"...a mere matter of marching."

Well, the War of 1812 Bicentennial officially begins today. June 18, 1812, marks the decleration of war by the U.S. I heard a 10 minute spot on NPR talking about how the history of the war is taught in schoosls  in both the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. teacher referenced 2 songs in his teaching of the subject: The National Anthem (The battle of Baltimore) by Francis Scott Key, and Johnny Horton's "The Battle of new Orleans".  The Canadian teacher referenced the important personalities, especially Tecumseh and Laura Secord. Interesting, both of these important Canadian personalities were born in the U.S

Anyhow, in honor of this day, here is a video from You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRK3DNoa_Q.

Apparently the key to American success at the battle was our superior choreagraphy.

Something New!

As you can see from my previous post, I really want/need an 1812 Shako. Last weekend at the reenactment of the 199th siege of Fort Meigs I got my shako! The plate is the 1812,  "RR" (Regiment of Riflemen) plate. the plume is 6" tall of cut feathers. The cocade is 4", plain center with a brass eagle, peculiar to the rifles. The plate and cockade were made by Dave Canan of Pickaway Plains traders of Circleville, OH. The  shako was made by Marty Land of Fort Meigs, Perrysburg, OH. I do not think that the brass ferrule at the base of the plume is accurate, and I plan to remove it. I am also going to pick up my braided shako cord soon. Here are some pics:

From the 1812 Workshop

Well, Mississinewa is only 2 weeks away! As usual I have put everything off to the last possible minute. At present I am currently shrinking/sizing my emerald green, linen material for my rifle frock in the dryer. To keep from having the whole thing fray away, I stapled the cut ends with #4 Swingline staples (I don't own a sewing machine)! Ironic, but the stapler I am using is from Marion, IN, home of the Mississinewa battlefield, which is where this whole mess began and ultimately will end. Some kind of kharmic 1812 thing?

Outside, my shako hat mold is forming. I had no idea how to proceed with this. I have no shako blank, and to buy one is $$$, which I do not have. Thus, I did the 21st c. thing and looked to the inter-web. I found a YouTube video in which a guy made a hat mold by spraying expanding foam insulation material into a hat, to get the crown shape. I figured, why not do the same for a shako? Thus, I went to Home Depot; found the cardboard post hole tubes (look in the concrete supply area) measured a few and tried them on (you get strange looks from folks when they see a guy puttuing 4' long tubes on his head in the store), And bought one with an 8" diameter. I then cut it down to about 14" tall. I sprayed the interior with no stick cooking spray and shot a whole can of foam gap filler into it. If it works, I will be happy. If it is an "epic fail" as the kids say, I am only out $9.

Other projects: Making my Fort Meigs camp axe fit its handle with a wood rasp and hammer. Going back to Home depot for a cotton drop cloth with which to make my gaiters. Wish me luck!

<< Epic Fail>> The shako block has failed. There was not enough strength to the foam, and the center of the tube was full of liquid sealant. Oh well, I tried!

Fallen Timbers: 2011

While taking the kids to N. Michigan for our annual week long vaccation this past August, we stopped in at the Fallen Timbers memorial outside Toledo, OH. Once again my lousy camera skills combined with overcast skies to generate some lousy photographs.




The memorial is best accessed off of I-475, on the west side of Toledo. Take the US 24 exit, West. From there it is only a short distance to the site. Recent archaeological work has located the actual battlefield site to be a short distance away from the "park".

The park site itself is layed out in a grand lawn style, bordered by trees and walking paths, leading to a cluster of memorials on a small bluff over looking the flood plain of the Maumee. The largest memorial is that of Wayne, Little Turtle and what appears to be a frontiersman. Each of the bases 4 sides memorializes the peoples and events leading up to and following the battle.

Other monuments are dedicated to the US troops and militia who fought on August 20th, 1794. More poigniant are the memorials to the Indian warriors and Turky Foot, the Ottawa chief.

Trouble with Blogger

I have found that I can no longer sign in or comment on my favorite blogs anymore. My apologies, many of you are doing great work or posting things of interest. I hope to be enabled to comment soon....

Another Tecumseh tomahawk...

Here we have another pipe tomahawk presented as a gift by Tecumseh. This one was given to James Galloway, Sr. This piece is in the collection of the Fort Ancient Museum, Ohio Historical Society. I wish I was better at taking pictures of items under glass in appallingly dark museum conditions. A brief biography of J. Galloway, Sr. is: http://historyofohio.blogspot.com/2009/04/james-galloway-family.html

Tecumseh was here...

Here is an interesting piece in the Adena mansion and museum in Chillicothe, OH. It is a pipe tomahawk presented to Thomas Worthington by Tecumseh after he (Tecumseh) stayed at Adena, while further discussing peace in the new state and the details of the Greeneville treaty. The Adena mansion is run by the Ohio Historical Society, and has undergone a massive restoration and had a new museum built since my first visit in 1997. Well done, OHS!