I’m not a huge history buff, but I like to know my state’s role in our country’s evolution. So the upcoming Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s exhibit, “The Rocket’s Red Glare: The War of 1812 in Connecticut,” is on my to-do list. It focuses on local events like the bombardment of Stonington, the naval squadron that laid low in the Thames River to escape the British, and other things that took place here during the war.

The exhibit will also feature items from the Mystic Seaport Museum, the Stonington Historical Society, the New London Maritime Society and the New London County Historical Society, who have all partnered to put this together.
The exhibit runs from July 6 through January 5, 2013. But if you come during the summer, it’s coinciding with the big OPSAIL 2012 event in New London, which has the War of 1812 as its theme. Visitors from the ships can take a shuttle to the museum to see the exhibit. There are kids’ activities too at Free First Saturday (free admission from 10-5), including art projects for the younger kids and a flag-making workship.

They’ll have stuff like the 16-star American flag that flew over the Stonington defenders–perhaps the coolest piece we have. You can read more about it here, but it survived a lot of action during the war. There are many memorable and unique pieces here all tied together with the common 1812 theme.

Photo courtesy of Lyman Allyn Art Museum.

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