1807: Jenkin Ratford, Chesapeake-Leopard affair casualty

(ExecutedToday.com) On this date in 1807, the British navy hanged Jenkin Ratford from the yardarm of the HMS Halifax off the coast of Maryland — an incident destined to become a rallying cry for the United States in the ill-fated War of 1812. Continued

'Our Good Frank's Patriotic Song'

 

(Historynet) On September 1, 1814, after the British had left the city of Washington in flames, the noted D.C. lawyer Francis Scott Key rode from his stately home in Georgetown to the White House. Key, 35, came to the torched presidential mansion to ask permission to undertake a delicate mission involving a longtime family friend, Dr. William Beanes, a prominent local surgeon.
A few days earlier, British troops had raided several farms just east of Washington, including Beanes'. The physician then organized a posse that captured several British soldiers and threw them in a local jail. One escaped and returned with company the next night, August 28, capturing Beanes and two other Americans—Dr. William Hill and Philip Weems. The men were rousted from their beds at midnight and forced to ride 35 miles to Benedict in southern Maryland, where the British were about to embark for Baltimore. Continued

The odd objects looted from Washington DC in 1814

 

 

(BBC) Other than an off-colour tweet and subsequent apology by the British Embassy, the bicentennial of the punitive mission of 1814 that left the US capital in flames has received little attention this week.
The burning was one of the final events of the often-forgotten War of 1812, a conflict which saw the US try and fail to grab bits of Canada and Britain try and fail to blockade the US. British troops torched the White House, Treasury and parts of the Capitol Building in a punitive mission near the end of the war. They also looted what they could, effectively collecting "souvenirs".
After the attack, the Royal Navy sailed to Bermuda with their spoils, included four paintings of King George III and Queen Charlotte, a grandfather clock and President James Madison's personal government receipt book. Continued

Harford begins flying War of 1812 flag at county buildings

(Aegis) A 15-star, 15-stripe War of 1812 commemorative American flag was raised in front of the Harford County administrative building in Bel Air Thursday afternoon, one of five that will fly over county government buildings for the next 22 months.
Executive Order 13-3, issued by Harford County Executive David Craig, directs that the commemorative War of 1812 flag also will be flown at the Harford County Council building in Bel Air, the Harford County Courthouse, the McFaul Activity Center in Bel Air and the Havre de Grace Activity Center.
In recognition of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and Harford County's involvement in the conflict, Craig's order states the War of 1812 Commemorative flag will continue to flown at those locations through Dec. 24, 2014, the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent that ended the war. Continued

Dr. Langley to Discuss War of 1812 Maritime Archaeology at Society on April 13

(WoCCP) Star-Spangled Archaeology: Commemorating the War of 1812 Through Maritime Archaeology, a recently added lecture, will wrap up the inaugural year of the Society’s Winter Speakers Series. Taking place on Saturday, April 13th at 2:00, the speaker, State Underwater Archaeologist Susan Langley, is sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council and the Maryland War of 1812 Commission.
The waters of the Chesapeake conceal many hidden treasures, and Dr. Langley will help us dive into the subject of those submerged cultural resources. Continued

Jefferson's Library

(LoC) After capturing Washington, D.C. in 1814, the British burned the U.S. Capitol, destroying the Library of Congress and its 3,000-volume collection. Thomas Jefferson, in retirement at Monticello, offered to sell his personal library to the Library Committee of Congress in order to rebuild the collection of the Congressional Library.
Jefferson's library not only included over twice the number of volumes as had been destroyed, it expanded the scope of the library beyond its previous topics—law, economics, and history—to include a wide variety of subjects in several languages. Continued

James McHenry

(Wikipedia) James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) was an early American statesman. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland and the namesake of Fort McHenry. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Maryland, and the third United States Secretary of War (1796–1800), under presidents George Washington and John Adams. Continued 

 

 

Burning of Washington

(LoC) On August 19, 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops under the command of Major General Robert Ross and Rear Admiral George Cockburn landed at Benedict, Maryland, on the shores of the Patuxent River.
The British fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, had chased U.S. Commodore Joshua Barney's flotilla into the Patuxent River, but the true goal was the capture of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. — only a few days march away.
At the same time, Vice Admiral Cochrane ordered Captain James Gordon to sail other British warships up the Potomac River towards Washington which was defended only by Fort Warburton (later renamed Fort Washington) on the east bank of the river, twelve miles south of the nation's capital. News of this British onslaught caused panic in Washington and many of its residents fled. Continued

The War of 1812

(LoC) On June 18, 1812, President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain, marking the beginning of the War of 1812. Frustrated by Britain's maritime practices and support of Native American resistance to western expansion, the U.S. entered the war with ambitious plans to conquer Canada, a goal that was never realized.
The strength of the British army proved too great for U.S. forces. Both on land and at sea, U.S. troops suffered great losses. In August 1814, British troops entered Washington, D.C., and burned the Capitol and the White House. By December, both the Americans and the British recognized that it was time to end the conflict. Representatives of the two nations met in Belgium on December 24 and signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war and restored previously recognized boundaries between the United States and British territory in North America. Continued

War of 1812 bicentennial: USA shrugs as Canada goes all out

(USA Today) When the first big battle of the War of 1812 is re-enacted this fall, the U.S. 1st Artillery regiment will mount an ear-splitting barrage. The Yanks will point their cannons at British redcoats across the Niagara River in Canada. They will wear blue. They will curse King George. Unlike 200 years ago, they will all be Canadians.

