Post by Brian Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsThe name “Molly Pitcher” and her actions helping to “man” a cannon at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778 might strike a chord of recognition among those familiar with the American Revolution. Much less...
Guest post by Meg Hixon, Project ArchivistThe First World War has long been eclipsed in American public memory, but it was, at the time, the “Great War” that affected families across the country and across the world. In honor of Veterans’ Day, the...
Post by Brian Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsMany Americans remember the War of 1812 as a naval conflict in which, as Canadian historian C.P. Stacey put it, “the pride of the Mistress of the Seas was humbled by what an imprudent Englishman had...
Post by Brian Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsOctober 13 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Queenston Heights. This significant action of the War of 1812, fought some six miles downstream from Niagara Falls, was precipitated by an invasion of...
Post by Brian Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsThe events of August 16, 1812, brought an ignominious end to an American invasion of Canada and sent shock waves through the United States. On that day Brigadier General William Hull surrendered the fort...
Post by Brian L. Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsEarly in the morning of July 17, 1812, the residents of Mackinac Island awoke to pounding on their doors. A group of fellow citizens, led by local militia captain Michael Dousman, told everyone that war...
[From the Clements Library Collections]On July 12, 1812, Brigadier General William Hull initiated the first military campaign of the War of 1812, calling for–and attempting–an invasion of Canada. Unfortunately for Hull, it was an utter disaster–his...
Guest post by Esti Brennan, Social Media Intern[“Constitution and Java, December 29th, 1812.” Oil on canvas by Nicholas Pocock.]Two hundred years ago today, the United States declared war on the United Kingdom, initiating a conflict sometimes...
Guest post by Molly Malcolm, Clements Library volunteerToday is National Chocolate Cake Day, and although it is not an officially recognized holiday, the Clements Library is celebrating it by offering a short history of the evolution of chocolate cake in the United...
