Radio War Nerd EP #500 — The War Nerd of 1812

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Where can one currently find the War Nerd's "Twelve Days of 1812" series, now that NSFWcorp's website is kaput?

Congratulations on those 500 episodes!

I'm very familiar with the upper Delmarva peninsula, back before the C&D canal was built Frenchtown was a crucial transit point between Baltimore/DC and Philadelphia. If you look at the (now abandoned) spot where it was located (39.5769195, -75.8390757) it's pretty much the closest navigable point on the bay side to the Delaware River, so freight and passengers would unload at Frenchtown wharf for a brief land trip and get back on a boat at New Castle DE. That defunct passage later became an underground railroad route, bypassing the heavily patrolled canal.

By the way totally disagree with the idea that it would be the “Oaf Overseers” who would be mostly for annexation. These people get to run their own country why would they want to be reduced to running a mere US state (and probably have carpetbaggers from down south horning in)? You already see it with people like Andrew Coyne (son of former central bank governor and bland Canadian pro-market commentator — ie an overseer if there ever was one)

Someone take John aside and explain the difference between a ship of the line and a frigate

I live in Toledo, Ohio and the War of 1812 is pretty big around here. Several historic sites and forts in the area. I went up to River Raisin National Battlefield Park a couple weeks ago. Reenactors did a tactical demonstration and there was a lecture on the River Raisin massacre and the Siege of Fort Meigs. The speaker noted how useless the Kentucky militia were in relieving the siege against the British-Native forces.

Great episode gang. Just a slight correction on the historical record. Napoleon was not, in fact, a pretty good movie.

Congrats on 500 episodes, heres to 500 more. RWN has been a sanity saver these past 15 months. Great discussion on the Royal Navy mutinies in the late 18th century. Something ruthlessly suppressed in British history. There is a scene in the 2003 film 'Master and Commander' where the Russell Crowe character, just before the British naval vessel engages their French opponent, shouts out 'Do you want to see a guillotine on Picadlly?' and the crew shouts in unison 'No!!!!' and the Crowe character then shouts 'Do you want your children to sing the Marseillaise?' and the crew responds 'No!!'. Always struck me as bullshit given the degree to which the English working class of the time sympathised with France and broadly republican ideas.

Modern Canada is nothing but a bunch of fat, Ford F150 driving suburbanites. This time it really would be a push over

Mark’s kids are gonna be the Steph Curries of War Nerds, getting to see War or 1812 re-enactments from an early age

Congratulations, gentlemen. I enjoy and appreciate your hard work.

Congrats on 500! I’ve been a listener back to maybe year 2 of the show. Surprised given the shared origins of our hosts there hasn’t been an episode on San Francisco and UC Berkeley’s role in early 20th century American power. I became fixated on this as a show topic after reading Gray Brechin’s Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power Earthly Ruin.

Congratulations on the big 5 0 0

Congrats on 500 episodes! This is such a great podcast. I've been following you guys since a wee boy visiting exile.ru on my dial up modem.

the song referenced is "The War of 1812" by The Arrogant Worms, a true classic: https://youtu.be/Fsfz3f18NxU

You're so creative. Keep being awesome 🤩

A 1798 rebellion series would be amazing.

Congrats on 500!

Woo-hoo! Free book!

Cockburn famously the ancestor of former RWN guest and Harper’s DC editor Andrew Cockburn

Well done, John & Mark. War Nerd has been a consistent breath of fresh air beginning with the first eXile article in early 2002. Your intelligence and humor were invaluable during those horrible bleak Bush years. Grateful that you continue to inflict and endure. To 500 more!

Re: stalinist purges, that does remind me of Downfall when Bruno Ganz shouts about how he should have purged the OKH like stalin did to his

There was that insane video of a clearly American dude explaining to his merc squad how to kill retreating ukrainian soldiers through organized retrogrades etc, I feel like they would be right at home in nerzarim

been here since the albanian mcdonald's wifi days, i ain't going nowhere

Can't say I entirely agree with the Stalin's purge comments. While there were absolutely some military leadership who did need to go, the primary result was the execution of Tukhachevsky and the solidification of Budyonny's power. Tukhachevsky was one of the most skilled and visionary Red Army leaders, and likely would have won the Polish-Soviet war was it not for Budyonny's sabotage. Budyonny had early success in the Civil War leading the Red Calvary, but was grossly incompetent overall and largely remained in command due to Stalin's protection. Tukhachevsky's execution leads directly to the horrifc failures during Barbarossa, and Budyonny's historically unprecedented encirclement at Kiev.

Obligatory hey Rhode Island mentioned! Congrats on 500 amazing episodes

Adding my congratulations on your 500th episode. Your podcast has been a wonderful source of information and insight and a powerful antidote to the anodyne nonsense of the mainstream media, notably the NYT. I hope you do another 500 episodes (and I hope I live long enough to hear them!) Ad astra, per aspera (honest, someone else went latin first...)!

