Re: Bull-Turtle's-Head.

From: Alison Place <alison_place_at_3kyVIshiTMA8naZtF3Yu0n_eJRZa4YFhY_kXwthiJXuCy85LDQyJ6ekOGaWQtKR>
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 14:10:34 -0800 (PST)

     A few quick corrections. Jefferson was already out of the Oval Office when the War of 1812 started. It became known as Madison's War to those who didn't agree with it. (One of Daniel's misapprehensions)

Jeff
> In short, only Andy Jackson gets much boasting
rights from their performance in that war.

      Well, Brock unfortunately didn't survive the war, but he was unquestionably a good general. Check out his capture of Detroit, after Mackinac had been captured. Granted, General Hull was a coward, and stupidly surrendered Detroit, but, hey, you chose him.

     The British were generally under the disadvantage of playing an away game, with few troops, since most of the British soldiery and navy were desperately trying to take out Napoleon. By the time the British were free to send over heaps of troops in '14, the Americans had better generals, but no particular urge to take on the hugely experienced soldiers that the British could now throw over to their Canadian colonies. So, peace became a much more attractive option.

     Come 1814, there was no longer any need for the U.K. to impress any sailors; on the contrary, being tossed on the beach at half-pay was the fate of many. So the impressment issue vanished, likewise the search and seizure of cargoes deemed to contain war materials for the French.

     Add to that the near-bankruptcy of the U.S. federal government, and the repeated disinclinations of the state militias to be ordered out of their home states, and you see why the Americans decided to quit while they weren't too far behind. The town of Ogdensburg, NY, requested the feds not to send any more militia to their town because the locals didn't like the problems this would cause with the British stationed at Fort Wellington, Prescott, right across the river.

Jeff Richard <richaje_at_Z4GMqHj9eunn7IVGoQs54lKhJ-SKvqRG4R0mfMwjU4OXRya4CDeJqzYCSaythFQG7G6v--zHijKr.yahoo.invalid> wrote:
> Although the British had successfully diverted the
attention of Washington away from the war and prevented further American incursions into Canada, American field commanders repelled almost every British attack for the remainder of the war.  

     Implicitly admitting that the U.S. did not succeed in its primary military aim, which was to conquer Canada. So much for Manifest Destiny. Alison  



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