#The War of 1812

[madebyteenagefury]

i blinked and clicked the wrong buttons and suddenly the war of 1812 is in my hilson fic

[count-lero]

Some more Borodino photos (and a video) I managed to sort out. ❤️💙

[eerieonlakeerie]

The Ghost of Captain James Byrd

Photo provided by: Buffalo News

"Local legend, folklorists and supernatural guides have it that the old hotel on Hamburg’s shore – known for decades as Dock at the Bay and more recently as Dos Amigos – is haunted by the ghost of Captain James Byrd."

"The sad tale goes that Byrd was a member of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s crew aboard the USS Lawrence, anchored off Hamburg’s shore during the War of 1812, and that Byrd regularly left the ship without leave for trysts with his girlfriend at the Willink Hotel, which is what the Dock at the Bay was called at that time.

When Perry learned of this desertion, according to the local legend, he ordered Byrd shot. And Byrd’s spirit now haunts the old hotel, the spirit guides say.

Like the telling of many old stories, there is some truth to this tale. But several of the facts became twisted with age and retelling. Nonetheless, the real story – though murky in some ways – is more tragic than the folklore.

Photo provided by: Buffalo News

In fact, the true story generated much sympathy – even anger – among many Americans two centuries ago, and led to a ballad so popular that it was recited for decades by residents of Western New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“In the early nineteenth century, when the new nation was still forging its identity, Bird’s heroism and subsequent death served the competing interests of partisan politics and national mythmaking while also reminding the postrevolutionary generation of the dangers of arbitrary power,” according to Traci Langworthy, writing in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.

Newspapers and archives do record an execution on Lake Erie for desertion during the War of 1812. But the man’s name was James Bird. He was a soldier-marine. And he was a corporal.

Bird was arrested and then executed for desertion from Perry’s flagship, the Lawrence. That much is certain. But explanations for his desertion varied – from romantic to patriotic to pragmatic.

And by all accounts, he fought bravely a year earlier during the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie.

Bird was born Dec. 20, 1785, to John and Rebecca Montanye Bird.

He volunteered for the War of 1812 in the Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania, where the family had moved, and was a member of a company of artillerymen that marched to Erie, Pa., according to the "History of Luzerne County." In Erie, Commodore Perry needed volunteers for his nine newly constructed ships that were to take on the British ships wreaking havoc on American settlements on Lake Erie. Bird volunteered as a marine.

During the Battle of Lake Erie in September of 1813 – famous for Perry’s after action report, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours” – Bird was aboard the flagship Lawrence. Though seriously wounded, he continued to fight valiantly.

“Towards the close of the engagement, a canister shot struck him on the shoulder as he was stooping to his gun,” The Wilkes-Barre Gleaner reported Nov. 16, 1813, in an account of Bird’s heroics during the battle. “He was instantly covered with blood, and his officer ordered him below. He ventured to disobey, preferring to do duty while he had life to abandoning his post. But the blood flowed so fast that another order was issued to go below. He ran down, got a hasty bandage on the wound, came again on deck and although his left arm was useless – yet he handed cartridges and performed the utmost service in his power with his right, until the stars and stripes waved gloriously over the foe.”

A year later, Bird had recovered from his wounds and was again a crew member of the Lawrence. It wasn’t long before he got into his fatal trouble.

He left the ship without leave.

One version of his desertion suggests a pragmatic explanation. He believed his enlistment was up.

“During the War of 1812, soldiers and sailors had little knowledge of military law and were tenacious of their rights as citizens,” Chautauqua County Historian Obed Edson explained in a paper delivered Sept. 19, 1913, to the Chautauqua Society of Historical and Natural Science.

Bird and some others thought they had enlisted just for the Battle on Lake Erie, according to Edson, so he and a few shipmates headed for home.

But the Americans were preparing for another battle with the British, an invasion of Canada, and one officer wanted to make an example of deserters. In this account, Bird and two others were arrested in Westfield and returned to the ship in Erie for court martial.

Then there is the patriotic explanation for the desertion.

That comes from the “History of Luzerne County.” Bird had learned of the intended attack on New Orleans and marched off with others to join Gen. Andrew Jackson’s forces, according to this version. He was apprehended in Pittsburgh and brought back for court martial.

“Poor fellow! Shot for an excess of bravery,” the author wrote.

The romantic explanation of Bird’s desertion comes from the folk ballad. The ballad has it that he left the ship to visit his sweetheart, Mary Blain, who was seriously ill, in Forsyth, Pa.

Where all these explanations agree is that Bird was tried and executed quickly after capture.

A court martial was hastily arranged, and Bird and two other deserters were condemned to death. An appeal to stay Bird’s execution until Perry – who was not in Erie at the time – could review the court martial was denied. One naval officer refused to sign his death warrant, but another officer did.

One of the deserters, a man named Davis, was hanged from the mast of the USS Niagara, while Bird and the third deserter, a man named Rankin, were forced to kneel over their coffins and shot on the ship’s deck.

