Society Saturday - General Grant

At a recent joint meeting of three organizations we were honored to be visited by General Ulysses S. Grant himself.  He told us how he doesn't usually like to make speeches but he made an exception for us.

His story focused on his 1863 visit to Washington DC where he met with President Abraham Lincoln to receive his promotion to 3 star general and commander of the entire army.  He explained to Lincoln that he planned to win the Civil War by engaging the Confederate Army at several locations at the same time since the north had the advantage of more men and more supplies.  Lincoln likened his plan to shearing sheep - 4 men to hold the legs while one man does the actual shearing.

His plan worked and soon the south was ready to surrender.  Lincoln agreed with his plan to allow the rebels to keep their horses and mules since they weren't military property, and allow them to return home since the prisons were already full.  They felt that this would help the country heal.

During the surrender ceremony, the confederates laid down their weapons.  The union army actually saluted them as they did so, since they understood all the sacrifices they had made to fight for what they believed in.

He described that there were several aims of victory from the Civil War.  The most well known are re-unification of this country and freeing the slaves.  Other aims were to allow westward expansion via the homestead act and building the railroad- both of which had been placed on hold when money and manpower was diverted to the war effort.  Overall, the Civil War provided a Trial of Democracy that proved our country could endure because of the government system in place.

General Grant was actually portrayed by Larry Werline, a first-person reenactor.

Society Saturday - Baltimore and the War of 1812

The National Board of the US Daughters of 1812 spent a day touring some historic sites in Baltimore.

Our first stop was at Fort McHenry, site of the August 1814 bombardment that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner".

We learned what life was like during the past 200 years of the fort's existence, saw the soldiers' quarters, looked out over the ramparts, examined the cannons, and of course, saw where the flag stood.

That afternoon, we visited the Star Spangled  Flag house, where we learned all about Mary Pickersgill, and how she made the flag.   There is a museum next door with a wall showing how big the flag actually was - 30 x 42 feet.

Society Saturday- President Madison and our first global conflict

Two speakers at the USD1812 Associate Council gave interesting historic perspectives on the War of 1812.

First was David O. Stewart, author of "Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships that built America".  He claims that James Madison is the second most important founding father after Washington.  He was the first wartime President. He inherited a smoldering conflict, and despite his short stature and quiet demeanor, managed to weather all criticisms.  He was very tolerant of his opposition.    He was the last President to personally appear on the battlefield when he rallied the troops at the Battle of Bladensburg.

The next evening, we heard from Dr. John Voll, a Professor at Georgetown.  He spoke about the first global conflict.  What we know as our Second War for Independence was only a small portion of the worldwide conflict.  Of course there were the Napoleonic Wars in Europe; in fact, Napoleon's army was twice the population of our state of Maryland.  There were several other struggles for independence at the same time.  Beginning in the 1790's, revolts were occurring as far away as China and Senegal.  Closer to home, as a result of Napoleon overthrowing the Spanish monarchy in 1810, Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia, and Argentina were all fighting for their independence.

www.usdaughters1812.org

Society Saturday - Fulfilling our nation's promise

The speaker for the US Daughter of 1812 was Rear Admiral Donna Crisp.  She is retired from the US Navy and now works on recovering remains of servicemen lost overseas.

There are 83000 servicemen whose remains are still overseas and unidentified since world war 1.  Admiral Crisp told us about several stages of recovery, removal and repatriation.

First, teams work with local residents and archeologists to find unidentified grave sites.  Often this location is based on local legend of hidden mass graves.  It can be dangerous work since there may be unexplored ordinates in the area.  Only a small portion of remains may be in existence.

Once remains are recovered, they are examined at laboratories in Hawaii and Maryland.  Identification is done by dental records,skeletal records, information on height, gender, previous injuries and DNA.

There are some additional means of identification which include recreating 3D models of skulls, and matching eyeglass prescriptions.

