[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 33 (Thursday, March 1, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1208-S1209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 388--COMMEMORATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR 
     OF 1812 AND ``THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER'', AND RECOGNIZING THE 
 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE, HEROIC HUMAN ENDEAVOR, AND SACRIFICE OF THE 
UNITED STATES ARMY, NAVY, MARINE CORPS, AND REVENUE MARINE SERVICE, AND 
                 STATE MILITIAS, DURING THE WAR OF 1812

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. 
Levin, and Mr. Sessions) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 388

       Whereas the period beginning in 2012 and ending in 2015 
     marks the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812 and 
     ``The Star Spangled Banner'';
       Whereas the War of 1812, which has been referred to as the 
     ``Second War of Independence'', confirmed the independence of 
     the United States from Great Britain in the eyes of the world 
     and shaped the expansion and growth of the United States in 
     later decades;
       Whereas the United States declared war on Great Britain on 
     June 18, 1812, to redress wrongs including--
           (1) the impressment of United States sailors;
           (2) the violation of the neutrality rights of the 
     United States; and
           (3) the violation of the territorial waters of the 
     United States;

       Whereas, despite the vastly superior size of the military 
     of Great Britain, the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, 
     and Revenue Marine Service (a predecessor of the United 
     States Coast Guard), and State militias (the predecessors of 
     the National Guard), won a number of significant victories, 
     ensuring that the liberties won by the United States during 
     the Revolutionary War were not lost;
       Whereas major battles of the War of 1812 that were fought 
     on the water, including the battle between U.S.S. 
     Constitution and H.M.S. Guerriere, the Battle of Lake 
     Champlain, and victories on the Great Lakes, showcased the 
     might, bravery, and war-fighting tactics of the United States 
     maritime forces;
       Whereas the decisive victory of Oliver Hazard Perry over a 
     British fleet near Put-In-Bay, Ohio in the Battle of Lake 
     Erie ensured that--
           (1) the United States gained control of the Great 
     Lakes; and
           (2) portions of the Old Northwest Territory, such as 
     Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, remained 
     part of the United States;

       Whereas State militias, the oldest component of the Armed 
     Forces of the United

[[Page S1209]]

     States, answered the call to service, defending their 
     communities and their country from aggression by Great 
     Britain;
       Whereas United States forces seized the city of Mobile from 
     Spanish control in 1813, built Fort Bowyer to protect the 
     city, and in 1814 successfully repelled a vastly larger 
     British force from the city, resulting in Mobile becoming one 
     of the few permanent land concessions gained by the United 
     States during the War of 1812;
       Whereas Great Britain unleashed grievous attacks on the 
     capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., burning to 
     the ground the United States Capitol Building, the White 
     House, and much of the rest of the city;
       Whereas, after 2\1/2\ years of conflict, the British Royal 
     Navy sailed up the Chesapeake Bay in an attempt to capture 
     Baltimore, Maryland;
       Whereas United States forces at Fort McHenry, stationed in 
     the outer harbor of Baltimore, Maryland under the command of 
     Brevet Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead, withstood nearly 
     25 hours of bombardment by the British forces and refused to 
     yield, thereby forcing the British to give up the invasion 
     and withdraw;
       Whereas Francis Scott Key, a United States lawyer who was 
     being held by the British on board a United States flag-of-
     truce vessel in the harbor, saw ``by the dawn's early 
     light'', as Key would later write, an American flag still 
     flying over Fort McHenry after the horrific attack;
       Whereas Francis Scott Key immortalized the event in a poem 
     entitled ``Defense of Fort McHenry'', which was later set to 
     music and called ``The Star-Spangled Banner'';
       Whereas ``The Star-Spangled Banner'' became the national 
     anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931, when President 
     Herbert Hoover signed Public Law 71 823;
       Whereas General Andrew Jackson, who would later become the 
     seventh President of the United States, won the Battle of 
     Horsehoe Bend and then triumphed in the decisive Battle of 
     New Orleans, which, although fought after the signing of the 
     Treaty of Ghent, was a great source of pride to the young 
     United States and provided momentum for growth and prosperity 
     in the years that would follow;
       Whereas, since 1916, the people of the United States have 
     entrusted the National Park Service with the care of national 
     parks and sites of historical significance to the country, 
     including Fort McHenry and more than 30 other sites and 
     National Heritage Areas that tell the story of the War of 
     1812;
       Whereas the diverse historic sites relating to the War of 
     1812 include homes, battlefields, and landscapes that 
     highlight the contributions made by a wide range of people in 
     the United States during the war;
       Whereas one such historic site is the Fort McHenry National 
     Monument and Historic Shrine, the birthplace of ``The Star 
     Spangled Banner'', where the symbols of both the flag and the 
     national anthem of the United States come together;
       Whereas the people of the United States are grateful for 
     the rights defended through hard fighting during the War of 
     1812 by the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and 
     Revenue Marine Service, and State militias, including the 
     protection of United States citizens at home and abroad, 
     unrestricted trade, free and open ports, and the protection 
     of the territorial integrity of the United States against 
     aggression; and
       Whereas, during the bicentennial years of the War of 1812 
     and ``The Star Spangled Banner'', it is fitting that the 
     bravery and steadfast determination of the United States land 
     and maritime forces be celebrated by the grateful people of 
     the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the memory of all the people of the United 
     States who came together during the War of 1812, particularly 
     the fallen heroes who gave their lives during the ``Second 
     War of Independence'';
       (2) commends the men and women of the United States Army, 
     Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, and the State 
     National Guards, who preserve the ideals of freedom, 
     democracy, and the pursuit of happiness that were guaranteed 
     by the victories of the War of 1812;
       (3) congratulates the Armed Forces of the United States, 
     the National Parks Service, the Maryland War of 1812 
     Bicentennial Commission, and all other organizations and 
     individuals who are involved in preserving and promoting the 
     history of this great country, and supports their 
     commemoration of the War of 1812 and ``The Star Spangled 
     Banner''; and
       (4) calls on all people of the United States to join in the 
     commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and 
     ``The Star Spangled Banner'' in events throughout the United 
     States, to celebrate that at the end of the war, as Francis 
     Scott Key wrote, ``our flag was still there''.

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