| Revision as of 02:11, 28 January 2009 view sourceGB fan (talk | contribs)Oversighters, Administrators103,350 editsm Reverted 1 edit by 66.143.117.229 identified as vandalism to last revision by JLaTondre. (TW)← Previous edit | Revision as of 11:27, 28 January 2009 view source 96.49.167.246 (talk) ←Replaced content with 'fuck niggers, thats you oboma!!!'Next edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| fuck niggers, thats you oboma!!! | |||
| {{pp-semi-protect|small=yes}} | |||
| {{otheruses4|the Anglo-American War of 1812 to 1815|Napoleon's invasion of Russia|French invasion of Russia}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|beg}} | |||
| {{Infobox Military Conflict | |||
| |conflict=War of 1812 | |||
| |partof=] | |||
| |image=] | |||
| |caption=The ] | |||
| |date=June 18, 1812 – March 23, 1815 | |||
| |place= Eastern and Central North America, Gulf Coast, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans | |||
| |casus= | |||
| |territory= | |||
| |result= ] <br> '']'' | |||
| |combatant1={{flag|United States|1795}}<br><br><br>some native allies | |||
| |combatant2=]: <br>{{flagicon|UK}} ]<br>{{flagicon|UK}} ] <br>] | |||
| |commander1={{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] <br> {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] <br> {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] <br> {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] <br>{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] | |||
| |commander2={{Flagicon|UK}} ]<br>{{Flagicon|UK}} ]{{KIA}}<br>{{Flagicon|UK}} ]<br> {{Flagicon|UK}} ] <br>]{{KIA}} | |||
| |strength1={{flagicon|United States|1795}} '''United States'''<br> •'''Regular Army''':<br>— 7,000 (at start of war);<br>— 35,800 (at war's end) <br> •'''Rangers''': 3,049 <br> •'''Militia''': 458,463 * <br> •''']''' & <br> '''•]'''<br> (at start of war): <br>— ]: 6 <br>— Other vessels: 14 <br><br><br>'''Native allies''': (unknown) | |||
| |strength2={{flagicon|UK}} '''British Empire'''<br> •'''British Army''':<br>— 5,200 (at start of war);<br>— 48,160 (at war's end) <br> •'''Provincial Regulars''': 10,000 <br> •'''Provincial Militia''': 4,000 <br> •''']''' & <br> '''•]''': <br>— ]: 11 <br>— ]: 34<br>— Other vessels: 52 <br> •''']''' ‡ :<br> — (unknown) <br> '''Native allies''': 10,000<ref>{{cite book |title=His Majesty's Indian Allies |last=Allen |first=Robert S. |year=1996 |publisher=Dundurn Press |location= |isbn=1550021753 |page=121 |pages=296 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=t9T6y_zk5B0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=his+majesty%27s+indian+allies&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0#PPA121,M1 }}</ref> | |||
| |casualties1= 2,260 ]. <br> 4,505 wounded. <br> ca. 17,000 died from disease (estimated).<ref> All US figures from Hickey (1980) p.302-3 </ref> | |||
| |casualties2=1,600 killed in action. <br> 3,679 wounded. <br> 3,321 died from disease. | |||
| |notes=* Very few militia members left their homes to fight in the war's campaigns.<br>{{KIA}} ]<br>‡ a locally-raised ] and semi-naval force on the Great Lakes}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|mid}} | |||
| {{campaignbox War of 1812}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|mid}} | |||
| {{Campaignbox War of 1812: Niagara frontier}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|mid}} | |||
| {{Campaignbox War of 1812: Old Northwest}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|mid}} | |||
| {{Campaignbox War of 1812: Chesapeake campaign}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|mid}} | |||
| {{Campaignbox War of 1812: American South}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|mid}} | |||
| {{Campaignbox War of 1812: Naval}} | |||
| {{FixBunching|end}} | |||
| The '''War of 1812''' was fought from 1812 to 1815 between the ] and the ]. | |||
| The immediate stated causes for the U.S. declaration of war were several. First, a series of trade restrictions introduced by Britain to impede American trade with ], a country with which Britain was at war. The U.S. contested these restrictions as illegal under international law.<ref>Caffery, pp.56-58</ref> Second, the ] (forced recruitment) of U.S. citizens into the ]. Third, the alleged British military support for ] who were offering armed resistance to the United States.<ref>Caffery, pp.101-104</ref> | |||
| The war was fought in three major theatres: on the oceans, where the warships and privateers of both sides preyed on each other's merchant shipping; along the American coast, which was blockaded with increasing severity by the British who also mounted large-scale raids in the later stages of the war; and the long frontier between the United States and ] (the present-day province of ]) and ] (the present-day province of ]), which ran along the ] and the ]. The United States could directly attack British territory and armies only in this last theatre. During the course of the war, both the Americans and British launched invasions of each other's territory across this frontier, most of which were unsuccessful or gained only temporary success. At the end of the war, the British held parts of ] and some outposts in the sparsely populated west while the Americans held Canadian territory near Detroit, but all occupied territories were restored at the end of the war. | |||
| During the war, the Americans gained one of their unstated goals, by breaking the confederation of ] tribes who were resisting American expansion westward. Their leader, ], died at the ]. Several tribes were cut off from British support and signed treaties with the United States. While Natives continued to fight alongside British troops, they subsequently did so only as individual tribes or groups of warriors and where they were directly supplied and armed by British agents. | |||
| After two years of warfare, the major causes of the war had disappeared. Neither side had any reason to continue or any chance of gaining a decisive success which would compel their opponents to cede territory or advantageous peace terms. As a result of this stalemate, the two nations signed the ] on 24 December 1814. News of the peace treaty took several weeks to reach the U.S., during which fighting continued. In this interim, the Americans won a major victory at the ]. | |||
| In the U.S., battles such as New Orleans and the earlier successful ] produced a sense of euphoria over a "second war of independence" against Britain. They ushered in an "]", in which the partisan animosity that had once verged on treason practically vanished. Canada also emerged from the war with a heightened sense of national feeling and solidarity. This was later expressed as the "Militia Myth", the notion that locally recruited militia, rather than British regular troops, bore the major burden of the fighting in Canada and the adjoining parts of the United States. Britain, which had regarded the war as a sideshow to the ] raging in Europe, was less affected by the fighting. Its government and people subsequently welcomed an era of peaceful relations with the United States. | |||
| Today, the war is arguably best remembered for two events which have particular resonance in the modern world. First, the British capture and ] in August 1814 which necessitated its extensive renovation. From this event has arisen the tradition that the building's new white paint inspired a popular new nickname, ]. However, the tale appears apocryphal: the name "White House" is actually first attested in 1811. Second, the successful American defence of ] in September 1814 which inspired the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem, ]. | |||
| == Overview == | |||
| The war was fought between the United States and the British Empire, particularly ] and her North American colonies of ] (]), ] (]), ], ], as well as ]. | |||
| The war started poorly for the Americans in August 1812, when an attempt to invade Canada was repulsed by Major-General ] and a force of 350 regular British troops he commanded (supported in turn by local ]s and ]' warriors). This led to the British capture of ]. A second invasion on the ] was defeated on October 13, 1812 at the ] at which Brock was killed. The American strategy relied in part on militias that either resisted service or were incompetently led. Financial and logistical problems also plagued the American effort. Military and civilian leadership was lacking and remained a critical American weakness until 1814. ] opposed the war and refused to provide troops or finance.<ref> Hickey (1990) p. 80 </ref> Britain had excellent finance and logistics, but the war with France had a higher priority, so in 1812–13 it adopted a defensive strategy. After the final defeat of ] in 1814, the British were able to send veteran armies to the U.S., but by then the Americans had learned how to mobilize and fight.<ref> Hickey (1990) p. 126 </ref> | |||
| At sea, the powerful ] blockaded much of the coastline, though allowing substantial exports from New England, which was trading with Britain and Canada in defiance of American laws. The blockade devastated American agricultural exports but helped stimulate local factories that replaced goods previously imported. The American strategy of using small gunboats to defend ports was a fiasco, as the British raided the coast at will. The most famous episode was a series of British raids on the shores of ], including an attack on ] that resulted in the British burning of the ], the ], the ] and other public buildings, later called the "]". The British power at sea was sufficient to allow the Royal Navy to levy 'contributions' on bayside towns in return for not burning them to the ground. The Americans were more successful in ship-to-ship actions, building fast frigates. They sent out several hundred ]s to attack British merchant ships; British commercial interests were damaged, especially in the ].<ref> Mark Lardas, Tony Bryan, and Giuseppe Rava, ''American Light and Medium Frigates 1794-1836'' (2008), pp 6, 25; George Coggeshall, ''History of the American privateers,'' (2005)</ref> | |||
| The decisive use of naval power came on the ] and depended on a contest of building ships. In 1813, the Americans won control of Lake Erie and cut off British and native forces to the west from their supplies. Control of Lake Ontario changed hands several times, with neither side able or willing to take advantage of any temporary superiority. The Americans ultimately gained control of ], and naval victory there forced a large invading British army to turn back in 1814. In disrupting the power of the native peoples of the northwest and southeast, the Americans secured a major war goal.<ref> Hickey, ''War of 1812'' p. 183</ref> | |||
