I posted this because it has some great stuff in it and the 1812 dust up has been called the Second American Revolution.
And finally, just the word picture of 5'4" President Madison strapping two flintlock pistols on and riding off to meet the enemy was too good not to share.
Really DC’s darkest day was Jan 20, 2009.
Not surprised that the Washington Post fails to tell their readers about the act of God that drove the invaders from the city.
excellent narrative!
I am proudly sharing a website my teen son (homeschooled) created as his end of term 10th grade American history project. He had to choose en event that changed the history of America and he chose the Battle of Ft McHenry and the writing of the SSB. We both learned a lot about the War of 1812. He was especially fascinated with how the Brits ate the President’s dinner before they burned the White House
http://star-spangled-banner.weebly.com/
I scanned the article and saw no mention of the hurricane. I think that even Wikipedia includes the hurricane.
Speaking of the Brits and the burning of the White House, here is something interesting:
Back in 1998, while in the USAF, I was with a group of senior UK military officers, all flag rank (Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and British Army—the Brit Army guy was in the same unit that burned the White House).
We were on an after-hours White House West Wing tour given by a friend of mine—one of Bore Gore’s military assistants.
We were walking down one of the hallways when my friend received a radio call via his ear-piece. He stopped, acknowledged the call and then quickly ushered all of us into the nearest room, a closet. We found ourselves jammed inside the closet among folding tables and a bunch of chairs.
We were in the dark (literally), and asked what the heck was going on. We were shushed and told to be quiet. Wow. Maybe a terrorist attack, an attack on the White House. . .what?
We soon heard a bunch of footsteps outside the closet, some muffled voices and the voices and footfalls faded away.
My friend received an ‘all clear’ call and were we allowed to depart the closet.
What just happened, we all asked. . .rightfully concerned that we were.
My friend replied that it was The Beast (Hillary).
She was walking from one part of the West Wing to another and she NEVER wants to see ANYONE when she is going from one office to another. So, when the Beast goes on the move the Secret Service calls everyone and clears the route.
So, that is why seven flag officers from our closest ally were jammed in a closet. . .because The Beast didn’t want to see anyone.
The Beast, The Queen Hillary. . .all warm and fuzzy that she is. . .and some people wonder why she simply can’t get rid of the arrogant, pompous, arrogant, mean, bitter, and did I say arrogant, ice-queen image.
Things were also pretty dark in D.C. after Martin Luther King was assassinated in April 1968.
I watched from the Virginia side of the Potomac as D.C. neighborhoods burned & stores were looted. A pall of smoke hung over the city.
Did I mention that Washington D.C. was & is majority black? The Federal District there has become a virtual fortress since the late sixties’.
Www.history.navy.mill /library/online/burning washington. Has a number of contemporary reports by various British and American officers on the battle.
The British claim 8to9 thousand US troops in opposition which I don’t believe.
The details of the Navy Yard losses are real interesting. The wood for a 74; the new sloop Argus and the almost finished frigate Columbia were burned along with smaller vessels; two hundred cannons and a tremendous amount of other supplies.
One of the officers writes of his home being looted by other city residents-——kinda like what would happen now.
The very sovereignty of the U.S. was at stake. We were attacked by a foe which had been defeated on battlefields located in our country just thirty or so years earlier.
Despite the destruction of our property by these invaders, they were driven off and our sovereignty was preserved.
Much as in the Revolutionary War, the Americans understood what was so eloquently stated by General Patton in more recent times; "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
“Less well known is that local vagrants ran amok in the White House.
“A rabble, taking advantage of the confusion, ran all over the White House, and stole lots of silver and whatever they could lay their hands on,” Jennings reported...”
-Didn’t know the Clintons were around in 1812!
Tony Blair addressed Congress after 9-11. In his speech he reported that Congressional dignitaries had given him a tour of the Capitol and showed him scorch marks from when the British burned the Capitol. He looked up with a deadpan and said, "sorry about that." It was a great moment.