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{{Short description|1812–1815 conflict in North America}}
{{About|the Anglo-American War of 1812 to 1815|the Franco-Russian conflict|French invasion of Russia|other uses of this term|War of 1812 (disambiguation)}}
{{about|the conflict in North America from 1812 to 1815|the Franco–Russian conflict|French invasion of Russia|other uses of this term|War of 1812 (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-pc1|expiry=June 16, 2017}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=March 2016}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox military conflict {{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=War of 1812 | conflict = War of 1812
| partof = the ]
|partof=
|image=] | image = War of 1812 Montage.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=Clockwise from top: damage to the ] after the ]; the mortally wounded {{nowrap|]}} spurs on the ] at the ]; ]; ] ] in 1813 ends the Indian armed struggle in the American Midwest; {{nowrap|]}} defeats the ].
| caption = Clockwise from top:
|date=June 18, 1812&nbsp;– February 18, 1815<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=06|day1=18|year1=1812|month2=02|day2=18|year2=1815}})
{{flatlist|
|place= Eastern and Central North America, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
* Damage to the ] after the ]
|casus=
* Mortally wounded ] spurs on the ] at the ]
|territory=
* ]
|result=Military stalemate
* ] of ] in 1813
* '']'' with no boundary changes
* ] defeats the ] on ] in 1815
* American invasions of Canada repulsed
}}
* British invasions of United States repulsed
| date = 18 June 1812{{snd}}17 February 1815
* Defeat of ]
| place = {{ubl|class=nowrap|{{hlist|]|]|]}}}}
|combatant1={{plainlist|
| result = <!-- The refs are already cited in the main body. -->Inconclusive{{efn|see ]}}
*{{flag|United States|1795}}
| territory = * Anglo–American ]
*]
* Spanish control over ] weakened and Mobile territory claimed
*]
* ] dissolved
*]
| combatant1 = {{plainlist|
*]}}
* {{flag|United States|1795}}
|combatant2= {{plainlist|
* ]
*{{flag|British Empire}}
* ]
** {{flagcountry|UKGBI}}
* ]
** {{flagicon|UKGBI}} ]
* ]
*] <small>(until 1813)</small><ref>, ], "Many British troops were captured and Tecumseh was killed, destroying his Indian alliance and breaking the Indian power in the Ohio and Indiana territories. After this battle, most of the tribes abandoned their association with the British."</ref>
}}
** ]
| combatant2 = {{indented plainlist|
** ]
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
** ]
* ]
** ]
** ] * ]
** ] * ]
* ]
** ]
* {{flagicon|Spain|1785}} ] (1814)
** ]
}}
** ]
| commander1 = {{ubl
** ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
** ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
** ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
** ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
** ]
*{{flagicon|Spain|1785}} ] <small>(1813)</small> | {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
**{{flagicon|Spain|1785}} ]}} | {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
|commander1= {{plainlist|
}}
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
| commander2 = {{ubl
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] | {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} ]
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] | {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} ]
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] | {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} ]
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] | {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} ]{{KIA}}
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] | {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} ]{{KIA}}
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ] {{POW}} | {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} ]{{KIA}}
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} ]{{KIA}}}} | ]{{KIA}}
}}
|commander2= {{plainlist|
| strength1 = {{ubli
*{{Flagicon|UK}} ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} 7,000 troops {{nwr|(at war's start)}}
*{{Flagicon|UK}} ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} 35,800 troops {{nwr|(at war's end)}}
*{{Flagicon|UK}} ]{{KIA}}
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} 3,049 ]
*{{Flagicon|UK}} ]
| 458,463 ]
*{{Flagicon|UK}} ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} 12 ]
*{{Flagicon|UK}} ]
| {{flagicon|United States|1795}} 14 other vessels
*{{Flagicon |UK}} ]{{KIA}}
| 515 ] ships{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=245}}
*{{Flagicon |UK}} ]{{KIA}}
}}
*]{{KIA}}}}
| strength2 = {{ubli
|strength1= {{plainlist|
*{{flagicon|United States|1795}} '''United States''' | {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|army}} 5,200 troops {{nwr|(at war's start)}}
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|army}} 48,160 troops {{nwr|(at war's end)}}
**]:
***7,000 (at war's start) | 4,000 ]
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|navy}} 11 ]
***35,800 (at war's end)
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|navy}} 34 ]s
***]: 3,049
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|navy}} 52 other vessels
**]: 458,463*
| 9 ] ships {{nwr|(at war's start)}}
**]
| 10,000–15,000 Native American allies {{sfnm|Allen|1996|1p=121|Clodfelter|2017|2p=245}}
**] and ] (at war's start):
| 500 Spanish garrison troops (Pensacola){{sfn|Tucker et al.|2012|p=570}}
*** ]: 6
}}
*** Other vessels: 14
| casualties1 = {{plainlist|
* Native allies:
* 2,200 killed in action{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=244}}
**125 Choctaw
* 5,200 died of disease{{Sfn|Stagg|2012|p=156}}
**unknown others{{sfn|Upton|2003}}}}
* Up to 15,000 deaths from all causes{{Sfnm|Hickey|2006|1p=297|Stagg|2012|2p=156}}
|strength2= {{plainlist|
* 4,505 wounded{{sfn|Leland|2010|p=2}}
*{{flagicon|UK}} '''British Empire'''
* 20,000 captured{{sfnm|Tucker et al.|2012|1p=|Hickey|2012n}}
**]
* 8 frigates captured or burned
***5,200 (at war's start)
* 1,400 ]s captured
***48,160 (at war's end)
* 278 privateers captured
**Provincial regulars: 10,000
* 4,000 slaves escaped or freed{{sfn|Weiss|2013}}
**]: 4,000
}}
**]
| casualties2 = {{plainlist|
**]
* 2,700 died in combat or disease{{sfn|Stagg|2012|p=156}}
***]: 11
* 10,000 died from all causes{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=245}}{{efn|Includes 2,250 men of the Royal Navy.}}
***]s: 34
* 15,500 captured
***Other vessels: 52
* 4 frigates captured
**] (at war's start):‡
* ~1,344 merchant ships captured (373 recaptured){{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=244}}
***Ships: 9
* 10,000 Indigenous warriors and civilians dead from all causes{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=245}}{{efn|Includes 1,000 combat casualties on the northern front.}}
*Native allies: 10,000{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=121}}}}
* 14 Spanish killed and 6 wounded{{sfn|Owsley|2000|p=118}}
|casualties1=2,200 killed in action
}}
*4,505 wounded
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox War of 1812: St. Lawrence Frontier}}{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Niagara frontier}}{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Old Northwest}}{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Chesapeake campaign}}{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Gulf Theater 1813–1815}}{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Naval}}
*15,000 (est.) died from all causes<ref group=lower-alpha>All U.S. figures are from Donald Hickey {{harv|Hickey|2006|p=297}}</ref>
}}
|casualties2=1,160 killed in action<ref name="historyguy.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.historyguy.com/war_of_1812_statistics.htm|title=War of 1812 Statistics|work=historyguy.com|accessdate=September 4, 2016}}</ref>
*3,679 wounded
*3,321 died from disease
|notes={{plainlist|
* &nbsp;* Some militias operated in only their own regions.
*{{KIA}} ]
* &nbsp;‡ A locally raised ] and seminaval force on the ].}}}}
{{campaignbox War of 1812}}
{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Niagara frontier}}
{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Old Northwest}}
{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Chesapeake campaign}}
{{Campaignbox War of 1812: American South}}
{{Campaignbox War of 1812: Naval}}


The '''War of 1812''' was a military conflict that lasted from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815, fought between the ] and the ], its ], and its ] allies. Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the ]. By the war's end in early 1815 the key issues had been resolved and peace returned with no boundary changes. The '''War of 1812''' was fought by the ] and its allies against the ] and its allies in ]. It began when the United States ] on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 ], the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the ] on 17 February 1815.{{sfn|Order of the Senate of the United States|1828|pp=619–620}}{{sfn|Carr|1979|p=276}}


Anglo-American tensions stemmed from long-standing differences over territorial expansion in North America and British support for ], which resisted U.S. colonial settlement in the ]. In 1807, these tensions escalated after the ] began enforcing ] on American trade with ] and ] sailors who were originally ]s, even those who had acquired ]{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=44}} Opinion in the U.S. was split on how to respond, and although majorities in both the ] and ] voted for war, they were divided along strict party lines, with the ] in favour and the ] against.{{efn|The House declared war by 61.7% with a majority in all sections, 20 Members not voting, and the Senate was closer at 59.4%, four not voting. The former Federalist stronghold in Massachusetts had one Democrat-Republican and one Federalist for U.S. Senators, with ten Democrat-Republicans and seven Federalists in the House. Only two states had both Senators in the Federalist Party: Connecticut with 7 Federalist Representatives, and Maryland with 7 Democrat-Republicans and 3 Federalists in the House.}}{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=32, 42–43}} News of British concessions made in an attempt to avoid war did not reach the U.S. until late July, by which time the conflict was already underway.
The United States declared war for several reasons, including trade restrictions brought about by the British war with France, the ] of as many as 10,000 American merchant sailors into the ],<ref>{{cite book|author=J. C. A. Stagg|title=The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wt4gAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA128|year=2012|page=128}}</ref> British support for Native American tribes fighting ] settlers on the frontier, outrage over insults to national honor during the ], and interest in the United States in expanding its borders west.{{sfn| Stagg|1983| p=4}} The primary British war goal was to defend their North American colonies; they also hoped to set up a neutral Native American ] in the ] that would impede US expansion in the ] and to minimize American trade with Napoleonic France, which Britain was blockading.