It is tedious but important work, to fulfill our Nation's promise to bring all servicemen and women back home.

Society Saturday - Dartmoor Prison and St. Michael's All Angels Church

One of the foci of the United States Daughters of 1812 is a spot in England.  It seems a little strange at first, since we were fighting against the British during the War of 1812.  Once you learn the history of the Prison and the Church, it becomes obvious why we support them.

Dartmoor Prison was built between 1806-09 in Princetown, England.  This is near Plymouth and the southwest tip of England.  It stands on a desolate location on the moors.  The original purpose was to house the prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars.

photo from wikipedia.com

On 2 April 1813, 218 American prisoners of war were forced to march the 17 miles from their prison ship in Plymouth to Dartmoor prison.  Over the next 2 years, the prison would house a total of 6551 prisoners - most were POW's from the War of 1812.

Between 1812 and 1814, prisoners from Dartmoor were used as cheap labor to build a church in the nearby community.  They worked in nearby stone quarries, transported the heavy stones up the hill to the church, and helped to erect the church building.  They were paid 6 pence per day for their labors, but if any one of them escaped, they would all forfeit their earnings.

photo from wikipedia.com

The US Daughters of 1812 became involved with the St. Michael and All Angels church and the prison in 1910 when they donated a stained glass window to the church.  It is a lovely window and still adorns our membership certificates.

photo from usdaughters1812.org

The USD1812 has also been involved with memorializing other areas nearby, including the cemetery where the POWs were buried far from home.

photo from legendarydartmoor.co.uk

The prison is still in use today - for criminals, not POW's.  The church is not used for regular services, but will host concerts and other events.

Society Saturday - Secrets of U.S.D. 1812

The John Kinzie Chapter of the U.S. Daughters of 1812 was honored to host the President National for our recent Chapter meeting.

Normally, the President National conducts state visits, but we are fortunate that her sister lives in our area and is an associate member of our chapter.

We met over lunch at a local Italian restaurant.  After lunch, PN Virginia "Ginger" Apyar gave us a very interesting program on "Little Known Pearls of U.S.D. 1812".

The Society itself was founded in 1892 by Flora Adams Darling.  Ginger told us of Mrs. Darling's life - she lost her husband in the civil war and her son at an early age.  She had all her possessions taken from her during the war, and grew increasingly deaf throughout her life.  This could explain why she is never smiling in any of her portraits.

Our membership certificates have a picture of the stained glass window from St. Michael's church in Devon, England.  Ginger told of the long history between our organization and that church.  The church was built by prisoners of war housed at nearby Dartmoor prison.  These POW's were from the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars.

Chapter Historian Kathy Haas, President National Ginger Apyar, Chapter President Kimberly Nagy

Ginger gave many other anecdotes about our Society.  She concluded by saying "1812 is everywhere".

http://www.usdaughters1812.org/home.html

Tombstone Tuesday - Dedicating a tombstone for an 1812 Heroine

John Kinzie Chapter of the Daughters of 1812 has been busy trying to honor a Heroine of the War of 1812.  She was Julia Martin Lambert.  

Julia was living near Fort Harrison in Vigo County, IN when the Fort was attacked by a group of Indians on September 4, 1812.  The Indians set fire to the blockhouse of the Fort.  The soldiers battled the Indians, while the civilians organized a bucket brigade.  Soon the water level in the well dropped below the level that they could reach with their buckets.  Julia climbed down into the well to fill the buckets.  Her actions saved the fort.

Julia lated moved to Knox County, IL where she died in 1872.  She is buried in an unmarked grave there in Yates City.  When we  first learned about her, I was able to find her 3rd-great-granddaughter, and contacted the cemetery about a formal marking.  

The cemetery in Yates City was thrilled to have such a woman buried there.  They provided a marker for her.  Our chapter held a small tombstone dedication last weekend.  We are planning a formal ceremony in the spring when her marker is complete (metal plaque where the paper is), and when her descendant can attend.