Within a few months of the Battle of New Orleans, the War of 1812’s last shots were fired, and everyone involved immediately began to wonder what had been the point of the damn thing. The question of the war’s significance has loomed large ever since.[1] On paper at least, the war resolved nothing. The British […]
Read more "1812: Wrapping Up"Around the time the Americans and the British were regrouping from the vicious night fight on December 23rd, something very funny happened. Half a world away in Ghent, Belgium, the war ended. It hadn’t been easy to herd either cat to the table to negotiate an end to fighting, but the Russians were patient mediators. […]
Read more "The Battle of New Orleans"As the British fleet closed in on New Orleans, Commodore Patterson planned the naval defense. Aware that the British were flying somewhat blind on the terrain, the Americans positioned five gunboats and two smaller schooners within the relatively shallow Lake Borgne, south and east of the city.[1] Borgne was something of a lock in the […]
Read more "A Borgne Out Conclusion"As the war entered its final stretch, Andrew Jackson was having a grand old time bouncing around the south. An attack on Mobile was repulsed, and while many of his militiamen kept wandering off, Jackson still decided he had enough men to launch an abrupt invasion of Spanish Florida in November. While Jackson seemed to […]
Read more "Pirates of the Baritaria"By late 1814, as the British began to shift their forces for a broad assault across the south, it’s time we take a step back and catch up with what had been happening in the region, and introduce one of the most formidable men the United States has ever produced. Andrew Jackson had never liked […]
Read more "Up Jackson Creek Without a Paddle"While hesitation and a naval loss had stalled the British out in the north, other parts of their attack would achieve notorious success. Showing up his boss Governor Prevost, the Lieutenant Governor of Novia Scotia John Sherbrooke launched out in August with a small fleet of ships and a little under 3,000 men and headed […]
Read more "Washington Burning"As 1813 rolled into 1814, the European world was beginning to change. Napoleon had fallen victim to one of the Classic Blunders, and of the 685,000 men he had marched into Russia in 1812, fewer than 50,000 had marched home again. The following year saw every major power that had been comfortably under the French […]
Read more "Pop the Champlain"Oddly enough, the one bright spot for an America bruised from stomping on one too many military rakes to the face had been the naval war. Going into 1813, the United States’ small fleet of just 16 ships had actually achieved a measure of success against their British counterparts. In a series of one to […]
Read more "On the High Seas and the Thames"As 1813 dawned, the conflict would take an uglier turn for both sides. Initially, there was some grounds for optimism. The hapless General Hull in the west was gone, replaced by the old nemesis of Tecumseh and future forty day President, Major General William Henry Harrison. In no mood to waste time, Harrison opted to […]
Read more "Raisin Hell"From the start of the war the roles of both nations were well defined. America’s larger military strategy called for a three pronged invasion of Canada, relying on their superior local numbers and mobilization to bring down the territory quickly. Conversely, Britain’s ongoing war in the Iberian Peninsula[1] and their more general blockade of Europe […]
Read more "A Canadian Invasion"
Bartered History 