Letter written by John Bentley, Sept. 26, 1813.

Transcript [original spelling and grammar retained]: Sacketts Harbour 26th Sept. 1813. Dear wife. From this you are informed that I am in health at this Date. When I last wrote to you I some expected to go upon and expedition but to us unknown we sat out and went up the Lake 3 Days Landed at Oswego The British Fleet appeared off, and we returned and saw our fleet upon our return, I think that our Regt. going was only a maneuver to get the Fleet out that our Fleet might come a threat[?] of them We expect to embark immediately into Canada as preparations are making to convey us over to them we are anxious to commence an action with them. Troops are daily coming in to the Harbour to take the Stand in our absence, we shall not be here 3 days before we try their[?] Powder. they are daily defecting[?] to us from Canada very fearful of the consequence of our Resisting[?] of them…our Fleet is now out and has been for 6 or 7 days. The Lake Erie fleet has done great things. I hope ours will be as successful. I think that our Generals are waiting to hear from them as every thing is ready[?] of to embark various opinions reflecting were we shall attack them some say at Kingston others at Montreal and others at Prescot—Mr. William Butler and D[?]…are well and in Spirits, Sergt Daniel White is very hearty for him, M. Samuel C[?] is well and in good health Benjm Thompson is well Charles Bryant is well [?] is well Eben[?] Smith is very much plagued with the Rheumatik Disease[?] he……… his limbs very often for being Crippled[?] he is at the Hospital I often visit it to see the sick Jacob Barnes is at the Hospital but recovering fast been very sick. Luther Gregory is at the Hospital and on the recovery, Sergt. L[?] & Smith are well, Henry ………[?] is well, very healthy have not more die here than 3…[?]to the best of my knowledge. I will make a few remarks upon the place it abounds in Lime Rock more than Thomaston and not every person to my knowledge burn it, and in the whole Town not but one Pump that supplies the Towns People and Soldiers and a ………[?] of such a Lake of water the Lake water is good for drinking but the water near the Shore is exposed to all kind of filth being thrown into it. The officers with whom I have been with have used me kindly and I get quietly by them. The Lieut. Downer who recruits at Thomaston tell me he has thots[?] of Leaving the army if so I must say I am greatly sorry as he was my ……[?] friend although he Left us and went in a northern Company it is a Company……………[?]worthy an officer as he proves to be, I cannot get any higher than a Sergeant or Quarter Master Sergeant which I may have without any friends at Thomaston assisting me. I am a Sergeant and Sergeant Daniel White is expecting[?] to be a Quarter Master Sergeant, and a number of his friends from Thomaston have went to their Major for him in the 9th Regt Major….[?] and he expects to obtain a Commission as I ……[?] expect to be promoted and it died away he will have the Laugh upon me, I wish that My Friend Dawes would[?] put the question to Col. Foot? to write to our Col. E.W. Ripley if he has …[?]in the …[?]taken by him and others of my …[?] friends[?]. I expect to come home this winter without fail. I remain your Loving Husband till Death. John Bentley for Betsey Bentley Thomaston P.S. The next Letter will be ……[?]to Mr. Dawes[?] and shall write as soon as our Fleet arrives or if we are ordered off tomorrow shall write before I leave this Place. I have understood that many letters have been ……[?]to me. I have received only 2 from Mary, one from Mr. Dawes, one from William Thompson and have answered them please to write……[?]to S. Harbour.

Sketches of the Battle Fields of Ontario from the War of 1812, July 15, 1876.

Accompanying caption from the Canadian Illustrated News, July 15, 1876: “We publish today a page of sketches consisting of the following battle fields in Ontario :--Lundy’s Lane where, without doubt, the hardest fought battle of 1812-15 took place, and in which more troops were engaged than in any other engagement of that war : the battle field of Stony Creek where the Canadians and Indians made a night attack on the Americans and achieved a victory over a greatly superior force and obliged the Americans to retreat back to the shelter of Old Fort George which was the scene of many engagements during the war. Beaver Dam battle field is just in the suburbs of the thriving village of Thorold, and the monument covers the remains of several soldiers whose bodies were unearthed during the building of the new Welland Canal at that place.”

