Chesapeake Bay History - War of 1812 Bicentennial

Mount Calvert allows visitors to re-imagine War of 1812
Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network / By Lara Lutz - Bay Jouranl

When the first gunboats exploded on the Patuxent River, everyone at Mount Calvert heard the blast. It was an ominous sound.

The year was 1814, and the United States was once again at war with Britain. Thousands of British troops were marching through southern Maryland to attack Washington.

At the same time, British ships sailed up the Patuxent River, moving more troops inland while chasing a troublesome collection of U.S. gunboats. Led by the bold U.S. Commodore Joshua Barney, these gunboats had been the only naval force to challenge British invaders on the Chesapeake Bay.

"The British wanted to keep Barney bottled up," said Ralph Eshelman, author of "The War of 1812 in the Chesapeake." "He kept going upriver and the British kept following."

Eventually, Barney's Flotilla reached the upper Patuxent River in Prince George's County. They anchored above the Mount Calvert plantation, just north of the modern-day nature preserves at Jug Bay.

On Aug. 22, a stifling summer day, British ships rounded the bend near the foot of Mount Calvert. Barney's boats came into view. "One by one, they blew up," Eshelman said.

Barney's Flotilla was destroyed by its own men rather than falling to enemy hands.

The people of Mount Calvert witnessed the firestorm of 16 exploding boats before the British called at their doorstep. With Barney's Flotilla out of the way, the British shipboard troops could now join the attack on Washington, DC.

The Brown family who owned the plantation, along with enslaved people who labored there, saw hundreds of marines and seamen disembark at the wharf at Mount Calvert and begin on a dusty march north.

In two days, Washington, DC, would burn.

Nearly 200 years later, Mount Calvert and its spectacular view of the Patuxent River have remained much the same. "Mount Calvert has one of the most attractive views of the Patuxent River," Eshelman said. "In many ways, it evokes what the scene may have looked like in 1814."

Despite its proximity to the city, the plantation house stands in regal isolation on a commanding crest above the river. Below, the Patuxent is joined by its western branch and forms dramatic curves and patterns through dense and textured wetlands.

Thanks to conservation efforts, the shores on all sides are thick with trees. The most visible structure on the opposite shore is the Billingsley House. But even this house, built in about 1740, was part of the 1814 viewshed.

Mount Calvert itself is now the Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park, operated by The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. It is also a member of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network.

As the War of 1812 approaches its bicentennial, Mount Calvert is drawing renewed attention for its part in the conflict and for the preservation of a setting that so strongly evokes the past. Adventurers will find Mount Calvert on the Star-Spangled Banner Geotrail, and the National Park Service is incorporating the park in its Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail.

But the archaeologists who study Mount Calvert say the heightened drama of that distant August day is just one small part of its appeal. Mount Calvert marks one of the most significant historical and archaeological places in Prince George's County for reasons that stretch far beyond the War of 1812.
"We have 10,000 years of human history here, on just one site," said Don Creveling of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

Creveling's team has recovered thousands of artifacts at Mount Calvert since excavations began in 1996. Each year, volunteers aid the effort on specially scheduled public archaeology days.

Most of the artifacts discovered at Mount Calvert originated with American Indians, a reminder that human history along the Patuxent belongs largely to them. The American Indian presence began with seasonal hunting camps and grew to include permanent settlements and farms along the river's edge. The artifacts - including spear points, pottery, smoking pipes and remains of stone hearths - date from as recently as the early 1600s to the oldest reach of the Archaic Period more than 9,000 years ago.

Certainly, the site was a good one for settlement. In colonial times, Maryland had hoped to make it a major town.

Up to $60 Billion Wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan

Report: Up to $60 Billion Wasted in Iraq, Afghanistan
Michael Bowman | Capitol Hill
August 31, 2011
VOA

The United States' extensive outsourcing of military functions in war zones has been controversial since the beginning of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A report by the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting has heightened concerns with details of allegations of billions of dollars lost due to waste and corruption.

To lessen wartime strains on America’s all-volunteer military force, the Pentagon hires private businesses to provide a vast array of support services.

Reliance on contractors expanded drastically during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, feeding what is now a large for-profit military industry funded by U.S. taxpayers.

The commission's co-chairman, Michael Thibault says not all of the money has been well-spent.

“Total spending on contract and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan amounts to $206 billion. We estimate that $31-$60 billion of that total has been or is being lost to waste and fraud,” said Thibault.

At a news conference Wednesday, Thibault stressed that the commission's aim is not to attack the reputations of individual contractors, but rather to identify problems in the government’s contracting process. He says many problems have been identified.

“The cost of contract support has been unnecessarily high. [The U.S.] government has not effectively managed contracts to promote competition, reward good performance, and impose accountability for poor performance and misconduct by both government and contractor personnel,” Thibault said.

As an example of counter-productive efforts, the commission alleges that some U.S. funds for construction projects in Afghanistan wound up in the hands of insurgents battling American troops.

Contractors do everything from serving meals to troops to building power plants and guarding diplomats.

