In January 2021, as troubles broke out in Washington, many of the news reporters commented that this was the first time the US Capitol had been violated since the war of 1812. That war is not not very well known as it is never taught in British schools, and yet it may have lessons for us today.
As its name suggests the war began in 1812. The USA accused Britain of kidnapping American citizens and forcing them to join the Royal Navy. The Americans invaded Canada, which the British accused them of trying to ‘steal’. There were several skirmishes but with their main army still fighting Napoleon in Spain, the British were simply too short of men. It was a situation which called for thinking outside the box.
A number of former slaves had escaped to Canada and were living as free citizens in the area near Niagara Falls. They had no wish to be conquered by a nation which could enslave them again, so they volunteered to join the fight. General Issac Brock took up the idea. Trained and armed by the British they were known as ‘Captain Runchey’s Company of Coloured Men.’ later renamed ‘The Coloured Corps’ and dressed in dashing uniforms of bright blue.
The black troops fought with distinction at the battles of Queenston Hights and Fort George, winning praise from their British commanders. In 1814, led by Brock, they attacked Washington, freeing slaves as they marched. The Capitol was captured and the White House was burnt to the ground.
When the war was over these brave men were not abandoned. The freed slaves were offered the chance to settle anywhere in the British Empire. Some were given farm land in Canada, others chose to stay on with the British Army and Navy and some of those eventually settled in the seagoing communities of Liverpool and Bristol.
So what can we learn from this short history?
Unity is strength. In order to achieve at the highest levels we should put aside those things which divide us, and refuse to be sidelined by issues of age, race, religion or gender.
General Brock was fighting for survival, his own and that of Canada, but he was critically short of trained staff. He recruited volunteers with a high level of motivation and took the initiative. His decisive action brought an end to the war.
I find myself wondering, just for a moment, whether that story might teach our current leaders something about the way that we should deal with the present pandemic.
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Bruce W Johnson 