Lewes Historical Society director to present 'War of 1812 Comes to Lewes' Jan. 7

Mike DiPaolo, executive director of the Lewes Historical Society, will be presenting a program at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Delaware Public Archives titled “The War of 1812 Comes to Lewes.” With the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 taking place in 2012, this program will address the 1813 attack on Lewes by the British Royal Navy.

In March 1813, the Royal Navy established a blockade of the Delaware Bay and River. The British squadron began to conduct raids along the coast in an effort to disrupt maritime commerce and shipping. After Delaware authorities refused a demand to provide supplies, the British ships took up bombardment positions close to the town of Lewes. From April 6 into April 7, Lewes was shelled for 22 hours, with the British firing as many as 800 projectiles into the town.

DiPaolo has been executive director of the Lewes Historical Society for 10 years and recently won the 2011 Nancy Hanks Memorial Award for Professional Excellence from the American Association of Museums. This honor is awarded to people who have been outstanding in museum work and have been in the field for less than 10 years. A graduate of The College of Wooster in Ohio, DiPaolo earned a master's degree in library information science from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2007, DiPaolo was chosen as the Delaware Tourism Person of the Year.

The program is free to the public. No reservations are required. For more information, contact Tom Summers at 302-744-5047 or email thomas.summers@state.de.us.

For more information about the Delaware Public Archives, go to http://archives.delaware.gov. You can also become a follower of the Archives Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/DelawarePublicArchives) and read the Archives blog (http://archives.blogs.delaware.gov/) to learn more about events and other items of interest at the Archives.

The Delaware Public Archives is at 121 Duke of York St. in Dover. The Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday to Friday.  On the second Saturday of every month the research room is open from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.