My local library has had this ability for about a year now (most libraries in North America have it). All the libraries in Sony's list are simply using OverDrive like my local library. Breaking News: Sony creates page with links! More at 11.
>>and has a simple easy to use interface. >Of course not. That's a good LaTeX editor. I've published two books in LaTeX and will sing its praises for hours, but it cannot sanely be called simple or easy to use.
True, but anyone who has used LaTeX for more than a few hours has long since left sanity behind. I'd have to say CarpetShark kind of has a point;)
You're both right. The bulk of the forces that attacked Washington (against orders I might add, the British ordered them to Baltimore but due to the lack of forces protecting Washington, Ross and Cockburn agreed it was too easy of a target to pass up) were the 3rd Brigade under General Ross and Rear Admiral Cockburn. In addition to the 3rd Brigade, there was a sizable number of British Militia, primarily from Halifax, but with some 300 from Upper Canada, mostly from Kingston and York. It was the ones from Upper Canada who bear mentioning since these were mostly the men who were at the Battle of York and were ordered to withdraw. It was their homes that the were vandalised, looted, destroyed and burned while Major-General Dearborn wrote in his journal it was despicable, but he was either unwilling or unable to stop his soldiers. The York militia, as one might imagine, wanted vengence. In addition to that, there was the matter of avenging the acts at Port Dover.
What I find the most interesting about the war of 1812 was not the later stages like the burning of the white house, which has already been mentioned, was white long before being torched, but the early battles (or lack thereof) at Fort Mackinac and Fort Detriot. Both of which were seized by General Isaac Brock and Tecumseh without a shot.
The force that hit Washington was comprised mostly of British Regulars, the 3rd Brigade to be exact, who were, as you mentioned, fresh from the Napoleonic wars, but it also included a lot of British Militia (which would be the Canadians), including around 300 from York (as an aside, York was renamed to Toronto in 1834). The entire attack on Washington was for revenge for destruction the Americans caused to York and Port Dover, Washington itself had no strategic value at all (Baltimore did). To understand exactly why they took revenge though, we have to look at the Battle of York.
The Americans attacked York on the 27th of April, 1813. Their goal was to attack Kingston and disrupt British supply lines by destroying the naval yards there, but Major-General Henry Dearborn had been informed that an unspecified number of re-enforcements had arrived at Kingston and fearing he was now out-numbered, diverted to a secondary target, York, the capital of Upper Canada. York was defended by only 700 men, more than half of them militia, and had it also had a naval shipyard with two frigates, the Isaac Brock and the Duke of Gloucester, under construction. The Americans had 2700 men and 14 naval vessels, which Dearborn correctly assumed would be sufficent to take York. Dearborn, though, is grossly overweight and in no condition to lead his men into combat, so he places Brigadier-General Zebulon Pike in charge.
Realizing that his forces were insufficient to defend York, General Shaeffe ordered his forces to withdraw to Kingston shortly after the Americans establish a beach head. He also ordered some men to scuttle the Isaac Brock (the Duke of Gloucester had completed construction the day before and sailed to Kingston) in the yards and to blow the powder magazine. Even though the British withdraw, they left the British flag flying over the fort in the hopes that the Americans would be tricked into thinking the fort was still occupied.
Whether or not Pike was fooled, the American forces did advance on the fort. Unfortunately for York, they did so at the same time the powder magazine exploded. It killed 28 American soldiers outright and left over 200 wounded, including Brigadier-General Zebulon Pike who would eventually die of his wounds.
The situation in York degenerates quickly after this. Without any enemy soldiers to take the blame, the American troops avenge their losses on York itself. Private property is vandalised and looted, public buildings are destroyed and burned, and private homes are torched as well. Dearborn is either unwilling or unable to stop his soldiers and by the time the Americans withdraw five days later, York has burned to the ground. When the news reached the militia of the events in York, they wanted blood.
Compare this to the amusing story of Rear Admiral Cockburn (yes, we all know the jokes one can make with that name, and it is the basis of this story) in Washington. There was an anti-british newspaper by the name of the National Intelligencer that has essentially been making fun of him so he went to their offices, fully intending to burn it to the ground. When he gets there, several women from the neighbourhood beg him not to burn the building since the fire would spread to their homes. Cockburn agreed that burning the building was not necessary and had the printing equipment dragged into the street and ordered it burned. He then informed his soldiers to "make sure that all the C's are destroyed, so that the rascals can have no further means of abusing my name."
The major difference seems to be that General Ross and Rear Admiral Cockburn were able to retain control of their men, including the militia that was lusting for blood. This resulted in the destruction in Washington was limited primarily to government buildings.
