The War of 1812

Introduction

The war of 1812 erupted as a result of conflict between Great Britain and the United States (Berton & Marsh, 2012). The Americans invaded Canada, which was a dominion of Britain, different times. The war commenced in 1812, and it continued all through until its halt 1814. The 32-months military conflict between the United States and the British Empire did not occur in any territorial change between the US and the Empire (Berton & Marsh, 2012). Nevertheless, there was a resolution of several issues that remained of the war of independence of the Americans. The US declared war in 1812 due to various reasons including the trade restrictions brought, by the continued war between Britain and France. The war, which ended in 1814, resulted in the creation of various historical sites across Canada. Some of these include the Brock’s Monument, Chippawa Battlefield and Nancy Island historic Site among others (Historic Sites and Museums, 2006). The Chippawa Battlefield Park is the most popular park in Canada.

Chippawa Battlefield

The Chippawa Battle was the first battle which marked the beginning of the one of the longest battles with regard to the war of 1812 (Chippawa Battlefield Park, 2012). On July 3rd, 1814, the American forces made their way across the Niagara River from buffalo before taking to Fort Erie. This marked the start of the Niagara Campaign of the 1812 war. Of the 4000 soldiers from Britain, Canada and the US, who fought bravely in the Battle of Chippawa, more than 800 soldiers died or got wounded. Research indicated that the War of Chippawa led to the suffering of the high casualty rate with regard to all Canadian militia units during the entire period of the war of 1812 (Chippawa Battlefield Park, 2012). This militia Unit comprised of ordinary citizens of Canada, rather than the professional soldiers.

The situation of the Chippawa Battlefield Park is along the Niagara Parkway located in Chippawa Village. The village is one of the popular historic towns in the Niagara Falls city (Chippawa Battlefield Park, 2012). The park is open all year round, and it features includes a self-guided walking tour which allows visitors to go the park at their own convenience. The interpretive panels found in the Chippawa Battlefield Park outline the battle as well as the roles of the participants.  Taking this into consideration, the visitors of the park can stroll around the park at their own pace, reading the panels which provide information, as well as maps of the various routes taken by the different troops during the start of the war at the Chippawa Battlefield (Chippawa Battlefield Park, 2012).

A primary point of the Chippawa Battlefield Park is the memorial cairn, dedicated to the First Nation warriors who fought in this battle (Chippawa Battlefield Park, 2012). In addition, the memorial cairn represents peace which as prevailed between the United States and Canada since that time. Today, people consider Chippawa Battlefield as one of the most picturesque historic sites, with a lot of significance to both the United States and Canada. It is this historic site that reminds both countries the reason behind their peaceful interactions (Chippawa Battlefield Park, 2012). Launched in 2000 by Donald Graves who is a military historian, as well as an expert on the conflict, the site is gaining popularity, attracting a lot of visitors, from Canada, as well from other countries all over the world.

Why Canadians are more interested in Bicentennial than the US

The War of 1812 Bicentennials comprises of a series of planned events for the purpose of commemorating the War of 1812 in Canada, and the United States (Hampson, 2012). The bicentenary of war is between the years 2012 to 2015. Taking this into consideration, there are various planned commemorations as well as organizations in both Canada and the US. Nevertheless, it seems that Canada is more interested with the bicentennial than the United States. For Canada, the government is marking the commemoration as a national event (Hampson, 2012). On the other hand, the United States currently does not have any formal organization of a committee formed for the purpose of commemorating the war of 1812. This is because; the US Bicentennial Commission Act of the War of 1812 failed to through congress in the year 2006. Moreover, many people in the United States have not delineated any interest in the War of 1812 (Hampson, 2012).

The Canadians, whose forebears assisted, repulse several United States invasions in 1812 regard the war as a crucible of national identity (Hampson, 2012). For the Canadians, the bicentennial of this war is a significant ordeal. On the other hand, the Americans are less interested in the bicentennial. Although it is a requirement in the US to study this war in high school, most of the Americans cannot recall exactly what happened in the battle including who fought in the scuffle. This attitude of the Americans towards the bicentennial of the War of 1812 could mute enthusiasm with regard to the commemoration of the war, which most of the historians indicate that it helped in securing the Revolution of 1976 (Hampson, 2012). In addition, the historians acknowledge that the war helped in shaping the new American nation. Nevertheless, most of the Americans feel that the war is not significant. Hence, they seem less interested in the bicentennial than the Canadians (Tharoor, 2012).

References

Berton, P., & Marsh, J.  (2012). War of 2012. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/war-of-1812

Chippawa Battlefield Park. (2012). In Niagara Green Belt. Retrieved from Brock University website: http://www.niagaragreenbelt.com/listings/53-historic-a-heritage-sites/621-chippawa-battlefield-park.html

Hampson, R. (2012, June 15). War of 1812 bicentennial: USA shrugs as Canada goes all out. In USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-14/war-of-1812-bicentennial/55603666/1

Historic Sites and Museums. (2006). In The Official War of 1812 Bicentennial Website. Retrieved from http://www.visit1812.com/historic-sites/

Tharoor, I. (2012, June 18). The War of 1812: When the U.S. Invaded Canada — and Failed. In Time World. Retrieved from http://world.time.com/2012/06/18/the-war-of-1812-when-the-u-s-invaded-canada-and-failed/