| Once Britain defeated France in 1814, it ended the trade restrictions and impressment of American sailors, thus removing another cause of the war. Both Great Britain and the United States agreed to a peace that left the prewar boundaries intact. | |||
| In January 1815 after the ] was signed but before word crossed the Atlantic, the Americans succeeded in ]. The British ]. | |||
| The war had the effect of uniting the populations within each country. Canadians celebrated the war as a victory because they avoided conquest. Americans celebrated victory personified in ]. He was the hero of the defense of New Orleans and in 1828 was elected the 7th President of the United States. | |||
| ==Origins of the war== | |||
| {{main|Origins of the War of 1812}} | |||
| On June 18, the United States declared war on Britain. The war had many causes, but at the center of the conflict was Britain's ongoing war with ]’s France. The British, said Jon Latimer in 2007, had only one goal: "Britain's sole objective throughout the period was the defeat of France." If America helped France, then America had to be damaged until she stopped, or "Britain was prepared to go to any lengths to deny neutral trade with France." Latimer concludes, "All this British activity seriously angered Americans." <ref> All quoted from Latimer, ''1812'' p.8.</ref> | |||
| ===Trade tensions=== | |||
| The British were engaged in war with the ] and did not wish to allow the Americans to trade with France, regardless of their theoretical neutral rights to do so. As Horsman explains, "If possible, England wished to avoid war with America, but not to the extent of allowing her to hinder the British war effort against France. Moreover...a large section of influential British opinion, both in the government and in the country, thought that America presented a threat to British maritime supremacy."<ref> Horsman (1962) p. 264 </ref> | |||
| The United States Merchant Marine had come close to doubling between 1802 and 1810.<ref>Caffery, p.51</ref> Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of all US cotton and 50% of all other US exports.<ref>Caffery, p.50</ref> The ] was the largest neutral fleet in the world by a large margin. The British public and press were very resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition.<ref>Toll, p.281</ref> The United States' view was that the United Kingdom was in violation of a neutral nation's right to trade with any nation it saw fit. | |||
| ===Impressment=== | |||
| During the ], the ] expanded to 175 ] and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors.<ref>Toll, p.382</ref> While the Royal Navy was able to man its ships with volunteers in peace time, in war it competed with ] and ]s for a small pool of experienced sailors and turned to ] when unable to man ships with volunteers alone. A sizeable number of sailors (estimated to be as many as 11,000 in 1805) in the United States merchant navy were Royal Navy veterans or deserters who had left for better pay and conditions.<ref>Caffrey, p.60</ref> The Royal Navy went after them by intercepting and searching U.S. merchant ships for deserters. Such actions incensed the Americans, especially the ]. | |||
| The United States believed that British deserters had a right to become United States citizens. Britain did not recognize naturalized United States citizenship, so in addition to recovering deserters, it considered any United States citizen born British was liable for impressment. Exacerbating the situation was the widespread use of forged identity papers by sailors. This made it all the more difficult for the Royal Navy to distinguish Americans from non-Americans and led it to impress some Americans who had never been British. (Some gained freedom on appeal.)<ref>Latimer (2007) ch 1</ref> American anger at impressment grew when British frigates stationed themselves just outside US harbors in US territorial waters and searched ships for contraband and impressed men in view of US shores.<ref>Toll, pp.278-279</ref> "Free trade and sailors' rights" was a rallying cry for the United States throughout the conflict. | |||
| ===Question of United States expansionism=== | |||
| {{POV-section|date=January 2009}} | |||
| Before 1940 some historians held that United States expansionism or desire for Canadian land was a reason for the war, but the theory lost supporters.<ref>Egan, 1974; see also Warren H. Goodman, "The Origins of the War of 1812: A Survey of Changing Interpretations." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol. 28, No. 2, (1941), pp. 171-186. Egan writes, "Almost all accounts of the 1811-1812 period have stressed the influence of a youthful band, denominated War Hawks, on Madison's policy. According to the standard picture, these men were a rather wild and exuberant group enraged by Britain's maritime practices, certain that the British were encouraging the Indians and convinced that Canada would be an easy conquest and a choice addition to the national domain. Like all stereotypes, there is some truth in this tableau; however, inaccuracies predominate. First, Perkins has shown that those favoring war were older than those opposed. Second, the lure of the Canadas has been played down by most recent investigators." Egan, 1974:74).</ref> Some Canadian historians propounded the notion in the early 20th century, and it survives among most Canadians.<ref>Bowler, pp.11-32</ref> | |||
| Madison and his advisors believed that conquest of Canada would be easy and that economic coercion would force the British to come to terms by cutting off the food supply for their West Indies colonies. Furthermore, possession of Canada would be a valuable bargaining chip. Frontiersmen demanded the seizure of Canada not because they wanted the land, but because the British were thought to be arming the Indians and thereby blocking settlement of the west.<ref name = "Stagg-1983">Stagg (1983){{where}}</ref> As Horsman concluded, "The idea of conquering Canada had been present since at least 1807 as a means of forcing England to change her policy at sea. The conquest of Canada was primarily a means of waging war, not a reason for starting it."<ref>Horsman (1962) p. 267{{where}}</ref> Hickey flatly stated, "The desire to annex Canada did not bring on the war."<ref>Hickey, p.72</ref> Brown (1964) concluded, "The purpose of the Canadian expedition was to serve negotiation not to annex Canada."<ref>Brown, p.128{{where}}</ref> Burt, a leading Canadian scholar, agreed completely, noting that Foster, the British minister to Washington, also rejected the argument that annexation of Canada was a war goal. <ref>Burt(1940) pp.305-10{{where}}</ref> | |||
| The majority of the inhabitants of ] (Ontario) were either exiles from the United States (]s) or post-war immigrants. The Loyalists were hostile to union with the U.S., while the other settlers seem to have been uninterested. The Canadian colonies were thinly populated and only lightly defended by the British Army. Americans then believed that many in Upper Canada would rise up and greet a United States invading army as liberators, a now discredited belief. The combination suggested an easy conquest, as former president ] seemed to believe in 1812, "the acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighbourhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching, and will give us the experience for the attack on Halifax, the next and final expulsion of England from the American continent." | |||
| The declaration of war was passed by the smallest margin recorded on a war vote in the United States Congress.<ref name=toll329>Toll, p.329</ref> On May 11, Prime Minister ] was shot and killed by an assassin, resulting in a change of the British government putting ] in power. Liverpool wanted a more practical relationship with the United States. He issued a repeal of the impressment orders, but the US was unaware, as it took three weeks for the news to cross the Atlantic.<ref name=toll329/> | |||
| ==Course of the war== | |||
| Although the outbreak of the war had been preceded by years of angry diplomatic dispute, neither side was ready for war when it came. Britain was heavily engaged in the ]; most of the ] was engaged in the ] (in Spain), and the Royal Navy was compelled to blockade most of the coast of Europe. The total number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially stated to be 6,034, supported by Canadian militia.<ref>Hickey (1990) p. 72-75</ref> Throughout the war, the British ] was the ]. For the first two years of the war, he could spare few troops to reinforce North America and urged the ] in North America (Lieutenant General Sir ]) to maintain a defensive strategy. The naturally cautious Prevost followed these instructions, concentrating on defending ] at the expense of ], which was more vulnerable to American attacks, and allowing few offensive actions. In the final year of the War, large numbers of British soldiers became available after the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. Prevost launched an offensive of his own into Upper ], but mishandled it, and was forced to retreat after the British lost the ]. | |||
| The United States was not prepared to prosecute a war, for President Madison assumed that the state militias would easily seize Canada and negotiations would follow. In 1812, the regular army consisted of fewer than 12,000 men. Congress authorized the expansion of the army to 35,000 men, but the service was voluntary and unpopular, it offered poor pay and there were very few trained and experienced officers, at least initially. The militia called in to aid the regulars objected to serving outside their home states, were not amenable to discipline, and as a rule, performed poorly in the presence of the enemy when outside of their home state. The U.S. had great difficulty financing its war. It had disbanded its national bank, and private bankers in the Northeast were opposed to the war. | |||
