Reenactors In The Cold At River Raisin

Out in the cold, reenactors at the (new) River Raisin National Battlefield Park.  It's not actually a new park, but the National Park designation is new.

War of 1812 In Song

"Same Latitude As Rome," a group of singers and songwriters from Essex County, Ontario, Canada, have songs with a War of 1812 theme, including Capture of The Cuyahoga Packet , that can be heard online.

Cherokee Bill

From the Flint Daily Journal, Friday, June 25, 1920, on Page 32:

CHEROKEE BILL BORN JUNE, 1797 OLDEST NATIVE

Grand Junction, Colo. - June 25 - Cherokee Bill, veteran of the plains and soldier in the war of 1812, has just celebrated his 123rd birthday at the county home here.  Cherokee Bill is the only name he knows.  In the early days of the country he fought with bow and arrow with the aborigines and even used that primitive weapon, he says, when he fought the British in 1812, enlisting in the Army when he was 15 years old.  He was born June 6, 1797, and was twice listed in the United States census as the oldest native in America.  The aged Indian recently made a cap for himself out of the down of cat-tails and wears this proudly when he hobbles along the streets occasionally with the aid of a cane he has owned since the Civil War.  He is getting feeble, though he still has a good appetite. 

The Associated Press story can also be seen here at Google.

War of 1812 Casualty Database

A War of 1812 casualty database:

Wordless Wednesday - Fort Meigs Monument

Veterans Buried In Monroe County, MI

One (partial) example on the list of War of 1812 veterans buried in Monroe County, Michigan, from the Monroe Library website:

James Bentley . Born Nov. 5, 1784 in England, he died Aug. 13, 1864. He married Amanda Barker, born Dec. 12, 1800, on Jan. 31, 1816. She died Apr. 18, 1889, in Monroe. They are buried in St. Paul's Cemetery in Monroetown. Mr. Bentley served as a non-commissioned officer under Gen. James Winchester and his wife was a witness to the war. As a British soldier at the ill-famed Battle of Copenhagen, Mr. Bentley deserted, as did many of his comrades, and in 1803 came to the River Raisin.

Doolittle's Tavern Plaque

Doolittle's Tavern, Headquarters of Gov. Meigs during the quartering of General Hull's army at Urbana [Ohio] in the War of 1812.

It was Benjamin Doolittle's tavern.

Christmas Circa 1812

Read an article about Christmas In The British Army During The War of 1812 here.

William Henry Harrison Medallion

Harrison Medallion On Display At The Baxter Springs, Kansas, Museum.

1st U.S. Infantry & Missouri Rangers Reenactors Site

A War of 1812 bibliography and pictures of artifacts can be found at the 1st U.S. Infantry site:

Daughters Of 1812 Library And Museum

See a virtual tour of the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 library and museum located in Washington, D.C. at their website.

Wordless Wednesday - Red, White And Blue War of 1812 Uniform

From an NPS display:

Cornell University's War Of 1812 Related Collection

War of 1812 related items at Cornell University.

Shelby's Campaign To Canada

From The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812...

From Outlines of the Life and Public...

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby presented to Major General William Henry Harrison and Isaac Shelby. late Governor of Kentucky, and through them to the officers and men under their command, for their gallantry and good conduct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces under Major General Proctor on the Thames, in Upper Canada, on the 6th day of October, 1813, capturing the British army, with their baggage, camp equipage. and artillery...".

John Dobyns In The Kentuckians' Campaign To Canada

 Found an extract of a will for a War of 1812 veteran, John Dobyns:

Muhlenberg Co., KY, Wills, p. 16
John Dobyns, dec’d settlement Oct 4, 1815
Commissioners James Rice and Richard Thompson
Admin: Lew Dobyns (& Richard Thompson)
Credit by cash received for the service of John Dobyns in the campaign of Governor Shelby to CanadaApproved by Jany Cty Ct 1817
Book II pgs 68-69

From a Muhlenberg-related website:
Roll of Captain Lewis Kincheloe'sCompany In Kentucky Mounted Volunteer Militia,
commanded by Colonel William Williams.
Enlisted at Newport, Kentucky, September 11, 1813.
(This company took part in the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813.)
Officers
Lewis Kincheloe, Captain.
Charles F. Wing, Lieutenant. John Dobyns, Ensign.John W. Langley, Corporal.

The Forts At Point Peter

Point Peter, where the "Forgotten Invasion" of the War of 1812 transpired, is near St. Mary's, Georgia and the present-day Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.

The last sentence on the plaque: It appears that in the War of 1812, Fort Pickering was built on the Fort Tonyn site.  In a search for information about Fort Pickering, three forts of that name were found; one in Georgia, another in Massachusetts and a third in Tennessee.

This site believes the information on the plaque above is in error:
NOTE: State of Georgia Historic Marker  for Point Peter - Fort Tonyn, located in St. Marys. Information appears to be in error. British Fort Tonyn (1776) was located in East Florida, one mile east of King's Ferry. Fort Pickering (1814) was located further upriver at Coleraine.

 This August 17, 1796, letter from the Papers of the War Department stated that Fort Washington at Point Peter [was] still not garrisoned.

Put-in-Bay In A Picture And A Poem

From Songs, Odes, and Other Poems On National Subjects: Naval:

Drummond Hill Cemetery

Does the Drummond Hill Cemetery (Battle of Lundy's Lane area) have a ghostly presence?  See YouTube.

Wordless Wednesday - Uniforms On Display

Uniforms of the War of 1812 from an exhibit at the Cumberland Island National Park Service Museum:

What Would Benjamin Franklin Say?

