A historian gives cutlass lessons to children at Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Thursday.
Melissa Golden for The Wall Street Journal
Posted on 08/30/2014 5:56:17 AM PDT by Pharmboy
State Has Awarded $5.5 Million in Grants for Celebrations, Research and Education
A historian gives cutlass lessons to children at Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Thursday.
Melissa Golden for The Wall Street Journal
BALTIMORE—Maryland officials are on a campaign to elevate the profile of the War of 1812, a historically unpopular conflict that ended in a draw with Britain and has long been overshadowed by the Revolutionary and Civil wars.
The state is planning a weeklong festival next month to mark the 200th anniversary of the city's defense in 1814, which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the poem that later became the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem.
State officials also have awarded $5.5 million in grants for celebrations, educational programs and research, hoping to generate a lasting patriotic buzz about Maryland's starring role in a war that largely has been written off as a historical footnote.
"This is not just about having a party and shutting it down for another hundred years," said Bill Pencek, executive director of Maryland's War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission. He said the state is counting on an enduring tourism boost.
If it is recalled at all, the War of 1812, which ended in 1815, is most often remembered for the British burning of Washington and the White House. But some of the lowest and highest points in the conflict actually occurred in nearby Maryland.
The error-filled collapse of American troops in Bladensburg, Md., in August 1814 gave the British easy entrée to the nation's capital. By contrast, the successful defense of Baltimore amid the British bombardment at Fort McHenry helped fuel American patriotism when an oversized American flag stood tall following the siege.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Begging the pardon of the list for a good article on the 1812 dust up and The Old Line State's history.
I call bushwah! This united the country firmly, especially after we won at Ft. McHenry and the battle of North Point.
Yes...and New Orleans. BUT, burning DC makes it a draw in SOME peoples’ minds.
Yea, a draw?
They came again to take us over. We’re still here.
The war of forgotten battlegrounds.
The battle of the River Raisin near Monroe Michigan was the largest single day casualty count for America in that war. Those killed and wounded were mostly Kentucky Militiamen and some 9 Kentucky counties are named after men who fought here. Revenge was sought under the “Remember the River Raisin” battle cry with a push deep into Canada and the British loss of control of the great lakes.
We tried to take Canada too, and it’s still here.
By any “revisionism”, The Battle Of New Orleans was a not a draw.
from wiki (I think):
Jackson’s army of 4,732 men comprised 968 US Army regulars,[32] 58 US Marines, 106 seamen of the US Naval battalion, 1,060 Louisiana Militia and volunteers (including 462 free people of color), 1,352 Tennessee Militia, 986 Kentucky Militia, 150 Mississippi Militia and 52 Choctaw warriors. Additionally, Jackson had the support of warships in the Mississippi River, including the USS Louisiana, the USS Carolina and the Enterprise, along with the pirate Jean Lafitte and his Baratarians.
At the end of the day, the British had 2,042 casualties: 291 killed (including Generals Pakenham and Gibbs), 1,267 wounded (including General Keane) and 484 captured or missing.[47] The Americans had 71 casualties: 13 dead; 39 wounded, and 19 missing.[4]
ps the British began the events with @7,500 strong
The Brits got their butts handed to them at New Orleans.
hey Hon - they didn’t burn Baltimore, did they?
25 hours of bombardment and the flag was still there, so the Brits up and sailed away
Francis Scott Key, released from being an involuntary observer on one of the warships, went (crawled?) to a nearby pub, ordered himself a well-deserved tall one (too bad no Natty Bo back then), and wrote a somewhat historically significant poem about it!
After the British failed to capture Baltimore they sailed the Chesapeake Bay bombarding towns along the way. One of the towns, St. Michael’s hung lanterns high in the trees. When the British bombarded at night they missed town by firing pover it.
One of my g-g-g-g-g-grandmothers was the sibling of one of the men who commissioned Mary Pickersgill to make that flag... one of my two tenuous connections to "big time" American history.
Mr. niteowl77
When the British bombarded at night they missed town by firing pover it.
*************
Not completely. There was a hit on a house in St. Michaels, now known as the Cannonball House.
http://www.townofstmichaels.com/history.shtml
Historically unpopular? Don’t we commemorate the defense of Fort McHenry in 1814 at the start of every football game?
And also at Lake Erie and Lake Champlain.
Something politically incorrect in that picture: children weilding “swords”. The liberal state of Maryland will be sure to eliminate all such displays of aggression and would be bullying. lol
Maybe that's just as well, because had we succeeded, we would be the ones having to deal with Quebec.
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