| The early disasters brought about chiefly by American unpreparedness and lack of leadership drove ] ] from office. His successor, ], attempted a coordinated strategy late in 1813 aimed at the capture of ], but was thwarted by logistical difficulties, uncooperative and quarrelsome commanders, and ill-trained troops. By 1814, the ]'s morale and leadership had greatly improved, but the embarrassing ] led to Armstrong's dismissal from office in turn. The war ended before the new ] ] could put any new strategy into effect. | |||
| American prosecution of the war also suffered from its unpopularity, especially in ], where anti-war spokesmen were vocal. The failure of New England to provide militia units or financial support was a serious blow. Threats of secession by New England states were loud; Britain immediately exploited these divisions, blockading only southern ports for much of the war and encouraging smuggling. | |||
| The war was conducted in three theatres of operations: | |||
| #The ] | |||
| #The ] and the Canadian frontier | |||
| #The Southern States | |||
| ===Atlantic theatre=== | |||
| ====Single-ship actions==== | |||
| In 1812, Britain's ] was the world's largest, with several hundred vessels in commission. Although most of these were involved in blockading the French navy and protecting British trade against French (and Danish) privateers, the Royal Navy nevertheless had eighty-five vessels in American waters.<ref>Toll, p.180 Admiralty reply to British press criticism</ref> By contrast, the ], which was not yet twenty years old, was a ] that had only twenty-two commissioned vessels, though a number of the American ]s were exceptionally large and powerful for their class. Whereas the standard British frigate of the time mounted 38 guns, with their main battery consisting of 18-pounder guns, the ], ] and ] were theoretically 44-gun ships and capable of carrying 56 guns respectively, with a main ] of 24-pounders.<ref>Toll, p.50</ref> | |||
| ] defeats ]; a significant event during the war]] | |||
| The British strategy was to protect their own merchant shipping to and from ], Canada and the ], and to enforce a blockade of major American ports to restrict American trade. Because of their numerical inferiority, the Americans aimed to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics, such as the capture of ] and engaging ] vessels only under favorable circumstances. Days after the formal declaration of war however, two small squadrons sailed, including the frigate USS ''President'' and the sloop ] under Commodore ], and the frigates USS ''United States'' and ], with the brig ] under Captain ]. These were initially concentrated as one unit under Rodgers, and it was his intention to force the Royal Navy to concentrate its own ships to prevent isolated units being captured by his powerful force. Large numbers of American merchant ship were still returning to the United States, and if the Royal Navy was concentrated, it could not watch all the ports on the American seaboard. Rodgers' strategy worked, in that the Royal Navy concentrated most of its frigates off ] under Captain ], and allowed many American ships to reach home. However, his own cruise captured only five small merchant ships, and the Americans never subsequently concentrated more than two or three ships together as a unit. | |||
| Meanwhile, USS ''Constitution'', commanded by Captain ], sailed from ] on July 12. On July 17, Broke's British squadron gave chase off New York, but ''Constitution'' evaded her pursuers after two days. After briefly calling at Boston to replenish water, on August 19 ''Constitution'' ] ]. After a thirty five-minute battle, ''Guerriere'' had been dismasted and captured and was later burned. Hull returned to Boston with news of this significant victory. On October 25, the USS ''United States'', commanded by Captain Decatur, captured the British frigate ], which he then carried back to port.<ref>Toll, pp.360-365,</ref> At the close of the month, ''Constitution'' sailed south, now under the command of Captain ]. On December 29, off ], ], she met the British frigate ]. After a battle lasting three hours, ''Java'' ] and was burned after being judged unsalvageable. The USS Constitution however, was undamaged in the battle and earned the name "Old Ironsides." | |||
| The successes gained by the three big American frigates forced Britain to construct five 40-gun, 24-pounder heavy frigates <ref>Gardner, p.162</ref> and two of its own 50-gun "spar-decked" frigates (] and ]<ref>Gardner p.164</ref>), and to ] three old 74 gun ships of the line to convert them to heavy frigates.<ref>Gardner, p.163</ref> It was acknowledged by the Royal Navy that there were factors other than greater size and heavier guns. The United States Navy's sloops and brigs had also won several victories over Royal Navy vessels of approximately equal strength. While the American ships had experienced and well-drilled volunteer crews, the enormous size of the over-stretched Royal Navy meant that many ships were short-handed and the average quality of crews suffered, and constant sea duties of those serving in North America interfered with their training and exercises.<ref name = "Tollp.405">Toll, pp.405-417</ref> | |||
| The capture of the three British frigates stimulated the British to greater exertions. More vessels were deployed on the American seaboard and the blockade tightened. On June 1, 1813, off ], the frigate ], commanded by Captain ], was captured by the British frigate ] under Captain Sir Philip Broke. Lawrence was mortally wounded and famously cried out, "Don't give up the ship!","Hold on men!".<ref name = "Tollp.405"/> Although ''Chesapeake'' was only of equal strength to the average British frigate, and the crew had mustered together only hours before the battle, the British press reacted with almost hysterical relief that the run of American victories had ended.<ref>Forester, pp.131-132</ref> | |||
| In January 1813, the American frigate ], under the command of Captain ], sailed into the Pacific in an attempt to harass British shipping. Many British whaling ships carried ] allowing them to prey on American whalers and nearly destroyed the industry. ''Essex'' challenged this practice. She inflicted considerable damage on British interests before she was captured off Valparaiso, Chile, by the British frigate ] and the sloop ] on March 28, 1814.<ref>Naval Historical Centre </ref> | |||
| Following their earlier losses, the British Admiralty instituted a new policy that the three American heavy frigates should not be engaged except by a ship-of-the-line or smaller vessels in squadron strength. An example of this was the ] by a squadron of four British frigates in January 1815 (although the action was fought on the British side mainly by ]).<ref>James, p.363</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webroots.org/library/usamilit/hotusn07.html |title=WebRoots Library U.S. Military |publisher=Webroots.org |date= |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> | |||
| ====Blockade==== | |||
| The blockade of American ports later tightened to the extent that most American merchant ships and naval vessels were confined to port. The American frigates USS ''United States'' and USS ''Macedonian'' ended the war blockaded and ] in ]. Some merchant ships were based in Europe or Asia and continued operations. Others, mainly from New England, were issued licenses to trade by Admiral Sir ], Commander in Chief on the American station in 1813. This allowed Wellington's army in Spain to be supplied with American goods, as well as maintaining the New Englanders' opposition to the war. The blockade nevertheless resulted in American exports decreasing from $130 million in 1807 to $7 million in 1814.<ref>Robert Leckie, ''The Wars of America'' (1998) p. 255</ref> | |||
| The operations of American privateers, some of which belonged to the United States Navy but most of which were private ventures, were extensive. They continued until the close of the war and were only partially affected by the strict enforcement of ] by the Royal Navy. An example of the audacity of the American cruisers was the depredations in British home waters carried out by the American sloop ]. It was eventually captured off ] in ] by the British brig ], on August 14, 1813. A total of 1,554 vessels were claimed captured by all American naval and privateering vessels, 1300 of which were captured by privateers.<ref>http://www.usmm.org/warof1812.html]] reported that only 1,175 British ships were taken, 373 of which were recaptured, for a total loss of 802.<ref>''Hansard'', vol 29, pp.649-50.</ref> | |||
| As the Royal Navy base that supervised the blockade, the ] profited greatly during the war. British ]s based there seized many French and American ships and sold their prizes in Halifax. | |||
| The war was the last time the British allowed privateering, since the practice was coming to be seen as politically inexpedient and of diminishing value in maintaining its naval supremacy. It was certainly the swan song of Bermuda's privateers, who had returned to the practice with a vengeance after American lawsuits had put a stop to it two decades earlier. The nimble ]s captured 298 enemy ships (the total number of captures by all British naval and privateering vessels between the Great Lakes and the West Indies was 1,593).<ref>"The American War of 1812" </ref> | |||
| ====Atlantic coast==== | |||
| When the war began, the British naval forces had some difficulty in blockading the entire U.S. coast, and they were also preoccupied in their pursuit of American privateers. The British government, having need of American foodstuffs for its army in Spain, benefited from the willingness of the New Englanders to trade with them, so no blockade of New England was at first attempted. The ] and ] were declared in a state of blockade on December 26, 1812. | |||
| This was extended to the coast south of ] by November 1813 and to all the American coast on May 31, 1814. In the meantime, much illicit trade was carried on by collusive captures arranged between American traders and British officers. American ships were fraudulently transferred to neutral flags. Eventually the U.S. Government was driven to issue orders to stop illicit trading. This put only a further strain on the commerce of the country. The overpowering strength of the British fleet enabled it to occupy the Chesapeake and to attack and destroy numerous docks and harbors. | |||