Slashdot Mirror
My local library has had this ability for about a year now (most libraries in North America have it). All the libraries in Sony's list are simply using OverDrive like my local library. Breaking News: Sony creates page with links! More at 11.
>>and has a simple easy to use interface.
>Of course not. That's a good LaTeX editor.
I've published two books in LaTeX and will sing its praises for hours, but it cannot sanely be called simple or easy to use.
True, but anyone who has used LaTeX for more than a few hours has long since left sanity behind. I'd have to say CarpetShark kind of has a point ;)
So what would ePrison be? AOL?
You're both right. The bulk of the forces that attacked Washington (against orders I might add, the British ordered them to Baltimore but due to the lack of forces protecting Washington, Ross and Cockburn agreed it was too easy of a target to pass up) were the 3rd Brigade under General Ross and Rear Admiral Cockburn. In addition to the 3rd Brigade, there was a sizable number of British Militia, primarily from Halifax, but with some 300 from Upper Canada, mostly from Kingston and York. It was the ones from Upper Canada who bear mentioning since these were mostly the men who were at the Battle of York and were ordered to withdraw. It was their homes that the were vandalised, looted, destroyed and burned while Major-General Dearborn wrote in his journal it was despicable, but he was either unwilling or unable to stop his soldiers. The York militia, as one might imagine, wanted vengence. In addition to that, there was the matter of avenging the acts at Port Dover.
What I find the most interesting about the war of 1812 was not the later stages like the burning of the white house, which has already been mentioned, was white long before being torched, but the early battles (or lack thereof) at Fort Mackinac and Fort Detriot. Both of which were seized by General Isaac Brock and Tecumseh without a shot.
The force that hit Washington was comprised mostly of British Regulars, the 3rd Brigade to be exact, who were, as you mentioned, fresh from the Napoleonic wars, but it also included a lot of British Militia (which would be the Canadians), including around 300 from York (as an aside, York was renamed to Toronto in 1834). The entire attack on Washington was for revenge for destruction the Americans caused to York and Port Dover, Washington itself had no strategic value at all (Baltimore did). To understand exactly why they took revenge though, we have to look at the Battle of York.
The Americans attacked York on the 27th of April, 1813. Their goal was to attack Kingston and disrupt British supply lines by destroying the naval yards there, but Major-General Henry Dearborn had been informed that an unspecified number of re-enforcements had arrived at Kingston and fearing he was now out-numbered, diverted to a secondary target, York, the capital of Upper Canada. York was defended by only 700 men, more than half of them militia, and had it also had a naval shipyard with two frigates, the Isaac Brock and the Duke of Gloucester, under construction. The Americans had 2700 men and 14 naval vessels, which Dearborn correctly assumed would be sufficent to take York. Dearborn, though, is grossly overweight and in no condition to lead his men into combat, so he places Brigadier-General Zebulon Pike in charge.
Realizing that his forces were insufficient to defend York, General Shaeffe ordered his forces to withdraw to Kingston shortly after the Americans establish a beach head. He also ordered some men to scuttle the Isaac Brock (the Duke of Gloucester had completed construction the day before and sailed to Kingston) in the yards and to blow the powder magazine. Even though the British withdraw, they left the British flag flying over the fort in the hopes that the Americans would be tricked into thinking the fort was still occupied.
Whether or not Pike was fooled, the American forces did advance on the fort. Unfortunately for York, they did so at the same time the powder magazine exploded. It killed 28 American soldiers outright and left over 200 wounded, including Brigadier-General Zebulon Pike who would eventually die of his wounds.
The situation in York degenerates quickly after this. Without any enemy soldiers to take the blame, the American troops avenge their losses on York itself. Private property is vandalised and looted, public buildings are destroyed and burned, and private homes are torched as well. Dearborn is either unwilling or unable to stop his soldiers and by the time the Americans withdraw five days later, York has burned to the ground. When the news reached the militia of the events in York, they wanted blood.
Compare this to the amusing story of Rear Admiral Cockburn (yes, we all know the jokes one can make with that name, and it is the basis of this story) in Washington. There was an anti-british newspaper by the name of the National Intelligencer that has essentially been making fun of him so he went to their offices, fully intending to burn it to the ground. When he gets there, several women from the neighbourhood beg him not to burn the building since the fire would spread to their homes. Cockburn agreed that burning the building was not necessary and had the printing equipment dragged into the street and ordered it burned. He then informed his soldiers to "make sure that all the C's are destroyed, so that the rascals can have no further means of abusing my name."
The major difference seems to be that General Ross and Rear Admiral Cockburn were able to retain control of their men, including the militia that was lusting for blood. This resulted in the destruction in Washington was limited primarily to government buildings.