Thursday, August 30, 2012

Posts resume Saturday

Taking tomorrow off to do some Labor Day preparation stuff for Monday...

Will get it all done on Friday, and Saturday will get back to posting in this blog.

Hope all my readers have a good Labor Day weekend!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Battle Comes To Life in Chemung County

From 18WETM:  Battle Comes To Life in Chemung County

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM-18) - The clock has been turned back more than 230 years in the woods of Chemung County. Re-enactors set up camp in Newtown Battlefield State Park to re-live the battle from the American Revolution.

Visitors can live like the soldiers did in 1779. There are bands, clothing and authentic food. The original battle was fought between United States General John Sullivan’s army and Native Americans from the Six Nations. They had sided with the British in the Revolutionary War. Sullivan's army won the battle.
"This whole history was the founding of our nation and the Indians that lived here were displaced and that is part of our culture that still resides here today," said Duane Saxon, a re-enactor who also goes by Running Raccoon.

The battle recreation will continue Sunday from 9am-4pm.
Ticket prices according to the event website are:
Adults, $5; Seniors, $3; Children ages 6 through 18, $3;
Kids under 6 admitted Free;  Family rate, $15.
(A family is considered to be 2 adult parents plus
2 to 4 kids.  More kids admitted for an additional $3 each.)

 

Monday, August 27, 2012

Texas: Chapter 57 of the SAR recruiting new members

From Kilgore News Herald:  Chapter 57 recruiting new members 

Members of Chapter 57, Texas Sons of the American Revolution, met at the Jalapeno Tree Restaurant in Longview for the August meeting. President John Bolton called the meeting to order with the pledges to the American, Texas and SAR flags. Minutes and treasurer’s reports were approved.
President Bolton asked Compatriot Dr. Warren Hunt to present the SAR EMS Award to Mike Adams of Good Shepherd Hospital EMS group for saving a life.
President Bolton welcomed and introduced the evening guests.
Compatriot Mike Everheart was asked to present one of his Revolutionary ancestors – Elias Alexander, veteran of King’s Mountain.
Everheart also introduced program speaker Major General John T. Furlow. General Furlow retired in March 2009 after serving over 30 years of distinguished service. Gen. Furlow continues to serve veterans through his active participation in veterans issues and affairs. He serves on the Tyler Veterans and Community Roundtable.
Gen. Furlow gave the history of his Clark family, who fought in many Revolutionary battles in South Carolina before moving to East Texas and serving in the Texas Revolution and the Civil War.
Gen. Furlow is an active member of Captain William Barron Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.
President Bolton announced the next meeting will be Oct. 4 at the Jalapeno Restaurant, 508 N. Eastman Rd., Longview, with dinner at 6 p.m. and meeting at 7.
The SAR chapter is recruiting new members. Any male who can trace his lineage back to a family member who served in the American Revolution is invited to attend meetings. Help is available for applications. For information, call 903-988-1591 or 903- 236-7717.

 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Stony Point Search For American Revolution Remains

From NYACK News and Views:  Stony Point Search For American Revolution Remains

In 1956, bones were found protruding from a hillside in Stony Point, NY. It wasn’t the crime of the century in this sleepy historic town but casualties from a battle fought more than two centuries ago. Excavation determined that the bones belonged to two British soldiers who died during the Battle of Stony Point, a sneak attack orchestrated by General George Washington and led by General Anthony Wayne that gave a decisive victory to the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War in July 1779. Where the other 40 soldiers who fell in battle that day were buried is still a mystery after 56 years.
Last week, 12 high school students from Newark, NJ attempted to find those missing 18th century graves using 21st century technology. Radio waves from Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), a device that looks like a lawn mower and is wheeled over the survey area, are used to probe the soil to a depth of 5-10 feet. The structure of the underlying soil is displayed on a computer monitor like a CAT scan of the earth. With a little training, the students can learn to interpret the data and identify buried features.
These students recently completed a Summer Institute on Applied Geosciences at Rutgers University in Newark. The institute is part of a project that that I started at Rutgers University in Newark with funding from the National Science Foundation to encourage minority students to consider careers in the Geosciences.
After laying out measured grids, teams of students took turns pushing the GPR over the flat areas with good soil where graves could be easily dug. Despite the 90 degree temperatures, they eagerly discussed and interpreted the data they collected and marked locations of possible graves with small orange flags. Within a few hours, the lawns had numerous flags on them. Clusters of flags indicated locations of possible multiple graves. Three of these were found right around the Stony Point Battlefield Museum. The students were thrilled that they could apply science that they learned in a classroom to solving a real historical problem. Many commented that they wished all their classes could be conducted in this manner. The experience reinforced the resolve of these urban students to become scientists despite the social pressures and economic burdens that they were facing at home. For many, the experience was transformative.
Led by graduate student Michael Bastidas, Newark Public School teacher Mohammed Kabbani, Project Coordinator Michael Kalczynski and me, the 12 students completed their field work on this project on August 17 at Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site. It’s important work with implications for the past and the future. The Geosciences are literally the worst discipline in terms of diversity and this project addresses that shortcoming by showing students the interesting and practical applications. This year, the Summer institute had 90 participants with the 12 most enthusiastic of the students taking part in this special experience.
We packed up the equipment at the end of the day and left our findings behind with the museum staff. It will take a decision by the New York State archeologist as to whether any of the identified locations will be excavated and to prove whether the students located graves or not. By then, the students will be back in Newark at school and home far from the surveying they did. Certainly, they will keep a small memory of the day at the Stony Point Battlefield and hopefully it will help them to keep their focus on science and achieving success in their lives.
Dr. Alexander E. Gates, Vice Chancellor for Research at Rutgers University, specializes in fault activity and tectonics of the Appalachians. He is the author of several books on earthquakes and volcanoes and pollution as well as about 60 professional papers. He has appeared on several documentaries including two by Discovery Channel as well as numerous local television and radio news programs whenever there is an earthquake.
Dr. Gates program to get more minority students interested in the Geosciences is now in its 6th year, funded by the National Science Foundation with additional support from ExxonMobil and collaboratorion from Kean University and the Newark Museum. The program has several parts including academic year classroom enrichment activities, an afterschool program (GeoExplorers), an annual science festival at the Newark Museum (Dinosaur Day) and a Summer Scholars Institute.

