Who do historians consider to be the true winner of the war of 1812, and why?

WASHINGTON — For a piece of history that gave us the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air, the War of 1812 tends to evoke a collective "Huh?" on the U.S. side of the border with Canada.

"The War of 1812 has no compelling narrative that appeals to the average American,'' said Jerald Podair, a history professor at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. "It's just a hodgepodge of buildings burning, bombs bursting in air and paintings being saved from the invaders, all for a vaguely defined purpose. "

Yet the vacuum of interest in the War of 1812 is about to get a pyrotechnic blast of attention for its bicentennial year.

Canadians, who consider the war a pivotal conflict in their nation's history, have made 200th anniversary celebrations a national priority and are opening government coffers to stage a splashy show. Also, a few American cities and states, mostly on the East Coast and Great Lakes where fighting took place, are planning commemorations that have some brushing off their war reenactment uniforms.

For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 News Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
War of 1812 bicentennial: A photo caption in Section A on Feb. 26 implied that a commemoration of the War of 1812 took place at Ft. McHenry in Maryland. It was at Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, March 04, 2012 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 News Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
War of 1812 bicentennial: A photo caption in Section A on Feb. 26 implied that a commemoration of the War of 1812 took place at Ft. McHenry in Maryland. It was at Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

For Americans who may have napped during this history lesson, the War of 1812 is a bit of a dud, historians say.

"If you ask the average American what they think about the War of 1812, some will have a puzzled look and ask who fought in that war?" said Ralph Eshelman, a Maryland historian who has written about the war in the Chesapeake Bay region. Another historian joked that about the only thing most Americans know about the War of 1812 is that it began in, well, 1812.

While some U.S. boosters believe our side won, many historians say the olo

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