This week’s Baltimore 1814 stories include much more than just news about the “cloudy morning” of January 15, 1814:

• 33-year-old architect Robert Mills submitted a “book of designs”  to the Board of Managers of the Washington Monument with a dozen drawings and a letter staking his claim to the title of “first American architect.”
• Nathan Levering and the Baltimore Manufactory Company advertised to hire a blacksmith, wood turner, weaver and a “complete Mule Spinner” to work at the Powhatan Cotton Works (built along the Gwynns Falls in 1811).
• Joseph Sterett, commander of Maryland’s Fifth Regiment, lost a $2500 check made out by Thomas Tenant, a wealthy major in Maryland’s Sixth Regiment. What was the check for and how was it lost? Let us know if you have a theory!

Read on for a few items from one of our newest themes: Baltimore At Sea – featuring the stories of seamen, shipbuilders, privateers and the United States Navy. Thanks to volunteer Dennis Lilly for his help in launching this new series!

Missed last week? Check out last week’s update or go read the story of Jean Pierre Morel de Guiramand, a refugee from the Haitian Revolution, received a patent a new “power loom” on January 7, 1814.