Many Americans probably think that the "1812 Overture" was written to commemorate the war of 1812, especially since it is often performed on the 4th of July to the accompaniment of bells and cannon. In fact, the work was written by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky to celebrate Napoleon's invasion of Russia in that year. That faulty connection, however, is not as wrong as it may seem.
In the first place, the War of 1812 has often been called a forgotten war, with good reason. Few Americans know very much about the War of 1812 beyond the fact that it was fought with the British and that there was a Battle of New Orleans involved. Some may also associate the burning of the White House or the writing of the Star Spangled Banner with the war, but only vaguely. Part of the reason for that vagueness may be that the war changed very little in America: The end of the war restored the status quo ante bellum, that is, it left everything the way it had been when the war began (except, of course, for the dead and wounded.) In addition, the end of the war coincided with the end of the Napoleonic wars (the War of 1812 ended six months before Waterloo) and was thus overshadowed by the greater events going on in Europe. Added to that overshadowing is that fact that with a few notable exceptions, the Americans did not always fight well, even allowing their capital to be burned by the British in 1814.
The second reason why the confusion with the events in Russia in 1812 is understandable is that the two events were in fact related. The War of 1812 began as a result of the fighting in Europe, which left America, a neutral nation, besieged by major players France and England as it tried to carry on normal trade in abnormal times. The war, in other words, was fought on the American side largely over neutral rights, although issues such as national pride, economics and regional politics certainly played a part in the decision to declare war. The fact of the Napoleonic wars also helped determine the way in which the British fought the war. They felt that Napoleon was a far greater danger to the world than any minor acts of interference (as they saw it) they might have committed with regard to American trade. They felt bitter toward their American cousins for declaring war while they had their hands full with France.
There are many reasons why Americans do not really celebrate the War of 1812. In the first place, the war restored to "status quo ante bellum,"34 and did not change anything. The war did, however, produce its share of victories and heroes—most famously, Andrew Jackson at New Orleans. In the end, however, the most important result of the War of 1812 may have been the fact that placed America on the world stage at a level which had not been achieved by the Revolution. The American experiment was considered just that, an experiment, and many Europeans fully expected the new nation to fail, as it well might have. The War of 1812 has thus been called with some justification America's second war for independence— an assertion of America's position as a nation worthy of respect.
At the start America was woefully unprepared for conflict. There was lack of unanimity over the causes, organization was poor, and militia forces—a necessary adjunct to the regular professional army—displayed a general unwillingness to go beyond their own state borders to fight. Few strong leaders remained from the Revolutionary generation, and early encounters with the British, though they were still distracted by Napoleon, were disastrous.
Nevertheless, American sailors were very capable, and American soldiers, when well led, were prepared to fight. However poorly the Americans fought the war, they did indeed fight it, growing stronger as the war progressed. At worst they achieved a stalemate. New leaders such as Andrew Jackson, Oliver Hazard Perry, Thomas MacDonough and Winfield Scott emerged. Had the war gone on longer, the Americans might well have given the British more significant defeats besides the Battle of New Orleans. Finally, no matter how sharply Americans were divided over the war early in 1812, the end of the war brought the "Era of Good Feelings." Although the term is perhaps an exaggeration, it nevertheless points to the fact that that America had come through the war essentially intact.
World History
