Clark County, Wisconsin

1812 Veterans

 The Star-Spangled Banner, formerly known as "the Great Garrison Flag", was flown over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor (shown below) during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. It is on exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Seeing the flag flying over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, after the battle ended, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry". These words were written by Key and set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven" by John Stafford Smith, a popular song at the time. In 1931 the song became the national anthem of the United States.  More broadly, a garrison flag is a U.S. Army term for an extra-large national flag that is flown on Sundays, holidays, and special occasions. The U.S. Navy term is "holiday colors". With fifteen stripes, the Star-Spangled Banner remains the only official American flag to bear more than thirteen stripes.

 

   Our War of 1812Master Veteran's Burial Index

 

1820 Portrait of John S. Smith

 

Francis Scott Key abt. 1825

Anacreontic Lyrics


To Anacreon in Heaven, where he sat in full glee,
A few sons of harmony sent a petition,
That he their inspirer and patron would be;
When this answer arrived from the jolly old Grecian: Voice, fiddle, and flute, no longer be mute,
I'll lend you my name and inspire you to boot
And besides I'll instruct you like me to intwine
The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine.

**************

Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843)[3] was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".[4] Key observed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 during the War of 1812. He was inspired upon seeing the American flag still flying over the fort at dawn and wrote the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry"; it was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song "To Anacreon in Heaven". The song with Key's lyrics became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem, finally achieving official status more than a century later under President Herbert Hoover as the national anthem.

Francis Scott Key observing the flag the morning after the battle. by Edward Percy Moran, 1913

Black Hawk

"The Battle of Wisconsin Heights: Black Hawk's account"


During our encampment at the Four Lakes, we were hard put to, to obtain enough to eat to support nature. Situate in a swampy, marshy country…. there was but little game of any sort to be found--and fish were equally scarce. . . . We were forced to dig roots and bark trees, to obtain something to satisfy hunger and keep us alive! Several of our people became so much reduced, as actually to die with hunger! . . . . I concluded to remove my women and children across the Mississippi, that they might return to the Sac nation again. Accordingly, on the next day, we commenced moving, with five Winnebagoes acting as our guides, intending to descend the Ouisconsin…. we were proceeding to the Ouisconsin, with our women and children. We arrived and had commenced crossing them to an island, when we discovered a large body of the enemy coming towards us. We were now compelled to fight, or sacrifice our wives and children to the fury of the whites! I met them with fifty warriors, (having left the balance to assist our women and children in crossing) about a mile from the river, when an attack immediately commenced.

 

I was mounted on a fine horse, and was pleased to see my warriors so brave. I addressed them in a loud voice, telling them to stand their ground, and never yield it to the enemy. At this time I was on the rise of a hill, where I wished to form my warriors, that we might have some advantage over the whites. But the enemy succeeded in gaining this point, which compelled us to fall back into a deep ravine, from which we continued firing at them and they at us, until it began to grow dark.

 

My horse having been wounded twice during this engagement, and fearing from his loss of blood, that he would soon give out--and finding that the enemy would not come near enough to receive our fire, in the dusk of the evening--and knowing that our women and children had had sufficient time to reach the island in the Ouisconsin, I ordered my warriors to return, in different routes, and meet me at the Ouisconsin--and were astonished to find that the enemy were not disposed to pursue us.

In this skirmish, with fifty braves, I defended and accomplished my passage over the Ouisconsin, with a loss of only six men; though opposed by a host of mounted militia. I would not have fought there, but to gain time for my women and children to cross to an island. A warrior will duly appreciate the embarrassments I labored under--and whatever may be the sentiments of the white people, in relation to this battle, my nation, though fallen, will award to me the reputation of a great brave in conducting it. The loss of the enemy could not be ascertained by our party; but I am of opinion, that it was much greater, in proportion, than mine. We returned to the Ouisconsin, and crossed over to our people.

