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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001 time: 13:20
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quote: Originally posted by Geronimo
Lacking a standing army and a strong navy the US concluded that the only way to fight the war would be to send a number of state militias into canada to fight the brits there. The militias did a really piss poor job of it and the british forces stationed in canada actually managed to repel the militias and pursue them over the border into the US.
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The US had an army of 35,000 troops vs 5,000 British regulars in Canada at the beginning of the war.
The US army's first invasion of Canada occurs in 1812. The Yanks invade and then retreat without a fight. Sir Issac Brock with 400 regulars, milita and Indians trick US General Hull into surrendering att Detroit, again without a fight.
Your regular standing army was useless.
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001 time: 13:20
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York was an important city in 1812, particularly from a military stand point.
Yes, the Americans won the battle, mainly by having twice as many troops as the Canadian defenders.
But it was a pyrrhic victory. The US lost their commander and ended up withdrawing after burning and looting York.
Of course that was typical of the way the Americans fought - burning and looting.
They burned the town of Niagara-on-the-lake and surrounding villages in the middle of winter leaving hundreds of families to die in the cold.
As a result of these tactics, the Brits responded by burning Washington.
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001 time: 13:20
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
quote: You began to fall down when trying to export the revolution to those who didn't want it. |
Yep, but that has nothing to do with the War of 1812. I wonder why Canadians want to think that the US wanted to conquer Canada in 1812 when the only reason for the invasion was to force the Brits to the table and get our demands met on issues of impressment and the Ohio River valley.
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That's not what was said at the time.
For the people of Canada, the War of 1812 was clearly about fighting for their freedoms and fighting against a barbaric enemy.
When US General Hull invaded Upper Canada in July 1812, he issued this proclamation:
"In the name of my Country and by the authority of my Government I promise you protection to your persons, property and rights, Remain at your homes, Pursue your peaceful and customary avocations. Raise not your hands against your brethern, many of your fathers fought for the freedom & Independence we now enjoy Being children therefore of the same family with us, and heirs to the same Heritage, the arrival of an army of Friends must be hailed by you with a cordial welcome, You will be emancipated from Tyranny and oppression and restored to the dignified status of freemen… If contrary to your own interest & the just expectation of my country, you should take part in the approaching contest, you will be considered and treated as enemies and the horrors, and calamities, of war will Stalk before you.
If the barbarous and Savage policy of Great Britain be pursued, and the savages are let loose to murder our Citizens and butcher our women and children, this war, will be a war of extermination.
The first stroke with the Tomahawk the first attempt with the Scalping Knife will be the Signal for one indiscriminate sense of desolation, No white man found fighting by the Side of an Indian will be taken prisoner Instant destruction will be his Lot…
I doubt not your courage and firmness; I will not doubt your attachment to Liberty. If you tender your services voluntarily they will be accepted readily.
The United States offers you Peace, Liberty, and Security your choice lies between these, & War, Slavery, and destruction, Choose then, but choose wisely; and may he who knows the justice of our cause, and who holds in his hand the fate of Nations, guide you to a result the most compatible, with your rights and interests, your peace and prosperity."
http://www.generalbrock.com/level2/level3/hullproc.htm
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Geronimo
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st cloud USA
Jan 1970 time: 05:20
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quote: Originally posted by notyoueither
Actually, British North America (Canada) was a financial liability ever after the Revolution. It was maintained more for prestige than anything else. It required far more British attention to defend than it was worth, given that they never intended to reconquer the US colonies.
At the end of the Civil War, with the enlarged Union Army finding itself unoccupied, the cost of defending the Canadas reached a breaking point. Thus the British government gave us a firm push to propel us from the nest to forestall the necessity of fighting yet another war over the Great Lakes and beaver pelts.
From their POV it worked. They continued to enjoy the benefits of Canada as part of the Empire while they suffered little or no cost to defend us. It isn't a coincidence that Australia and New Zealand followed Canada to independence on a similar model not long after. |
Too bad the foresight was lacking to do the same for the 13 colonies in 1700's. The US-British alliance could have gotten off to a much earlier start.
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001 time: 13:20
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
quote: When US General Hull invaded Upper Canada in July 1812, he issued this proclamation: |
That's nice, but seeing how the Brits incited native tribes to attack American settlements since the end of the Revolutionary War, justified.
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Bull, the natives were incited by Americans invading their land west of the Ohio.
quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Emancipation doesn't mean conquest. We may promise the same things in Iraq, it doesn't mean we are there to conquer them. |
And 200 years later, the American perspective remains distorted. The people living in Canada in 1812 were largely loyalists who opposed the colonial rebels. They wanted nothing to do with the US.
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