NO. 18 THE CLEMENTS LIBRARY ASSOCIATES FALL 2002 WAR OF 1812 y most standards. the Party. It put an end to any serious Perry's victory at the Battle of Lake War of 1812 was one of American aspirations of taking Canada. Erie, two encounters at Mackinac, and our nation'5 minor military The Indians of the Great Lakes lost any the Battle of the Thames-notable mili ­ conflicts. The Civil War and two ability they previously had to play off tary actions in the course of the con­ world wars ofthe twentieth century American and British interests. flict-ail occurred nearby. The War of established levels of public involvement Nothing was left for them but to sell 1812 was a crucial event in Michigan and battlefield carnage that make the their eastern lands and move westward. history. It makes sense that this minor Indian wars, 1812, the Mexican and clearing the way for rapid settlement of war has a major place in the collections Spanish-American of the Clements Wars, Korea, and Library. The Vietnam see mingly shelves contain the pale in comparison. papers of both offi­ Measured only by cers and average casualties, this soldiers and sailors. is true. They document the But wars, actions, the aspira ­ even smaller ones if tions, the successes, they last for awhile, and the failures of can have irreve rs­ both sides. As with ible politic al, eco­ all phases of our nomic, social. and history. the collec­ geopolitical effects tions include a par­ on a country unan­ ticularly rich visual ticipated by the record of the war. nation 's "old men" As excited who commit its as we, the staff, "young m en" to can get when the battlefield service. Library acquires Generally entered "new" source into to restore order The close-quarters fighting ofearly nineteenth-century naval combat is captu red in materi als, the true or preserve a status Boarding and Taking of the American Ship Chesapeake, published in London in 1816. measure of our quo that seems The loss a/Chesapeake and the dying words ofher commander, James Lawrence, effectiveness is threatened. lengthy inspired Oliver Hazard Perry 5 battle flag emblazoned wirh "Don 't Give Up the Ship. .. the degree to armed confli cts which they are serve instead to hasten change. the Midwest by easterners and used. University students and classes On paper, the War of 1812 was European immigrants. The regular and academic historian s are obvious a conflict without permanent results. American army and navy gained a visitors. Brian Dunnigan's piece high­ Militarily, it was essentially a draw. degree of professionalism, tradition, and lights a less obvious but exceptionally The peace treaty resulted in no territori­ respect they had lacked before the war. important constituency of users-s­ al gains or losses, no political conces­ We acquired a new crop of American research ers involved in the preservati on. sion by either side. For Britain, it was heroes: Thomas Macd onough, Oliver restoration. and interpretation of histori­ a minor and quickly forgotten sideshow Hazard Perry, Winfield Scott, William cal sites. It is a very important way in to the Napoleonic contlict. In sharp Henry Hanison, Andrew Jackson. which we reach the public at large and contrast. the War of 1812 profoundly Most of all, the country gained a help to remind the country as a whole changed the course of United States sense of pennanence and pride. of our rich historical heritage. history in many ways. William Hull's surrender of - John C. Dann The war destroyed the Federalist Detroit, the River Raisin Massacre. Director -------------1~r--------- DOCUMENTING THE SITES OF 1812 he WaI of 1812 was States and Canada. Reproductions of Chippawa, Detroit, and Fort St. Joseph. fought primarily around visual material from the Clements col­ He was particularly familiarwith Fort the margins of the United lections may be seen in many interpre­ George, having been posted there for States-in the Western states tive centers and site publications. several years . The fort that Walsh and territories, along the sea- A relatively small number of his­ knew was completely destroyed during coasts, in the northern borderlands torical site museums were in operation the first year of the WaI of 1812, and, with Canada, and on the shores of the when the Clements Library opened its by the twentiethcentury, only its Gulf of Mexico. That is where, today, doors in 1923. The era of the Great earthworks remained visible within one finds the surviving historical places Depression and the post-Wor ld WaI 11 a Canadian Army training camp. and structures relating to the conflict of period. however. witnessed a manifold Economic hard ship s in the 1930s 1812-1814. Historical sites and mark­ increase in interest in the preservation provided the impetus to reconstruct ers are particularly thick in Ontario, of