Alexander Macomb, the elder, (1748–1831) was a fur trader, land and currency speculator, and slaveholder who supported the British during the American Revolution and provided the occupying British army with trade goods. [Read more…] about The Two Alexander Macombs: A Slaveholder & A Duplicitous Negotiator
War of 1812
David Lowe Dodge: The Merchant Peacemaker
While carrying a large sum of money on a business trip in 1805, the well-to-do city of New York merchant, David Low Dodge, who had been fast asleep in a tavern, was suddenly awakened by the noise of someone jiggling the lock to his bedroom door. Startled by the rattling doorknob and as the door slowly opened, Dodge, not taking any chances, quietly turned and reached for the pistol he always carried for protection.
And then, just before he was about to discharge his pistol, he recognized the suspected intruder as the innkeeper who had come to prepare the room for other guests. [Read more…] about David Lowe Dodge: The Merchant Peacemaker
John Isaac DeGraff: Schenectady’s First Elected Mayor
John Isaac De Graff (October 2, 1783 – July 26, 1848) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Schenectady, De Graff attended the common schools and Union College and engaged in mercantile pursuits and the practice of law in that city.
He served in the War of 1812 and was elected as a Jacksonian Democrat to the Twentieth Congress (March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829). [Read more…] about John Isaac DeGraff: Schenectady’s First Elected Mayor
Simeon Ford: Deserter & War of 1812 Hero
In August 1814, Capt. Opie of the 5th Regiment of U.S. Infantry placed a bounty in the Plattsburgh Republican offering a $200 reward for the return of four deserters, including Simeon Ford, who was accused of deserting for the third time.
Ford was described as 24 years of age, 5-feet-7 and a half inches tall, with dark hair and eyes and a fair complexion. His occupation: brick layer. He was also described as a cunning, artful, imposing fellow possessing a “superior degree of loquacity” which he used “in a most imposing manner.” [Read more…] about Simeon Ford: Deserter & War of 1812 Hero
Prisoners of War and the War of 1812
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Nicholas Guyatt, a Professor of North American History at the University of Cambridge, joins us to investigate the War of 1812 and the experiences of American prisoners of war using details from his book, The Hated Cage: An American Tragedy in Britain’s Most Terrifying Prison (Basic Books, 2022). [Read more…] about Prisoners of War and the War of 1812
The War of 1812 in the Capital District
The War of 1812 began on June 18, 1812, when President James Madison signed a declaration of war which began: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That war be and is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories.”
The causes of the war are quite clear. [Read more…] about The War of 1812 in the Capital District
Saratoga Area Ethnohistoric Survey Nears Completion
In 2018, Saratoga National Historical Park received funding to produce an ethnohistorical study of the Saratoga area. Professor Karim Tiro from Xavier University was chosen to conduct the research and compile the report.
Dr. Tiro specializes in North American history during the colonial, revolutionary, and early national periods with a focus on the history of Native Americans, the War of 1812, and epidemics. [Read more…] about Saratoga Area Ethnohistoric Survey Nears Completion
1813: Fall of Fort Niagara & Burning the Niagara Frontier
In December 1813, during the War of 1812, there was a human catastrophe as a result of the burning of the Niagara Frontier. Only one home was spared along the 37-mile-long border and upwards of 6,000 refugees fled into the snowy forests heading for the Genesee River and safety.
Richard V. Barbuto’s book New York’s War of 1812: Politics Society and Combat (University of Oklahoma Press, 2021), looks back to the War of 1812, from the beleaguered Fort McHenry to the burning White House to an embattled New Orleans. [Read more…] about 1813: Fall of Fort Niagara & Burning the Niagara Frontier
Stephen Van Rensselaer III: The Last Patroon
Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764-1839), was orphaned at the age of ten. His father had died when he was five and his mother remarried Reverend Eilardus Westerlo, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany. She died five years later and Stephen was raised by Abraham Ten Broeck (later Brigadier General) and his wife (Stephen’s aunt) Elizabeth Van Rensselaer.
Stephen attended the John Water’s School in Albany, grammar school in Elizabeth Town, New Jersey and Classical School in Kingston. He then attended college at Princeton, but withdrew to Harvard because of the dangers in Northern New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. In 1776, Stephen’s grandfather Philip Livingston (who had married Ten Broeck’s sister Christina) had signed the Declaration of Independence. [Read more…] about Stephen Van Rensselaer III: The Last Patroon
Francis Mallaby: Witness to Sackets Harbor History
The name Francis Mallaby may not be familiar in New York history but sailing master Mallaby served at the Sackets Harbor navy yard in a prosperous time of lake shipping and community growth. He helped make a difference by initiating purchase of land which is cherished today as the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site.
This War of 1812 veteran received high compliments from Lake Ontario navy commander Isaac Chauncey and Captain Woolsey that helped influence Mallaby’s 1817 appointment as master of the first steamboat on Lake Ontario, based in Sackets Harbor in Jefferson County, NY. [Read more…] about Francis Mallaby: Witness to Sackets Harbor History