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Burning of Washington
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Burning of Washington
Part of the War of 1812
Battle of Bladensburg

Following their victory at the Battle of Bladensburg, the British invaded Washington D.C. and burned many U.S. government and military buildings
Date
August 24, 1814
Location
Washington, D.C., United States
Result
British victory
Brief occupation of Washington
Destruction of public buildings
Belligerents
United Kingdom United States
Commanders and leaders
Robert Ross
George Cockburn
James Madison
Strength
4,250[1] 7,640
Casualties and losses
1 killed, 3 wounded (Colonial Marines)
3 unknown wounded
City of Washington attacked by British forces
Many government buildings set ablaze
Destruction of the 36-gun frigate USS New York.
44-gun frigate USS Columbia and 22-gun sloop USS Argus burnt to avoid capture.
show
v
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Chesapeake campaign
Havre de Grace
Craney Island
St. Michaels
Chesapeake Bay Flotilla
Bladensburg
Washington
Alexandria
Caulk's Field
North Point
Baltimore
Farnham Church
British and American movements during the Chesapeake Campaign 1814
The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, during the War of 1812. On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross burned down buildings including the White House (known as the Presidential Mansion), and the Capitol, as well as other facilities of the U.S. government.[2] The attack was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada. Throughout the history of the United States, the United Kingdom is the only country to have ever captured Washington, D.C.; the Burning of Washington also marks the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the United States capital.
President James Madison, military officials, and his government fled the city in the wake of the British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg. They eventually found refuge for the night in Brookeville, a small town in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is known today as the "United States Capital for a Day". President Madison spent the night in the house of Caleb Bentley, a Quaker who lived and worked in Brookeville. Bentley's house, known today as the Madison House, still stands in Brookeville.
Less than a day after the attack began, a sudden, very heavy thunderstorm—possibly a hurricane—put out the fires. It also spun off a tornado that passed through the center of the capital, setting down on Constitution Avenue and lifting two cannons before dropping them several yards away, killing British troops and American civilians alike. Following the storm, the British returned to their ships, many of which were badly damaged. The occupation of Washington lasted only about 26 hours. After the "Storm that saved Washington", as it soon came to be called, the Americans returned to the city.[3]
Contents
[hide]
1 Reasons
2 Events
3 U.S. Capitol
4 White House
5 Other Washington properties
6 "The Storm that Saved Washington"
7 Aftermath
8 Reconstruction
9 See also
10 References
10.1 Notes
10.2 Citations
10.3 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
Reasons[edit]
The British government, already at war with Napoleonic France, adopted a defensive strategy against the United States when the Americans declared war in 1812. Reinforcements were held back from Canada and reliance was instead made on local militias and native allies to bolster the British Army in Canada. However, after the defeat and exile of Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1814, Britain was able to use its now available troops and ships to prosecute its war with the United States. In addition to reinforcements sent to Canada, the Earl of Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, dispatched an army brigade and additional naval vessels to Bermuda, from where a blockade of the US coast and even the occupation of some coastal islands had been overseen throughout the war. It was decided to use these forces in raids along the Atlantic seaboard to draw American forces away from Canada.[4] The commanders were under strict orders, however, not to carry out operations far inland, or to attempt to hold territory. Early in 1814, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's North America and West Indies Station, controlling naval forces based at the new Bermuda dockyard and the Halifax Naval Yard which were used to blockade US Atlantic ports throughout the war. He planned to carry the war into the United States by attacks in Virginia and against New Orleans.[5]
Admiralty House, Mount Wyndham, Bermuda, where the attack was planned
Rear Admiral George Cockburn had commanded the squadron in Chesapeake Bay since the previous year. On June 25 he wrote to Cochrane stressing that the defenses there were weak, and he felt that several major cities were vulnerable to attack.[6] Cochrane suggested attacking Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia. On July 17, Cockburn recommended Washington as the target, because of the comparative ease of attacking the national capital and "the greater political effect likely to result".[7] General Ross commanded a 4,500-man army, composed of the 4th (King's Own) Light, 21st Royal North British Fusiliers, 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot, and 85th Regiment of Foot.
An added motive was retaliation for what Britain saw as the "wanton destruction of private property along the north shores of Lake Erie" by American forces under Col. John Campbell in May 1814, the most notable being the Raid on Port Dover.[8] On June 2, 1814, Sir George Prévost, Governor General of The Canadas, wrote to Cochrane at Admiralty House, in Bailey's Bay, Bermuda, calling for a retaliation against the American destruction of private property in violation of the laws of war. Prévost argued that,
… in consequence of the late disgraceful conduct of the American troops in the wanton destruction of private property on the north shores of Lake Erie, in order that if the war with the United States continues you may, should you judge it advisable, assist in inflicting that measure of retaliation which shall deter the enemy from a repetition of similar outrages.[8]
On July 18, Cochrane ordered Cockburn to "deter the enemy from a repetition of similar outrages ... You are hereby required and directed to destroy and lay waste such towns and districts as you may find assailable".[9] Cochrane instructed, "You will spare merely the lives of the unarmed inhabitants of the United States". Ross and Cockburn surveyed the torching of the President's Mansion, during which time a great storm arose unexpectedly out of the southeast. They were confronted a number of times while on horseback by older women from around Washington City and elderly clergymen (Southern Presbyterian and Southern Baptist), with women and children who had been hiding in homes and churches. They requested protection from abuse and robbery by enlisted personnel from the British Expeditionary Forces whom they accused of having tried to ransack private homes and other buildings. Major-General Ross had two British soldiers put in chains for violation of his general order. Throughout the events of that day, a severe storm blew into the city, worsening on the night of August 24, 1814.
Events[edit]
Burning of Washington August 1814
President James Madison, members of his government, and the military fled the city in the wake of the British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg. They eventually found refuge for the night in Brookeville, a small town in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is known today as the United States Capital for a Day. President Madison spent the night in the house of Caleb Bentley, a Quaker who lived and worked in Brookeville. Bentley's house, known today as the Madison House, still stands in Brookeville.[10]
The sappers and miners of the Corps of Royal Engineers under Captain Blanshard were employed in burning the principal buildings. Blanshard reported that it seemed that the American President was so sure that the attacking force would be made prisoners that a handsome entertainment had been prepared. Blanshard and his sappers enjoyed the feast.[11]:358
U.S. Capitol[edit]
The United States Capitol after the burning of Washington, D.C. in the War of 1812. Watercolor and ink depiction from 1814, restored.
The Capitol was, according to some contemporary travelers, the only building in Washington "worthy to be noticed."[12] Thus, it was a prime target for the British invaders, both for its aesthetic and symbolic value. Upon arrival into the city via Maryland Avenue, the British targeted the Capitol (first the southern wing, containing the House of Representatives, then the northern wing, containing the Senate).[13] Prior to setting it aflame, the British looted the building (which at that time housed Congress, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court). Items looted by British General Sir George Cockburn included “An account of the receipts and expenditures of the United States for the year 1810.[14]"
The British intended to burn the building to the ground. They set fire to the southern wing first. The flames grew so quickly that the British were prevented from collecting enough wood to burn the stone walls completely. However, the Library of Congress’s contents in the northern wing contributed to the flames on that side.[15] Among the destruction was the 3,000-volume collection of the Library of Congress [16] and the intricate decorations of the neoclassical columns, pediments, and sculptures[17] originally designed by William Thornton in 1793 and Benjamin Latrobe in 1803.[18] The wooden ceilings and floors burned, and the glass skylights melted because of the intense heat.[19] But, the building was not a complete loss. The House rotunda, the east lobby, the staircases, and Latrobe’s famous Corn-Cob Columns in the Senate entrance hall all survived.[20] The Superintendent of the Public Buildings of the City of Washington, Thomas Munroe, concluded that the loss to the Capitol amounted to $787,163.28, with $457,388.36 for the North wing and main building, and $329,774.92 for the South wing.[21]
White House[edit]
The White House ruins after the conflagration of August 24, 1814. Watercolor by George Munger, displayed at the White House
After burning the Capitol, the British turned northwest up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. After US government officials and President Madison fled the city, the First Lady Dolley Madison received a letter from her husband, urging her to be prepared to leave Washington at a moment's notice.[22] Dolley organized the slaves and staff to save valuables from the British.[23] James Madison's personal slave, the fifteen-year-old boy Paul Jennings, was an eyewitness.[24] After later buying his freedom from the widow Dolley Madison, Jennings published his memoir in 1865, considered the first from the White House:
It has often been stated in print, that when Mrs. Madison escaped from the White House, she cut out from the frame the large portrait of Washington (now in one of the parlors there), and carried it off. She had no time for doing it. It would have required a ladder to get it down. All she carried off was the silver in her reticule, as the British were thought to be but a few squares off, and were expected any moment.[25]
Jennings said the people who saved the painting and removed the objects actually were:
John Susé (Jean Pierre Sioussat) (a Frenchman, then door-keeper, and still living) and Magraw [McGraw], the President's gardener, took it down and sent it off on a wagon, with some large silver urns and such other valuables as could be hastily got hold of. When the British did arrive, they ate up the very dinner, and drank the wines, &c., that I had prepared for the President's party.[25][26][27]
The soldiers burned the president's house, and fuel was added to the fires that night to ensure they would continue burning into the next day.
In 2009, President Barack Obama held a ceremony at the White House to honor Jennings as a representative of his contributions to saving the Gilbert Stuart painting and other valuables. (The painting that was saved was a copy Stuart made of the painting, not the original,[28] although it is the same one on display in the East Room.) "A dozen descendants of Jennings came to Washington, to visit the White House. They looked at the painting their relative helped save."[29] In an interview with National Public Radio, Jennings' great-great-grandson Hugh Alexander said, "We were able to take a family portrait in front of the painting, which was for me one of the high points."[24] He confirmed that Jennings later purchased his freedom from the widowed Dolley Madison.[24]
Other Washington properties[edit]
The burning of Washington forms the background to this portrait of Rear Admiral George Cockburn. At background right is the burning of the US Treasury Building and the Capitol Building
The day after the destruction of the White House, Rear Admiral Cockburn entered the building of the D.C. newspaper, the National Intelligencer, intending to burn it down. However, several women persuaded him not to because they were afraid the fire would spread to their neighboring houses. Cockburn wanted to destroy the newspaper because its reporters had written so negatively about him, branding him "The Ruffian". Instead, he ordered his troops to tear the building down brick by brick, and ordered all the "C" type destroyed "so that the rascals can have no further means of abusing my name".[30]
The US Treasury Building (built 1804)
The Blodget Hotel which housed the US Patent Office; spared during the burning of Washington in 1814. The Patent Office later burned in 1836
The Washington Navy Yard in 1862
The British sought out the United States Treasury in hopes of finding money or items of worth, but they found only old records.[16] They burned the United States Treasury and other public buildings. The United States Department of War building was also burned. However, the War and State Department files had been removed, so all books and records had been saved; the only records of the War Department lost were recommendations of appointments for the Army and letters received from seven years earlier.[31] The First U.S. Patent Office Building was saved by the efforts of William Thornton, the former Architect of the Capitol and then the Superintendent of Patents, who gained British cooperation to preserve it.[32][A] "When the smoke cleared from the dreadful attack, the Patent Office was the only Government building ... left untouched" in Washington.[33]
The Americans had already burned much of the historic Washington Navy Yard, founded by Thomas Jefferson, to prevent capture of stores and ammunition,[34] as well as the 44-gun frigate USS Columbia and the 22 gun USS Argus both new vessels nearing completion.[35] The Navy Yard's Latrobe Gate, Quarters A, and Quarters B were the only buildings to escape destruction.[36][37] Also spared were the Marine Barracks and Commandant's House, although several private properties were damaged or destroyed.[38]
In the afternoon of August 25, General Ross sent two hundred men to secure a fort on Greenleaf's Point. The fort, later known as Fort McNair, had already been destroyed by the Americans, but 150 barrels of gunpowder remained. While the British were trying to destroy it by dropping the barrels into a well, the powder ignited. As many as thirty men were killed in the explosion, and many others were maimed.[39]
"The Storm that Saved Washington"[edit]
Less than a day after the attack began, a sudden very heavy thunderstorm—possibly a hurricane—put out the fires. It also spun off a tornado that passed through the center of the capital, setting down on Constitution Avenue[3] and lifting two cannons before dropping them several yards away and killing British troops and American civilians alike.[40] Following the storm, the British troops returned to their ships, many of which were badly damaged. There is some debate regarding the effect of this storm on the occupation. While some assert that the storm forced their retreat,[3] it seems likely from their destructive and arsonous actions before the storm, and their written orders from Cochrane to "destroy and lay waste",[41] that their intention was merely to raze the city, rather than occupy it for an extended period. Whatever the case, the British occupation of Washington lasted only about 26 hours. Despite this, the "Storm that saved Washington", as it became known, did the opposite according to some. The rains sizzled and cracked the already charred walls of the White House and ripped away at structures the British had no plans to destroy (such as the Patent Office). The storm may have exacerbated an already dire situation for Washington DC.
An encounter was noted between Sir George Cockburn 10th Baronet and a female resident of Washington. "Dear God! Is this the weather to which you are accustomed to in this infernal country?" enquired the Admiral. "This is a special interposition of Providence to drive our enemies from our city", the woman allegedly called out to Cockburn. "Not so, Madam", Cockburn retorted. "It is rather to aid your enemies in the destruction of your city", before riding off on horseback.[42] Yet, the British left right after the storm completely unopposed by any American military forces.
The Royal Navy reported that it lost one man killed and six wounded in the attack, of whom the fatality and three of the wounded were from the Corps of Colonial Marines.[43]
The destruction of the Capitol, including the Senate House and the House of Representatives, the Arsenal, Dockyard, Treasury, War Office, President's mansion, bridge over the Potomac, a frigate and a sloop together with all Materiel was estimated at £365,000.[11]:359
A separate British force captured Alexandria, on the south side of the Potomac River, while Ross's troops were leaving Washington. The mayor of Alexandria made a deal and the British refrained from burning the town.[44]
President Madison returned to Washington by September 1, on which date he issued a proclamation calling on citizens to defend the District of Columbia.[45] Congress returned and assembled in special session on September 19. Due to the destruction of the Capitol and other public buildings, they initially met in the Post and Patent Office building.[46]
In 2013, an episode of the Weather Channel documentary series "Weather That Changed History", entitled "The Thunderstorm That Saved D.C.", was devoted to these events.
Aftermath[edit]
Most contemporary American observers, including newspapers representing anti-war Federalists, condemned the destruction of the public buildings as needless vandalism.[47] Many of the British public were shocked by the burning of the Capitol and other buildings at Washington; such actions were denounced by most leaders of continental Europe, where capital cities had been repeatedly occupied in the course of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and always spared destruction (at least on the part of the occupiers – the famous burning of Moscow that occurred less than two years prior had been an act carried out by the defenders). According to The Annual Register, the burning had "brought a heavy censure on the British character", with some members of Parliament, including the anti-establishment MP Samuel Whitbread,[47] joining in the criticism.
The majority of British opinion believed that the burnings were justified following the damage that United States forces had done with its incursions into Canada. In addition, they noted that the United States had been the aggressor, declaring war and initiating it.[48] Several commentators regarded the damages as just revenge for the American destruction of the Parliament buildings and other public buildings in York, the provincial capital of Upper Canada, early in 1813. Sir George Prévost wrote that "as a just retribution, the proud capital at Washington has experienced a similar fate".[49] The Reverend John Strachan, who as Rector of York had witnessed the American acts there, wrote to Thomas Jefferson that the damage to Washington "was a small retaliation after redress had been refused for burnings and depredations, not only of public but private property, committed by them in Canada".[50]
When they ultimately returned to Bermuda, the British forces took two pairs of portraits of King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte, which had been discovered in one of the public buildings. One pair currently hangs in the House of Assembly of the Parliament of Bermuda, and the other in the Cabinet Building, both in the city of Hamilton.[51]
Reconstruction[edit]
The Old Brick Capitol serving as a prison during the Civil War
Although the President and military officers returned to Washington only a few days after the British left, Congress did not return for three and half weeks.[52] The Thirteenth Congress officially convened on September 19, 1814, at the Blodgett’s Hotel, one of the few surviving buildings large enough to hold all members.[53] The Blodgett's Hotel also housed the U. S. Patent Office. Although the British had destroyed all public buildings, the Blodgett's Hotel and U.S. Patent Office was spared.[54] It was in this building that Congress met between September 1814 and December 1815 (when construction of the Old Brick Capitol was complete).[55]
There was a movement in Congress to relocate the capital after the burning. Congressmen from the North pushed for relocation to Philadelphia or other prominent Union cities, while Southern congressmen claimed that moving the capital would degrade the American sense of dignity and strength (however many southern congressmen simply did not want to move the capital north of the Mason–Dixon line).[56] On September 21, 1814, the House of Representatives voted to strike down a proposal to relocate the capital from Washington, D. C. by a margin of 83 to 54.[57] On February 3, 1815, in an effort to guarantee that the federal government would always remain in the area, Washington property owners funded the building of the Old Brick Capitol,[58] a larger meeting space where the Supreme Court now stands.[59] Construction of the Old Brick Capitol cost $25,000 and was funded primarily through the sale of stocks. The largest donor was Daniel Carroll of Duddington, a rich English property owner in the area.[60] Construction began on July 4, 1814, and concluded in December 1815. Congress met in the Old Brick Capitol between December 1815 and December 1819, when the Capitol reopened.[61]
The Capitol reconstruction took much longer than anticipated. The Old Brick Capitol took only five months to complete; the Capitol took twelve years.[18] A committee appointed by Congress to investigate the damage to the District concluded that it was cheaper to rebuild the already existing and damaged buildings than to build an entirely new one.[62] On February 13, 1815, President Madison and Congress passed legislation to borrow $500,000 to repair the public buildings, including the Capitol, "on their present sites in the city of Washington".[63] Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the Capitol who took over for William Thornton in 1803, was rehired to repair the building on April 18, 1815.[64] He immediately requested 60,000 feet of boards, 500 tons of stone, 1,000 barrels of lime, and brick.[64] With the $500,000 borrowed from Washington banks,[61] Latrobe was able to rebuild the two wings and the central dome before being fired in 1818 for being difficult.[65] Charles Bulfinch took over and officially completed the renovations by 1826.[18] Bulfinch modified Latrobe’s design by increasing the height of the Capitol dome to match the diameter of 86 ft. With the reconstruction of the public buildings in Washington, the value of land in the area increased dramatically, paving the way for the expansion of the city that developed in the years leading up to the American Civil War.[66]
See also[edit]
War of 1812 portal
War of 1812 bibliography
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Brief History of the United States Patent Office from its foundation—1790 to 1886—with an outline of laws, growth, publications, office routine, etc. Washington, D.C.: R. Beresford, Printer. 1886. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011. It is written that a loaded cannon was aimed at the Patent Office to destroy it. Thornton "put himself before the gun, and in a frenzy of excitement exclaimed: 'Are you Englishmen or only Goths and Vandals? This is the Patent Office, a depository of the ingenuity of the American nation, in which the whole civilized world is interested. Would you destroy it? If so, fire away, and let the charge pass through my body.' The effect is said to have been magical upon the soldiers, and to have saved the Patent Office from destruction."
Citations[edit]
Jump up ^ "Burning of Washington, D.C.;Chesapeake Campaign". The War of 1812. genealogy, Inc. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
Jump up ^ "The White House at War: The White House Burns: The War of 1812". White House Historical Association. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b c The War of 1812, Scene 5 "An Act of Nature", History Channel, 2005
Jump up ^ Hitsman & Graves 1999, p. 240.
Jump up ^ Morriss 1997, p. 98.
Jump up ^ Morriss 1997, p. 100.
Jump up ^ Morriss 1997, p. 101.
^ Jump up to: a b Cruikshank 2006, p. 402.
Jump up ^ Cruikshank 2006, p. 414.
Jump up ^ "Brookeville 1814". Maryland State Archives. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Porter, Maj Gen Whitworth (1889). History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol I. Chatham: The Institution of Royal Engineers.
Jump up ^ Herrick 2005, p. 92.
Jump up ^ Muller, Charles, G. (1963). The Darkest Day: The Washington-Baltimore Campaign During the War of 1812. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press,. p. 139.
Jump up ^ United States Department of the Treasury. "An account of the receipts and expenditures of the United States for the year 1810". Library of Congress.
Jump up ^ Allen, William C. (2001). “Destruction and Restoration, 1814-1817” in History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office. p. 98.
^ Jump up to: a b Herrick 2005, p. 99.
Jump up ^ Muller, Charles G. (1963). The Darkest Day: The Washington-Baltimore Campaign During the War of 1812. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 140.
^ Jump up to: a b c "History of the U.S. Capitol Building". Architect of the Capitol | United States Capitol.
Jump up ^ Allen, William C. (2001). “Destruction and Restoration, 1814-1817” in History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office. p. 98.
