Secretary Of War Armstrong

Source

President James Madison named John Armstrong to his cabinet as Secretary of War on June 14, 1813. Armstrong had served as minister to France but the appointment was really an attempt by Madison to build political alliances. Armstrong was a force in New York politics, and with so much military action taking place along the border with Canada, Madison needed the state firmly in his camp. Unfortunately, Armstrong proved to be a disastrous choice due to his political and personal shortcomings.

Armstrong’s chief qualities were described by at least one acquaintance as “obstinancy and self-conceit.”

Armstrong was the author of a book published in 1814 entitled “Hints to Young Generals.” Although he had no real military experience, this popular book established Armstrong as an expert at a time when the United States were desperate for military officers.

Bloody Drama Enacted In Baltimore

Source: Indiana University

Source: Sixty Years In A School-room

Endless Minutiae

 We had yet to learn and put in practice the endless minutiae of the police of the camp which varies according to a thousand circumstances. We had no regular soldiers until almost the close of the war.
 [Source]

Role Model For Horatio Hornblower?

Wikipedia Source -  James Alexander Gordon

The Real Hornblower (from the description at Amazon excerpted below):

"Ever since C.S. Forester's fictional hero Horatio Hornblower began to delight and enthrall readers, there has been speculation as to whether his adventures were based on the career of a real naval officer."

"However...the author had been deliberately reticent regarding a Captain James Alexander Gordon, RN, who had led his squadron up the Potomac. Further inspection of naval records revealed a startling number of parallels between the careers of Gordon and Hornblower."

Hull's Ill-Judged Actions

The War of 1812 was written by Secretary of War John Armstrong and published in 1836.  Here's Armstrong's critique of General Hull's actions in the Detroit area:

Nothing can be more ill-judged and ruinous, than to send out small parties on services which necessarily expose them to the attacks of large ones; and hence the maxim, that "the strength of a detachment should be proportioned, 1st, to the importance of the object to be obtained in sending it; and 2d, to the disposable means possessed by the enemy of embarrassing or defeating the attainment of that object."

In none of the detachments made by General Hull, were these conditions fulfilled; and in that of Major Van Horne, both were directly and grossly violated. What object could have been more important to the American army situated as it then was than the re-establishment of its communications with the State of Ohio; from which alone were to be expected reinforcements of men and supplies of provision?  And again, what fact was better ascertained than the facility with which the whole British force concentrated at Malden, and amounting to seven hundred combatants, could be brought to act upon any American detachment marching by the route of Maguago and Brownstown? Yet was Van Horne sent to fulfil that object and by this route with only two hundred militia riflemen.

The Canadians Wanted The Destruction Of Fort Wayne

Source

From the Richardson book:

"The fall of Detroit having secured the tranquility of Amherstburg and its contiguous districts, as expedition was projected into the interior of the enemy's country, the object of which was the destruction of Fort Wayne....".

Commodore Barney's Flotilla Plan

Source (Fiction)

An article about Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Bay Flotilla  can be seen at a George Mason University site.

"The Chesapeake Bay’s trade and commerce and its proximity to the United States capital attracted the interest of British war planners. Their strategy was to blockade the mouth of the bay and to raid the coastal ports and towns."

"On 4 July 1813, Joshua Barney proposed a plan to the Navy Department to build, purchase, outfit, man, and command a flying squadron of twenty barges to defend the Chesapeake Bay from further British incursions."

General George McClure's Burn

General George McClure (1777 - 1851)

Military records concerning U.S. General George McClure were found in the British Military and Naval records (index) (also here through here) in the Library and Archives Canada.

McClure, George, Brig'r Genl. U.S.A.

G.O. To retain command of troops in Forts Niagara & George; returns of prisoners, provisions &c.; restrictions on persons coming within lines of the Army; & c.

Adjt. Genl's Office, Hd. Qrs. Newark, 2-11-1813.

THE WAR OF 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence (see review here) had a chapter entitled Cyrenius Chapin to the Buffalo Gazette , subtitled "The Case Against George McClure: Niagara Frontier, December 1813."

In December, General McClure abandoned Fort George in the face of advancing British troops, after ordering the fort and the neighboring Canadian town of Newark to be burned.  The British captured Fort Niagara and retaliated by burning towns in New York.  

A quote from The War Of 1812....book:  "A spirited resistance, led in part by Lieutenant Colonel Cyrenius Chapin, defended Buffalo, but dissolved when the colonel was captured.  Six months later, upon his release from a Montreal jail, Chapin published the following indictment of McClure's command in the June 13 edition of the Buffalo Gazette."

