The War of 1812
Francis F. Beirne
E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1949
My interest in the War of 1812 began after I outgrew my charming twit of a history teacher, "Can you believe we picked a fight with the British, attacked Canada for no reason, and complained after Washington DC was burned? The only fight we won was at New Orleans, and that was after peace had been declared." Implying that the British were bushwhacked.
As I attempted to assuage my ignorance, I realized I knew nearly nothing of what was a nation-forming conflict.
Page 87
James Madison celebrated his 61st birthday on March 16, 1812. That is an age at which most men are thinking of retirement. But not a president of the United States who has served only one term. The Henry letters might cause a tempest, trouble might be brewing in Florida, war was obviously on the way, a large and important section of the country hated his administration, the treasury was short of funds - chaos seemed to be just around the corner. None of these considerations discouraged Mr. Madison. He was a victim of that strange fascination for the job that grips all presidents and his hat with the big cockade was in the ring.
Having read the book Six Frigates by Ian W. Toll, I was already familiar with the navy actions of the conflict. I have to admit, I do like the style of Mr. Beirne.
Page 131
Before the order "Boarders away!" could be given the Constitution's sails filled, she freed herself and shot forward just as the Guerriere's mainmast and foremast fell, leaving the once proud British frigate a helpless, drifting hulk, her guns forever silenced. But the Union Jack still waved from the stump of her mizzen. Having ordered his own guns to cease fire, Hull lowered a boat and dispatched an officer to the Guerriere to inquire if she had struck her colors. The officers found Captain Dacres on deck, dazed by the misfortune that had so swiftly overtaken him. The question was a hard one for a British commander to answer, and one that was seldom put to him. Dacres stood puzzled for a moment. "Well," he replied reluctantly, "I don't know. Our mizzenmast is gone, our mainmast is gone; and, upon the whole, you may say we have struck our flag."
On Canada, I was woefully uninformed. Thankfully, Mr. Beirne describes that theater in manageable detail.
Page 213
Earlier in the summer Harrison appealed to Governor Isaac Shelby to send him 1,500 men. Not only that but he invited the Governor, a veteran of the Revolution and known affectionately throughout Kentucky as "Old King's Mountain" for the distinguished part he had played in that battle to join the expedition. "Scipio," he reminded the Governor, "did not disdain to act as the lieutenant of his younger and less experienced brother, Lucius." The classical allusion had the desired effect. Shelby, in spite of his 66 years, responded cordially to the invitation, and his example inspired his countrymen and stimulated recruiting. The Kentuckians flocked to his banner and, in the end, he brought with him, not 1,500, but 4,000 men.
I found this book both informative and easy to read, a rare treat. I would go so far as recommend it to early teens as a supplement to their American History education. Once they realize that the Battle of New Orleans was Britain's cream of the crop coming for a fight against a coalition of defenders in a winner-takes-the-Mississippi-River-System, peace treaties be damned, perhaps they will realize other instances in history are more than 15 minutes of Dolly Madison jokes.
Also surprising, but maybe it shouldn't be anymore, a book this age is listed at Amazon, and at an extremely reasonable price for a hardcover book. Link is to that page.
[Jpost] Regional rivals clash via proxies in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... fight.
[The Federalist] This article includes rhetorical uses of profanity.
It’s a damn shame I have to wait another 20 months to vote for President Trump. I wish I could do it now. Twice. Or better yet, in as many jurisdictions as I can. Preferably in every swing district and every swing state.
Yeah, yeah, I know ‐ sadly, I can’t. It’s been a hell of a ride these past couple of years, and I sure hope it doesn’t end next November.
I am a middle-of-the-road Republican who voted for Trump with the utmost reluctance in 2016. He sure wasn’t perfect. He was no Cicero, either‐‐though he can give a decent speech when the chips are down. He had a few extra skeletons rattling in his closet, especially compared to colorless non-entities like Jeb. So yeah, I was queasy about voting for an ex-registered-Democrat-from-New-York-and-possible-liberal-now-turned-Republican.
Was I worried? Hell, yeah! Was I depressed? You bet. But, really, what options were there? Hillary? Jill Stein? Seriously? Trump wasn’t my first choice or my second choice or my third choice, but by the time November 2016 rolled around, Trump was the only choice on the menu. So I swallowed hard, took a leap of faith, and pulled the lever for the Donald.
Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen Are Non-Issues For Me
And let me tell ya, every time one of these newly minted Democratic "stars" opens their mouth, the same thought goes through my mind: Thank God for Trump. Trump is my last line of defense. Trump is the only thing that stands between me and these hallucinogenic socialist nut jobs. Trump is what’s keeping chaos and left-wing insanity at bay.
Didn't get on the DJT bandwagon until after the primaries had winnowed the field. I voted for the lesser of two evils and held my breath that we wouldn't get a Mittens or McStain clone.
Have been gleefully surprised by the result. I can't keep track of the inside political stuff but so far so great.
#5
Let me add,
Every time I hear a NeverTrumper talk, I want to vote for Trump twice
Although many will say it's the same thing as Democrats I wanted to include them specifically.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2019 10:35 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: PLO
#1
Lofty, wordy and correlatable but not causal.
Projects a UN directive of British design which the strutting Arabs executed with little regard for the 2nd class(?) Paleos because nobody wanted them as mates or allies.
See the Cubans escaped from Mexican detention camps. "I want", "Gimme", "Feed us". They brought nothing with them but expectations.
Cartoon at link Breitbart has more responses to the New York Times’ vicious idiocy here.
[Spectator USA] Easter worshippers who opened Thursday's copy of the International Edition of the New York Times were treated to a cartoon to warm the cockles of white supremacists, Islamists and lovers of "Edelweiss" everywhere. The cartoon, apparently by a Portuguese artist named Antonio Espresso, depicted a blind Donald Trump, resplendent in the kippah he wears at all times except when the cameras are near, being led by Benjamin Netanyahu in the form of a sausage dog, wearing the Star of David dog collar that all sausage dogs wear.
Some people published something, and now all those over-sensitive Jews are blaming the entire New York Times for it. How thin-skinned they are. I mean, it's not like this cartoon says that a tiny country on the other side of the world controls the president of the most powerful country in the world.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Free Beacon] 