At sea, the Royal Navy imposed an effective ] on U.S. maritime trade, while between 1812 and 1814 ] and ] defeated a series of American invasions on ].{{sfn|Greenspan|2018}} The ] of ] allowed the British to send additional forces to North America and reinforce the Royal Navy blockade, crippling the ].{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=56–57}} In August 1814, negotiations began in ], with both sides wanting peace; the ] had been severely impacted by the trade embargo, while the Federalists convened the ] in December to formalize their opposition to the war.
The war was fought in three theatres. First, at sea, warships and ]s of each side attacked the other's merchant ships, while the British ]d 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 ] and Gulf Coast. At the end of the war, both sides signed and ratified the ] and, in accordance with the treaty, returned occupied land, prisoners of war and captured ships (with the exception of warships due to frequent re-commissioning upon capture) to their pre-war owners and resumed friendly trade relations without restriction.


In August 1814, British troops ], before American victories at ] and ] in September ended fighting in the north. In the ], American forces and Indian allies ] an ] of the ]. In early 1815, American troops led by Andrew Jackson repulsed a major British attack on ], which occurred during the ratification process of the signing of the ], which brought an end to the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |title= The Senate Approves for Ratification the Treaty of Ghent |url=https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/treaties/senate-approves-treaty-of-ghent.htm#:~:text=On%20January%208,%201815,%20unaware,treaty,%20prompting%20great%20public%20celebrations. |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=U.S. Senate }}</ref>
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 independent ] in the Midwest under British sponsorship. U.S. forces took control of ] in 1813, and seized western parts of ], but further American offensives aimed at Montreal failed, and the war also degenerated into a stalemate in Upper Canada by 1814. In April 1814, with the defeat of Napoleon, Britain now had large numbers of spare troops and adopted a more aggressive strategy, launching invasions of the United States; however, an invasion of New York was defeated at ], and a second force, although successfully ], was ultimately repulsed during ]. Both governments were eager for a return to normality and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August 1814. These repulses led Britain to drop demands for a native buffer state and some territorial claims, and peace was finally signed in December 1814, although news failed to arrive before the British suffered a major defeat at ] in January 1815.<ref>Hitsman, p. 270.</ref>


== Origins ==
In the United States, late victories over invading British armies at the battles of Plattsburgh, Baltimore (inspiring the United States national anthem, "]") and New Orleans produced a sense of euphoria over a "second war of independence" against Britain.{{sfn|Langguth|2006}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/madison/aa_madison_war_1.html |title=Second War of American Independence |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2000 |website=America's Library |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=December 25, 2015}}</ref> This brought an "]" in which partisan animosity nearly vanished in the face of strengthened ]. The war was also a major turning point in the development of the ], with militia being increasingly replaced by a more professional force. The U.S. also acquired permanent ownership of Spain's ], although Spain was not a belligerent.
{{Excerpt|Origins of the War of 1812}}
== Forces ==
=== American ===
During the years 1810–1812, American naval ships were divided into two major squadrons, with the "northern division", based at New York, commanded by Commodore John Rodgers, and the "southern division", based at Norfolk, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur.{{sfn|Crawford|Dudley|1985|p=40}}


Although not much of a threat to Canada in 1812, the United States Navy was a well-trained and professional force comprising over 5,000 sailors and marines.{{sfn|Grodzinski|2013|p=69}} It had 14 ocean-going warships with three of its five "super-frigates" non-operational at the onset of the war.{{sfn|Grodzinski|2013|p=69}} Its principal problem was lack of funding, as many in Congress did not see the need for a strong navy.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=20}} The biggest ships in the American navy were frigates and there were no ] capable of engaging in a ] with the Royal Navy.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=20–21}} On the high seas, the Americans pursued a strategy of ], capturing or sinking British ] with their frigates and privateers.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=20 & 54–55}} The Navy was largely concentrated on the Atlantic coast before the war as it had only two ]s on ], one ] on Lake Ontario and another brig in Lake Erie when the war began.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}}
In Upper and Lower Canada, British and ] victories over invading U.S. armies became ] and promoted the development of a distinct Canadian identity, which included strong loyalty to Britain. Today, particularly in Ontario, memory of the war retains 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,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1442339111871/1442339533102 |title=War of 1812 - About the Commemoration |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2012 |website=Government of Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=June 5, 2016 |quote=In 2012, Canada began a three-year commemoration of the War of 1812, an important milestone in the lead-up to the 150th anniversary of Canada's Confederation in 2017.}}</ref> intended to offer historical lessons and celebrate 200 years of peace across the border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/voyage-travel/provinces/intro-ontario/1812.aspx|title=Parks Canada War of 1812 Ceremonies|publisher=Government of Canada|accessdate=2013-01-01}}</ref>


The ] was initially much larger than the ] in North America. Many men carried their own ]s while the British were issued ]s, except for one unit of 500 riflemen. Leadership was inconsistent in the American officer corps as some officers proved themselves to be outstanding, but many others were inept, owing their positions to political favours. Congress was hostile to a ] and the government called out 450,000 men from the ] during the war.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} The ] were poorly trained, armed, and led. The failed invasion of Lake Champlain led by General Dearborn illustrates this.{{sfn|Barney|2019}} The British Army soundly defeated the Maryland and Virginia militias at the ] in 1814 and President Madison commented "I could never have believed so great a difference existed between regular troops and a militia force, if I had not witnessed the scenes of this day".{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=20}}
]
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,<ref>"." NPR.com. 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2015-10-05.</ref> and ] and ]'s respective roles in the war are especially emphasized.<ref>Fleming, Thomas. "". Smithsonian Magazine. March 2010. Retrieved 2015-10-05.</ref><ref>"". History Channel. Retrieved 2015-10-05.</ref> The war is scarcely remembered in Britain, being heavily overshadowed by the much larger Napoleonic Wars occurring in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/essays/british-perspective/ |title= A British Perspective on the War of 1812 |publisher= PBS |accessdate=2016-05-30}}</ref>


==Origins== === British ===
{{Main article|Origins of the War of 1812}} {{see also|Canadian units of the War of 1812}}
]
Historians have long debated the relative weight of the multiple reasons underlying the origins of the War of 1812. This section summarises several contributing factors which resulted in the declaration of war by the United States.{{sfnm|1a1=Trautsch|1y=2013|1pp=273–293|2a1=Egan|2y=1974|3a1=Goodman|3y=1941|3pp=171–186}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Scott A. Silverstone|title=Divided Union: The Politics of War in the Early American Republic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdOuJ6FG1K0C&pg=PA95|year=2004|publisher=Cornell University Press|page=95}}</ref>
The United States was only a secondary concern to Britain, so long as the ] continued with France.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} In 1813, France had 80 ships-of-the-line and was building another 35. Containing the French fleet was the main British naval concern,{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} leaving only the ships on the ] and ] Stations immediately available. In Upper Canada, the British had the ]. While largely unarmed,{{sfn|Crawford|Dudley|1985|p=268}} they were essential for keeping the army supplied since the roads were abysmal in Upper Canada.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} At the onset of war, the Provincial Marine had four small armed vessels on ], three on ] and one on Lake Champlain. The Provincial Marine greatly outnumbered anything the Americans could bring to bear on the Great Lakes.{{sfn|Caffrey|1977|p=174}}


When the war broke out, the British Army in North America numbered 9,777 men{{sfn|Hitsman|1965|p=295}} in regular units and ].{{efn|units raised for local service but otherwise on the same terms as regulars}} While the British Army was engaged in the ], few reinforcements were available. Although the British were outnumbered,{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} the long-serving regulars and fencibles were better trained and more professional than the hastily expanded United States Army.{{sfn|Elting|1995|p=11}} The militias of Upper Canada and Lower Canada were initially far less effective,{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} but substantial numbers of full-time militia were raised during the war and played pivotal roles in several engagements, including the ] which caused the Americans to abandon the Saint Lawrence River theatre.{{sfnm|Benn|2002|1p=21|Ingersoll|1845|2pp=297–299}}
===Honour and the second war of independence===
As Risjord (1961) notes, a powerful motivation for the Americans was the desire to uphold national honour in the face of what they considered to be British insults such as the ].{{sfn|Risjord|1961|pp=196–210}} Brands says, "The other war hawks spoke of the struggle with Britain as a second war of independence; Jackson, who still bore scars from the first war of independence held that view with special conviction. The approaching conflict was about violations of American rights, but it was also about vindication of American identity".{{sfn|Brands|2006|p=163}} Americans at the time and historians since often called it the United States' "Second War of Independence".<ref> Hickey, Donald R. ed.''The War of 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence'' (2013).</ref>


===Trade with France=== === Indigenous peoples ===
The highly decentralized bands and tribes considered themselves allies of, and not subordinates to, the British or the Americans. Various tribes fighting with United States forces provided them with their "most effective light troops"{{sfn|Carstens|Sanford|2011|p=53}} while the British needed Indigenous allies to compensate for their numerical inferiority. The Indigenous allies of the British, ] in the west and ] in the east, avoided pitched battles and relied on ], including raids and ambushes that took advantage of their knowledge of terrain. In addition, they were highly mobile, able to march {{convert|30|–|50|miles|-1}} a day.{{sfn|Starkey|2002|p=18}}
In 1807, Britain introduced a series of trade restrictions via a ] to impede neutral trade with ], with which Britain was at war. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law.<ref name="Fanis2011">{{cite book|author=Maria Fanis|title=Secular Morality and International Security: American and British Decisions about War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJ1T2eEE94gC&pg=PA49|year=2011|publisher=U. of Michigan Press|page=49|isbn=0472117556}}</ref> Also, historian Reginald Horsman states, "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".{{sfn|Horsman|1962|p=264}}


Their leaders sought to fight only under favourable conditions and would avoid any battle that promised heavy losses, doing what they thought best for their tribes.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=25}} The Indigenous fighters saw no issue with withdrawing if needed to save casualties. They always sought to surround an enemy, where possible, to avoid being surrounded and make effective use of the terrain.{{sfn|Starkey|2002|p=18}} Their main weapons were a mixture of muskets, rifles, bows, ]s, knives and swords as well as clubs and other melee weapons, which sometimes had the advantage of being quieter than guns.{{sfn|Starkey|2002|p=20}}
The American merchant marine had come close to doubling between 1802 and 1810, making it by far the largest neutral fleet. Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of U.S. cotton and 50% of other U.S. exports. The British public and press were resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=281}} The United States' view was that Britain's restrictions violated its right to trade with others.


