Winter snowfall and frigid temperatures have played havoc with blogging. Shovel, rest, shovel. It's weekends like this one past that make me contemplate why I left Florida. Of course the sunny south has been winterized too.
The entry of Crail data is coming along slowly, but coming along.
I've been reading Steve Vogel's Through the Perilous Fight about the War of 1812, focusing on the British raids along the Chesapeake, the Battle of Bladensburg, the burning of Washington's government buildings and the failed Siege of Fort McHenry.
Our Founding Fathers turned Presidents learned little from the Revolutionary War and George Washington. Jefferson apparently still feared a standing army, even though it was a standing army of sorts that achieved success after Valley Forge. Those who adhered to Jeffersonian philosophy, like James Madison, relied on militia and an extremely limited standing army.
The militia generally did not fare well in traditional battles during the Revolution. A well-trained army did. During the Chesapeake Campaign, the militia bolted at Bladensburg and failed to defend the capital. Joshua Barney's flotilla men [sort of a rogue naval operation in the bay] were the exception. The politicians and military leaders just got in each others' way and let vanity control their emotions. [Especially Secretary of War Armstrong!]
I'm up to the citizens of Baltimore and a scattering of militia and regular army preparing for the defense of the city.
It's an interesting read. One of my ancestors even get some credit for warning off Madison of the approaching British forces. [p. 131] William Simmons was a clerk for the War Dept. He was fired for essentially being insubordinate. He didn't get along with Armstrong.
History and genealogy - fun stuff!
On the military front
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