 

Myself and band having no means to descend the Ouisconsin, I started, over a rugged country, to go to the Mississippi, intending to cross it, and return to my nation. Many of our people were compelled to go on foot, for want of horses, which, in consequence of their having had nothing to eat for a long time, caused our march to be very slow. At length we arrived at the Mississippi, having lost some of our old men and little children, who perished on the way with hunger. Wisconsin State Historical Society

 

Fort McHenry, Baltimore, MD

 

The War of 1812 pitted the young United States in a war against Great Britain, from whom the American colonies had won their independence in 1783. The conflict was a byproduct of the broader conflict between Great Britain and France over who would dominate Europe and the wider world.

In Britain’s effort to control the world’s oceans, the British Royal Navy encroached upon American maritime rights and cut into American trade during the Napoleonic Wars. In response, the young republic declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812. The two leading causes of the war were the British Orders-in-Council, which limited American trade with Europe, and impressments, the Royal Navy’s practice of taking seamen from American merchant vessels to fill out the crews of its own chronically undermanned warships. Under the authority of the Orders in Council, the British seized some 400 American merchant ships and their cargoes between 1807 and 1812. Press gangs, though ostensibly targeting British subjects for naval service, also swept up 6,000 to 9,000 Americans into the crews of British ships between 1803 and 1812. Some of the impressed sailors were born in British possessions but had migrated to the United States, while many others had attained citizenship that was either in question or simply could not be documented.

With only 16 warships, the United States could not directly challenge the Royal Navy, which had 500 ships in service in 1812. Instead, the new nation targeted Canada, hoping to use the conquest of British territory as a bargaining chip to win concessions on the maritime issues. Most Americans assumed that the conquest of Canada would be, in the words of former president Thomas Jefferson, “a mere matter of marching.” The United States enjoyed a huge population advantage over Canada—7.7 million to 500,000—and it was widely believed in America that U.S. troops would be welcomed as liberators. But events did not play out as Americans expected. Waging war at the end of extended supply lines over the vast distances of the North American wilderness was no easy task. The British and their allies from indigenous nations in North America proved a formidable foe.

American armies invaded Canada in 1812 at three points, but all three campaigns ended in failure. One army surrendered at Detroit at the western end of Lake Erie, a second army surrendered at Queenston Heights at the other end of the lake, and a third army withdrew after little more than a skirmish north of New York. A similar multi-pronged invasion went better in 1813, but only in the West, where an American victory on Lake Erie paved the way for a land victory at the Thames in Upper Canada, which restored U.S. ascendancy throughout the region. But further east, American forces made little headway.

In 1814, the United States was thrown on the defensive because the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in Europe enabled the British to shift additional resources to the war in America. The U.S. continued to remain on the offensive on the Niagara front, but the bloody fighting there was inconclusive. Elsewhere the British took the offensive, although their forces encountered the same problems waging wilderness warfare across vast distances that had plagued the United States earlier in the war. The British occupied Washington, DC, burning the public buildings there, and successfully occupied a hundred miles of the Maine coast. Elsewhere however, the British were rebuffed. British forces withdrew from New York when they lost another inland naval battle, this time on Lake Champlain. They had to give up an assault on Baltimore when they were unable to compel Fort McHenry to submit, and they were decisively defeated at New Orleans.

If the war went worse than Americans expected on land, it went surprisingly well at sea, at least initially. Early in the war, the new nation won a series of single-ship duels between American and British warships. Especially noteworthy were the four successful cruises made by USS Constitution in the war. The frigate outran a large British squadron in 1812 and subsequently defeated four Royal Navy ships in combat. Constitution also earned her nickname, “Old Ironsides,” when round shot in the duel with HMS Guerriere appeared to bounce off the ship’s 22-inch-thick hull. An American seaman exclaimed, “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron!” Soon after, Constitution was known as “Ironsides,” which in time became “Old Ironsides.” American privateers also took a toll on British shipping early in the war.

In the end, however, British naval power held. The British used their navy to ship troops to Canada, to keep them supplied, and to blockade and raid the American coast. The blockade had a devastating impact on the U.S. economy and public finance, and also kept most American warships in port. The British convoy system—in which warships escorted merchant vessels—cut down on the success of American privateers. Furthermore, the British evened the score in single ship duels by defeating USS Chesapeake, USS Essex, and USS President.

Ultimately, the War of 1812 ended in a draw on the battlefield, and the peace treaty reflected this. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in modern-day Belgium on December 24, 1814, and went into effect on February 17, 1815, after both sides had ratified it. This agreement provided for returning to the status quo ante bellum, which meant that the antagonists agreed to return to the state that had existed before the war and restore all conquered territory.