== Declaration of war ==
===Impressment and Naval actions===
{{multiple image
]]]
| align = right
During the ], the ] expanded to 176 ] and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors to man.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=382}} While the Royal Navy could man its ships with volunteers in peacetime, it competed in wartime with ] and ]s for a small pool of experienced sailors and turned to ] when it could not operate ships with volunteers alone. Britain did not recognize the right of a British subject to relinquish his status as a British subject, emigrate and transfer his national allegiance as a naturalized citizen to any other country. Thus while the United States recognized British-born sailors on American ships as Americans, Britain did not. It was estimated there were 11,000 ] sailors on United States ships in 1805. Secretary of the Treasury ] stated 9,000 were born in Britain.<ref>{{harvnb|Caffrey|1977|p=60}}</ref> The Royal Navy went after them by intercepting and searching U.S. merchant ships for deserters. Impressment actions such as the ] and the ] outraged Americans, because they infringed on national sovereignty and denied America's ability to naturalize foreigners.{{sfn|Black|2002|p=44}} Moreover, a great number of British sailors serving as naturalized Americans on U.S. ships were Irish. An investigation by Captain ] in 1808 found 58% of the sailors based in New York City were either naturalized citizens or recent immigrants, the majority of foreign sailors (134 of 150) being from Britain. Moreover, eighty of the 134 British sailors were Irish.{{sfn|Taylor|2010|p=104}} The U.S. Navy also forcibly recruited British sailors but the British government saw impressment as commonly accepted practice and preferred to rescue British sailors from American impressment on a case-by-case basis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/summer/1812-impressment.html|title=John P. Deeben, "The War of 1812 Stoking the Fires: The Impressment of Seaman Charles Davis by the U.S. Navy", ''Prologue Magazine'', U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Summer 2012, Vol. 44, No. 2|date=October 26, 2012|publisher=|accessdate=October 1, 2014}}</ref>
| direction = horizontal

| image1 = 1812 War Declaration.jpg
The United States believed British deserters had a right to become ]. Britain did not recognize naturalised United States citizenship, so in addition to recovering deserters, it considered United States citizens who were born British liable for impressment. Aggravating the situation was the reluctance of the United States to issue formal naturalisation papers and the widespread use of unofficial or forged identity or ] by sailors.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rodger |first1=N. A. M. |author-link1=Nicholas A. M. Rodger |title=Command of the Ocean |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |publication-date=2005 |pages=565-566 |isbn=0-140-28896-1 }}</ref> This made it 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).{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=17}} American anger at impressment grew when British frigates were stationed just outside U.S. harbours in view of U.S. shores and searched ships for contraband and impressed men while in U.S. territorial waters.{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=278–279}}
| width1 = 159

| footer = The United States Declaration of War (left) and ]'s Proclamation in response to it (right)
While the American public resented impressment, in particular with the ], British citizens in turn became outraged by the ], in which a larger American ship clashed with a small British sloop, resulted in the deaths of some British sailors. Both sides claimed the other shot first, but the British public in particular blamed the US for attacking a smaller vessel, with calls for revenge by some newspapers, <ref>Hooks, J. "Redeemed honor: the President-Little Belt Affair and the coming of the war of 1812" The Historian, (1), 1 (2012)</ref> <ref>Donald Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (Chicago, IL, 1989). p22 </ref> while the US was encouraged by the fact they had won a victory over the Royal Navy.<ref> Hooks, J. W. (2009). “A friendly salute the President-Little Belt Affair and the coming of the war of 1812” Ebscohost P ii</ref>
| image2 = Proclamation Province of Upper Canada by Isaac Brock.jpg

| width2 = 140
===British support for American Indian raids===
}}
{{Warof1812-Origins}}
The ], comprising the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, was the battleground for conflict between the Indian Nations and the United States.{{sfn|White|2010|p=416}} The British Empire had ceded the area to the United States in the ] in 1783, both sides ignoring the fact that the land was already inhabited by various Indian nations. These included the ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Some warriors, who had left their nations of origin, followed ], the Shawnee Prophet and the brother of ]. Tenskwatawa had a vision of purifying his society by expelling the "children of the Evil Spirit": the American settlers.{{sfn|Willig|2008|p=207}} Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh formed a confederation of numerous tribes to block American expansion. The British saw the Indian nations as valuable allies and a buffer to its Canadian colonies and provided arms. Attacks on American settlers in the Northwest further aggravated tensions between Britain and the United States.{{sfn|Hitsman|1965|p=27}} Raiding grew more common in 1810 and 1811; Westerners in Congress found the raids intolerable and wanted them permanently ended.{{sfnm|1a1=Heidler|1a2=Heidler|1y=1997|1pp=253, 504|2a1=Zuehlke|2y=2007|2p=62}}

The confederation's raids and existence hindered American expansion into rich farmlands in the Northwest Territory.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=253, 392}} Pratt writes:

{{quote|There is ample proof that the British authorities did all in their power to hold or win the allegiance of the Indians of the Northwest with the expectation of using them as allies in the event of war. Indian allegiance could be held only by gifts, and to an Indian no gift was as acceptable as a lethal weapon. Guns and ammunition, tomahawks and scalping knives were dealt out with some liberality by British agents.{{sfn|Pratt|1955|p=126}}}}

However, according to the U.S Army Center of Military History, the "land-hungry frontiersmen", with "no doubt that their troubles with the Indians were the result of British intrigue", exacerbated the problem by {{nowrap|" after every Indian raid of British Army muskets and equipment being found on the field". Thus, "the westerners were convinced that their problems could best be solved by forcing the British out of Canada".<ref name="http://www.history.army.mil.htm">{{cite web
|url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH/AMH-06.htm
|title = American Military History, Army Historical Series, Chapter 6 |publisher = |accessdate= 2013-07-01}}</ref>

The British had the long-standing goal of creating a large "neutral" Indian state that would cover much of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. They made the demand as late as the fall of 1814 at the peace conference, but lost control of western Ontario in 1813 at key battles on and around Lake Erie. These battles destroyed the ] which had been the main ally of the British in that region, weakening its negotiating position. Although the area remained under British or British-allied Indians' control until the end of the war, the British, at American insistence and with higher priorities, dropped the demands.{{sfnm|1a1=Smith|1y=1989|1pp=46–63, esp. pp. 61–63|2a1=Carroll|2y=2001|2p=23}}

===American expansionism===
American expansion into the Northwest Territory was being obstructed by indigenous leaders such as ], who were supplied and encouraged by the British. Americans on the western frontier demanded that interference be stopped.{{sfn|Kennedy|Cohen|Bailey|2010|p=244}} There is dispute, however, over whether or not the American desire to annex Canada brought on the war. Several historians believe that the capture of Canada was intended only as a means to secure a bargaining chip, which would then be used to force Britain to back down on the maritime issues. It would also cut off food supplies for Britain's West Indian colonies, and temporarily prevent the British from continuing to arm the Indians.{{sfn|Bowler|1988|pp=11–32}}{{sfnm|1a1=Stagg|1y=1981|1pp=3–34|2a1=Stagg|2y=1983|2loc={{page needed|date=September 2010}}|3a1=Horsman|3y=1962|3p=267|4a1=Hickey|4y=1989|4p=72|5a1=Brown|5y=1971|5p=128|6a1=Burt|6y=1940|6pp=305–310|7a1=Stuart|7y=1988|7p=76}} However, many historians believe that a desire to annex Canada was a cause of the war. This view was more prevalent before 1940, but remains widely held today.<ref>George F. G. Stanley, 1983, pg. 32 {{full citation needed|date=July 2013}}</ref><ref>David Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler, The War of 1812, pg4 {{full citation needed|date=June 2013}}<!--needs a date--></ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Pratt|1y=1925|1pp=9–15|2a1=Hacker|2y=1924|2pp=365–395|3a1=Hickey|3y=1989|3p=47|4a1=Carlisle|4a2=Golson|4y=2007|4p=44|5a1=Stagg|5y=2012|5pp=5–6|6a1=Tucker|6y=2011|6p=236|7a1=Nugent|7y=|7p=}}<ref>"War of 1812–1815 (Milestones 1801–1829). US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Web. 26 Apr. 2016</ref> Congressman ] told Congress that the constant Indian atrocities along the Wabash River in Indiana were enabled by supplies from Canada and were proof that "the war has already commenced.&nbsp;... I shall never die contented until I see England's expulsion from North America and her territories incorporated into the United States."<ref>Langguth, ''Union 1812'', p. 262.</ref>

] (modern southern Ontario) had been settled mostly by Revolution-era exiles from the United States (]s) or postwar American immigrants. The Loyalists were hostile to union with the United States, while the immigrant settlers were generally uninterested in politics and remained neutral or supported the British during the war. The Canadian colonies were thinly populated and only lightly defended by the British Army. Americans then believed that many men in Upper Canada would rise up and greet an American invading army as liberators. That did not happen. One reason American forces retreated after one successful battle inside Canada was that they could not obtain supplies from the locals.{{sfn|Berton|2001|p=206}} But the Americans thought that the possibility of local support suggested an easy conquest, as former President ] believed: "The acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood 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".{{sfn|Hickey|2012|p=68}}

