Posted on 11/16/2011 4:45:46 AM PST by Pharmboy
The Great Warpath
Between 1690 and 1815, hundreds of battles, skirmishes, and raids involving Dutch, French, Indians, Britons, Canadians, and Americans.
'Europe has been the territory of war," said Javier Solana in 2003, when he was the European Union's foreign minister, in a speech opposing the invasion of Iraq, "and we have worked to prevent war through building relations with other countries. The U.S. has never been the territory of war; that's why September 11 was so important: it was the first time their territory had been attacked."
Even if one ignores Pearl Harbor, which took place within living memory, Mr. Solana's remarks displayed, in Eliot Cohen's cogent phrase, "breathtaking ignorance." In the well-researched, well-written and absorbing "Conquered Into Liberty," Mr. Cohen shows how Mr. Solana could hardly have been more wrong, for very often in the century and a quarter covered by this book—from the French raid on Schenectady in 1690 to the conclusion of the War of 1812 with the Treaty of Ghent in 1815—America was indeed the territory of war.
Mr. Cohen narrows his geographical focus to a 200-mile-wide corridor running roughly between Albany and Montreal, which was once called "the Great Warpath" but which he rechristens "the American Warpath." He traces its mainly aquatic route through lakes George and Champlain, along the Hudson, St. Lawrence, Richelieu and Chute rivers, and even down lowly Wood Creek in central New York state. The major cities of the trail were New York, Albany, Montreal, Quebec and the capital of the Iroquois confederacy, Onondaga. It was in this region, Mr. Cohen contends, that the American "way of war" was defined in the hundreds of battles, skirmishes and raids carried out by Dutch, French, Indians, Britons, Canadians and Americans, in a series of struggles with ever-changing allies and enemies.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
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BM
I would have to actually agree with Mr. Solana. We in America have been relatively free from battles in our own states since the Civil War. We have not known the total out and out destruction of cities that mainland Europe and Britian knew during WWII. I think that is most likely what Mr. Solana was referring to. Unfortunately, just about all of Europes foreign policy looks at everything through the prism of WWI and WWII where military buildup was part of the casus belli.
—Even if one ignores Pearl Harbor, —
Not to pick nits, but Pearl Harbor was not part of the US at the time.
—It was not a state, but it has been a territory of the U.S. since 1898.—
Like Puerto Rico or Guam today, an attack on Pearl Harbor was not the same as an attack on one of the actual states. I’m sure the locals around the attacked area would have strong feelings about what happened, but still...
Let me suggest another book, although it has been out of print for a couple of years, my own “America’s Victories: Why the U.S. Wins Wars.”
Yep...I had the same reaction. We’ve had nothing since the Civil War that could compare with what went on in Europe in that time period. Cohen was straining hard to pump up his thesis about wars in North America.
I googled it. You are Professor Schweikart? Sounds like an interesting book. You are correct about Vietnam. I believe that is our one war that the Left is truly in love with because everything for them points back to it. I joined the Marines in the Post Vietnam military where everything in the military at that time was done through the prism of Vietnam. It was understandable back then. All of the SNCO’s on up and field grade officers on up were Vietnam veterans and so that was their base of experiences.
However, I don’t believe today’s military is like that. There are few if any Vietnam veterans actually in the military. The military of today has known a lot of success. The left focuses on Vietnam, that is for sure. I’m sure that the Occupy Wall Streeters would love to have draft cards that they could all burn. I will look into your book.
I read your book “Patriots History of the US” Wonderful read. Enjoyed it immensely.
Your Uncle Bob, so relax
I used to live upstate, too, when there used to be a huge emphasis on NYS history in 7th and 8th grades. The biggest challenge in social studies was keeping the names of all the forts straight (and the name changes, too): Frederick (Crown Point), Carillon, Ticonderoga, Edward, Stanwix, Oswego, Nagara, Duquesne (Pitt), Frontenac, William Henry, Herkimer, German Flats, Hunder, Schenectady, Brewerton, Ontario, Granville, Williams, Hardy, Cumberland.
A couple thousand guys in the wilderness could throw up a fort in no time at all.
Indians? Here in North America? Where’d they come from....Bombay? Chinese.....the people we call Indians and native americans are Chinese.
Semper Fi! My uncle was a recently retired Lt. Col. in USMC—actually offered me a chance in the 90s to go to the exercises at 29 Palms, but I was in the middle of a book and couldn’t get away. I did visit Camp Lejuene for writing America’s Victories.
Thank you. Close to turning in “A Patriot’s History of the Modern World,” which will appear in two vols, with part 1 coming out next Christmas.
Semper Fi. You didn’t miss much by not visiting 29 stumps... : )
Thnks
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