Thomas Ruckle (1776-1853):Veteran War of 1812 Artist

Battle of North Point by Thomas Ruckle

Within the galleries of the Maryland Historical Society are two paintings: Defense of Baltimore: Assembling of the Troops, September 12, 1814 and Battle of North Point, Near Baltimore, Sept.12, 1814. Both were by artist and veteran of the battle Thomas Ruckle, a corporal in Captain George Steuart’s the Washington Blues, 5th Maryland Regiment.

Little is known of his early life other than he was the son of John and Elizabeth (Piper) Ruckle born in Embery, Ireland in 1776. In the late 18th century the family immigrated to Baltimore where his father took up the dry goods trade in 1802 on Market Street. On Nov. 28, 1798 at the age of twenty-two, Thomas married and took up residence near the Roman cathedral, and in May 1811 entered into business advertised as “House and Sign Painters & Glaziers”

In 1812 Thomas enlisted as a corporal in Captain George H. Steuart’s (1790-1867) Washington Blues, 5th Maryland Regiment and was present at the Battle of North Point on Sept. 12, 1814. His experience enabled him to recollect the preparations and the battlegrounds for two of his most famous paintings, The Defense of Baltimore Assembling of the Troops, September 12, 1814” (c.1820) and Battle of North Point, near Baltimore, September 12, 1814. (c. 1830).

Two of his sons, Thomas Coke and William Hogarth became accomplished artists in their own right the latter wrote his father in 1830, , “…Painters must be ambitious to excel. Don’t stop for trifles…Push ahead and in time the name of the Ruckles shall make as much of a noise in the United States as the famous Peales’ [family]…” On September 4, 1853, Thomas died at the age of seventy-seven and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in east Baltimore.

Sources: (Extract- New Discoveries and Interpretations: The War in the Chesapeake, 1812-1815 by Scott S. Sheads (unpublished, 2011); The Sun, Sept. 17, 1830; Sept. 6, 1853; July 3, 1903.

Published in: on March 25, 2011 at 9:15 am  Comments Off on Thomas Ruckle (1776-1853):Veteran War of 1812 Artist  

Last Stand at the Cathedral: September 1814

The Baltimore Basilica

On September 6, 1814 Captain Samuel Babcock, U.S. Corps of Engineers reported on the state of fortifications at Baltimore to Major General Samuel Smith. Babcock had been ordered to Baltimore by the secretary of war “to direct the works of defense.” Among the various defensive sites Babcock pointed out were Hampstead Hill, Federal Hill and Camp Lookout all near the inner harbor. One of particular interest was the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the first such in the United States built between 1806-1821. The cornerstone was laid on July 7, 1806 and the church consecrated May 31, 1821. Today, it is known as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, considered one of the most beautiful neoclassical architectural structures in America, designed by America’s first architect, Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820). Latrobe also designed the U.S. Capitol,still under construction – that now laid in a fiery ruin when the British captured Washington on Aug. 24. During its construction a number of financial setbacks and the war interrupted the fifteen year building.

“…The new Cathedral from its commanding situation and the materials of which it is composed would I think be a valuable place to occupy; in a short time, it could be rendered susceptible of a good defense. At each end of the City, materials should be collected proper to barricade the avenues at a short notice…”

Cathedral Hill is located nearly two miles west of Hampstead Hill (Patterson Park), the main defenses of Baltimore itself and the second rise of ground above the Jones Falls. Here among the building stones a last stand could reasonably have been made. During the war various militia companies gathered and encamped on what was then known as Cathedral Hill, its eminence gave a panoramic view of Baltimore and the harbor.

Sources: Capt. Samuel Babcock to Maj. Gen. Samuel Smith, Sept. 6, 1814. Samuel Smith Papers, MSS 18794, Reel 4, Cont. 5-6, Library of Congress.

Published in: on March 24, 2011 at 11:30 pm  Comments Off on Last Stand at the Cathedral: September 1814  

1st Regiment, Maryland Volunteer Artillery, Maryland Militia

“This Regiment of Artillery, is emphatically the pride of Baltimore…”  (Baltimore Patriot, December 2, 1814.) 