| Additionally, commanders of the blockading fleet, based at the ], were given instructions to encourage the defection of American slaves by offering freedom, as they did during the Revolutionary War. Thousands of black slaves went over to the Crown with their families, and were recruited into the 3rd (Colonial) Battalion of the ] on occupied ], in the Chesapeake. A further company of colonial marines was raised at the Bermuda dockyard, where many freed slaves, men women and children, had been given refuge and employment. It was kept as a defensive force in case of an attack. These former slaves fought for Britain throughout the Atlantic campaign, including the attack on Washington D.C.and the Louisiana Campaign, and most were later re-enlisted into British West India regiments, or settled in ] in August, 1816, where seven hundred of these ex-marines were granted land (they reportedly organised themselves in villages along the lines of military companies). Many other freed American slaves were recruited directly into existing West Indian regiments, or newly created British Army units. A few thousand freed slaves were later settled at Nova Scotia by the British. | |||
| ====Maine==== | |||
| Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a base for smuggling and illegal trade between the U.S. and the British. From his base in ], in September 1814, Sir ] led 500 British troops in the "Penobscot Expedition." In 26 days he raided and looted ], ], and ], destroying or capturing 17 American ships. He won the ] (losing two killed while the Americans lost one killed) and occupied the village of ] for the rest of the war. This territory was returned to the United States by the ]. The British left in April 1815, at which time they took 10,750 pounds obtained from tariff duties at Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used in the establishment of ], in ], ].<ref> D. C. Harvey, "The Halifax–Castine expedition," ''Dalhousie Review'', 18 (1938–39): 207–13.</ref> | |||
| ====Chesapeake campaign and "The Star-Spangled Banner"==== | |||
| The strategic location of the Chesapeake Bay near America's capital made it a prime target for the British. Starting in March 1813, a squadron under Rear Admiral ] started a blockade of the bay and raided towns along the bay from ] to ]. | |||
| On July 4, 1813, ], a Revolutionary War naval hero, convinced the Navy Department to build the ], a squadron of twenty barges to defend the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in April 1814, the squadron was quickly cornered in the ], and while successful in harassing the ], they were powerless to stop the British campaign that ultimately led to the "]". This expedition, led by Cockburn and General ], was carried out between August 19 and August 29, 1814, as the result of the hardened British policy of 1814 (although British and American commissioners had convened peace negotiations at Ghent in June of that year). As part of this, Admiral Warren had been replaced as Commander-in-Chief by Admiral ], with reinforcements and orders to coerce the Americans into a favourable peace. | |||
| ] | |||
| Governor-General Sir ] of Canada had written to the Admirals in Bermuda calling for a retaliation for the American sacking of York (now ]). A force of 2,500 soldiers under General Ross, aboard a Royal Navy task force composed of ], three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels, had just arrived in Bermuda. Released from the ] by British victory, the British intended to use them for diversionary raids along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. In response to Prevost's request, they decided to employ this force, together with the naval and military units already on the station, to strike at Washington D.C. | |||
| On August 24, Secretary of War Armstrong insisted that the British would attack Baltimore rather than Washington, even when the British army was obviously on its way to the capital. The inexperienced American militia which had congregated at ], ], to protect the capital, were routed in the ], opening the route to Washington. While ] saved valuables from the ], President James Madison was forced to flee to ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/burning_washington.htm#rodgers-p |title=The Defense and Burning of Washington in 1814: Naval Documents of the War of 1812 |publisher=History.navy.mil |date= |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> | |||
| The British commanders ate the supper which had been prepared for the president before they burned the Presidential Mansion; American morale was reduced to an all-time low. The British viewed their actions as retaliation for destructive American raids into Canada, most notably the Americans' ] York (now ]) in 1813. Later that same evening, a furious storm swept into Washington D.C., sending one or more tornadoes into the city that caused more damage but finally extinguished the fires with torrential rains.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbook.com/1814.htm |title=The Tornado and the Burning of |publisher=Weatherbook.com |date= |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> The naval yards were set afire at the direction of U.S. officials to prevent the capture of naval ships and supplies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/burning_washington.htm#johnson |title=The Defense and Burning of Washington in 1814: Naval Documents of the War of 1812 |publisher=History.navy.mil |date= |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> The British left Washington D.C. as soon as the storm subsided. Having ], including the President's Mansion and the Treasury, the British army next moved to capture ], a busy port and a key base for American privateers. The subsequent ] began with the British landing at North Point, but they withdrew when General Ross was killed at an American outpost. The British also attempted to attack Baltimore by sea on September 13 but were unable to reduce ], at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. | |||
| ], where ] was inspired to write "]".]] | |||
| The Battle of Fort McHenry was no battle at all. British guns had range on American cannon, and stood off out of U.S. range, bombarding the fort, which returned no fire. Their plan was to coordinate with a land force, but from that distance coordination proved impossible, so the British called off the attack and left. All the lights were extinguished in Baltimore the night of the attack, and the fort was bombarded for 25 hours. The only light was given off by the exploding shells over Fort McHenry, which gave proof that the flag was still over the fort. The defense of the fort inspired the American lawyer ] to write a poem that would eventually supply the lyrics to "]". | |||
| ===Great Lakes and Western Territories=== | |||
| ====Invasions of Upper and Lower Canada, 1812==== | |||
| America's leaders assumed that Canada could be easily overrun. Former President Jefferson optimistically referred to the conquest of Canada as "a matter of marching." Many Loyalist Americans had migrated to Upper Canada after the Revolutionary War, and it was assumed they would favor the American cause, but they did not. In pre-war Upper Canada, General Prevost found himself in the unusual position of purchasing many provisions for his troops from the American side. This peculiar trade persisted throughout the war in spite of an abortive attempt by the American government to curtail it. In Lower Canada, much more populous, support for Britain came from the English elite with strong loyalty to the Empire, and from the French elite who feared American conquest would destroy the old order by introducing Protestantism and weakening the Catholic Church, anglicization, republican democracy, and commercial capitalism. The French inhabitants feared the loss to potential American immigrants of a shrinking area of good lands.<ref name=peter/> | |||
| In 1812–13, British military experience prevailed over inexperienced American commanders. Geography dictated that operations would take place in the west: principally around ], near the ] between Lake Erie and ], and near the ] area and ]. This was the focus of the three-pronged attacks by the Americans in 1812. Although cutting the St. Lawrence River through the capture of Montreal and Quebec would have made Britain's hold in North America unsustainable, the United States began operations first in the Western frontier because of the general popularity there of a war with the British, who had sold arms to the American Indians opposing the settlers. | |||
| The British scored an important early success when their detachment at ] on ] learned of the declaration of war before the nearby American garrison at the important trading post at ] in ]. A scratch force landed on the island on July 17, 1812, and mounted a gun overlooking ]. After the British fired one shot from their gun, the Americans, taken by surprise, surrendered. This early victory encouraged the Indians, and large numbers of them moved to help the British at ]. | |||
| An American army under the command of ] invaded Canada on July 12, with his forces chiefly composed of militiamen.<ref name=Warofetpagetof>{{Citation | |||
| | last = Benn | |||
| | first = Carl | |||
| | author-link = | |||
| | last2 = Marston | |||
| | first2 = Daniel | |||
| | author2-link = | |||
| | title = Liberty or Death: Wars That Forged a Nation | |||
| | place = ] | |||
| | publisher = ] | |||
| | year = 2006 | |||
| | volume = | |||
| | edition = | |||
| | url = | |||
| | doi = | |||
| | id = | |||
| | isbn = 1-86403-022-6}}</ref> Once on Canadian soil, Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender, or "the horrors, and calamities of war will stalk before you." He also threatened to kill any British prisoner caught fighting alongside an Indian. The proclamation helped stiffen resistance to the American attacks. The senior British officer in Upper Canada, Major-General ], decided to oppose Hull's forces, and felt that he should make a bold action to calm the settler population in Canada, and to try and convince the aboriginals that were needed to defend the region that Britain was strong.<ref name=Warofetpagetof/> Hull was worried that his army was too weak to achieve its objectives, and engaged in minor skirmishing, and felt more vulnerable after the British captured a vessel on ] carrying his baggage, medical supplies, and important papers.<ref name=Warofetpagetof/> On July 17, without a fight, the American fort on ] surrendered after a group of soldiers, fur traders, and native warriors ordered by Brock to capture the settlement deployed a piece of artillery overlooking the post before the fort realized, which led to its capitulation.<ref name=Warofetpagetof/> This capture secured British fur trade operations in the area, and maintained a British connection to the Native American tribes in the Mississippi region, as well as inspiring a sizable number of natives of the upper lakes region to combat the United States.<ref name=Warofetpagetof/> Hull, believing after he learned about the capture that the tribes along the Detroit border would rise up and oppose him and perhaps attack Americans on the frontier, on August 8 withdrew most of his army from Canada back to secure Detroit, whilst sending a request for reinforcements and ordering the American garrison at ] to abandon the post for fear of an aboriginal attack.<ref name=Warofetpagetof/> | |||
