Today is the 200th
anniversary of the start of the War of 1812. This was the first time
that Congress had ever declared war. The reason for the war was
American sailors were being kidnapped by the British Navy. Somehow
the war effort came down with a case of mission creep and the
American people were told that Canadians would greet us as
liberators.
Fun facts about the war:
The garrison at Fort Wayne was attacked
by Indians allied to the British.
Allen County is named after Colonel
John Allen, a member of the Kentucky state legislature and state
militia who was killed in the Battle of Frenchtown in what would
become Michigan.
Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics for
a piece he called “The Defence(sic) of Ft McHenry”. This would
later become “The Star Spangled Banner”.
The War of 1812 was the last war in
which the US endured a ground invasion by a foreign army.
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1 comment:
By the way, "defence" is not, strictly, a misspelling; it is a variant spelling. They still spell it that way in England.
And that's a good (and amusing) point about "mission creep." It's a pity that Washington, DC didn't STAY burned.
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