The Terroir of Winter Hardiness: Investigation of Winter Hardiness, Water Metrics, and Yield of Riesling and Cabernet Franc in the Niagara Region Using Geomatic Technologies

Grapevine winter hardiness is a key factor in vineyard success in many cool climate wine regions. Winter hardiness may be governed by a myriad of factors in addition to extreme weather conditions – e.g. soil factors (texture, chemical composition, moisture, drainage), vine water status, and yield– that are unique to each site. It was hypothesized that winter hardiness would be influenced by certain terroir factors , specifically that vines with low water status [more negative leaf water potential (leaf ψ)] would be more winter hardy than vines with high water status (more positive leaf ψ). Twelve different vineyard blocks (six each of Riesling and Cabernet franc) throughout the Niagara Region in Ontario, Canada were chosen. Data were collected during the growing season (soil moisture, leaf ψ), at harvest (yield components, berry composition), and during the winter (bud LT50, bud survival). Interpolation and mapping of the variables was completed using ArcGIS 10.1 (ESRI, Redlands, CA) and statistical analyses (Pearson’s correlation, principal component analysis, multilinear regression) were performed using XLSTAT. Clear spatial trends were observed in each vineyard for soil moisture, leaf ψ, yield components, berry composition, and LT50. Both leaf ψ and berry weight could predict the LT50 value, with strong positive correlations being observed between LT50 and leaf ψ values in eight of the 12 vineyard blocks. In addition, vineyards in different appellations showed many similarities (Niagara Lakeshore, Lincoln Lakeshore, Four Mile Creek, Beamsville Bench). These results suggest that there is a spatial component to winter injury, as with other aspects of terroir, in the Niagara region.

James Corbin letter, October 2, 1813

James Corbin (1791-1860) lived in Williamstown, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. He is buried there is Southlawn cemetery. Pliny Moore (1759-1822) was the founder of the town of Champlain, New York. He served in the revolutionary war and after received the Smith and Graves patent, a parcel of land more than 11,000 acres in size. He served in several town offices in Champlain, including postmaster and judge, as well as operating sawmills and textile mills. Letter transcription: Dear Sir, The reason I did not come to tend your mill last spring was because the letter you wrote me dated 1 of March I didn’t receive it until the 12 of April and inform me that if I could be there in 2 or 3 weeks you would employ me as we agreed and therefore I concluded it would not do any good for me to come. It was a great disappointment to me because I was all ready to come whenever I got word. It is impossible for me to come now for I am in partnership with my brother in the farm and Mills and must take care our crops and settle our [bushels] this winter. I know nothing to the contrary but what I can come next spring I will let you know by uncle Corbin this winter. James Corbin

Charles Larned letter, April 3, 1813.

