The US Navy beat the British at Lake Champlain in 1814. So what?

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Today seems like a good day to start writing about history. September 11, 2001 is a date no one born before the turn of the millennium will ever forget. I think we all realize how the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington affect our lives, but what about other, less dramatic events in history? You may not have known that on September 11, 1814, the fledgling United States Navy defeated a British naval squadron in Lake Champlain. Now you do. So what?

The War of 1812 is one of the more underrated events in American history. Like the early stages of the war on terror nearly 200 years later, it galvanized the nation's identity, aroused a feverish patriotism and elevated public perception of the country's military heroes. In the years following the War of 1812, three generals from the war were elected to the presidency. The battle of Lake Champlain played a decisive role in ending the war.

The British defeat at Lake Champlain broke their siege of Pittsburgh, halting an attempted invasion of the northern states and leading to peace talks between the United States and Britain. Less than four months later, on December 24, 1776, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, bringing a formal end to the war. With the American victory at Lake Champlain, the United States Navy showed once again that it could hold its own against the most powerful navy in the world. Once peace was established, the United States and the British Empire formed a friendship that has continued for nearly 200 years and forms the basis for Anglo-American cooperation to this day. Canada, meanwhile, strengthened its identity as a member of the British Empire that also formed a lasting peace and friendship with its southern neighbor. Though you may not realize it, the relationship between the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom is largely a result of the trans-Atlantic peace and friendship in the aftermath of the War of 1812.

After 9/11, the UK was the US's staunchest ally during the military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. The peace forged by the War of 1812 set the foundation for the Anglo-American alliance that was fortified through two world wars and continues into the 21st century.

So what? That's what.