Talk:Samuel Chester Reid

Untitled

Your article on Samuel Chester Reid, presumably from the public domain 'Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships' says "Reid's action delayed the British squadron and aided General Jackson's defense of New Orleans."

I used to think so too. And with good reason: family legend had it that our great-great grandfather was on board Reid's ship - and may have played a crucial role, not only in delaying the British squadron but thereby possibly changing the course of U.S. and world history.

There was no shortage of sources for this idea:

• • Historian John Van Duyn Southworth in The Age Of Sails: war at sea', says "General Andrew Jackson later told Capt. Reid that "If there had been no Battle of Fayal, there would have been no Battle of New Orleans." Reid had delayed the British expedition against New Orleans for ten days allowing Jackson to arrive there earlier. Thus, Louisiana and the Northwest Territory might now be British if Reid had not engaged them in what has been called one of the world's most decisive naval battles."

• • When a young Teddy Roosevelt wrote his dissertation at Harvard on 'The Naval War of 1812, he said: "The British squadron was bound for New Orleans, and, on account of the delay and loss that it suffered, it was late in arriving, so that this action may be said to have helped in saving the Crescent City. Few regular commanders could have done as well as Captain Reid."

But was this merely an incident, now forgotten?

• • Just so it is clear that this continues down into recent times, if you look it up in 'Compton's Encyclopedia Online v3 © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.: "Reid, Samuel Chester (1783-1861), U.S. Navy officer, born in Norwich, Conn.; commanded privateer General Armstrong in War of 1812; in repulsing a British attack at Fayal, 1814, he detained British ships on their way to New Orleans, La., thereby enabling Gen. Andrew Jackson to make adequate preparations to save the city"

• • And this, from the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 1967 93(11): 157-160: Abstract of an article: "Describes the defense the U.S. privateer General Armstrong made against a superior British squadron in Fayal Roads, Azores, in September and October 1814. The Americans finally had to scuttle their battered ship, but the action delayed the British squadron 10 days in arriving at Jamaica, where they were to join the British expedition to attack New Orleans. Thus the British arrived late at New Orleans, giving General Andrew Jackson time to set up an adequate defense of the city."

However, it seems not to be true.

Fascinated by the subject and motivated by genealogical vanity, I did over ten years of research including getting the War Plan of the British War Office and the actual logs of the arrival of the British squadron for rendezvous in the Caribbean. I delivered it all in a talk to The New York Military Affairs Symposium at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Apparently, Reid’s battle with the British squadron did not delay their arrival: the British squadron rendezvoused on time and the invasion fleet sailed for New Orleans as planned.

Too bad, since there is a case that had the British arrived earlier, they might have won, abrogated the treaty of Ghent, and held on to the whole of middle of America forever.

The complete tale, detailing the myth, conjecture and fact, is at http://nymas.org/warof1812paper/paperrevised2006.html [1]

Now Wikipedia can show a clear example of how it trumps the embalmed mistakes of older historical resources.

Bobrowen 17:09, 13 June 2006 (UTC)Bob Rowen 101 Clark Street Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201 (718) 834-1414 Our E-Mail Address is bob1812@bobrowen.com