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Toconderoga, NY: Pa. professor discusses his latest Revolutionary War book as part of Ft. Ticonderoga series

From the Republic:  Pa. professor discusses his latest Revolutionary War book as part of Ft. Ticonderoga series

 TICONDEROGA, N.Y. — Fort Ticonderoga is showcasing its key place in North American history with the latest in a series of book talks.

Michael Gabriel spoke Sunday about his new book, "The Battle of Bennington: Soldiers and Civilians." He's a history professor at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

Gabriel's book tells the story of the American defeat of a combined force of German, British and Loyalist troops in a battle fought along the New York-Vermont border 235 years ago this week. The Americans' victory set the stage for their victory over the redcoats at Saratoga two months later.

Gabriel's book uses dozens of firsthand accounts to reveal little-known details of one of the American Revolution's most important battles.

 

 

Daughters of the American Revolution Magnolia Regents Council meet in Liberty

From the Vindicator:  Daughters of the American Revolution Magnolia Regents Council meet in Liberty

During the recent DAR Magnolia Regent's Council meeting held in Liberty Texas, past and current DAR regents met at the Price Daniel Meeting Room in Liberty Texas. Alana Inman, Manager of the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center was the speaker. The purpose of the Magnolia Regents council is: to promote coordination and cooperation with other Regents' councils; to exchange ideas, hopes and dreams for the Daughters of the American Revolution; and to strengthen the bonds of friendship with fellowship among DAR regents, both current and past, in the Southeast Texas area.
The DAR chapters represented in the Magnolia Regents Council are: Brazos Valley, Col. George Moffitt, Goose Creek, Heritage Trails, James Tull, Jane Long, Joanna Troutman, Lady Houston, Lady Washington, Libertad and Major Jarrell Beasley.
The newly elected officers for the Magnolia Regent's Council are: Cindy Rucker, President; Melanie Nolan, Vice President; Cindy Rasch, Chaplain; Naomi Joyner, Secretary; Nancy Brandli, Treasurer; and Pat Spackey, Historian.

 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Graham church shaped 250 years of history