Jump up ^ Allen, William C. (2001). “Destruction and Restoration, 1814-1817” in History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office. p. 98.
Jump up ^ United States Congress, Thirteenth Congress (October 29, 1814). "Report from the superintendent of the Public Buildings" in the Report of the Committee appointed to...inquire into the cause...of the invasion of the city of Washington by the British forces. Washington, DC: United States Congress. p. 362.
Jump up ^ Pitch, Anthony S. (1998). The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 49–50.
Jump up ^ Willets includes Dolley Madison's letter to her sister describing these events. (Willets 1908, p. 219)
^ Jump up to: a b c Siegel & Block 2009, Descendant...
^ Jump up to: a b Jennings 1865, pp. 14–15.
Jump up ^ Corrected spelling of names of staff comes from Willets (Willets 1908, p. 221)
Jump up ^ Sioussat was the first Master of Ceremonies of the White House (McCormick 1904, p. 170).
Jump up ^ http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-troops-set-fire-to-the-white-house
Jump up ^ Gura 2009, Descendants of a slave....
Jump up ^ Fredriksen 2001, p. 116.
Jump up ^ Business Methods in the War Department: Report of the Board Appointed in Compliance with the Request of the Senate Select Committee to Investigate the Methods of Business in the Executive Departments. By United States. War Dept. Board on Business Methods 1889 .p.184
Jump up ^ "The Patent Fire of 1836". patentlaws.com. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
Jump up ^ "One Hot Commodity: Great Patent Fire of 1836 United States Patent Office". Kids pages. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
Jump up ^ Crawford, p222, quoting letter from Cockburn to Cochrane dated August 27, 1814 'The Enemy himself, on our entering the Town set fire to …'
Jump up ^ Roosevelt 1902, p. 47.
Jump up ^ "It is one of the few structures to have escaped the fire in 1814 when the British invaded Washington." (Gerson & Branam 1973, p. 5)
Jump up ^ "When the British captured Washington on August 24, 1814, and Captain Tingey ordered the Navy Yard set fire to prevent the British using the Yard and its ships to their advantage, both Quarters A (Tingey's House) and Quarters B (Lieutenant Haraden's House) were untouched, but the people the neighborhood plundered them to such an extent that 'not a movable object from cellar to garret was left, and even the fixtures and locks off the doors were taken." (Taylor 1973, p. 3,5)
Jump up ^ "Act of July 14, 1832, to pay estate of Edward Barry $568.35 for property destroyed in the burning of the Washington navy-hard by the British in 1814 ... Act of March 2, 1833, to pay the estate of George Hodge $824.18 for property destroyed in the burning of the Washington navy-yard by the British in 1814." (Reports... 1894, p. 174)
Jump up ^ George 2000, p. 111.
Jump up ^ NWS staff 2011.
Jump up ^ Cruikshank 2006, p. 414.
Jump up ^ Peter Snow "When Britain Burned the White House" 2012
Jump up ^ "No. 16939". The London Gazette. September 27, 1814. pp. 1942–1943.
Jump up ^ Landry 2009, p. 255.
Jump up ^ "James Madison, Proclamation – Calling All Citizens to Unite in Defense of the District of Columbia September 1, 1814". The American Presidency Project.
Jump up ^ Howe, David Walker (2007). What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 67.
^ Jump up to: a b Hitsman & Graves 1999, pp. 243–244.
Jump up ^ Hickey 1989, p. 202.
Jump up ^ Elting 1995, p. 220.
Jump up ^ Hitsman & Graves 1999, pp. 244–245.
Jump up ^ POTSI (archived): HM Queen Elizabeth addresses the colonial Parliament in 1976
Jump up ^ Allen, William C. (2001). "Destruction and Restoration, 1814–1817". History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office. p. 99.
Jump up ^ Burton, Harold H.; Waggaman, Thomas E. (1952). The Story of the Place: Where First and A Streets Formerly Met at What Is Now the Site of the Supreme Court Building. Washington, DC.: Historical Society of Washington. p. 141. JSTOR 40067303.
Jump up ^ Skeen, C. Edward (2003). "The Fourteenth Congress Begins". 1816: America Rising. University Press of Kentucky. p. 35. JSTOR j.ctt130jf4x.7.
Jump up ^ Clark, Allen C. (1938). Daniel Carroll of Duddington (Vol. 39 ed.). Washington, DC.: Columbia Historical Society. p. 36.
Jump up ^ Green, Constance McLaughlin (1962). "Phoenix on the Potomac, 1812–1817". Washington: A History of the Capital, 1800-1950. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 64–65. JSTOR j.ctt1mf6xv4.6.
Jump up ^ Burton, Harold H.; Waggaman, Thomas E. (1952). The Story of the Place: Where First and A Streets Formerly Met at What Is Now the Site of the Supreme Court Building. Washington, DC.: Historical Society of Washington. pp. 141–142. JSTOR 40067303.
Jump up ^ Green, Constance McLaughlin (1962). "Phoenix on the Potomac, 1812–1817". Washington: A History of the Capital, 1800–1950. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 65. JSTOR j.ctt1mf6xv4.6.
Jump up ^ Clark, Allen C. (1938). Daniel Carroll of Duddington (Vol. 39 ed.). Washington, DC.: Columbia Historical Society. p. 35.
Jump up ^ Burton, Harold H.; Waggaman, Thomas E. (1952). The Story of the Place: Where First and A Streets Formerly Met at What Is Now the Site of the Supreme Court Building. Washington, DC.: Historical Society of Washington. p. 142. JSTOR 40067303.
^ Jump up to: a b Burton, Harold H.; Waggaman, Thomas E. (1952). The Story of the Place: Where First and A Streets Formerly Met at What Is Now the Site of the Supreme Court Building. Washington, DC.: Historical Society of Washington. p. 143. JSTOR 40067303.
Jump up ^ Allen, William C. (2001). "Destruction and Restoration, 1814–1817". History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office. p. 100.
Jump up ^ United States Congress, Thirteenth Congress (February 13, 1815). Session III, Statue III, Ch. 41 (PDF). Washington, DC: United States Congress. p. 205.
^ Jump up to: a b Allen, William C. (2001). "Destruction and Restoration, 1814–1817". History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of Design, Construction, and Politics. Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office. p. 103.
Jump up ^ Skeen, C. Edward (2003). "The Fourteenth Congress Begins". 1816: America Rising. University Press of Kentucky. p. 37. JSTOR j.ctt130jf4x.7.
Jump up ^ Green, Constance McLaughlin (1962). "Phoenix on the Potomac, 1812–1817". Washington: A History of the Capital, 1800–1950. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 73. JSTOR j.ctt1mf6xv4.6.
Sources[edit]
Crawford, Michael J. (Ed) (2002). The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, Vol. 3. Washington: United States Department of Defense. ISBN 978-0-16-051224-7
Cruikshank, Ernest (2006) [1814]. The Documentary History of the campaign upon the Niagara frontier. (Part 1-2). University of Calgary. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
Elting, John R. (1995). Amateurs to Arms! A Military History of the War of 1812. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 220. ISBN 0-306-80653-3.
