[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 33 (Thursday, March 1, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S1369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMEMORATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR OF 1812 AND ``THE STAR
SPANGLED BANNER''
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 388.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 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.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any
statements related to the matter be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 388) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
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 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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