Death Of Two Lieutenants In The War Of 1812

Lieut. John McCullough of Ohio 

Aid To Gen. Harrison,

Killed While Conferring

With The General

And

Lieut. Robert Walker

Of Pennsylvania,

Killed By Indians Near

Fort Miami

Were Buried Here

More About Talbot Chambers

See previous Chambers post here.

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Colonel Chambers was Zachary Taylor's superior officer in the First Regiment of Infantry as indicated below:

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Fort Osage

As part of his assignment, Colonel Chambers was at Fort Osage:

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Nickajack Expedition

"Maj. Ore, who had been detached...to protect the frontiers of Mero District, opportunely arrived at Nashville as the troops were concentrating for the Nickajack expedition... .

Upon the arrival of the Kentucky troops, Col. Whitley was given command of the entire force, and Col. Montgomery of the volunteers raised within the Territory."

"...[on September 7th] the army set out upon its march. It crossed the Barren Fork of Duck River near the Stone Fort, and arrived at the Tennessee on the night of the 8th. Of the individuals present at this expedition were Joseph Brown, son of Col. James Brown, whose melancholy fate is elsewhere recorded in this work; William Trousdale, afterward governor of Tennessee, and *Andrew Jackson.

Partial 1795 Map Including Nickajack (Source: LOC)

The troops having the next morning crossed the river, penetrated to the center of the town of Nickajack, a village inhabited by about 250 families. In this village the troops killed quite a number of warriors...".

*The author of the book, Life of Andrew Jackson, disputes that Jackson participated in the Nickajack expedition

George Washington's Sword To Captain Kearsley

See Kearsley LWT post 

I likewise give and bequeath my cane containing the sword worn by General Washington at Braddocks defeat and by General Washington presented to my Father during the winter campaign at Valley Forge in 1778 at the headquarters of the army my Father then being a captain in the Revolutionary Service and subsequently place the same in a cane with a suitable inscription and presented it to me.  To my grandson I commend the precept on the blade and which was as nobly and honorably fulfilled by Washington in his use of it "Draw me not without reason, sheath me not without honor." [Source - Jonathan Kearsley's Last Will And Testament In Wayne County, Michigan, Deed Book 77, Page 437]

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A Respectful Look At Henry Dodge

"For two centuries the family of Tristram Dodge, who landed on Block Island (off Rhode Island) in 1661, prospered from its instinct of migration. Its trail winds throughout the land, marked by Indian wars, exploits in frontier settlements, and a decoration for Israel Dodge from General George Washington for heroic action in the Battle of Brandywine. The record gained new strength with Henry Dodge, born to Israel and his wife, Nancy Ann Hunter, six years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence."

Vincennes, Indiana (early settlement where Moses Henry lived)

"The date was October 12, 1782, and he was the first white child born in what is now Indiana. An Indian chief of the Piankeshaw, seeing the baby, threatened to kill him. But Moses Henry, a manufacturer of arms, in whose house Henry Dodge was born, saved him by telling the chief that the child and mother would not stay there but would soon leave for their home in Kentucky. In gratitude, Nancy Ann named her firstborn after their benefactor, Moses Henry.  Eight years later Israel left his wife, son, and six-year-old daughter at Bardstown (where he had built the first stone house and tavern) to seek adventure and fortune in the Spanish country, in what is now Missouri." [Source]

Conger's Testimony

Baker, Baker And Conger

Impeachment Investigation: Testimony Taken Before the Judiciary Committee...:

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John Wilkes Booth's Response

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An excerpt from Captain Doherty's Narrative:

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Battle Of Germantown

Source - Chew House In Midst Of Battle

Recollections and private memoirs of Washington, By George Washington Parke Custis:

"The surprise was complete."  

"With all these disadvantages, the plan of the surprise of Germantown was ably conceived and gallantly executed in the outset, and failed of complete success only from circumstances beyond all human control."

West Point Teacher And Surveyor

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"Mr. Jefferson had been but a short time in office, when he became annoyed by the fact that the public surveys were going wrong, for the want of establishing meridian lines; for the accuracy of the surveys depended upon establishing meridian lines with base lines at right angles to them."

Lincoln And Nolin Creek

Source (Lincoln Birthplace)

Source

"...born...in then called Harden (Hardin) County, Kentucky, at a point within the now recently formed County of Larue, a mile or a mile and a half from where Hodgenville now is -- my parents being dead and my own memory not yet serving, I have no means of identifying the precise location -- it was on Nolin Creek, June 14, 1860.  A. Lincoln."

The Annexation Of West Florida

Near Madisonville, Louisiana, Once Part Of The Florida Parishes

"The annexation of West Florida called forth protests from Spain and Great Britain. President Madison maintained that the annexed territory was a part of the Louisiana purchase."