Early 19th century 6 pounder field cannon

Organization – The First Regiment of Artillery of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division of the Maryland Militia was commanded by Lt. Colonel David Harris (1769-1844), consisting of ten companies of 70 men each, composed of “a very valuable portion of Baltimore’s society, young ardent, enterprising men, of reputable standing and honorable feeling…” During the Baltimore campaign of September 1814 they were distributed among the defenses at Hampstead Hill (*), Battle of North Point (**) and Fort McHenry (***).

Each company usually had four 6-pdr field cannon, a regimental total of thirty-four guns, each owned a company, each equipped with a common two-horse  two wheel-cart to carry munitions of cartridges, slow match, port-fires, and 60-70 rounds of cartidges each.

Artillery Effectiveness – Round-shot had a fearsome psychological effect on troops. Tests demonstrated that, under op­timum conditions, a 6 pound solid shot would cut through nineteen men, who were in close formation or seven feet of compacted earth.  The advantage of round-shot lay in its long zone of effectiveness which made it a useful projectile against targets as close as 250 yards and out to 1,100 yards (3,300 ft.) or more. It essense its volacity and low to the ground projection did extreme physical and psychological damage to soldiers in lineral firing formation.

Battle of North Point – Captain John Montgomery’s Baltimore Union Artillery with four guns was the only American artillery in the Battle of North Point on September 12, 1814. It is apparent that Brigadier General John Stricker’s troops at the Battle of North Point was only a delaying action, biding time for the American forces at Baltimore to prepare for the main assault. More artillery would have proved that General Stricker would have meant to make a stand on the grounds. The amount of the artillery upon Hampstead Hill (today Patterson Park) proved this.

First Regiment of Volunteer Artillery

Capt. George Stiles, The First Marine Artillery of the Union *

Capt. Samuel Moale, Columbian Artillery Co. *

Capt. James Piper, United Maryland Artillery *

Capt. George J. Brown, Eagle Artillerist Co. *

Capt. Joseph Myers, Franklin Artillery *

Capt. John Montgomery, Baltimore Union Artillery Co.**

Capt. John Berry, Washington Artillerist Co. ***

Capt. Charles Pennington, Baltimore Independent Artillerist Co.***

Attached

Capt. Joseph H. Nicholson, Baltimore Fencibles, owing they were U.S. Volunteers they were allowed to parade and exercise with the First Regiment. During the bombardment the Fencibles assisted the regular garrison at Fort McHenry, the U.S. Corps of Artillery, in manning the much heavier and powerful 24-pdr garrison artillery mounted on the fort walls.

Sources: “Military Notice,” Baltimore Patriot, December 2, 1814;  Col. Decius Wadsworth to Maj. General Samuel Smith , July 25, 1814. Samuel Smith Papers, MSS 18974, Library of Congress; “Field Artillery of the War of 1812: Equipment, Organization and Tactical Effectiveness,” by Donald E. Graves, The War of 1812 Magazine (Issue 12, November 2009); Citizen Soldiers at North Point and Fort McHenry, September 12 & 13, 1814 by James Young (Baltimore, 1889).

Published in: on March 24, 2011 at 10:48 pm  Comments Off on 1st Regiment, Maryland Volunteer Artillery, Maryland Militia  

Lt. Colonel George Armistead, (1780-1818)

“The President promptly sent my promotion with a very handsome compliment. So you see me dear wife, all is well, at least your husband has got a name and standing that nothing but divine providence could have given him, and I pray to our Heavenly Father we may live long to enjoy.” Armistead to his wife Louisa Armistead, Sept. 1814.

George Armistead

George Armistead was born on April 10, 1780, in Caroline County, Virginia, to John and Lucinda (Baylor) Armistead, one of five brothers, three of whom later served in the War of 1812. Armistead enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1799, rising steadily through the ranks until March 3, 1813 when he received his majority and subsequently distinguished himself on May 18th while serving as an artillery officer at Fort Niagara, New York, in the capture of Fort George across the Niagara River in Upper Canada. He was accorded the honor of delivering the captured British flags to President Madison.

On his taking command of Fort McHenry in June 1813, Armistead requested a flag for his new garrison flag measuring 42’ x 30’, a standard size for the period. The flag and his victory over a British naval bombardment on Sept. 13-14, 1814 earned his enduring place in American history under that flag at Fort McHenry whose stalwart defense of Baltimore against the British attack in 1814 inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner. Armistead would remained in command of the fort until his untimely death at age 38 on April 25, 1818.

