REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 011

I hope you like the War of 1812 and its wacky cast of characters, because here they come!

Dolley Madison:

Seen saving the portrait of George Washington from the soon-to-be-burned White House. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)

Francis Scott Key:

Meets Tommy the Super-Boy while both are imprisoned by the British, then is freed by the second Wizard in time to be inspired to write a national anthem. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)

James Madison: 

Seen periodically in the lead-up and progress of the War of 1812. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)

Oliver Hazard Perry:

Captain Perry, of "we have met the enemy and they are ours" fame, is aided in his greatest naval victory by the intervention of the second Wizard. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)

Tecumseh:

The historical Wizard adventures in Shield-Wizard Comics 001 and 002 are on the whole very kind to even the more derided figures in American history (see William Hull, below), but Tecumseh here, who was held in pretty high esteem by his historical contemporaries as well as historians, is instead portrayed as a bloodthirsty creep. I WONDER WHY 

This version of Tecumseh also meets his end at the hands of the second Wizard while attempting to murder General William Henry Harrison, rather than in battle. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)

William Henry Harrison:

The future president is seen during his military days as he retakes Detroit from the British with the aid of the second Wizard. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)

William Hull:

William Hull, governor of Michigan Territory at the beginning of the War of 1812, caught a lot of flak both in his own time and going forward for surrendering Detroit to the British. More recent evaluations of him have been kinder, including in his appearance in the story of the second Wizard. I'm not sure what the general opinion of him was in 1940 but the people at MLJ have added a kidnapped daughter as a major reason for his actions instead of blaming them on his general incompetence as seems to have been the norm for quite a while there. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)

Betsy Hull:

Speaking of William Hull's kidnapped daughter, this is her, and I would love to tell you if she was based on a real historical figure or not but a) I can't find a biography of William Hull that lists his children's names and b) I can't seem to parse online genealogies - they have gone down some sort of structural route that has really obfuscated just how the people in the family trees actually relate to each other. In short, William Hull might or might not have had a daughter named Elizabeth but if he did she did not marry Blane Whitney, the second Wizard, like this young lady eventually does. (Shield-Wizard Comics 002, 1940)