Fredriksen, John C. (2001). America's Military Adversaries: From Colonial Times to the Present. ABC-CLIO. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-57607-603-3.
George, Christopher T (2000). Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1812 on the Bay. White Mane Books. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-57249-276-9.
Gerson, Leonard; Branam, Alfred (August 14, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
Gleig, George Robert (1827). The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, 1814–1815. London: J. Murray. ISBN 0-665-45385-X.
Gura, David (August 24, 2009). "Descendants of a Slave See The Painting He Saved". The Two-Way. NPR. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
Herrick, Carole (2005). August 24, 1814: Washington in Flames. Falls Church, VA: Higher Education Publications, Inc.
Hickey, Donald R. (1989). The War of 1812, A Forgotten Conflict. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, Chicago and Urbana. ISBN 0-252-01613-0.
Hitsman, J. Mackay; Graves, Donald E. (1999). The Incredible War of 1812. Toronto: Robin Brass Studio. ISBN 1-896941-13-3.
Jennings, Paul (1865). A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison. Brookyn: George C. Beadle.
Landry, Peter (2009). Settlement, Revolution & War. Bloomington, IL: Trafford Publishing. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-4251-8791-0.
McCormick, John H. (1904). "The First Master of Ceremonies of the White House". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. Washington, D.C. 7: 170–194. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
Morriss, Roger (1997). Cockburn and the British Navy in Transition: Admiral Sir George Cockburn, 1772–1853. University of Exeter Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-253-0.
NWS staff (June 15, 2011). "NWS Sterling, VA – D.C. Tornado Events". National Weather Service Eastern Region Headquarters. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
Myatt, Kevin (August 26, 2006). "Did tornado wreak havoc on War of 1812?". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, VA. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
Roosevelt, Theodore (1902). The Naval War of 1812 or the History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain to Which Is Appended an Account of the Battle of New Orleans. Part II. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
Siegel, Robert; Block, Melissa (August 24, 2009). "Descendant Of White House Slave Shares Legacy". NPR. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
Taylor, Nancy (August 14, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
The Reports of Committees of the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the Fifty-Third Congress. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1894. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
Willets, Gilson (1908). Inside History of the White House-the complete history of the domestic and official life in Washington of the nation's presidents and their families. New York: The Christian Herald.
Further reading[edit]
Latimer, Jon. 1812: War with America, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-674-02584-9
Martin, John. "The British Are Coming: Historian Anthony Pitch Describes Washington Ablaze," LC Information Bulletin, September 1998
Pack, A. James. The Man Who Burned The White House, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-87021-420-9
Phelan, Mary Kay. The Burning of Washington: August 1814, Ty Crowell Co, 1975. ISBN 0-690-00486-9
Pitch, Anthony S. The Burning of Washington, White House History Magazine, Fall 1998
Pitch, Anthony S. The Burning of Washington, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55750-425-3
Siegel, Robert Descendant Of White House Slave Shares Legacy NPR, August 24, 2009.
Snow, Peter "When Britain Burned the White House, The 1814 Invasion of Washington", London: John Murray, 2013. ISBN 978-1-250-04828-8
Whitehorne, Joseph A. The Battle for Baltimore: 1814 (1997)
Listing by surname of Royal Marines (2nd Battn, 3rd Battn, Colonial Marines) paid prize money for participating in the attack on Washington
External links[edit]
The War of 1812 and Relocating the Nation's Capital
Brookeville 1814, U.S. Capital for a Day Maryland State Archives
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V sign
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the V sign of dermatomyositis, see Shawl sign.
Not to be confused with V (symbol).
Woman showing the V sign at the 2009 Moscow Spring Fest
The V sign is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted, while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the cultural context and how it is presented.
When displayed with the palm inward towards the signer, it has long been an offensive gesture in some Commonwealth nations. In the 1940s, during the Second World War, a campaign by the Western Allies to use the sign with the back of the hand towards the signer (U+270C ✌ Victory hand[1] in Unicode) as a "V for Victory" sign proved quite effective. During the Vietnam War, in the 1960s, the "V sign" was widely adopted by the counterculture as a symbol of peace. Shortly thereafter, it also became adopted as a gesture used in photographs, especially in Japan.
Contents
[hide]
1 Usage
2 As an insult
2.1 Origins
3 Victory sign
3.1 Second World War: V for Victory campaign
3.2 Vietnam War, victory and peace
4 As a photography pose
4.1 Japan
4.2 Other East Asian countries
4.3 Elsewhere
5 Specific uses
6 Footnotes
7 References
8 External links
Usage[edit]
The meaning of the V sign is partially dependent on the manner in which the hand is positioned:
Singer Robbie Williams using a V sign with palm facing himself as an insult to the observer.
If the palm of the hand faces the signer (i.e., the back of the hand faces the observer), the sign signifies:
As an insulting gesture in Australia, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.[2][3]
The number '2' in American Sign Language.
With the back of the hand facing the signer (palm of the hand facing the observer), it can mean:
The number '2'
Victory – in a setting of wartime or competition. It was first popularised in January 1941 by Victor de Laveleye, a Belgian politician in exile, who suggested it as a symbol of unity in a radio speech and the subsequent "V for Victory" campaign by the BBC.[4] It is sometimes made using both hands with upraised arms as United States President Dwight Eisenhower, and in imitation of him, Richard Nixon, used to do.
American actor Steve McQueen flashing the V sign for a mugshot, after being arrested for drunk driving.
Peace, or friend – used around the world by peace and counter-culture groups; popularized in the American peace movement of the 1960s. The commonality with the symbol's use from the 1940s was it meaning the "end of war".[5]
V (the letter) – used when spelling in American Sign Language.[6]
When used with movement, it can mean:
Air quotes – flexing fingers, palm out, both hands.[7]
This hand shape is also used in a number of signs in many sign languages, including (in American Sign Language) "to look" (with the palm down) or "to see" (palm up). When the pointer and middle fingers are pointed at the signer's eyes then turned and the pointer finger is pointed at someone it means "I am watching you." [8]
The ordinal "second" in American Sign Language has the V-sign palm forward, then the hand turns (yaws) until the palm faces backward.[9]
As an insult[edit]
The use of the V sign ("the forks") as an insulting gesture, including the use of the upwards swing at the elbow.