From the TimesNews:  Graham church shaped 250 years of history

GRAHAM — Courts, schools, Elon University, preparation for the American Revolution and Alamance County itself share their roots at a spot just beyond the tree line at 819 N. Main St. in Graham, near the sanctuary of Historic Providence Christian Church.
In 1763, that’s where colonists built a meeting house and church from logs and brick. The site was used as a secret meeting place for strategizing in the months and years leading up to the overthrow of the British government. Later it was used as a school and housed one of the state’s first public libraries. In 1849, when Alamance County broke away from Orange County, those meetings were also held at Providence Church.
Now marking 250 years there, Providence Church is in the midst of a year-long celebration and the Daughters of the American Colonists have donated a historical marker for the site. The Virginia Dare Chapter of the Daughters of the American Colonists will dedicate the marker at a Sept. 20 ceremony.
“We’re not celebrating our building. We’re celebrating the fact that we’re a small congregation in charge of taking care of this site,” said the Rev. Darryl R. Peebles. “There’s probably no other spot around that so much came out of.”
Mary Ann Hepler, with the Virginia Dare Chapter, says churches were more than just places of worship in colonial days.
“They were places people felt safe meeting in secret. Those men were plotting things they could have been put on the nearest tree for,” Hepler said.
That colonial importance helped attract the Daughters of the American Colonists to Historic Providence Christian Church.
Peebles and the congregation have worked to piece together the history of the church and the figures and events that transpired there to create Alamance County as we know it.
Between 1763 and 1776, the meeting house was a church and school. By 1792, it was also being used as a makeshift courthouse, where a judge would travel from Hillsborough to what was then western Orange County to hold district court.
By that time, the church had become part of the Christian denomination, Peebles said. That denomination would found the Providence School, the Graham Institute and, in 1886, Elon College.
By 1850, residents met at Providence Church and voted for a poll tax to create a public library in their new county.
Looking through the church’s meeting minutes from more than 150 years ago was illuminating, he said.
In 1861, church leaders began discussing building a new house of worship on the site. There were no notes for the next four years, as those leaders fought the Civil War.
“I turned a page of the journal and it was 1865 and they were talking about the new building again. There was no mention of the war, not a moment of silence or anything. They picked up right where they left off,” Peebles said.
That building, completed in 1870, is where congregants still gather to worship weekly.
Looking through the church’s meeting minutes from more than 150 years ago was illuminating, he said.
In 1861, church leaders began discussing building a new house of worship on the site. There were no notes for the next four years, as those leaders fought the Civil War.
“I turned a page of the journal and it was 1865 and they were talking about the new building again. There was no mention of the war, not a moment of silence or anything. They picked up right where they left off,” Peebles said.
That building, completed in 1870, is where congregants still gather to worship weekly.
The Daughters of the American Colonists’ national president will attend the Sept. 20 dedication at the church. Other chapters from around North Carolina will also attend. The Daughters of the American Colonists is the third-largest genealogical organization in the country, tracing their roots back to pre-revolution days.
Historic Providence Christian Church will host numerous events celebrating its history in 2013, opening its doors to the public along with city and county leaders, Elon University, schools and families with ancestors buried in the church cemetery.

 

Berlin, CT: SAR honors Christian Boger Sr.

From Daily American:  SAR honors Christian Boger Sr.


The ceremony, which was sponsored by the Somerset-Cambria Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, honored the Revolutionary War service of Christian Boger Sr.  The Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution laid a wreath at the grave of Christian Boger. His grave has not previously been marked as that of a soldier of the Revolution.

Christian Boger served in the Lancaster County Militia along with his two brothers, Mathias and Valentine. He was raised near Annville in what is now Lebanon County. Shortly after his service in the militia, he, his wife and small children journeyed more than 100 miles from their home in Lancaster County to settle in Brothersvalley Township.

In July of 1779, he died there at the young age of 31 years 7 months. It is believed that he was the first person buried in this historical Berlin cemetery. His wife and children returned to Lancaster County after his death.

In the early 1800s, his son Christian, Jr. returned to Brothersvalley to live and raise his family. He and his wife are buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery in Brothersvalley Township.

While only a few Bogers remain today in Somerset County, many of the Haugers, Hoffmans, Lehmans, Berkleys and many others can trace their ancestry to Christian Boger. In attendance at the ceremony was fourth great-grandson Homer Boger of Meyersdale and fifth great-grandsons William Boger of Meyersdale and William Lehman of Somerset.

The program was opened by the Somerset-Cambria Chapter president, Ronald Horner. The Rev. Jay Christner, chaplain, provided the invocation, litany and benediction.

A history of the Patriot was given by William Lehman.  Providing music from the Revolution was a contingent from the Berlin Fife and Drum Corp. Also in attendance were members of the Forbes Road Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and The Sons of Union Veterans.

After the wreath laying ceremony, the crowd moved to the Trinity Lutheran Church for refreshments and the Allegiance Day Church Service.

The Reformed cemetery contains the graves of at least 10 other Revolutionary War Patriots. The flags that have been placed throughout this cemetery mark the graves of Patriots:  Simon Schunk, Johannes Hager, Jacob Glesner, Jacob Bauman, Sebastian Graff, Thomas Atcheson, Jacob Weyand Sr., Adam Miller, Simon Hay and Robert Philson.

This burial ground is well taken care of; however, the gravesites of the Revolutionary era soldiers are disappearing.  Many have been destroyed and others lost to time or neglect.  The Sons of the American Revolution will continue to be dedicated to the preservation of the final resting places of these mentioned.

 

Friday, August 17, 2012

PA: DAR grant restores roof at Gen. Gates House

From York Dispatch.com, York, PA (Not to be confused with York, VA!): DAR grant restores roof at Gen. Gates House

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution recently granted $4,299 to the York County Heritage Trust to fund the restoration of the summer kitchen roof of the Trust's General Gates House in downtown York.

The replacement of the roof will let the Trust continue to use the property for living history programs. More than 7,500 people visit the site each year, and the summer kitchen is the home of a newly constructed and fully operational bake oven that is a key component for tours and demonstrations throughout the warm months.

The grant covered the removal of the cedar shake shingles, which were decomposed after growing a significant layer of mold and moss. The roof was replaced with a historically accurate roof made from 30-year-old Western Red, hand-split cedar shakes.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

War of 1812: U.S. military blunder shapes course of continent

From The Star: War of 1812: U.S. military blunder shapes course of continent

For quarter he did call,
Saying, “Stay your hand, brave British boys,
I fear you’ll slay us all.”
— From an 1812 campfire ballad, “Come All Ye Bold Canadians.”
DETROIT—There’s a plaque on the side of the Comerica Bank building, at the corner of Fort and Shelby streets.
It tells how this spot was once the southwest bastion of Fort Lernoult, built by the British in 1778-79.
Detroit and the rest of Michigan technically became part of the United States after the American Revolution, but the British lingered until 1796 as a way of securing the region’s rich fur trade.
The rest of the plaque reads as follows:
“In 1812, Fort Lernoult was surrendered to the British, but was regained by the Americans in 1813 and renamed Fort Shelby.”
As an act of public amnesia, that little concision might be breathtaking but also, in its way, understandable.
What happens here 200 years ago is one of the biggest blunders in American military history, made all the more arresting by the bombast that precedes it.
The implications on both sides of the border will be profound, shaping the course of a continent.
A fledgling United States, then teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, is already deeply divided over plans to conquer Canada, and the huge American embarrassment at Detroit helps spawn secessionist movements across New England.
On the other side of the Detroit River, the effect is precisely opposite — a spine-stiffening moment that cements Canadian resolve in warding off American invasion, dashing former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson’s grand hopes for “the addition of Canada to our confederacy.”
For Upper Canadians, having already endured public threats and the ransacking of farms by U.S. raiding parties, it doesn’t hurt that the American general who’d authorized both would be the one to suffer such an epic and ultimately comic humiliation: William Hull.
A hero in the American Revolutionary War, William Hull had gone on to become a successful Republican politician in Massachusetts but a failed land speculator in Vermont.
He hopes to rebuild his fortune as governor of the pre-state Michigan territory, a job he lands in 1805. By early 1812, though, he’s lobbying Jefferson and then-President James Madison for the right to lead an invasion of Canada.
There is already much belligerent clamour in Washington, and by early April — more than two months before the formal declaration of war — a three-pronged strategy is set in place.
Rather than attempt a single invasion of Lower Canada via Lake Champlain, as the Americans had tried during the American Revolution, they plan simultaneous attacks on Montreal and, through Detroit and Niagara, Upper Canada.
But in picking generals to execute that plan, Madison relies on distant glory. One general, Henry Dearborn, is so old and corpulent that even his own troops privately call him “Granny.”
Hull, at 59, is of similar ilk, but with a weakness for boasting and a preening need to add as much superfluous plumage to his uniform as possible.
“If an army was made up of fiddlers and dancers and nothing else was to be done but. . . drink wine and brandy, he would make a good general to command it,” says one American officer.
Nor are Hull’s plans much of a secret. In early May, one Baltimore newspaper publishes a report from Pennsylvania that Hull is passing through on his way to Detroit, “whence he was to make a descent upon Canada with 3,000 troops.”
He raises about 1,600 militiamen in Ohio and, together with 400 regular troops, is soon embarking on his month-long journey to destiny and Detroit.
By early July, Hull’s army finally reaches the Maumee River, which flows into Lake Erie, and Hull’s foolishness begins in earnest: he decides to send his personal luggage ahead to Detroit by schooner rather than lug it overland.
Still unaware that war has been formally declared, Hull seems blithely unconcerned that the schooner will have to sail through a narrow passage on the Detroit River in full view of British cannon at Amherstburg.
But before it can get that far, the ship encounters a Canadian longboat of the Provincial Marine, under the command of Lt. Frederic Rolette. The British and Canadians, courtesy of John Jacob Astor’s fur empire, already know that war is underway.
A 29-year-old French Canadian, Rolette is no stranger to combat. He’s already fought under Lord Nelson at two of the era’s epic sea battles, the Nile and Trafalgar, and he isn’t about to fool around now.
Before the startled American crew realizes what’s happening, Rolette boards and seizes control of the ship, locking 30 sick American officers and men in the hold.
The real prize, however, is Hull’s luggage — two trunks containing complete details of Hull’s strategy, the number of troops under his command and his correspondence with U.S. Secretary of War William Eustis.
The trove is promptly shipped to British General Isaac Brock at York (Toronto), who’s frantically preparing to ward off the attacks everyone knows are coming.
His eventual foe, Hull, finally reaches Detroit on July 5 and even the locale now seems to unnerve him — an odd development for the territory’s ostensible governor.
The area’s nearly 5,000 settlers are 80 per cent French and, by dint of trade, language, religion and intermarriage, they have far more in common with the roughly equal number of habitants on the Canadian side of the river.
As Hull notes, he’s “surrounded by a Savage foe, in the mist of a people, strangers to our language, our customs and manners.”
With a 2:1 advantage in manpower, however, Hull could easily overwhelm Amherstburg in short order. He opts instead to invade the village of Sandwich, present-day Windsor, and issue a proclamation, printed in English and French, which initially casts the Americans as would-be liberators who “come to protect you not to injure you.”
But Hull also wants to frighten Canadian militia into neutrality and, ever wary of Indians, he threatens that if “the savages are let loose to murder our citizens and butcher our women and children, this war will be a war of extermination.
“The first stroke with the Tomahawk, the first attempt with the scalping knife will be the signal for one indiscriminate scene of desolation. No white man fighting by the side of an Indian will be taken prisoner. Instant destruction will be his lot.”
Hull’s gambit has some initial success, as the militia at Amherstburg dwindles to fewer than 500 from more than 800 in barely a week, but he soon negates that advantage.
Still incensed by the seizure of his luggage, Hull takes his revenge by plundering the homes of Sandwich’s leading men, including Col. François Bâby, whose house sits directly across from Fort Lernoult, by now better known as Fort Detroit.
Raiding parties begin seizing flour and livestock from local farmers. Entire orchards are cut down for firewood. Rather than friendly liberators, the Americans now look like barbarous thieves.
Still, Hull dithers at Sandwich for weeks without striking Amherstburg, ostensibly awaiting cannon to be readied at Detroit and shipped across the river.
What advance troops he does send toward Amherstburg are rebuffed with such relative ease that British officers are scarcely able to contain their derisive laughter. With the Canadian militia returning, and Brock on his way, the British quickly shelve all thoughts of abandoning Amherstburg.
For Hull, the bad news is only starting to pile up. He now knows that Michilimackinac has fallen, giving the British control of the Upper Great Lakes, and Hull will soon respond by ordering the evacuation of Fort Dearborn (now Chicago).
The Wyandot tribe, living southwest of Detroit, decides to shed its neutrality and decamp to the Canadian side of the river.
Hull’s supply lines, meanwhile, are long and tenuous and coming under regular attack by Tecumseh’s Indians. The mutilated American corpses left in the wake of one skirmish seem to spook Hull to his core.
Just two days later, on Aug. 7, Hull abandons Sandwich and retreats to the relative safety of fortress Detroit.
But Tecumseh’s raids have also produced another rich harvest: U.S. mail bags, whose letters reference the deep discord in the American camp and the near-mutiny of senior officers exasperated by Hull’s reign of indecision.
One letter in particular, from Hull to Eustis, is a kind of welcoming gift for Brock. It tells of Hull’s great worry that an Indian siege is imminent — a fear Brock will soon use to superb advantage.
Isaac Brock may be a great hero in Canada today, but this is scarcely his preferred side of the Atlantic.
Born in Guernsey in 1769, Brock enlists as an ensign at 16, and a year after seeing action with Nelson at Copenhagen in 1801, he’s posted to Lower Canada. By 1811, he’s acting lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, and dreadfully unhappy.
While his peers are covering themselves in glory as part of the Duke of Wellington’s campaigns against Napoleon, Brock is languishing. As he writes in one letter to a relative in 1810, he fears “fate decrees that the best portion of my life is to be wasted in inaction in the Canadas.”
The War of 1812 finally offers him, if not an equal alternative to the Napoleonic war, at least a chance to make his mark.
At 42 and six-foot-three, Brock is an imposing figure, but he also knows how much is resting on his shoulders. His British superiors have allotted him only 1,200 British regulars to defend the entire border of Upper Canada.
If he’s to fight off any American invasion, he’ll need both Canadian militia and the Indians — and more than a dash of daring and good luck.
On Aug. 13, Brock finally arrives near Amherstburg as part of a motley flotilla carrying about 400 men.
He wastes little time before his now-legendary first meeting with Tecumseh, the great Shawnee leader. The two practically fall over each other in mutual admiration. Of Tecumseh, Brock says: “A more sagacious or a more gallant warrior does not, I believe, exist.”
Tecumseh remarks of Brock: “Here, is a man.”
Rather than await Hull’s next move, Brock decides to attack as soon as possible. He now has roughly 1,900 men at his disposal: 358 British regulars, 133 lake sailors, 807 Canadian militia and 600 Indians.
Hull has a larger force — about 2,500 — but Brock, having read the captured letters, knows that morale at Detroit is tanking, its leadership in disarray.
Once at Sandwich, Brock sends a message to Hull on Aug. 15, demanding his immediate surrender.
“It is far from my inclination to join in a war of extermination,” writes Brock, “but you must be aware, that the numerous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond my control the moment the contest commences.”
Hull refuses to surrender, but Brock has cleverly planted a seed in Hull’s increasingly enfeebled mind: Indians, extermination….
At the back of Col. Bâby’s house, which Hull had used for his headquarters in Sandwich, Brock sets up an 18-pound cannon. A block away, at the foot of present-day Ouellette Ave., sit two 12-pounders.
Two brigs — the Queen Charlotte and General Hunter — are also brought upriver, putting their 18-pounders within range of Fort Detroit.
That evening, the British shelling begins in earnest.
Drinking heavily, the American general is soon rattled when a cannon ball rips through the officer’s mess. It isn’t a pretty sight. As one of Hull’s officers later recalls: “His lips (were) quivering, the tobacco juice running from the sides of his mouth upon the frills of his shirt.”
Early the next morning, Brock sets out with roughly 1,300 men to cross the river downstream from Detroit, embarking near the current site of a Hydro One plant.
Canadian John Richardson, an officer with the British Army and future novelist, would later write of the crossing that “a soft August sun was just rising, as we gained the centre of the river.” Mixed in with their boats are “numerous canoes filled with Indian warriors, decorated in their half nakedness for the occasion, and uttering yells of mingled defiance of their foes and encouragement to the soldiery.”
Once on American soil, Brock is the perfect foil to Hull, riding so nonchalantly at the head of his troops that even his own officers beg Brock to make himself a less conspicuous target.
But Brock will have none of it, and reputedly replies that “many men follow me from a feeling of personal regard, and I will never ask them to go where I do not lead them.”
Brock’s troops are almost within range of American cannon before they wheel sharply to the left and the protection of a small ravine.
A shrewd judge of character, Brock also has psychology in his arsenal. He’s already had Canadian militia dress in discarded British uniforms to make them appear to be hardened redcoats.
Now he has Tecumseh’s Indians file across a meadow, within full view of the fort but out of range, then disappear into the forest where they circle back to cross the meadow again in a continuous loop.
The Americans are duped — they think Tecumseh’s band of painted, screeching warriors is enormous.
Hull is so terrified of a massacre that he quickly resolves to surrender and sends word to Brock, asking for three days to prepare the evacuation. Brock gives him three hours, after which he says he’ll attack.
It’s a stunning, bloodless victory.
Hull is soon handing over 2,500 American troops, along with 33 cannon and nearly 3,000 muskets, plus tons of gunpowder and lead. Some of Hull’s own officers, suddenly realizing they’ve been beaten by a force barely half as large, break swords over their knees in protest.
One Ohio volunteer will soon write bitterly to the U.S. secretary of war that Hull had brought about “so foul a stain upon the national character.”
More than 2,000 American militiamen are “paroled” — sent home on pledges they won’t fight again until their names are exchanged for those of similarly paroled Canadian militiamen.
Hull and more than 500 U.S. regulars are duly marched to Quebec as prisoners, a parade expressly designed to boost Canadian morale.
But the British shrewdly release Hull in September, knowing his arrival in the United States will roil the republic, where he’s already being dubbed a “gasconading booby.”
Tried for cowardice, only a presidential pardon saves him from the firing squad, but his reputation is in tatters.
As Madison himself will later write, Hull “sunk before obstacles at which not an officer near him would have paused, and threw away an entire army.”