🇨🇩💥🇷🇼❓

Chyem hoozhye, tyem looschye!

Happy bimilleniale RWN. I will celebrate via the time honored tradition of complaining in the comments. For one, Napoléon did think of invading Britain and had the entire grande armée poised to do so when his combined Franco Spanish fleet was caught en route to screen the crossing and destroyed at Cape Trafalgar, one of the most lopsided naval defeats in history. So it's not like it didn't occur to him. Invading Russia to enforce the embargo was the best of (or at least one of) the bad options remaining to him afterwards. Also, I need to register my dissatisfaction with the Kronstadt sailors catching strays. There may be unwarranted russophilia but it ain't in big upping those guys!

BTW Age Of Empires 111 is the only popculture reference I remember, are there any other games,books, movies that represent?

Congrats. Propagandhi called it “A new iron curtain drawn across the 49th parallel. Cut all diplomatic ties as we expel all American dignitaries and issue a nation-wide travel advisory for any others left inside. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. The burned out shells of south-bound traffic lay strewn along a cold stretch of would-be interstate. Still visible below their charred remains: Pax Americana plates. Your stupid fucking laser-pucks™ were just the start. And while you may stand six full cubits and a span, we got a shepherd’s sling and five stones in our hand and the battle of 1812 lives in our hearts. We don’t care if we’re destroyed. We’ll never capitulate. We’ll take the whole fucking world down with us in flames”

🎉🎊500th episode! woooo!🎊🎉 sic transit gloria mundi sed artifex belli manet in aeternum

Congrats on the 500 Mark and John. This is one of my most cherished parasocial relations and I can't wait for 500 more. Thanks for all you do. As a USA'r living in the city of Ghent, I went on a walk here during COVID with a British friend and he took us to the plaque outside the building where the Treaty of Ghent was negotiated and signed. This plaque is on the outside of building that is now a retail women's clothing store called Stradivarius. It is on the central shopping street. Not sure if there is much symbolism in it. Anyways, cheers fellas.

Thank you Mark and John for covering this war. I look forward to listening to it. As a reading, I strongly recommend the book "Tecumseh & Brock: The War of 1812" by the late James Laxer. It was the last book he wrote, I believe. Laxer was one of the impressive young leaders (a red diaper baby) of the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada, known as "The Waffle", that tried to turn the social democratic NDP to the left. The Waffle was founded in 1969 and was such a threat to the party establishment and labour bureaucracy, that it was purged from the NDP in 1972. Laxer wrote a lot of subsequent books on imperialism, Canadian political economy, history and the stellar and prescient 1996 obituary for the Canadian left, "In Search of a New Left".

as someone from the north coast of Ohio who likes the Aubrey/Maturin novels, let me say this is one of the most wars of all time

Saw John Paul Jones play at the Xmas jam in Asheville close to 20 years ago now with Warren Haynes. Entire zeppelin set. Was incredible. JPJ is an incredibly underrated musician.

1812, one of the least war wars of all time

YES

Hey look at all the fuckin’ aussies who take American acting jobs. Not surprised the brits could sneak a few past some Americans using a southern accent.

I’m in my mid 40s, but didn’t really become that politically aware until around the 08 financial crisis and I didn’t know Mark and John’s work until the 2010s. I found the show around episode 10 and this is the only podcast that I’ve listened to every episode. Not sure how much of the information has stayed in my head, but enough to help formulate an understanding of how this fucked up world we live in works. Congrats on 500, and I hope the show goes on for many more years.

I do want to say in defense of little old rhode island, they were the most radical of the thirteen colonies, first to grant religious freedom, one of the first in ending slavery, had stable paper money, and only ratified the constitution after congress threatened to blockade the state. Now its worth remembering that Newport is also a deepwater port and around this time it was a mugs game between newport and newyork on who was going to become the big deep water port of the northern US, New York had pulled ahead after the revolutionary war, and Rhode Island would never catch up, slowly withering and ossifying, but no one knew that in 1812. So, the idea of succeeding to become a northern trade hub isn't as crazy as you might think.

To 500 more

Sad to say, I learned very little about this war, even while growing up in northern Indiana. So I’ve been educating myself. Thanks for the help! The battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 is especially decisive and gut wrenching.

Iirc, The guy who invented the steam engine tried to sell the idea to the French first, got a tepid response, and went over to britian; napoleon couldve had steam powered barges

Annexation of Canada pt2: otherwise known as national lampoon’s MAGA vacation

500 Episodes of hard-fought victories

I remember listening to the original episodes, even before they got Brennan in the studio. Which I’ve always wondered about- how he views this rwn journey he’s been brought along on

Congratulations!!