11 Comments on “Setting off Fireworks

  1. If you had won, then presumably you wouldn’t have packed up and run off, and we wouldn’t still be known as “The United States of America.”

  2. I think there might be some Americans willing to re-create that picture nowadays…

    There is a young English lad at the camp where I’m working this summer.  Today the other kids surrounded him in the dining hall and sang a hearty version of “The Star Spangled Banner.”  He was a good sport about it.  :)

  3. You may have burned down the White House, but you spared the Patent Office, and for that we thank y’all!

    Treg

  4. Thanks for your (cough!) good wishes!
    Some lovely English friends had us over for a meal when they heard we didn’t have plans for the Fourth.  They decorated the room with home made American flags and even found and printed out a Texas flag for Mike.  They tried to print out a Virginia flag for me, but their printer wouldn’t cooperate.  Must have been an British printer, choking on the imagery:
    http://www.fotw.us/flags/us-va.html

  5. If memory serves I think it was a strange affair, started with the aim of US expansion, fuelled by anger at British interference with trade. The invasion of Canada was a disaster a lead to the British capture of Detroit.

    Of course the burning of the President’s residence is the reason its called “The White House”, after all the white wash needed to make the building presentable again.

    But even then mutual respect existed as the British Troops left George Washington’s house in tact out out of respect. ( The had earlier defeated US forces at a battle known as the <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bladensburg”>Bladesburgh races</a> due to the speed at which US forces ran away – not entirely fair as they were poorly armed and certain elements put up resistance ).

    The war was a draw – dampening US designs on Canada. It also had the strange issue of a battle being fought after the peace agreement had been signed ( in Paris ).

    The battle for New Orleans, which US forces won, but was pointless as the war was already over!

    See what US History ‘O’ level does for you !

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.