[Benjamin] Franklin would have called it [the War of 1812] the War of Independence, for it is related that when he heard someone speak of "The War of Independence" (1776) he said, "Sir, you mean the Revolution, the War of Independence is yet to come." [Source]

Robert B. McAfee, War Veteran And Author

Captain Robert Breckenridge McAfee, a veteran of the War of 1812, from Kentucky, was the author of History of the Late War in the Western Country.

War of 1812 Era Ships

From the Cumberland Island NPS Museum's collection:

The Constitution Of U.S. Frigate Constitution

Diagram of the construction of the Constitution from a display at Cumberland Island National Park Service Museum:

Was There A Fort McNair Near St. Mary's, Ohio?

I first encountered Fort McNair information on a RootsWeb message board:

McNair was assigned to the 4th Regiment of Kentucky infantry, one of several militia groups who moved into this area (Northwest Ohio) in the Fall of 1812. I too have seen the references Micah Taul made about McNair being ordered 12 miles from St. Marys. I ran across one of his letters to the commander at Fort Amanda about 8 miles downstream from McNairs "fort."

Captain David D. McNair and Taul's companies were assigned to Colonel Joshua Barbee's Kentucky regiment.  McNair's company was comprised of Cumberland County, Kentucky, residents.

Perhaps McNair's "fort" was built as the result of the following directive (found in the Indiana Historical Collection..):

"Capt. McNair is sent to the last, with directions to build storehouses &. The roads are so extremely bad and the water have been so high as to render it impossible for waggons or horses to travel, not a waggon has arrived at this place for two weeks and but few pack horses & those returning from the advanced posts." 

The Papers of Thomas S. Jesup - POW

From the Thomas S. Jesup papers at the Manuscript Collection at the Clements Library:

Thomas Sydney Jesup (1788-1860) - At the beginning of the War of 1812, he served as adjutant general to Brigadier General William Hull. He was taken prisoner at the surrender of Detroit, but was exchanged shortly after and served with distinction as a major in the battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Lundy's Lane, where he was wounded.

...six items document Jesup's parole and exchange after being taken prisoner in the War of 1812.

1812 Service Of Nathan Boone, Daniel's Son

From Genealogy: a Journal of American ancestry...:

Boone and his Company of Missouri Rangers.

Per an e-mail I received (June 9, 2012), there was another Nathan Boone who served in the War of 1812 who was not Daniel Boone's son.  Haven't sorted it out yet, but wanted to update this blog post.

Lieutenant Colonel Micah Taul (1785 - 1850)

When Governor Shelby called for volunteers in 1813 Captain Taul was amongst the earliest to respond, and in Wayne County [Kentucky] he quickly organized a company of more than eighty men, who unanimously chose him as their captain.  [From The Battle of the Thames...:]

The Memoirs of Micah Taul can be found at Appalachian State University (and the Univ. of KY).  After the War of 1812 Micah Taul lived in Winchester, [Franklin Co.] Tennessee, before removing to Alabama.  There were several references to Taul (as an attorney) in Revolutionary War pension applications from Franklin Co., Tennessee.  Micah Taul's son, Thomas (1802-1829), was killed in Franklin County, TN, by his [Thomas's] brother-in-law, Rufus Anderson, and the accused was acquitted of murder.

Did Taul know any of my Tennessee relatives in Franklin County?  The Rices, Hinds, Acklins?  Colonel Taul's memoirs included a reference to the Lee family.  Could it be a reference to the Lee sisters who married into my Acklin family (though not my direct line)?  Hope to eventually read the memoirs and find out.

Forgotten Invasion

A Banner at the Cumberland Island NPS Museum in St. Marys, Georgia, serves as a reminder to visitors of the "Forgotten Invasion"  - the skirmish at Point Peter.

Admiral Cockburn Captured Cumberland Island

From History of the Late War....

While...bloody affairs transpired on the Mississippi Admiral Cockburn was pursuing a more lucrative and less dangerous warfare along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia.  He took possession of Cumberland island and menacing Charleston and Savannah, sent out detachments which met with various success... .

Jim's pictures from Cumberland Island

From the National Park Service:

Cumberland Island National Seashore, St. Marys, GA: In January 1815, British Admiral George Cockburn arrived on Cumberland Island. Unaware that the War of 1812 was over (the Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814), Cockburn began operations against the Georgia coast and liberated hundreds of slaves. Cockburn’s force left the island in March 1815, and took the freed slaves with them. Ruins of the Dungeness Plantation, which Cockburn used as his headquarters, and other military sites associated with the British occupation of the island are preserved within the park.

Major Jessup And The Articles Of Capitulation

From The City of Detroit....


A copy of the articles of capitulation was handed to Maj. Thomas S. Jessup...

From the Report of the trial of Brigadier. Gen. Hull...:

Q:  What were the conduct and sensations of the troops when you read the articles of capitulation to them?

The POW Experience

 From Objects of Concern: Canadian Prisoners Of War....

The Canadian experience with POW's from the War of 1812 to the Boer War gave them (the Canadians) a mistaken impression of developing trends... .

During the War of 1812, there was a "prevalance of parole and exchange..."

John Richardson's POW experience in Chillicothe, Ohio, was referenced.  He was captured at Moraviantown in Ontario in October 1813.


Most American soldiers captured at Queenston were paroled to Boston; however some  British-born American soldiers were sent to England to be tried for treason.  That triggered an escalating "hostage" situation by both sides regarding their POW's.  The POW's were never actually tried for treason.

From the Life of Andrew Jackson: