A Voyage into History
February 16, 2010
February 16, 2010
Contact: Professor Chris Pyle
413-532-3627
“WANTED” posters went up on campus this week, seeking “A FEW GOOD WOMEN TO SAIL THIS SHIP!” Students are wanted to sail a nineteenth century warship. The occasion is a special two-week course in late May by Politics professor Chris Pyle on “re-thinking the War of 1812.”
In past years, Professor Pyle has taught students to sail tall ships in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. This year, between May 17 and May 31, he and a dozen students will help sail the brig Niagara from one end of Lake Erie to the other, visiting historical sites in both the U.S. and Canada. The course is being offered in conjunction with the Erie Maritime Museum.
The two masted, 198-foot long, square-rigged vessel is an authentic reproduction of the ship that won the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Students will climb aloft to set and furl sails, man the helm, and learn the arts of seamanship and navigation on the Great Lakes. They will sleep in hammocks, cook meals on a small wood-burning stove, and learn to survive without showers.
“One purpose of the course,” Professor Pyle says, “is to appreciate what life was like, on the American frontier and at sea, during the early nineteenth century, when the United States tried to seize Upper Canada by force.” Another purpose, he added,” is to examine the war from the perspective of the Canadians and their Shawnee allies, and understand why Americans, who had settled Ontario in large numbers and might have voted to join the United States voluntarily, were persuaded by the invasion to remain under British rule.”
The voyage will begin in Erie, Pennsylvania, where the original Niagara was built, and proceed northeast to Fort Erie, Ontario, site of the bloodiest battle of the war. From there the ship will sail west to the old British naval base at Fort Malden (Amherstburg), Ontario (winds willing), and to Put-in-Bay, Ohio, where the Battle of Lake Erie was fought. The ship will then sail east back to her home base in Erie, PA.
Students interested in joining the course are invited to obtain application forms from the Politics Department, 118 Shattuck Hall, or contact Professor Pyle at cpyle@mtholyoke.edu. Applicants will be interviewed. Financial aid is available.
For details email or call Professor Chris Pyle at 413-532-3627.
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