So I picked up 1812, The War that Formed a Nation, by Walter R. Borneman, recently to read for my History 121 class. I’m not exactly sure what we are supposed to write about it yet, but so far the book is holding my interest well. This is one of the wars that doesn’t get taught much in schools. Probably because the United States really did not fair all that well during the beginning of the conflict, and who wants to read about that? We are a patriotic country, we don’t want to know about our failures… But if you have studied the Revolutionary war, you might realize we didn’t do all that well militarily in that one either. Or in the Korean or Vietnam, for that matter, the current Iraqi Wars either. So as a country, we are what? Six for eleven? If you count the Civil War as well.
Anyways, there is a lot in this book that I am learning. For example, did you know that in the early 19th century (before 1810) that Aaron Burr was indicted for treason? Or that General Wilkinson, the top US army General, was in the pay of the Spanish Government and was referred to as “Agent 13” by them? Or that the frigate, USS Constitution, earned her nickname of “Old Ironsides” in a conflict with the HMS Guerriere (sic)? All true… And all facts you probably don’t know unless you are a History scholar. So I’m already getting a lot out of the book, and learning more that I knew about the War of 1812 before.
So there you have it… More updates as I continue reading….