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Article: War of 1812: legacy of half-truths.
- Article from:
- Esprit de Corps
- Article date:
- March 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 S.R. Taylor Publishing. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It was a war both sides won or nobody lost, depending on where you read about it. It took six months for England to respond to the American declaration of hostilities and a sea engagement took place three months after peace was signed at Ghent.
With a few exceptions it was a war of confusion, poor leadership, low casualties and a tendency to surrender to night sounds of whooping Indians. In the American west, a simple creed later emerged relating to historic events; when facts and legend conflict, go with the legend. In the War of 1812 both sides went with the legend and left a legacy of half-truths and confusion scattered about the history of both countries.
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