2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. In honor of this event, we offer a list of War of 1812 events, exhibits, and news items. This list is by no means complete, but will hopefully offer a number of entry points into the bicentennial celebrations.
Maryland
Running now until April 13, 2012 is the War of 1812 Portrait Exhibit at the Maryland House of Delegates in Annapolis, Maryland. The exhibit features portraits rendered by Ann Monro Wood.
The Maryland Historical Society’s ongoing exhibit, With Broad Stripes and Bright Stars includes the original manuscript of the Star Spangled Banner, which has been incorporated into a new exhibit on Baltimore’s role in the War of 1812. Another exhibit, In Full Glory Reflected: Maryland During the War of 1812, opens June 10, 2012.
On April 15th, the Maryland Historical Society presents Silver & Gold for War of 1812 Officers, an installment of the Francis Scott Key Lecture Series (PDF). Ann Wagner, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts at Winterthur Museum will speak at 6:00 p.m at the Society.
Other upcoming speakers in the Francis Scott Key series include, Edward C. Papenfuse, Ph.D., Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents at the Maryland State Archives, and Carol Stoltis, Project Associate Curator, Center for American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Dr. Papenfuse, Ph.D., will present his lecture Mapping Baltimore During the Era of the War of 1812 begins at 6:00 p.m. on October 4, 2012. Stoltis’ lecture, A Pacifist and the Defenders: Rembrandt Peale and His Portraits of Baltimore’s Heroes of the War of 1812, will be held November 1A, at 6:00 p.m.
From June 13-19, 2012, Baltimore will host The Star-Spangled Sailabration. An international parade of ships will sail into the Inner Harbor to launch the U.S. Bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812. The ships will start passing by Fort McHenry on June 12.
Currently on view at Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum is Home of the Brave: The War of 1812 in Art, Story & Song. The exhibit runs through December 31, 2012:
Comprised of objects from the collection of Independence Seaport Museum, as well as loans from the Dietrich American Foundation and other private collectors, the exhibition explores the naval aspect of the War of 1812 through the lenses of art, material and popular culture, as well as first-hand accounts of participants and on-lookers.
New York Humanities Council Events:
On April 14, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. Tom Shanahan will present a lecture, 1812: Uncle Sam’s First War at the New York State Library in Albany, New York.
Raya Lee offers a lecture, War of 1812: Fury, Frenzy and Honor at the Wood Library in Canadaigua, New York on April 18, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
On April 19th, Dave Ruch offers a lecture/concert entitled The War of 1812: Songs and Stories from New York and Beyond. The event will be held at the Sardinia Meeting House in Sardinia, New York, starting at 7:00 p.m.
On April 23rd, at 6:00 p.m., Alfred Ronzoni will present From Battleground to Empire State: New York and the War of 1812 at York College, the City University of New York.
Robert W. Arnold III will present 1812: New York’s War, New York’s Impetus on April 25 at 7:00 p.m. at Herkimer County Community College.
From July 20, 2012 – July 21, 2012, the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site will host President Monroe Looks Back on the War of 1812. First-person interpreter Dennis Bigelow will portray Mr. Monroe in this unique event. http://www.nyhumanities.org/events/event.php?event_id=5066
Please note that a number of the New York Humanities Council events will be held in multiple locations in the next six months. Please see their events calendar for details.
From June 15, 2012 – January 27, 2013, the Smithsonian will host 1812: A Nation Emerges in the Portrait Gallery:
This exhibition tells the story of the war that one historian called, “the second American Revolution.” Through portraits and objects, it explores key people who influenced the turn of events, including President James Madison and Dolley Madison, General Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and the powerful Indian leader Tecumseh. The exhibition also follows the stories of soldiers, slaves, financiers, industrialists, artists, architects, Native Americans, and women. The victory at New Orleans became a national holiday and added to a growing sense of American nationalism. The epic battles and the aftermath known as “the era of good feelings” are central elements of this story, linked by the biographies of the extraordinary and colorful leaders whose lives shaped its direction.
The New York Humanities Council is accepting War of 1812 Mini Grants from now until September 20, 2012. Grants of up to $3,000 are available to present humanities-based public programs exploring the legacy of the War of 1812 in New York State. Eligibility requirements and application procedures are available online.
Last summer, an archaeological dig at the Plattsburgh Air Force Base uncovered military artifacts which indicated that the site was a winter encampment for soldiers during the War of 1812. Uniform buttons bearing the number 15 were uncovered, indicating that the U.S. Army’s 15th Regiment had occupied the site. More excavations are planned at the site this summer.
The National Park Service at the National Heritage Area in Baltimore, Maryland has developed a War of 1812 traveling exhibit. The exhibit is free and available to museums, libraries, and historical sites.
On the web:
Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission
Maryland Humanities Council War of 1812 Bicentennial: For information on special events, organizations, and media and archives collections.
The Official War of 1812 Bicentennial: a binational site with an events calendar covering events in Canada and the United States.
From H-Pennsylvania:
The Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent has reopened with a new exhibition concept, a community history gallery featuring exhibitions designed and curated by neighborhood organizations about the work they do and the contributions they have made to the fabric of life in the city. One goal of this new exhibition gallery concept is to give Philadelphians an active voice in presenting the city’s history based upon historical, social, cultural, intellectual, or political concepts.
