Pigeon Roost Massacre

...Pigeon Roost massacre...:

"There are appended here two accounts of the Pigeon Roost massacre, which seem to give some details not found in Dillon's History of Indiana worthy of preservation." [Source here]

The Pigeon Roost Massacre was featured on YouTube here.

"A body of Kickapoos and Winnebagoes attempted to gain admission to Fort Harrison, on the 3d of September. Captain Zachary Taylor, the commandant, kept the garrison on the alert. On the day following, an assault was made and the enemy gallantly repulsed. Foiled in this, the Indians [in the pay of the British government] fell upon the settlements on the Pigeon Roost Fork of White River and cruelly tortured and murdered twenty- one men, women and children."

"An escort of provisions of 13 men was surprised near Fort Harrison and cut to pieces. In Illinois and Missouri the most outrageous cruelties were committed and many of the settlements were completely deserted." [Source]

Also see History of the Pigeon Roost massacre here.

Maryland, My Maryland

Source

Source

See the War of 1812 in Charles County Maryland Muster Rolls on YouTube (screenshot above).

British Ships Built At Malden

Source - Page 299

View of Malden

British Officers On The Penobscot

British Military Uniforms [YouTube]

The Maine Historical Magazine, Volume 3

Forty Mile Creek

Forty Mile Creek - Screenshot From YouTube

From Reminiscences, 1780 to 1814, Including Incidents in the War of 1812-14 ...:

We continued our march through mud and mire, it sometimes required six teams to drag our baggage wagons and artillery; the day was extremely warm, and we were obliged to repair several bridges before we could cross the streams. We halted in the evening at 'Forty Mile' Creek. A detachment of boats with provisions and ammunition had followed our march. They were discovered by Commodore _____and we dispatched the schooners to destroy them.

My ancestors settled in the "Forty Mile" Creek (Grimsby, Ontario, Canada) area [near the Niagara area].

When Talbot Employed Sauve Qui Peut

Source

During the war with the United States, in 1812, Colonel [Thomas]Talbot commanded the militia of the District, a force then not numerous; and this Western portion of Canada, was more indebted for safety to the difficulty of supporting an army in it, and of finding an enemy, than, to the force, which could be brought together to repel an attack. Therefore, only marauding parties found their way into the settlement more in search of plunder, than with any view of fighting.

On one occasion, one of these marauding parties, commanded by a man named Walker, presented themselves at Port Talbot, and summoned the garrison to surrender. The garrison, it may be conceived, was not very formidable, there being no fortifications or troops, except a few of the yeomanry. The sudden appearance of these brigands, left not much time for consultation, and Capt. Paterson, who commanded the yeomanry or militia, intimated to Colonel Talbot, that as defence was out of the question, sauve qui peut [translated to "save himself who can"] should be the order of the day, and that he, (the Colonel) of all others, ought not to be found at home, to grace the triumph of a lawless horde. [Source]

Battle Of Burnt Corn

Source

"The first definite act of armed warfare between the inhabitants of the Mississippi Territory and the Creek Nation was the battle of Burnt Corn on July 27, 1813.  The Creeks, numbering about 300 picked warriors, had gathered in camp at the Holy Ground according to information given out by General James Wilkinson, who was soon to leave for his new post in Canada."

The Battle of Burnt Corn has its own Facebook site and is on YouTube.

Fort St. Philip

Source

Fort St. Philip on YouTube (actually a Travel Channel video) and a blurb from the NPS.  We could see Fort St. Philip on our visit to Fort Jackson on the opposite side of the river.

An Unintended Sacrifice

1812 Working Replica Boat - YouTube

From Historic Pittsburgh:

"Mr. [Brintnall] Robbins was not only unfortunate in his ship building venture, but he also never recovered payment for the boats which he built to carry General Scott's troops across the Niagara into Canada, during the War of 1812.  He died at Greensburg, Pa., in 1837." [Source]

Celebrating An 1812 Christmas

Source - YouTube

In 2012 Grimsby, Ontario, Canada, a town where my Canadian ancestors lived in the early 1800's, celebrated "Christmas in Grimsby, 1812," according to this Visitor's Guide.

