That thing that happened after
the Battle of Bladensburg

Story by Stephen J. Thorne

The War of 1812 was at its peak and the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland, was ending in a British victory just northeast of Washington, D.C.

It was August 1814. In a few months, the war would be over. But now the American capital was in a frenzy. British troops were gathering on the horizon and the Battle of Washington was about to begin.

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Convoy duty aboard HMCS Port Arthur

Story by Sharon Adams

It’s fair to say Harvey Douglas Burns did not know what lay in store when he left the merchant marine and joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942.

Sailors in the merchant navy had cabins, shared with one shipmate. After joining the crew of HMCS Port Arthur, he asked a shipmate where he was going to sleep. “Do you see them bars up there? That’s where you hang your hammock.”

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January 20, 2004

Some 2,000 Canadian troops leave CFB Valcartier, Que., for Afghanistan.

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Choose our cover for the
next issue of Legion Magazine!

Help choose the March/April 2021 issue of Legion Magazine!

The March/April 2021 issue of Legion Magazine updates the saga of the Avro Arrow, revisits the battle of the Saint Eloi craters in WW I, and explores the role of Canadian-made army trucks in WW II.

Also in the issue: medical advances from the First World War; the battle of Kapyong, Korea; and the aftermath of the Gulf War. And more!

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Squabbling over Vancouver Island

Story by Sharon Adams

In January 1790, 27 years after France ceded Canadian territory to Britain at the end of the Seven Years’ War, it looked as though the world’s leading colonial power was going to have to battle with Spain over Canada’s Pacific Coast.

The first Europeans to set foot on Vancouver Island were members of Captain James Cook’s expedition looking for the Northwest Passage in 1778. Cook had been told not to step on Spanish toes, for fear Spain might side with the Americans in the revolutionary war.

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Rising social media censorship hampers
war-crimes investigations

Story by Stephen J. Thorne

An accelerating trend among social media platforms to take down online content they deem too violent or graphic is hampering war-crimes investigations and other important investigations, says a top human-rights organization.

Often removed at the behest of governments, Human Rights Watch says the material is not being archived in ways that are accessible to investigators and researchers looking to hold criminals to account.

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January 14, 1942

A 160-kilometre-wide strip along the coast of British Columbia is defined
as a “protected area” and a curfew is imposed for every person of Japanese origin.

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