Annexation was supported by American border businessmen who wanted to gain control of Great Lakes trade.<ref>{{harvnb|Nugent|p=75}}</ref>
], U.S. President, (1809–1817)]]
], British Prime Minister, (1812–1827)]]

Carl Benn noted that the War Hawks' desire to annex the Canadas was similar to the enthusiasm for the annexation of ] by inhabitants of the American South; both expected war to facilitate expansion into long-desired lands and end support for hostile Indian tribes (Tecumseh's Confederacy in the North and the Creek in the South).<ref>Benn, C., & Marston, D. (2006). Liberty or death: Wars that forged a nation. Oxford: Osprey Pub.</ref>

Stagg has examined the fate of the expansionist cause proposed by Hacker and Pratt in the 1920s:
{{quote|this 'expansionist' interpretation of the war can still be found in textbooks currently in use in the nation's high schools. It has also compounded popular confusion about the war by perpetuating an arid dispute over what should be deemed to be its 'real' or most important causes. Were these causes international or domestic in origin? That debate became both interminable and insoluble. Consequently, a new generation of historians by the 1960s ... repudiated the views of Hacker and Pratt.{{sfn|Stagg|2012|pp=5-6}}}}

Southern Congressman ] considered it essential to acquire Canada to ''preserve'' domestic political balance, arguing that annexing Canada would maintain the free state-slave state balance, which might otherwise be thrown off by the acquisition of Florida and the settlement of the southern areas of the new ].<ref>{{cite book|author=John Roderick Heller|title=Democracy's Lawyer: Felix Grundy of the Old Southwest|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u8mM8D9RVu4C&pg=PA98|year=2010|page=98}}</ref> However historian Richard Maass argued in 2015 that the expansionist theme is a myth that goes against the "relative consensus among experts that the primary U.S. objective was the repeal of British maritime restrictions". He argues that consensus among scholars is that the United States went to war "because six years of economic sanctions had failed to bring Britain to the negotiating table, and threatening the Royal Navy's Canadian supply base was their last hope." Maass agrees that theoretically expansionism might have tempted Americans, but finds that "leaders feared the domestic political consequences of doing so. Notably, what limited expansionism there was focused on sparsely populated western lands rather than the more populous eastern settlements ."<ref>Richard W. Maass, "Difficult to Relinquish Territory Which Had Been Conquered": Expansionism and the War of 1812", ''Diplomatic History'' (Jan 2015) 39#1 pp 70–97 doi: 10.1093/dh/dht132 </ref>

Horsman argued expansionism played a role as a secondary cause after maritime issues, noting that many historians have mistakenly rejected expansionism as a cause for the war. He notes that it was considered key to maintaining sectional balance between free and slave states thrown off by American settlement of the Louisiana Territory, and widely supported by dozens of War Hawk congressmen such as John A. Harper, Felix Grundy, Henry Clay, and Richard M. Johnson, who voted for war with expansion as a key aim. {{quote|In disagreeing with those interpretations that have simply stressed expansionism and minimized maritime causation, historians have ignored deep-seated American fears for national security, dreams of a continent completely controlled by the republican United States, and the evidence that many Americans believed that the War of 1812 would be the occasion for the United States to achieve the long-desired annexation of Canada&nbsp;... Thomas Jefferson well-summarized American majority opinion about the war&nbsp;... to say "that the cession of Canada&nbsp;... must be a ] at a treaty of peace".<ref name=Horsman87>Horsman, R.. (1987). On to Canada: Manifest Destiny and United States Strategy in the War of 1812. Michigan Historical Review, 13(2), 1–24. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20173101</ref>}}
However, Horsman states that in his view "the desire for Canada did not cause the War of 1812" and that "The United States did not declare war because it wanted to obtain Canada, but the acquisition of Canada was viewed as a major collateral benefit of the conflict."<ref name=Horsman87/>

Alan Taylor argues that many Republican congressmen, such as ], ] and ], "longed to oust the British from the continent and to annex Canada". Southern Republicans largely opposed this, fearing an imbalance of free and slave states if Canada was annexed, while ] also caused many to oppose annexing mainly Catholic Lower Canada, believing its French-speaking inhabitants "unfit&nbsp;... for republican citizenship". Even major figures such as ] and ] expected to keep at least Upper Canada in the event of an easy conquest. Notable American generals, like ] were led by this sentiment to issue proclamations to Canadians during the war promising republican liberation through incorporation into the United States; a proclamation the government never officially disavowed. General ] similarly declared to his troops that when they invaded Canada "You will enter a country that is to become one of the United States. You will arrive among a people who are to become your fellow-citizens." A lack of clarity about American intentions undercut these appeals, however.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Alan |date= 2010 |title= The Civil War of 1812 |url= |location= |publisher= Random House |pages=137–139 |isbn=978-0-679-77673-4}}</ref>

David and Jeanne Heidler argue that "Most historians agree that the War of 1812 was not caused by expansionism but instead reflected a real concern of American patriots to defend United States' neutral rights from the overbearing tyranny of the British Navy. That is not to say that expansionist aims would not potentially result from the war."<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Stephen Heidler|author2=Jeanne T. Heidler|title=Manifest Destiny|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Press|page=9}}</ref>

However, they also argue otherwise, saying that "acquiring Canada would satisfy America's expansionist desires", also describing it as a key goal of western expansionists, who, they argue, believed that "eliminating the British presence in Canada would best accomplish" their goal of halting British support for Indian raids. They argue that the "enduring debate" is over the relative importance of expansionism as a factor, and whether "expansionism played a greater role in causing the War of 1812 than American concern about protecting neutral maritime rights."<ref>David Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler, ''The War of 1812'' (2002) pg. 4,</ref>

===U.S. political conflict===
{{main article|Federalist Party|Opposition to the War of 1812 in the United States}}
While the British government was largely oblivious to the deteriorating North American situation because of its involvement in a continent-wide European War, the U.S. was in a period of significant political conflict between the ] (based mainly in the Northeast), which favoured a strong central government and closer ties to Britain, and the ] (with its greatest power base in the South and West), which favoured a weak central government, preservation of slavery, expansion into Indian land, and a stronger break with Britain. By 1812, the Federalist Party had weakened considerably, and the Republicans, with James Madison completing his first term of office and control of Congress, were in a strong position to pursue their more aggressive agenda against Britain.<ref>The American political background is detailed by Alan Taylor {{harv|Taylor|2010}}.</ref> Throughout the war, support for the U.S. cause was weak (or sometimes non-existent) in Federalist areas of the Northeast. Few men volunteered to serve; the banks avoided financing the war. The negativism of the Federalists, especially as exemplified by the ] of 1814–15 ruined its reputation and the Party survived only in scattered areas. By 1815 there was broad support for the war from all parts of the country. This allowed the triumphant Republicans to adopt some Federalist policies, such as a national bank, which Madison reestablished in 1816.<ref>Donald R. Hickey, "Federalist Party Unity and the War of 1812." ''Journal of American Studies'' (1978) 12#1 pp. 23–39.</ref><ref>James M. Banner, ''To the Hartford Convention: The Federalists and the Origins of Party Politics in Massachusetts, 1789–1815'' (1970).</ref>

==Declaration of war==
]
] in response to the U.S. declaration of war]]
{{Wikisource|US Declaration of War against the United Kingdom}} {{Wikisource|US Declaration of War against the United Kingdom}}
On June 1, 1812, President James Madison sent a message to Congress recounting American grievances against Great Britain, though not specifically calling for a declaration of war. After Madison's message, the House of Representatives deliberated for four days behind closed doors before voting 79 to 49 (61% in favor) ], and the Senate agreed by 19 to 13 (59% in favour). The conflict began formally on June 18, 1812, when Madison signed the measure into law and proclaimed it the next day.{{sfn|Woodsworth|1812}} This was the first time that the United States had declared war on another nation, and the Congressional vote would prove to be the closest vote to formally declare war in American history. (The ], while not a formal declaration of war, was a closer vote.) None of the 39 Federalists in Congress voted in favour of the war; critics of war subsequently referred to it as "Mr. Madison's War".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(sj005181)) |title=''Journal of the Senate of the United States of America'', 1789–1873 |publisher=Memory.loc.gov |accessdate=2012-08-27}} {{Failed verification|date=June 2013}}</ref> On 1 June 1812, Madison sent a message to Congress recounting American grievances against Great Britain, though not specifically calling for a declaration of war. The ] then deliberated for four days behind closed doors before voting 79 to 49 (61%) in favour of ]. The ] concurred in the declaration by a 19 to 13 (59%) vote in favour. The declaration focused mostly on maritime issues, especially involving British blockades, with two thirds of the indictment devoted to such impositions, initiated by Britain's Orders in Council.{{efn|Hickey|1989|p=44}} The conflict began formally on 18 June 1812, when Madison signed the measure into law. He proclaimed it the next day.{{sfn|Woodworth|1812}} This was the first time that the United States had formally ] on another nation, and the Congressional vote was approved by the smallest margin of any declaration of war in America's history.{{sfn|Summer 1812: Congress}}{{sfn|Clymer|1991}} None of the 39 ]s in Congress voted in favour of the war, while other critics referred to it as "Mr. Madison's War".{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=1}}{{sfn|Summer 1812: Congress}} Just days after war had been declared, a small number of Federalists in ] were attacked for printing anti-war views in a newspaper, which eventually led to over a month of deadly ] in the city.{{sfn|Gilje|1980|p=551}}