“All three men were buried on the sandy flat at the entrance to the Erie Harbor,” Capt. Daniel Dobbins, who was present, later wrote,

On the day before he died, Bird wrote a farewell letter to his family that was printed in the Wilkes-Barre Gleaner soon after his execution. It reads in part:

“I am the most miserable and desolate child of the family – Dear Parents, let my brothers and sisters read this letter, for it is the last they can ever receive from my hand, for by the law of our country I am doomed and sentenced to death for deserting from the marines at Lake Erie ... . I have but a few moments to make peace with my maker. I leave you only for a short time here in this most troublesome world; but I hope that by the constant prayer we shall meet in the world above.”

Bird gave no explanation for his desertion, and he became a martyr to many. The pathetic story of James Bird was familiar to all living along the frontier, and was commemorated in the ... ballad written in sympathy with popular feeling,” according to the Centennial History of Chautauqua County. “For many years it was the most popular of ballads. It was so often sung and repeated as to be transmitted to the present time in many instances by the memory alone.”

The popularity of the ballad and the tyranny of his death resonated with many on the frontier for decades.

“One element of the ballad’s reception remained constant over time: the willingness of Bird’s admirers to overlook the youth’s potential flaws, lest they jeopardize his merits as a folk hero,” Langworthy wrote in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History. “Over time, the ballad nearly became secondary to the anecdotes surrounding it, and the “truth” of the young marine’s life became as malleable as its meaning.

While some may claim that James Bird’s ghost haunts a hotel in Hamburg, residents in northeastern Pennsylvania claim his remains.

He was reburied in Forty Fort Cemetery, Wilkes-Barre, in 1935 with a monument dedicated by the Luzerne County Chapter of Daughters of 1812.”

[diyschool2022]

The War of 1812 in 2024 - Causes of The War of 1812 Explained

[mitchismirage]

A Walk Through An 1800s Cemetery

I love history, including old cemeteries. I probably enjoy old cemeteries more than any other history. It feels more personal to me plus old cemeteries have retained the natural beauty of the surrounding area. Lots of trees, wild plants and wildlife. The older the grave marker, the more fascinated I am. I feel as if I am transported back in time. The area in which I live has many old cemeteries…

[mahmoud2002gaza]

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[liberty1776]

The War of 1812

[meshimellow]

ohhhh fuckckkkk my guys. my classic russian novel protagonists from books that are titled [WORD] and [ANTONYM]. lets kill them

[kittyoperas]

wanted to draw some tender Great Comet of 1812 AU Hawke and Anders because they are so very special to me!!!

[ltwilliammowett]

"Battle at Moonlight" by Maarten Platje (1967-)

The painting depicts the action between the sloops USS Wasp & HMS Avon on 1st September 1814.

[count-lero]

Annual visit to the Borodino field was quite pleasant this year because of extremely mild weather - with the sole exception of a day, when it was raining cats and dogs…

However, unfortunate circumstances sometimes have a bright side too. In this case the rain in the afternoon caused thick fog to appear at dusk which turned the whole landscape into a majestic dream. 🌅

[eerieonlakeerie]

The Battle of Lake Erie Cannons

Photos provided by: HMbd.org

“These cannons were used aboard ships in the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. After this 1813 American victory, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry sent the famous message to his commander, "We have met the enemy and they are ours.” It was the first time that an entire British fleet had been captured, and it secured increased control of the Great Lakes region for the United States."

"After the Battle of Lake Erie, the fleet was decommissioned. In 1863 these two cannons were being used along a Detroit River wharf, upended as bollards to secure ships. They were recovered and placed in front of Detroit's old City Hall in 1874. When the building was demolished in 1961, the cannons were brought to the new Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

The longer barrel to the east is a 24-pound gun, deadly at distances up to a quarter mile. The stout gun to the west is a 32-pounder carronade, most effective at close range. The numbers refer to the weight of the cannonball that each fired. The barrel of the long gun weighs about 2.75 tons. these cannons were designed for land-based fort defense, 

but lacking other options on the frontier, both British and American fleets used them as naval guns.”

Story provided by: HMbd.org

[timegays]

Oh Pierre

[clove-pinks]

Illustrations by Victor Mays for The Battle of Lake Erie by F. van Wyck Mason, 1960.

[johnradams]

crazy how dave malloy read war and peace and was like 'yeah I know what this sounds like' and even crazier that he was fucking right

[andryushas]

The Great Fact Check of 1812: Pierre

Unless specified otherwise, all passages are quoted from War and Peace Volume Two, Part Five, Chapter 1, as translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky. When the Maude translation is indicated, passages come from Book Eight, Chapter 1.

Prologue can be found here!

Sorry this took so long 😭😭😭 I'll try to do Moscow faster but no promises bc life is busy. Also I can't think of a better way to post these on tumblr but if you need a more accessible version let me know and I can email you a copy of the document or something.