War of 1812

Battle of the Chippewa, July, 1814- when Cousin Jonathan finally received some respect

By Bruce March 19, 2014 5 Comments

This coming Christmas Eve the United States and Great Britain will be celebrating the end of the War of 1812. It was on December 24th, 1814 that the two powers signed the Treaty of Ghent that ended the conflict. It is unclear at this point whether President Obama and PM David Cameron intend to mark […]

Rare 1816 Musket

By Bruce November 27, 2012 2 Comments

I took this picture at a restaurant\antique store in the Shenandoah Valley in September and promptly forgot what kind of guns they are with the exception of 1816 Springfield Musket. Magnification of the labels show the top gun as shotgun and the bottom gun as a fowling-piece. The shotgun and fowling-piece would have been used […]

Joshua Barney, Unknown Hero

By Bruce July 4, 2012 Leave a comment

One of the strengths of Lehman’s On Seas of Glory is his exposure of little known historical events, forgotten ships and obscure naval heroes. One such obscure individual was Joshua Barney. Barney was one of those individuals who seemed destined to greatness in-so-far as the small American Navy could produce greatness, yet to this day […]

The Unfortunate End of Stephen Decatur

By Bruce July 2, 2012 2 Comments

Most Americans who have some knowledge of the early American Navy know that one of the prominent stars was Stephen Decatur Jr. What some do not know, at least I didn’t, is that Decatur met an untimely end when he was sailing a desk, rather than the ships he loved. Today the Father of American Navy is […]

A Pip Squeak Navy

By Bruce June 20, 2012 3 Comments

Imagine if you will the US Navy at the height of the Reagan Administration. The US Navy rules the world’s oceans with 600 ships-of-war. There are no serious challengers either in numbers or expertise. Now further imagine another nation that shares the same language, same culture and similar values challenging the supremacy of the US […]

Rare Picture P-47 firing rockets, WW2

By Bruce May 30, 2012 3 Comments

A friend sent me a group of pictures from WW2 that included many I have not seen, or if I did, forgot I saw them. Whatever the case, many are interesting like this one. It captures the moment a P-47 Thunderbolt has fired its rockets. By 1944 and the Normandy Invasion the P-47 Thunderbolt (the […]

Broadside, 1812

By Bruce May 23, 2012 Leave a comment

As a kid I had a board game called Broadside. Broadside was a naval game based on the War of 1812. It was published in 1962 by Milton Bradley. It was part of a series that included a game on the American Civil War called Battle Cry and a WW1 flying game called Dogfight. Each […]

Mr. Madison’s War

By Bruce April 13, 2012 17 Comments

Brief follow-up to my post on the War of 1812. The War of 1812 was sometimes known as Mr.Madison’s War because he was President when we declared war on Britain. In those days Congress had to declare war, not so much anymore. Madison feared giving the executive branch of government too much power just as […]

War of 1812, An Almost Forgotten War

By Bruce April 11, 2012 2 Comments

This link has to do with  Battlefield Archaeology. It deals with an unknown incident during the War of 1812. In fact, the War of 1812 is relatively unknown even in the US where it was fought. It’s a bigger deal in Canada since the US took the opportunity to invade Canada. The attempt was a disaster. […]