Washington Burning: The 200th Anniversary of The War of 1812

Washingtonian ^ | August 2012 | Adam Goodheart

[kiryandil]

August 24, 1814.

"During the War of 1812, British troops burned much of Washington DC. And to think we never had the decency to thank them."
~Larry J

Must-watch Youtube video:

War of 1812 - Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie

[exit82]

The Battle of New Orleans was January 8, 1815.

[Snowyman]

Battle of Fort Bowyer February 11, 1815.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks...loved the author’s version.

[fanfan]

The British Commander was Henry Proctor who found that he wasn't the great war hero he expected to be

CC, that's what book learnin’ gits ya.

http://1812.gc.ca/eng/1314982425662/1314982700685

Historical Overview
Major Battles
War of 1812-1815

[cripplecreek]

Everything I’ve read about Proctor indicates he was not well respected despite promotions. To be as fair as possible, I’d have to say that he was an average leader working with limited resources. At Frenchtown the majority of his troops appear to have been natives and not great at following orders.

I’m afraid “book learnin” is about all there is at this point because not to many of his personal friends are available for questions.

[cripplecreek]

A more complete history of Proctor.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/henry-procter-proctor

[cripplecreek]

Any opinions on Henry Proctor?

[LS]

Nope. Nobody I spent any time on.

[cripplecreek]

Just thought I’d ask.

Personally I think he was just plain tired of war.

[fanfan]

I’m afraid “book learnin” is about all there is at this point because not to many of his personal friends are available for questions.

LOL, that wasn't my point. I had never heard of the man before, so I googled him.

I should have added the link to Wiki where I also found the Pierre Burton quote you posted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Procter_%28British_Army_officer%29

He is best known as the commander who was decisively defeated in 1813 by the Americans and left western Ontario in American hands. Procter is regarded by many as an inept leader who relied heavily on textbook procedure. His "going by the book" is attributed to his lack of any combat experience before coming to Canada.

[cripplecreek]

I got’cha.

I personally think the man was simply burned out and reading from a textbook written for the last European war.

I wish there was more better history on the wars in this region. It was brutal fighting in this frontier. The Raisin river was named for the tangle of wild grape vines all across this part of southern Michigan.