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A Congreve Rocket, which was taken out of the breast work of the Orleans Riflemen

Object Status:

Unlocated

Accession Date:

May 13, 1816

Primary Source Reference:

Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 80

Additional Source Text:

"By the donor one of the said company, on the 28th of December 1815 [ i.e., 1814]. That day being the second attack made by the enemy on the American lines. brought by Capn. Graves."

Notes:

Skirmishes between Brtitish and American forces took place on 28 Dec 1814, eleven days before the climactic Battle of New Orleans on 8 Jan 1815. The British employed the Congreve rocket that had been developed about a decade earlier.

"Captn. Graves" may have been Philadelphia sea captain John Graves.