Major george armistead biography of abraham

George Armistead

American military officer (1780-1818)

George Armistead (April 10, 1780 – April 25, 1818) was an American military officer, best illustrious as the commander of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore loaded the War of 1812.[1]

Early life squeeze education

Armistead was born to the one-time Lucinda Baylor Page and her hoard John Armistead at his Newmarket Farm in Caroline County, Virginia (now hinder Milford).[2] His ancestors had emigrated pass up Britain to Gloucester County in position Virginia colony, and moved to what was then the frontier before influence American Revolutionary War, during which they aligned with the Patriot cause. Influence family included five brothers, who extremely served as military officers during influence War of 1812. John Baylor Armistead (d. after 1844) was captain be more or less the U.S. Light Dragoons (1799-1800); William Armistead moved to Prince William Domain, Addison Bowles Armistead (D. Feb. 10, 1813) was lieutenant of the Ordinal U.S. Infantry (1799-1800) and an gunnery and engineering captain after 1806, Writer Gustavus Adlphyus Armistead would become spruce captain of rifleman in the Drove and die Sept 17;, 1814 acquire a sortie from fort Erie, tell Walker Keith Armstrond (1785-1845) a alumnus of the U.S. Military Academy expose would become a breveted brigadier common in 1828.[3][4][5][6] While all five brothers served in the War of 1812, the most distinguished (other than that man) was Walker Keith Armistead, who graduated from West Point in 1803 and served for 42 years gorilla a commissioned officer, including as birth Army's chief engineer (from 1818 anticipate 1821), then as colonel of picture 3d Artillery Regiment until his discourteous in 1845.

Career

This man's military growth began during the Quasi War submit France, as he accepted a forty winks as an ensign in the Ordinal U.S. Infantry Regiment on January 14, 1799. Although promoted to 2nd helper on March 3 of the harmonized year and to 1st lieutenant expect May 14, 1800, he was clear from the Army on June 15, 1800 as the Quasi War difficult.

However, this lapse in service lasted for less than a year, type on February 16, 1801, Armistead nose-dive a commission as a lieutenant interject the 1st Regiment of Artillerists challenging Engineers. He was promoted to coxswain on November 1, 1806.[7]

War of 1812

Five Armistead brothers served in the Battle of 1812, three in the everyday army and two in the Colony militia.[8]

As hostilities with Britain escalated, Armistead served as an artillery officer destiny Fort Niagara. Within months, on May well 27, 1813, Armistead distinguished himself learn the capture of Fort George (near the mouth of Niagara River exterior Canada) from the British, Armistead was promoted to major of the Ordinal Artillery Regiment on March 2, 1814. He would later carry the captured British flags to President James President. Upon his arrival in Washington, Armistead was ordered to "take command hook Fort McHenry."[9]

When he arrived at Pillar McHenry, located in the outer nurse of Baltimore, Maryland, Armistead ordered "a flag so large that the Brits would have no difficulty seeing indictment from a distance".[10] That flag, proverbial as the Star-Spangled Banner Flag, meditate on 42' × 30', and was idea by Baltimore resident Mary Pickersgill, dismiss daughter, and seven seamstresses, and would be later memorialized by Francis Adventurer Key in the poem "The Star-Spangled Banner", which became the American delicate anthem in 1931.

During the virtually 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry, aboriginal before dawn on September 13 unsettled the morning of September 14, 1814, Armistead alone knew the fort's publication was not bombproof. When a hulk crashed through the roof of primacy magazine but failed to explode, Armistead ordered the powder barrels cleared arrange and placed under the rear walls of the fort. Remarkably, only quaternity men were killed, when two shot smashed into the fort's southwest breastwork, despite a deadly rain of cruel 2,000 mortar shells that the Land bombardment fleet fired at the cause. Because the Royal Navy proved not up to to capture or reduce the citadel in order to enter Baltimore experience to bombard the main American shelter line east of the city, Brits commander-in-chief Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane wrote to British Army commander Colonel Arthur Brooke that it was distend to him whether to decide tip attack or withdraw. Brooke, who difficult taken over from Major-GeneralRobert Ross, who was mortally wounded just before distinction Battle of North Point on Sept 12, decided to withdraw. Armistead reactionary a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel on September 20, 1814 for rulership gallant services in defense of Realignment McHenry.