The insulting version of the gesture (with the palm inwards U+1F594 🖔 Reversed victory hand)[10] is often compared to the offensive gesture known as "the finger". The "two-fingered salute", (also "the forks" in Australia[11]) is commonly performed by flicking the V upwards from wrist or elbow. The V sign, when the palm is facing toward the person giving the sign, has long been an insulting gesture in England,[12] and later in the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, India, Pakistan and New Zealand.[2] It is frequently used to signify defiance (especially to authority), contempt, or derision.[13]
As an example of the V sign (palm inward) as an insult, on November 1, 1990, The Sun, a British tabloid, ran an article on its front page with the headline "Up Yours, Delors" next to a large hand making a V sign protruding from a Union Jack cuff. The Sun urged its readers to stick two fingers up at then President of the European Commission Jacques Delors, who had advocated an EU central government. The article attracted a number of complaints about its alleged racism, but the now defunct Press Council rejected the complaints after the editor of The Sun stated that the paper reserved the right to use vulgar abuse in the interests of Britain.[14][15]
On April 3, 2009, Scottish football players Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor were permanently banned from the Scottish national squad for showing the V sign while sitting on the bench during the game against Iceland. Both players were in their hotel bar drinking alcohol after the Scottish defeat to The Netherlands until around 11 am the next morning, meaning that both of the players breached the SFA discipline code before the incident as well, but the attitude shown by the V sign was considered to be so rude that the SFA decided never to include these players in the national line-up again.[16][17] Ferguson also lost the captaincy of Rangers as a result of the controversy.[18] McGregor's ban was lifted by then SFA manager Craig Levein and he returned to Scotland national squad in 2010.[19][20]
Steve McQueen gives the sign in the closing scene of the 1971 motorsport movie, Le Mans. A still picture of the gesture[21] was recorded by photographer Nigel Snowdon and has become an icon of both McQueen and the film itself. The gesture was also flashed by Spike (played by James Marsters) in "Hush", a Season 4 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The scene was also featured in the series' opening credits for all of Season 5. It was censored by BBC Two only in its early-evening showings of the program.[22][23]
For a time in the UK, "a Harvey (Smith)" became a way of describing the insulting version of the V sign, much as "the word of Cambronne" is used in France, or "the Trudeau salute" is used to describe the one-fingered salute in Canada. This happened because, in 1971, show-jumper Harvey Smith was disqualified for making a televised V sign to the judges after winning the British Show Jumping Derby at Hickstead. His win was reinstated two days later.[24]
Harvey Smith pleaded that he was using a Victory sign, a defence also used by other figures in the public eye.[25] Sometimes foreigners visiting the countries mentioned above use the "two-fingered salute" without knowing it is offensive to the natives, for example when ordering two beers in a noisy pub, or in the case of the United States president George H. W. Bush, who, while touring Australia in 1992, attempted to give a "peace sign" to a group of farmers in Canberra—who were protesting about U.S. farm subsidies—and instead gave the insulting V sign.[26]
Origins[edit]
A commonly repeated legend claims that the two-fingered salute or V sign derives from a gesture made by longbowmen fighting in the English and Welsh[27] archers at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War, but no historical primary sources support this contention.[28] This origin legend dictates that the English and Welsh archers who were captured by the French had their index and middle fingers cut off so that they could no longer operate their longbows, and that the V Sign was used by uncaptured and victorious archers in a display of defiance against the enemy. Moreover, it was common practice in warfare of that period to summarily execute common soldiers, since they held no ransom value.
There is evidence against this interpretation as the chronicler Jean de Wavrin, contemporary of the battle of Agincourt, reports that the captured archers would have three fingers cut, and not two.[29][30] It is a well known fact as it shows that wielding an English longbow requires three fingers instead of only two as it is the case for modern bows.[31]
The first unambiguous evidence of the use of the insulting V sign in the United Kingdom dates to 1901, when a worker outside Parkgate ironworks in Rotherham used the gesture (captured on the film) to indicate that he did not like being filmed.[32][33] Peter Opie interviewed children in the 1950s and observed in The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren that the much-older thumbing of the nose (cock-a-snook) had been replaced by the V sign as the most common insulting gesture used in the playground.[32]
Between 1975 and 1977 a group of anthropologists including Desmond Morris studied the history and spread of European gestures and found the rude version of the V-sign to be basically unknown outside the British Isles. In his Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution, published in 1979, Morris discussed various possible origins of this sign but came to no definite conclusion:
because of the strong taboo associated with the gesture (its public use has often been heavily penalised). As a result, there is a tendency to shy away from discussing it in detail. It is "known to be dirty" and is passed on from generation to generation by people who simply accept it as a recognised obscenity without bothering to analyse it... Several of the rival claims are equally appealing. The truth is that we will probably never know...[32]
Victory sign[edit]
Second World War: V for Victory campaign[edit]
Winston Churchill, British prime minister, giving a V sign in 1943
On 14 January 1941, Victor de Laveleye, former Belgian Minister of Justice and director of the Belgian French-language broadcasts on the BBC (1940–44), suggested in a broadcast that Belgians use a V for victoire (French: “victory”) and vrijheid (Dutch: "freedom") as a rallying emblem during the Second World War. In the BBC broadcast, de Laveleye said that "the occupier, by seeing this sign, always the same, infinitely repeated, [would] understand that he is surrounded, encircled by an immense crowd of citizens eagerly awaiting his first moment of weakness, watching for his first failure." Within weeks chalked up Vs began appearing on walls throughout Belgium, the Netherlands and Northern France.[34]
Buoyed by this success, the BBC started the "V for Victory" campaign, for which they put in charge the assistant news editor Douglas Ritchie posing as “Colonel Britton”. Ritchie suggested an audible V using its Morse code rhythm (three dots and a dash). As the rousing opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony had the same rhythm, the BBC used this as its call-sign in its foreign language programmes to occupied Europe for the rest of the war. The more musically educated also understood that it was the Fate motif "knocking on the door" of the Third Reich. ( Listen to this call-sign. (help·info)).[34][35] The BBC also encouraged the use of the V gesture introduced by de Laveleye.[36]
By July 1941, the emblematic use of the letter V had spread through occupied Europe. On 19 July, Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred approvingly to the V for Victory campaign in a speech,[37] from which point he started using the V hand sign. Early on he sometimes gestured palm in (sometimes with a cigar between the fingers).[38] Later in the war, he used palm out.[39] After aides explained to the aristocratic Churchill what the palm in gesture meant to other classes, he made sure to use the appropriate sign.[25][40] Yet the double-entendre of the gesture might have contributed to its popularity, "for a simple twist of hand would have presented the dorsal side in a mocking snub to the common enemy".[41] Other allied leaders used the sign as well; since 1942, Charles de Gaulle used the V sign in every speech until 1969.[citation needed]
The Germans could not remove all the signs, so adopted the V Sign as a German symbol, sometimes adding laurel leaves under it, painting their own V's on walls, vehicles and adding a massive V on the Eiffel Tower.
In 1942, Aleister Crowley, a British occultist, claimed to have invented the usage of a V-sign in February 1941 as a magical foil to the Nazis' use of the Swastika. He maintained that he passed this to friends at the BBC, and to the British Naval Intelligence Division through his connections in MI5, eventually gaining the approval of Winston Churchill. Crowley noted that his 1913 publication Magick featured a V-sign and a swastika on the same plate.[42]
Resistance graffiti on a Norwegian road, depicting the V-sign together with the initials of King Haakon VII.
A German V-sign and slogan on the Palais Bourbon in occupied Paris. The banner beneath the "V" reads "Germany is Victorious on All Fronts".
The V-sign (and its morse code equivalent) incorporated on an American propaganda poster for the War Production Board, 1942 or 1943.
Vietnam War, victory and peace[edit]
Nixon departing the White House on 9 August 1974
U.S. President Richard Nixon used the gesture to signal victory in the Vietnam War, an act which became one of his best-known trademarks. He also used it on his departure from public office following his resignation in 1974.