The Philadelphia Voices Gallery will present three compelling exhibitions each year that give voice to the ways that Philadelphia’s community and neighborhood based organizations address issues including hunger, violence, homelessness, discrimination, housing, education, immigration, health, environment, and work.
Details on eligibility and selection and information for successful applicants can be found here. The application (PDF) deadline for this cycle of exhibits is June 8, 2012.
Applicants are invited to attend one of three informational meetings prior to submitting their applications. In addition to answering questions about the application process, the meetings will allow applicants to discuss exhibition concepts and learn more about the Philadelphia HIstory Museum’s resources and facilities. The meetings will be held at the museum on April 20, April 21, and May 5, from 1:00-2:00pm. Those interested in attending the meeting should contact Cindy Little at cindy.little@philadelphiahistory.org or call 215.685.4836.
From The Ford’s Theater (fords.org):
In the new Center for Education and Leadership, visitors will explore the lasting effect Abraham Lincoln’s presidency—and its untimely end—have had on our country.
Currently under construction and set to open in February 2012, the new Center will be located at 514 10th Street, NW, across the street from the theatre and adjacent to the Petersen House, where Lincoln died.
The Center plans include two floors of permanent exhibits centered on Lincoln’s assassination and its aftermath, as well as the evolution of Lincoln’s legacy; two floors of education studios for workshops, school programs, and teacher professional development; and a Leadership Gallery floor for short-term exhibits, lectures, and receptions.
The Center opens on Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, with special President’s Day events scheduled for February 20th.
December 8, 2011: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) is proud to launch An American Family Grows in Brooklyn: The Lefferts Family Papers at Brooklyn Historical Society. This new digital exhibit examines Brooklyn’s complex history through the eyes of one family and includes an image gallery showcasing high-quality reproductions of seventy-seven items from the Lefferts family papers. In collaboration with BHS librarians and archivists, BHS’s public historian Julie Golia drew on the institution’s rich archival collections to tell the compelling history of Brooklyn over the centuries.
An American Family Grows in Brooklyn tells the story of one of Kings County’s oldest families. The digital exhibit chronicles the Lefferts family members’ arrival to frontier Flatbush in 1660 from the Netherlands; the family’s role in building Kings County’s booming agricultural economy; their use of enslaved laborers up until New York’s Emancipation Day in 1827; and their relationships with other Dutch families in the region. Items like a nineteenth-century cookbook or a list of expenses from a 1791 funeral reveal the material conditions that shaped the everyday lives of members of the Lefferts clan. Other documents, like the dozens of slave indentures held in the collection, offer glimpses into the experiences of a less-chronicled but equally important group of Brooklynites: enslaved African Americans. Read more.
On November 11, the New York Historical Society reopened its Central Park West location following a three year, $70 million renovation project.
The society updated the exterior of the building, by creating a wider main staircase and an expanded main entrance. The 77th Street entrance was redesigned with a focus on improved accessibility for school groups and visitors with disabilities. The building’s architectural features are now illuminated at night. Ray H. Dovell, AIA, principal-in-charge of the project for Platt Byard Dovell White Architects said, “We believe the strength and beauty of the building’s exterior will stand out in a new light, while the flow of space inside will draw visitors directly into the compelling stories that New-York Historical has to tell.”
The project brings many changes inside NYHS, the new 3,400 square-foot Smith Gallery on the ground floor; a updated and improved Robert H. Smith Auditorium; provisions for a new Stephen Starr restaurant, Café Storico; renovations to the Museum Store and Rotunda; and established the DiMenna Children’s History Museum and the Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library.
Exhibition reviews are largely positive. Christopher Gray of the New York Times noted that the newly designed entrance “but inside is a smashing bells-and-whistles display of items from the society’s magnificent collections.” Michael J. Fressola, writing for SIlive.com praised the Children’s Museum’s in-floor artifact cases for giving visitors “an instantaneous, surprising lesson in how history is alive.”
More New York Times reports and reviews are available here.
The words “It is delightful to recall the past” appear on the New York Historical Society’s 1904 commemorative gold medal. As part of its strategic plan (pdf), NYHS rededicated itself to its community, proclaiming “we believe history has the power to change lives.” The plan led to a three-year, $65 million renovation project that limited access to the institution and its collections at the Central Park West location.
With new multi-media displays and interactives, the changes are promising delight, but so too do the less technologically dependent displays. History Manholes consists of twelve exhibit cases flush with the floor. Visitors receive an introduction to urban archeology and the notion that history is everywhere, even under our feet. For more information on the changes undertaken by the New York Historical Society, visit newyorkhistoryblog.com.
The New York Historical Society is reopening its doors at 11:00 am on November 11, 2011. It will remain open until 11:00pm. Veterans and active service members and children under age 13 are admitted for free. All visitors are admitted free of charge after 6pm.
(From New York History Blog and NYHS)
On October 15th, The Union League of Philadelphia will officially open The Heritage Center, a research center and exhibit space. The Center will be open from 1:00-4:00pm, with Civil War re-enactors and docent-led tours of The Center. Two exhibits are currently on display, Love of Country Leads, which tells the story of the Union League, its members and its activities from its inception to the present and Philadelphia 1861: The Coming Storm, which tells the story of the Philadelphia home front.
For more information about opening day events as well as updates on future events, visit The Heritage Center’s Website: http://www.ulheritagecenter.org/