In 1810, then Captain Armistead married at the Otterbein Church, Baltimore, Louisa Hughes (1789-1861), daughter of Baltimore silversmith Christopher Hughes, Sr. Colonel Armistead is buried along with his wife and nephew Brig. Gen. Lewis Addison Armistead, CSA (1817-1863) in Old St. Paul’s Cemetery in Baltimore.

Source: Sheads, Scott S., Guardian of the Star-Spangled Banner: Lt. Col. George Armistead and The Fort McHenry Flag (Baltimore: Toomey Press, 1999)

Published in: on March 24, 2011 at 9:43 pm  Comments Off on Lt. Colonel George Armistead, (1780-1818)  

The Aquila Randall Monument, 1817

Aquila Randall Monument

Aquila Randall Monument. From Lossing's Pictorial Field Guide of the War of 1812

“Dulici et decorum est pro Patria mori”

On Baltimore County’s historic Patapsco Neck along the Old North Point Road at the intersection of Old Battle Grove Road stands the second oldest known military monument in Maryland and the third oldest known in the United States. It is one of Maryland’s least visited War of 1812 sites – the Aquila Randall Monument. On July 21, 1817, Captain Benjamin C. Howard’s First Mechanical Volunteers formed up early in town and marched six miles to the North Point battleground. Accompanying them were wagons conveying the monument blocks to be assembled and dedicated on site that day. The monument’s construction was directed by Lt. Thomas Towson, a stone mason “who aimed at simplicity and neatness.” With a final application of whitewash it was dedicated to honor Private Aquila Randall a member who was killed in a skirmish just before the Battle of North Point, September 12, 1814. The company was joined by other 5th Maryland Regiment officers at the monument while Captain Howard delivered a modest appropriate address:

“….I can picture to myself the sensation of those who in far distant days will contemplate this monument…and the melancholy event which has caused our assemblage at this spot…This monument which we are now erecting, will stand as a solemn expression of the feeling of us all…But I regret that the spot, which is made classic by the effusion of blood, the sport where the long line stood un-appalled by the system and advances of an experienced and disciplined foe, has been suffered to remain unnoticed. It is here where her citizens stood arrayed soldier’s garb, that honors to a soldier’s memory should have been paid. To mark the spot be then our care.…”

[Monument Inscriptions]

[West face] – How beautiful is death, when earned by virtue.

[East face] – SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF AQUILA RANDALL, Who Died, in bravely defending his Country and his home, On the memorable 12th of September, 1814,Aged 24 years.

[North face] – THE FIRST MECHANICAL VOLUNTEERS, Commanded by Capt. B.C. Howard, in the 5th Regiment, M.M. HAVE ERECTED THIS MONUMENT, As a tribute of their respect for THE MEMORY OF THEIR GALLANT BROTHER IN ARMS.

[South face] – In the skirmish which occurred at this spot between the advanced party under Major RICH’D K. HEATH of the 5th Reg.’ M.M. and the front of the British column, Major General ROSS, the commander of the British force, received his mortal wound.

Source: (An Extract) “A History: The Aquila Randall Monument and the Monument Hotel of Baltimore County,” by Scott S. Sheads. From The War of 1812 in Maryland: New Discoveries and Interpretation. (2011, unpublished).

Published in: on March 24, 2011 at 8:58 pm  Comments Off on The Aquila Randall Monument, 1817  

Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860): Relics & Paintings of the War of 1812

Rembrandt Peale Self Portrait

On August 15, 1814 artist Rembrandt Peale opened his Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts at North Holiday Street in Baltimore, America’s first designed public museum. The museum, designed by Robert Cary Long, was advertised predominately as an arts and sciences museum, displaying only works of art and manufactured products.

In the weeks after the Battle for Baltimore Peale displayed the “Rockets, Bomb Shells, &c., of every description thrown into Baltimore during the bombardment.” Peale’s museum became the first to display the relics of Britain’s naval arsenal for the curiosity for those who had heard, but not seen a British shell or Congreve rocket, so eloquently noted in “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Captain Joseph Hook of the 36th U.S. Infantry at Fort McHenry donated a 190 lb. cast iron British mortar shell for exhibition at the museum. On September 28, Peale placed on exhibition the first engraving entitled “Battle of Patapsco Neck” by artist Andrew Dulac, a rifleman in the Baltimore Yagers. Such relics and paintings became a regular museum features within months after the bombardment.

