Nike Shoes One Shot Away from Rescue - The Tragedy

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Some officials tried to have Bird’s sentence commuted to imprisonment because of his gallant actions on the Lawrence on September 10, 1813. President James Madison refused. He said that Bird “had deserted from off his post while in charge of a guard, in time of war, and therefore, must suffer as an example for others.”
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Add another historical record to the popular history [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the naval record, and the “gory” ballad of James Bird. An item in the Union City Times, published in the small town of Union City about twenty miles from Erie, takes up the James Bird story 68 years later. Th
James Bird is Executed Before Word of Perry's Pardon Arrives
Laura Sanford concludes her version of the James Bird story by saying, “A ballad on the theme of not less than twenty verses in the “gory” style, rehearsed or rather screeched by a servant girl with a doleful countenance, and made a decided impression on a group of children.”
President James Madison Refuses to Pardon James Bird
James Bird and John Rankin were caught while deserting because an Erie boy had spent his vacation at home and rode back toward his school at Washington, Pennsylvania. He passed Bird and Rankin at a tavern near Butler. He had seen the men on duty at the store and he recognized them.
The boy continued on his journey and eventually met Sailing Master Colwell and a group of seamen in wagons. They were on their way to Erie to join the squadron. The boy told them about Rankin and Bird. Sailing Master Colwell disguised a party of men and sent them after Bird and Rankin. They captured Bird and Rankin and brought them to Erie.
James Bird, John Davis, and John Rankin were executed on board the Niagara while it lay at anchor at Erie in October 1814.Legend says that a rider and his horse galloped to Presque Isle Bay where the Niagara rode at anchor. He waved a piece of white paper at the men aboard the Niagara and shouted for them not to shoot. The crackle of rifle fire answered him. He had arrived at the Niagara with Admiral Perry’s pardon for James Bird a minute too late! This part of the story may be just legend, because it would be difficult for Perry to countermand a presidential order, but this version of the story and ballad says that Perry did pardon James Bird, but he was shot before word of the pardon reached the Niagara.
Dark and gloomy was the morning,
The Ballad of Bird's Farewell
Laura Sanford Decries The "Gory" Style of The Ballad
The military held a court martial on board the Niagara [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], which was on its way with the squadron to Detroit. John Davis, a sailor who had deserted and committed other offenses [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and James Bird and John Rankin were found guilty and condemned to death.
A ballad called “Bird’s Farewell” describes the fate of James Bird and his comrades. Lydia Ryall quotes the entire balled in her Sketches and Stories of the Lake Erie Islands. She describes the execution scene this way:
Bird was ordered out to ballad vividly describes Bird kneeling by his coffin and the words overflow with sentiment. "Spare him, his death can do no good," the words cry. Then Bird is shot and his "bosom streams with blood." The language of the ballad may seem overblown and sentimental to modern ears, but the emotions and story telling of the ballad keep James Bird alive.
The Bones and Ballad of James Bird