War of 1812 Collection

WAR OF 1812 COLLECTION, 1812-1815, 1942-1947, 1965, undated

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection was funded by a grant from the NHPRC (National Historical Publications and Records Commission).

Series List

Scope and Content Note

The War of 1812 Collection includes correspondence, ships' papers, lists of privateers and prizes taken, memoirs, sketches, and secondary research material related to American involvements in the War of 1812. This collection is arranged into four series.

Series I. Ships' Papers includes correspondence, contracts, instructions, and logbook pages of ships that participated in the War of 1812. These items are arranged alphabetically by ship name.

Series II. Privateer Papers includes lists of privateers and prizes taken by privateers during the War of 1812. This material has been arranged chronologically.

Series III. Correspondence, Notes, and Sketches includes correspondence from individuals participating in the War of 1812 along with orders and acts from the Treasury and Navy Departments of the United States. Two sketches of Dartmoor Prison are included, along with copies of Nathaniel Pierce's journal, Dartmoor Prison, two lists of American prisoners held at Dartmoor Prison, and the poem "The Baseness and Cowardice of Capt. Morgan" written at Melville Island Prison in Nova Scotia. These items are arranged chronologically.

Series IV. Secondary Research Materials includes notes and transcribed copies of original documents created by Lawrence W. Jenkins and Langston Haldens-Robertson during the course of their own research. These items are arranged chronologically.

Historical Sketch

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the United States of America and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815. Fighting occurred in the Atlantic Ocean between warships and privateers from both sides, on the Canadian-United States border, and in the South and Gulf Coast regions. American privateers captured more than 1,000 British ships, while the United States Navy captured closer to 250 British ships. Dartmoor Prison, located in Devon, England, held more than 6,500 American prisoners of war during the conflict. Prisoners remained incarcerated until 1815, even after the Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, ending the conflict between the two countries.

Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in Philcat. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Copyright

Request for permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Manuscript Librarian in the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Preferred Citation

War of 1812 Collection, MM 25, Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

Provenance

This material was acquired from various sources. The "Names of Soldiers Impressed into Service during the War of 1812" notebooks were donated by Miss Mary O. Pickering on October 21, 1881. Thomas Perkins donated a letter in relation to the Frigate Constitution on May 14, 1928. John Daland donated a document in relation to the Schooner Brutus on January 2, 1929. Lawrence W. Jenkins donated multiple items on June 15, 1939 (acc. 10,511). Mrs. John H. Thomas donated a typescript journal of Nathaniel Pierce's Dartmoor Prison and a letter to Captain William Nichols on October 25, 1962 (acc. 15,975). The New England Historic Genealogical Society donated an oversize letter on February 28, 1963 (acc. 16,143). Harriet C. Rantoul donated the sketch of Dartmoor Prison by Glover Broughton in June 1965. Mr. Benjamin L. Huntington II donated a typescript journal of Nathaniel Pierce's Dartmoor Prison on April 24, 1967 (acc. 17,474). Mrs. Lawrence C. Bond donated the list of American prisoners of war at Dartmoor Prison on February 8, 1968. Mrs. Edward G. Hotchkiss donated two letters of recommendation for Levi L. Hotchkiss on November 7, 1968 (acc. 17,916). The sketch of Dartmoor Prison was donated by Benjamin L. Huntington on August 10, 1971 (acc. 19,664). Some of this material was originally arranged as Fam. Mss. 236 and Fam. Mss. 237.

Processing Information

Collection processed and cataloged by Halley Grogan, July 2012.

Related Material

Maclay, Edgar Stanton. A History of American Privateers. New York, NY: D. Appleton and Co., 1899.

Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Records, 1779-1914, MM 6