War of 1812

In the news this week.

The War of 1812. 

What do you remember?

Rationale for the war?  “[T]he war was fought over maritime issues, particularly the Orders in Council, which restricted American trade with the European Continent, and impressment, which was the Royal Navy’s practice of removing seamen from American merchant vessels.”*

Burning Washington, DC. The White House, the Capitol (which housed the Library of Congress) and other public buildings in Washington, D.C. were burned by the British.  “Before leaving the city, First Lady Dolley Madison ordered that White House possessions be packed and removed from the city — silverware, books, clocks, curtains, and most importantly, Gilbert Stuart’s full-length portrait of George Washington.”**

Francis Scott Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner, originally called “Defence of Fort M’Henry.”***

Battle of New Orleans.  On January 8, 1815, the American victory in the Battle of New Orleans came after the peace treaty had been signed in Ghent (Belgium, United Netherlands) on December 24, 1814. In the Battle of New Orleans, the British lost nearly 300, 1200 were wounded, and hundreds more taken prisoner or missing.  The American forces lost 13 and 39 were wounded.****

Status quo ante bellum.  The conclusion of the War of 1812 is often described as status quo ante bellum.

*http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/essays/american-perspective/

** https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-burning-of-washington;

https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/august-19/

***https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-story-behind-the-star-spangled-banner-149220970/

****Meacham, Jon, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, NY, 2008, p. 32.