Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Farmers, Patriots & Traitors

I'm sure many of you have thought about the War of 1812 and wondered, "Well, other than sitting here and reflecting on the fact that there was a War of 1812, what can I, a layperson, do to commemorate the War of 1812?" 

GOOD QUESTION. Here is one answer, provided courtesy of the Jefferson-Patterson Park & Museum in Calvert County - you can go see their latest exhibit on the War of 1812, or even take a self-guided tour of the park with an audio tour about the War of 1812. You should go there anyway, since it's beautiful AND they house the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, the main repository for archaeological collections for the whole State of Maryland! That place is amazing and they find out all kinds of crazy stuff


FARMERS, PATRIOTS and TRAITORS: Southern Maryland and the War of 1812

By Erin Atkinson
Special events and marketing coordinator
Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum

Maryland now features War of 1812 license plates, a lottery ticket, a new National Park Service Historic Trail, and a sword from 1812 was even recently featured on Pawn Stars; but do we really know the details of this important time in history?

Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum (JPPM) offers an opportunity to explore the War of 1812 in an exhibit titled "FARMERS, PATRIOTS and TRAITORS: Southern Maryland and the War of 1812.”  

JPPM is in a good location to tell a compelling story about the war: the waters adjacent to the park & museum were the site of the largest naval battle in Maryland’s history, let alone the War of 1812.  In the early morning of June 26, 1814 the town of St. Leonard was awakened by the sounds of cannon fire.  It was in these waters that Commodore Joshua Barney’s Chesapeake Flotilla fought to break through the British blockade at the head of St. Leonard Creek. 

The exhibit, educational programs, an audio tour, and The 1812 Fair and Reenactment are just a few ways JPPM is connecting the public to the War of 1812.  For more information on the exhibit and other programs visit www.jefpat.org.

Okay, I want you all to brace yourselves, because there are going to be pictures of people enjoying museum exhibits. These never quite communicate the interest and excitement of the actual exhibits, do they? But this is your chance to see tons of 1812-era artifacts in carefully arranged tableaux created just for your enjoyment, in the very spot where a major part of the War of 1812 took place! 





The exhibit opened in April of 2011 and is available to the public every Tuesday from 10am-4pm in St. Leonard, Maryland. Once JPPM begins their 2013 season in mid-April, the exhibit will be open Tuesday, Saturdays, and Sundays.  Admission to the park is always free. 

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