The commission urges an overhaul of government contracting procedures in war zones, and even phasing out the use of contractors for certain functions.

The other commission co-chairman is former Congressman Christopher Shays.

“The way forward demands reform. With tens of billions of dollars already wasted, with the prospect of more to follow, and with the risk of re-creating these problems the next time America faces a contingency, denial and delay are not good options,” said Shays.

Questions surrounding private military contractors are not new. In 2007, Congress held hearings on allegations that contractors targeted Iraqi civilians with excessive and reckless force. Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater, a well-known military contracting firm, denied any wrongdoing by his employees.

“I disagree with the assertion that they acted like cowboys,” Prince said.

Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia says the commission’s report is a call to action for Congress. “These recommendations will be listened to and, when appropriate, acted on by the United States Congress,” Webb said.

In May, the Congressional Research Service reported that the United States had 155,000 private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, compared with 145,000 uniformed personnel.

Most wearing uniforms on 4th of July have served honorably, but not all...

Fraud Hunters Unmask Military Imposters
Most wearing uniforms on July 4th have served honorably, but not all
VOA - Ted Landphair
Washington, D.C.
July 01, 2011



If you were to attend a parade or musical celebration of the 235th anniversary of Americans’ declaration of independence today, you’d likely see lots of men and women in the uniforms of the United States military.

Almost all of them are serving their country honorably and well. But a tiny percentage aren’t servicemen and women at all, or are wearing medals and other decorations that they did not earn. “Stolen valor,” some call such behavior.

Even prominent men and women have lied about their military service or decorations. And a good many of them have been exposed by a cadre of veterans who keep a look-out for imposters - particularly at holiday gatherings such as those on the 4th of July.

One of the most determined military fraud hunters is Larry Bailey of Mount Vernon, Virginia. He is a retired Navy captain and SEAL. That’s the same elite Navy parachute and demolitions unit that swooped down and killed al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in May.

Over several years, Bailey, who regretfully concludes that military fakery is rampant, has exposed a rogues’ gallery of military masqueraders that has included corporate executives and members of Congress.

Some fakers did serve their nation honorably but could not resist dressing up their records with claims of battles they never fought, medals they never won, or tortures they never endured.

For example, Bailey points to Joseph Ellis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who admitted embellishing his resume by claiming to have served as a platoon leader in Vietnam. In truth, he spent the war at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, teaching history.

And a few years ago, Los Angeles, California, Superior Court Judge Patrick Couwenberg was removed from the bench after falsely claiming to be a decorated Vietnam War veteran who worked undercover in Laos for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Bailey says men often make up heroic war stories to impress women, to puff up their job credentials or because they think it will inspire youngsters such as Boy Scouts and military recruits. He says some people have lived their falsehoods so long that they could pass lie-detector tests about their stories.



Fraud Hunters Unmask Military Imposters

Most wearing uniforms on July 4th have served honorably, but not all
Article from VOA

Gen. David Petraeus Cites Progress in Afghanistan

Petraeus Cites Progress in Afghanistan, But Tough Year Ahead

Al Pessin | Pentagon January 25, 2011- VOA

 

Gen. David Petraeus, left, top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, meets US Marines during his visit to Marjah, Afghanistan, 25 Dec 2010

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan says the troop surge last year helped inflict “enormous losses” on insurgent networks, sowed discord among their leaders and put the groups on the defensive. But in a letter to the nearly 150,000 international troops in his command, General David Petraeus said they still have a lot of hard work to do.

The general’s three-page letter tells the troops they and their Afghan counterparts did “tremendous work” and made “impressive progress” during the past year.  He credits the military surge, including 30,000 fresh American troops, and also the growth and improving quality of the Afghan Army and police.  He also mentions the surge of international civilians working on such issues as development, education, health care and the Afghan legal system.
Petraeus says increased military operations seized the combat initiative and took away some of the most important safe havens for the Taliban and its allies. He also cites what he calls “numerous reports of unprecedented discord” among insurgent leaders based in Pakistan.
Officials at the Pentagon say the general was referring to tension between Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and their bosses in Pakistan, caused partly by the killing or capture of thousands of fighters and commanders and the rise of new local leaders. The officials also tell VOA Taliban frustration is growing because the increased number of coalition forces are now able to disrupt their operations.

The United Nations has welcomed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's announcement that he plans to convene his country's new parliament on Wednesday. Ira mellman interviewed Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington and an expert on Afghanistan. Last week, O'Hanlon had written that in postponing the convening of the Parliament, President Karzai might have been correct.

Analyst Jeffery Dressler at the Institute for the Study of War adds that some insurgent leaders in Pakistan have become reluctant to travel into southern Afghanistan, where the allied effort has been focused. But he says it is too soon to know whether the progress will become permanent.
“It won’t be until we get through next summer that we’ll be able to state definitively whether the gains that we have achieved there are lasting and enduring," said Dressler.