Both sides could claim victory, the British because they held on to Canada and their maritime rights, and the United States because just fighting the “Conqueror of Napoleon” and the “Mistress of the Seas” to a draw vindicated its sovereignty and earned the respect of Europe. As British diplomat Augustus J. Foster acknowledged at war’s end, “The Americans . . . have brought us to speak of them with respect.”

The only real losers in the war were the indigenous nations of North America, who were defeated in two wars connected to the War of 1812: Tecumseh’s War in the Old Northwest and the Creek War in the Old Southwest. American success in these wars opened the door for westward expansion and threatened the indigenous peoples and their ways of life east of the Mississippi River.

The war was fraught with a host of other consequences. It laid the foundations for the emergence of Canada as an independent nation and induced the British to seek peaceful relations with the United States for the remainder of the 19th century and beyond. It also helped forge the United States into a nation. Americans could celebrate their victories on the high seas and on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, as well as at Fort McHenry and New Orleans. These victories introduced new American heroes (including Oliver H. Perry and Dolley Madison) and future United States presidents (William Henry Harrison and Andrew Jackson), developed new expressions (including “We have met the enemy and they are ours” and “Don’t give up the ship!”), established American symbols (USS Constitution, the Fort McHenry flag, and Uncle Sam), and inspired a patriotic song that eventually became the national anthem (“The Star-Spangled Banner”).

The War of 1812 may have been a small war, but it left a profound and lasting legacy that reverberated through history and continues to be felt even todayUSS Constitution Museum

 

[The Battle of Lake Champlain, 11 September 1814]

 

 

\ Grave Marker for Samuel Hartford

       (Served as Private in N. Y. Militia in Battle of Niagara)

Inscription:  When a lad of 14 he went as a substitute for his brother in law that his sister and her 7 little ones might not be deprived of a husband and father’s care.

Photographed By Keith L, July 14, 2008

 

Honorably discharged Sept. 30, 1818.

Location of the Samuel Hartford marker:. 44° 45.342′ N, 90° 28.528′ W. Marker is near Loyal, Wisconsin, in Clark County. Marker is at the intersection of Pelsdorf Avenue and Spencer Road, on the right when traveling north on Pelsdorf Avenue. Marker is in Pine Grove Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Loyal WI 54446, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby historical markers include Loyal Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); Castner–Mack Cemetery (approx. 3.1 miles away); Mormon Settlements (approx. 6.1 miles away); The Home of Colby Cheese (approx. 13 miles away); History of The Big White Pine (approx. 13.8 miles away); Veterans Memorial, (approx. 13.8 miles away); The Yellowstone Trail (approx. 14 miles away); Neillsville Civil War Memorial (approx. 14.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Loyal

                       ****************************

 

The Battle of Lundy's Lane, also known as the Battle of Niagara, was a battle fought on 25 July 1814, during the War of 1812, between an invading American army and a British and Canadian army near present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war,and one of the deadliest battles ever fought in Canada, with approximately 1,720 casualties including 258 killed.  The two armies fought each other to a stalemate; neither side held firm control of the field following the engagement. However, the casualties suffered by the Americans precipitated their withdrawal, and the British held the strategic initiative.

Rifles Promised  By Captain Aitkin


Recipients: Martin J. Aitkin, Azariah C. Flagg, Ira A. Wood, Gustavus A. Bird, James Trowbridge, Hazen Moers, Henry K. Averill, St. John B. L. Skinner, Frederick P. Allen, Hiram Walworth, Ethan Everist, Amos Soper, James Patten, Bartemas Brooks, Smith Bateman, Melancton W/ Travos, Flavel williams
promised by General Macomb.

