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copies and no indexes had been created before rhe fire , preventing archivists fro m being able ro say, w irh cerrainry, which record s were in rhe building ar rhe rime. Immediarely afrer rhe fire, rhe N PRC salvaged wh ar records rhey could and ser abour worki ng ro resrore rhe paper archives, damaged either fro m fire and sm oke or from rhe m old rhar soon followed , once rhe fi rehoses rerreared bur lefr millions of gallons of wa ter in rhe building. The fire was a severe blow ro our nation's cul rural a nd hisroric documentation, and especially ro rhe ve terans whose records were permanenrly lost. The N PRC has reconstructed m any of the dam aged files or fo und redunda nt infor matio n in o rher reposirories. Vetera ns and their fa milies seeking info rmation from rhese los t fil es may file a request for military personnel records ar the N PRC, 1 A rchives D rive, Sr. Lo uis, M issouri 63 138; Ph. 314 801-0800; em ail: M PR. center@nara.gov; website: www.archives. gov/veterans/.
Constitution's First Captains I was pleased ro see an arricle about USS Constitution in the recent issue of Sea H istory (#142). W hat riming! G reat article-but ir could have been mentioned rhat Samuel N icholso n was one of rhe first fi ve captains appointed by George Washin gron ro the "new" US Navy. The fifrh captain was James Sever, the captain that
chri stened the Constitution wi th a botrle of red wine. H ad ro mention this sli ghtold fa mily, yo u know. W ith respect, ] A M ES SEV E R
M arion , Iowa A Different Take on the War of 1812 In th e arricle o n Constitution's first captain in the las t issue of Sea H istory, the author srates, "America's vicrory in the War of 18 12"-this is is a bit of a stretch of revisio nist hisrory. From a boxing perspective, rhe best thar America achieved was perhaps a draw in this bour or arguably a loss by split decision . Other than vicrory in a few minor skirmishes in the G reat Lakes and Lake C hamplain and a decisive win in the Bartle of New Orleans (albeit afrer the fo rmal peace rreaty was signed), do we forget Lundy's Lane, Queensron H eights, D etroit, and rhe rorching of Washingron? The proximate cause of the War of 18 12 was Britain's embargo of American trade wirh Napoleonic France, which from the British perspecrive was justified . Napoleon was hardly a paragon of rhe shared Anglo/American concepts of freedom and dem ocracy. This counrry's attempted invasion of Canada was a prequel ro manifest destiny, failed miserably, and Canada's standing roday 200 years later as an independent nation is a tesrimony ro the results of the wa r. C APT.
S. E.
0LDALE
C row, Oregon
Launching of USS Constitutio n, Harrt's Yard, Boston, 24 October 1797 Painting by Paul Garnett, oil, 28 x 48 in ches
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SEA HISTORY 143 , SUMMER 2013