If America lost and Britain muddled through, then Canada won the war of 1812.
For America it was basically a disastrous but fairly small adventure which interrupted their great century of expansion. For the UK it barely registered as an expensive sideshow to the main event against the French. For Canada it was an essential chapter in their founding history. It is hard to find too many examples of Canadians displaying chest thumping nationalism, but those few which do exist often focus on their successful part in the defense of their country against the US. Although the line between who was Canadian and who was British was hazy to say the least, it is possible to say that Canada's defensive war was probably one of the greatest strategic success in the war. The efforts of the regular British army were decisive, but much of the defensive effort can be honestly claimed by Canadian volunteer militias. In contrast, any British failures in their attacks from Canada into the US could be fairly laid at the door of the Empire so it is probably generous, but not unfair to say that many of the successes were Canadian but few of the failures were. |
