Presidents Day Blog Project: James Madison and the War of 1812

This year marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the War of 1812, a much forgotten conflict between the United States and Great Britain. This week’s feature as part of the Presidents Day Blog Project is a letter from President James Madison in November of 1814 to the Governor of New York, Daniel D. Tompkins, future Vice President under James Monroe. With the war over two years in, both sides were looking for a way to end hostilities. The Americans were in favor of returning to the status quo ante bellum, while the British were initially interested in preserving gains made in the war. The year 1814 would see more than just the burning of Washington; it would also see the completion of the negotiations at Ghent and the signing of a peace treaty that effectively put relations between the two countries back to their prewar status. Though Andrew Jackson would go on to fight at New Orleans in January of 1815, the war was semi-officially ended at the signing in December of 1814, and officially with President Madison’s declaration in February 1815.

This week’s document lends an interesting perspective from the state of New York on the prospects of ending the war, but also a larger example of the widespread yearn to bring the war to an end. The letter is from President James Madison to Governor Tompkins in response to a unanimous resolution passed by both Houses of the Legislature of New York “expressing the emotions with which they view the terms of peace proposed by the British commissioners at Ghent, and recommending the most vigorous measures for bringing the war to an honorable termination.” Madison expresses his gratitude to the unanimous resolution with “language [that] does great honor to the patriotism and just sentiments of the State…”

           

With the many anniversaries upon us these next few years, it is important to make sure the War of 1812 does not lack in proper attention, both to the artifacts that have survived from the conflict but also the historical significance of the event itself.

Post By: Bruce Spadaccini Jr., Museum Technician
If you are interested in reading more on the material available here at Morristown National Historical Park on the War of 1812, feel free to contact the staff. More manuscripts may be featured in the future provided there is further interest in the subject.

Presidents Day Blog Project: Abraham Lincoln

In our "Presidents Day Blog Project" entry last week we took a look at some documents from George Washington. This week we turn to our 16^thpresident, Abraham Lincoln.

Sometimes the smallest notes mean the world to someone, and in this week’s letter we’ll see that. The above letter was written to President Lincoln on December 8^th, 1863 from the town of Janesville, Illinois. It asks for Lincoln’s interference in a court martial decision against “a young soldier” who was sentenced to death. The petitioners cite the soldier’s “extreme youth” and “his aged parents” as reasons for Lincoln’s clemency. Lincoln's note reads: "In this case, let the sentence of death be commuted to imprisonment at hard labor for life. A. Lincoln. Jan. 7, 1864."

William Blake had been convicted of murder and further telegrams from Lincoln tell and even deeper story. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln and the Abraham Lincoln Association have published a telegram from Lincoln to Major General Butler, William Blake’s commander on December 21, 1863. The telegram read:

“It is said that William H. Blake is under sentence of death at Fort-Magruder, in your Department. Do not let him be executed without further order from me, & in the mean time have the record sent me. He is said to belong to the 1st. or 2nd. Pennsylvania Artillery. A. Lincoln.”[1]

Butler replied:

“General Butler replied on December 22: ``Private Wm. H. Blake Batty E 1st. Penn Artillery, is under sentence of death by hanging for murder. In my judgment a very deliberate one. He will not be executed without further orders from you."[2]

Interesting that General Butler found the accused murder “a very deliberate one”. Nonetheless, Blake’s sentence was commuted by Lincoln to life imprisonment with hard labor, as seen in our image above. Blake would then receive a presidential pardon in April of 1864.

For fans of Lincoln, the town of Janesville, Illinois might ring a bell: it was the town Lincoln’s parents settled in after moving to Illinois (first in Macon County, then to Janesville in Coles County) in 1830. Though Lincoln went off to work in New Salem, Illinois at this time, he returned to Janesville to visit. In 1851, with the death of his father, Thomas, Abraham continued to help maintain the homestead for his mother (Lincoln’s birth mother died when he was just 9). The important note in all of this is that Lincoln would have been known by the residents of Janesville, and he most certainly would have recognized the town heading the letter pictured above.

It might be said that the residents who drew up this petition thought they needed Lincoln to recognize the town it was coming from, which explains the overly large “J” at the top of the letter. This is only speculation, but such writing would presumably draw Lincoln’s attention, perhaps aiding their request of him.

Post by: Bruce Spadaccini (Museum Technician)

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[1] Source: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 7, Abraham Lincoln Association and the University of Michigan, available at: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/

[2] Ibid.

Presidents Day Blog Project: George Washington

"To Colonel Benedict Arnold, Commander of the Detachment of the Continental Army destined against Quebec."

      

           With February commemorating Presidents Day, it seems fitting to feature some of the artifacts in our collection here at Morristown National Historical Park relating to past presidents. With the help of Lloyd W. Smith, MNHP has in its collection artifacts pertaining to the first thirty-two presidents, from George Washington to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. With several hundred items to choose from, it was difficult on deciding which to showcase this month. Naturally, we begin with George Washington, whose 280^th birthday is celebrated on the 22^nd of this month and officially commemorated on Presidents’ Day on the 21^st this month.

            Before jumping into this week’s article, let’s take a moment to review a note from our curator, Jude Pfister, D. Litt.:

"As with most prominent individuals of the time, and especially someone of Washington's prominence, he had a small army of copyists and writers who would prepare letters and correspondence for his signature and in some routine matters even sign for him. This was not unusual; in fact, it is even done today. This particular letter in the Morristown collection is an example of one of those letters. Naturally, this practice makes it difficult to determine what is an actual Washington letter. Fortunately, in terms of intrinsic, historical importance, we don't need to worry about whose pen this particular letter came from. The importance of this letter lies in its content."

Pictured above you will see the headline “To Colonel Benedict Arnold Commander of the Detachment of the Continental Army destined against Quebec.” This intriguing document is a contemporary copy of a letter written from General George Washington to Colonel Benedict Arnold on September 14, 1775.

Washington makes note that Arnold’s command is “of the utmost consequence to the interest and liberties of America…” and the entire document is symbolic of the wider goal of attracting other British colonies to the cause of American independence. Washington warns Arnold to observe the strictest discipline and order in the ranks, and to “avoid all disrespect or contempt of the religion of the Country.” With religion a hotbed of tension between the Protestant colonies on the eastern seaboard and the French Catholics in Quebec (and throughout North America), it was clearly pertinent for the army to avoid all conflicts on the issue.

To the right is an image of another letter sent by Washington on that date of Arnold’s exact orders, “You are by every means in your power to endeavor to discover the real sentiments of the Canadians towards our cause, and particularly as to this expedition.”

In fourteen separate points, Washington details instructions for Arnold and his officers. For instance, Arnold is instructed to pay full price for all provisions (a task hardly accomplished throughout the war) so as not to insult or deprive the Canadians. In essence, Arnold needs to take extreme care in this expedition, as its aims are sensitive to the direction of the war. The last thing Washington wants is to “irritate our fellow-subjects against us.” If these inhabitants (Native Americans are included in this address) do not seem open to cooperation with the cause, “The expense of the expedition and the disappointment are not to be put in competition with the dangerous consequences which may ensue from irritating them against us, and detaching them from that neutrality which they have adopted.” High hopes were placed on Canada, and though history would play out differently, these documents attest to the important Washington and Congress placed on incorporating other British colonies in the cause of liberty.


Post by:
Bruce Spadaccini (Museum Technician)
Jude Pfister, D. Litt (Curator)