That is when General Petraeus will have to begin the withdrawal of U.S. forces that President Obama ordered more than a year ago, when he approved the troop surge.  Petraeus re-committed himself to that in Monday’s letter, but no one is providing details yet.

Jeffery Dressler has a problem with that plan. “Drawing down the troops, in and of itself, should not be the goal," he said. "The goal should be reversing the Taliban’s momentum, making progress and ensuring that the Afghans can increasingly take over responsibility for the gains that have been achieved.”

In addition to security issues, the international community is working for sustainable gains in other areas, like economic development and the delivery of government services.  General Petraeus also mentions those in his letter, saying they are important for convincing the Afghan people to support their government, rather than the insurgents.

On Tuesday, the senior British civilian official in southern Afghanistan, Michael O’Neill, said his teams are working to improve government services in ways that the Afghans themselves can sustain.

“We need to work with the grain of Afghan society and culture, helping them strengthen their systems, but not seeking to impose something which is alien and would not be accepted by people here," said O’Neill. "And trying to get that balance is obviously a complex judgment, but one we’re keeping in mind all the time.”

Speaking from Afghanistan, O’Neill told reporters at the Pentagon progress on civilian issues usually lags behind security gains.  But he says there have been advances in recent months and he expects that to continue, gradually, between now and the end of 2014 - the date set for the Afghan government and military to take full responsibility for governing and securing their country.  But even after that, O’Neill says the international community will need to continue helping Afghanistan for many years.

Petraeus Cites Progress in Afghanistan, But Tough Year Ahead - article came from VOA

Enrico Dagnino - Exhibit in Washington, DC -"War Zone"

Photo Exhibit Shows Grim Face of War

Amra Alirejsovic and Valer Gergely | Washington, DC - 

12-30-10

Twenty-five years of war around the world are on display at a new exhibit in Washington, DC, called the "War Zone."  It's a collection of still photographs by Italian photojournalist Enrico Dagnino - powerful images that shine a spotlight on the cruelty of war. Dagnino has covered all the recent conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.  His pictures tell stories which echo the thoughts of other journalists who also were there. And they tell a tale of war and survival.

Born in Italy and based in Paris, photographer Enrico Dagnino has gone to the heart of conflicts around the world: Bosnia, Croatia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Kenya, Somalia. He has been arrested, beaten and threatened many times while covering wars. We reached him in Kenya, before his next assignment in Sudan.

"The moment I take the picture is like I am almost not there. It slowly starts coming later and growing inside you," he says.

The stories of war are also the stories of survival. One of the most cruel conflicts in recent history was the one in Chechnya in the mid-1990s, which unofficially claimed about 300,000 lives. Many people are still missing, including the husband of journalist Fatima Tlisova.  Tlisova herself was arrested seven times, and even poisoned, because of her reporting.

"When you report from the war, you see human flesh everywhere," she says. "In the winter it is corpses half eaten by dogs on the streets, in the summer it is mostly the smell. It is penetrating your lungs."

More than 100,000 people were killed in the war in Bosnia between 1992-1995. 2.2 million people were displaced and over a million ended up as refugees.  Sixteen-hundred children alone were killed during the siege of the capital, Sarajevo.

"One had to have enough strength and courage to go out in the street and not look around, because there was not a single day that I did not see a dead body around me," says Mladen Bosnjak, who covered the seige for Radio Sarajevo.

Enrico Dagnino was there too.  He says the brutality of one Serbian paramilitary leader, Zeljko Raznatovic, was almost too much for him to handle.

"At the beginning of the Sarajevo siege I saw a soldier running on a bridge," he says. "That was the only moment when I was a little bit scared to press the shutter. But I did press it, and they arrested me, confiscated the film, beat me."

Dagnino says the images of war he most vividly remembers are from Bosnia - and from the wars he covered in Africa.
Fierce fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 was the widest multi-national war in modern African history. Paul Ndiho was another journalist who took great personal risks there.

"I have never been in a situation where I had seen so many people killed in one night," he says. "People were massacred in large number, especially women and children. I saw several mass graves, people who were buried, fresh bodies being taken out of their houses."

French photographer Jean Louis Atlan is the owner of the Zone 2.8 gallery, which is hosting the “War Zone” exhibit.  He also covered events in Afghanistan, Iran, Poland and the Middle East -- and covered the White House for 10 years as well.

"You do not see those pictures in magazines," he says. "You see them maybe once from time to time. The difficulty of taking a photograph is to try to get in one photograph the whole story."

Enrico Dagnino says his images can be seen as question marks for human behavior. He says that he does not trust humanity as he did before.  Other journalists feel the same way. Fatima Tlisova says that “it can’t be true, but it is.” And Paul Nidho adds that he is haunted by the voices of conflicts he covered, and that he sometimes hears them in his dreams.

But Dagnino says he has no regrets. Given the option, he would do it all over.

"In my next life I will be a photojournalist again…. For sure…," he says.

Please be advised that some of the images are extremely graphic in nature and may not be suitable for all viewers.

Photo Exhibit Shows Grim Face of War - article and video from VOA