What happened?

 Know what happened on this day two hundred and ten years ago? The damn British fired at us again. They weren't using AK-15's but they assaulted us anyway! Yup, the British recruited some Native Americans, as they are called today, to join them in attacking the Americans. Other Native Americans joined the American forces. Well all of that is left to history to understand and explain. But the War of 1812 is mostly a forgotten war. Fact is, there isn't a whole of action to talk about with a few notable exceptions. The war was mostly about trade (money) as most wars ultimately are. It was James Madison that declared war on Great Britian after years of British insults and wrongs against our nation. 

 We entered the war with about 6700 soldiers against the British numbering, in total, 240,000! We had a good sized navy but no where near as big as Britian's. Still, Monroe figured we could win this one. Eventually we did. The war lasted three years. The British were actively fighting with the French during this time as well. That's what put us in a pickle in the first place. We couldn't trade with either nation without the other nation getting mad about that, politics you know. Soldiers were recruited in America with the promise of a land bounty. I have a few ancestors that were given land as a result of their service in the war of 1812. As far as I can tell none of them every took possession of the land though. It was all out "west" in the uncivilized part of the country, full of hostiles! 

 Being a Navy man I was taught about Oliver Hazard Perry and his great victory against the British. After soundly trashing the British on Lake Erie he sent his now famous message, "we have met the enemy and they are ours." Take that. Following that he was sent to Newport Rhode Island to supervise the building of several ships. He did get command of a new forty four gun ship of the line but by then the war was over. Still, Oliver is remembered. He was there helping to defend Baltimore during the British bombardment. It was then that Francis Scott Key, being held prisoner on a British ship, wrote the poem that would become the Satr Spangled Banner. A "banner" moment in the war! We repulsed their attack and held the fort. The British left never to return. Other than burning the White House the British never did accomplish a whole lot. Andrew Jackson fought the Battle of New Orleans, immortalized in song by Johnny Horton, but ironically that happened after the peace treaty had been signed, neither side knew that at the time. 

 Not counting the "Indian " wars it was the last battle fought on American soil against foreigners. The civil war remember was, well, a civil matter. After the war was over the southerners usually referred to that war as, the war between the states. They didn't like the term civil war. The victors get to name the war and it is recorded as the Civil War in American history books. That war was over trade as well, although there were other components. 

 But anyway, two hundred and ten years have passed since the start of that war. Most people know little about it. I have read some but my knowledge of that war is sketchy at best. The most ironic part of that war and its' aftermath is the Native Americans lost the most territory. Of course back then they were just Indians. They were people living in the land we wanted. Some were friendly Indians, some where not. No matter how you want to view all of that the Indians were forced to surrender their lands to superior numbers. The same thing had happened around the globe over many centuries. The Europeans are mostly blamed for all of that expansion. Funny how in the history books all Europeans are pretty much considered the "white" people despite the many nationalities they represent. But when all the white people got together and formed a nation called America many began identifying themselves by hyphenating their nationality. They insist they aren't all white after all. So during the War of 1812 it was the white guys fighting other white guys with the help from Native Americans on both sides and the Native Americans came out on the short end of the stick! History takes a few turns.

 In total about two hundred and eighty thousand men served in the war of 1812. Of those about fifteen thousand died, mostly from disease and sickness. About twenty two hundred died in battle. The war cost us ninety three million dollars. We had to borrow eighty million of that. War is expensive but a boom to the economy. But it was paid for by 1837. Yes, we had no national debt at that time. It hasn't happened since. 1812 a mostly forgotten war.