Search - War of 1812 on DVD

A forgotten war

I. Chiang | Silicon Valley, CA, USA | 02/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I've already seen this topic in the THC (The History Channel) version, the part about the war with Canada is neglected there. I'm happy to see this film detailing this aspect.

Since the U.S. are not well prepared for the war, the invasion to Canada is quite embarrassing. Five attemps are all repulsed by the Indian-Canadian(British) alliance. The Michigan Territory is even occupied and is prepared for the Indians. The U.S. learn from failures and improve gradually. Finally, they hold and win some crucial battles and reach the agreement of the negotiation.

The Canadian do an excellent job to defend their land. Their later invasion to the U.S., however, is defeated. Overall, they are still the winner and earn their pride and nationalism. The British humiliate the U.S. by burning down the Washington, but failed in Fort McHenry and then are vastly defeated in New Orleans(truce has been assgined, but not reaching the battlefield yet).

Although the U.S. do win some battles, they are not the winner of this war since many goals are not achieved as planned. They, however, learn the lesson from the war and it contributes much later.

The most unfortunate in this war should be the Indians. They are abandoned by the British in the war and can't make their dream come true. Even today, their contribution to the Canada is not fully recognized.

The strength of this film is the Canadian campaign, which is detailed. For other parts, the THC version gives you more information. In my opinion, it will be a good idea to have a balanced view by seeing both this one and the THC version.
"