A British Perspective on the War of 1812
Making History: The Great War is an Indie, Simulation, Strategy game which is developed by Muzzy Lane Software, Factus Games and published by Factus Games. It was released in 30 Jan, 2015. The First World War ushered in the beginning of a new age. World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. World War I, also known as the Great War, began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His murder catapulted into a war across Europe that lasted until 1918.
by Andrew Lambert
The War of 1812 has been referred to as a victorious 'Second War for Independence,' and used to define Canadian identity, but the British only remember 1812 as the year Napoleon marched to Moscow. This is not surprising. In British eyes, the conflict with America was an annoying sideshow. The Americans had stabbed them in the back while they, the British, were busy fighting a total war against the French Empire, directed by their most inveterate enemy. For a nation fighting Napoleon Bonaparte, James Madison was an annoying irrelevance. Consequently the American war would be fought with whatever money, manpower and naval force that could be spared, no more than seven percent of the total British military effort.
Orders in Council
War with America was a direct consequence of the Napoleonic conflict. Britain relied on a maritime economic blockade to defeat France. When American merchants tried to exploit their neutral status to breach this blockade, the British introduced new laws, the ‘Orders in Council', to block this trading. In the same spirit, when British warships stopped American merchant ships, they forcibly impressed any British sailors they found into the Royal Navy. While some of these men were Americans, most were British. Some had deserted from the Royal Navy, a hanging offence. Britain was in a total war with France. There would be no place for neutral traders, no amnesty for deserters. Although American statesmen complained in public, in private they admitted that fully half of the sailors on American merchant ships were British subjects.
Some in Britain thought the Orders in Council could be relaxed, and in fact, the Orders were suspended in June of 1812. But no one doubted Britain's right to impress her sailors, and all blamed the Americans for employing British seamen when the Royal Navy needed them. A decade of American complaints and economic restrictions only served to convince the British that Jefferson and Madison were pro-French, and violently anti-British. Consequently, when America finally declared war, she had very few friends in Britain. Many remembered the War of Independence, some had lost fathers or brothers in the fighting; others were the sons of Loyalists driven from their homes.
Britain's Response to the American Declaration of War
The British had no interest in fighting this war, and once it began, they had one clear goal: keep the United States from taking any part of Canada. At the outset, they hoped that, by pointing out that the Orders in Council had been revoked, the U.S. would suspend hostilities. Instead, President Madison demanded an end to impressment, well aware that Britain would not make such a concession in wartime. And so Britain went to war, with no troops to spare to reinforce Canada; it would be defended by a handful of British regulars, Native Americans and Canadian militia.
The British imposed the same devastating economic blockade that had crippled France, carefully targeting states like Virginia that had voted for war. By autumn 1814 the American economy had collapsed. British followed up with amphibious forces raiding around Chesapeake Bay, raising regiments of former slaves as they went. In August, 1814 four thousand British troops captured and burnt Washington, D.C.
During WW I, the war to end all wars, families in rural Canada were given circular sock knitting machines and 10 lbs of wool (enough for 30 pairs of socks) to knit socks for the war effort. Socks were in short supply, wool was rationed and service men in the trenches in winter, needed wool socks to keep their feet warm and dry, prevent trench foot and subsequent gangrene. At this time factories making socks couldn't keep up with the volume needed and machined socks wore out much faster than hand knit socks. While much has been written of the American war knitting efforts, this is the Canadian story.
Knit Your Bit
'In the summer of 1917 the American Red Cross put out an urgent call for knitted goods and hospital supplies to help fight the war. Their immediate need was for one and a half million each of knitted wristlets, mufflers, sweaters, and pairs of socks. The need for the socks was paramount: The trench warfare conditions under which the war was fought meant that soldiers spent weeks or months entrenched in wet and in winter freezing conditions.
Watts 2 0 2 – recalibration tool for macbook batteries. For soldiers in the trenches or on the march in France, warm socks made all the difference. The boots these soldiers wore (the 1917 Trench Boot) were made of heavy retanned cowhide with thick soles. Although in theory water-repellent, the boots ripped out at the seams fairly quickly. They had iron heels and five rows of hobnails (to prevent slipping) hammered into the soles. These hobnails conducted the cold from the frozen ground directly to the soldiers' feet.
An improved version (1918) called the Pershing Boot added an extra sole and thus extra warmth, but a soldier could not bend his foot in the rigid boot and his feet remained cold, sore, and often wet. These boots were not insulated in any way, and soldiers took to wearing two pairs of thick wool sock. This required them to wear boots two sizes larger than their regular size. Allowing for wear and tear and the prudent practice of changing socks often in order to avoid contracting trench foot (a fungus), the need for a continuous supply of warm wool socks was endless.' (Knitting for Victory — World War I)
To meet the demand, knitters at home in Canada made a relentless effort. Those who received the sock knitting machines continued to knit with wool from the Red Cross. During the war all wool was controlled by the Red Cross and rationed. 'Pink' knitting was frowned upon. Hider 2: encrypt and password protect files 2 3. Knitting socks with needles took about a week, and the Red Cross allowed 21 days for a handknitter to complete her socks before demanding the yarn back, to be given to another knitter. Think of your yarn stash! How wealthy we are today!
Rural households after the war
After the war, many circular sock knitting machines were used in rural households. Knitting was a constant occupation during the Great Depression. The autoknitter company and several other sock machine companies sold their machines to women and contracted to buy back the home manufactured socks for resale. Quality control was severe and many women had their socks returned to be ripped out and reknit to meet higher standards. Socks that were accepted by the company brought the knitter 18 cents per pair. You can read more of this fascinating history at the gearhart machines blog. Industrious knitters made 1200 pairs of socks per year, using company-issued yarn, and earned $225 in annual wages.
Households fortunate enough to own a circular sock knitting machine continued to use them during the Great Depression. The knitting machine companies advertised the machines as a way for women to make money from home. The companies provided the wool, purchased the socks and resold them to department stores. Home knitters, who were highly practised, could knit a pair of socks in an hour or two. The companies published success stories in knitting magazines and newspapers to entice would be entrepreneurs and home-workers to layout the cash for a machine — $47 during this era. An entrepreneur could earn 75 cents for a pair of socks if she sold them herself, purchasing her own yarn or 1/4 of that by working for the company.
When WW 2 came to Canada, wool was once again rationed. The Red Cross was put in charge of all domestic wool and imported wool. Those who owned circular sock knitting machines were provided wool for the war effort. The troops required many pairs of socks to keep their feet warm, dry and comfortable in European winters. Midway through the war, with metal in short supply, those who owned machines were asked to turn them in to be melted down for metal. Hence, there are few machines left in Canada.
The circular sock knitting machines were cranky (pun intended). They dropped stitches, were susceptible to malfunctioning in cold, damp weather. While the circular sock machines in Britain and Europe were made from hardened steel, those in North America were manufactured from less durable cast aluminum. The aluminum tended to pit in damp households, making the machine rough in use. Some machines remain today and occasionally one can be found in its original box and in good working condition. A reconditioned circular sock knitting machine is a rare treasure if you can find one.
Proxifier 2 14 1. Here's to the knitters of WW 1 and WW 2 who wore holey socks on their own feet in order to keep the troops warm and comfortable.
Making History The Great War Guide
Red Cross Pattern for a Hand Knit Sock (pdf file)
Angora Valley Fibres has online manuals for antique sock knitting machines, and instructions for knitting your first sock.
Other resources:
Making History The Great War
Find out more about Canada and the Great War effort here.
Your turn:
Do you have a family member who knit for the war effort? What stories have you heard? Share them in the comments.
