Mark Albertson, historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine and a member of the United States Naval Institute as well as being a member of the Navy League will return to speak to us about America, Europe and the War of 1812 . It is not merely another rendition of the conflict itself; rather, it delves into the status of the fledgling Republic at the outset of the 19th century.  For this is the beginning of the American Empire, Manifest Destiny.  And the talk explores this theme with such developments as the Louisiana Purchase; the decline of France and Spain as New World colonial powers; the War of 1812 as a backwater to the main event in Europe, the Napoleonic Wars; and, the long-slow thaw in Anglo-American relations that eventually resulted in the two powers becoming allies on April 6, 1917.