Earlier in London on May 11, an assassin had killed Prime Minister ], which resulted in ] coming to power. Liverpool wanted a more practical relationship with the United States. On June 23, he issued a repeal of the Orders in Council, but the United States was unaware of this, as it took three weeks for the news to cross the Atlantic.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=329}} On June 28, 1812, {{HMS|Colibri|1809|6}} was despatched from Halifax under a flag of truce to New York. On July 9, she anchored off ], and three days later sailed on her return with a copy of the declaration of war, the British ambassador, Mr. Foster and consul, Colonel Barclay. She arrived in ] eight days later. The news of the declaration took even longer to reach London. In response to the U.S. declaration of war, ] issued a proclamation alerting the citizenry in Upper Canada of the state of war and urging all military personnel "to be vigilant in the discharge of their duty" to prevent communication with the enemy and to arrest anyone suspected of helping the Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure.flickr.com/photos/lac-bac/7288766718/in/photostream|title=Proclamation: Province of Upper Canada|publisher=Library and Archives Canada|date=December 17, 2008|accessdate=2012-06-20}}</ref>{{sfn|Turner|2011|p=311}} Prime Minister ] was ] in London on 11 May and ] came to power. He wanted a more practical relationship with the United States. On June 23, he issued a repeal of the ], but the United States was unaware of this, as it took three weeks for the news to cross the Atlantic.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=329}} On 28 June 1812, {{HMS|Colibri|1809|6}} was dispatched from Halifax to New York under a flag of truce. She anchored off ] on July 9 and left three days later carrying a copy of the declaration of war, British ambassador to the United States ] and consul Colonel ]. She arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia eight days later. The news of the declaration took even longer to reach London.{{sfnm|Stanley|1983|1p=4|Clarke|1812|2p=73}}


British commander ] in Upper Canada received the news much faster. He issued a proclamation alerting citizens to the state of war and urging all military personnel "to be vigilant in the discharge of their duty", so as to prevent communication with the enemy and to arrest anyone suspected of helping the Americans.{{sfn|Proclamation: Province of Upper Canada|1812}}{{sfn|Turner|2011|p=311}} He also ordered the British garrison of ] on ] to capture the American fort at ]. This fort commanded the ], which was important to the fur trade. The British garrison, aided by fur traders of the ] and Sioux, Menominee, Winnebago, Chippewa, and Ottawa, immediately ].<ref>Alec R. Gilpin, ''The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest'', Michigan State University Press, p. 89</ref>
==Course of the war==
{{See also|Timeline of the War of 1812}}
===Unprepared===
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 Napoleonic Wars, most of the ] was deployed in the ] (in Portugal and Spain), and the Royal Navy was compelled to blockade most of the coast of Europe. The number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially stated to be 6,034, supported by Canadian militia.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=72–75}} 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 Prévost followed these instructions, concentrating on defending ] at the expense of Upper Canada (which was more vulnerable to American attacks) and allowing few offensive actions.


== Course of war ==
]'' depicts the unsuccessful American landing on 13 October 1812]]
{{see also|Timeline of the War of 1812}}
The United States was not prepared to prosecute a war, for Madison had assumed that the state militias would easily seize Canada and that 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 few trained and experienced officers, at least initially.{{sfn|Quimby|1997|pp=2–12}} The militia objected to serving outside their home states, were not open to discipline, and performed poorly against British forces when outside their home states. American prosecution of the war suffered from its unpopularity, especially in ], where anti-war speakers were vocal. "Two of the Massachusetts members , ] and ], were publicly insulted and hissed on Change in Boston; while another, ], member for the ] district, and Chief-Justice of the Court of Sessions for that county, was seized by a crowd on the evening of August 3, and kicked through the town".{{sfn|Adams|1918|p=400}} The United States had great difficulty financing its war. It had disbanded its ], and private bankers in the Northeast were opposed to the war. The United States was able to obtain financing from London-based ] to cover overseas bond obligations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hickey |first=Donald R. |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138230/donald-r-hickey/small-war-big-consequences |title= Small War, Big Consequences: Why 1812 Still Matters |work=] |publisher=] |date=November 2012 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116043836/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138230/donald-r-hickey/small-war-big-consequences |archivedate=2013-01-16 |accessdate=2014-07-26}}</ref> The failure of New England to provide militia units or financial support was a serious blow.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=80}} Threats of secession by New England states were loud, as evidenced by the Hartford Convention. Britain exploited these divisions, blockading only southern ports for much of the war and encouraging smuggling.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=233–34, 349–50, 478–79}}
The war was conducted in several theatres:
===Upper Canada===
# The ]: the ] (] and ]), the ], and the ] (] and ]).
On July 12, 1812, General ] led an invading American force of about 1,000 untrained, poorly equipped militia across the ] and occupied the Canadian town of Sandwich (now a neighborhood of ]).<ref>Steven J. Rauch, "A Stain upon the Nation? A Review of the Detroit Campaign of 1812 in United States Military History," ''Michigan Historical Review,'' 38 (Spring 2012), 129–153.</ref> By August, Hull and his troops (numbering 2,500 with the addition of 500 ]) retreated to Detroit, where they surrendered to a significantly smaller force of British regulars, Canadian militia and Native Americans, led by British Major General Isaac Brock and ] leader Tecumseh.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|p=248}} The surrender not only cost the United States the village of Detroit, but control over most of the ]. Several months later, the U.S. launched a second invasion of Canada, this time at the ]. On October 13, United States forces were again defeated at the ], where General Brock was killed.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=437–8}}
# At sea, principally the Atlantic Ocean and the ].
# The ] and Southern United States (including the ] in the ] basin).
# The ] basin.


=== Unpreparedness ===
Military and civilian leadership remained a critical American weakness until 1814. 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 (with 10,000 men) aimed at the capture of ], but he was thwarted by logistical difficulties, uncooperative and quarrelsome commanders and ill-trained troops. After losing several battles to inferior forces, the Americans retreated in disarray in October 1813.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=362–363}} Further complicating the American forces was the logistics situation and remained so throughout the Upper Canadian theatre of war. American supplies were having to be brought over a poor road through the Black Marsh area in winter. British forces could rely upon supply ships except for the winter months. Contractors were relied upon to supply American forces and often delivered rotting meat and similar short cuts. If unable to bring the supplies American contractors were liable to declare bankruptcy leaving troops to starve.<ref name="auto">The Civil War of 1812, Alan Taylor, Location 5091</ref> Despite requests for a quartermaster system to be set up no action was forthcoming. The local farms on both sides of the borders were mostly isolated farmsteads barely above the subsistence level. Both sides would relentlessly press farmers for more supplies than they were prepared to render while taking their horses and wagons. This further crippled farming in the area.<ref name="auto"/>
]


The war had been preceded by years of diplomatic dispute, yet neither side was ready for war when it came. Britain was heavily engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, most of the British Army was deployed in the Peninsular War in Portugal and Spain, and the Royal Navy was blockading most of the coast of Europe.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=847}} The number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially 6,034, supported by additional Canadian militia.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=72–75}} Throughout the war, the British ] was ], who had few troops to spare for reinforcing North America defences during the first two years of the war. He urged Lieutenant General ] to maintain a defensive strategy. Prévost, who had the trust of the Canadians, followed these instructions and concentrated on defending Lower Canada at the expense of Upper Canada, which was more vulnerable to American attacks and allowed few offensive actions. Unlike campaigns along the east coast, Prevost had to operate with no support from the Royal Navy.{{sfnm|Hannay|1911|1pp=22–24|Hickey|1989|2p=194}}
===Great Lakes and the US West===
]
A decisive use of naval power came on the ] and depended on a contest of building ships. The U.S. started a rapidly expanded program of building warships at ] on Lake Ontario, where 3,000 men were recruited, many from New York City, to build 11 warships early in the war. In 1813, the Americans won control of Lake Erie in the ] and cut off British and Native American forces in the west from their supply base. The British and Native American forces were subsequently decisively defeated by General ]'s forces on their retreat towards Niagara at the ] in October 1813.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=290–293}} ], the leader of the tribal confederation, was killed and his Indian coalition disintegrated.{{sfn|Goltz|2000|loc=Tecumseh}} While some 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. The Americans controlled western Ontario, and permanently ended the threat of Indian raids supplied by the British in Canada into the American Midwest, thus achieving a basic war goal.{{sfnm|1a1=Heidler|1a2=Heidler|1y=1997|1pp=505, 508–511|2a1=Gilbert|2y=1989|2pp=329–330}} Raids would continue from the unsubdued Indian tribes in the Old Northwest, which remained under British/Indian control, until the end of the war. Control of Lake Ontario changed hands several times, with both sides unable and unwilling to take advantage of temporary superiority.


