very doubtful company.

Thinking again about this c. 1818 portrait of James Johnson (1774-1826), by fellow War of 1812 veteran Matthew Harris Jouett.

This is the only portrait of James Johnson that I'm aware of (not counting prints of the Battle of the Thames, where he may appear as a small figure in the background with the mounted infantry). Although James looks distinctly different from his more [in]famous younger brother, it has been misidentified as another portrait of Richard Mentor Johnson—to the point of appearing on the cover of a recent biography of RMJ.

If you want to learn about James Johnson, you have to go through Richard Mentor Johnson (incidentally the same problem that bedevils scholars of Richard M. Johnson's Black wife, Julia Chinn). Even James's name is far too common, he didn't get a middle name like Mentor or Telemachus (his father was an Odyssey fanboy). I've spent time investigating a Major James Johnson, also a War of 1812 officer from Kentucky, who fought at the Battle of New Orleans, eventually concluding that he was (almost) certainly a different guy.

The Kentucky Historical Society shared these pictures of an 18th century long rifle in their collection that was possibly used in the 1782 Siege of Bryan's Station (also called Bryant's Station).

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the Siege of Bryan's Station is eight-year-old James Johnson, protecting the settlement from flaming arrows while his more famous younger brother was still a baby:

A small body of the most daring Indians reached the fort and set fire to a few houses and stables, but an easterly wind blew the flames toward them and drove them back. Their attempt to fire the fort with lighted arrows was arrested by the aid of children, such as James Johnson, then eight years old, who was placed on a sloping cabin roof by his mother and given water with which to extinguish the flames. A lighted arrow fell upon the sugar-trough cradle in which the infant Richard M. Johnson was lying, but his sister Betsy extinguished the flames.

— The Life and Times of Colonel Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky, Leland Winfield Meyer.

It a colorful anecdote in the life of the obscure James, the eldest son of Robert and Jemima (Suggett) Johnson. Since he saw frontier battles at such an early age, I wonder if this influenced James to take his teenaged sons William and Edward with him to the Battle of the Thames in 1813.

There's another clue in the 1833 biography of Richard M. Johnson by William Emmons (Internet Archive). Emmons describes how the family patriarch, the pioneer Colonel Robert Johnson (1745–1815), took part in the "frequent and sanguinary wars" between settlers of Kentucky and the local Indigenous people. He passed these values on to his sons:

He early inured them to the endurance of hardship and privation. So far, indeed, did he adopt this Spartan mode of education, that when his eldest son, Col. James Johnson, was but fifteen years of age, and too feeble to undergo the fatigues of the wilderness, he took him to the conflict with the savage foe, with a servant to carry his rifle, and assist him in difficult passages, that he might thus learn from early habit, to endure the toils and brave the dangers of war.

— Authentic Biography of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, pp. 6-7.

The last book I read: Narrative of the Suffering & Defeat of the North-Western Army Under General Winchester by William Atherton. What sticks with me is how horribly Atherton was treated by his own countrymen, as he made his way home to Kentucky after being released as a prisoner of war in upstate New York. The ragged appearance of the abused veterans incited scorn and harassment from civilians, and some of Atherton's fellow POWs were pressured to reenlist by equally unhelpful US Army officers.

A book I'd recommend: The Edge of the Sea, by Rachel Carson.

A book I couldn't put down: It has been a long time, but Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I stayed up all night to read it.

A book I've read twice or more: The Naval Officer (Frank Mildmay) by Frederick Marryat.

A book on my TBR: The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832, by Alan Taylor. I have been putting this off because of the length and the grim subject matter, but just saw a Goodreads review complaining that it has too much War of 1812 in it and I feel renewed enthusiasm. 🙌🏻

A book I've put down: The Trans-Appalachian Wars, 1790-1818: Pathways to America's First Empire, by John Eric Vining. A promising title attached to a weird, rambling, evidently self-published book.

A book on my wish list: Green Coats and Glory: The United States Regiment of Riflemen, 1808-1821, by John C. Fredriksen. Won an award for best essay on military history, but it's only 60 pages and somehow costs TWO HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS due to scarcity.

A favourite book from childhood: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton.

A book I'd give to a friend: An easy-to-use field guide for common plants in their area, including invasive species. A localised version of Weeds of the Northeast by Richard H. Uva, et al. It's fun to put names to plants in vacant lots!

A book of poetry or lyrics that I own: A Deep Cry: First World War Soldier-poets Killed in France and Flanders, by Anne Powell.

A non-fiction book that I own: Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon.

What I'm currently reading: Niagara 1814: America Invades Canada by Richard V. Barbuto. Really enjoying it so far!

What I'm planning on reading next: Ladies, Wives and Women: British Army Wives in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815, by David Clammer. I'm looking for any recs on women in Napoleonic era armies (as sutlers, vivandières, nurses, wives, etc.)

HMS Shannon preparing to board the American frigate Chesapeake, lithograph after John Christian Schetky (British Museum).

On June 1 the Chesapeake emerged from port flying a banner that read “Free Trade and Sailors Rights.” [US Captain James] Lawrence made for the Shannon, but for reasons that are unclear, he passed up a chance to cut across the British ship’s stern and rake her. Instead, the two ships lined up parallel to each other and exchanged broadsides at close range. Very quickly superior gunnery carried the day for the Shannon, taking a terrific toll on the American officers, men, and ship. The Chesapeake lost control, was subjected to a murderous raking fire, and then boarded. Lawrence was wounded but repeatedly urged his men to fight on, uttering “Don’t give up the ship” and similar expressions. His men, however, suffered heavy casualties and had no choice but to surrender.

Action between HMS 'Shannon' and USS 'Chesapeake', 1 June 1813, British school, 19th century (Collection of National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London).

‘Throw no shot away. Aim every one. Keep cool. Work steadily. Fire into her quarters. Don’t try to dismast her. Kill the men, and the ship is yours.’