"...a bill has been introduced in congress to indemnify the people of the Florida parishes for the lands to which their ancestors had a clear title. In support of their claim it may be adduced that the negotiations which led to the Louisiana purchase were primarily instituted for the purchase of a site for a depot near the mouth of the Mississippi, so that the commerce and exports of the west might be placed beyond the caprices of the authorities of Louisiana." [Source]

See Wikipedia's explanation of the Florida Parishes here.

Mary Philipse, Roger Morris And George Washington

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Roger Morris, of New York, was a captain in the British army, in the French war, and one of the aides of the ill-fated Braddock. He married Mary, daughter of Frederick Phillipse, Esq., and settled in New York.

Roger Morris And Source

A part of the Phillipse estate was in possession of Colonel Morris in right of his wife, and was confiscated. Imagination, says Sabine,  dwells upon the attainting of a lady whose beauty and attractions had won the admiration of Washington*.

*An interesting incident occurred in the early life of Mrs. Morris — no other than that Washington desired to become her suitor... . He...was careful to entrust his secret to a confidential friend, whose letters kept him informed of every important event. In a few months intelligence came that there was a rival in the field, and that consequences could not be answered for if he delayed to renew his visits to New York.  He never saw the lady again, till she was married to that same rival, Captain Morris, his former associate in arms, and one of Braddock'a aide-de-camps. [Text - Loyalists Of America, Page 200]

On Mrs. Quisenberry's Farm

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"During the war the rebel government had established on Mrs. [Elizabeth Rousby] Quisenberry's farm their permanent signal station to communicate with other rebels in Maryland, and hold open their mail route to the North and Canada. The signal officers, as a rule, were genteel men, and they all thought highly of their hostess, who was then about fifty years old. They occupied the school-house, at least two of them did, and one of these was a Maryland gentleman named Thomas Harbin. This man was one of the original confidants of John Wilkes Booth in the scheme to abduct President Lincoln."

The excerpt above was taken from the Genealogical memoranda of the Quisenberry family and other families, including the names of Chenault, Cameron, Mullins, Burris, Tandy, Bush, Broomhall, Finkle, Rigg, and others (1897). 

See this blog for several interesting pictures of Mrs. Quisenberry's farm and the surrounding area.

Surratt Known As John Watson In Canada

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"The intense public emotion once stirred up by the unearthing of Booth and his infamous confederates in the President's murder, is now echoed, after so long an interval, by the discovery and seizure of John H. Surratt."

"The adventures of Surratt, his flight, his wanderings, his devices, his discovery, his capture, his bold escape, his second flight and final capture--all these (since truth is stranger than fiction) form a story exciting enough for the most greedy sensationalist."

Surratt's pseudonyms included Harrison, McCarty or McCarthy, and Watson.

The former Confederate spy was discovered in Italy under the name of John Watson in April of 1866.

An entry from the Archives of Canada:

"...information relative to a Canadian passport for John Watson, which was found in the possession of John H. Surratt, charged with the murder of Lincoln."

Washington Genealogy

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When In Canada

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"About this time *certain gentlemen in Canada began to be unenviably known. I make no charges against those whom I do not know, but simply say that the Confederate agents, Jacob Thompson, Larry McDonald, Clement Clay, and some others, had already accomplished enough villainy to make Wilkes Booth, on the first of the present year, believe that he had but to seek an interview with them."

*certain gentlemen in Canada"[Obituary of ] Col. Robert Maxwell Martin of Louisville, Ky., one of General John H. Morgan's Confederate troopers. He was in the [February 1864] plot to abduct Vice President Johnson on his way to the inauguration, succeeded to the command of the Third Kentucky Cavalry, and in last days of the war, when in Canada, formed the plot to abduct Johnson." [Source]

Abram Snay's Obituary

Sole Survivor of Party of Soldiers Who Avenged Lincoln

The Republican-journal., February 11, 1928, Page 5:

Image provided by: Northern NY Library Network

A Married Mexican Officer

From The Taylor anecdote book: anecdotes and letters of Zachary Taylor:

Wreath From Queen Victoria

"The death of President Garfield in 1881 moved the Queen...".

"As a gesture of her deep sorrow for Mrs. Garfield and the people of the United States, the Queen sent a large wreath of white tuberose to the funeral."

"Today, visitors to James A. Garfield National Historic Site can see the wreath displayed in the Memorial Library vault." [Source]

Should Mr. Clay Be Elected

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John C. Calhoun, State Department, to A.J. Donelson, August 23, 1844 

"I have read the letter of General Jackson to President Houston enclosed in your's with deep interest."

"Should Mr. Clay be elected, the door would probably be closed against the admission of Texas, and, if closed, she would be almost forced to seek the alliance of Great Britain, however disastrous it might prove in the end to her, to the United States, and I might add, to this Continent."