Some may be interested in reading the reports of the battle in the reports submitted by Isaac Hull, and his opposing officer, Captain Dacres here: http://www.history.navy.mil/docs/war1812/const5.htm
It took the Constitution about 10 days to return to Boston harbor with prisoners aboard. Knowledge of the victory had reached shore by signal before the ship reached the dock, about Sept. 1st. One story is that the dance was written and then danced on the dock after the ship had docked, although I don't think there exists any verification of that first dance. Because of the slow travel speeds then, many must not have learned of the victory (or danced the dance) until well into the fall. So, if you didn't dance Hull's Victory on Aug. 19th, you could certainly repeat what many may have done 200 years ago, and try the dance in September. Rich Hart. On Thu, Aug 9, 2012 at 11:46 PM, David Millstone <[email protected] > wrote: > [apologies for duplicate posting] > > Coming up in ten days is the 200th anniversary of Hull's Victory-- August > 19, 1812. Callers who have a dance on that weekend might want to mark the > occasion by calling the dance if it's appropriate for your crowd and if the > musicians can play the name tune. > > There's a great story that goes along with the details of the battle > between the USS Constitution and the British warship, HMS Guerriere. You > can find it told in "Cracking Chestnuts," available through CDSS. If your > dancers are up for it, you can spin the yarn, or tell it to those > interested during the break. > > And in A1, I like to encourage dancers to balance forward and back, rather > than the usual right and left; it's a physical remnant of the cannons > firing and recoiling. > > David Millstone > Lebanon, NH > ______________________________**_________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/**mailman/listinfo/callers<http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers> >