Protesters against the Vietnam War (and subsequent anti-war protests) and counterculture activists adopted the gesture as a sign of peace. Because the hippies of the day often flashed this sign (palm out) while saying "Peace", it became popularly known (through association) as the peace sign.[43]
As a photography pose[edit]
Japan[edit]
Young Japanese women giving V gesture in Tokyo (2006)
The V sign, primarily palm-outwards, is very commonly made by Japanese people, especially younger people, when posing for informal photographs, and is known as pīsu sain (ピースサイン, peace sign), or more commonly simply pīsu (ピース, peace). As the name reflects, this dates to the Vietnam War era and anti-war activists, though the precise origin is disputed. The V sign was known in Japan from the post-World War II Allied occupation of Japan, but did not acquire the use in photographs until later.
In Japan, it is generally believed to have been influenced by Beheiren's anti-Vietnam War activists in the late 1960s and Konica's advertisement in 1971.[44][45] A more colorful account of this practice claims it was influenced by the American figure skater Janet Lynn during the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. She fell during a free-skate period, but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed third in the competition, her cheerful diligence and persistence resonated with many Japanese viewers. Lynn became an overnight foreign celebrity in Japan. A peace activist, Lynn frequently flashed the V sign when she was covered in Japanese media, and she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use since the 1970s in amateur photographs.[43]
Because of its popularity in Japan, it exists as an Emoji and is in Unicode, as the sequence U+270C, or ✌.
Other East Asian countries[edit]
In Mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, the V sign is a popular pose in photographs. It is used in both casual and formal settings. For the most part in these countries, the gesture is divorced from its previous meanings as a peace sign or as an insult; for most the meaning of the sign is "victory" or "yeah", implying a feeling of happiness. It is used in both directions (palm facing the signer and palm facing forward). In certain contexts the sign simply means "two", such as when ordering or boarding a bus.
The pose is gaining significant popularity in South Korea due to the common usage amongst Kpop idols and young people – especially in selfies. V signing is commonly linked with aegyo, a popular trend in Korea meaning 'acting cutely'.
Elsewhere[edit]
An investigator flashes V-for-victory signs upon the 2006 arrival of material gathered by the Stardust spacecraft at the Johnson Space Center in Texas.
In the United States, the usage of the V sign as a photography gesture is known but not widely used. The original poster for the 2003 film What a Girl Wants showed star Amanda Bynes giving a V sign as an American girl visiting London. In the US, the poster was altered to instead show Bynes with both arms down, to avoid giving the perception that the film was criticizing the then-recently commenced Iraq War.[46]
Specific uses[edit]
In Argentina, the V sign, besides "victory", is linked to a political movement, Peronism.
In South Africa after the Nationalist Party won the 1948 election with less voters than the opposition, V's appeared as graffiti representing the word "Volkswil" (will of the people) and questioning thus the results.
University of Southern California, University of Virginia, and Villanova University students, alumni, and fans "throw their Vs up" in tradition and as a sign of pride of their university and athletic teams. The V sign in this form frequently accompanies the motto "Fight on!" at USC.
V sign, especially when printed in green, is a sign of the Iranian Green Movement.
After the first elections in Iraq after the U.S. Invasion, a well known photo was circulated of a woman showing the V sign with one of her fingers dipped in purple ink. The ink is used to identify individuals who have already voted.
In Poland during the Solidarity movement, protesters showed the V sign meaning they would defeat Communism.[47] After partially free elections, when Tadeusz Mazowiecki was chosen as prime minister (August 24, 1989), he went to the MPs with the V sign, which was transmitted on TV.[48] It is sometimes shown during debates about the fall of Communism.
In Romania the sign represents victory and has been used as an extension of the Roman salute to announce that victory has been achieved. It was used heavily during the Romanian revolution after the ousting of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Mircea Dinescu is appearing in the first transmission of the Romanian Television after the revolutionaries occupied it shouting "We won!" and flashing the victory sign.
During the Yugoslav Wars, Croatian and Bosnian troops and paramilitary militia used the sign as a greeting or an informal salute. U.S. and NATO peacekeepers stationed in Bosnia were forbidden to use the V-sign (peace symbol) to avoid upsetting or offending Serbs they might encounter.[49]
In Vietnam, the V sign means "hello" since the Vietnamese word for the number "2" sounds like the English pronunciation of the greeting "hi".
Ringo Starr of the Beatles uses the V sign extensively while quoting the phrase "Peace and Love" as a sort of catchphrase.
A variation is to put the V sign with the fingers on either side of the mouth (usually with the knuckles facing the observer) and to stick the tongue out. Most of the time the tongue is wriggled around. This is used to signify cunnilingus and the gesture is often off-colour.
A partially obscured V sign can be added to someone else's head to produce devil's horns or "bunny ears" for an amusing photo. In September 2013, Manu Tuilagi apologised to Prime Minister David Cameron after making a "bunny ears" sign behind his head in a photo taken during a visit by the British and Irish Lions squad to Downing Street.[50]
In Indonesia, candidate of presidential election Joko Widodo use that sign for political campaign. The sign called "Salam Dua Jari".[citation needed]
In Belgium, the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) political party uses it as a rallying gesture. During the taking the oath of the actual Belgian federal government, three N-VA ministers used the V sign instead of the formal three-fingers sign.[51]
Lech Wałęsa and George H. W. Bush, July 1989
Singer Rihanna using the V sign, 2011.
2009 Iranian election protests
Footnotes[edit]
Jump up ^ "Victory Hand". emojipedia.org Emojipedia.org.
^ Jump up to: a b V sign as an insult:
UK: Staff. No ban for speeding V-sign biker BBC 14 March 2008
UK: Staff. Two fingers Prescott BBC, 22 May 2001
IE: Staff. Shambolic Irish give two fingers to the past Irish Independent
AU: Keim, Tony (18 November 2008). "Long tradition of flipping the bird". Courier Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
AU: Karl S. Kruszelnicki. Arrow Up Yours & Plague 1 www.abc.net.au. Accessed 23 April 2008
NZ: Glyn Harper Just the Answer Alumni Magazine [Massey University] November 2002.
Jump up ^ Eric Patridge, Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor. (2008.) The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Routledge, p. 683. ISBN 0-203-96211-7
Jump up ^ "20th July 1941: 'V for Victory' widespread across Europe". ww2today.com.
Jump up ^ Zelinsky, Nathaniel (18 March 2011). "From Churchill to Libya: How the V symbol went viral". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
Jump up ^ Staff. American Manual Alphabet Chart Center for Disability Information & Referral (CeDIR), Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University
Jump up ^ Gary Martin. "Air quotes". phrases.org.uk.
Jump up ^ ""see" American Sign Language (ASL)". lifeprint.com.
Jump up ^ ""numbers" ASL American Sign Language". lifeprint.com.
Jump up ^ "The Unicode Standard, Version 8.0, range 2700–27BF" (PDF). unicode.org.
Jump up ^ Tony Keim "Long tradition of flipping the bird", Courier Mail, November 18, 2008, accessed April 14, 2011.
