Brief History of the Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Connecticut

The General Society of the War of 1812 and its constituent, the Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Connecticut, trace their origins to the huge collection of American militia companies which were called to meet the British thrust at Baltimore following the occupation of the National Capital. Those veterans led by General Samuel Smith, set great importance upon their record against "Wellington's Invincibles" at North Point on September 12, 1814.

With the loss of the lionized Major-General Robert Ross to tree-hidden American sharpshooters, the British advance toward the city slowed whilst the powerful fleet lay useless against Fort McHenry because of the tremendous amount of blockage which had been dropped into the channel.

By September 18 the enemy withdrew several miles below the harbor's entrance, and Francis Scott Key reached a Baltimore hotel where the final touches were made to his epic poem "The Defence of Fort M'Henry" [sic] to be circulated on Tuesday, the 20th. Uncertain of the next British move, the jubilant soldiers remained fairly in place and gained the sobriquet "Defenders" from the local citizenry.

On the first anniversary, Tuesday, September 12, 1815, the "Defenders" turned out to witness the laying of the Battle Monument cornerstone and to view the Fort McHenry U.S. garrison and some of Maryland's Fifth Regiment parade in the adjacent streets. Ever since the celebration and remembrance of the veterans has continued in Baltimore and Maryland with the "Defenders Day Cavalcade".

In 1841 the Defenders met to establish a more formal organization. The following year a national encampment was held, with veterans attending from Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. President John Tyler reviewed the parading veterans. On the 14th of May 1842 the veterans received their first organizational charter in Maryland recorded in the Circuit Court of Baltimore as "THE ASSOCIATION OF DEFENDERS OF BALTIMORE" and had as their purposes the encouraging of love of country, commemoration of the war, defraying of funeral expenses of veterans who were impoverished and the education of their children.

Meanwhile Pennsylvania's veterans met at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on 9 January 1854 (the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans), and perfected the organization of the Society of the War of 1812. As the 19th century drew to a close, the ranks of the 1812 veterans grew thinner. In 1893, the Maryland group was reorganized to include the sons and male descendants of veterans; and it was incorporated in 1893 as The Society of the War of 1812 in Maryland of Baltimore City. The Pennsylvania Society of the War of 1812 had incorporated in 1892 as The Pennsylvania Society of the Soldiers of 1812. In 1894 the Maryland and Pennsylvania societies met at Independence Hall, along with delegates from similar societies in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

On 14 April 1894 these societies formed the General Society of the War of 1812, with each of the constituent societies becoming a constituent state society.

Original members of the Connecticut Society consisted of gentlemen prominent in their community and where very active in hereditary and historical societies. Several original members belonged to the Sons of the Revolution as well as the Society of the Cincinnati. Most traced their membership to ancestors who had served in the War of 1812 and was not limited just to the "Defenders". Some of the first members included Satterlee Swartwout grandson of Brigadier General Robert Swartwout the Quartermaster General of the US Army during the War of 1812; Satterlee's brother John Henry Swartwout, Satterlee's son Egerton Swartwout, graduate of Yale in 1891 and a nationally acclaimed architect; Reverend Alexander Hamilton, an Episcopal Clergyman and the great grandson of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury; Colonel Henry Walton Wessells, Jr., promoted to Brigadier General in 1904, veteran of the Civil War, the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection; Cyrus Sherwood Bradley, a local collector of artifacts whose large collection of Native American artifacts that were found around the Town of Fairfield in the late 1800's is currently at the Fairfield Museum and History Center; and the Honorable Morgan Garner Bulkeley. Bulkeley served as Mayor of Hartford, CT 1880-1888, Governor of Connecticut 1889-1893, and United States Senator 1905-1911. He was elected to the Connecticut Society May 26, 1894 becoming the 19th member of the society.

The last recorded member to be elected was Frederic Courtland Palmer. He was elected on February 15, 1944, and held Connecticut Society number 51. The Connecticut Society became dormant sometime after the last member was elected and remained dormant for many decades.

Through the dedicated efforts of Richard Edward Anderson, Sr., the Connecticut Society was reconstituted on September 1, 1996, with eleven charter members. The Society Charter was presented October 26, 1996, in Philadelphia, PA. Today the Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Connecticut has over 30 members and is a 501(c)(3) Connecticut non-profit corporation.

List of Original Members Compiled by John W. W. Loose, Archivist, 1995

Name General Society No. Connecticut Society No. Elected Louis Joseph Allen 0028 1   Egerton Swartwout 0074 2   Satterlee Swartwout 0075 3   Charles Pierson Coe 0083 4   William Walter Van Duerson 0100 5   William Freeman French 0103 6   George Bliss Sanford 0113 7   Henry Walton Wessells 0279 8   Jessup Wakeman 0299 9   John Edward Heaton 0330 10   Louis Mardenbrough French 0337 11   Augustus Floyd Delafield 0338 12   Cyrus Sherwood Bradley 0342 13   Rev. Alexander Hamilton 0340 14   John Henry Swartwout 0341 15   William Wheelwright Skiddy 0370 16   John Clock Turner 0358 17   William Taylor Andrews 0359 18   Morgan Garner Bulkeley 0381 19 26 May 1894 John Ama Peck 0615 20   James Barton Bowen 0431 21   George Washington Grannis 0432 22   Henry Joseph Warren 0433 23   Origen Storrs Seymour 0434 24   Samuel Chester Reid 0435 25   John Marshall Holcombe 0616 26   George James Holmes, M.D. 0617 27   Eli Whitney 0618 28   Hanford Lorenzo Curtis 0774 29   Walter St. George Harris 0868 30   John Wilson Drown 0870 31   George Augustus Cornell 0923 32   Louis Frank Middle brook 0988 33   Void 0889 34   Charles Tillinghast Straight 0990 35   Daniel Taylor Morgan 1016 36 25 Jun 1909 Francis Hubert Parker 1051 37 25 Jun 1909 Lucius Barnes Barber 1155 38 06 Jun 1913 Francis Burke Allen 1188 39 24 Mar 1914 Stuart Rae Osborn 1189 40 24 Mar 1914 Arthur Adams 1436 41 26 Sep 1922 Frank Howard Lord 1576 42   Richard Brainard Lewis 1604 43   Houghton Bulkeley 1776 44   Gurdon Montague Butler 1829 45   Roland Mather Hooker 1838 46   Thomas Bedell Hooker 1848 47   Bryan Edward Hooker 1849 48   Henry Judson Beardsley 1953 49 07 Jan 1938 Unknown   50   Frederic Courtland Palmer 2118 51 15 Feb 1944