The War of 1812

messages for the Americans in the revolution his mother and two brothers died during that war he was captured by the British and imprisoned there an officer beat him with a sword for refusing to clean the officer's boots since then he harbored a great hatred towards the British and hated he had a real capacity for hadron he was not a thoughtful man he liked action jackson's most recent action had been a brutal campaign a massacre of the red stick creek indians in alabama and georgia when he took command in new orleans the entire The city knew the British were coming, they were by no means well prepared for an invasion, they knew it, so when Jackson arrived with his militia and his regular army troops imposed martial law, the Louisiana legislature discussed surrender to the British. , which jackson talked about Instead, he blew up the legislature and imprisoned a legislator.

He used threats and force to recruit soldiers and entered into a very unusual alliance with the pirates of nearby Bharataria Bay. He even accepted black men into his army, although he himself owns slaves that Jackson can round up. an army there to oppose the British that combines all of these various factions and I think that's one of the reasons why that battle really says so much about forging a new American identity and a new American nation. In fact, Jackson had assembled such a diverse army. that orders had to be given in English French Spanish and Choctaw most of his 4,700 men were militia lawyers privateers farmers merchants the British were just a thing soldiers 5,300 professional soldiers the British had to advance upriver they had to clear the Andrew Jackson's three defensive positions and reaching the town, a fairly simple task At dawn on January 8, 1815, British General Edward Packham marched his troops across the countryside at Chalmette Plantation Jackson placed his troops, Largely undertrained, behind strong positions, so they are not going to be at all so nervous in the open field that they would not have lasted five minutes against the British regulars, the British advanced with the absolute best tactics of the old world in terms of base, fife, drum and more across the mist-covered field.

They came and crashed into the American line and volley after volley tore the British troops apart from start to finish. The attack was a disaster. The British were perfect targets in the open countryside. Jackson saw his opportunity and gave it to the guys he called up. and their artillery thundered, the British stopped to return fire, mistake, Edward Pacquiao tried to rally his troops, he was shot dead for a while, no one knew who was in command, so no one called off the attack, the battle was brief and surprisingly one-sided. the Americans only had 70 casualties the brits over 2000 all in less than 25 minutes most brits didn't really remember this war at all and in 1959 there was a surprising ballad the battle of new orleans that took most brits by the wayside. surprise it was by johnny horton a country western style at least I think it was something like this in 1814 we took a little trip through new orleans and the mighty mississipp we took some bacon and some beans and fought against the burgeoning british in the battle of new orleans all the walnut trees said we could take them by surprise if we didn't borrow them in the eye we held the fire until we got a good look at their faces then we opened the song it was part of a general twist of truth the new Legend of Orleans, the British didn't They ran through the brambles, they simply died, the walls were not made of cotton bales and it was the American artillery, not the Kentucky Riflemen, who did the damage, but the details did not matter almost a month later, in Early February the news reached Washington and the city went crazy.

Glorious news was shouted in the newspapers nine days after the news arrived from New Orleans. A ship finally reached the western side of the Atlantic. Peace. A treaty had been signed in Ghent on Christmas Eve 1814, two weeks earlier. the battle of new orleans, but most people in the united states learned of the victory in new orleans before they learned of the end of the war, so it seemed to Americans that jackson's resounding victory was somehow had brought peace, it's a great propaganda coup for the Republican party, it helps keep them in power for another election or two, so it's actually very useful and will be told as the central story of the American victory in the war of

1812

, this is how the story of the great war of

1812

ends, the terms of the Treaty of Ghent were very clear, the war had reached a stalemate, the border lines would be exactly as they were at the beginning, the people had died and the United States had gained nothing, but euphoria reigned in the United States, the Senate ratified the treaty unanimously and James Madison.

Suddenly, in Canada too he became a popular president. The piece was celebrated. The colonies were saved in part because Canadians had helped fight off repeated invasions at the time when Canada would become a sovereign nation. The seeds of that sovereignty were sown in the War of 1812. Of course. The Canadians will say they won because they prevented the invasion and actually repelled the invaders, and that was not in the school books. Americans can proudly say they won the War of 1812 and then they'll run into a Canadian who then reminds them that no Canadian won the War of 1812, but I think it's generally agreed that they are the first nations of North America. who lose the War of 1812.

In July 1815, the British abandoned Mackinac, the fort they had captured. In the first battle of the war, his native allies watched in shock. Chief Sasa Maui of Winnebago raged against the British officers. You promised us repeatedly that this place would not be abandoned. It would be better if they had killed us immediately instead of exposing us. we to a prolonged death we lost a land base we lost our culture they no longer needed us to fight their wars, so they, our allies, little by little they try to make us children under the supervision of a father, our land was suddenly getting smaller and smaller and smaller, so that a kind of decay was set in motion social political cultural spiritual people became depressed broken spirit broken heart warriors and soldiers who survived the war of 1812 returned home grew old and eventually died What survived was a story about history How its glories are kept in the heart of a nation How its failures are forgotten How its inconvenient truths are twisted to fit or ignored forever People ask me who won the War of 1812.

I often ask I say that the British army won the War of Eighteen. I don't say Great Britain, I say British army because the British soldier always did what he was asked. Shadrach Byfield returned to England at the end of 1814, he and his family lived in poverty until he designed a tool that would allow him to weave with just one arm. I went to a blacksmith and he made me an instrument. I am happy to say that I have been able to work for and support my family comfortably for almost 20 years. Both sides can claim obviously clear areas of victory.

Both sides achieved certain victories. battles and I lost certain battles I think I shared the opinion of a young British officer in the War of 1812, Lieutenant John Le Couter of the 104th Foot, who when writing about the end of the war said how glad he was that it had ended as As far as he was concerned, it was a hot and unnatural war between like-minded people. Young William Atherton was finally released from his Quebec prison in May 1814. He returned on foot to his hometown in Kentucky. We had been in prison and suffering for so long that he seemed to have arrived in a new world.

I could barely walk more than a thousand miles from home without money, clothes, or friends, but my spirit was not daunted for a moment. I have told a simple, unadorned story, but it may not be without use for my young compatriots to know what their parents have suffered. For more information on the War of 1812 and other PBS programs, visit PBS.org. 1812 is available on DVD the companion book the war of 1812 guide to battlefields and historic sites is also available to order visit shoppbs.org or call us at 1800 play pbs