NHF Speakers Engage the Public
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n a speech to an audience of 50 community leaders at the prestigious Detroit Athletic Club in early May, Rear Adm. Joseph Callo, USN (Ret.), provided his thoughts of U.S. naval operations in the War of 1812 that he highlighted in the previous edition of Pull Together. Callo’s talk was one of several conducted this spring by War of 1812 experts participating in the NHF War of 1812 Speakers Program. George C. Daughan, whose book 1812: The Navy’s War won the Society for History in the Federal Government George Pendleton Prize, spoke at several venues in Florida and Cali-
fornia. Retired Capt. Steven Maffeo, who wrote A Perfect Wreck: Constitution vs. Java, had opportunities to address audiences in California and Washington State. William S. Dudley and William H. White have each spoken to numerous groups in Maryland and New York, respectively. The NHF is currently fielding several requests for speakers in concert with Navy birthday celebrations.
New Video Series on the War of 1812
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H Rositzke & Associates, LLC, has completed work on five videos (USS Constitution, On the Home Front, Our Flag Was
Still There, On Land and Sea, and Postwar Times) for the U.S. Navy’s War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration. This release on the War of 1812 will be displayed as part of Navy exhibits at venues across the country where the bicentennial is being observed. The videos will, for the most part, be accessible on visitors’ smartphones, to be watched while they are waiting in line for the exhibits. They will also be displayed, in some locations, on video monitors. Rositzke, who also completed a Civil War video series sponsored by the Surface Navy Association, served as a technical advisor for NHF’s Cold War Gallery exhibit “Into the Lion’s Den.”
NHF Donates War of 1812 Vintage Navy Pistol to NHHC
To fill a gap in the Navy’s firearms collection, the NHF acquired a pistol from the War of 1812 era for the Navy’s collection, for study and for possible future display. NHF got involved in the bidding on a U.S. Navy model flintlock pistol through the Rock Island Auction Company and fortunately was the successful bidder. This pistol was made by John Shuler as a result of a contract from the U.S. Navy in 1814/15, where he used parts from his 1808 Army contract and parts furnished by Schuylkill Arsenal to assemble the Navy contract flintlock pistols. The pistol was inspected by U.S. Navy Lt. Edward Trenchard, and his “ET” initials are present.
Pull Together • Spring/Summer 2012
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