President Paul Russell welcomed our guests this evening: Julian and Clare Hartwell, Carole Stables, Bridget Famakin, and our guest speaker, Major Simon Lash.
We enjoyed the pleasure of welcoming Simon for the second time. Originally, he spoke to us in July 2024. On that occasion he was known as Captain Lash. Congratulations, Simon, on your promotion.
Simon is a keen military historian, specialising among other military events, in the War of 1812 – his subject for this evening. He told us the story of the British capture of Washington DC, together with the interesting history of how the US Anthem came into being.
He gave us an incredibly detailed account, mainly from memory, of this important war between Britain and America, demonstrating immense knowledge of his subject.
Briefly, the main causes of the war were: impressment – the British Navy’s practice of taking seamen from American merchant vessels to augment the crews of it own severely undermanned warships, the British Orders-in-Council which limited American trade with Europe, plus the United States wanted to end British occupation in North America.
A hero of Simon’s in this War of 1812 is Major General Robert Ross, an Irish born officer in the British army. His was a military career marked by gallantry, discipline and leadership. (One cannot help but think also of our speaker). Robert Ross led the march to Washington, where government buildings, including the White House, were burned. He was killed in the fight for Baltimore in 1814.
After many battles, where approximately 15,000 Americans and 8,600 British and Canadians died, the war finally ended in a draw on the battlefield in 1815. American President, James Madison sent the Treaty of Ghent to the Senate where it was unanimously approved and ratified. The War of 1812 had ended with no outright winner.
Simon finished his presentation with the story of the creation of the US National Anthem, known as the Star Spangled Banner. It originated from a poem written in 1814 by an American lawyer after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy during the battle of Baltimore. The music was born from a London drinking song written in about 1775 by John Stafford Smith.
Thank you Simon for your meticulous account of the War of 1812 which was of great interest to many in our club.
Diana Brooks
