The War of 1812

The War of 1812
By Denis Mueller

The war is largely forgotten and, if remembered at all, it is for the Johnny Horton song, and yeah, doesn't "The Star-Spangled Banner" have something to do about the war? Yes, our national anthem was written during "The War of 1812." but some of the reasons for the war and what it was about are often forgotten.

The grievances by the United States include English boats capturing - what the United States said were their citizens - by the English, who claimed that they were their subjects. This was a major issue for the new country. But there were other issues as well. The Americans aimed to drive the Indians further and further west.

One event we mention when high school history classes talk about the war is that New England manufacturers were against the war because of their ties to the emerging British industry. But what they often leave out is that some in the south feared that the British would soon end the slave trade. In fact, they would, but this would not occur until the 1830s.

What we will often see about the war is pictures, what I mean is paintings, lithographs and such, of the burning of Washington but we do not hear about how, in some ways, this was an invasion of Canada by the Americans. It was the Americans who invaded Canada and burned, including York, several towns. In fact the invasion of Washington was done in retaliation.

In Canada, it is viewed as a war where the Canadians resisted American expansion. "In Canada, we learn that we successfully resisted your invasion, and that led to the groundwork for what would eventually become our nation," answers Jack Grantstein, a former director of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

This is vastly different view of the conflict but actions that followed the war point to this view that the war was about American expansion, as valid. Following the war the US turned its expansionist designs into Native-American land and Mexico. We took a third of Mexico, including California, leaving, unlike Canada in the North, Mexico as a defeated possible rival in the south. What this meant was that the United States would now direct its expansionist
efforts south and west.

The war was a failure for the United States. In the end we were able to keep what we had only because the British were too busy fighting Napoleon. Our capital was burned down in an act of revenge for what we had done to towns north of the border. But there are lessons that can be learned from this conflict. The important one is that small nations can defeat larger nations on their own soil.

Source: New York Times

War of 1812 Timeline

DATE	EVENT
1803-1812	British impress approximately 10,000 Americans forcing them to work on British ships.
July 23, 1805	British decide in Essex case that American traders who travels between neutral and enemy ports will be justification for seizing many commercial ships.
January 25, 1806	James Madison delivers report concerning British interference and impressment of sailors causing much anti-British feelings to arise.
August, 1806	American minister James Monroe and envoy William Pinkney are unable to resolve the major problems between the British and Americans concerning commercial shipping and impressment.
1806	British blockade France; American ships are caught in the middle and the British seize approximately 1000 US ships.
March 1807	Thomas Jefferson receives the Monroe-Pinkney treaty but does not submit it to Congress because it is a dismal failure for the Americans.s
June 1807	The American ship Chesapeake was fired on by the British ship Leopard after refusing to be boarded. This created an international incident.
December 1807	Thomas Jefferson attempts "peaceful coercion" of the British with his embargo but it results in economic disaster for merchants.
1811	Battle of Tippecanoe - Tecumseh's brother (the Prophet) led attack on Harrison's army of 1000 men.
June 18, 1812	America declares war against the British. This war is known as "Mr. Madison's War" or "The Second American Revolution."
August 16, 1812	U.S. loses Ft. Mackinac as the British invade American territory.
1812	Three attempts are made by the U.S. to invade Canada. They all end in failure.
1812	The USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") defeats the HMS Guerriere.
January 1813	Battle of Frenchtown. British and Indian allies repel Kentucky troops in bloody fighting. The American survivors are killed in the Raisin River Massacre.
April 1813	Battle of York (Toronto). US troops take control of Great Lakes and burn York.
September 1813	Battle of Lake Erie. US forces under Captain Perry defeat a British naval attack.
October 1813	Battle of Thames (Ontario, Canada). Tecumseh is killed in a US victory.
March 27, 1814	Battle of Horseshoe Bend (Mississippi Territory). Andrew Jackson defeats the Creek Indians.
1814	The British plan a 3-part invasion of US: Chesapeake Bay, Lake Champlain, & the mouth of Mississippi River. The British are eventually turned back at Baltimore harbor.
August 24-25, 1814	The British burn Washington, D.C. and Madison flees the White House.
September 1814	Battle of Plattsburgh (Lake Champlain). The US secures its northern border with a huge victory over a larger British force.
December 15,1814	The Hartford Convention occurs. A group of Federalists discuss secession and propose seven amendments to protect the influence of Northeastern states.
December 24, 1814	Treaty of Ghent. The British and American diplomats agree to return to the status quo from before the war.
January 1815	Battle of New Orleans. Andrew Jackson scores a huge victory and paves the way to the White House. 700 British are killed, 1400 are wounded. The US only loses 8 soldiers.

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