| Brock advanced on Fort Detroit with 1,200 men. Brock sent a fake correspondence and allowed the letter to be captured by the Americans, saying they required only 5,000 Native warriors to capture Detroit. Hull feared the Indians and their threats of torture and ]. Believing the British had more troops than they did, Hull ] without a fight on August 16. Fearing British-instigated Indian attacks on other locations, Hull ordered the evacuation of the inhabitants of ] (Chicago) to Fort Wayne. After initially being granted safe passage, the inhabitants (soldiers as well as civilians) were attacked by Potowatomi Indians on August 15 after traveling two miles (3 km), in what is known as the ]. The fort was subsequently burned. | |||
| Brock promptly transferred himself to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General ] was attempting a second invasion. An armistice (arranged by Prevost in the hope the British renunciation of the Orders in Council to which the United States objected might lead to peace) prevented Brock from invading American territory. When the armistice ended, the Americans attempted an attack across the ] on October 13, but suffered a crushing defeat at ]. Brock was killed during the battle. While the professionalism of the American forces would improve by the war's end, British leadership suffered after Brock's death. A final attempt in 1812 by American General ] to advance north from Lake Champlain failed when his militia refused to advance beyond American territory. | |||
| In contrast to the American militia, the Canadian militia performed well. ]s, who found the anti-Catholic stance of most of the United States troublesome, and ]s, who had fought for the Crown during the American Revolutionary War, strongly opposed the American invasion. However, a large segment of Upper Canada's population were recent settlers from the United States who had no obvious loyalties to the Crown. Nevertheless, while there were some who sympathized with the invaders, the American forces found strong opposition from men loyal to the Empire.<ref>See "" and "" in Dictionary of Canadian Biography</ref> | |||
| ====American Northwest, 1813==== | |||
| After Hull's surrender, General ] was given command of the American Army of the Northwest. He set out to retake Detroit, which was now defended by Colonel ] in conjunction with ]. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at ] along the ] on January 22, 1813. Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard, who were unable to prevent some of his North American Indian allies from attacking and killing perhaps as many as sixty Americans, many of whom were Kentucky militiamen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kynghistory.ky.gov/history/1qtr/warof1812.htm |title=Kentucky: National Guard History eMuseum - War of 1812 |publisher=Kynghistory.ky.gov |date= |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> The incident became known as the "River Raisin Massacre." The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, and the phrase "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans. | |||
| ]'s message to William Henry Harrison after the ] began with what would become one of the most famous sentences in American military history: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." This 1865 painting by William H. Powell shows Perry transferring to a different ship during the battle.]] | |||
| In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh set ] in northern ]. American reinforcements arriving during the siege were defeated by the Indians, but the fort held out. The Indians eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada. A second offensive against Fort Meigs also failed in July. In an attempt to improve Indian morale, Procter and Tecumseh attempted to ], a small American post on the ], only to be repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the Ohio campaign. | |||
| On Lake Erie, the American commander Captain ] fought the ] on September 10, 1813. His decisive victory ensured American control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats, and compelled the British to fall back from Detroit. This paved the way for General Harrison to launch another invasion of Upper Canada, which culminated in the U.S. victory at the ] on October 5, 1813, in which Tecumseh was killed. Tecumseh's death effectively ended the North American Indian alliance with the British in the Detroit region. American control of Lake Erie meant the British could no longer provide essential military supplies to their Indian allies, who therefore dropped out of the war. The Americans controlled the area for the duration of the war. | |||
| ====Niagara frontier, 1813==== | |||
| Because of the difficulties of land communications, control of the ] and the Saint Lawrence River corridor was crucial. When the war began, the British already had a small squadron of warships on ] and had the initial advantage. To redress the situation, the Americans established a Navy yard at ]. Commodore ] took charge of the large number of sailors and shipwrights sent there from New York. They completed the second warship built there in a mere 45 days. Ultimately, 3000 men worked at the shipyard, building eleven warships, and many smaller boats and transports. Having regained the advantage by their rapid building program, Chauncey and Dearborn attacked ] (now called ]), the capital of Upper Canada, on April 27, 1813. The ] was an American victory, marred by looting and the burning of the Parliament Buildings and a library. However, ] was strategically more valuable to British supply and communications along the St Lawrence. Without control of Kingston, the American navy could not effectively control Lake Ontario or sever the British supply line from ]. | |||
| On May 27, 1813, an American amphibious force from Lake Ontario assaulted ] on the northern end of the Niagara River and captured it without serious losses. The retreating British forces were not pursued, however, until they had largely escaped and organized a counter-offensive against the advancing Americans at the ] on June 5. On June 24, with the help of advance warning by ] ], another American force was forced to surrender by a much smaller British and Indian force at the ], marking the end of the American offensive into Upper Canada. Meanwhile, Commodore ] had taken charge of the British ships on the lake, and mounted a counter-attack, which was nevertheless repulsed at the ]. Thereafter, Chauncey's and Yeo's squadrons fought two indecisive actions, neither commander seeking a fight to the finish. | |||
| Late in 1813, the Americans abandoned the Canadian territory they occupied around Fort George. They set fire to the village of Newark (now ]) on December 15, 1813, incensing the British and Canadians. Many of the inhabitants were left without shelter, freezing to death in the snow. This led to British retaliation following the ] on December 18, 1813, and similar destruction at ] on December 30, 1813. | |||
| In 1814, the contest for Lake Ontario turned into a building race. Eventually, by the end of the year, Yeo had constructed ], a ] ] of 112 guns which gave him superiority, but the overall result of the ] had been an indecisive draw. | |||
| ====St. Lawrence and Lower Canada 1813==== | |||
| ]), John Tutela, and Young Warner, three ] War of 1812 veterans.]] | |||
| The British were potentially most vulnerable over the stretch of the Saint Lawrence where it also formed the frontier between Upper Canada and the United States. During the early days of the war, there was much illicit commerce across the river, but over the winter of 1812 - 1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from ] on the American side of the river, hampering British supply traffic up the river. On February 21, Sir George Prevost passed through ] on the opposite bank of the river, with reinforcements for Upper Canada. When he left the next day, the reinforcements and local militia attacked. At the ], the Americans were forced to retire. | |||
| For the rest of the year, Ogdensburg had no American garrison and many residents of Ogdensburg resumed visits and trade with Prescott. This British victory removed the last American regular troops from the Upper St Lawrence frontier and helped secure British communications with Montreal. Late in 1813, after much argument, the Americans made two thrusts against Montreal. The plan eventually agreed upon was for Major-General ] to march north from Lake Champlain and join a force under General ] which would embark in boats and sail from ] on Lake Ontario and descend the Saint Lawrence. Hampton was delayed by bad roads and supply problems and an intense dislike of Wilkinson, which limited his desire to support his plan. On October 25, his 4,000-strong force was defeated at the ] by ] smaller force of French-Canadian ] and ]. Wilkinson's force of 8,000 set out on October 17 but was also delayed by bad weather. After learning that Hampton had been checked, Wilkinson heard that a British force under Captain ] and Lieutenant-Colonel ] was pursuing him, and by November 10, he was forced to land near ], about 150 kilometers (90 mi) from Montreal. On November 11, Wilkinson's rearguard, numbering 2,500, attacked Morrison's force of 800 at ] and was repulsed with heavy losses. After learning that Hampton was unable to renew his advance, Wilkinson retreated to the U.S. and settled into winter quarters. He resigned his command after a failed attack on a British outpost at ]. | |||