MacDonnell, Brock's Fallen Aide

John Macdonell according to Wikipedia:

"Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonell of Greenfield (19 April 1785 – 14 October 1812) was an aide-de-camp to British Major General Sir Isaac Brock during the War of 1812, dying in the Battle of Queenston Heights."

Source - Lt. Col. John Macdonnell

From The Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier ..:

A song was written about Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonell entitled Macdonell on the Heights (also on YouTube).

Raid On Gananoque

From Wikipedia: "On September 21, 1812, during the War of 1812, a United States force of some 200 regulars and militia under Captain Benjamin Forsyth attacked Gananoque, Ontario. The village was an important forwarding point for supplies moving up the St. Lawrence River from Montreal to Kingston ... ."


The War of 1812 website, "A Tranquil River No More: The Raid on Gananoque 1812," by Robert Henderson has two interesting drawings of the area included in the narrative (excerpted below):

"It had been a surprisingly long journey from Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario... .  Avoiding open water would have been a necessity.   If they happened upon one of the many British gunboats patrolling the river, they would have to quickly land and take cover on one of the islands.  Stories of British Indian allies lurking behind every tree likely played on their imagination as the forest made eerie shadows on the dark waters of the St. Lawrence."

See the YouTube version of The Raid on Gananoque (picture above from YouTube).

Fort Ball

Source

The history of Tiffin dates back to 1812. ...Frost Parkway, near Miami Street, marks the site of Fort Ball, a military depot of the war of 1812.

Fort Ball on YouTube.

Battle Of Longwoods

The Battle of Longwoods took place on March 4, 1814, in Canada, and was won by the United States.

Screenshot From YouTube

The Upper Thames Military Reenactment Society hosts a reenactment of the Battle Of Longwoods.  See a reenactment on YouTube (a more recent reenactment here on YouTube).

Portsmouth Historical Sites, Part I

War of 1812 Portsmouth Historical Sites, Part I from YouTube (excerpts below):

Fort Norfolk

Fort Norfolk Image From YouTube

Fort Norfolk, From Humble Beginnings, a YouTube video.

Reviewing The Civil War Of 1812

The Buffalo Rising blog featured a review of Civil War of 1812, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor...., and stated this about the book:

"In deeply researched, clearly written prose, the author details a world of slippery alliances and porous
 boundaries."  "This is a fascinating and fact-filled look at a war that was the precursor to a much larger Civil War."

There is a wonderful review of this book on YouTube with several interesting pictures and scenes (book cover taken from YouTube).

Another review can be found here.

Defenders Day In Maryland

September 12th is Defenders Day which is celebrated in Maryland.  It commemorates the Battle of Northpoint (and encompasses the Battle of Baltimore and the events at Fort McHenry).

According to the National Park Service site:

On September 12, 1914, the 100th anniversary of the British attack against Fort McHenry, 6500 local school children cloaked in red, white and blue, formed a giant replica of the Flag, which was appropriately named, “The Wonderful Human Flag.”

Here was the itinerary for Defenders Day 2012.

A YouTube video of the Defenders Day celebration in 2001 here and 2011 here.

Major Richardson of the 41st Regiment

From the Richardson book, War of 1812, (Major John Richardson):

Through the influence of his father, and his grandfather Askin, he was appointed fa gentleman volunteer on the strength of the 41st Regiment, a detachment of which was in garrison at Fort Amherstburg.
41st Regiment re-enactors on YouTube.

Members of the 41st who were captured and/or deserters and where others (who wanted to go to Canada) settled after the war.

Laura Secord

 Flintlock And Tomahawk's June 24th post about the Battle Of Beaver Dams (also known as the Battle of the Beechwoods) was a reminder that Laura Secord was Canada's heroine because of that battle.

YouTube has a scene portraying Laura Secord's actions.