Military Altercations

Words: 560
Pages: 3

When discussing the different altercations that the United States has been involved in, there are many that people will point to as being significant in molding the country as a whole. One of the altercations that is hardily mentioned in discussions concerning the effects it had on the country, is that of the War of 1812, which pitted the infant nation of the united states against familiar foe and world super England. The war of 1812 in many respects the same war that was fought in the name of independence a mire 36 years ago. the wars being so similar that the war of 1812, is often referred to as the second war of independence. With the passing of time also brought forth to the soldiers that were involved in the war, was that of new experiences …show more content…
The work that best illustrates the altercation in its entirety is that of Private Jarvis Hanks. This isn’t to say that the works of Alexander McMullen and Amasiah Ford, didn’t play a role describing the different aspects of the war, but instead are works that don’t cover the war and the different aspects of military life like the work of Hanks did. Not only does the work talk of military life both on the battlefield and off it, the work elaborates on the different motivations and the different tactics that the military utilized in order to gather a good number of men. This sort of input came in the form of the descriptions of the variety of contracts and the different pay scales that soldiers were given during the War of 1812. An example of this sort of input as to Hank’s motivation to enlist in the military is seen as “the pomp and splendor of a military life were vividly portrayed in my foolish imagination, and produced a desire to engage in service.” (20). The statement by hanks demonstrates the desire of many men during this time period, and how the payment and chance of glory drove many like hanks to enlist in the fight. The beginnings of the journeys of McMullen and Ford lack in this area, as readers are from the start given descriptions of both individual’s beginnings in the military and forgets to elaborate on how each individual ended up in one of the most important wars in this young country’s