I've finished transcribing the order book (39 pages of 10-point text) and found the last entry very interesting, given the general context of the war in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Here it is, in its entirety: Military District N’o 2 Head quarters Providence District Orders 21st February 1815 The Commanding General has the pleasure to … Continue reading War of 1812: Order book’s last entry
War of 1812
War of 1812: U.S. Army Discipline
I've been transcribing a book of orders for the Second Military District (Connecticut and Rhode Island) during the War of 1812, for the use of my students next year. Most of it is pretty dull stuff, but scattered through it are reports from Courts Martial proceedings. There were quite a few desertions, most of which … Continue reading War of 1812: U.S. Army Discipline
More politics & the War of 1812
Connecticut was not the only New England state to object to the Federal government's war plans and activities. Recently I found, in that batch of correspondence of Connecticut's Gov. Smith (and held in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society), a longhand copy of the Rhode Island General Assembly's committee report and resolution on the … Continue reading More politics & the War of 1812
Manners & the 19th Century
More on reading War of 1812 documents - even (especially?) in writing, these gentlemen had very nice manners. But that doesn't mean they couldn't cut to the bone with a few well-chosen remarks. Consider this July 14, 1812 letter from Secretary of War William Eustis to Lt. Governor John Cotton Smith (CT): The absence of … Continue reading Manners & the 19th Century
Politics & the War of 1812
The more I look into the War of 1812, the more I suspect that one of the reasons it's been neglected by historians is that it torpedoes the pleasant image of a post-Revolutionary nation that was happily united except for the slavery thing. Certain documents I'm examining indicate rather strongly that the states may have … Continue reading Politics & the War of 1812