| ====Niagara and Plattsburgh Campaigns, 1814==== | |||
| By the middle of 1814, American generals, including Major Generals ] and ], had drastically improved the fighting abilities and discipline of the army. Their renewed attack on the Niagara peninsula quickly captured ]. Winfield Scott then gained a victory over an inferior British force at the ] on July 5. An attempt to advance further ended with a hard-fought, but inconclusive, battle at ] on July 25. | |||
| The outnumbered Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged ]. The British suffered heavy casualties in a failed assault, and also were weakened by exposure and shortage of supplies in their siege lines. Eventually the British raised the siege, but the American Major General ] took over command on the Niagara front and followed up only half-heartedly. The Americans themselves lacked provisions, and eventually destroyed the fort and retreated across the Niagara. | |||
| Meanwhile, following the abdication of Napoleon, 15,000 British troops were sent to North America under four of Wellington’s most able brigade commanders. Fewer than half were veterans of the Peninsula and the remainder came from garrisons. Along with the troops came instructions for offensives against the United States. British strategy was changing, and like the Americans, the British were seeking advantages for the peace negotiations. Governor-General Sir ] was instructed to launch an invasion into the New York-Vermont region. The army available to him outnumbered the American defenders of ], but control of this town depended on being able to control Lake Champlain. On the lake, the British squadron under Captain ] and the Americans under Master Commandant ] were more evenly matched. | |||
| On reaching Plattsburgh, Prevost delayed the assault until the arrival of Downie in the hastily completed 36-gun frigate '']''. Prevost forced Downie into a premature attack, but then unaccountably failed to provide the promised military backing. Downie was killed and his naval force defeated at the naval ] in Plattsburgh Bay on September 11, 1814. The Americans now had control of Lake Champlain; ] later termed it "the greatest naval battle of the war." To the astonishment of his senior officers, Prevost then turned back, saying it would be too hazardous to remain on enemy territory after the loss of naval supremacy. Prevost's political and military enemies forced his recall. In London a naval court martial of the surviving officers of the Plattsburgh Bay debacle decided that defeat had been caused principally by Prevost’s urging the squadron into premature action and then failing to afford the promised support from the land forces. Prevost died suddenly, just before his own court martial was to convene. Prevost's reputation sank to new lows, as Canadians claimed their militia under Brock did the job and he failed. Recently, however, historians have been more kindly, measuring him not against Wellington but against his American foes. They judge Prevost’s preparations for defending the Canadas with limited means to be energetic, well conceived, and comprehensive, and against the odds he had achieved the primary objective of preventing an American conquest.<ref name=peter>Peter Burroughs, "" in Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online</ref> | |||
| ====American West, 1813-1814==== | |||
| ], 1810, It was defeated by British-supported Indians in 1813.]] | |||
| Far to the west of where regular British forces were fighting, more than 65 forts were built in the Illinois Territory, mostly by American settlers. Skirmishes between settlers and U.S. soldiers against Indians allied to the British occurred throughout the Mississippi River valley during the war. The ] were considered the most formidable tribe. Two notable battles fought by the Sauk were the Battle of Cote Sans Dessein at the mouth of the Osage River in the Missouri Territory, and the Battle of the Sinkhole near St. Louis. | |||
| In September 1813, ], an American outpost in what is now Iowa, was abandoned after it was attacked and besieged by Indians, who had support from the British. This was one of the few battles fought west of the Mississippi. ] participated in the siege of Fort Madison which helped to form his reputation as a resourceful Sauk leader.<ref>Jackson, Donald (1960), ''A Critic’s View of Old Fort Madison.'', Iowa Journal of History and Politics 58(1) pp.31–36</ref><ref>Black Hawk (1882) ''Autobiography of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak or Black Hawk.'' Continental Printing, St. Louis. (Originally published 1833)</ref> | |||
| Little of note took place on Lake Huron in 1813, but the American victory on Lake Erie and the recapture of Detroit isolated the British there. During the ensuing winter, a Canadian party under Lieutenant Colonel ] established a new supply line from York to ] on ]. When he arrived at Fort Mackinac with supplies and reinforcements, he sent an expedition to recapture the trading post of ] in the far West. The ] ended in a British victory on July 20, 1814. | |||
| Earlier in July, the Americans sent a force of five vessels from Detroit to recapture Mackinac. A mixed force of regulars and volunteers from the militia landed on the island on August 4. They did not attempt to achieve surprise, and at the brief ], they were ambushed by Indians and forced to re-embark. The Americans discovered the new base at Nottawasaga Bay and on August 13, they destroyed its fortifications and a schooner which they found there. They then returned to Detroit, leaving two gunboats to blockade Mackinac. On September 4, these gunboats were taken unawares and captured by enemy boarding parties from canoes and small boats. This ] left Mackinac under British control. | |||
| The British garrison at Prairie du Chien also fought off another attack by Major ]. In this distant theatre, the British retained the upper hand until the end of the war, through the allegiance of several Indian tribes that received British gifts and arms. At the conclusion of peace, Mackinac and other captured territory was returned to the United States. Fighting between Americans and the Sauk and other Indian tribes continued through 1817, well after the war ended in the east.<ref></ref> | |||
| ===Creek War=== | |||
| {{main|Creek War}} | |||
| In March 1814, Jackson led a force of ] militia, ],<ref name=lossing> | |||
| {{cite book | |||
| | last = Lossing | |||
| | first = Benson J. | |||
| | title = Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812 | |||
| | origdate = 1869 | |||
| | url = http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wcarr1/Lossing2/Contents.html | |||
| | accessdate = 2008-04-28 | |||
| | publisher = Harper & Brothers | |||
| | location = New York | |||
| | chapter = XXXIV: War Against the Creek Indians. | |||
| | chapterurl = http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wcarr1/Lossing2/Chap34.html | |||
| | isbn = 0781238609 | |||
| }} </ref> and ] warriors, and U.S. regulars southward to attack the ] tribes, led by Chief ]. On March 26, Jackson and General ] decisively defeated the Creek at ], killing 800 of 1,000 Creeks at a cost of 49 killed and 154 wounded out of approximately 2,000 American and Cherokee forces. Jackson pursued the surviving Creek until they surrendered. Most historians consider the Creek War as part of the War of 1812, because the British supported them. | |||
| ==The Treaty of Ghent== | |||
| ===Factors leading to the peace negotiations=== | |||
| By 1814 both sides were weary of a costly war that seemingly offered nothing but stalemate, and were ready to grope their way to a settlement. It is difficult to measure accurately the costs of the American War to Britain, because they are bound up in general expenditure on the Napoleonic War in Europe. But an estimate may be made based on the increased borrowing undertaken during the period, with the American war as a whole adding some £25 million to the national debt.<ref>Kenneth Ross Nelson, ‘Socio-Economic Effects of the War of 1812 on Britain’, PhD Dissertation, University of Georgia, 1972, pp.129-44.</ref> In America the cost was $105 million, though because the British pound was worth considerably more than the dollar, the costs of the war to both sides were roughly equal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.measuringworth.org/datasets/exchangepound/result.php |title=Measuring Worth - What Was Pound/ Dollar Exchange Rate Then? |publisher=Measuringworth.org |date= |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> The national debt rose from $45 million in 1812 to $127 million by the end of 1815, although through discounts and paper money the government received only $34 million worth of specie.<ref>Henry Adams, ''History of the United States of America (during the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison)'', New York: A. and C. Boni, 1930, vol. 7, p.385; Donald R. Hickey, ''The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict'', (1990), p.303.</ref> By this time, the British blockade of U.S. ports was having a detrimental effect on the American economy. Licensed flour exports, that had been close to a million barrels in 1812 and 1813, fell to 5,000 in 1814. By this time insurance rates on Boston shipping had reached 75 per cent, coastal shipping was at a complete standstill and New England was considering secession.<ref>Hickey, ''War of 1812'', pp.172-4; Samuel E. Morison, ''The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860'', (1941), pp.205-6.</ref> Exports and imports fell dramatically as American shipping engaged in foreign trade dropped from 948,000 tons in 1811 to just 60,000 tons by 1814. But although American privateers found chances of success much reduced, with most British merchantmen now sailing in convoy, privateering continued to prove troublesome to the British; with insurance rates between Liverpool, England, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, rising to 30 per cent, the '']'' complained that with American privateers operating around the British Isles ‘we have been insulted with impunity’.<ref>''Morning Chronicle'', November 2, 1814; Hickey, ''War of 1812'', pp.217-18.</ref> The British could not celebrate a great victory in Europe fully until there was peace in North America, and more pertinently, taxes could not come down until there was peace in North America. Landowners particularly balked at continued high taxation; both they and the shipping interest urged the government to secure peace.<ref>Jon Latimer, ''1812: War with America'', Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007, pp.362-5.</ref> | |||
