A bit of Larceny from a Canadian...

[White Fox]

OK folks. I can't resist this one. (I can see a certain Mod here walking to the Capitol building to try to figure it out!)

 

This is a quiz for those from the USA here, but anyone else of course will knows the answer too. However, I am going to be giggling seeing if those from USA know the answer as this goes deep into their history.

 

Right now our Countries are celebrating the History of the War of 1812. This was a war with mostly the Americans on one side, and the Natives, the Canadians and the British on the other. There certainly were exceptions to that but not a lot. As I imagine everyone knows, like most wars, it kind of ended in a mirky way. But can be pretty much summed up that the US, and Canada ended up in a draw with the Natives losing big time after helping the British a great deal. The US were to invade and take territory and never did successfully, so they cannot say they won. The British and Canadians did not do such either.

 

OK. There was an officer of that war whose picture is on the ceiling of the US Capitol building. During that War he predicted that the Natives of most tribes in USA and America would get together when there was a HUGE Geographical event. That event happened, and no such event has ever been predicted before! This officer was killed in the War, but just before that he threw lady's underware into the face of a British general and said "You act like a woman so why don't you dress like one?"

 

So here is the question. In a number of parts.

 

Who was the officer? What was the huge geographical event he predicted? And lastly, the day he died he had his face painted a certain way. Can anyone tell us how it was painted? A real bonus if anyone can tell the name of the General who got the Lady's underware in his face.

 

And the second question. This war caused a certain US gov't building VERY close to the Capitol to be decorated in a certain way. What was that way?

 

***Folks if you google this even ahead of time for yourself you will miss a lot of fun this time. You won't find all of this info in one place, and the answer is really interesting. So again, please. If you don't know, please do not search the net for it. And this time it is best to wait to see it here as well.

 

***Feel free to answer part of the question. I don't expect anyone here would know the whole answer. But I think some of you will know part of it as this is a really famous person.

[ew19975]

Hmmm, I don't even remember anything like this being mentioned in history class back in school. Then again, most public school history books seem to skim over lots of stuff (author/editor/school board bias, or too much material?). May have to take some time to find this, but never really looked into the War of 1812.

[White Fox]

I was thinking that this would be super easy for those folks from the US. Sorry about that. I thought one of you would be "On" with the answer five minutes after I posted it.

 

I've been trying to think of a hint. But so far I haven't. It is the kind of thing that if you give away a little bit of it you tell everything.

 

Keep tuned. I won't let it drag on too long. Even IF you aren't that interested in the "Quiz" part of it I think you will find the answer of interest.

[White Fox]

OK. If you don't get this by tomorrow night I will try to remember to give you the answer.

 

In the mean time a bit of info. It MIGHT help a bit, but may not much if you haven't guessed it already.

 

This was a British officer and the person in question was Native. He was the most fierce native leader at the time, but yet he really always wanted peace and a place for his people to live. Once He sat on the bench with General Harrison. And he kept shoving Harrison inch by inch to the end til Harrison was almost ready to fall off the end. And said "Now you know how my people feel". Harrison hated him.

 

I can't think of another hint.

 

A Hint though for question 2. The gov't building. The building involved is the White House! So someone has to be able to get this part now. The War of 1812 caused it to be totally "Decorated" in a certain way. What was that way. It is still decorated that way to this day.

[AKcoyote]

OK, I still do not know the person referred to in the original post.

 

However as to the building, you are probably referring to the fact that the Brits burned the Presidential residence during that war which resulted in it being painted white to cover the damage from the fire - The White House.

 

As I recall, another tidbit about that war is that due to the slow communications of the time, the battle of New Orleans occurred AFTER the armistice ending the war was signed.

[White Fox]

OK. I am unbelievably surprised that no one got this one. I was like 110% certain that most of it would be solved. thought maybe small parts might not be of course. Lot of details here.

 

AK is correct. The building was the white house. Dolley was having a supper there and heard of the Brits coming so they "Headed out" very quickly. The Brits came and at the supper she had provided for others. Set fire to the place and left. I read somewhere too that this was not minimal damage. It was really burned badly. Of course, this was just a raid designed to get in and out quickly. So the Brits left very quickly and returned home. They never thought of capturing Washington. It was only done to hassle the Longknives because the had burned and totally destroyed their capital of York earlier in the war. Tit for Tat as they say. Go in. Do your stuff. And get the Hell out.

 

As for the officer and that story. The officer was hated kind of like Bin Laden used to be. Not quite as much but close. It was indeed a British officer. But... you probably guessed it. He was a native. Chief Tecumseh. And yes, he is pictured on the ceiling of your Capital somewhere. He had been forced from his lands by broken treaties too many times. So, finally he travelled through all of the US to try to unite the tribes. And he nearly did. He had made his brother promise not to attack Harrison under any circumstances until he got back two years later. But when he got back his brother had broken his promise and attacked Harrison promising that Long Knives bullets would not touch them. Dah. Anyhow, when Tecumseh returned, it was time for all natives of North America to Unite. Tecumseh promised them that there would be a huge natural signal when they were ready to fight. And it came. There was an earthquake so big that it was the ONLY time that the Mississippi Rive ever flowed backwards. How did Tecumseh know of this signal?

 

Finally the natives gathered but with so much destruction while he was away, it was hard to put together the force Tecumseh wanted. When natives got there many left as the force was too small in comparison for what they had been promised. They had been told that if they helped win the war for Britain that a large part of Wisconsin and Indiana along with some other states as I recall would be a separate indian country. Tecumseh moved Profit's town, their home, to a place called Amherstburg onto an island there, and that location has only been just found again within the last year or so. There was a naval battle where the British lost Lake Erie and all the natives and Brits retreated up a river called the "Thames". The British General called Proctor would not stop to fight but kept retreating so Tecumseh stopped and got the underware from a local woman and threw it in his face and said "IF you want to behave like a woman then wear a woman's clothing." I can only imagine the expression on Proctor's face. Well, they stopped shortly after to fight. The Brits fired about one or two shots and retreated. The natives fought on and indeed almost won, but finally the Americans got the upper hand. Tecumeh was killed. He had painted his face half red and half either white or black that day. I forget which. To signify he would be alive for half the day and dead for half. He was carried away to be buried somewhere. Very few people know where. Only a few very important native folk k now the location, though it is rumoured to be in Ohio.

 

Indeed, Tecumseh was a very fierce fighter but never wanted war. He wanted peace. But he was a brilliant fighter. He knew for instance how Longknives were scared of the Natives. The Brits wanted Fort Detroit. So, the natives came alone. He had the very few warriers he had start to walk by the fort, and walk behind where they could not be seen and walk by again. And of course every native looks the same right? Back then at least. The commander in the fort started to count warriers. One, two, three, one hundred, one hundred and one, two hundred. Counting the same warriers time and time again. Commander came out and surrendered to a force so small they could barely even collect the arms. Brilliant.

 

So, there you have... The rest of the story.