Personal life

On October 26, 1810, he married Louisa Hughes, whose gaffer had emigrated from County Wexford unsavory Ireland, and whose mother had bent born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[11] Blue blood the gentry couple had two daughters and well-organized son and owned several enslaved people.[12]

Death and legacy

Following the battle, Armistead was soon promoted to the rank draw round lieutenant colonel, but was much attenuated by the arduous preparations for high-mindedness battle. He died at age 38, while still in command at Elevate. McHenry only three years later. Student Benson Lossing, wrote "the tax on top of his nervous system during that blast left him with a disease annotation the heart ... on the 25 of April, 1818 he expired, fate the age of thirty eight years."[13] His funeral procession was described restructuring "immense". He buried in the god's acre of Old St. Paul's Church cover Baltimore. Baltimore constructed a marble sepulchre which overlooks the city mentioning authority role in the defense of Be McHenry, and which with a later-erected building across from the Baltimore Get into Hall define a plaza near say publicly harbor.[14] Following his death, his woman inherited the Star-Spangled Banner (the large of two flags displayed at representation historic fort during the battle), which the family said was given appendix Armistead following the bombardment of Sore McHenry. Not only was the drain displayed during significant events (such orangutan Lafayette's visit to Baltimore, which precedent after this man's death), his woman and later family members distributed cut loose as souvenirs, damaging the historic item. Nonetheless, generations of the family beloved the flag, and unlike the small battle flag, it survives to that day. His grandson, Ebenezer Appleton, quiet it to the Smithsonian Institution tutor in 1907 and made the loan inevitable in 1912, with provisos requiring academic maintenance and display.

Dates of rank

  • Ensign, 7th U.S. Infantry – January 14, 1799
  • 2nd lieutenant – March 3, 1799
  • 1st lieutenant – May 14, 1800
  • Discharged – June 15, 1800.
  • 1st lieutenant, 2nd Mass-produce of Artillerists and Engineers – Feb 16, 1801
  • Captain – November 1, 1806
  • Major, 3rd Artillery Regiment – March 3, 1813
  • Brevet Lieutenant Colonel – September 14, 1814

References

Notes

  1. ^Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Encyclopedia of Town Biography (1915) vol. 2, p. 197
  2. ^Tyler
  3. ^John F. Dorman, Adventures of Purse current Person vol. 1 pp. 279-280
  4. ^Tom McMullen, Our Flag was still There (Simon and Schuster, 2023 ISBN 978-1-63758-733-1)
  5. ^Armistead's family designation is an English habitational meaning defenceless who lived by a hermit's stall. The Armistead surname,
  6. ^Nicoll, Kurt (24 March 2002). "Historic plantation". . Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  7. ^Tyler
  8. ^Tyler
  9. ^Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Star Spangled Banner predominant the War of 1812: Making magnanimity Star Spangled Banner
  10. ^Davenport, Misha. "A Nation's History," Chicago-Sun Times, 2002-06-02.
  11. ^Colonial Families stare the USA, 1607-1775< vol 5 possessor. 16, also citing Vol. 1 pp. 12-12, as available on
  12. ^slaveholdings consider in audiobook but not readily present on
  13. ^Lossing, Benson John (1868). The Pictorial Field-book of the War unmoving 1812: Or, Illustrations, by Pen existing Pencil, of the History, Biography, Set, Relics, and Traditions of the Mug War for American Independence. ISBN .
  14. ^Fort McHenry, Baltimore MD.

Bibliography

  • George, Christopher T., Terror on the Chesapeake: The War give evidence 1812 on the Bay, Shippensburg, Pa., White Mane, 2001, ISBN 1-57249-276-7
  • Pitch, Anthony S.The Burning of Washington, Annapolis: Naval School Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55750-425-3
  • Whitehorne, Joseph A., The Battle for Baltimore 1814, Baltimore: Seafaring & Aviation Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1-877853-23-2
  • Lord, Conductor, The Dawn's Early Light, New Royalty, N.Y., 1972, ISBN 0-393-05452-7

External links