Talk:Battle of Bladensburg

Question
Does anyone else see some of the glaring errors and mistatements in ths account?

Tom Cavanaugh The Road to Washington - British Army Style


 * Feel free to correct them Kmusser 17:14, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
 * This was orphaned, hope it now appears Keith H99 (talk) 22:20, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

Decisive British victory
An editor has suggested that the result was not a 'Decisive British victory' simply a 'British victory'. Would people like to give their opinions here one way or another. Many thanks -  Gallo glass  20:50, 19 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I think there's a larger question about where and when to use the word "Decisive". If we're using it as a synonym for unqualified then there are a number of British war victories that should be similarly described yet aren't. If we're going to use it as a synonym for pivotal then I'd concur with your take and would suggest ensuring that all battles in the War adhere to that sort of framing. For instance, OTTOMH & IMHO using the "pivotal" framing the Siege of Detroit, the Battle of_Lake Erie, the Battle of Stoney Creek and the Battle of Crysler's Farm would qualify for adding the "Decisive" description while everything else would be simply a victory. My two bits for a Sunday morning Natty10000 | Natter  13:58, 20 August 2017 (UTC)


 * Certainly "decisive" in the sense of "complete" in that the American forces were routed, leaving the British in undisputed possession of the field. Not "decisive" in the sense of "war-winning", as it did not force the Americans to concede terms at the peace conference or affect their ability to continue the war. I would omit "decisive. HLGallon (talk) 20:03, 20 August 2017 (UTC)

Late to the discussion, but I would disagree with the above that a victory must be "war-winning" in order to be described as Decisive.

There are many battles when one belligerent has obtained decisive success, but with the war nonethless ending in either defeat or stalemate for the belligerent in question (this is not to suggest that the War of 1812 ended in either for Britain, as that is a discussion for elsewhere). For example, see the Third Reich's decisive successes in early Barbarossa (Battle of Białystok–Minsk).

Bladensburg saw the almost total collapse of a numerically superior American army and cleared the way for an unmolested occupation of the United States Capitol. F.M. Sir D.H (talk) 11:38, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Rocket Launchers
Whilst the use of Congreve rockets is noted as having scared the inexperienced Militiamen, they weren't up against the Red Army of WW2. There may well have been sixty munitions, but sixty launchers? Totally wrong Keith H99 (talk) 22:19, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
 * There were 25 men in the Rocket team, so 60 sounds plausible for individual munitions. As for the launchers, each would require a section of men, so I presume 8 or so men per rocket frame sounds plausible. Keith H99 (talk) 00:00, 13 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I am informed that Elting does state 'sixty launchers', but fails to attribute this to a source. Given that he passed away in May 2000, he has taken that information with him to the grave.Keith H99 (talk) 13:34, 14 February 2018 (UTC)

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