James Miller

General James Miller (1776 - 1851), a native of New Hampshire, was a Commandant at Fort Harrison, in October and November of  1811.  He was known as the Hero of Lundy's Lane.  He was also a prisoner of war (exchanged in 1813) for Lord Dacres.

In 1819 he was appointed as the first governor of the Arkansas Territory (his bio there indicated that he received a commission as a major in the Fourth United States Infantry in 1808. In command of the Twenty-first United States Infantry by the time of the War of 1812, Miller distinguished himself at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, where he was known to have said “I will try sir!”...).

Mr. Miller's portrait was found in Makers of Arkansas History...

"But it is with Nathaniel Hawthorne and General James Miller the hero of Lundy's Lane that the present Custom House is chiefly associated. General Miller was Collector of the Port from 1835 to 1849 and in 1846 Hawthorne was appointed Surveyor of Customs by the new Democratic administration.... ." [Source]

On a genealogical note:

Genealogy of the Descendants of John White of Wenham and Lancaster ..., Volume 3, mentioned General James Miller's mother:

...Martha R. Wilder occupies the home farm, and has in her possession a teakettle which her great grandmother brought on horseback from Boston, Mass.; she [the great grandmother] was the mother of Gen. James Miller, who was the hero of Lundy's Lane in the War of 1812....

James Miller was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, on April 25, 1776, to James Miller and Catharine Gregg Miller. He married Martha Ferguson, with whom he had one son, James Ferguson Miller, a noted naval officer. After Martha’s death, he married Ruth Flint.

Green Clay Collection

Housed in the Clements Library at the University of Michigan:

Title: Green Clay collection

Creator: William L. Clements Library

Inclusive dates: 1753-1818

Bulk dates: 1813

Extent: 45 items

The Green Clay collection contains letters and administrative documents related to the Kentucky militia under General Green Clay in the War of 1812. Included are letters and orders from General Samuel South, Colonel William Dudley, and Lewis Cass.

Fort Amanda is among the mentioned items.


Folder   22
1813 April 29.
AD; Fort Amanda, [Ohio]: Morning regimental report for the 13th Regiment, Kentucky Militia.

Eluding Tecumseh

From Pioneer Collections, Volume 4, by the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan (recollections of Aura P. Stewart of St. Clair County, Michigan):

After a visit of two weeks my father [Harvey Stewart] returned to Michigan and at the proper time went up to the Thames and himself his brother and five hired men entered the harvest field [at the Ransom farm in Canada] and were progressing finely in securing the grain [for the distillery].

 At this time Tecumseh was with a band of his Indian warriors stationed a few miles above where my father was at work with his men. Previous to this, war had broken out between England and the United States and my father had consulted Esquire Jacobs about his remaining in Canada long enough to secure his grain and settle some other business matters and was informed that he could and as his office was civil and military he would protect him.

But some envious and loyal person had informed Tecumseh that seven Americans were at work in a field some distance below and urged their capture. Tecumseh's feelings being hostile to all Americans, he sent sixteen of his band all mounted on horses to take my father and his men prisoners, but fortunately a friend of my father's on learning that Tecumseh was about to send a band of his warriors mounted his horse and ran him to the field where my father was at work and gave timely notice.

 The messenger told my father that he must leave the field instantly or he would be a prisoner within ten minutes. My father expressed a wish to go to the other side of the field to get his coat as it contained his pocket book papers and all of his money, but his friend insisted that it would not be safe to do so, and he and his men rushed to the river, jumped into a canoe, and rowed down as fast as possible for about a mile when my father jumped on shore at his boarding house to get his clothes.

He had just entered the house when the band of Indians came up. On seeing them the lady of the house requested my father to jump down cellar which he thought not safe to do if the house was searched. He jumped through the window and entered the harvest field where her husband was at work and went to work with the other men. The Indians were told that there were seven men in the field and when they saw the six men in the canoe they hesitated, giving them time to cross the river and enter the woods.

They found lodgings that night at a French house near the mouth of the Thames and the next day took the road leading to the river St Clair and crossing over at Harsen's island hired a friendly Indian to take them across... .

See this post also taken from the Recollections of Aura P. Stewart.

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.

Map Of The American Fleet At The Battle Of York

Map Of The Battle of York [now Toronto, Canada]

Portsmouth, Virginia's Historical Sites On YouTube

War of 1812 Portsmouth Historical Sites on YouTube:

...[An] overview of nine Portsmouth historical sites, including Ft. Nelson Park, Battle of Craney Island, Ball House, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, Hoffler Creek, Ft. Lane, Cedar Grove Cemetery, Trinity Church, and Norfolk County Court House.

More About Interments At Fort Mackinac

From Historic Mackinac:...:

There are undoubtedly in the War Department records showing all the interments but from such sources as we are able to draw on we can state that with the exception of two sailors who were drowned off this port in a wrecked steamer one of whom was a soldier in the Civil War no burials have been made in this cemetery except officers and enlisted men serving at Fort Mackinac and their families.

There are 142 interments in the cemetery 72 known and 70 unknown. Of the known interments seven are of Commissioned officers among them being Col Sellers Capt Clitz and Major Gaskill.

Was Captain Clitz's body moved?