significant places. Historic forts and buildings and walls. and, although New York, Ohio, and Michigan, where structures were restored and opened to interrupted by World WaI II, the impres­ the northern campaigns were fought. the public. and. in some cases, long­ sive complex opened to the public in The Chesapeake Bay region, Louisiana, vanished buildings were reconstructed the early 1950s. and parts of New England also preserve for their value as memorials and teach­ Despite careful research and and commemorate the locations where ing aids. The historical documentation reconstruction. the buildings of Fort housed in the George were left with their crude log Cle me nts so on proved walls exposed and subject to deteriora­ as much a treasure tion. Repairs were necessary by the trove for historians of 1980s, and Parks Canada researchers places and material turned to Edwa rd Walsh and the culture as it had been Clements Library. Walsh clearly for more traditional showe d the log walls covered with academic study. painted siding. and this information Information preserved provided both a maintenance solution in manuscripts, printed and an opportunity to improve the materials, maps, and authenticity of the reconstruction. graphics provides Fort George now sports neatly painted critical details for structures and details such as picket restoration and inter­ fences andornamental..trees, reflecting pretation. The authen­ a desire by British officers for Georgian tic reconstruction of amenities, even on the isolated Great Michigan's own Fort Lakes frontier. Michi limackinac, for Two importantsites of the war examp le, which began in the West are to be found in northern "11Je Esplanade. Fort George. Uppe r Canada. " painted by Edward in the late 1950s, Lake Huron. Fort St. Joseph was the Walsh (1756-/832) in June /805. is one ofvery few contemporary would have been diffi­ images showing interior details ofa fort. Walsh offers a wealth of pre-war British post on the St. Mary's information, from the color of buildings to the bears and other wild cult, if not impossible, River. From there,a British and pets kept by the men of the garrison. were it not for the Native-American force descended on documents and maps the unwary American garrison of Fort Americ a was directly touched by the preserved in the Thomas Gage Papers. Mackinac in July 1812 . Operated today WaI of 1812. Michilimackinac is a historic by Parks Canada, Fort St. Joseph has WiliiaIfi L. Clements established site of the eighteenth cen tury, but the been preserved as a ruin and archaeo­ his library for the purpose of making Clements Library is a resource for those logical site. The interpretation of its primary source material s available to from the WaI of 1812 as well. Among stark stone foundations has been made advanced scholars of American history. the most graphic documents in the col­ far more effective by the use of Edward In the eighty years since that time, the lection are the wonderfully detailed and Walsh's view of the post-the only such Library's reader base has broadened colorful watercolors drawn by British image known to exist from the time dramatically to include scholars in other military surgeon Edward Walsh during before the little fort was burne d by disciplines, younger faculty, students, his service in Canada priorto the War U.S. troop s in 1814. amateu r historians, and family of 1812. In the course of his travels, FortMackinac has also benefited researchers. Staff of the many cultural primarily in 1804 and 1805, Walsh from the resources of the Clements agencies that preserve and interpret his­ recorded the appearance of military Library. The Graphics Division holds toric sites form another important seg­ posts along what would soon be the a rare colored, copperplate engraving ment of the Lib rary's patrons, and front line between the United States published in Montreal in 1813 to cele­ inquiries are regularly received from and Upper Canada . Walsh made views brate the capt ure of the post. Richard sites and museums around the United of Toronto, FortGeorge, FortNiagara, Dillon Jr.'s image is a realistic view of PAGE 2 THE Q1JARTO the fort, town, and harbor as they appeared in 1812. The Map Division has a precise topographical map of Mackinac Island by Lieutenant William S. Eveleth, which provides many fur­ ther detail s of fortifi cations, roads, and buildi ngs as they were at the end of the war. Of particular importance is its rendering of the site of the battle Michilimackinac, on Lake Huron, drawn by Richard Dillon, Jr., and published in fought on August 4, 1814, when an Montreal in 1813 by Richard Dillon. The loss ofthis post on July 17,1812 was the American attempt to recapture the fi rst setback in a year ofdisasters suffered by American arms in the Old Northwest.