The War of 1812: Difference between revisions

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With the acceptance of the treaty everything more or less returned to how it had been previous to the confrontation. Neither side retained any land it captured (though the U.S. managed to seize Mobile from Spain) and the only party that ultimately lost was the Natives, who lost their bid for their own neutral state during peace talks. Losses are estimated at 5000 casualties on the British side and 19,260 on the American side; though most militia and Native losses went unrecorded. No compensation was paid by either side for damages though the British did pay $1,204,960 in damages to Washington to reimburse the slave-owners whose slaves defected to the Canadian side or escaped in the confusion of the war.
With the acceptance of the treaty everything more or less returned to how it had been previous to the confrontation. Neither side retained any land it captured (though the U.S. managed to seize Mobile from Spain) and the only party that ultimately lost was the Natives, who lost their bid for their own neutral state during peace talks. Losses are estimated at 5000 casualties on the British side and 19,260 on the American side; though most militia and Native losses went unrecorded. No compensation was paid by either side for damages though the British did pay $1,204,960 in damages to Washington to reimburse the slave-owners whose slaves defected to the Canadian side or escaped in the confusion of the war.


Today the war is largely forgotten due to its lacklustre outcome; other than being the source of the US national anthem - the''Star-Spangled Banner'' - the war is barely remembered there. In Canada, however, it was a defining event that fostered a quiet determination to remain British and distinct from the United States. After the creation of the Canadian nation, the outcome of the war became a point of national pride. In Britain, of course, only historians remember it. That and people who watched ''Hornblower''. As for the actual outcome of the war, the only clear losers were the Amerindians, whose last best attempt at uniting in the face of Western Imperialism had failed. Their populations devastated and displaced by the US campaign, they were no longer able to form a serious check to the western expansion of the United States. The United States also secured New Orleans right at the last second - if the war had dragged on another few months and Cabinet had deemed it worthwhile to take New Orleans back, the relatively small and over-stretched US Army would not have been able to defend the town. As it was, they were very fortunate to capture it when they did, as it meant that there would be no foreign checks to US expansion through central-northern America either.
Today the war is largely forgotten due to its lacklustre outcome; other than being the source of the US national anthem - the ''Star-Spangled Banner'' - the war is barely remembered there. In Canada, however, it was a defining event that fostered a quiet determination to remain British and distinct from the United States. After the creation of the Canadian nation, the outcome of the war became a point of national pride. In Britain, of course, only historians remember it. That and people who watched ''Hornblower''. As for the actual outcome of the war, the only clear losers were the Amerindians, whose last best attempt at uniting in the face of Western Imperialism had failed. Their populations devastated and displaced by the US campaign, they were no longer able to form a serious check to the western expansion of the United States. The United States also secured New Orleans right at the last second - if the war had dragged on another few months and Cabinet had deemed it worthwhile to take New Orleans back, the relatively small and over-stretched US Army would not have been able to defend the town. As it was, they were very fortunate to capture it when they did, as it meant that there would be no foreign checks to US expansion through central-northern America either.


