The War of 1812

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The War of 1812

• By Maria Magidenko

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The Whos Whats Whens Wheres and Whys of the
War

• The War of 1812 lasted from1812 to1815. America
  declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812. The
  Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, was signed
  on December 24, 1814 but news about the peace
  treaty took two months to reach the U.S., so the
  fighting continued until 1815. The war was fought
  between the United States and Great Britain and
  her North American colonies in Upper and Lower
  Canada (Ontario and Québec), New Brunswick,
  Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island,
  Cape Breton Island and Bermuda. Most of the war
  was fought on the Atlantic Ocean and the land,
  coast, and waterways of America. The war was
  fought on the oceans where warships and
  privateers attacked the other side's merchant
  shipping along the Atlantic coast of the U.S.
  which was blockaded by the British along the
  Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence river (which
  separated the U.S. from Canada) and along the
  coast of the Gulf of Mexico. During the war, both
  the British and Americans invaded each others'
  territories, but were unsuccessful or gained only
  temporary success. At the end of the war, the
  British had parts of Maine and some outposts in
  the West and the Americans held Canadian
  territory by Detroit, but these territories were
  restored at the end of the war. America declared
  war on Britain because of trade restrictions
  Britain enforced to stop Americas trade with
  France, the impressment of American sailors into
  the Royal Navy (American seamen were accused of
  being British deserters and they were forced to
  join the Royal Navy), and because the British
  offered military support to the Native Americans
  who were resisting the expansion of the American
  frontier.

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How did the War of 1812 affect both sides?

• At the start of the war, America had only
  state-raised militias (which had poor training)
  and America had financial and logistical
  problems. Military and civilian leadership was
  the biggest weakness until 1814. Since New
  England was against the war, it refused to
  provide troops or financing. America failed to
  take control of Canada, the capital was burnt,
  and the navy was swept off the seas. But in the
  end, peace has gotten them much farther than war
  has.
• Britain was at war with Napoleon during the time
  so the War of 1812 was sort of like a sideshow
  and Britain was less affected by the fighting.
  Britain was more focused on Napoleon but after
  the war with the French was over, they could send
  more troops to the Americas.

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The Embargo and Non-Intercourse Acts

• In 1807, Thomas Jefferson passed the embargo act
  which forbade Americans to leave for foreign
  ports. But instead of helping America, the
  embargo act hurt America, so in 1809, it was
  replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act which
  reopened trade with all nations except for
  Britain and France. But in this act, the
  President had the power to renew the trade with
  either of those two nations if and when either
  should stop their violations of American rights
  on the seas. Soon after this act came into
  effect, James Madison became president. He
  received a promise from the British Minister that
  England would revoke the Orders in Council (which
  forbade neutral ships to go to a French port
  without stopping at a British one). But the
  British Minister was replaced, and Madison failed
  to bring about peace with England.

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The Battle of Tippecanoe Creek and the Beginning
of the War

• Ever since the Revolution, American settlers had
  been pushing into the West. In 1794, General
  Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians at the Battle
  of Fallen Timbers. Also, in the same year,
  Britain gave up their control of the western
  forts. It seemed that the Indians would no longer
  be a threat to American settlers. But instead,
  Chief Tecumseh united the Indians and encouraged
  them to fight back. Together, the Indians
  organized a great confederacy of Indian tribes to
  block the westward push of America. In 1811,
  William Henry Harrison gathered a military force
  to break up the Indian Confederacy. He wanted to
  destroy the town Tippecanoe Creek so he led his
  men to camp about a mile from the Indian village.
  The Indians made a surprise attack at dawn, but
  the Americans drove the Indians back and set fire
  to the village. The men found that the Indians
  were being supplied with weapons from the British
  and they were outraged. The British foolishly
  gave America another reason to go to war when
  they refused to revoke their Orders in Council.
  Congress voted on going to war and the vote was
  close. In the Senate it was 19 to 13 and in the
  House 79 to 49. The West and South voted for the
  war and New England voted against it. But two
  days after Congress acted, Britain announced that
  she had suspended the Orders in Council. But it
  was too late.

