War of 1812 Bicentennial: Why does no one remember the war that made Andrew Jackson famous? http://www.slate.com/articles/life/history/2012/05/war_of_1812_bicentennial_why_does_no_one_remember_the_war_that_made_andrew_jackson_famous_.html New Washington museum exhibit explains War of 1812 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48042369/ns/travel-destination_travel/#.T_LhdI7N5FI Tall ships provide a taste of War of 1812 http://articles.boston.com/2012-07-02/metro/32495232_1_tall-ships-pride-of-baltimore-ii-cannons 1812: The War Without a Name http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-18/news/32300131_1_civil-war-first-war-independence The Official War of 1812 Bicentennial Website http://www.visit1812.com/ The Library of Congress: A Guide to the War of 1812 http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/1812/ This Wednesday, millions of American gathered around their grills and backyards to celebrate the 4th of July. While this holiday is well-known as key part of the American Revolution, another major military conflict continues to go little remembered: the War of 1812. Some have called it the "Forgotten War," but as the bicentennial commemorations continue over the next couple of years, it will most likely gain attention among people in the United States and Canada. Certainly the War of 1812 has rather complicated origins, and no less a personage than prominent historian Richard Hofstadter described the conflict as "dreary and unproductive, an age of slack and derivative culture, of fumbling and small-minded statecraft, terrible parochial wrangling, climaxed by a ludicrous and unnecessary war." One key aspect of the War of 1812 that is sometimes overlooked is that it essentially made the political career of Andrew Jackson, who was the commander of the Battle of New Orleans. A number of organizations are currently offering new and thoughtful looks into the heart of this conflict. One such organization, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., has a new exhibit containing over 100 paintings, sculptures, artifacts and documents related to the war. Additionally, this week Boston Harbor hosted a number of tall ships engaged in mock skirmishes to recreate certain naval maneuvers that occurred during this international conflict. The first link will take visitors to a great piece from Slate's James M. Lundberg about the curious origins of and history behind the War of 1812. The second link will whisk users away to a review of the new exhibit about the War of 1812 that recently opened at the National Portrait Gallery. Moving on, the third link will take interested parties to an article from the Boston Globe about the tall ships that ventured forth into Boston Harbor this week. The fourth link will lead users to a nice article from Grant Calder, a high school history teacher, who writes about how the War of 1812 could use a better name. The fifth link will take visitors to the excellent War of 1812 Bicentennial website, which has information about upcoming events, battle recreations, and so on. The final link will take visitors to a wonderful guide to high-quality resources on the War of 1812, curated by Kenneth Drexler at the Library of Congress.