The United States was also not prepared for war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=War Of 1812 {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/war-1812 |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Madison had assumed that the state militias would easily seize Canada and that 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 paid poorly and there were initially few trained and experienced officers.{{sfn|Quimby|1997|pp=2–12}} The militia objected to serving outside their home states, they were undisciplined and performed poorly against British forces when called upon to fight in unfamiliar territory.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=847}} Multiple militias refused orders to cross the border and fight on Canadian soil.{{sfn|Dauber|2003|p=301}}
===Atlantic===
At sea, the powerful Royal Navy blockaded much of the coastline, though it was allowing substantial exports from New England, which traded with Canada in defiance of American laws. The blockade devastated American agricultural exports, but it helped stimulate local factories that replaced goods previously imported. The American strategy of using small gunboats to defend ports was a ], 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 Washington that resulted in the British burning of the ], the ], the ], and other public buildings, in the "]". The British power at sea was enough to allow the Royal Navy to levy "]" on bayside towns in return for not burning them to the ground. The Americans were more successful in ship-to-ship actions. They sent out several hundred privateers to attack British merchant ships; in the first four months of war they captured 219 British merchant ships.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=101}} British commercial interests were damaged, especially in the ].<ref>{{Cite journal|first=George |last=Coggeshall |year=2005 |title=History of the American privateers|ref=harv}}<sup> and </sup>{{page needed|date=September 2010}}</ref>


American prosecution of the war suffered from its unpopularity, especially in ] where anti-war speakers were vocal. Massachusetts Congressmen ] and ] were "publicly insulted and hissed" in Boston while a mob seized Plymouth's Chief Justice ] on 3 August 1812 "and kicked through the town".{{sfn|Adams|1918|p=400}} The United States had great difficulty financing its war. It had disbanded its ], and private bankers in the Northeast were opposed to the war, but it obtained financing from London-based ] to cover overseas ] obligations.{{sfn|Hickey|2012n}} New England failed to provide militia units or financial support, which was a serious blow,{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=80}} and New England states made loud threats to secede as evidenced by the ]. Britain exploited these divisions, opting to not blockade the ports of New England for much of the war and encouraging smuggling.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=233–234, 349–350, 478–479}}
===US South===
]
After Napoleon abdicated on April 6, 1814, the British could send veteran armies to the United States, but by then the Americans had learned how to mobilize and fight.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=126}} British General Prévost launched a major invasion of ] with these veteran soldiers, but the American fleet under ] gained control of ] and the British lost the ] in September 1814. Prévost, blamed for the defeat, sought a ] to clear his name, but he died in London awaiting it.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=428–429}} The British then launched a successful attack on Chesapeake Bay, capturing, and burning Washington, looting Alexandria, and ]. The embarrassing Burning of Washington led to Armstrong's dismissal as U.S. Secretary of War. A British invasion of ] (unknowingly launched after the ] was negotiated to end the war) was defeated with heavy British losses by General ] at the ] in January 1815. The victory made Jackson a national hero, restored the American sense of honour,{{sfn|Millett|1991|p=46}} and ruined the Federalist party's efforts to condemn the war as a failure.{{sfnm|1a1=Heidler|1a2=Heidler|1y=1997|1pp=378–382|2a1=Remini|2y=2001|2pp=136–183}} With the ratification of the peace treaty in February 1815, the war ended before the U.S. new Secretary of War ] could put his new offensive strategy into effect, and before the British could launch renewed attacks.


==End of the War== ===War in the West===
====Invasions of Canada, 1812====
Once Britain and ] defeated Napoleon in 1814, France and Britain became close allies. Britain ended the trade restrictions and the impressment of American sailors, thus removing two more causes of the war. After two years of warfare, the major causes of the war had disappeared. Neither side had a reason to continue or a chance of gaining a decisive success that would compel their opponents to cede territory or advantageous peace terms.{{sfn|Black|2002|p=69}} As a result of this ], the two countries signed the ] on December 24, 1814. News of the peace treaty took two months to reach North America, during which fighting continued. The war fostered a spirit of national unity and an "]" in the United States,{{sfn|Wilson|1974|p=4}} as well as in Canada.{{sfn|Cornell|1967|p=192}} It opened a long era of peaceful relations between the United States and the British.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|pp=13–14}}
], August 1812]]


An American army commanded by William Hull invaded Upper Canada on July 12, arriving at Sandwich (]) after crossing the ].{{sfn|History of Sandwich}}<!-- This ref verified. --> Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender.{{sfn|Auchinleck|1855|p=49}} The proclamation said that Hull wanted to free them from the "tyranny" of Great Britain, giving them the liberty, security, and wealth that his own country enjoyed{{snd}}unless they preferred "war, slavery and destruction".{{sfn|Laxer|2012|p=131}} He also threatened to kill any British soldier caught fighting alongside Indigenous fighters.{{sfn|Auchinleck|1855|p=49}} Hull's proclamation only helped to stiffen resistance to the American attacks as he lacked artillery and supplies.{{sfn|Aprill|2015}}{{sfn|Clarke Historical Library}}
==Theatres of war==
The war was conducted in three theatres:
# At sea, principally the Atlantic Ocean and the east coast of North America
# The ] and the Canadian frontier
# The Southern states and southwestern territories


Hull withdrew to the American side of the river on 7 August 1812 after receiving news of a ] on Major ]'s 200 men, who had been sent to support the American supply convoy. Hull also faced a lack of support from his officers and fear among his troops of a possible massacre by unfriendly Indigenous forces. A group of 600 troops led by Lieutenant Colonel ] remained in Canada, attempting to supply the American position in the Sandwich area, with little success.{{sfn|Laxer|2012|pp=139–142}}
===Atlantic theatre===


Major General Isaac Brock believed that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada and to convince the tribes that Britain was strong.{{sfn|Benn|Marston|2006|p=214}} He moved to ] near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and ], using ] as his stronghold. Hull feared that the British possessed superior numbers, and ] lacked adequate gunpowder and cannonballs to withstand a long siege.{{sfn|Rosentreter|2003|p=74}} He agreed to surrender on 16 August.{{sfn|Marsh|2011}}{{sfn|Hannings|2012|p=50}} Hull also ordered the evacuation of ] (Chicago) to ], but Potawatomi warriors ambushed them and escorted them back to the fort where they were ] on 15 August. The fort was subsequently burned.{{sfnm|Hickey|1989|1p=84|Ingersoll|1845|2p=31}}{{efn|Hull was later court-martialed for cowardice, neglect of duty and for lying about lack of supplies. He was convicted and sentenced to death, but President Madison granted him a pardon for his heroic service during the Revolutionary War.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=84}} }}
====Opening strategies====
]
In 1812, Britain's Royal Navy was the world's largest, with over 600&nbsp;cruisers in commission and some smaller vessels. Although most of these were involved in blockading the French navy and protecting British trade against (usually French) privateers, the Royal Navy still had 85&nbsp;vessels in American waters, counting all British Navy vessels in North American and the Caribbean waters.<ref>Admiralty reply to British press criticism ({{harvnb|Toll|2006|p=180}}).</ref> However, the Royal Navy's ] based in ] (which bore the brunt of the war), numbered one small ], seven ]s, nine smaller ] and ]s along with five ]s.{{sfn|Gwyn|2003|p=134}} By contrast, the ] comprised 8&nbsp;frigates, 14 smaller sloops and brigs, and no ships of the line. The U.S. had embarked on a major shipbuilding program before the war at ] and continued to produce new ships. Three of the existing American frigates were exceptionally large and powerful for their class, larger than any British frigate in North America. Whereas the standard British frigate of the time was rated as a 38&nbsp;gun ship, usually carrying up to 50 guns, with its main battery consisting of 18-pounder guns; USS ''Constitution'', ''President'', and ''United States'', in comparison, were rated as 44-gun ships, carrying 56–60 guns with a main ] of 24-pounders.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=50}}


Brock moved to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General ] was attempting a second invasion.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=848}} The Americans attempted an attack across the ] on 13 October, but they were defeated ]. However, Brock was killed during the battle and British leadership suffered after his death. American General ] made a final attempt to advance north from Lake Champlain, but his militia refused to go beyond American territory.<ref>Daughan, George C. 1812 (pp. 109–111). Basic Books. Kindle Edition</ref>
]
The British strategy was to protect their own merchant shipping to and from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the West Indies, and to enforce a blockade of major American ports to restrict American trade. Because of their numerical inferiority, the American strategy was to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics, such as the capture of ] and engaging Royal Navy vessels only under favourable circumstances. Days after the formal declaration of war, however, it put out two small squadrons, including the frigate ''President'' and the sloop {{USS|Hornet|1805 brig|2}} under Commodore ], and the frigates ''United States'' and {{USS|Congress|1799|2}}, with the brig {{USS|Argus|1803|2}} under Captain ]. These were initially concentrated as one unit under Rodgers, who intended to force the Royal Navy to concentrate its own ships to prevent isolated units being captured by his powerful force.


==== American Northwest, 1813 ====
Large numbers of American merchant ships were returning to the United States with the outbreak of war, 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 ], allowing many American ships to reach home. But, Rodgers' own cruise captured only five small merchant ships, and the Americans never subsequently concentrated more than two or three ships together as a unit.{{citation needed|date=March 2012}}
]'s message to William Henry Harrison after the ] began thus: "We have met the enemy and they are ours".{{sfn|We Have Met}}]]
{{main|Ohio in the War of 1812|Siege of Detroit}}


After Hull surrendered Detroit, General William Henry Harrison took command of the American ]. He set out to retake the city, which was now defended by Colonel ] and Tecumseh. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at ] along the ] on 22 January 1813. Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard and his Potawatomie allies killed and scalped ].{{sfn|National Guard History eMuseum}} The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, but "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans.{{sfn|Taylor|2010|pp=201, 210}}
====Single-ship actions====
] (1813)]]
Meanwhile, ''Constitution'', commanded by Captain ], sailed from Chesapeake Bay 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'' ] {{HMS|Guerriere|1806|6}}. After a 35-minute battle, ''Guerriere'' had been dis-masted and captured and was later burned. ''Constitution'' earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" following this battle as many of the British cannonballs were seen to bounce off her hull. Hull returned to Boston with news of this significant victory. On October 25, ''United States'', commanded by Captain Decatur, captured the British frigate {{HMS|Macedonian}}, which he then carried back to port.{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=360–365}} At the close of the month, the ''Constitution'' sailed south, now under the command of Captain ]. On December 29, off ], Brazil, she met the British frigate {{HMS|Java|1811|6}}. After a battle lasting three hours, ''Java'' ] and was burned after being judged unsalvageable. ''Constitution'', however, was relatively undamaged in the battle.{{citation needed|date = March 2012}}


