910
Name: Samuel Hendry
Event Type: Pension Application
Military Unit Note: Capt. James Harpers Co. Ohio Mil.
Spouse's Name: Stella Abigail Hendry


See a post about the Hendrys of Ohio and a Lapeer County, Michigan, deed at In Deeds.

Not related; no further information.

A Fearless And Defiant Brock

Source

From Soldiering in Canada: Recollections and Experiences, by George Taylor Denison:
"The clearest impression...[about] discussions to which I [Denison] delighted to listen, was the remarkable respect and esteem felt by all the old veterans of the War of 1812 for their favorite leader, General Brock."

"What especially endeared him to the memory of these old loyalists was the fearless and defiant way in which he maintained his confidence in the face of enormous odds, and what was worst of all, internal intrigue and treachery. The action that particularly pleased them was his bold move in proroguing the House of Assembly, and declaring martial law, in order to arrest and banish the traitors who were spreading doubt and hesitation among the people."

Captain Daniel Springer

Captain Daniel Springer was a soldier in Butler's Rangers.

Source

In the war of 1812 Captain Springer was at Detroit, and in command of a company of the First Middlesex. ... it appears, "that Captain Springer exerted himself in defending the Province by actively performing his duty on all occasions. He therefore became as usual extremely obnoxious to all the enemy and the disaffected, a party of whom seized him on the 1st February, 1814, and after binding him, took his own horses and sleigh, and placing him in it, carried him to Kentucky. Shortly after his departure, his family was obliged to move to the Grand River. He returned in time to share in the glory of the battle of the Falls." [Source]

From this website:

SPRINGER, Capt. Daniel.  This Company served July to December 1812, 25 April to 24 May 1814 and 25 June to 24 July 1814, received Land Claim Certificate Unit Flank Company 1st Regiment Middlesex Militia, Vol 24, File 79, pages 173-175.  Born September 1763 in Albany, New York; died June 15, 1826, in Delaware Township; buried in Tiffany Cemetery, Delaware; married Ruth Fairchild.  Was Captain of 1st Regiment Middlesex Militia, elevated to Lt. Col. In 1812.  Taken prisoner by an American raiding party under command of Andrew Westbrook, of Delaware, an old neighbour.  Prisoner at Chilcothe, Kentucky but returned to Canada to take part in battle of Lundy’s Lane.

Robert Nichol's Brilliant Career And Untimely Demise

Robert Nichol (c. 1774 - 1824) plaque for "The Man Who Would Be Quartermaster."

Source

"His death was caused by falling over the precipitous bank of the Niagara river between Niagara Falls and Queenston one stormy night at at the beginning of May, 1824, his funeral to Stamford cemetery taking place on the 6th.  He was married to [Mrs.] Theresa Wright on December 21, 1811."

Gorsuch Family Near Gunpowder Falls

From "The Gorsuch and Lovelace Families (Continued)":

 ...Gerard [Jerit] 8 Gorsuch* (Nicholas 7 , John", Thomas 5 , Charles 4 ). In 1829 he inherited from his uncle Richard Gorsuch with his sister Sarah a lot at Fells Point. 1816, Gerard Gorsuch and his wife Jane make a conveyance of property (Balto. Deeds W.G.No.l39;224). It was probably this Gerard Gorsuch who was a 3rd Lieutenant in the War of 1812 (Marine's British Invasion of Maryland). He was said to have been living in New Orleans about 1840.

Source

"Thomas Gorsuch...married...granddaughter of Edward [Day] and Rebecca Young.... ".  Note: Edward Day was a descendant of Nicholas Day as am I.

The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815 (link added):
Gorsuch, Gerard. 3d Lieutenant in Capt. Bunbury's Sea Fencibles

Source

The Orderly Book Blog

The Orderly Book [blog], Chronicling the War of 1812 and other forgotten or obscure history.


"...issues of the Kentucky Gazette...has been archived and is available to peruse at the Kentucky Digital Library."  

I followed the Kentucky Digital Library and found this random example:

Kentucky gazette (Lexington, Ky. : 1809), July 20, 1813

Source

This blog post (6 January 2014) for the Orderly Book focused on Detroit's first mayor!

Aquila Randall Monument

From the State of Maryland's Star-Spangled 200 organization's website:

"On Baltimore County’s historic Patapsco Neck near the intersection of Old North Point and Old Battle Grove roads stands the second oldest known military monument in Maryland, the third in the United States. It is also the least known and visited War of 1812 monument."

The Allen Browne blog also has a post about the monument and the events surrounding it.

An historical marker database also included the marker, and indicated that it was the "Aquila Randall Obelisk, Also Known as the Ross Monument."

Source

Bladensburg Archaeology....

...on a site found here (affiliated with the University of Maryland).

Source Of Bladensburg, Maryland, Battle Map

From the Bladensburg Archaeology blog:

"At the moment there are no excavations being conducted in Bladensburg. The analysis and results from the 2008-2010 excavations are nearly complete."

From one of my earlier posts, Excavation At Bladensburg.

More at the National Park Service:

"...Bladensburg, Maryland...a seemingly ordinary suburban community located approximately two miles to the northeast of the Washington, DC border, has a rich and varied history that stretches back 250 years."

Photos.

PBS has a Digging into the War of 1812 at Bladensburg, MD, here.

Soldiers Buried At Thames Battlefield

From The battle of the Thames: in which Kentuckians defeated the British, French ...:

Mound of Battlefield of the Thames where the dead soldiers were buried.

An article, from a Chatham, Ontario, newspaper, added this:

"....those who fell in battle were either left on the field for locals to deal with, or hastily buried by their comrades.  Such was the fate of Privates [William] Hardwick and Foster Bartlett.  ...the fact is, they are here, somewhere. Even more startling than that fact though, is the realization that they're not alone. ...not just...the Americans, who were the victors of the battle. The remains of British soldiers and their Indian allies no doubt also lie beneath Chatham-Kent soil, unmarked. Nobody knows exactly how many people died in battle that day, but it looks like between 38 and 78 casualties were recorded altogether."

The Kentucky Guard blog mentioned William Hardwick and Foster Bartlett and the search for their burial sites.  Even DNA is requested via Facebook in Henry County, Kentucky, for Bartlett relatives!