As a side note, one notable exception to the general indifference towards the war in the US is in the US Navy, which sees the war as a defining moment in its history. That the brand new, tiny USN was able to stand up to the world's most powerful navy and win the majority of its engagements is a point of pride - although historians still debate whether this has more to do with the more modern, sturdier build and heavier armament of the US navy's ships, or their habit of only engaging smaller flotillas or [[Curb Stomp Battle|lone ships]], not to mention the fact that all of Britain's best naval officers were busy blockading Europe from the Baltic to the Med.
As a side note, one notable exception to the general indifference towards the war in the US is in the US Navy, which sees the war as a defining moment in its history. That the brand new, tiny USN was able to stand up to the world's most powerful navy and win the majority of its engagements is a point of pride - although historians still debate whether this has more to do with the more modern, sturdier build and heavier armament of the US navy's ships, or their habit of only engaging smaller flotillas or [[Curb Stomp Battle|lone ships]], not to mention the fact that all of Britain's best naval officers were busy blockading Europe from the Baltic to the Med.
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== [[Literature]] ==
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* The [[Alternate History]] ''[[Decades of Darkness]]'' has this time period as its point of divergence. [[Thomas Jefferson]] dies early in 1809, leading to war tensions ramping up earlier, a "War of 1811", and New England [[Divided States of America|seceding]] as a result, taking New York and New Jersey with it. The war ends with a British/Yankee [[Curb Stomp Battle|curb-stomp victory]] that sees Chicago (sorry, [[Istanbul Not Constantinople|Dearborn]]) becoming Canadian and Michigan becoming New England territory.
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* An episode of ''[[Due South]]'' has a Canadian general reference a [[Curb Stomp Battle]] that the Canadians won during this war. A battle that the American police chief he was yelling at never heard of.
* The first Book of [[Eric Flint]]'s ''[[Trail of Glory]]'' series, ''The Rivers of War''<ref>released in paperback as ''1812: The Rivers of War''</ref> is an [[Alternate History]] story set during the war.
* The first Book of [[Eric Flint]]'s ''[[Trail of Glory]]'' series, ''The Rivers of War''<ref>released in paperback as ''1812: The Rivers of War''</ref> is an [[Alternate History]] story set during the war.
⚫
* The [[Alternate History]] short story "Empire" by William Sanders has Napoleon moving the the US and coming into American military service. He then promptly backstabbed it (with the help of the likes of Aaron Burr, Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston) and carved out his own Empire of the Louisiana. Said empire is embroiled in wars against the US and the Spanish colonies, which expand but later weaken it. The novel is set in an alternate War of 1812 fought between the British and Napoleon's Empire, leading to the defeat and dissolution of the Empire and [[The Duke of Wellington]] darkly commenting in the end that "perhaps we shall see about the damned Yankees and their so-called United States of America."
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* College Humor spoofs the relative obscurity of this war [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2AfQ5pa59A in the mock trailer] of a fictitious ''War Of 1812'' movie, where the characters can't even figure out what the war is being fought over and against whom.
⚫
* The [[Alternate History]] short story "Empire" by William Sanders has Napoleon moving the the US and coming into American military service. He then promptly backstabbed it (with the help of the likes of Arraon Burr, Andrew Jacskon, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston) and carved out his own Empire of the Louisiana. Said empire is embroiled in wars against the US and the Spanish colonies, which expand but later weaken it. The novel is set in an alternate War of 1812 fought between the British and Napoleon's Empire, leading to the defeat and dissolution of the Empire and [[The Duke of Wellington]] darkly commenting in the end that "perhaps we shall see about the damned Yankees and their so-called United States of America."
* The sixth [[Aubrey-Maturin]] novel, ''The Fortune of War '', ends with the battle between the USS ''Chesapeake'' and the HMS ''Shannon''.
* The sixth [[Aubrey-Maturin]] novel, ''The Fortune of War '', ends with the battle between the USS ''Chesapeake'' and the HMS ''Shannon''.

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
⚫
* An episode of ''[[Due South]]'' has a Canadian general reference a [[Curb Stomp Battle]] that the Canadians won during this war. A battle that the American police chief he was yelling at never heard of.

== [[Music]] ==
* [[Johnny Horton]]'s 1959 song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CnPv_1SVh0 "The Battle of New Orleans"] is a light-hearted account of the titular battle (itself mentioned above in ''Crowning Moment of Awesome''), told from the point of view of an American solider.

== [[Web Originals]] ==
⚫
* The [[Alternate History]] ''[[Decades of Darkness]]'' has this time period as its point of divergence. [[Thomas Jefferson]] dies early in 1809, leading to war tensions ramping up earlier, a "War of 1811", and New England [[Divided States of America|seceding]] as a result, taking New York and New Jersey with it. The war ends with a British/Yankee [[Curb Stomp Battle|curb-stomp victory]] that sees Chicago (sorry, [[Istanbul Not Constantinople|Dearborn]]) becoming Canadian and Michigan becoming New England territory.
⚫
* College Humor spoofs the relative obscurity of this war [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2AfQ5pa59A in the mock trailer] of a fictitious ''War Of 1812'' movie, where the characters can't even figure out what the war is being fought over and against whom.



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