On 19 Sep 04, at 17:48, VolonteW@aol.com wrote: > Although there were only one or two "errors" in the History Channel's > special last Sunday, Sept. 12, the program was strictly from the American point > of view. "Point of view" is putting it kindly. History Channel should be seen primarily as marketable entertainment and only occasionally as reliable history. Their version of the War of 1812 was a nice dramatisation of the aspects of the war that fueled the mythology of American nationhood. The hyperbole that came out of the war ("second war of independence" etc.) is still the version taught in American schools, but this ignores the fact that the Americans failed in their stated war aims while the British succeeded in theirs. regards, > > The Canadian view of the conflict is quite different. Canadians tend to > view the conflict as the last time the Americans attempted to militarily > take-over the provinces that now form Canadian Confederation. > > Also, Canadian students study the War of 1812 for many weeks-- in > contrast to us. The War of 1812 is always glossed over in our text books. > > * * * > > It should be noted that we Americans kicked-off the "burn-baby-burn" > syndrome endemic to this war by torching a town named Newark (Niagara), Upper > Canada (Ontario). A local commander made the decision to Ontario. The > British/Canadians immediately retaliated by burning to the ground Buffalo, New York. It > went on from there, with York (Toronto) and Washington being but the big-name > victims of the torch. In contrast to 20th Century wars, the combatants had > the good taste to not torch the civilians while toasting the town. > > > Bill Volonte > > > > > William J. Volonte > Attorney at Law > 117 Central Avenue > Hackensack, NJ 07601-4207 > Tel.: (201) 883-0777; Fax: (201) 883-0767 > H: (201) 659-4941; Cell: (201) 780-4327 > E-Mail: H: volonte@promail.com; O: volonte@qmail.com > > > ==== WARof1812 Mailing List ==== > WAR of 1812 LIST ADMINISTRATOR > <<<commander@sunlitsurf.com>>> > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > T.F. Mills tfmills@regiments.org (Denver, Colorado, USA) Land Forces of Britain, the Commonwealth and Empire: http://www.regiments.org British Empire/Commonwealth Forces discussion group: http://topica.com/lists/Emp-Comm-Forces