| ===Negotiations and peace=== | |||
| ] | |||
| On December 24, 1814, diplomats from the two countries, meeting in ], ] (now in ]), signed the ]. This was ratified by the Americans on February 16, 1815. | |||
| Britain, which had forces in uninhabited areas near ] and ], and two towns in Maine, demanded cessation of large areas, plus turning most of the Midwest into a neutral zone for Indians. American public opinion was outraged when Madison published the demands; even the Federalists now were willing to fight on. The British were planning three invasions. One force burned Washington but failed to capture Baltimore and sailed away when its commander was killed. In New York 10,000 British veterans were marching south until a decisive defeat at the ] forced them back to Canada.<ref>The British were unsure whether the Washington episode was a total failure, but Plattsburg was a humiliation that called for court martial. Latimer, ''1812'', pp 331, 359, 365 </ref> Nothing was known of the fate of the third large invasion force aimed at capturing New Orleans and southwest. The Prime Minister wanted the Duke of Wellington to command in Canada and finally win the war. Wellington said no because the war was a military stalemate and should be promptly ended: | |||
| <blockquote>I think you have no right, from the state of war, to demand any concession of territory from America... You have not been able to carry it into the enemy's territory, notwithstanding your military success and now undoubted military superiority, and have not even cleared your own territory on the point of attack. you can not on any principle of equality in negotiation claim a cessation of territory except in exchange for other advantages which you have in your power... Then if this reasoning be true, why stipulate for the ] ? You can get no territory: indeed, the state of your military operations, however creditable, does not entitle you to demand any.<ref>Dudley Mills, "The Duke of Wellington and the Peace Negotiations at Ghent in 1814," ''Canadian Historical Review'' Volume 2, Number 1 / 1921 pp 19-32; Latimer, ''1812'' p 390 </ref></blockquote> | |||
| With a rift opening between Britain and Russia at the ] and little chance of improving the military situation in North America, Britain was prepared to end the war promptly. In concluding the war, the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, was taking into account domestic opposition to continued taxation, especially among Liverpool and Bristol merchants keen to get back to doing business with America and there was nothing to gain from prolonged warfare.<ref>Latimer, ''1812'' pp 389-91; Norman Gash, ''Lord Liverpool: The Life and Political Career of Robert Banks Jenkinson, Second Earl of Liverpool, 1770-1828'', (1984) 111-119</ref> | |||
| ==Aftermath== | |||
| ===The Battle of New Orleans and other post-treaty fighting=== | |||
| Unaware of the peace, Andrew Jackson's forces moved to ], ], in late 1814 to defend against a large-scale British invasion. Jackson defeated the British at the ] on January 8, 1815 with 1,784 British killed or wounded compared to 210 American. It was hailed as a great victory for the U.S., making Jackson a national hero, eventually propelling him to the ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kendall |first=John Smith |title=History of New Orleans |publisher=The Lewis Publishing Company |url= http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/New_Orleans/_Texts/KENHNO/home.html |year=1922 |chapter=Chapter VI |chapterurl= http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/New_Orleans/_Texts/KENHNO/6*.html |accessdate=2008-04-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/amh/amh-06.htm |title=Chapter 6: The War of 1812 |publisher=Army.mil |date= |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> | |||
| The British gave up on New Orleans but moved to attack the ] port of ]. In one of the last military actions of the war, 1,000 British troops won the ] on February 12, 1815. When news of peace arrived the next day, they abandoned the fort and sailed home. In May, 1815 a band of British-allied ], unaware that the war had ended months ago, attacked a small band of U.S. soldiers northwest of St. Louis.<ref>Helen H. Tanner, ''Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History.'' (1987) p. 120)</ref> Intermittent fighting, primarily with the Sauk, continued in the Missouri Territory well into 1817, although it is unknown if the Sauk were acting on their own or on behalf of Great Britain.<ref>First United States Infantry, http://www.iaw.on.ca/~jsek/us1inf.htm</ref> | |||
| ===Losses=== | |||
| British losses in the war were about 1,600 killed in action and 3,679 wounded. 3,321 British died from disease. American losses were 2,260 killed in action and 4,505 wounded. While the number of Americans who died from disease is not known, it is estimated to have been about 17,000.<ref> Hickey (1990) pp. 302-303</ref> These figures do not include deaths among American or Canadian militia forces, or losses among native tribes. | |||
| In addition, tens of thousands of American slaves escaped to the British because of their offer of freedom, or they just fled in the chaos of war. The British settled a few thousand of the newly-freed slaves in Nova Scotia.<ref>Simon Schama, ''Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution'', (2006) p. 406</ref> | |||
| ===Terms of the Treaty of Ghent=== | |||
| The war was ended by the ], signed on December 24, 1814, and taking effect February 18, 1815. The terms stated that fighting between the United States and Britain would cease, all conquered territory was to be returned to the prewar claimant, the Americans were to gain fishing rights in the ], and that both the United States and Britain agreed to recognize the prewar boundary between Canada and the United States. | |||
| The Treaty of Ghent, which was promptly ratified by the Senate in 1815, ignored the grievances that led to war. Britain made no concessions concerning impressment, blockades, or other maritime differences. The treaty proved to be merely an expedient to end the fighting. Mobile and parts of western Florida remained permanently in American possession, despite objections by Spain, and Britain was unwilling to enforce treaty provisions regarding their claim to the territories.<ref>Gene A. Smith, "'Our flag was display'd within their works': The Treaty of Ghent and the Conquest of Mobile". reprint from ''Alabama Review'', January 1999. </ref> Thus, the war ended in a stalemate with no gain for either side. | |||
| ==Consequences== | |||
| {{main|Results of the War of 1812}} | |||
| Neither side lost any territory, with the exception of ], now part of New York, nor were the original points of contention addressed by the treaty that ended it, and yet it changed much between the United States of America and Britain. | |||
| The Treaty of Ghent established the ''status quo ante bellum''; that is, there were no territorial changes made by either side. The issue of impressment was made moot when the Royal Navy stopped impressment after the defeat of Napoleon. Excepting occasional border disputes and the circumstances of the ], relations between the United States and Britain remained generally peaceful for the rest of the nineteenth century, and the two countries became close allies in the twentieth century. | |||
| Border adjustments between the United States and British North America were made in the ]. A border dispute along the ]-] border was settled by the 1842 ] after the bloodless ], and the border in the ] was settled by the 1846 ]. Yet, according to ], "the lessons of the war were taken to heart. Anti-American sentiment in Britain ran high for several years, but the United States was never again refused proper treatment as an independent power."<ref>Toll, Ian W. pg 458 Quote of Winston Churchill</ref> | |||
| ===United States=== | |||
| The U.S. ended the Indian threat on its western and southern borders. The nation also gained a psychological sense of complete independence as people celebrated their "second war of independence".<ref name = "Stagg-1983"/> Nationalism soared after the victory at the Battle of New Orleans. The opposition ] collapsed and an ] ensued. The U.S. did make one minor territorial gain during the war, though not at Britain's expense, when it captured ] from Spain.<ref>{{cite web|title="James Wilkinson"|work="War of 1812"|url=http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/people/wilkinson.html|accessdate=2007-10-20}}</ref> | |||
| The United States no longer questioned the need for a strong Navy and indeed completed three new 74-gun ships of the line and two new 44-gun frigates shortly after the end of the war.<ref>Toll, Ian W. Pg. 456,467</ref> (Another frigate had been destroyed to prevent it being captured on the stocks).<ref name=TR-Naval-War></ref> In 1816 the U.S. Congress passed into law an "Act for the gradual increase of the Navy" at a cost of one million dollars a year for eight years authorizing nine ships of the line and 12 heavy frigates.<ref>Toll, Ian W. pg 457</ref> The Captains and Commodores of the U.S. Navy became the heroes of their generation in the United States. Decorated plates and pitchers of Decatur, Hull, Bainbridge, Lawrence, Perry, and Macdonough were made in Staffordshire, England, and found a ready market in the United States. Three of the war heroes used their celebrity to win national office: ] (]), ] (]), and ] (]). | |||
| The ] states became increasingly frustrated over how the war was being conducted, and how the conflict was affecting their states. They complained that the United States government was not investing enough in the states' defenses both militarily and financially, and that the states should have more control over their militia. The increased taxes, the British blockade, and the occupation of some of New England by enemy forces also agitated public opinion in the states.<ref> Hickey (1990) pp 255ff </ref> As a result, at the ] (December-January 1814/15) held in ], New England representatives asked for New England to have its states' powers fully restored. Nevertheless, a common misconception which had been propagated by newspapers of the time was that the New England representatives wanted to secede from the Union and make a separate peace with the British. This view is not supported by what actually happened at the Convention.<ref>Carl Benn, ''The War of 1812'' p259-260</ref> | |||
