Philadelphians Had Key Roles In War Of 1812

Tim McGrath wrote an interesting piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer about the War of 1812.

9/11 will always be with us; for one day, our shores were invaded with devastating results. During the War of 1812, our country was under invasion for nearly three years. And, just as today, the loved ones of the soldiers and sailors wrote to them, worried about them, prayed for them.

Here's the War of 1812 in a nutshell: America declared war on Great Britain after years of U.S. sailors' being seized and pressed into the Royal Navy; British meddling in American trade with France while encouraging Native American raids along the frontier; and the emergence of the Democratic-Republican "war hawks" in Congress, led by House Speaker Henry Clay. No Federalist voted for war, and New England was so opposed to it that secession was openly discussed.

During the war, battles were fought on land from Canada to New Orleans, and on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The British blockaded our coastline, thwarted American offensives in Canada, abetted Native American uprisings, and burnt Washington. Americans won their share of naval victories, withstood the bombardment of Fort McHenry, annihilated the Creek and Shawnee nations, and won the Battle of New Orleans - fought three weeks after the Treaty of Ghent officially ended hostilities.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20120311_Philadelphians_had_key_roles_in_War_of_1812.html