In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh set ] in northwestern Ohio. Tecumseh's fighters ambushed American reinforcements who arrived during the siege, but the fort held out. The fighters eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fortmeigs.org/history/|title=A History of Fort Meigs – Fort Meigs: Ohio's War of 1812 Battlefield|website=www.fortmeigs.org|access-date=17 March 2021|archive-date=14 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114003801/https://www.fortmeigs.org/history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Along the way they attempted to ], a small American post on the ] near Lake Erie. They were repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the Ohio campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.birchard.lib.oh.us/content/battle-fort-stephenson|title=Battle of Fort Stephenson &#124; Birchard Public Library|website=www.birchard.lib.oh.us}}</ref>
The successes gained by the three big American frigates forced Britain to construct five 40-gun, 24-pounder heavy frigates{{sfn|Gardiner|1996|p=162}} and two "spar-decked" frigates (the 60-gun {{HMS|Leander|1813|6}} and {{HMS|Newcastle}}{{sfn|Gardiner|1996|p=164}}) and to ] three old 74-gun ships of the line to convert them to heavy frigates.{{sfn|Gardiner|1996|p=163}} The Royal Navy acknowledged 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 overstretched Royal Navy meant that many ships were shorthanded and the average quality of crews suffered. The constant sea duties of those serving in North America interfered with their training and exercises.{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=405–417}}


Captain ] fought the ] on 10 September 1813. His decisive victory at ] ensured American military control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats and compelled the British to fall back from Detroit. This enabled General Harrison to launch another invasion of Upper Canada, which culminated in the American victory at the ] on 5 October 1813, where Tecumseh was killed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Thames|title=Battle of the Thames &#124; War of 1812|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=9 October 2023 }}</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 {{USS|Chesapeake|1799|2}}, commanded by Captain ], was ] by the British frigate {{HMS|Shannon|1806|6}} under Captain Philip Broke. Lawrence was mortally wounded and famously cried out, "Don't give up the ship! Hold on, men!"{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=405–417}} The two frigates were of near-identical size. ''Chesapeake''{{'}}s crew was larger but most had not served or trained together. British citizens reacted with celebration and relief that the run of American victories had ended.{{sfn|Forester|1970|pp=131–132}} Notably, this action was by ratio one of the bloodiest contests recorded during this age of sail, with more dead and wounded than HMS ''Victory'' suffered in four hours of combat at ]. Captain Lawrence was killed and Captain Broke was so badly wounded that he never again held a sea command.{{sfn|Gardiner|1996|p=61}}


==== American West, 1813–1815 ====
]
], American headquarters|], abandoned in 1813|], defeated in 1813|], defeated in 1814|], July 1814; and the ], September 1814|], abandoned in 1814|] and the ], May 1815}}]]
In January 1813, the American frigate {{USS|Essex|1799|2}}, under the command of Captain ], sailed into the Pacific to harass British shipping. Many British whaling ships carried ] allowing them to prey on American whalers, and they nearly destroyed the industry. ''Essex'' challenged this practice. She inflicted considerable damage on British interests before she and her tender, {{USS|Essex Junior}} (armed with twenty guns) were captured off ], ], by the British frigate {{HMS|Phoebe|1795|6}} and the sloop {{HMS|Cherub|1806|6}} on March 28, 1814.{{sfn|DANFS|1991|loc=''Essex''}}


The Mississippi River valley was the western frontier of the United States in 1812. The territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 contained almost no American settlements west of the Mississippi except around ] and a few forts and trading posts in the ]. ] was an old ] converted to an Army post in 1804 and this served as regional headquarters. ], built in 1808 along the ], was the westernmost American outpost, but it was abandoned at the start of the war.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2002|p=270}}<!-- Unable to verify, but has not failed verification. -- This page not available at Google Books. Needs to be looked at by someone with better access. ER. --> ] was built along the Mississippi in Iowa in 1808 and had been repeatedly attacked by British-allied Sauk since its construction. The United States Army abandoned Fort Madison in September 1813 after the indigenous fighters attacked it and besieged it{{snd}}with support from the British. This was one of the few battles fought west of the Mississippi. ] played a leadership role.{{sfn|Cole|1921|pp=69–74}}<!-- No preview at Google Books; somebody with better access please verify. -->
The British 6th-rate {{sclass-|Cruizer|brig-sloop|1}}s did not fare well against the American ship-rigged sloops of war. {{USS|Hornet|1805 brig|2}} and {{USS|Wasp|1807|2}} constructed before the war were notably powerful vessels, and the ''Frolic'' class built during the war even more so (although {{USS|Frolic|1813|2}} was trapped and captured by a British frigate and a schooner). The British brig-rigged sloops tended to suffer fire to their rigging more frequently than the American ship-rigged sloops. In addition, the ship-rigged sloops could back their sails in action, giving them another advantage in manoeuvring.{{sfn|Gardiner|1996|pp=85–90}}


The American victory on Lake Erie and the recapture of Detroit isolated the British on Lake Huron. In the winter a Canadian party under Lieutenant Colonel ] established a new supply line from York to ] on ]. He arrived at ] on 18 May with supplies and more than 400 militia and Indians, then sent an expedition which ] the key trading post of ], on the Upper Mississippi.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=7, 47}} The Americans dispatched a substantial expedition to relieve the fort, but Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo warriors under Black Hawk ambushed it and forced it to withdraw with heavy losses in the ]. In September 1814, the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo, supported by part of Prairie du Chien's British garrison, repulsed a second American force led by Major ] in the ].<ref>Barry M. Gough, ''Fighting Sail on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: The War of 1812 and its Aftermath'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2002, 77–79,</ref> These victories enabled the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo to harass American garrisons further to the south, which led the Americans to abandon ], in central Illinois Territory.{{sfn|Nolan|2009|pp=85–94}} Consequently, the Americans lost control of almost all of Illinois Territory, although they held onto the St. Louis area and eastern ]. However, the Sauk raided even into these territories, clashing with American forces at the Battle of ] in April 1815 at the mouth of the ] in the ] and the ] in May 1815 near ].<ref>Roger L. Nichols, ''Black Hawk and the Warrior's Path'', Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 64–65</ref> This left the British and their Indian allies in control of most of modern Illinois and all of modern Wisconsin.{{sfn|Concise Historical Atlas|1998|p=85}}
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. But, a month later, ''Constitution'' engaged and captured two smaller British warships, {{HMS|Cyane|1806|6}} and {{HMS|Levant|1813|6}}, sailing in company.{{sfn|Roosevelt|1902|pp=}}


Meanwhile, the British were supplying the Indians in the Old Northwest from Montreal via Mackinac.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=48}} On 3 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 4 August. They did not attempt to achieve surprise, and Indians ambushed them in the brief ] and forced them to re-embark. The Americans discovered the new base at Nottawasaga Bay and on 13 August they destroyed its fortifications and the schooner '']'' that they found there. They then returned to Detroit, leaving two gunboats to blockade Mackinac. On 4 September, the British surprised, boarded, and captured both gunboats. These ] left Mackinac under British control.<ref>Barry M. Gough, ''Fighting Sail on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: The War of 1812 and its Aftermath'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2002, 103–121</ref>
Success in single ship battles raised American morale after the repeated failed invasion attempts in Upper and Lower Canada. However these single ship victories had no military effect on the war at sea as they did not alter the balance of naval power, impede British supplies and reinforcements, or even raise insurance rates for British trade.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=102}}


The British returned Mackinac and other captured territory to the United States after the war. Some British officers and Canadians objected to handing back Prairie du Chien and especially Mackinac under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent. However, the Americans retained the captured post at Fort Malden near Amherstburg until the British complied with the treaty.{{Sfn|Elting|1995|p=323}} Fighting between Americans, the Sauk and other indigenous tribes continued through 1817, well after the war ended in the east.{{sfn|First United States}}
====Privateering====
The operations of American privateers proved a more significant threat to British trade than the U.S. Navy. They operated throughout the Atlantic and continued until the close of the war, most notably from ports such as ]. American privateers reported taking 1300 British merchant vessels, compared to 254 taken by the U.S. Navy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usmm.org/warof1812.html |title=American Merchant Marine and Privateers in War of 1812 |publisher=Usmm.org |accessdate=2010-07-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.princedeneufchatel.com/ |title=www.princedeneufchatel.com |publisher=princedeneufchatel.com |accessdate=2010-07-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2004/May/perspective.htm |title=Sealift – Merchant Mariners – America's unsung heroes |publisher=Msc.navy.mil |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> although the insurer ] 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. 649–650.</ref> However the British were able to limit privateering losses by the strict enforcement of ] by the Royal Navy and by capturing 278 American privateers. Due to the massive size of the British merchant fleet, American captures only affected 7.5% of the fleet, resulting in no supply shortages or lack of reinforcements for British forces in North America.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|pp=394–395}}


=== War in the American Northeast ===
Due to the large size of their navy, the British did not rely as much on privateering. The majority of the 1,407 captured American merchant ships were taken by the Royal Navy. 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. However privateering remained popular in British colonies. It was the last hurrah for privateers in ] who vigorously returned to the practice after experience in previous wars.{{sfn|Strannack|1909|p={{page needed|date=June 2013}}}} The nimble ]s captured 298 American ships. Privateer schooners based in ], especially from ] took 250 American ships and proved especially effective in crippling American coastal trade and capturing American ships closer to shore than the Royal Navy cruisers.{{sfn|Faye|1997|p=171}}


====Blockade==== ==== Niagara frontier, 1813 ====
{{refimprove section|date=April 2012}}


], War of 1812 map<br />depicting locations of forts, battles, etc.}}]]
] leads the boarding party to USS ''Chesapeake''|alt=Sailors in combat on the deck of a ship]]
The small British North American squadron had difficulty at the beginning of the war in blockading the entire U.S. coast, faced by the need to convoy vessels against American privateers. However, as additional ships were sent to North America in 1813, the Royal Navy was able to tighten the blockade and extend it, first to the coast south of ] by November 1813 and to the entire American coast on May 31, 1814.