| Slaveholders primarily in the South suffered considerable loss of property as tens of thousands of slaves escaped to British lines or ships for freedom, despite the difficulties. The planters' complacency about slave contentment was shocked by their seeing slaves would risk so much to be free.<ref>Simon Schama, ''Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution'', New York: HarperCollins, 2006, p.406</ref> | |||
| ===British North America=== | |||
| The War of 1812 was seen by British loyalists in ] (which formed the ] in 1867), as a victory, as they had successfully defended their borders from an American takeover. The outcome gave Empire-oriented Canadians confidence and, together with the postwar "militia myth" that the civilian militia had been primarily responsible rather than the British regulars, was used to stimulate a new sense of Canadian nationalism.<ref> Erik Kaufman, "Condemned to Rootlessness: The Loyalist Origins of Canada's Identity Crisis", ''Nationalism and Ethnic Politics,'' vol.3, no.1, (1997), pp. 110-135 online at </ref> | |||
| A long-term implication of the militia myth that was false but remained popular in the Canadian public at least until World War I was that Canada did not need a regular professional army.<ref>CMH, "Origins of the Militia Myth" (February 2006) }</ref> The U.S. Army had done poorly, on the whole, in several attempts to invade Canada, and the Canadians had shown that they would fight bravely to defend their country. But the British did not doubt that the thinly populated territory would be vulnerable in a third war. "We cannot keep Canada if the Americans declare war against us again," Admiral Sir David Milne wrote to a correspondent in 1817.<ref>Toll, Ian W. pg 458,459</ref> | |||
| The ] demonstrated the vulnerability of Upper and Lower Canada. In the 1820s, work began on ] at ] as a defence against the United States. The fort remains an operational base of the ]. Additionally, work began on the ] to defend the port against American attacks. This fort remained in operation through World War II. | |||
| In the 1830s, the ] was built to provide a secure waterway from ] to Lake Ontario avoiding the narrows of the St. Lawrence River where ships could be vulnerable to American cannon-fire. To defend the western end of the canal, the British also built ] at Kingston, which remained operational until 1891. | |||
| ===Bermuda=== | |||
| ] had been largely left to the defenses of its own militia and privateers prior to American independence, but the Royal Navy had begun buying up land and operating from there in 1795 as its location was a useful substitute for the lost American ports. It originally was intended to be the winter headquarters of the North American Squadron, but the war saw it rise to a new prominence. As construction work progressed through the first half of the century, Bermuda became the permanent naval headquarters in Western waters, housing the Admiralty, and serving as a ]. The military garrison was built up to protect the naval establishment, heavily fortifying the archipelago that came to be described as the ''Gibraltar of the West''. Defence infrastructure would remain the central leg of Bermuda's economy until after ]. | |||
| ===Britain=== | |||
| The war was scarcely noticed at the time and is scarcely remembered in Britain because it was overshadowed by the far larger conflict against the ] under ].<ref>Latimer (2007) </ref> Britain's goals of impressing seamen and blocking trade with France had been achieved and were no longer needed. In the early years of the nineteenth century, the ] was the dominant nautical power in the world.<ref>B. Lavery, ''Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation 1793-1815'' (1989). </ref> It used its overwhelming strength to cripple American maritime trade and launch raids on the American coast. However, the Royal Navy was acutely conscious that the ] had won most of the single-ship duels during the war.<ref name=TR-Naval-War/> The causes of the losses were many, but among those were the heavier broadside of the American 44-gun frigates, and the fact that the large American crews were hand-picked from among the approximately 55,000 unemployed merchant seamen in American harbors. The United States Navy had 14 frigates and smaller ships to crew at the start of the war, while Britain maintained 85 ships in North American waters alone. The crews of the British fleet, which numbered some 140,000 men, were rounded out with impressed ordinary seamen and landsmen.<ref>Toll, Ian W. Pg. 382–383</ref> In an order to his ships, Admiral ] ordered that less attention be paid to spit and polish and more to gunnery practice.<ref>Toll, Ian W. Pg. 382</ref> It is notable that the well-trained gunnery of HMS ''Shannon'' allowed her victory over the untrained crew of USS ''Chesapeake''.<ref name = "Tollp.405"/> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{Portal}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| == Footnotes == | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| == References == | |||
| * Bowler, W. Arthur, "Propaganda in Upper Canada in the War of 1812," ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' (1988) 28:11-32 | |||
| *{{cite book |title=The Twilight's Last Gleaming: Britain vs. America 1812-1815 |last=Caffrey |first=Kate |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1977 |publisher=Stein and Day |location=New York |isbn=0812819209 |pages= }} | |||
| * Egan, Clifford L. (1974). The Origins of the War of 1812: Three Decades of Historical Writing. Military Affairs, Vol. 38, No. 2 (April), pp. 72-75. | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Forester|first=C.S.|authorid=C.S. Forester|title=The Age of Fighting Sail|publisher=New English Library|isbn=0-939218-06-2}} | |||
| *{{cite book |title=The Naval War of 1812: Caxton pictorial history|last=Gardner |first=Robert, ed. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1996 |publisher=Caxton Editions |isbn=1840673605 }} | |||
| * Heidler, Donald & Jeanne T. Heidler (eds) ''Encyclopedia of the War of 1812'' (2nd ed 2004) 636pp; most comprehensive guide; 500 entries by 70 scholars from several countries | |||
| * Heidler, David S. and Heidler, Jeanne T. ''The War of 1812.'' Greenwood, 2002. 217 pp. | |||
| * Herbert C. W. Goltz, "Tecumseh" ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'' | |||
| * Hickey, Donald. ''The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict''. (1989). the standard history; by leading American scholar | |||
| ** Hickey, Donald R. ''The War of 1812: A Short History'' (1995), abridged version | |||
| * Hickey, Donald R., "The War of 1812: Still a Forgotten Conflict?," ''The Journal of Military History,'' Vol. 65, No. 3 (Jul., 2001), pp. 741-769 | |||
| * James, William, ''Naval History of Great Britain 1793 - 1827'', London, 1837 [http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval_History/Vol_VI/P_363.html | |||
| *{{cite book |title=1812: War with America |last=Latimer |first=Jon |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2007 |publisher=Belknap Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780674025844 |pages= }}, military history from British perspective | |||
| * Naval Historical Centre, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Essex entry, Department of the Navy, Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC | |||
| *{{cite book |title=Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy |last=Toll |first=Ian W. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=9780393058475 |pages= }} | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| See ] | |||
| * Boklan, Kent D., "How I Broke an Encrypted Diary from the War of 1812", '']'', ] : ], Volume 32, Issue 4, October 2008, pages 299 - 310. "We study encrypted entries in the diary of a doctor in the War of 1812. Upon decrypting the contents, we find comments of great interest to the early history of the State of Tennessee." | |||
| * Hickey, Donald R. (2006) ISBN 0-252-03179-2 | |||
| * Hitsman, J. M. ''The Incredible War of 1812'' (1965), very well reviewed survey by Canadian scholar | |||
| * Horsman, Reginald. ''The War of 1812.'' (1969), British perspective. | |||
| * Malcomson, Robert, ''A Very Brilliant Affair: The Battle of Queenston Heights, 1812'', Toronto: Robin Brass Studio, 2003 | |||
| * Stacey, C.P. "The War of 1812 in Canadian History," in Zaslow, Morris and Turner, Wesley B., eds., ''The Defended Border: Upper Canada and the War of 1812'', Toronto, 1964 | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| <!--Any links that have not been cited in the article, but related to the article subject area--> | |||
| <!--===========================({{NoMoreLinks}})===============================--> | |||
| <!--| DO NOT ADD MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A COLLECTION OF |--> | |||
| <!--| LINKS. If you think that your link might be useful, do not add it here, |--> | |||
| <!--| but put it on this article's discussion page first or submit your link |--> | |||
| <!--| to the appropriate category at the Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org)|--> | |||
| <!--| and link back to that category using the {{dmoz}} template. |--> | |||
| <!--| |--> | |||
| <!--| Links that have not been verified WILL BE DELETED. |--> | |||
| <!--| See ] and ] for details |--> | |||
| <!--===========================({{NoMoreLinks}})===============================--> | |||
| {{Wikisource|US Declaration of War against the United Kingdom}} | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * of the James Madison University | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * New York State Military Museum: | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * Niagara Falls Public Library (Ont.) | |||
| * - War of 1812 Indiana Territory Volunteers | |||
| {{-}} | |||
| {{American conflicts}} | |||
| {{War of 1812}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| {{Link FA|fr}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 11:27, 28 January 2009
fuck niggers, thats you oboma!!!