This documentary shows how the glories of war become enshrined in history. How failures are quickly forgotten and how inconvenient truths are ignored forever. With stunning reenactments, evocative animation and the incisive commentary of key experts, The War of 1812 presents the strange and awkward conflict that shaped the destiny of a continent.
On the same day that the Second Continental Congress convened, Ethan Allen, along with Arnold, who was then his lieutenant, launched a surprise attack on Ticonderoga, the fort so bitterly contested a generation before. Stores of weapons and munitions
were captured, including artillery. Five weeks later, the colonists, working secretly during the night, pre-empted British plans
to fortify Boston by erecting their own emplacements on two ridges overlooking the city, Breed’s Hill and Bunker Hill. Their
nominal commander was Brigadier Artemus Ward, another veteran of the French-Indian War, but their guiding spirit was
Joseph Warren of St. Andrew’s Lodge.
General Thomas Gage was subsequently to be blamed for what happened next, but the real responsibility lay with Sir William
Howe who had the authority, once the true nature of the situation became clear, to revoke the plan of battle or adhere to it
and suffer the inevitable cost. For a veteran subordinate of Amherst and Wolfe, Howe behaved strangely indeed.
Chapter 18 – The War for Independence
The Temple and the Lodge – Baigent & Leigh