 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Maine: Revolution repeat: Locals tour war fort, go back in time in Kittery

From Fosters.com: Revolution repeat: Locals tour war fort, go back in time in Kittery

KITTERY POINT, Maine -— Visitors stepped back in time and envisioned life at Fort McClary State Historic Site in the 18th century as cannons shot presented a living history of a Revolutionary War encampment.

When the American Revolution began in 1775, the land in Kittery Point and Fort McClary was confiscated by locals because the owners of this specific area remained loyal to the British Crown. Many people who lived in towns along the Maine coast were tense at this time because British war ships destroyed or captured a lot of land and expected to attack Kittery and Portsmouth next. Fort McClary and Fort Constitution (directly across the mouth of the Piscataqua River) were so well guarded the British never attacked.

On Saturday and Sunday, people from all around came to tour the fort. The parking lot was packed, even with the inclement weather the Seacoast faced. Visitors watched the cannons sink into the Piscataqua River each hour and discovered what camp life was like during the era.

Volunteers in colonial dress and uniforms were set up at stations along Fort McClary. Colonial children's games and craft demonstrations went on all weekend long next to the Royal Irish Artillery's tents on the Upper Battery near the Block House. A camp kitchen was also set up under a tent where people were cooking over a fire pit and cutting up bread, watermelon and cheese for lunch.

One volunteer taught visitors about natural herbs that were used during the Revolutionary War for healing ailments and wounds that are still used today. She explained that women would carry these herbs around in bags to give to their husbands and injured soldiers.

If you have high blood pressure, she suggests chives. If you have an upset stomach or lung problems she said to sip on Revolutionary War Tea, which can be found in today's Earl Grey. Wishing to remain young? The volunteer said sage can help with that, as well as be used as a toothpaste, deodorant and a remedy for colds and indigestion.

The weekend event was sponsored by the Friends of Fort McClary, a nonprofit group that supports historical preservation and educational and recreational activities at the historical site in Kittery Point.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

60 is the new 40

On August 10, 2012, the Cheyenne chapter of the AARP hosted a seminar called Gray Matters - which was free and provided a free lunch - unfortunately fish and cheesecake, blech - from 4 to 6 was a reception for all travelers who had come in for the AARP National Spelling Bee to be held on the 11th.

