An Appreciation of Military History is Very Worthwhile.
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The War of 1812 was the first and only time a foreign military force invaded the United States. Most of the action involved the important local maritime trade routes and harbors of the time.
Weapons of earlier times could be very lethal. Consider the large cannon and musket. The cannon would use a ten pound shot and a flint-lock was a 69 caliber gun. Expert marksmen would make the difference, as is still true today.
Although the weapons are significant, the tactics were more important in those days. Due to the limits of communication, plans had to be well conceived and explained before the battle. (These images came from a reenactment in Calvert County, Maryland.)
It is always the individuals that make up these units who represent the most substantive power. Small numbers of soldiers could wreak havoc on larger forces with good tactics and execution of the plan. Because of the time it took to reload and close range of weapons, bayonets were extremely useful and fighting usually relegated to hand to hand combat.
Words like: Duty, Honor, Country had a profound meaning in those days. Survival meant not only freedom for Americans, but also a life with other serious challenges. That was still far better than the alternative. |
