Yes, the war was fought here, in Chicago

Just a fortnight until the bicentennial of the beginning of the War of 1812, and it hardly gets a notice. It might be America’s most forgotten war, but clearly it was one of the most important wars in our nation’s history.

Find out why by going to my website for my soon-to-be-published historical novel, Madness: The War of 1812.

For those who might be interested, here is one of the few compilations of bicentennial events throughout the country. Chicagoans might notice that the list has one problem: It said Fort Dearborn was destroyed in the war, but that was only after some 500 Native Americans murdered or kidnapped a vastly outnumbered evacuating group of soldiers and innocent civilian men, women and children were killed or capture outside of the fort, about a mile south of the fort’s site (at Michigan Ave. and Wacker Dr.) The so-called battle happened after they had surrendered the fort and were assured safe passage to Fort Wayne by the Indians. It was called the Fort Dearborn massacre.

(The politically correct are now trying to rename the massacre the “Battle of Fort Dearborn, outrageously disrespecting those who died and truth itself. See my column here.)

You’ll also note that perhaps the earliest engagement in the war was at Fort Mackinac, now a favorite vacation site in the throat of the strait that links lakes Michigan and Huron.

You can get further details on the commemorations here.

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