Commodore Charles Moris, commander of the American forces during the British invasion of what is today Maine, a man who devoted his life to a single organization, the United States Navy. Born on 26 July 1784 in Woodstock, Maine, and at the age of 15 was commissioned with the rank of Midshipman in the fledgling US Navy. His early service took him to the Mediterranian during the two wars against the Barbary Pirates and then the Quasi-War with France. During this time he saw a promotion to Lieutenant. When he returned to the United States, he was promoted to Commander and assigned as the secondRead More →

One of notable Governors of the British colonies that made up British North America during the Anglo-American War of 1812 is a man who helped aid the economic growth despite the war and presided over one of the least known campaigns in the war. Baptized John Coape Sherbrooke on the 29th of April 1764, the only son of William Sherbrooke and Katherine Pyndar. Born and raised in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England as part of the gentry John, following his formal schooling was commissioned as an Ensign in the 4th Regiment of Foot in 1780, and three years later gazetted Captain transferring to the 85th Regiment ofRead More →

While the major campaigns of the War of 1812 get the spotlight and widely known, and it is true; these were the battles that shaped the course and action of the war those weren’t the be all and ended all of the war. And even today the British capture and occupation of what is now Maine, or as it was two hundred years prior Massachusetts, the War of 1812 remains relatively unknown even to those living in the modern communities today. I would not have even known about this conflict if it were not for my reading and participating in the reenactment of the warRead More →

A little sidebar, I wrote this blog post a while back as a post if I had nothing to post here for the week sort of a filler. However recent news made me post this sooner! That great news is that Ektachrome is back! Kodak will be releasing a new version of Kodak Ektachrome E100G in the fall of 2017. There’s more than battles, drill, and lazing about to a reenactment. Once the public leaves, the camps become the social centres for the evening. And being a reenactor one thing I have been a little lax on is capturing these behind-the-scenes moments once the public’sRead More →

During the British invasion and subsequent occupation of what is today eastern Maine, there were several forts involved in the action. While many have unique histories, there isn’t much to give each one their blog entry. So I’ve decided, for the sake of you readers, to combine them all into a single post. In the interests of geography, I’ll be moving from east to west if you want to follow along with the route on a map. Even before the war started, the contest over Moose Island remained a sticking point in Anglo-American relations from the American Revolution. The island’s only main village Eastport, Maine,Read More →

While I have of late focused more on British personalities in the War of 1812, I will be making an effort to balance it out. James Lawrence is a tragic tale of the war. He was born 1 October 1781 in Burlington, New Jersey. The young James was, for a majority of his youth raised in nearby Woodbury and grew up for the most part without his parents. His mother passed away while he was an infant and his father, a Loyalist to the British Crown, fled to Upper Canada, leaving James behind to be raised by his half-sister. James originally planned to become aRead More →

If you have ever used the Olympus Trip 35 then, you’ll be right at home with the Minoltina-P. The camera is a fixed lens, semi-automatic point and shoot from the 1960s and honestly before I saw it on the shelf at Burlington Camera I had never even known this camera existed. But don’t let that scare you, Minolta produced a lot of underdog cameras through the 1960s that often were as good as their competitors. The Hi-Matic went up against the Olympus 35 and Cannonet Series, and the Minoltina, well it’s an Olympus Trip 35. Disclaimer: This is an old review, and is scheduled forRead More →

When it comes to photographing sites connected with the naval actions of the war, it can be complicated. Most of the actions take place out on open water, and many don’t have much to photograph especially in the way of ships as many are long gone. Only one ship from the era exists in its original form while another is a rebuild of the historic ship. But if you know where to look there is plenty of things to photograph when it comes to the capture of the Chesapeake. By the summer of 1813, the spirits of the Royal Navy on the North American stationRead More →

Fur Trader, Loyalist, Indian Agent, and Officer. William McKay was born in the Mohawk Valley of New York State in 1772. The son of former Non-Commissioned Officer Donald McKay. His father had seen service during the French-Indian War and fought during the assault on Quebec City. Remaining loyal to the crown the family moved to Upper Canada’s St. Lawerence Valley during the American Revolution settling in what would become Glengarry County in Ontario. William and his older brother, Alexander, joined the North West Company in 1790. McKay would begin to trade throughout the northwest of British North America spending much of his time in theRead More →

If you grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, you’d first recognize the sound this camera makes when it takes a photo. It’s a total nostalgia fest from those long family vacations, holiday snaps, and trips to the amusement park. And you would be right; the Nikon AF240SV is a mom camera, designed to be as simple as possible the modern version of the ever present Kodak Camera from the 19th century. You press the button; it does the rest. While my family never used Nikon, we were mostly Minolta; it still was a trip back in time for me to use such a cameraRead More →