An Added Little Nugget for Col. William Robert Greer and a Roadtrip Through History-- Part 1: A War of 1812 Trip

As I usually do when I come across names while researching a topic, I look them up to see if there is any more information as part of my Roadtrip Through History and I found a piece of information about this man that really made my day.  He was the featured speaker at the dedication of Charleston's "Defenders of Charleston" statue in 1932.  At the time, he was the last living of those defenders who held onto Fort Sumter during the tremendous Union attacks in 1863.

Right now, I am doing research on the disappearance of Theodosia Burr Alston in my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog.  And with a middle name like Burr, well, I just had to know.  Aaron Burr?  That scamp of American history who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, had been a former U.S. vice president and later attempted to cause a rebellion in the South?  That Burr?  Well, she was his daughter.

I arrived at the name Theodosia while researching about the HMS Nimrod which captured a whole lot of American ships during the War of 1812 and bombarded two Massachusetts towns.  There had been an earlier HMS Nimrod (1799) which had formerly been a French privateer, was taken into British service, which had captured a French privateer in 1807.  This one was also taken into British service  as the HMS Venturer which later had its name changed to HMS Theodosia.  This was why I came across the name Theodosia and how I ended up with Burr's daughter.

I also found out that there was a HMS Venturer submarine during WW II, that became the first submarine to sink another submarine (a German U-boat) with a torpedo while both were submerged.  I wrote about this in my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog.

And, Theodosia, Burr's daughter, disappeared while on a ship during the War of 1812, and to this day, no one knows what happened to her.  I have been writing about her and her disappearance in that blog.

Now, yesterday,  I found out that she had a song about her in the popular musical "Hamilton."  I didn't see it, so this was news to me.  In it, Aaron Burr sang to his just-born daughter while Alexander Hamilton sang to his just-born son, Philip.  Both saw great things in store for their progeny.  The song was "Dear Theodosia."

But, as I said, Theodosia disappeared and Philip Hamilton was killed in a duel three years before his dad met a similar fate.  And, I found out that both Hamiltons were killed at the same place.

This is what my Roadtrippin' Through History is all about.  I start at one place and see where it takes me.

And, you're probably wondering about that nugget of information I found out about Col. William Robert Greer.  Well, I found out this information by Roadtrippin'.  You'll have to wait until the next post.

And, I wonder why it takes me so long to do these blogs.

A Road Tripping Through History I Go.  Or, If Your Name Is Hamilton, Don't Duel.  --Old Secesh