[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 99 (Thursday, June 28, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4726-S4727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 513--RECOGNIZING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR OF 
 1812, WHICH WAS FOUGHT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND GREAT 
 BRITAIN BEGINNING ON JUNE 18, 1812, IN RESPONSE TO BRITISH VIOLATIONS 
OF NEUTRAL RIGHTS OF THE UNITED STATES, SEIZURE OF SHIPS OF THE UNITED 
   STATES, RESTRICTION OF TRADE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER 
COUNTRIES, AND THE IMPRESSMENT OF SAILORS OF THE UNITED STATES INTO THE 
                               ROYAL NAVY

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 513

       Whereas in standing up to the British, and fighting the 
     conquerors of Napoleon to a draw, the War of 1812 revived 
     flagging nationalism, cleared the way for expanded overseas 
     trade, and ended an era of introversion by the United States;
       Whereas most of the public buildings of Washington, D.C. 
     were set alight, including the White House and the Capitol;
       Whereas Sackets Harbor, New York, on the eastern shore of 
     Lake Ontario, was the site of more naval construction during 
     the war than anywhere else;
       Whereas the war came to the State of New York in late 
     December 1813 when the village of Black Rock, located 2 miles 
     below Buffalo on the front lines of the war, was torched by 
     the British and only 1 house was spared;
       Whereas Buffalo, of which it is said that ``no other town 
     in the United States saw more of the war'', came under 
     regular siege from the British and was ultimately burned 
     despite assurances that private property would be spared;
       Whereas the British capture of Fort Niagara, in a surprise 
     night offensive on December 18, 1813, provided control over 
     the mouth of the Niagara River to the British as well as the 
     launching pad for its attacks on Buffalo and Black Rock;
       Whereas the town of Lewiston, New York, which served as the 
     headquarters for the United States Army during its attack 
     across the river at Queenston, Ontario, was the target of 
     British retaliation in December 1813, resulting in the deaths 
     of many civilians and the destruction of all buildings;
       Whereas despite being outnumbered 30 to 1, members of the 
     Tuscarora Nation offered the first resistance the British and 
     Mohawk allies had seen, saving the lives of dozens of 
     Lewiston citizens by allowing them to escape the attack;
       Whereas Jacob Brown, a pioneer settler in the Black River 
     country of upstate New

[[Page S4727]]

     York and a general in the New York Militia, led the 
     successful defense of Fort Erie in the late summer of 1814, 
     which lifted the sprits of the people of the United States at 
     an important time and resulted in Brown emerging from the war 
     a national hero;
       Whereas the British plan to invade from the North, in a 
     manner similar to that of General John Burgoyne in 1777, was 
     halted at Plattsburgh, New York in September 1814;
       Whereas the victory at Plattsburgh shattered any hopes of 
     British gains in the North, helped maintain national morale 
     after Washington was sacked in that dark summer of 1814, and 
     was described by Winston Churchill as the ``most decisive 
     engagement of the war'';
       Whereas from the death and destruction of the War of 1812 
     there was born a spirit of cooperation and a vision of peace 
     between the United States and Canada;
       Whereas the unparalleled cooperation, prosperity, and 
     friendship that developed between the United States and 
     Canada since the War of 1812 find the deepest roots and daily 
     expressions in the border communities across upstate New 
     York, which was the front line of the War of 1812;
       Whereas the bicentennial of the War of 1812 offers an 
     exceptional opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the true 
     and lasting legacy of 200 years of peace between the United 
     States and Canada; and
       Whereas through the turmoil of war, a young nation endured 
     and saw its banner continue to wave over a land free and 
     brave: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate recognizes the 200th anniversary 
     of the War of 1812.

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