[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 173 (Wednesday, January 2, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2036-E2037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR OF 1812 AND THE BENJAMIN 
                            HARRISON SOCIETY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 2, 2013

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing the 200th anniversary of the 
War of 1812 and the Benjamin Harrison Society's work in bringing 
attention to the little known involvement of the District of Columbia 
in the war.
  In the summer of 1814, British troops invaded our nation's capital. 
The poorly planned

[[Page E2037]]

campaign ended in the wounding of Joshua Barney and the burning of the 
capital city-- most major public buildings were burned, including the 
United States Capitol and the White House. However, a brave navy 
commodore, Joshua Barney and flotilla of men, militia and marines, 
stood in the Rives' Farm of Washington, D.C., with two 18 pound cannons 
and three 12 pound cannons defending the nation's capital until their 
ammunition was depleted and the wounding of Commodore Barney. In 2009, 
the Benjamin Harrison Society's lead historian, Acqunetta Anderson, 
asked volunteer archaeologists from the Smithsonian Institution to 
conduct the archaeological excavation of U.S. Reservation 520 to 
confirm Barney's artillery position during the Battle of Bladensburg on 
August 24, 1814, using historic descriptions, archaeological 
prospecting, mapping and excavation. The significance of the site, 
besides providing insight into an example of mid-19th century 
architecture, was that the Rives' barns provided a reference point for 
determining the position of Barney's battery during the battle. 
Barney's two 18 pound cannons and three 12 pound cannons were described 
as being within several yards of this location. The excavation of the 
median in Bladensburg Road by the D.C. Department of Transportation in 
September 2011 added to the investigation. The original turnpike level 
could be distinguished approximately 23.6 inches below the present road 
surface and spring water was observed still running across the road 
opposite Barney's Spring. Brick fragments, presumably emanating from 
the second Rives' barn, were also found in the median trench, further 
strengthening Ms. Anderson's theory that the Battle of Bladensburg 
occurred both in Maryland and Washington, D.C. in Ward 5 on August 24, 
1814.
  The Benjamin Harrison Society should be commended for their 
dedication to the research of the history of Washington, D.C. and the 
War of 1812, Battle of Bladensburg. Their research revealed that 
Barney, and his flotilla of men, militia, and marines battled the 
British in Washington, D.C. during the Battle of Bladensburg on August 
24, 1814. The archaeological knowledge gained from this project can 
assist the National Park Service in cultural resource management, as 
well as the Benjamin Harrison Society, the Daughters of the American 
Revolution, Benjamin Harrison Chapter, and the Washington, D.C. War of 
1812 Bicentennial Commission with site interpretation of both the 
Battle of Bladensburg and the Star-Spangled Banner Trail in Washington, 
D.C. It will help to finalize the Commission's plans for the 
commemoration of the Battle of Bladensburg and the War of 1812, 
beginning in 2012.
  I ask the House to join me in recognizing the Benjamin Harrison 
Society and their involvement in research and commemorating the War of 
1812.

                          ____________________