Jump up ^ Staff Henry V, British Shakespeare Company.Accessed 23 April 2008
Jump up ^ Defiance, contempt or derision:
Staff, V-sign, encyclopedia.com cites The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2008 "Brit. a similar sign made with the first two fingers pointing up and the back of the hand facing outward, used as a gesture of abuse or contempt." Accessed 9 May 2008.
Staff. Hooligan grandson of legend, Daily Mirror, 20 December 2007
Staff. V-sign led to assault on school bus teens The Press (York), 1 March 2008
Jump up ^ "Up Yours Delors". The Sun. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
Jump up ^ Wheeler, Brian (2005-06-24). "BBC NEWS | Politics | From two jags to two fingers". Newswww.bbc.net.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
Jump up ^ "Finished: Furious Walter tells disgraced pair their Rangers days are over". Daily Mail. London. 3 April 2009.
Jump up ^ Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor banned for life by Scotland, The Guardian, Friday 3 April 2009
Jump up ^ "Gers strip Ferguson of captaincy". BBC News. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
Jump up ^ "Allen McGregor recalled to Scotland squad to face Sweden". The Daily Mail. August 2, 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Sweden 3-0 Scotland". BBC. August 11, 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
Jump up ^ http://stvmcqueen.tripod.com/salute.jpg
Jump up ^ Radar: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4 – TV Tropes
Jump up ^ Still photograph of the gesture in the Season 5 opening credits of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Jump up ^ Staff On this Day 15 August 1971: 'V-sign' costs rider victory "BBC The infamous gesture won him an entry in the Chambers dictionary which defined 'a Harvey Smith' as 'a V-sign with the palm inwards, signifying derision and contempt'". Accessed 23 April 2008
^ Jump up to: a b Staff. The V sign, www.icons.org.uk. Accessed 23 April 2008
Jump up ^ Webster Griffin Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin (2004). George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, Progressive Press paperback edition (2004), p. 651(web link to Chapter -XXV- Thyroid Storm). Tarpley & Chaitkin cite the Washington Post, 3 January 1992.
Jump up ^ "The Hundred Years War: Battle of Agincourt". britishbattles.com.
Jump up ^ David Wilton, Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, Oxford University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-537557-2.
Jump up ^ "Two fingers up to English history…". The BS Historian. 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
Jump up ^ Wavrin, Jean de (1400?-1474?). A collection of the chronicles and ancient histories of Great Britain, now called England. 2. From A. D. 1399 to A. D. 1422 / by John de Wavrin, lord of Forestel ; transl. by William Hardy,... and Edward L. C. P. Hardy,.. London: Longman. p. 203.
Jump up ^ "Traditional English Draw". www.primitivearcher.com. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
^ Jump up to: a b c Staff. The V sign, www.icons.org.uk web.archive.org
Jump up ^ "Parkgate Iron and Steel Co., Rotherham (1901)". YouTube. British Film Institute. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b The V-campaign, Virtual Radiomuseum
Jump up ^ C. Sterling, 2003, Encyclopedia of Radio London: Taylor and Francis, page 359. at Google Books
Jump up ^ "The V sign at BBC's H2G2 website". Bbc.co.uk. 1990-11-01. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
Jump up ^ "Newswatch 1940s". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
Jump up ^ "Churchill outside Downing Street". Number-10.gov.uk. Archived from the original on December 2, 2007. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
Jump up ^ "Churchill's famous victory sign". Number-10.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
Jump up ^ Staff. "The V Sign". The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA).
Jump up ^ James Jerman, Anthony Weir, Images of Lust: Sexual Carvings on Medieval Churches London: Routledge, 2013, page 145.
Jump up ^ Kaczynski, Richard. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. North Atlantic Books, 2010, p. 511.
^ Jump up to: a b Staff. The Japanese Version (the Sign of Peace) ICONS. A portrait of England. Accessed 1 June 2008
Jump up ^ "雑誌に載ったわたし。". 日刊「きのこ」　skipのブログ.
Jump up ^ 1971's buzzwords
Jump up ^ Ascher-Walsh, Rebecca (Apr 11, 2003). "Sign of the Times". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
Jump up ^ Francisco, Ronald (2010). Collective Action Theory and Empirical Evidence (1 ed.). Springer. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-4419-1475-0. Subtle gestures, noise, and artwork are additional symbolic signs that dissidents use in coercive countries. Poland's Solidarity's signal was two fingers held up in the form of the letter V. This gesture diffused widely in Eastern Europe and now it is used in Palestine as a symbol of unity and nationalism.
Jump up ^ "End to 45 years of Red rule". New Straits Times. 1989-09-13. Retrieved 2012-01-29. Tadeusz Mazowlecki, who nearly fainted during his opening speech, flashed a V-for-victory sign as deputies voted his Cabinet into office by 402–0 with 13 abstentions.
Jump up ^ "A Soldier's Guide: Bosnia-Herzegovina". Dtic.mil. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
Jump up ^ "Manu Tuilagi forced to apologise for playing prank on Prime Minister David Cameron in No 10 visit". Daily Telegraph. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
Jump up ^ "Prestation de serment: trois N-VA font le 'V', signe de la victoire et de ralliement de leur parti (vidéo)". RTL Newmedia.
References[edit]
Desmond Morris with Peter Collett, Peter Marsh and Marie O'Shaughnessy. Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution. London: Jonathan Cape, 1979. ISBN 0-224-01570-2; NY: Stein and Day, ISBN 0-8128-2607-8
Armstrong, Nancy; Wagner, Melissa (2003). "The 'V'". Field Guide to Gestures: How to Identify and Interpret Virtually Every Gesture Known to Man. Philadelphia: Quirk Books. pp. 227–30. ISBN 978-1-931686-20-4.
Lefevre, Romana (2011). "V". Rude Hand Gestures of the World: A Guide to Offending Without Words. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. pp. 122–3. ISBN 978-0-8118-7807-4.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to V-sign.
Photos of the V sign:
Churchill Outside no. 10
Churchill Victory Sign
Nixon departing office
Paavo Väyrynen after Finnish Centre party named him foreign trade and development minister
Need4Peace
The V sign in the news:
Guardian 6 June 2002: In pictures the V sign
Sky News 18 June 2004: OAP fined £100 for V sign
BBC 3 April 2009: Scottish footballers dropped for V sign
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https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-tegn
V-tegn – Danish
da
da
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_signo
V signo – Esperanto
eo
eo
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signe_V
Signe V – French
fr
fr
interlanguage-link-target

values: Վիկտորիա (ժեստ) – Armenian

values:
https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isyarat_V
Isyarat V – Indonesian
id
id
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dita_a_V
Dita a V – Italian
it
it
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-teken
V-teken – Dutch
nl
nl
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-tegn
V-tegn – Norwegian
no
no
interlanguage-link-target

values:
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_(gesto)
V (gesto) – Portuguese
pt
pt
interlanguage-link-target

values: Виктория (жест) – Russian

values:
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-tecknet
V-tecknet – Swedish
sv
sv
interlanguage-link-target

values: Вікторія (жест) – Ukrainian

values:
suggestions
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