Sunday, July 1, 2012

Reading about The War Of 1812

Upon finishing reading about The War Of 1812;  this question came to mind, what was the outcome of the war? No european powerwould ever challenge the United States on its home territory again. The Army and the Navy would never again be in such disrepair. The lack of leadership, almost lost America the war. Yet Determined young generals Major General Andrew Jackson and Major General William Henry Harrison, would save the Army. Both men would be elected into office as President. On the naval front, Captain Oliver Hazard Perry volunteered his services to build a fleet on the Great Lakes. He would then gain control of the lakes, from the British.  This seemed impossible, considering the freedom the British enjoyed in the lakes. Captain of the USS Constitution Isaac Hull, was another naval hero. Hull, himself an exprienced sailor, trained his ragg tagg crew. On one such occassion, the Captain outmaneuvred Five British ships, (Four Frigates and one ship of the line) to save his ship. He would later seek revenge  on one these Frigates, the Guerriere. Thus proving, that British warships (then the best navy in the world), could be sunk. Despite this, throughout the war, Americans faught at a great disadvantage. The American Army, on many occassions, would relly on volunteers, to survive. States refussed to hand over their  militias to the Federal government (including the New England States who threatened Secession from the Union); that were then desperately needed. One state in particular would answer the call to arms. Tennessee is nicknamed the "Volunteer state" because of its large enlistment rate during the war. Just hours before the start of the Battle of New Orleans, Major General Andrew Jackson was reinforced by 2,500 Tennessee volunteers. His victory saved the Louisiana Territory from becoming a British territory. At the end of the war, both the Navy and Army were significantly boosted. Congress recognized the need to have a permanent military. In 1815 and 1816, Congress gave funds to increase the standing army to 10,000 (triple the standing army in 1801) and to construct 21 warships. Saddely, this lesson has again and again been ignored. The government of the United States of America has repeatdly slashed its military forces. President Madison(considered the father of the U.S. Constitution) would state upon the conclusion of the war "the character of the times particularly inculcates the lesson, that, whether to prevent or repel danger, we ought not to be unprepared for it."

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Tree Is Free

A piece of a tree falls  to the ground. It is no longer a tree. The "no perfect lines in nature" is a branch. The rugged edges where it once connected to the tree. The fallen hero of the tree is free. Yet the survivor of the fall, knows it will have to care for itself. The crooked branch has scares, like the brown leaves, that were once green. After all, the branch knows that being free is not easy. Perhaps he will be dragged far away by a man, far from the shade, and safety of the tree. He will be left alone but he will light his own candle, and set out into the unknown. He knowns the other pieces of the tree, will celebrate his boldness, and the day he fell from the lush green paradise.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Eagle's View

I was born in the Silver State
In the city of sin
My Mom's from California
And my Dad's from Tenneessee
Theres the deserts of this land
And the green green grass
I wanna see this land

I wanna go to Reno
And across the plains
I wanna go to the east coast
To Philadelphia
I wanna go down south
To Atlanta
I wanna see this land

It has long been argued for a long time that America The Beautiful be our national anthem. The song itself was written as a Poem by Katherine Lee Bates while taking a train to Colorado for a teaching position. Needless to say she was impressed with what she saw and wrote the lyrics to what would became America The Beautiful. Needless to say I have not been across these same plains but it inspired me to write my the lyrics above. I tried to use my minds eye to write something along those lines.

However, the second thing I thought about is how lucky we are to live in America and have been blessed with such a great land. is something to be thankful for. Even if its as simple as not having to worry about being free. Free to go about whereever you live without be perscuted. For there is a divided island of Cyprus divided between ethnic Turks and Greek. In Kashmir the armies of India and pakistan still divide the land. The tiny nation of Taiwan must worry in fear if China will invade its nation.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!