On September 13, 1830 during the sixteenth anniversary of the Battle of North Point, Louisa Armistead, the widow of Lt. Colonel George Armistead, graciously loaned to the museum the original bombardment flag that had flown during the bombardment with a Mr. Mercer singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

That same year, the museum was sold to the City of Baltimore and used as the first City Hall until the present City Hall was built in 1875. In 1931, the building reopened as a museum, serving as the repository for the city’s historic collections as well as a venue for local artists. At its closure in 1977, the remaining artifacts were transferred to the Maryland Historical Society.

Today as we approach the 200th anniversary, the tradition of displaying relics and remembrances of the Battle for Baltimore continues at Fort McHenry and the Maryland Historical Society. Several of the “bomb bursting in air” and other relics made famous in “The Star-Spangled Banner” may be found at these sites carrying on the tradition of America’s first designed public museum.

Sources: The Peale Museum, National Historic Landmark, National Park Service; American and Commercial Daily Advertiser, August 3, 1815, July 4, 1815; Baltimore Patriot, January 11, 1815; Bernard B. Perlman, “The City Hall, Baltimore,” Maryland Historical Magazine 47 (March 1952): 40-54; Sun October 19, 1997.

Published in: on March 18, 2011 at 10:35 pm  Comments Off on Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860): Relics & Paintings of the War of 1812  

Baltimore Quotes of War:1814

“We should have to fight hereafter, not for ‘free trade and sailors’ rights,’ not for the conquest of the Canadas, but for our national existence.” (Captain Joseph Hopper Nicholson, May 20, 1814)

“I think the handsomest sight I ever saw was during the bombardment to see the bums and rockets flying and the firing from our three forts. It was much handsomer at night than in the day…I could see plenty of redcoats but could not get within musket shot of them” (Lt. John Harris, U.S. Marine Corps, Hampstead Hill, September 27, 1814.)

“…after a night of awful darkness, interrupted by the yet more awful fires of bombardment, while the thunder of hostile squadrons poured its long and terrific echo from hill to hill around our alters and our homes, our wives and children, the flag of the Republic waves on our ramparts; scattering from every undulation, through an atmosphere of glory, the defiance of the free, and the gratitude of the delivered…” (Sermon, Reverend James Inglis, First Presbyterian Church to the 1st Regiment, Maryland Artillery , October 2, 1814.)

“We could see the shot strike the frigates in several instances, when every heart was gladdened, and we gave three cheers, the music playing Yankee Doodle.” (Private Isaac Munroe, U.S. Volunteers, Fort McHenry, September 17, 1814.)

“…the houses in the city were shaken to their foundations for never, perhaps from the time of invention of cannon to the present day, were the number of pieces fired with so rapid a succession….” (Niles’ Weekly Register, September 1814.)

“It is, at this moment, said the enemy are now standing up the river for this place with about 40 sail. I shall stay by my ship and take no part in the militia fight.” (Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, US frigate Java, Fells point, September 12, 1814)

“The attack on Fort McHenry, by nearly the whole British fleet was distinctly seen from Federal Hill, and from the tops of houses which were covered with men, women, and children…the whole awful spectacle of shot and shells, and rockets, shooting and bursting through the air.” (Salem Gazette, Massachusetts, September 28, 1814)

“At the first dawn, every eye was directed towards the Fort, to see whether the American banner still waved there; and when the morning mists had sufficiently dispersed, we were filled exultation at beholding the stars and stripes still floating in the breeze.” (Private John Dagg, 57th Virginia Regt., Federal Hill, September 1814)

“All this night the bombardment continued with unabated vigor; the hissing of rockets and the fiery shells glittered in the air, threatening destruction as they fell; whilst to add solemnity to this scene devastation, the rain fell in torrents – the thunder broke in mighty peals after each successive flash of lightening, that for a moment illuminated the surrounding darkness…” (Midshipman Robert Barrett, HM frigate Hebrus, September 1814)

“All hearts and able hands have cordially united in the common cause…At this moment we cannot have less than 10,000 men under arms…all sorts of people, old and young, white and black, in so much we expect that every vulnerable point will be strongly fortified.” (George Douglass, Merchant, Baltimore, September 2, 1814)

“Your birthplace may be in different countries, and your national names different. – But united with us in affection and interest, asserting our cause against an implacable enemy, you are one with us…prepare the musket; sharpen the bayonet; take the tent for your house; and your dinner from the knapsack…A Militia Man of 1776.” (Baltimore Patriot, August 22, 1814)

