View Of Queenston Road About 1824

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A Verse Commemorating Perry

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The Pennsylvania Line

The Pennsylvania Line

Title: Southwestern Pennsylvania in song and story: with notes and illustrations

Author: Cowan, Frank, 1844-1905

Collection: Historic Pittsburgh Text Collection

Samuel Reid, Naval Hero

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A finding aid for the Samuel Chester Reid papers can be found at the Library of Congress site.

A poem touting the heroics of Samuel Reid:

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An Enterprising Brig

A poem from the History of Boothbay, Southport...:

Also see The Enterprise And The Boxer.

Drama At Toronto Bay

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An excerpt from The battle of York; ...:

The Parliament had but recently completed its sittings and festivities were still being maintained. A little girl of six narrated that her mother, Mrs. Grant Powell, had issued invitations for a party on the evening of the 26th, the supper table had been laid and she had been dressed to see the company arrive. Only one lady and no gentlemen came, when later on her father hurried in saying the American fleet had been sighted, and he and the other volunteers had been ordered under arms. Then may have come the scene so graphically told by our poet, Charles Mair, in the stirring lines in his Drama of Tecumseh.

"What news afoot? Why every one's afoot and coming here 

York's citizens are turned to warriors 

The learned professions go a-soldiering 

And gentle hearts beat high for Canada. 

For, as you pass, on every hand you see 

Through the neglected openings of each house 

Through doorways, windows, our Canadian maids 

Strained by their parting lovers to their breasts, 

And loyal matrons busy round their lords 

Buckling their arms on, or, with tearful eyes 

Kissing them to the war." 

Poem Fredoniad

The Fredoniad:

Invocation

...In consequence of the calamities at Raisin, offensive operations are deferred until the return of Spring....

The scene is laid at the above-mentioned place.

The time is about ten months: from the commencement of the War, June 18th, 1812, until the Spring of 1813. From the time the Essex enters Valparaiso, till the day of Battle, is forty-six hours.

A sample of verses:

On the same morn of the disastrous day,

Which wrapp'd the martyrs in their robes of clay,

Shelby commanded Croghan from his rest,

And him, like father to a son, address'd:

Thy youthful warriors marshal, and proceed

To strengthen Lewis at his pressing need.

His heart, all anxious, palpitates with pain

To meet the foe, progressing on the plain. 

Poem Celebrating Perry's Victory

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

And bid them remember

The tenth of September,

When our eagle came down from her home in the sky,

And the souls of our ancients were marshall'd on high.

Wrote A Song About It

The identity of a soldier in an unknown soldier grave on Route 5 in Caledonia, Livingston County, New York, is actually not a mystery.  As noted at FindAGrave:

Although officially an "Unknown Soldier", this is generally believed to be the burial site of one Private John Alexander, murdered by a fellow soldier, Private William Comfit. The site is believed to be the encampment site of a troop of American soldiers on their way from Buffalo to Sackett's Harbor.

A poem put to song, "The Faded Coat of Blue," was appropriate for the Civil War era, but was written as a tribute to Livingston County's unknown soldier.  Four verses of the poem, written by a Caledonia poet, is inscribed on the grave marker.

[Source]

However, there is a mystery surrounding the grave.  As noted in a newspaper article, it's the mystery of a plant growing on the grave.

The flower, called the Blue Gentian, is said to be commonly found in areas where soldiers’ bodies are buried, and only along the Atlantic coast. The Blue Gentian no longer blooms at the gravesite, but the story still intrigues all those who read of it. [Source]

A Poetic Tribute To Sir Peter Parker

From The Poems Of Philip Freneau: poet...

Sir Peter Parker, commander of the British Frigate Meneions [Menelaus], was prominent for a month in the blockading squadron in Chesapeake Bay during the summer of 1814. After the burning of Washington he was ordered down the bay "but Sir Peter said he 'must have a frolic with the yankees before he left them' and on the 30th of August after dancing and drinking they proceeded to the sport and made a circuitous route to surprise Col. Read encamped in Moore's fields not far from Georgetown X Roads on the eastern shore of Maryland. The Colonel was fully apprised of their proceedings. . . . The ground was obstinately contended for nearly an hour when the enemy retreated leaving thirteen killed and three wounded on the field. It is ascertained that they carried off seventeen others among whom was Sir Peter who, with several others, are since dead." —Niles' Register.

Ohioans' Belief About British Instigation In A Poem

Notes On The Ohio Militia during the War of 1812 by James T. Brenner, included a poem about British instigated attacks:

Lots of details about the status and organization of the Ohio militia, too.

Old Ironsides Poem

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