"The WAR of 1812: The “Forgotten War”" Topic
7 Posts
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Tango01 | 08 Sep 2020 9:47 p.m. PST |
"Many Americans probably think that the "1812 Overture" was written to commemorate the war of 1812, especially since it is often performed on the 4th of July to the accompaniment of bells and cannon. In fact, the work was written by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky to celebrate Napoleon's invasion of Russia in that year. That faulty connection, however, is not as wrong as it may seem. In the first place, the War of 1812 has often been called a forgotten war, with good reason. Few Americans know very much about the War of 1812 beyond the fact that it was fought with the British and that there was a Battle of New Orleans involved. Some may also associate the burning of the White House or the writing of the Star Spangled Banner with the war, but only vaguely. Part of the reason for that vagueness may be that the war changed very little in America: The end of the war restored the status quo ante bellum, that is, it left everything the way it had been when the war began. In addition, the end of the war coincided with the end of the Napoleonic wars (the War of 1812 ended six months before Waterloo) and was thus overshadowed by the greater events going on in Europe. Added to that overshadowing is that fact that with a few notable exceptions, the Americans did not always fight well, even allowing their capital to be burned by the British in 1814. The second reason why the confusion with the events in Russia in 1812 is understandable is that the two events were in fact related. The War of 1812 began as a result of the fighting in Europe, which left America, a neutral nation, besieged by major players France and England as it tried to carry on normal trade in abnormal times. The war, in other words, was fought on the American side largely over neutral rights, although issues such as national pride, economics and regional politics certainly played a part in the decision to declare war. The fact of the Napoleonic wars also helped determine the way in which the British fought the war. They felt that Napoleon was a far greater danger to the world than any minor acts of interference (as they saw it) they might have committed with regard to American trade. They felt bitter toward their American cousins for declaring war while they had their hands full with France…" Main page link Amicalement Armand
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Rudysnelson | 09 Sep 2020 8:36 p.m. PST |
The American War of 1812 is just that. The American War. Demeaning the American intelligence by saying that we think the 1812 Overture was about the American War and not the Napoleon in Russia war is pathetic. It may be a forgotten war in Europe but Americans who are interested in history know about the War of 1812. I live within a hour of Horseshoe Bend and a half hour of four or five other battle sites and forts. |
0ldYeller | 10 Sep 2020 12:15 p.m. PST |
As a Canadian, I have never experienced an American (or Canadian) confusing the 1812 Overture with the War of 1812. |
Tango01 | 10 Sep 2020 2:29 p.m. PST |
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Brechtel198 | 11 Sep 2020 3:00 a.m. PST |
As an American and a retired US history teacher, I have never experienced a confusion with the 1812 Overture and the War of 1812 either. In point of fact, my son's last year in high school they learned to play the 1812 Overture for their band competition and my son knew it was from the Invasion of Russia and not the War of 1812. I specifically asked him about it. And the author of the above article is incorrect when he states that the Napoleon's invasion of Russia and the War of 1812 were related-they were not. I did read on another forum that perhaps the Americans had 'timed' their declaration of war against Great Britain with Napoleon's invasion of Russia and Wellington's Salamanca campaign. The time and space difference between Europe and North America would preclude that possibility. |
Rudysnelson | 11 Sep 2020 11:29 a.m. PST |
The idea that it was coordinated is absurd. In the South the main operation was the Creek War which was a result of the 1811-12 Muskogee Creek civil war. The Upper Creek tribes had been inspired by a Tecumseh visit and raided. The Lower Creek towns sent judicial war parties to stop them. The Lower Creeks hated the British since they change support in the Spanish-Muscgee Free State war a few years earlier. Jackson and the Tennessee government actually raised an army n 1812 to go north but decided to send it to New Orleans but had to release the men when their 90 day enlistments expired. The also raised troops in twice in 1813 and again in 1814. |
Tango01 | 11 Sep 2020 12:46 p.m. PST |
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