I attended that and it was a lot of fun. The emcee introduced a few folks, we talked about words, there was a "mock" spelling bee (which only consisted of about 20 people getting up and being questioned on one word...) and so on. And there were finger foods there - Chinese food to be precise. Don't know where they got it from or if they cooked it on site (Little America is a hotel and resort where people come to play golf among other things) but it was delish.

The spelling bee started at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am (Well...8:30 is not so ungodly but I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 to get there in time for registration, etc.) It started with 4 rounds of 25 words each - which was a Written Test.

The first 25 words were extremely easy. They asked words like "Greetings" and "Navel" and "Mince." I suppose a few might have been considered difficult... "Animus" and "Lacuna."


The second 25 words were equally easy, but I did miss MUGWUMP.


I assume they did this just to help everyone settle the nerves and get new people used to what was going on. People had trouble hearing some of the words (hey, they were all over 50 and most over 60) and the Pronouncer  would come down and tell them the word face to face and have them say it back, etc. Indeed, the Pronouncer did an excellent job.


Third round was where they started asking the difficult words.


I missed:
QUESTIONARY INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE

The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:

FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE

I then stayed for the Oral rounds and was joined by one of my friends from my Scrabble Club. (I think an audience could have assembled for the Written rounds, too. There were chairs there and family were in them...but I think most people only wanted to come see the Oral rounds where you actually saw the speller's faces as opposed to their backs, etc.)

Two of the people I met last night at the reception made it to the Orals. One of them it was his first trip to the Bee and he was successful his first time out. Made it through about 10 rounds. (In the Orals, you miss two words and you're out.) Another one was an elderly woman from Minnesota who also got through about 10 rounds before being knocked out.

There were three sisters and a brother who had come as a sort of family reunion. The eldest sister made it to the Oral rounds but was bounced after only two rounds. This was too bad and it was because she was a bit unlucky - she got two 6-syllable words in a row while some of the others were getting much easier ones (but still, not ones I could have spelled). But she was disqualified along with several other people in the same round, so hopefully she didn't feel too bad.

The words in the Oral Rounds were extremely difficult. Several times more difficult than the toughest words in the final round of the Written.


But, had I studied for a year, I think I could have handled them.


And it is my intention to study for a year and  get into the Orals next year.


So, why is the title of this blog entry 60 is thenew 40?


Because it is.


People are living longer. You don't want to outlive your money and more importantly you don't want to outlive your sense of enjoyment of life. And learning new things every day is enjoyment and keeps the mind active.


The AARP Spelling Bee is held every year, and it gives you an excellent reason to travel to Cheyenne and see The Cowboy State. You'll meet lots of interesting people.


You do have to study.


I studied very desultorily for about a month...combine all the time I studied and it was about 10 hours. Not nearly enough, but then, I'm a good speller so the Written Rounds were relatively easy - except for that killer last round.


Why learn words that you'll never, ever say in real life?Well, because they're interesting. And the concepts of what you'll learn, you can apply in other areas. So it's a win win.


So start planning to live a long, healthy, active, intellectual life, and do it now, however old you might be!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Posts resume Monday

I'm participating in the AARP Cheyenne Spelling Bee today, Saturday, and need to recover Sunday....

So Monday, posts resumes.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Ceremony honors 1812 war hero Joshua Barney

From Post-Gazette.com: Ceremony honors 1812 war hero Joshua Barney

Navy veteran Fred Johnston said it is important to remember American history and the people who made it.
That was the reason he and his daughter, Rebekah, drove from their home in Shaler to Allegheny Cemetery on Saturday afternoon for the dedication of a memorial stone honoring Commodore Joshua Barney.

Barney, a Maryland native, was a naval hero during both the American Revolution and the War of 1812. While en route to his home in Kentucky, he died and was buried in Pittsburgh in 1818. In 1848, his remains were moved to what was then the newly opened Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville.

Four of Barney's descendants took part in the program, sponsored by Maryland chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons of the American Revolution and United States Daughters of 1812.
Mary Jane Stockstill, an eighth-generation descendant, described him as "a faithful and obedient servant to our country.

"This native Baltimorean most significantly sought to secure and maintain peace on our home shores as commander in defense of the Chesapeake Bay area during the War of 1812," she said.

"His fortitude gained time for Baltimore to prepare its defenses to fight off a British attack," said Christos Christou Jr., Maryland state president of the War of 1812 Society.

Speakers also emphasized the continuing debt that Americans owe to the members of the armed services. "As we honor soldiers of the past, we also remember soldiers of today and what they are sacrificing so we can enjoy our freedoms," Sharon Goetz, Maryland state registrar for the DAR, said.

Laura Smith, regent, or president, of the Pittsburgh chapter of the DAR, read a proclamation from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl declaring Aug. 4 to be "Commodore Joshua Barney Day" in the city.

