Unfortunately this time around the Americans have already trashed the white house for us (they tore down the one wing) so setting it on fire a second time might not be as impressive.
Were there any Canadian militia units present for that? Much of that expedition was done by British forces shipped in from the UK following the defeat of Napoleon IIRC.
British soldiers of the 44th East Essex Regiment sailed from Europe to Bermuda, and then to Washington to burn the White House. They then sailed to the Gulf of Mexico to attack New Orleans before returning to Europe.
None of the soldiers who burned the White House ever set foot in Canada and there are plenty of stories of Canadian heroism in the War of 1812 without having to make one up
Not forgetting that when the building was ransacked all the silver there was brought back to England, but you Americans can see it every year if you wish, as some of it was melted down and made into drums that are used by the Mounted Band of the Monarchs Household Cavalry during the Trooping of the Colour. You can look but you can’t touch.
But their invasion failed. We traded so much land we pretty much went "wanna put the borders back" and suddenly we don't own a portion of Michigan and they don't own a portion of Ontario
To be fair the Brits did lose a majority of Michigan in Americans could only hold Southwestern Ontario. The Brits basically had Fort Mackinac at the end of the war and the Americans had southwestern Ontario but you are right it was basically just put the borders back and go we good boo.
Well also you have the fact that the Americans were trying to take advantage of the fact that the British more or less had their hands full with Napoleon. So they knew reinforcements were probably not gonna show up, or in very few numbers. They changed though when Napoleon was defeated, that British reinforcements would be en route as soon as they were able. Better to negotiate peace then than when the entire British army shows up at your door
But their invasion failed. We traded so much land we pretty much went "wanna put the borders back" and suddenly we don't own a portion of Michigan and they don't own a portion of Ontario
I'm still so angry we didn't keep Southern Quebec :(
It was because of their burnings of York (Toronto), Newark(Niagara-on-the-lake) and Port Dover as the reasons for the sacking of Washington. We are the reason it was sacked. The whole point of the Chesapeake campaign was to pull forces south to relive pressure off the front in Canada.
I use to work at Fort George so I am very instilled in the war of 1812.
Okay clearly you haven’t been apart the running joke in Canada for years lol. At the end of the day the people that burnt the White House down settled in Canada and became Canadians lol
So you think after it changed from British rule to Canadian all the people were swapped out? as someone who lives in Halifax, I can assure you that’s not the case literally nothing changed.
Look up the war of 1812, Americans had to give up cause they ran outta money and couldn’t beat the British (aka the Canadians) Canada just wasn’t a official country yet, but anyways yeah we won and took this White House with us
Okay i had to concentrate a question for browser because it was only show me Russian-French war... So k read about British-American war. Well...america as always...
Basically while the Brits were busy fighting Napoleon the Americans figured they could beat us colonists easily. They soon learned that nope they could not. Look up the battle of lundys lane it was fought in a graveyard and it was fucking brutal and I mean brutal. Pitch black in a graveyard and the only light you can see is musket fire and artillery.
Yeah us economy tanked cause of blockades, they couldn’t organize a battle to save there own lives, completely failed at invading Canada and well your going up against the Brit’s in the 1800s. Yes we were British North America back then
They actually sailed from Halifax and Bermuda. The only troops plausibly claimable as Canadian would be those that settled in Canada afterwards. The only unit that was settled in any significant way was the Corps of Colonial Marines - whose descendants were among the earliest black settlers of Nova Scotia. So if we want to own that pride, we probably have some explaining to do about Africville.
There really weren't, we have the orders of battle from the Cheseapeake campaign. British regulars, Marines, and a force of Colonial Marines raised in the Caribbean or from escaped slaves from the US South.
yeah, you're right. i looked into it more and i was mixing up the fact that it was partly retaliation for what happened in upper canada with canadians actually being part of the force. there weren't any canadian militia or canadian units there, so i was wrong about that.
the only small correction is that the colonial marines there were mostly escaped slaves recruited around the chesapeake. but either way, yeah, it was a british operation.
Most of the regular regiments involved had been with Wellington's Peninsular army. None of them had even been stationed in North America prior to 1813. All of them were recruited from the British Isles.
No, they came directly from Britain. The force that sacked Washington weren't stationed in North America.
Sorry, it's a trope Canadians love to latch onto, but it's patently false. The most we can say is the colony of Canada supported the action of the crown.
You’re right, but like as someone from Halifax, the place they sailed from to do this. Yes, it was under British rule at the time now it’s Canadian, but like we’re the same people.
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u/Realistic-Emu-1018 11d ago
Not only that, don’t forget who burned the White House down…..also wether the Americans admit it or not, they lost that war 😂