Journal of the War of 1812 An International Journal Dedicated to the Last Anglo-American War, 1812-1815 Articles of Interest: The Little Belt Affair Grog: A Sailor's Elixir, Part III Visit 1812: Tippecanoe Battlefield Impressment as a Cause of War! Features: Rhode Island; Defense of Norfolk; Pre-War Chronology; News of Interest; and More... Winter 2009-10 Subscription Rates/ Vol. 12, No. 4 Information Inside The Journal of the War of 1812 Authors should note that the time from receipt of the submission to its' publication may be up to Volume XII, No. 4, WINTER 2009 six months in this quarterly magazine. Authors will be notified should the estimated publication An International Journal Dedicated date exceed six months. to the Last Anglo-American War, 1812-1815 All submission should be sent as simple Word documents without any codes embedded for GOVERNANCE headings or other formatting. Font should be Editor – Harold W. Youmans Times New Roman, font size 12, left justified. Co-Editor – Christopher T. George Footnotes must be numbered using Arabic and Editorial Advisors: not Roman numerals. Eric E. Johnson and Mary Jo Cunningham, Important: Images must not be embedded in the Editor Emeritus text of a document and must be submitted separately, either in electronic format or clean Board of Scholastic Advisors: hard copy. Electronic copies should be JPEG files, 300 dpi. Rene Chartrand, Hull, Quebec; Donald E. Graves, Almonte, Ontario; Martin K. Gordon, Authors are responsible for securing permission American Military University; Donald R. Hickey, to publish copyrighted material. Wayne State College; Michael D. Harris, Newberg, MO; Kathy Lee Erlandson Liston, The Editor reserves the right to make minor Brookneal, VA; Robert Malcomson, St. spelling, grammatical or syntax changes to any Catherines, Ontario; Gene A. Smith, Texas submission. Authors will be contacted should Christian University; Joseph A. 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Baltimore, Maryland, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Subscription questions Call: 813.671.8852. The War of 1812 Consortium, Inc., 844 E. Pratt SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. Authors are encouraged to request and/or Copyright © 2009 by The War of 1812 consult the War of 1812 Consortium's Ten-Year Consortium, Inc. Publication Plan for the Journal's current and All rights reserved. upcoming needs and the Submission Guidelines. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Both are available on request. Contact: the Editor at email: [email protected]. Journal of the War of 1812 An International Journal Dedicated to the last Anglo-American War, 1812-1815 Volume XII, No. 4, Winter 2009-10 DEPARTMENTS FEATURES 2 | Editor's Quoin 8 | THE LITTLE BELT AFFAIR The “Real” Cause of the War by Harold W. Youmans The USS President moves us psychologically 5 | The Role of the States toward War Rhode Island during the War of 1812 15 | THE SAILOR'S ELIXIR (Part III) 6/7 | Visit 1812 by Eric Brown Tippecanoe Battlefield Park, near Lafayette, The use of Grog during the age of sail and its Indiana effects on today's U.S. Navy 14 | War of 1812 Chronology 22 | THE LAST YEAR OF PEACE War of 1812 Pre-War Economic and Political Significant world events that place the War of Chronology 1812 into perspective 19 | War Leader Profile NEWS OF COMMON INTEREST, AND MORE Felix Grundy, Kentucky lightening rod 3 | Thanksgiving; Perrysburg, OH; New York City, 20/21 | The Documents NY; Charlestown, MA; Burlington, VT; Vancouver, The Tatham-Jefferson Correspondence on BC the Defense of Norfolk (1807) 4/23 | Bicentennial Planning in Sault Ste. Marie, 23 | Pre-War Disaster Ont.; Columbus, OH; St. Catherine's. Ont.; Norfolk The New Madrid Earthquakes; Lest we County, Ont. Forget 23/24 | Honoring the Veterans of War in New 27 | War of 1812 Calendar of Events York, Wisconsin, Rhode Island and Alabama Spring events on both sides of the U.S.