The 10-by-24-inch stone marker was provided by the Col. John Eager Howard Chapter of the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

The new stone has been placed next to the granite monument erected in 1880 over Barney's remains and those of Lt. James Lawrence Parker.

Parker died in 1847 from wounds he suffered during the Mexican War.

Fife player David Embrey and drummer Robert Ayres provided period music for the ceremonies. They were part of a Maryland-based colorguard wearing uniforms from the Revolution and the War of 1812 that would have looked familiar to Barney.

The re-enactors fired three volleys over his grave just before bugler Michael Foster played "Taps" to close the 30-minute program.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

American Revolution: Fort Stanwix Remains Under Siege

From About.com American Revolution:  American Revolution: Fort Stanwix Remains Under Siege

 August 6, 1777 - American forces are defeated at the Battle of Oriskany and are unable to lift the Siege of Fort Stanwix.  Advancing to the Mohawk River in the summer of 1777, Brig. Gen. Barry St. Leger was tasked with clearing the area of American forces en route to uniting with Maj. Gen. John Burgoyne's main army which was pushing south from Fort Ticonderoga.  Arriving at Fort Stanwix, he found his route east blocked by Col. Peter Gansevoort's (right) garrison.  Laying siege, St. Leger was able to turn back an American relief force at Oriskany on August 6, though the casualties sustained weakened the resolve of his Native American allies.  Unable to overcome the garrison, morale began to dip.  On August 22, St. Leger was forced to abandon the siege in the face of an advancing American relief column led by Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold.  Despite St. Leger's defeat, Burgoyne continued his advance and was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Saratoga that fall.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Battle Marker to be Returned to Elizabeth Park

From Patch.com:  Battle Marker to be Returned to Elizabeth Park

 


Elizabeth Park is set to have yet another jewel placed in her already illustrious crown.

The Monguagon Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution removed a War of 1812 battle marker from the southwest side of the park and had it completely restored.

The daughters set a re-dedication ceremony for the marker for 5 p.m. August 9 on West Jefferson just north of the Grosse Ile free bridge. The date falls on the 200th anniversary of the battle.

No seating will be available, as the ceremony will be held outside, and guests are invited to bring chairs to sit on during the event.

All are welcome to celebrate the re-dedication of this historic landmark

The monument was first dedicated in 1962 and had suffered severe weathering. The daughters began raising funds and applying for grants to restore the marker last year.

 

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Group makes hats for soldiers

From ABCLocal:  Group makes hats for soldiers

One of the missions of the Daughters of American Revolution is to support military people who are in combat zones. 


So, the General Davie Chapter in Durham decided they would warm the heads and hearts of Fort Bragg soldiers and Seymour Johnson airmen in Afghanistan. They're knitting hats.

"It had to be in camouflage yarn," explained Fran Ferrell, Gen. Davie Chapter Regent.

Volunteers have put in hundreds of hours to knit and crochet the wool toboggans.

Since 2010, the chapter has packed up and shipped about 500 hats to soldiers in Afghanistan.

Sherry Handfinger got the idea after talking to a DAR member in Virginia.  Now, she heads up the effort in Durham.

"There's a lot of love that goes into each hat," she said.

Once a month, the women gather to knit and crochet, but the effort is not limited to the Durham group. They've enlisted the help of family and friends, some as far away as South Dakota.

"Just having something homemade from the ladies in your, you know, your hometowns or whatever and it also keeps them warm," said Handfinger.

"I'm not sure I can adequately describe the looks of delight on the faces of the men and women who received the knitted hats," Ferrell explained.

The soldiers often send letters and pictures of them wearing the hats to thank the women for their work.
"They were very touched that we thought so much of them to send these to them and show our support," said Handfinger.

This week's Armed Forces Salute goes to Sherry Handfinger and all the volunteers who've contributed to the Daughters of the American Revolution's Hats for Heroes project.

If you would like to help knit or crochet hats for the troops in Afghanistan please email Fran Ferrell, the Regent of the General Davie Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution at ferrellfran@aol.com.



 

Saturday, August 4, 2012

'Snooki & JWoww' show passes on historic NJ suburb

Who cares who Snooki and JWow are. I don't even know...

From US News and World Report:  'Snooki & JWoww' show passes on historic NJ suburb

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — "Snooki & JWoww" won't pitch a tent in the New Jersey suburb that's been called the military capital of the American Revolution.

The company that produces the "Jersey Shore" spinoff has been in talks to tape segments of the reality series featuring Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jennifer "JWoww" Farley in Morristown.
The taping was planned for Aug. 9 until the middle of October.
The Daily Record of Parsippany reports (http://dailyre.co/Nq4cQj ) Mayor Tim Dougherty said in a statement that 495 Productions was willing to accept certain restrictions. However, the mayor says the company decided to focus on other areas.
Morristown twice served as George Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War.