While the United Kingdom was engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, its Royal Navy had the bad habit of impressing United States citizens from vessels it encountered. So Congress threatened war. Not wanting to wage war on another front, Parliament agreed to concessions.

Communications across the Atlantic being rather slow in those days, news of the UK’s concessions didn’t reach the United States shores until after Congress had formally declared war, and by then the fat was in the fire, so to speak. It was not this country’s finest hour. Although the war has various names, it’s most often known as the War of 1812 in this country.

The first major battle of the war took place on October 13, 1812, at Queenston in Upper Canada (now Ontario); it was a decisive British victory.

The United States’ goal was to establish a foothold on the Canadian side of the Niagara River, bring the British colony to its knees, and bring a quick end to the conflict. Hah!

The war was a major mistake for this country. If the UK hadn’t been distracted by Napoleon, it’s very possible that might have been the end of our experiment in democracy.

In 1814 the British forces even captured Washington, DC, and set fire to the White House, causing almost as much damage to the structure, interior and exterior, as the current Republican administration is doing these days.

The biggest victory for the United States forces occurred in January 1815, when Colonel Andrew Jackson defeated a British attack on New Orleans. Alas, that battle was fought after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, so the war was already over. It seems to be the only battle from the war that folks in this country remember. I wonder why.

Many years later it did produce a catchy song.

As far as I know the Republican in the White House hasn’t tried to change the lyrics to this song.

BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
(Written by Jimmy Driftwood)
Johnny Horton

In 1814, we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip’.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in a town in New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a-coming
There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more, and they began to running,
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see’d the British come
and there musta’ been a hundred of ’em beating on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
We stood beside our cotton bales and didn’t say a thing.

We fired our guns, and the British kept a-coming
There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to running,
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Ole Hickory said we could take ’em by surprise
If we didn’t fire our muskets ’till we look ’em in the eyes.
We held our fire ’til we seen their faces swell
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and really gave ’em… Well..

We fired our guns, and the British kept a-coming
There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to running,
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well they ran through the briars, and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We fired our cannon ’til the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind,
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

We fired our guns and the British kept a-coming
There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to running,
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

hup, two, three, four.
sound, off, three, four.
hup, two, three, four.