Charles Larned (1791-1834) was a lawyer and American military officer who served during the War of 1812. He was the son of Simon Larned (1753-1817), who served as a captain in the Revolutionary War and was a member of the United States Congress from Massachusetts from 1804-1805. Charles studied law in the office of Henry Clay in Kentucky, and was dining with a group of prominent citizens when word was received that General William Henry Harrison could soon be overpowered by General Henry Proctor. Colonel Owen, a member of the group, organized a regiment to reinforce Harrison’s troops. Larned became a member and subsequently survived the River Raisin Massacre and was later present at the Battle of the Thames. He was also part of a group of men who learned of General William Hull’s plan to surrender Detroit to the British and planned to overtake him should this occur. However, the plan failed, Hull did surrender and the men became prisoners of the British. After the war, Larned became a lawyer, and served as Attorney General of Michigan Territory during the Black Hawk War. During the cholera epidemic of 1834, he worked tirelessly to assist others, but was stricken with the disease and died. Letter Transcription: Pittsfield, April 8, 1813 I think that by this time my dear Charles you will allow I have some reason to give you a gentle reprimand for breach of duty—but I will not censure you upon suspicion maybe you have substantial reasons—at any rate one cannot very graciously reproach the other for negligence I for one am healthy as ham & that we have so seldom exchanged letters during your absence & on my honor promise to be a better girl in future—but the truth is my Dear Charles I am secretary for the Family—Mama you know never writes & James but seldom & they are all dispersed in different directions, consequently I have many calls upon my time—this to be sure is a pleasant duty & I urge it only as a slight palliation for my remissness if you should consider it as such—now I have finished my preface—I will try to be more interesting & doubtless I succeed. Our dear Father we hope & trust is now in Green Bush, where he will probably remain a month perhaps & from thence he expects to go to Sacket’s harbor—at which place you know our troops are fast collecting-- We shall hope to see him either here or there before he goes. Brother George I believe is [still] at Plattsburgh but expects soon to be removed to some other military part perhaps with Papa (I hope so at least). We have just got letters from Brothers Sylvester & Joseph at Middlebury—they are in good health. Mama has for some weeks been afflicted with an inflammation in her eyes but seems now to be convalescing. Sister Martha has been somewhat unwell for a few weeks but is now tolerably recovered. James & myself are both in our usual good health & at this time seated by the same stand, one reading, the other writing. Thus my Dear Charles have I given you an abstract history of our Family—but here indeed is a wonderful omission; not a word about Miss Harriet Hunt, who in truth ought to have been noted first but the last she’s not the least in my memory. She is much grown since you saw her, but does not speak as fluently as we could wish—a few word she can say. Probably before this you have been informed of the great loss your friend Sherrill has sustained in the death of his mother—also of the revolution that has taken place in Hackbridge as it respects the religion & morality of the place that more than one hundred on the plain have become religious converts & c—indeed I am at a loss what to say that will afford your pleasure—a narrative at this time must be gloomy indeed. The distressing situation of our country at this time would make almost any recital melancholy. The prevailing epidemic has swept off many of your acquaintance no doubt. Mrs. Dewey of Williamstown, the sister of Mrs. Danforth, has left a Husband, Children & many Friends sincerely to lament her loss—some few have died in our village, but we have escaped astonishingly –it has raged in every town about us--If we are unwilling to acknowledge a God in his mercies. I fear she shall be compelled to do it in the awfulness of his judgments.--------I am much [pleased] with our new neighbors the Parsons Wife & a Miss Woodward her cousin is a fine girl, I think, Mrs. Allen has not a handsome face but something in her manner that interests one her person I think the handsomest I ever saw & the Parson seems well pleased with his selection—Mrs. Ripley is with them this winter & will probably remain thro the summer—Her husband at [Sackett’s Harbor] little or no alteration is apparent since her marriage—she seems as gay & fond of company as ever.-------Mrs. [McKnight] it is expected will commence housekeeping in about three weeks in the house formerly occupied by Mr…. [Report] says that Mr. Goodman & Clarissa Weller are soon to be married & many other things that I must omit to mention for Mama wants a… PS reserved--now my Dear Charles remember you are considerably… & I am confident you have as much leisure as I have –… be ceremonious but write whenever I find time not & I beg… the same – I tell James I shall not send his love for he must write himself. I shall anxiously expect you to write & do not disappoint your affectionate, sister--H One word my Dear Charles from your affectionate Mother who longs to see Her Dear son Charles—but being deprived of that rich blessing at present—begs Him so to conduct that she may hope for it ere long—do you search the Scriptures and keep the Sabbath holy unto the Lord—and all the sacred Commandments of God—it is my ardent desire…He would protect, support and provide for your soul and body and believe me your affectionate friend and Mother. R Larned.

Commemorative Medals of the War of 1812, 1963

In the original set, there were 10 medals with inventory numbers 1740-1749. This included Tecumseh, Chief of the Shawnees and construction in 1812 of Fort Prescott in Upper Niagara. These are not included in this collection. The Franklin Mint purchased the Wellings Mint in 1973.

The War, 4 July 1812 (vol. 1, no. 2) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 18 July 1812 (vol. 1, no.4) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 1 August 1812 (vol. 1, no. 6) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 8 August 1812 (vol. 1, no. 7) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 15 August 1812 (vol. 1, no. 8) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 22 August 1812 (vol.1, no. 9) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 29 August 1812 (vol. 1, no. 10) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 10 October 1812 (vol. 1, no. 16) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.

The War, 17 October 1812 (vol. 1, no. 17) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812.