Maritime Note
- 18 June War of 1812 Begins
Constitution vs. Java The day after the Senate followed the House of Representatives in voting to declare war against Great Britain, President James Madison signs the declaration into law—and the War of 1812 begins. The American war declaration, opposed by a sizable minority in Congress, had been called in response to the British economic blockade of France, the induction of American seaman into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of Congress known as the “War Hawks” had been advocating war with Britain for several years and had not hidden their hopes that a U.S. invasion of Canada might result in significant territorial land gains for the United States.
In the months after President Madison proclaimed the state of war to be in effect, American forces launched a three-point invasion of Canada, all of which were decisively unsuccessful. In 1814, with Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Empire collapsing, the British were able to allocate more military resources to the American war, and Washington, D.C., fell to the British in August. In Washington, British troops burned the White House, the Capitol, and other buildings in retaliation for the earlier burning of government buildings in Canada by U.S. soldiers.
Read the complete article on History.com.
This conflict was recounted in many musical pieces. A notable, recent song, written by the ubiquitous Jimmy Driftwood, was "The Battle of New Orleans". It was made wildly popular by Johnny Horton in 1959. It’s a fast-paced, humorous account of Andrew Jackson's 1815 victory against the British.
Musical Acts
- Dean
- 2024/06/05
Sara Grey and Kieron Means
- tonygoodenough@hotmail.com
- 2026/05/25
Les Fous de Bassin
- Peter Purnell
- 2022/07/26
Hoy Boy
- Dean
- 2025/10/11
Foc’sle Singers
- Dean
- 2023/05/13
The SeaGalls
Venues and Events
- Dean
- 2026/02/18
Summer Shanties
- Dean
- 2022/07/25
Tall Ship HMCS Oriole
- tonygoodenough@hotmail.com
- 2025/09/13
Mille Sabords
- Dean
- 2022/07/25
Albany International Folk ‘n’ Shanty Festival
- Dean
- 2023/06/26