With tomorrow being the 4th of July when we celebrate our independence day. I wanted to stop and say THANK YOU ! For all of the men and women in the armed services that have made it possible to enjoy and celebrate our freedom. And a special thank you to those who have suffered injuries while protecting these freedoms, not only to you but to your families also who suffered or are suffering with you. Thank you .
Tomorrow is the 3rd of July.
But sentiment taken!
Happy soon-to-be Independence Day!
Here here! I’ll second that motion!
Thank You to all of those who’ve served on the behalf of all of us in the United States!
Yes and no. In Korea (where one of my boys is at ) it is aleady July 3rd. True it is July 2nd here. Thank you . And I hope you have aN Happy Fourth of July.
Ah, yes… I was stationed in Korea for 2 years.
One year in Seoul (Yongsan Garrison) we got to celebrate the 4th with the 8th US Army Band playing the “1812 Overture” and using real 105 mm howitzers for the cannon part!
I think any song with a part written for the field artillery is worth a listen.
Interesting choice in music. [:O]
The War of 1812
A by-product of the Napoleonic Wars that preoccupied most of Europe at the beginning of the 19th century, the War of 1812, declared by the United States on Great Britain under President James Madison on 18 June 1812, is a source of pride to Canadians as many inhabitants, principally of Upper Canada, fought alongside the Regular British Army and Indian allies to thwart American plans to capture what were then the British colonies on their northern flank.
The war was primarily caused by the British Navy’s boarding of American ships to forcibly enlist any sailors of British origin and its attempts to prevent the United States from trading with France. In addition, the Americans, who were encountering strong resistance from Indians in their push westward, believed that Great Britain was encouraging Indian opposition.
The United States planned to take over Upper Canada (the basis of modern-day Ontario) and Lower Canada (the basis of modern-day Québec) in a single mass attack. The invasion was to occur at four strategic locations: across from Detroit, in the Niagara area, at Kingston, and south of Montréal. If they succeeded, they would isolate and then capture the stronghold of Québec City, thereby cutting off any further British troop movement up the St Lawrence River and into the Great Lakes.
There were wins and losses on both sides during the two years that the war lasted, with no clear victory for either of the warring parties (the Treaty of
I remember learning in history class that the only clear-cut victory by the American forces over the British occurred in New Orleans under General Andrew Jackson (later president) in 1814, after the Treaty of Ghent, the delay owing to the slow communications of the era.
In terms of independence, not much really changed between July 3 and July 5, 1776… it took many years of war and assistance from the French before the United States was truly independent. Even then, the “first” United States was an abysmal failure (the Articles of Confederation). The “constitutional” United States (the one we know) was born in 1787. It’s been a process of evolution ever since. Course corrections included the abolition of slavery, a bloody Civil War which determined the role of states’ rights, limits on government powers, clarification of individual rights, etc.
I’m certain the United States will continue to evolve, to learn from its mistakes, to re-assert itself as the bastion of enlightenment it once was, and to be a force for good in the world.
My love of country is deep. I’ve lived all over the world, but I am deeply in love with this land and these people. Sure, we may be rougher around the edges than most, but Americans are mostly generous, hopeful, and loving people. It has been my privilege to defend this land for 11 years and counting…
I’ve lost a day; I thought tomorrow was the 3rd of July!
Independence Day, is not necessarily a day of military commemoration; rather it is a day when we should rejoice with pride on our being Americans. This is a day that belongs to all - men - women - children!!!
A few years ago a talk radio host (maybe Glenn Beck) spent his 4th of July show reading letters that were written by the founding fathers after they signed the Declaration. It was so interesting and moving to hear what was going through their minds at that time. They were so unsure of their futures. A great many of them lost everything including their families just for signing their names on a document. Most knew this would happen but they did it anyhow.
It was a real tribute to the true meaning of the holiday.
What was it Benjamin Franklin said? Something along the lines of:
“Gentlemen, if we don’t hang together, we will surely hang seperately!”
Did you also know that many (I believe 2/3) were ministers/preachers ?
In many parts of the military they are a day ahead of us because of the time zone differences. See earier reply to Dave V. Ditto on the celebration of all. I just wanted to say a "special Thank you " to our military for their sacrifice to keep us free.
He did!!!
That’s what you get for sleeping in class!!!
Google these:
. . . . . . . . . . Put-in-Bay/Battle of Lake Erie (1813)
. . . . . . . . . . Battle of the Thames (1813)
. . . . . . . . . . Plattsburgh/Battle of Lake Champlain (1814)
. . . . . . . . . . Fort “Oh The Rocket’s Red Glare” McHenry (1814)
Don’t forget that in the War of 1812 our privateers almost drove the Britixh merchant fleet from the seas because their success drove insurance rates through the roof - which is why, in 1856, the British were the primary proponents behind abolishing privateering. And in that vein don’t forget "Old Ironsides’.
In 1813 and 1814 there were a number of (small) land battles fought on the west side of the Niagara River that were some rather resounding victories; the small American Regular Army found out what the backside of British Regular Army uniforms looked like.
just for the record the 1812 overture has nothing to do with the american war of 1812… its a russian piece written by Tchaikovsky commemorating the defeat of the French by the Russians
Thank you to the Servicemen and Women who are “Over there” keeping us all safe here at home.
That is all I think about these holidays.
And the other 1/3 were whiskey distillers.
That is why I always remind everyone that 1776 was just the BEGINNING of a long and bloody conflict to win independence. People always seem to forget the long and bloody part.
I don’t know if I would be that judgemental on it. But I agree it would not have stood as it was, and correct those who say George Washington was the first president. There were 11 before him under the Articles you mention. He was just the first under the current Constitution. As I recall, he reluctantly came out of retirement to perform the duty.
HAPPY JULY 4th
TO ALL!!
[tup][tup]
The two underlying objectives of US foreign policy in the 19th century were to (1) become a continental nation and (2) remove European powers from the American continents. During the 19th century, the US paid France and Spain to hand us Louisiana territory, Florida, and some northern Caribbean Islands (and some Pacific islands also) as well as Mexico to grant us its northwestern territory (our Southwest), although both Spain and Mexico put up an armed argument beforehand. Napoleon sold us the middle part of the current US without armed conflict at half the price we expected to pay because he (1) needed the money and (2) was not in a position to protect the territory from Great Britain taking it by armed force. The Battle of New Orleans showed that our irregular Army could defeat the highly-professional army of GB which had expected an easy victory in its attempt to stop US’s westward expansion.
As for the War of 1812, the main instigation was Great Britain’s harrassment of our shipping and enslaving our sailors (the US was trading with Great Britain’s enemies during the Napoleonic Wars and we expected freedom of the seas, being a neutral party). The US (particularly our President) thought it would also be opportune to kick out the colonial power from Canadian territory while GB was occupied with Napoleon. The Canadians kicked our *****. However, one benefit of the 1812 War is that we assembled the military resources sufficient to finally stop the piratical Muslim nations that were demanding tribute and taking our ships and sailors from the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. (When we gained our indepence, we were no longer under the protection of Great Britain: the European maritime nations were bribing the pirate nations to protect their shipping.)
Anyway, to bring this thread back to railroading, the US subsidized the growth of transcontinental railroads as part of its "continental