Download War of 1812

War of 1812: War on Land and Sea
What were the major battles of the War of 1812?
Fighting in the Northwest
Most early battles of the War of 1812 took place near Canada. The confidence of the United States was
high, but its army and navy were young and untried. The British quickly captured Detroit. When the
United States tried to capture the city of Montreal, it was badly beaten. The United States made three
attempts to invade Canada in 1812, and all ended unsuccessfully.
In the Great Lakes, the shared border between the United States and British Canada, it was a different
story. In 1813, at the Battle of York, the Americans took control of the capital of Upper Canada. They set
fire to the governor’s mansion and the city’s legislative buildings. In the Battle of Lake Erie, in 1813,
Commodore Oliver Perry lost most of his men but continued to fight and defeated a British fleet. In the
Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814, U.S. troops led by Captain Thomas McDonough fought the British on Lake
Champlain and forced them to retreat to Canada. Thirty years after the Treaty of Paris, in which Britain
agreed to abandon forts in U.S. territory, the United States gained control of Lake Champlain, and its
northern border was finally secure.
Fighting in the Mid-Atlantic Coast
Battles at sea between British and U.S. ships had been common before war was declared. Both British and
U.S. naval warships and privateers were successful in capturing the enemy’s merchant ships. The USS
Constitution became famous for capturing merchant ships and fighting British warships. A victory in
August 1812 earned the ship the nickname “Old Ironsides.” Old Ironsides won five naval battles during
the War of 1812.
The superior British navy began a blockade of the U.S. East Coast. It blocked all ships attempting to leave
the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. As 1814 began, the U.S. Navy found itself bottled up in port, unable to
fight.
The British began to attack towns up and down the East Coast. As the British approached Washington,
U.S. government officials and other residents evacuated the city. The president’s wife, Dolley Madison,
remained in the White House until just hours before the British troops arrived. The first lady supervised
her servants in saving important papers and historic treasures. When the British reached the capital city,
they sought retribution for the Battle of York. They burned the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and other
important buildings. Only a sudden rainstorm saved the rest of the city.
An eyewitness to the burning of Washington described the scene:
[T]hey proceeded, without a moment's delay, to burn and destroy everything in the most distant degree
connected with government. In this general devastation were included the Senate House, the President's
palace, an extensive dockyard and arsenal, barracks for two or three thousand men, several large
storehouses filled with naval and military stores, some hundreds of cannon of different descriptions, and
nearly twenty thousand stand of small arms.
Soon after, the Americans turned back a British attempt to attack nearby Baltimore. Francis Scott Key
was an attorney who had boarded a British ship to negotiate the release of a prisoner. As the British
bombardment of Fort McHenry began, Key was detained on the ship. The next morning, as dawn broke,
he saw the flag of the United States still flying above the fort. He was compelled to write a song that
would come to symbolize America: “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
What were the results of the War of 1812?
The War Comes to an End
The last major battle of the War of 1812 was a huge victory for the United States. At the Battle of New
Orleans on January 8, 1815, U.S. troops led by Andrew Jackson—now a major general—crushed the
British troops. In the end, three British generals and eight colonels were among the 291 British killed.
More than a thousand British were wounded. A little over a dozen Americans lost their lives.
The Battle of New Orleans was the final battle of the war; in fact, the battle occurred after the war was
technically over. Britain and the United States had signed the Treaty of Ghent two weeks before, agreeing
to an armistice, or cessation of fighting. One important effect of Jackson’s victory was silencing opponents
of the war. After the Battle of New Orleans, the activities of the Hartford Convention quickly ended.
Results of the War
In almost every sense, the War of 1812 was a draw: neither side could claim victory. No territory changed
hands, and no agreements were made about impressment or arming Tecumseh’s confederacy. But the
War of 1812 did wonders for the country’s national pride. In the eyes of other countries, the United States
gained status as a world power. Americans were proud they had stood up to a strong European nation
such as Great Britain.
In the Treaty of Ghent, the British gave up land claims in the Northwest Territory. The United States and
Britain also agreed to stop fighting with Native Americans and to enforce existing prohibitions on the
international slave trade. In the years to come, Britain and the United States arrived at additional
agreements. They reopened trade, agreed to limit the number of warships on the Great Lakes, and agreed
to a joint occupation of the Oregon territory in the Pacific Northwest.
The War of 1812 also contributed to changes in the American economy. Because of disruption in Atlantic
trade during the war, American manufacturers began producing goods that the country had previously
imported from Great Britain and other European countries. These manufacturers did not want to lose
business when cheap European goods once again began flowing into American marketplace after
hostilities ended. As a result, many government officials began supporting special taxes on imports
known as tariffs. These taxes were designed to raise prices on imported goods and make American-made
goods more attractive to domestic consumers as a result. Financial problems created by war also the led
to the creation of the Second Bank of the United States in 1816.
In the glow of “success,” bickering between political parties eased, and Americans demonstrated unity
and an increased pride in their country. The United States’ attention turned to domestic issues. Because
of this patriotic and nationalistic mood, the period following the War of 1812 is often called the Era of
Good Feelings.