“After a night of awful darkness…while the thunder of hostile squadrons poured its long and terrific echo from hill around our altars and our homes, our wives and children, the flag of the Republic waves on our ramparts; scattering from every undulation, through an atmosphere of glory, the defiance of the fire and the gratitude of the delivered.” (Baltimore Mayor Edward Johnson, November 5, 1814)

Published in: on March 12, 2011 at 10:16 am  Comments (1)  

“An Act to Regulate and Discipline the militia of this State,” 1812

Battle of North Point by Don Troiani

Battle of North Point by Don Troiani

“You will be hereby satisfied that our fellow-citizens in arms are ready to do their duty and believe with me, that the liberties of America can never be lost, while every citizen is a soldier and every soldier the sentinel of his own.” Robert Wright, President of the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates, December 1807.

With the declaration of war on June 18, 1812, Marylanders were once again summoned to volunteer, not as minute men of the Revolution, but as citizen-soldiers, that would described a new generation of militia as the nation prepared for a second war with England. On the same day the Maryland legislature, during a special session, authorized Governor Levin Winder “at his discretion, to arm such portions of the militia of this state” to fulfill its quota requirement of the Federal Militia Act of 1793, to hold in readiness against foreign invasion, six thousand militia.

The Act of 1793 defined the states’ responsibilities in raising two kinds of companies. The first were enrolled militia, calling for every able-bodied white male citizen between 18-45 years of age. The second, were militia who offered their services as U.S. Volunteers to meet each states quota. Each soldier was required to be equipped with “a good musket or flintlock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints and a knapsack, a pouch with a box therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges.” Each state organized their militia into divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions and companies. The President however, did not have authority to order the militia serve outside their respective states, a problem that became apparent in New England during the invasion of Canada in 1812-13. Historian Henry Adams, stated the essence of a citizen-soldier in his classic narrative of the war:

“Every man in the United States, under 45 years of age…and during the war attended in his turn, to be drilled or trained. He had always in his possession either a musket or a rifled-barrel piece; knew its use from his infancy; and with it, therefore, could do as much executions in a smock frock or plain coat as if he wore the most splendid uniform.”

On January 7, 1812, the Maryland Assembly passed An Act to Regulate and Discipline the Militia of This State, outlining in thirty pages the regulations, duties, and discipline that was required of the militia; the regulations, duties, and discipline required of the militia who consisted of farmers, merchants, mariners, and tradesmen to drill four times a year. When the alarm was sounded, the militia left their occupations and families to gather at their place of rendezvous such as a tavern, a farm or the town green. St. John’s College green was used as a militia rendezvous site as it had been during the Revolutionary War and where the French army encamped in 1782 on their way to Yorktown.

Many wore Maryland’s own regimental uniforms, while others wore their homespun hunting frocks, hats and carried weapons ranging from hunting rifles and duck guns to muskets handled down from the days of the Revolution. Cloth or leather hunting bags were slung across their shoulders with ball and powder, and haversacks filled with provisions. Despite the inadequacy of equipage militia companies yearned for an opportunity to display their flags as a rallying point for the brave sons of Columbia.

Throughout Maryland infantry companies began to fill the ranks. They named their companies after patriotic ideals or local landmarks to mark their respective regions of the state.

Dorchester County – The True Blues of America and The Plymouth Guns.

Talbot County – the Easton Infantry Blues, the Hole in the Wall, St. Michaels Patriotic Blues, and the Hearts of Oak.

Annapolis – The First Volunteer Company of the City of Annapolis and The Annapolis United Guards.

Washington County – Hagerstown Homespun Volunteers; Fredericktown Blues.

Queen Annes County – The First Troop-True Republican Blues.

Kent County – Chestertown Independent Volunteers.

During the war these county militia companies of flintlock and duck guns would bear the brunt of Britain’s royal navy and army and while not so well equipped as the British they performed their arduous duties to defend their homes and communities.

Sources: An Act to Regulate & Discipline the Militia of This State, (Annapolis, 1811); Easton Republican Star, or, Eastern Shore General Advertiser, (Md.), December 8, 1807.
Published in: on March 11, 2011 at 1:09 am  Comments Off on “An Act to Regulate and Discipline the militia of this State,” 1812  
Newer Entries »