In an age of rising imperialism, the US Navy would play a critical role, and the War of 1812 offered retroactively a pedigree, a set of heroes, and valued lessons. The orator of the day began with the requisite gesture to the American Revolution: “I believe I shall not exaggerate when I say that a very large portion of the people of the United States are not aware of the fact that the war of 1812 constituted the coping stone of the edifice of American independence.” But then he referenced more recent developments: “Those of us who have lately been thrilled with pride at the annihilation of the Spanish fleet on the morning of May 1, 1898, in Manila Bay, and by the destruction of the ships of Cervera off Santiago on July 3 of the same year, should bear in mind the fact that the supremacy of the American Navy was created by the war of 1812.” In the late 1800s, whether populist or elitist, the memory of the War of 1812 found new utility, expressed clearly at a meeting of the United States Daughters of 1812 in 1900.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Naval triumph was celebrated vehemently, and became a total if unlikely legacy of the War
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