Month: March 2013

Spreading the News About the War of 1812 In Annapolis

For all the arresting folklore and history connected with the Chesapeake region, there is none more thrilling than the high drama that took place here 200 years ago as British raiding parties attacked lightly defended villages, the nation’s capital, and Baltimore, during the War of 1812.  During those days information was important to the citizens and the military, but news could only move as fast as someone could physically carry the message.  So for a Maryland Day Talk I was down in Annapolis to discuss how news and information was spread when war came to Maryland’s shores.  We had a lively discussion and wrapped things up by contemplating how things have changed in the digital age, when news coverage is practically instantaneous.   The program hosted locally by the City of Annapolis, the Historic District Commission, Annapolis Main Street, and the Capital Gazette was sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council.

The Washingtonian is an example of a newspaper issued during the War of 1812. Due to the digitization of these produts many are available online for free. Source: Internet Archive
The Washingtonian is an example of a newspaper issued during the War of 1812. Due to the digitization of these produts many are available online for free. Source: Internet Archive

Facilitating NPS Workshop Examining How to Uncover the Untold Stories of the War of 1812

“Humanizing the War of 1812:  Telling the Untold Stories along the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail” is the theme of a National Park Service workshop taking place at Harford Community College on April 8th

Dr. Allen Taylor, a national author and university professor, will open the day long workshop with remarks about his recent research into the role of African-Americans during the War of 1812.  The morning session includes a living history performance, as participants engage in a discussion about using costumed interpretations to express the perspective of African-American women.  In the afternoon, break-out sessions include using research to uncover the untold stories of the war, making your interpretive program engaging and developing relevant programs for youth.

I will facilitate the panel on researching untold stories.  That break-out includes Dr. Taylor, a State Archives representative, and other practitioners.   The subject of telling what it was like for everyday people and underrepresented groups when the war came to the shores of the Chesapeake, is something  I have focused my research on for a few years so I am looking forward to that discussion.  I find that there is a growing interest in the stories of these groups and the narratives of everyday people, the accounts that did not usually make the newspaper or the history books.

The afternoon concludes with a session that concentrates on using the trail network to promote the untold stories at your site.  Click here for more details.  Joining the National Park Service in sponsoring this program are the Maryland Historical Trust and Harford Community College.

Speaking About Spreading the News During the War of 1812 on the Chesapeake

Two-hundred years ago, news of a national or regional emergency moved only as fast as someone could carry the message.  So when the British entered the Bay and we found ourselves on the frontline of the War of 1812, those urgent dispatches containing critical information came by word of mouth or in letters and newspapers carried by the U.S. Mail.  But regardless of the method of conveyance reports moved only as fast as a horseback rider, the stage coach, or a boat could speed along on the journey.

On Saturday, March 23, for Capital Gazette and the Annapolis Heritage Commission, I am going to examine how news and information spread when the war came to Maryland’s shores.  We will use dramatic published accounts and the personal correspondence of firsthand observers to consider how Marylanders were kept informed about critical matters during those alarming times.  We will focus in on how those urgent dispatches moved along over a hundred years before broadcasting changed things.  For that matter, the nearly instant conveyance of flashes through the electronic transmission of dots and dashes of the telegraph was still a generation away.

In the end, we will contrast that spread of new and information during that national emergency 200 years ago with today’s digital age, when fast and massive broadcast coverage and the instantaneous chatter of social media provides an overwhelming stream of news as we consider how that shapes our reaction to the emergency.

Nabb Research Center Digitizes Old Newspapers from Lower Delaware & the Eastern Shore of Maryland

Marylander and Herald, January 4, 1916, Princess Anne, from the Nabb Center digital collection
Marylander and Herald, January 4, 1916, Princess Anne, from the Nabb Center digital collection

It was only some 15 to 20 years ago that researchers were getting excited about being able to access the decennial census data on the World Wide Web.  This digital information was going to make Investigations of the past so much easier as the e-schedules would be text searchable and the entire universe of census products would be available.

Now that we are in the second decade of the 21st century, lots of added helpful data is often just a few keystrokes away, as the universe of online information expands rapidly.  The document array is exploding exponentially now as for-profit online publishers and open source providers rush to make valuable research content available to a broader user base.

I learned of another valuable online collection of newspapers at the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at the Salisbury University, while doing a talk in Delmar.  This excellent special collections archives has created a strong group of online historical Delmarva newspapers. It consists of regional weeklies, spanning the years 1745 through 1922.

In the online records group you will find 17 different newspaper serials from Lower Delaware and the mid and Lower Shores of Maryland.   Titles include publications from Salisbury, Easton, Berlin, Snow Hill and elsewhere.  The products are text searchable, and the queries yield PDFs of the pages.

This was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore.  Howard, the president of the Delmar Historical and Art Society tipped me off about this great virtual research warehouse of serials as we talked about such matters.  Thanks Howard and Thanks Nabb.

A Salisbury newspaper from the Nabb Center, Salisbury Advertiser, June 5, 1896
A Salisbury newspaper from the Nabb Center, Salisbury Advertiser, June 5, 1896