- Canadian Border 25 | Word Search Puzzle: The Pre-War Era 28 | Subscription Form 26 | Retrospective: A Different Kind of Book Consider a Gift for your school library Review NEXT ISSUE: Spanish-American Relations and the War of 1812 COVER PHOTO: Impressment. Classic print from an old sea story. EDITOR'S QUOIN took 1,500 years for Attila the Hun to become a folk hero. How can the War of 1812 stand in the The “Real” Cause of the War fluid path of interpretive history? An analysis: Any discussion on the causes of war between Forget the maritime causes of the War. President nation states and actors varies with the nationality Madison just mentioned those causes in his “War of the discussants and the era in which the Message” because that's what Congress wanted discussion occurs. to hear. Armed searches of neutral vessels on the This is no less so regarding the War of 1812. high seas? Pish-tosh! Impressment? The concept Today, the two belligerents are said to have of nationality and citizenship was always in flux! developed “a special relationship” among the Ship seizures? They were owned by capitalists, nations of the world. Further, the adjoining weren't they? Just the cost of doing business! territory along which the most severest of the Forget the desire for Canadian land as a cause. In fighting took place contains the longest, 1812, only the truly ill-informed could not have unfortified peaceful border between nation states known that agriculture and trade would thrive in the world. So, why war? west of the Mississippi, rather than west of the Consider three enduring facts. First, the global Lake of the Woods. Eastern Canada had fewer political conditions at the beginning of the 21st access to markets and a shorter growing season. century look very different than those confronting New England politicians had the better view here. nations at the beginning of the 19th. Second, Fisheries, agriculture, and trade. Who needed the despite shouts to the contrary, scholarship follows West, or their ill-conceived desires? the flag. Third, as Winston Churchill, or someone Forget, too, the Indian deprecations. How could of his ilk, famously said: “There are no any intelligent man actually believe that 15,000 permanent allies; just permanent interests.” to 20,000 Indian warriors could turn back the 100,000s, possibly more than 2 million settlers, During the upcoming bicentennial period and for streaming across the mountains to the Mississippi many years afterward, the Canadians will decry and beyond. Localized conflict and regional the fact that “they” (U.S) started it; and “we” beat leaders could stem that problem. Oh, and pay the them soundly. They have to hold to that position. Indians off; its worked before. And, whatever you How else to justify the millions being spent to do, keep someone like Andrew Jackson out of the lure the defeated from the TVs, Twitters, and corridors of power. Did we not go back to two Facebooks to tourist sites north of the border? decades of bland leaders after the Jackson The Americans, mired in an “it's our fault; we're presidency? Bland is good for a growing sorry; we're getting better; and here, you can America. have our treasure” syndrome, will promptly So we, dear readers, are left with “national forget the War in 2015, only to look for some honor.” It's the last refuge of a scoundrel. We other event to apologize for. This syndrome will pride the young men of the American Revolution last an indeterminate period only to be soundly as the “best and brightest” the Enlightenment defeated once America is soundly defeated. could produce. Pride was the true cause of the war. Sort of reminds you of another crowd. The This is history by psychological analysis. After “best and brightest” of the 20th Century that all, it took 500 years for Christopher Columbus to brought us Vietnam and Iraq. Sort of... become an environmental disaster and a destroyer of culture. It took 1,000 years for Charlemagne to For now, your thoughts on the “real” causes of become the great Dark Ages educator. And it only the War of 1812? Journal of the War of 1812, Volume 12, No. 4, Page 2. NEWS OF COMMON INTEREST Notices of Interest to the War of 1812 Community As Thanksgiving Day came and went in 2009, greetings were spread all around in the War of 1812 world. Our British cousins sent greetings with the sentiment that we deserved a Happy Thanksgiving to perk us up from having lost the last Anglo-American War. After all they “burned the rebel's White House” and “prevailed in the end.” This from Egan Orion writing for The Inquirer, published by Incisive Media Limited, London. Greetings to all were also expressed by HumanEvents.com, the “Headquarters of the Conservative Underground.” They stood firmly for the position that the United States won the war.