War of 1812

Introduction to War of 1812

War of 1812, a war between the United States and Great Britain, 181215. Neither nation won a clear victory, and the hopes of many Americans that Canada would be annexed to the United States were dashed. The war did end British support of the Indians who menaced settlement of United States territory west of the original colonies.

A dramatic incident of the war was the burning of the White House and other government buildings in Washington by the British in 1814. The words of the American national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," were written during this war and refer to one of its battles. In a sea battle Captain James Lawrence, wounded and facing defeat, ordered his men, "Don't give up the ship." Two of the war's military heroes became United States PresidentsAndrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison.

Background of the War

The war developed out of interference with United States ships during Great Britain's conflict with France under Napoleon. Under a plan called the Continental System, Napoleon attempted to cut off Britain's sea trade by declaring its ports blockaded and all the ports of continental Europe closed to British vessels. Britain, in turn, issued orders requiring neutral ships destined for continental ports to stop first in Great Britain to pay a duty on their cargoes. The British said they would seize ships that refused to comply, and the French, in turn, announced they would seize any ship entering or leaving a British port.

Another form of interference was the British practice of halting American ships to impress (seize and put into service) sailors on the grounds that they were deserters from the British navy. Although the British did not confine this practice to American vessels, it was especially abusive when American ships were involved because of the two nations' common language; many American citizens were impressed simply because they had what sounded like British accents.

In an attempt to force the British to change their maritime policies, the United States passed the Nonimportation Act in 1806, forbidding the importation of certain British goods. The act failed to have the desired effect.

In 1807 the U.S. Navy frigate Chesapeake was fired upon and severely damaged by the British frigate Leopard. Several United States sailors were killed, and the British seized four sailors they claimed were deserters from their navy. The Chesapeake-Leopard incident aroused public opinion against the British and there was a demand for war. To avoid a conflict, President Jefferson got Congress to pass the Embargo Act (1807), forbidding United States ships to sail to foreign ports. Jefferson thought that the act would be more effective than the Nonimportation Act because of Great Britain's great need for American goods.

The Embargo Act was replaced in 1809 by the Nonintercourse Act, which allowed commerce with all nations except Great Britain and France. Great Britain refused to modify its maritime policies but the French foreign minister gave the Americans the impression that Napoleon had revoked his decrees regarding neutral shipping, when in fact he had not. American anger was directed toward the British.

Great Britain, seeing that war fever was building in the United States, finally revoked the offending restrictions. But it was too late; Congress declared war two days later on June 18, 1812. If there had been some way to make Great Britain's action promptly known in Washington, war might have been averted.

New Englanders strongly opposed war, believing it would only make worse the harm that was being done to their shipping trade. The strongest pressure for war came from Congressional leaders known as "the War Hawks," who mainly represented the western frontier and the South. Their chief interest was the conquest of Canada and Florida. They aroused feeling for war by charging that Tecumseh's Indians, who had inflicted severe losses on William Henry Harrison's forces at Tippecanoe in 1811, had obtained arms from the British in Canada. Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun were among leaders of the War Hawks.

Events

An attack on Canada in the Detroit area was begun by the United States in 1812. This early assault ended in the defeat of the American forces and the capture of Detroit by the British. Another American force that attempted an invasion of Canada across the Niagara River was defeated that same year at Queenston (near Niagara).

The U.S. Navy gave a good account of itself in a number of single-ship engagements. Notable American successes in 1812 included the capture of the Macedonian by the United States and victories by the Constitution ("Old Ironsides") over the Guerrire and the Java. The U.S. Navy, however, had only 14 war vessels, and was too small to prevent the British Navy, which could call upon 1,048 war vessels, from imposing an effective blockade on American ports. The blockade destroyed American trade and eventually contributed to the desire of the United States to end the war. Lone American warships and privateers were highly effective during the war as commerce raiders, and the British lost many merchant ships to American attacks.

Detroit was recaptured by the Americans after Captain Oliver Hazard Perry achieved a brilliant naval victory on Lake Erie in 1813. Troops under General Harrison then defeated the British and Indians in the Battle of the Thames in Canada. Tecumseh was killed in this engagement.

In July, 1814, the United States attempted another invasion of Canada in the Niagara region. General Winfield Scott led a force that defeated the British in the Battle of Chippewa on July 5th. The American advance, however, was halted July 25th at the Battle of Lundy's Lane.

The British in 1814 were able to fight the war more vigorously, using troops and ships released by their victory over Napoleon the same year. They launched an invasion of New York in August, but the invading army was forced to turn back to Canada when an American naval force under Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough defeated a British fleet on Lake Champlain, depriving the army of its naval support. Another large British force was turned back from Baltimore after it had burned Washington, D.C. New Orleans was the next major British goal. Major General Andrew Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans in January, 1815; communications were so slow that neither Jackson nor the British knew that their countries had signed a peace treaty at Ghent, Belgium, on December 28, 1814.

The Peace

The Treaty of Ghent was actually little more than an agreement to stop the fighting and to return Anglo-American relations to their prewar status. The United States achieved none of the objectives for which it fought the war against Great Britain. The treaty did not deal with the impressment of sailors, indemnities for seizures, or other maritime disputes. What the treaty did provide for was (1) the release of prisoners, (2) the return of all conquered territories, and (3) the creation of four commissions to settle disputes over the United StatesCanadian boundary lines.

Despite the inconclusive nature of the peace treaty, Americans were convinced that they had won the war. The treaty was unanimously ratified by the United States Senate in 1815.

All of the results of the war, however, were not revealed by the treaty. In fighting the war, the United States had tested and successfully demonstrated its independence. The war also marked the emergence of the United States as a continental power and a hemispheric power. Internally, the war ended the political conflicts that had deeply divided the country, bringing on what was called the Era of Good Feeling. The Federalist party, many of whose leaders had bitterly opposed the war, soon disintegrated. A united country, imbued with the spirit of nationalism, then turned its attention to internal development and to westward expansion to the Pacific.