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Invasions, Naval Battles, and the Blockade

• The war didn't start well for the U.S. when an
  attempt to invade Canada in August 1812 was
  unsuccessful. A second invasion (but this time in
  the Niagara Peninsula) was defeated in October
  1812 at the Battle of Queenston Heights. Then,
  Detroit fell to British General Isaac Brock. The
  American territory north and west of Ohio had
  fallen to the enemy. But even though the battles
  fought on land in 1812 were unsuccessful, the war
  at sea brought glory to the navy. Captain Isaac
  Hulls Constitution outfought and sank the
  British frigate Guerriére by Nova Scotia. And
  Captain Jacob Joness Wasp bested the Frolic. The
  frigate United States commanded by Captain
  Stephen Decatour captured the Macedonian. And the
  Hornet sank the Peacock. Five one-sided victories
  in a row shocked the British but kept the outlook
  good for the American navy. At the end of 1812,
  the British tried to blockade the Atlantic coast
  from New York to Savannah. But they did not
  blockade New England because they hoped that New
  England would separate from the rest of the
  country because the Americans there were against
  the war. But when New England did not do so, the
  British blockaded New England as well. They used
  Chesapeake Bay as a naval station and made it
  difficult to import goods into the United States.
  The blockade encouraged Americans to make their
  own goods and once the war was over, New England
  became a large industrial region. The Americans
  dispatched cruisers which captured British
  merchant convoys and whalers and many American
  privateersmen roamed the seas. But even this did
  not force the British to loosen their blockade of
  the American coast. In 1813, the Chesapeake of
  the U.S. Navy and the British frigate Shannon
  fought thirty miles outside of Boston Harbor.
  Both ships fired at the same time and were hit
  hard, but the Chesapeake suffered most. Captain
  Lawrence was shot through the lungs and as he
  heard the British board the ship, he cried out
  Dont give up the ship! The British still took
  the Chesapeake into Halifax as a prize and
  Lawrences dying words became the rallying cry of
  the American navy.

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The Battle of Lake Erie and the Battle of the
Thames

• Hull had lost Detroit in 1812, and Harrison had
  made little headway in getting it back the
  following year. These failures made it clear that
  the Americans had to gain control of Lake Erie
  before they could recapture the city. Captain
  Perry assembled a fleet, guns, and crews. In
  August 1813, he sailed up the lake and anchored
  in Put-In-Bay. There, on September 1813, he met
  the British fleet. His ship was battered and all
  of his officers were killed but he refused to
  give up. He took a small boat and was rowed over
  to the Niagara and kept on fighting. Soon the
  entire British fleet surrendered. In fifteen
  minutes Perry had gained control of Lake Erie.
• With Lake Erie cleared of the British, Harrison
  sailed against Fort Malden. A regiment of
  Kentucky mounted riflemen moved along the shore
  of the lake toward Detroit. The British tried to
  retreat eastward but Harrison caught up to them
  about eighty-five miles from Malden. Most of the
  British surrendered and the Indians fled into the
  woods but the Kentuckians fought with them
  hand-to-hand. Chief Tecumseh was killed and this
  battle shattered the Indian Confederacy.

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Setbacks in the North and the British go on the
Offensive

• One of the biggest failures of the United States
  in the war was the expedition launched in 1813
  against Montreal. This group of 6,000 men was led
  by Wilkinson. A second force led by General
  Hampton was supposed to move north against
  Montreal from Lake Champlain. Hamilton and
  Wilkinson despised each other and it was clear
  that they couldnt work together. Wilkinsons men
  were driven back about ninety miles from the city
  and Hamilton never even started. At the end of
  the year, the British seized Fort Niagara and
  burned Buffalo.
• In early 1814, Napoleon was overthrown so England
  was now able to throw all of her strength into
  the war with America. The British planned to go
  south into New York through Lake Champlain,
  against Washington and Baltimore from the
  Chesapeake Bay, and to seize New Orleans and get
  control of the Mississippi River. The British
  tightened the blockade of the American coast. But
  Wilkinson and other incompetent generals were
  removed and better people were chosen to lead the
  U.S. fighting forces.

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The Battle of Lake Champlain

• Before the British could start their invasion,
  Americans crossed the Niagara River into Canada
  and took control of Fort Erie. The British and
  Americans fought the Battle of Chippewa and the
  British lines crumbled. Still, the invasion of
  Canada got nowhere. Americans tried to fight a
  battle at Lundys Lane but were pushed back to
  Fort Erie. The British attacked the fort but
  Americans held out and forced the British to
  withdraw. Then the Americans destroyed the fort
  and gave up the drive to Canada. In September
  1814, the big British land and water attack along
  Lake Champlain got under way. The British
  outnumbered the Americans at Plattsburg, New
  York, by about four to one. The Americans
  anchored in the narrow channel between Crab
  Island and Cumberland Head. The Battle of Lake
  Champlain lasted two hours and twenty minutes.
  The Americans were victorious and took control of
  Lake Champlain and forced the British back into
  Canada.