 

Master Veteran's Burial Index for the War of 1812

NAME

CEMETERY

TOWN

NOTES

Brooks, Bartemas

LYNN

LYNN

NY Pvt in Capt Aiken's Co. NY   b 20 Nov 1786  d 2 July 1875; Obit / Bio

French, John

NEILLSVILLE

PINE VALLEY

 

Hartford, Samuel

PINE GROVE

LOYAL

1798-1884; Bio, Cemetery History

Johnson, Andrew

NORWEGIAN

MAYVILLE

31 Dec 1792 - 13 Feb 1871; Bio;

Kimball, Hannibal

NEILLSVILLE

PINE VALLEY

 

Palmer, Johnathan

 

BUTLER

 

 

Capt. Martin Aiken led boy soldiers against British

By Lohr McKinstry, Press-Republican Sep 14, 2014 Updated Sep 24, 2014

WILLSBORO — Martin James Aiken united a group of young boys during the War of 1812 to defend a bridge crucial to the Battle of Plattsburgh. They were forever after known as Aiken’s Volunteers. In 1814, Aiken knew the War of 1812 was not going well for the United States, and he was ready to do what he could. He realized Gen. Alexander Macomb had too few men to hold off 10,000 British troops amassed at the Canadian border. Macomb needed help as the Village of Plattsburgh prepared for a British invasion.

BOYS NEEDED SPONSOR

The boys of the Plattsburgh Academy wanted to help the general, but they were too young to enlist, said author Joy Demarse of Peru, and that’s where Martin Aiken came in.Demarse wrote “Nine Days a Soldier,” a historical novel about Aiken’s Volunteers, which follows Hiram Walworth, a 14-year-old student who was a member of the group. “General Macomb would not have allowed them to enlist,” she said in an interview with the Press-Republican. “Someone basically said, ‘If you can find yourselves a sponsor, you can volunteer.’ Then the sponsor’s name would go down into the registration. That’s how Aiken became the captain.“That way General Macomb did not have to say they were under 18.”

GOOD SCOUTS

Aiken, a farmer who was only 21 years old himself, stepped forward and formed Aiken’s Volunteer Rifle Company with 20 young men from the academy, plus himself and Lt. Azariah Flagg.“The boys were ages 14 to 17,” Demarse said. “They were able to scout very well. Macomb needed every shot he could get. They were quite the good company.”It was September 1814, and the British were marching south toward Plattsburgh — but under the surveillance of Aiken’s Volunteers.“They knew the land well and could scout,” Demarse said. “They developed very accurate pictures of where the British were and what they were doing.”

ONLY ONE BOY LOST

On Sept. 6, 1814, Aiken and his company fought in the morning alongside an overwhelmed local militia and were beaten back by the British on Beekmantown Road. In the afternoon, Aiken told his men to fall back to Plattsburgh and take up sniper positions in a mill on the east side of the Saranac River, defending a bridge the British wanted to cross. “It was a small company, but they were very effective and efficient,” Demarse said.
Aiken was a good commander. He had the planks taken up from the bridge to keep the British troops from crossing it, and when they tried to ford the river, Aiken and the boys picked them off. Only one of Aiken’s force was killed, a 14-year-old boy named Peters, whose first name is unknown, Demarse said.

AWARDED RIFLES

On Sept. 11, 1814, the British left in disorder after losing the Battle of Plattsburgh, heading back to Canada. Aiken’s Volunteers were disbanded the next day. But their service was not forgotten. Aiken and his company were praised by Macomb for their gallantry, and the general promised that each of them should receive a rifle. On May 20, 1826, Congress rewarded the youths for their bravery by issuing each of them “one rifle, promised them by General Macomb, while commanding the Champlain Department, for their gallantry and patriotic services as a volunteer corps during the siege of Plattsburg. On each of which said rifles there shall be a plate containing an appropriate inscription.” The rifles went to Aiken and Flagg and former academy students Ira Wood, Gustavus Bird, James Trowbridge, Hazen Mooers, Henry K. Averill, St. John B. L. Skinner, Frederick Allen, Hiram Walworth, Ethan Everist, Amos Soper, James Patten, Bartemus Brooks, Melancthon Travis, Smith Bateman and Flavel Williams, along with other lads whose names are unknown. The rifles were a Hall’s breech-loader, with an inscription on the breech: “Be resolved of Congress presented to (name of volunteer) for his gallantry at the siege of Plattsburg.” “It’s the only time in our history that civilians were awarded a rifle by Congress,” Demarse said. “They advocated for these young boys to receive a rifle in honor of their service.

 

 


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