Many Americans aren't that into the War of 1812 — not like Canadians, anyway — so the latter often play the former in re-enactments along the international border here. Continued

Archaeologist Searh For War of 1812 Fort at Elk Landing

(WoCCP) Dozens of people from the Archeological Society of Maryland were at Elk Landing on this beautiful Sunday afternoon working to dig up new clues about Fort Hollingsworth and the pre-historic period at a strip of land located at the confluence of the Big and Little Elk creeks. The former farm and Chesapeake Bay port bustled with activity as professional and avocational investigators carefully scrapped, swept and sifted the soil with small trowels, brushes and other hand-tools looking for the smallest fragments of evidence that might shed light on the past. Continued

Stephen Decatur

(Wikipedia) Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. (5 January 1779 – 22 March 1820) was an American naval officer notable for his heroism in the Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812. He was the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy, and the first American celebrated as a national military hero who had not played a role in the American Revolution. Decatur was born on January 5, 1779, in Berlin, Maryland, to Stephen Decatur, Sr. and his wife Ann (Pine) Decatur. Continued

Harford, Cecil counties tell their stories from War of 1812

(Baltimore Sun) ... on May 3, 1813, the British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and set fire to Havre de Grace homes and businesses. The invaders razed the nearby Principio Furnace, which had manufactured some of the first cannons for the U.S. Navy.
The counties and their towns will tell such stories through their museums, battle recreations, site tours and a Star Spangled trail. Continued

Teaching War of 1812 to be subject of Saturday workshop in Havre de Grace

(exploreharford) Teachers from Harford and Cecil counties and Baltimore City and the general public will gather at the Havre de Grace High School auditorium Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon to immerse themselves in the new War of 1812 curriculum that has been developed to mark the conflict's bicentennial.
In the afternoon, teachers will be free to visit the five Havre de Grace history museums to explore field trip options. The city is also holding its annual Graw Days celebration Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Continued

The Burning of Washington

(LoC) On August 19, 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops under the command of Major General Robert Ross and Rear Admiral George Cockburn landed at Benedict, Maryland, on the shores of the Patuxent River.
The British fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, had chased U.S. Commodore Joshua Barney's flotilla into the Patuxent River, but the true goal was the capture of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. — only a few days march away.
At the same time, Vice Admiral Cochrane ordered Captain James Gordon to sail other British warships up the Potomac River towards Washington which was defended only by Fort Warburton (later renamed Fort Washington) on the east bank of the river, twelve miles south of the nation's capital. News of this British onslaught caused panic in Washington and many of its residents fled. Continued

Ottawa to tread carefully in War of 1812 commemorations

(The Globe and Mail) It’s a sticky question. Exactly how should Canada commemorate the 200th anniversary of a war in which our predecessors repelled an invasion by the United States – now this country’s closest ally and most valued trading partner?
The bicentennial of the War of 1812 is fast approaching. It’s a major formative event in Canada’s history – but like all wars, was wrenching and destructive. Both the White House and early Parliament buildings in Upper Canada were torched during the conflict. Continued

Couple restores historic log home in Aberdeen

(Baltimore Sun) In 1988, with only three months to relocate from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to Aberdeen, Stephen Hoffman and his wife, Sharon, set out to find a house in Maryland.
The couple started their search with a historic house in Harford County that had been recorded in the Aberdeen Heritage Trust. According to the entry, the "Cole House" was originally a small log house, built in the mid-1700s on a parcel of some 100 acres that had been deeded to Col. James Cole. Continued

Patrick Gass

Patrick Gass (June 12, 1771 – April 2, 1870) served as sergeant in the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1801-1806). He was important to the expedition because of his service as carpenter and he published the first journal of the expedition in 1807, seven years before the first publication based on Lewis and Clark's journals. Continued

Memorial Day

(LoC) In 1868, Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic issued General Order Number 11 designating May 30 as a memorial day "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land."
The first national celebration of the holiday took place May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery, where both Confederate and Union soldiers were buried. Originally known as Decoration Day, at the turn of the century it was designated as Memorial Day. In many American towns, the day is celebrated with a parade.
Southern women decorated the graves of soldiers even before the Civil War's end. Records show that by 1865, Mississippi, Virginia, and South Carolina all had precedents for Memorial Day. Songs in the Duke University collection Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 include hymns published in the South such as these two from 1867: "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping," dedicated to "The Ladies of the South Who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead " and "Memorial Flowers," dedicated "To the Memory of Our Dead Heroes." Continued

Website Promotes People, Places & Events of 1812 War

(WoCCP) Oh, say can you see…. Maryland’s bi-centennial commemoration of the War of 1812 making its way to the Upper Bay Region? A website http://www.upperbay1812.com/ has been developed to share the history, notable people and places of the War of 1812 Upper Bay or Chesapeake Campaign.
A steering committee of stakeholders from both Harford and Cecil Counties is working to capitalize on the events that occurred in the region during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. Maryland’s 200 year anniversary of the War presents opportunities to promote and improve the visitor experience in the Upper Bay region. Sites such as The Concord Point Lighthouse, Principio, Elk Landing, and Rodgers Tavern will help connect visitors to this National story and how it relates to the Upper Bay. Continued