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The Burning of Washington

• In August 1814, the British fleet landed at the
  mouth of the Patuxent River in Maryland and
  marched on to Washington. The Americans tried to
  stop them at Bladensburg but they were
  outnumbered. As the British entered the capital,
  government officials fled from the city. The
  British burned the White House, the Capitol, the
  Navy Yard, and other public buildings. This
  attack was called the "Burning of Washington.
  The British marched on to Baltimore.

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The Star Spangled Banner

• The British marched to Baltimore but the men
  there were already prepared. A force of a
  thousand men held Fort McHenry, where a line of
  sunken hulks barred enemy ships from entering the
  harbor. The enemy on land was opposed by 3,200
  militiamen. The Americans fell back but not
  before mortally wounding General Ross who was
  commanding the British. Because they failed to
  take Baltimore by land, the British bombarded
  Fort McHenry, which blocked the approach to
  Baltimore. Francis Scott Key, a Washington
  lawyer, had been sent to rescue William Beanes
  who was being held hostage by the British. Key
  got Beanes released but the men couldnt leave
  the ship until the fighting was over. The next
  morning, the British ceased their fire. The
  American flag still waved over Fort McHenry and
  Francis Scott Key took some notes for a song that
  he completed later in Baltimore. It was
  originally written as a poem and was printed at
  first as the Defense of Fort McHenry. And so
  the patriotic song was born.

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The Battle of New Orleans

• In August 1813, the Creeks, an Indian tribe,
  attacked Fort Mims, located about thirty-five
  miles above Mobile, Alabama. Of the 550 people in
  the fort, the Creeks massacred 250 and burned to
  death many more. When news of this reached Andrew
  Jackson, major general of the Tennessee militia,
  he gathered 2,000 volunteers. They went to
  Alabama and defeated the Creeks and their
  Cherokee allies at the Horseshoe Bend of the
  Tallapoosa River. He made the Creeks agree to
  give up part of their lands to the U.S. and get
  out of western and southern Alabama. At the same
  time, William Henry Harrison made peace with the
  Northwest Indians who now declared war on the
  British. At the end of November, a large British
  fleet sailed from Jamaica to attack New Orleans
  and seize control of the Mississippi River. In
  December 23, 1814, Jackson withdrew his men five
  miles from New Orleans and waited for the enemy.
  On January 8, 1815, the British attacked. The
  Americans fought back and in half an hour, 2,000
  British soldiers were killed or wounded compared
  to the 71 casualties the Americans sustained.
  Even though the Battle of New Orleans was
  Americas greatest land victory of the war, it
  had no effect on the outcome of the conflict. Two
  weeks earlier, peace had been signed, but it took
  so many weeks for the news to travel overseas
  that the war was over at the time of the Battle
  of New Orleans. But it still made the
  Americans proud at last of their fighting men.
  

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The Treaty of Ghent

• Peace talks had begun in August 1814, at Ghent in
  Flanders. The American commissioners were told to
  insist that the British stop impressment and
  cease the blockade and other actions on the seas
  that Americans considered illegal. The British
  commissioners were told to demand that a neutral
  Indian state be set up in the Northwest. But the
  Duke of Wellington told them that they couldnt
  demand for territory from the United States when
  Britain didnt control the Great Lakes and the
  English were tired of the war.
• The result was the each side gave up its claims
  against the other. The treaty ended the war and
  provided for the release of prisoners and the
  turning back of all territory conquered by either
  side. The treaty also provided for the naming of
  a commission to settle the dispute between the
  United States and Canada over the northeastern
  boundary.
• News of the signing of the treaty reached New
  York on February 11, 1815. The Senate quickly
  approved the treaty and a new era of peaceful
  relations between the two English-speaking
  countries had begun.

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Why was the War of 1812 important?

• Even though the War of 1812 did not settle a
  single issue that had caused the war, when the
  war was over, Britain and America were better
  friends than they had been since the U.S. had
  become an independent nation. After the war, the
  two countries entered an era of true peace. The
  War of 1812 was also very important because after
  the war, the United States had become a strong
  nation that the whole world respected.

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THE END!!!
The USS Constitution vs. the Guerriére
The Burning of Washington