Lieutenant Joseph C. Eldridge

One of the essays in "THE WAR OF 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence" told of "The Death Of Joseph C. Eldridge...," a lieutenant with the 13th U.S. Infantry, who was ambushed by Chief Blackbird and other Ottawa warriors.  The Ottawas, from Michigan, "joined the British army during the siege of Fort George," and that is the vicinity where was killed.  An investigation conducted by Colonel William Claus, of Canada's Indian Department, ensued at the request of the Fort George commander after it was  reported that Eldridge was tortured and killed in captivity.  Chief Blackbird's response to Colonel Claus is included.

See my review of the book here.

Eldridge street in New York City is named after Lt. Eldridge.

On 20 March 1812, Eldridge wrote to Secretary of War Eustis accepting his appointment as a second lieutenant:

Source

My First Impression (Book Edition)

In March I was contacted by the sponsoring editor of The Library of America's "THE WAR OF 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence" who indicated that a complimentary copy would be sent to me in exchange for a book review on this blog.

My first impression:

For those who enjoy cradling a book, bindings and all, and consider it part of the overall reading experience, this hard cover book's "acid free, lightweight opaque paper" is appealing to the touch.  The attached fabric bookmark was a pleasant and useful surprise.

The Table of Contents revealed that the book is organized in chronological order, which is a big plus for me (occasionally my blog posts correspond to War of 1812 events of that date, but not as often as I would wish).

The uncluttered map inside the front cover ranges from the Illinois Territory to New England (with portions of Canada included) while the maps inside the back cover depict the Gulf area and the Chesapeake Bay.  If the text mentioned Fort Harrison, Lundy's Lane or Havre de Grace, the maps are there to help with the geography.

Thank you, Library of America, for sending this treasure to me.  I hope future blog posts will do justice to Mr. Hickey's War of 1812 book.

Compiled Northern Theater Casualties

An article in the Watertown Daily Times (hat tip to NEGHS) was published December 29, 2011, and sheds light on casualties from War of 1812.

"It was a bad day and a good day for Sgt. Samuel Linnell of Pamelia.  “Wounded — hit with the breech of gun in back of head by an Indian — the Indians also tried to remove his testicles by tomahawk."  That information was found in the book, "A War of 1812 Death Register -- Whispers in the Dark"... ." 

The information in the book is "indexed by town, lists soldiers who were killed in action, captured, wounded or died from other causes. But it was the casualties at Sackets Harbor that astounded Mr. Bilow (author).

Lt. Col. Electus Backus was also mentioned in the article.

The book is available for purchase; details in the article.

Meantime The War Rolled On

From The life of John Pendleton Kennedy, a resident of Maryland during the War of 1812 years:

Meantime the war rolled on. The papers were full of stirring events. We suffered no ennui. Every day had its excitements.

In the Spring, the war began to assume a new aspect. The year 1813 was one of defeats on land. This year, 1814, our armies had more success. Our soldiers were growing more confident.

A little skirmish occurred on the Eastern Shore nearly opposite to the mouth of the Patapsco. Sir Peter Parker had been ravaging that neighborhood in small forays and was at last encountered by some of our militia under Colonel Philip Reid and was killled. There was also a little affair on West River where our militia cavalry defeated a party of British.

Mr. Kennedy also wrote about the Battle of the Ice Mound.

Forays Into Florida

Source

1811 Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue

              A

          DICTIONARY

             OF

BUCKISH SLANG, UNIVERSITY WIT,

            AND

     PICKPOCKET ELOQUENCE

The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue contains lots of interesting items, including the one below.  Was the term used during the War?

ACT OF PARLIAMENT. A military term for small beer, five pints of which, by an act of parliament, a landlord was formerly obliged to give to each soldier gratis.

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.

A Badly Managed War

From Leading Events of Maryland History:

The military operations of the war were in generally badly managed and very unsuccessful.

From a review of  The Rockets' Red Glare...

The oddest thing about the War of 1812, Hickey and Clark explain, is that such a small-scale, badly managed war produced so many of America's lasting patriotic symbols and slogans.

War of 1812 Fiction For Kids

Juvenile fiction based upon the War of 1812 are listed at the FernFolio blog, including Treason At York and A River Apart among others.

Compact History Of The War Of 1812

The War of 1812 by Harry L. Coles was published in 1966.  The book was described as such:

"This compact history of the war attempts to separate myth from reality. Professor Coles narrates the main operations on both land and sea of the three-year struggle. He examines the conflict from the British (and Canadian) as well as the American point of view, relating events in America to the larger war going on in Europe."

War Of 1812 Recommendations From LIT LISTS

Book recommendations found at Lit Lists with a link to the Wall Street Journal.