[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 5, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S3728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    BICENTENNIAL OF THE WAR OF 1812

 Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the 
bicentennial of the beginning of the War of 1812, on June 18, 2012, in 
the Record.
  President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great 
Britain on June 18, 1812. The sacrifices by those soldiers, citizens, 
and their families who fought in the War of 1812 further defended the 
liberties previously won in the American Revolution. These sacrifices 
include heroic efforts by Dolley Madison to save some of our national 
treasures from destruction during the burning of the White House by the 
British on August 24, 1814. The conflict and bravery shown during this 
conflict would inspire Francis Scott Key to write a poem describing the 
bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, and this would later 
become our country's national anthem, known as the ``Star Spangled 
Banner.''
  The War of 1812 further solidified the independence of the United 
States from Great Britain, and the Treaty of Ghent was signed on 
December 24, 1814, to end the War of 1812. Many Georgia residents can 
trace their lineages back to these patriotic early settlers.
  Descendants of the veterans of the War of 1812 chartered the Georgia 
State Society within the General Society of the United States Daughters 
of 1812 on June 18, 1901, to promote a general awareness of the history 
of the War of 1812 among the citizens of Georgia and the Nation. As we 
observe the bicentennial of the War of 1812, I urge all citizens to 
become more knowledgeable of the role the War of 1812 played in the 
history of our great Nation and the State of Georgia.

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