Britain was winning its guerilla campaign against French forces in Spain and its navy ruled the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, a harbinger of the worldwide English supremacy in the decades to come.Īmerica in 1812 was an insignificant power. French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had brought continental Europe to its knees and in 1812 invaded Russia. The main show on the world stage in 1812 was the struggle between the French and the Allied Powers in Europe. The War of 1812 is famous for Fort McHenry’s valiant stand against the British fleet, the setting of Francis Scott Key’s Star Spangled Banner, and for Andrew Jackson’s (Old Hickory) decimation of the British forces at the Battle of New Orleans. Though overshadowed by its later, longer and bloodier cousin, the War of 1812 was the first major military test of new United States, the only conflict in our history in which a foreign power invaded our states, and the only one in which our capital, Washington DC, was captured. Thousands of participants, tens of thousands of spectators, and merchants of all kinds have gathered to relive these events that shaped our nation and its people forever.Ģ0 have seen anniversaries of other battles from an earlier war which has also shaped American History, the War of 1812. Reenactors and Living Historians in 2013 reveled in the 150th anniversary of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg, some of the most monumental battles of the American Civil War. Had it ended differently, we might have been colonies again. In many ways a forgotten war, the War of 1812 was America’s first test as a nation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |