The War of 1812 was a military conflict that lasted from
June 18, 1812, to February 18, 1815, fought between the United States of
America and the United Kingdom, its North American colonies, and its North
American Indian allies. Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a
war in its own right, but Europeans often see it as a minor theater of the
Napoleonic Wars. By the war's end in early 1815 the key issues had been resolved
and peace came with no boundary changes.
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| Re-enactors (in UK uniforms) fire muskets toward the "Americans" in this annual commemoration of the June 6, 1813 Battle of Stoney Creek |
The United States declared war for several reasons,
including trade restrictions brought about by the British war with France, the impressment of as many as 10,000 American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy,
British support for Native American tribes fighting American settlers on the
frontier, outrage over insults to national honor during the Chesapeake–Leopard
Affair, and American interest in annexing British territory, and expanding the
United States further north. The primary British war goal was to defend
their North American colonies; they also hoped to set up a neutral Indian
buffer state in the Midwest that would impede American expansion in the Old
Northwest and to minimize American trade with Napoleonic France, which Britain
was blockading.
The war was fought in three theaters. First, at sea,
warships and privateers of each side attacked the other's merchant ships, while
the British blockaded the Atlantic coast of the United States and mounted large
raids in the later stages of the war. Second, land and naval battles were
fought on the U.S.–Canadian frontier. Third, large-scale battles were fought in
the Southern United States and Gulf Coast. At the end of the war, both sides
signed and ratified the Treaty of Ghent and, in accordance with the treaty,
returned occupied land, prisoners of war and captured ships (though neither
side returned the other's warships due to frequent re-commissioning upon
capture) to its pre-war owner and resumed friendly trade relations without
restriction.
With the majority of its land and naval forces tied down in
Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars, the British used a defensive strategy
until 1814. Early victories over poorly-led U.S. armies demonstrated that the conquest
of the Canadas would prove more difficult than anticipated. Despite this, the
U.S. was able to inflict serious defeats on Britain's Native American allies,
ending the prospect of an Indian confederacy and an independent Native American
state in the Midwest under British sponsorship. U.S. forces took control of
Lake Erie in 1813, and seized western parts of Upper Canada. However, an
American attempt to capture Montreal was repulsed in November 1813. Despite the
major U.S. victory at Chippawa on July 5, 1814, serious attempts to fully
conquer Upper Canada were ultimately abandoned following the bloody Battle of
Lundy's Lane on July 25, 1814, which led to the Siege of Fort Erie and the
final major battle fought on the Canadian side of the border.
In April 1814, with the defeat of Napoleon, Britain now had
large, seasoned armies to use. It adopted a more aggressive strategy, sending
large invasion armies and tightening their naval blockade. However, with the
end of the Napoleonic Wars, both governments were eager for a return to
normality and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August 1814. In the Deep
South, General Andrew Jackson destroyed the military strength of the Muscogee
(Creek) Nation at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In September 1814, the British
won the Battle of Hampden, allowing them to occupy eastern Maine, and the
British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg in August 1814 allowed them to
capture and burn Washington, D.C. They were repulsed, however, in an attempt to
take Baltimore and Fort Bowyer. An American victory in September 1814 at the
Battle of Plattsburgh repulsed the British invasions of New York, which, along
with pressure from merchants on the British government, prompted British
diplomats to drop their demands at Ghent for an independent native buffer state
and territorial claims that London previously sought. As it took six weeks for
the ship carrying news of the peace treaty to cross the Atlantic, it did not
arrive before the British suffered a major defeat at New Orleans in January
1815.
In the United States, late victories over invading British
armies at the battles of Plattsburg, Baltimore (inspiring the United States
national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner") and New Orleans produced
a sense of euphoria over a "second war of independence" against
Britain.The war ended on a high note for Americans, winning the final
major and minor engagements of the war and bringing an "Era of Good
Feelings" in which partisan animosity nearly vanished in the face of
strengthened American nationalism. The war was also a major turning point in
the development of the U.S. military. The poor performance of several U.S.
militia units, particularly during the 1812–13 invasions of Canada and the 1814
defence of Washington, convinced the U.S. government of the need to move away
from its Revolutionary-era reliance on militia and focus on creating a more
professional regular force. Spain was involved in fighting in Florida but was
not an official belligerent; some Spanish forces fought alongside the British
during the Occupation of Pensacola. The U.S. took permanent ownership of
Spain's Mobile District.
In Upper and Lower Canada, British and local Canadian
militia victories over invading U.S. armies became iconic and promoted the
development of a distinct Canadian identity, which included strong loyalty to
Britain. Today, particularly in Ontario, memory of the war retains its
significance, because the defeat of the invasions ensured that the Canadas
would remain part of the British Empire, rather than be annexed by the United
States. The government of Canada declared a three year commemoration of the War
of 1812 in 2012; numerous events have taken place including re-enactments
of specific battles. These are intended to commemorate the war, offer
historical lessons and celebrate 200 years of peace across the border.
The conflict has not been commemorated on nearly the same
level in the modern-day United States, though it is still taught as an
important part of early American history, and Dolley Madison's and Andrew
Jackson's respective roles in the war are especially emphasized. The
war is scarcely remembered in Britain, being heavily overshadowed by the much
larger Napoleonic Wars occurring in Europe.
Credits: Wikipedia
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