History Lecture on the Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812

The Suffield Historical Society will host Jerry Roberts, author of The British Raid on Essex, the Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812, at its October 15th monthly meeting. This action-packed presentation begins at 7:30pm in Suffield’s Senior Center at 145 Bridge Street and is open to the public. As executive director of the Connecticut River Museum, Roberts spearheaded the research on both sides of the Atlantic, which resulted in Essex being designated as Connecticut’s first War of 1812 battle site. He served as battlefield historian for the extensive archaeological work along a six-mile stretch of the river, which resulted in federal recognition by the National Pack Service, American Battlefield Protection Program. This past May Essex marked the bicentennial of the raid with a re-enacted invasion of the picturesque village. The British raid represented the single greatest loss of shipping during the entire war. Roberts has chronicled all of this in his new book, The British Raid on Essex, the Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812, published by Wesleyan University Press. The multimedia presentation will include the story of the battle and the efforts to bring it to national attention. Roberts recently presented his program to the National War of 1812 conference in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the National Maritime Conference in Norfolk, Virginia. After the presentation Roberts will be available to sign copies of the book. Refreshments will be served. Residents with questions should email Bill Sullivan at bsullivan@suffieldacademy.org. For more information on Suffield Historical Society programs coming up in the near future, click here: http://suffieldhistoricalsociety.org/programs.htm