Exhibit opens May 26
Bath, Maine - To commemorate the bicentennial of the start of the United States’ second war with Britain, commonly known as the War of 1812, Maine Maritime Museum announces its latest exhibit, Subdue, Seize and Take: Maritime Maine in the Unwelcome Interruption of the War of 1812.
The exhibit will open to the public on Saturday, May 26 and will be on view until Sunday, October 28, 2012 at the Museum in Bath.
Contrary to the name given to the war, the conflict lasted from 1812 to 1814. It was a prolonged period during which a fractious atmosphere of double-dealing, defiance, subterfuge, vitriolic satire, confusion and propaganda flourished along the coast of the then-District of Maine. Statehood would not be achieved until 1820.
Maine Maritime Museum’s exhibit chronicles the nation-building hubbub – from the Eastport “Flour War” and the sacking of Hampden to the alarming frolics of the Royal Navy threatening the partially-built USS Washington at Kittery.
Artifacts and original archival documents from four Maine museums and numerous private collections have been brought together to present the story of how this often overlooked war impacted our state. Among these are a rarely-seen model of the privateer Dash, a cannon from HMS Boxer that was captured by the American brig Enterprise in a dramatic battle off the coast of Monhegan Island and two gowns worn at the 1815 Saco Peace Ball.
Above all, this war in Maine was waged passionately, and is due all the appreciation that its bicentennial demands.
No comments:
Post a Comment