I wanted to warn you that the war acts more as a background in this story than the main subject. There are no specific battles that are detailed to the last attack (unless you count the burning, but that is hardly detailed).
War of 1812
It starts with Alfred (again). Besides, what isn't his fault right now? He'd left both Arthur and Matthew behind in a quest for freedom, then had turned the rest of Europe against England in order to completely achieve independence. Now, in 1812, he dares to declare war against both of them? Who does he think he is?
Arthur is incensed when Alfred, who is hardly a nation at all finds the nerve to declare war on him then promptly goes and invades Canada. This was just rubbing salt into an open wound. Before long, British troops are ordered into America (again) to subdue the rebellious former colony and teach him a lesson. Matthew, furious at the audacity of his brother's idea to invade his land and "free" the Canadian people, joins the fight as well. This, Matthew muses cynically, is almost exactly like Alfred's rebellion; the only difference this time that it is nation against nation and Arthur isn't going to hold back.
Alfred is has it hard from the start. For all his talk and victories in his revolution, America is still hardly a country and this is the second time they are fighting against a superpower (the same one actually). Matthew can feel a resentful smile tugging at his mouth, "Can you feel it now? The bitter taste of defeat swirling on the tip of your tongue?"
They meet on the battleground again and again, both sides watching blood spill and soak into the earth; both hearing the screams of people and smelling the acrid smoke of musket fire. Still, he can't help but feel a tiny twinge of pride at the bravery of the American people; it is one thing to talk of fight and dying, another entirely to walk onto a battlefield, knowing death could happen at any time and still stare at the enemy from behind a gun.
He is still very bitter towards Alfred, though, and those negative feelings reach a peak during a lull in the fighting. Matthew is waiting outside the General's tent for Arthur when he hears the drumming of hoof beats carrying returning troops. Their report does not make the British happy; Americans have taken- and looted- the town of York and adding to that, had broken the laws of war by attacking farms and private property in Port Dover.
Arthur goes from being frustrated to being irate in a matter of seconds, Matthew can feel his own blood pressure rising. The town of York is in his territory, and Alfred has just gone and vandalized it. On top of that, his brother has attacked civilians. Ci-vil-ians, people that weren't even part of combat and were supposed to be off limits in war.
Oh, Matthew just wants to let loose a great bunch of polar bears on America and teach the arrogant idiot a lesson he wouldn't forget soon. Arthur walks back into the tent with his General, his eyes harder than diamonds; as he passes Matthew, Arthur pats his shoulder muttering, "I'll teach the bloody git a lesson, Mattimeo." He strides in the tent before Matthew can correct his name.
Matthew is furious at his brother for a good amount of time, but even he is surprised at the plan that Arthur tells him about. They are going to capture and burn Washington DC, the capitol of America- Alfred's heart- to teach the enemy country a lesson and, as Arthur puts it, "Brand the image into their non-existent brains."
The capture a week later is successful and the British carry out their orders with a vengeance. Although private buildings and unarmed citizens are spared, everything else is set fire to; Arthur and Matthew personally torch the White House and watch as orange flames lick hungrily at the building.
The army retreats out of the burning city and watch with the satisfaction of a job well done, Matthew wanders off with Arthur to find some time away from all the noise. They walk around aimlessly for a while; in doing so, both lose sight of most of the army and nearly run into the end of a deadly bayonet.
Matthew backs off automatically and looks up to lock eyes with Alfred, his brother's eyes are stone cold and murky but Matthew can make out from the slight trembling of the musket that Alfred is in agonizing pain. Upon closer examination, there's crimson liquid tracing wet, gleaming lines down the sides of Alfred's face as well, starting from the corners of his mouth and dripping off of the tip of his chin. Alfred is also unnaturally pale; his skin looks ivory in the orange glow of the dying city, but he holds his ground, staring defiantly at both Arthur and his brother. Matthew backs up a step, "This fight is over Jones, if you shoot, it will be senseless bloodshed."
Flickering blue eyes move in his direction for a split second before returning to Arthur, the honey blonde does however, start moving slowly backwards. Alfred is melting in with the shadows when he suddenly smiles, Matthew can just make out his muttered raspy words over the wind, "I think I understand the taste of defeat now, it is ashes and blood, seasoned with the bitter salt of sweat and tears."
The sky opens up in a downpour right before Alfred disappears into the shadows behind him; Arthur, who is standing a few feet away from Matthew comments softly, "This is like the Battle of Yorktown all over again."
Goodness. Why are these chapters so depressing right now? And the next story is over the American Civil War. This is terrible…should I try to make the next chapter a little bit more amusing? Or not since it is one of the bloodiest wars in American history…ugh, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Arthur's last line is referencing how it was raining on the day of the British surrender at Yorktown.
Here are some tidbits of actual information:
For the longest time, war was considered "gentleman's business" (or something like that, I can't remember the exact wording) so civilians, mostly women and children, were supposed to be relatively safe from attack. (Of course, the stuff that sometimes happened in the armies, mostly dealing with prisoners, can hardly be called "gentlemanly"). That is why Matthew is so pissed off at Alfred when he hears about what the Americans did at Port Dover (well, not including the fact that Port Dover and York are both in Canada).
The burning of Washington DC, although looked down upon by a lot of the European countries, is justified by the British as revenge again what the Americans did in Canada (and I do think the British had every right to be angry). However, the British were under strict orders not to touch unarmed civilians and private buildings so only public institutions were torched (some were saved). The White House and the Capitol building didn't burn down due to being made out of sandstone, but they were badly scorched. The Capitol was reconstructed from 1815 to 1819 and the White House from 1815 to 1817.