In a conscious effort to avoid talking about current events, some of which are just too ridiculous to even waste my time on, I look to the past. It was on this day two hundred and eight years ago, that James Madison signed a declaration of war against Britain. The War of 1812 was officially on! The war hawks in Congress had applied a lot of pressure on the President to do so. The British were busy fighting with Napoleon and thought of this conflict as a part of that. The war hawks in America didn't feel that way at all, they thought of it as a separate war altogether. The British had blockaded French ports and it was taking its' toll on commerce. Yes, like most wars and conflicts it involves making money on some level.
The first major battle of that war was the Battle of Queenstown Heights. That happened in October of 1812. We tried to invade Canada. That's right the United States attempted to invade Canada. We lost the battle. The British waged a defensive war. All they really did was repel our attempts and left it at that. The British hired some native Americans to fight for them as well. That's because they shared a common desire, to halt the western expansion of the United States. The fighting continued for nearly three years ending with the Battle of New Orleans. Most of us older folks know the song or have at least heard of it sung by Johnny Horton." We fought the bloody British in the town of New Orleans " It was a hit song in 1959 and one I remember well. Probably because of the part about grabbing an alligator and powdering his behind, pretty funny stuff you are eight years old. The British were driven to the gulf and surrendered. That was the end of that.
The War of 1812 is mostly forgotten about. You hardly ever hear anything about it. The government did issue land grants to those that served in the war. That land was mostly in the new western territory that fought the war over. We won, we now controlled that land. The Natives couldn't mount an effective defense of their lands. Perhaps if all the tribes had banded together the outcome would have been different but we'll never know. I have ancestors that were granted land for their service. As far as I can tell no one ever went there to actually live on or claim that land. My ancestors weren't part of that pioneer stock you hear so much about. At least not to my knowledge they weren't. But they are veterans of that war. It was a real war, with real people being killed! But how did we come to just forget about that? That I can't say. It was after a battle on Lake Erie that Oliver Hazard Perry sent this message, " We have met the enemy and they are ours. " Pretty famous saying wouldn't you say? Captain James Lawrence, mortally wounded and lying on the deck of the USS Chesapeake uttered these words, " Don't give up the ship. " They didn't and went on to defeat the HMS Shanon.
Another interesting fact from this war is that about 3000 slaves escaped and went to Nova Scotia where they fought for the British. Others escaped as well. After the war, the British paid the United States 1,204,960 dollars to compensate slave owners for their loss. All of that is mostly forgotten now. Two thousand two hundred and sixty Americans died in that war with four thousand five hundred and five wounded. More died from disease than from battle.
Oh, one more thing. The Star Spangled banner was written during the war of 1812. Key was being held aboard a British ship moored off of Baltimore and witnessed the shelling of Fort McHenry. That is were he wrote those words. I guess if anyone knows something about the war of 1812 it is that. There are few memorials to that war. The most prominent one is located in Ontario, Canada. It sits on Parliament Hill there. The Canadiens are quite proud of that and view the war of 1812 totally different than we do. To them it marked the beginning of their nation, they were still a colony of Britian in 1812. So yes, it's a big deal to them. Strangely, when the United States invaded Canada to fight the British the Canadiens helped the British! That's correct they weren't happy about that. Did you know it wasn't until 1982 that Canada obtained full independence from Britain?
There, no current events just the past. We shouldn't forget about the past. And before I go any further, I'll stop with that statement.
The first major battle of that war was the Battle of Queenstown Heights. That happened in October of 1812. We tried to invade Canada. That's right the United States attempted to invade Canada. We lost the battle. The British waged a defensive war. All they really did was repel our attempts and left it at that. The British hired some native Americans to fight for them as well. That's because they shared a common desire, to halt the western expansion of the United States. The fighting continued for nearly three years ending with the Battle of New Orleans. Most of us older folks know the song or have at least heard of it sung by Johnny Horton." We fought the bloody British in the town of New Orleans " It was a hit song in 1959 and one I remember well. Probably because of the part about grabbing an alligator and powdering his behind, pretty funny stuff you are eight years old. The British were driven to the gulf and surrendered. That was the end of that.
The War of 1812 is mostly forgotten about. You hardly ever hear anything about it. The government did issue land grants to those that served in the war. That land was mostly in the new western territory that fought the war over. We won, we now controlled that land. The Natives couldn't mount an effective defense of their lands. Perhaps if all the tribes had banded together the outcome would have been different but we'll never know. I have ancestors that were granted land for their service. As far as I can tell no one ever went there to actually live on or claim that land. My ancestors weren't part of that pioneer stock you hear so much about. At least not to my knowledge they weren't. But they are veterans of that war. It was a real war, with real people being killed! But how did we come to just forget about that? That I can't say. It was after a battle on Lake Erie that Oliver Hazard Perry sent this message, " We have met the enemy and they are ours. " Pretty famous saying wouldn't you say? Captain James Lawrence, mortally wounded and lying on the deck of the USS Chesapeake uttered these words, " Don't give up the ship. " They didn't and went on to defeat the HMS Shanon.
Another interesting fact from this war is that about 3000 slaves escaped and went to Nova Scotia where they fought for the British. Others escaped as well. After the war, the British paid the United States 1,204,960 dollars to compensate slave owners for their loss. All of that is mostly forgotten now. Two thousand two hundred and sixty Americans died in that war with four thousand five hundred and five wounded. More died from disease than from battle.
Oh, one more thing. The Star Spangled banner was written during the war of 1812. Key was being held aboard a British ship moored off of Baltimore and witnessed the shelling of Fort McHenry. That is were he wrote those words. I guess if anyone knows something about the war of 1812 it is that. There are few memorials to that war. The most prominent one is located in Ontario, Canada. It sits on Parliament Hill there. The Canadiens are quite proud of that and view the war of 1812 totally different than we do. To them it marked the beginning of their nation, they were still a colony of Britian in 1812. So yes, it's a big deal to them. Strangely, when the United States invaded Canada to fight the British the Canadiens helped the British! That's correct they weren't happy about that. Did you know it wasn't until 1982 that Canada obtained full independence from Britain?
There, no current events just the past. We shouldn't forget about the past. And before I go any further, I'll stop with that statement.
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