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The War of 1812 on Cape Cod: Saltworks, Blockades, Ransom Demands, and the Battle of Orleans

Friends Corner
12:30 pm- 1:15 pm: Potluck lunch
1:30 pm: Lecture

Ron Petersen, Orleans Historical Commission

Most people are familiar with the Battle of New Orleans, which took place in January of 1815. Less than a month earlier, another one occurred: the Battle of Orleans on December 19, 1814, when British marines and seamen landed in Rock Harbor. Learn what happened when the Orleans Militia responded, and why the battle earned Orleans the motto “defiant and self-reliant”.

Ron Petersen, Chair of the Orleans Historical Commission, will discuss the impact of the war on Cape Cod, and in particular its impact on the Outer Cape. He has served as a board member and officer of the Orleans Historical Society, and his columns on local history appear periodically in the Cape Codder.