III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 388 

Commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and ‘‘The Star 

Spangled Banner’’, and recognizing the historical significance, heroic 

human endeavor, and sacrifice of the United States Army, Navy, Marine 

Corps, and Revenue Marine Service, and State militias, during the War 

of 1812. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2012 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. KERRY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. 

LEVIN, and Mr. SESSIONS) submitted the following resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 

and ‘‘The Star Spangled Banner’’, and recognizing the 

historical significance, heroic human endeavor, and sacrifice of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, 

and Revenue Marine Service, and State militias, during 

the War of 1812. 

Whereas the period beginning in 2012 and ending in 2015 

marks the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812 

and ‘‘The Star Spangled Banner’’; 

Whereas the War of 1812, which has been referred to as the 

‘‘Second War of Independence’’, confirmed the independence of the United States from Great Britain in the eyes 


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•SRES 388 ATS 

of the world and shaped the expansion and growth of the 

United States in later decades; 

Whereas the United States declared war on Great Britain on 

June 18, 1812, to redress wrongs including— 

(1) the impressment of United States sailors; 

(2) the violation of the neutrality rights of the 

United States; and 

(3) the violation of the territorial waters of the 

United States; 

Whereas, despite the vastly superior size of the military of 

Great Britain, the United States Army, Navy, Marine 

Corps, and Revenue Marine Service (a predecessor of the 

United States Coast Guard), and State militias (the 

predecessors of the National Guard), won a number of 

significant victories, ensuring that the liberties won by 

the United States during the Revolutionary War were not 

lost; 

Whereas major battles of the War of 1812 that were fought 

on the water, including the battle between U.S.S. Constitution and H.M.S. Guerriere, the Battle of Lake 

Champlain, and victories on the Great Lakes, showcased 

the might, bravery, and war-fighting tactics of the United 

States maritime forces; 

Whereas the decisive victory of Oliver Hazard Perry over a 

British fleet near Put-In-Bay, Ohio in the Battle of Lake 

Erie ensured that— 

(1) the United States gained control of the Great 

Lakes; and 

(2) portions of the Old Northwest Territory, such as 

Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, remained part of the United States; 


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•SRES 388 ATS 

Whereas State militias, the oldest component of the Armed 

Forces of the United States, answered the call to service, 

defending their communities and their country from aggression by Great Britain; 

Whereas United States forces seized the city of Mobile from 

Spanish control in 1813, built Fort Bowyer to protect the 

city, and in 1814 successfully repelled a vastly larger 

British force from the city, resulting in Mobile becoming 

one of the few permanent land concessions gained by the 

United States during the War of 1812; 

Whereas Great Britain unleashed grievous attacks on the 

capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., burning 

to the ground the United States Capitol Building, the 

White House, and much of the rest of the city; 

Whereas, after 2 1⁄2 years of conflict, the British Royal Navy 

sailed up the Chesapeake Bay in an attempt to capture 

Baltimore, Maryland; 

Whereas United States forces at Fort McHenry, stationed in 

the outer harbor of Baltimore, Maryland under the command of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead, 

withstood nearly 25 hours of bombardment by the British 

forces and refused to yield, thereby forcing the British to 

give up the invasion and withdraw; 

Whereas Francis Scott Key, a United States lawyer who was 

being held by the British on board a United States flagof-truce vessel in the harbor, saw ‘‘by the dawn’s early 

light’’, as Key would later write, an American flag still 

flying over Fort McHenry after the horrific attack; 

Whereas Francis Scott Key immortalized the event in a poem 

entitled ‘‘Defense of Fort McHenry’’, which was later set 

to music and called ‘‘The Star-Spangled Banner’’; 


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•SRES 388 ATS 

Whereas ‘‘The Star-Spangled Banner’’ became the national 

anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931, when 

President Herbert Hoover signed Public Law 71–823; 

Whereas General Andrew Jackson, who would later become 

the seventh President of the United States, won the Battle of Horsehoe Bend and then triumphed in the decisive 

Battle of New Orleans, which, although fought after the 

signing of the Treaty of Ghent, was a great source of 

pride to the young United States and provided momentum for growth and prosperity in the years that would 

follow; 

Whereas, since 1916, the people of the United States have 

entrusted the National Park Service with the care of national parks and sites of historical significance to the 

country, including Fort McHenry and more than 30 

other sites and National Heritage Areas that tell the 

story of the War of 1812; 

Whereas the diverse historic sites relating to the War of 1812 

include homes, battlefields, and landscapes that highlight 

the contributions made by a wide range of people in the 

United States during the war; 

Whereas one such historic site is the Fort McHenry National 

Monument and Historic Shrine, the birthplace of ‘‘The 

Star Spangled Banner’’, where the symbols of both the 

flag and the national anthem of the United States come 

together; 

Whereas the people of the United States are grateful for the 

rights defended through hard fighting during the War of 

1812 by the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, 

and Revenue Marine Service, and State militias, including the protection of United States citizens at home and 


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abroad, unrestricted trade, free and open ports, and the 

protection of the territorial integrity of the United States 

against aggression; and 

Whereas, during the bicentennial years of the War of 1812 

and ‘‘The Star Spangled Banner’’, it is fitting that the 

bravery and steadfast determination of the United States 

land and maritime forces be celebrated by the grateful 

people of the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the memory of all the people of the 

3 United States who came together during the War of 

4 1812, particularly the fallen heroes who gave their 

5 lives during the ‘‘Second War of Independence’’; 

6 (2) commends the men and women of the 

7 United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air 

8 Force, and Coast Guard, and the State National 

9 Guards, who preserve the ideals of freedom, democ10 racy, and the pursuit of happiness that were guaran11 teed by the victories of the War of 1812; 

12 (3) congratulates the Armed Forces of the 

13 United States, the National Parks Service, the 

14 Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, 

15 and all other organizations and individuals who are 

16 involved in preserving and promoting the history of 

17 this great country, and supports their commemora18 tion of the War of 1812 and ‘‘The Star Spangled 

19 Banner’’; and 


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1 (4) calls on all people of the United States to 

2 join in the commemoration of the bicentennial of the 

3 War of 1812 and ‘‘The Star Spangled Banner’’ in 

4 events throughout the United States, to celebrate 

5 that at the end of the war, as Francis Scott Key 

6 wrote, ‘‘our flag was still there’’. 

Æ 


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