The War of
1812
The
War of 1812 had tremendous economic effect on Connecticut and,
together with the Embargo, destroyed the nascent Jeffersonian
party there. But little has been written that focuses on the years
1812 to 1815. Local histories of coastal towns often carry accounts
of activities around Long Island Sound defenses, however, and
there are biographies of Isaac Hull, Thomas MacDonough, and other
contemporary characters. An interesting reminiscence of the era
is that of Samuel G. Goodrich in his Recollections of a Lifetime
(New York: Miller, Orton and Mulligan, 1856). Volume I has several
chapters on the War as it affected Connecticut from a Federalist,
strongly anti-Jefferson perspective. Goodrich, as a teenager,
did a six-weeks tour of artillery duty around New London.
The
article literature is scant.
Greene,
M. Louise. "New Haven Defenses in the Revolution and in
the War of 1812." Connecticut Quarterly 4 (1898)
3. This is especially useful for its illustrations of points
of significance
in and around Fort Trumbull as they appeared in 1898. See also "A New Lincoln Letter" by
Bonnie B. Collier in The
Yale University Library Gazette 48 (January, 1974) 3:192-94.
Harlow,
William Burt. "Courtship of a Sergeant in the War of 1812:
Romance of John Burt...and Persis Meacham..." Connecticut
Magazine 10 (1906) 4:611-14. Includes extracts of letters
of both. He was twenty-one and she was twenty-seven in 1812; they
married and moved to Ohio--in case you're interested.
Hunt,
Livinston. "An Old-Navy Autobiography." New England
Quarterly 4 (April, 1951) 2:270-87. This is an account of
Charles Morris (b. 1784) of Woodstock, who was second in command
to Isaac Hull in the battle of the Constitution and the
Guerriere. This article discusses Morris' autobiography,
published in 1880.
Trumbull,
James H. The Defense of Stonington Against a British Sguadron,
1814. Hartford, priv. printed, 1864.
Yacovone,
Donald. “Connecticut Against the Tide: Federalism and the War
of 1812." CHS Bulletin 40 (January, 1975) 1:1-7.
A good piece by a sound scholar.
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