Both sides placed great importance on gaining control of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River because of the difficulties of land-based communication. The British already had a small squadron of warships on Lake Ontario when the war began and had the initial advantage. The Americans established a Navy yard at ], a port on Lake Ontario. Commodore ] took charge of the thousands of sailors and ]s assigned there and recruited more from New York. They completed a warship (the corvette ]) in 45 days. Ultimately, almost 3,000 men at the shipyard built 11 warships and many smaller boats and transports. Army forces were also stationed at Sackett's Harbor, where they camped out through the town, far surpassing the small population of 900. Officers were housed with families. ] was later built at Sackett's Harbor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.northamericanforts.com/East/New_York/Madison_Barracks/Madison_Barracks.html|title=Madison Barracks|website=www.northamericanforts.com}}</ref>
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 Chesapeake Bay were declared in a state of blockade on December 26, 1812. 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 harbours.


Having regained the advantage by their rapid building program, on 27 April 1813 Chauncey and Dearborn attacked ], the capital of Upper Canada. At the ], the outnumbered British regulars destroyed the fort and dockyard and retreated, leaving the militia to surrender the town. American soldiers set fire to the Legislature building, and looted and vandalized several government buildings and citizens' homes.<ref>Daughan, George C. 1812 (p. 178). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.</ref>
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 '']'' 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 licences to trade by Admiral Sir ], commander in chief on the American station in 1813. This allowed Wellington's army in Spain to receive American goods and to maintain the New Englanders' ]. The blockade nevertheless resulted in American exports decreasing from $130&nbsp;million in 1807 to $7&nbsp;million in 1814. Most of these were food exports that ironically went to supply their enemies in Britain or British colonies.{{sfn|Leckie|1998|p=255}}


On 25 May 1813, Fort Niagara and the American Lake Ontario squadron began bombarding ].{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=37}} An American amphibious force assaulted Fort George on the northern end of the Niagara River on 27 May and captured it without serious losses.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} The British abandoned ] and headed towards ].{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} The British position was close to collapsing in Upper Canada; the Iroquois considered changing sides and ignored a British appeal to come to their aid.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} However, the Americans did not pursue the retreating British forces until they had largely escaped and organized a counter-offensive at the ] on 5 June. The British launched a surprise attack at 2{{nbsp}}a.m., leading to confused fighting{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} and a strategic British victory.{{sfn|Ridler|2015}}
As the Royal Navy base that supervised the blockade, Halifax profited greatly during the war. From that base British privateers seized many French and American ships and sold their prizes in Halifax.


The Americans pulled back to Forty Mile Creek rather than continue their advance into Upper Canada.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} At this point, the ] began to come out to fight for the British as an American victory no longer seemed inevitable.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} The Iroquois ambushed an American patrol at Forty Mile Creek while the Royal Navy squadron based in Kingston sailed in and bombarded the American camp. General Dearborn retreated to Fort George, mistakenly believing that he was outnumbered and outgunned.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=41}} British Brigadier General ] was encouraged when about 800 Iroquois arrived to assist him.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=41}}
====Freeing and recruiting slaves====
The British Royal Navy's blockades and raids allowed about 4,000 African Americans to escape slavery by fleeing American plantations to find freedom aboard British ships, migrants known, as regards those who settled in Canada, as the ]. The blockading British fleet in ] received increasing numbers of enslaved black Americans during 1813. By British government order they were treated as free persons when reaching British hands.<ref>{{cite web|last=Weiss|first=John McNish|url=http://www.mcnishandweiss.co.uk/history/colonialmarines.html|title=The Corps of Colonial Marines: Black freedom fighters of the War of 1812|website=mcnishandweiss.co.uk|date=2013|accessdate=September 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>Thomas Malcomson, "Freedom by reaching the Wooden World: American Slaves and the British Navy during the War of 1812", ''The Northern Mariner'', Vol. XXII, No. 4 (October 2012), p. 366.</ref> Alexander Cochrane's ], invited Americans who wished to emigrate to join the British, and though not explicitly mentioning slaves was taken by all as addressed to them. About 2,400 of the escaped slaves and their families who served in the Royal Navy following their escape settled in ] and ] during and after the war. From May 1814, younger men among the volunteers were recruited into a new ]. They fought for Britain throughout the Atlantic campaign, including the ] and the attacks on Washington, D.C. and Battle of Baltimore, later settling in Trinidad after rejecting British government orders for transfer to the ]s, forming the community of the ]. The slaves who escaped to the British represented the largest emancipation of African Americans before the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/essays/black-soldier-and-sailors-war/|title="Black Sailors and Soldiers in the War of 1812", ''The War of 1812'', PBS (2012)|work=Black Soldier and Sailors in the War - War of 1812 - PBS|accessdate=October 1, 2014}}</ref>


An American force surrendered on 24 June to a smaller British force due to advance warning by ] at the ], marking the end of the American offensive into Upper Canada.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=41}} British Major General ] did not have the strength to retake Fort George, so he instituted a blockade, hoping to starve the Americans into surrender.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=44}} Meanwhile, Commodore ] had taken charge of the British ships on the lake and mounted a counterattack, which the Americans repulsed at the ]. Thereafter, Chauncey and Yeo's squadrons fought two indecisive actions, off the Niagara on 7 August and at Burlington Bay on 28 September. Neither commander was prepared to take major risks to gain a complete victory.{{sfn|Malcomson|1998}}
====Occupation of Maine====
Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a base for smuggling and illegal trade between the U.S. and the British. Until 1813 the region was generally quiet except for privateer actions near the coast. In September 1813, there was a notable naval action when the U.S. Navy's brig {{USS|Enterprise|1799|2}} ] the Royal Navy brig {{HMS|Boxer|1812|2}} off Pemaquid Point.{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=75–91}} The first British assault came in July 1814, when Sir ] took Moose Island (]) without a shot, with the entire American garrison of ]—which became the British Fort Sherbrooke—surrendering.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=81–94}} Next, from his base in ], in September 1814, Sir ] led 3,000 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). Retreating American forces were forced to destroy the frigate {{USS|Adams|1799|2}}. The British occupied the town of ] and most of eastern Maine for the rest of the war, re-establishing the colony of ]. The Treaty of Ghent returned this territory to the United States, though ] has remained in dispute. The British left in April 1815, at which time they took ₤10,750 obtained from tariff duties at Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used to establish ], in Halifax, Nova Scotia.{{sfn|Harvey|1938|pp=207–213}}


Late in 1813, the Americans abandoned the Canadian territory that they occupied around Fort George. They set fire to the village of Newark (now ]) on 10 December 1813, incensing the Canadians. Many of the inhabitants were left without shelter, freezing to death in the snow. The British retaliated following their ] on 18 December 1813. A British-Indian force led by Riall ] of ] on 19 December; four American civilians were killed by drunken Indians after the battle. A small force of ] warriors engaged Riall's men during the battle, which allowed many residents of Lewiston to evacuate the village.{{sfn|Historic Lewiston, New York}}{{sfn|Prohaska|2010}} The British and their Indian allies subsequently ] and burned ] on Lake Erie on 30 December 1813 in revenge for the American attack on Fort George and Newark in May.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=143, 159}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-02 |title=War of 1812 {{!}} History, Summary, Causes, Effects, Timeline, Facts, & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812 |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
===={{anchor|Chesapeake Campaign|Expedition to the Chesapeake}}Chesapeake campaign and "The Star-Spangled Banner"====
]
The strategic location of the ] near America's new national capital, ] on the major tributary of the ], made it a prime target for the ] and their ] and the ]. Starting in March 1813, a squadron under Rear Admiral ] started a blockade of the mouth of the Bay at ] harbour and raided towns along the Bay from ], to ].


==== St. Lawrence and Lower Canada, 1813 ====
On July 4, 1813, ] ], a ] naval hero, convinced the ] to build the ], a squadron of twenty barges powered by small sails or oars (sweeps) to defend the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in April 1814, the squadron was quickly cornered in the ], and while successful in harassing the Royal Navy, they were powerless to stop the British campaign that ultimately led to the "Burning of Washington". This expedition, led by Cockburn and General ], was carried out between August 19 and 29, 1814, as the result of the hardened British policy of 1814 (although British and American commissioners had convened peace negotiations at ] in June of that year). As part of this, Admiral Warren had been replaced as commander in chief by Admiral Alexander Cochrane, with reinforcements and orders to coerce the Americans into a favourable peace.
] repel an American attack on ], ], October 1813]]


The British were vulnerable along the stretch of the St. Lawrence that was between Upper Canada and the United States. In the winter of 1812–1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from ] that hampered British supply traffic up the river. On 21 February, George Prévost 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 in the ] and the Americans were forced to retreat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wgpfoundation.org/historic-markers/war-of-1812-5/|title=WAR OF 1812|date=19 December 2018|website=William G. Pomeroy Foundation}}</ref>
]
A force of 2,500 soldiers under General Ross had just arrived in Bermuda aboard '']'', three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels. Released from the ] in ] and ] by British victory, the British intended to use them for diversionary raids along the coasts of ] and ]. In response to Prévost's request, they decided to employ this force, together with the naval and military units already on the station, to strike at the "Federal City" of ]


The Americans made two more thrusts against Montreal in 1813.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=45}} Major General ] was to march north from Lake Champlain and join a force under General ] that would sail from Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario and descend the St. Lawrence. Hampton was delayed by road and supply problems and his intense dislike of Wilkinson limited his desire to support his plan.<ref>Daughan, George C. 1812 (p. 220). Basic Books. Kindle Edition</ref> ] defeated Hampton's force of 4,000 at the Chateauguay River on 25 October with a smaller force of ] and ]. Salaberry's force numbered only 339, but it had a strong defensive position.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=45}} Wilkinson's force of 8,000 set out on 17 October, but it was delayed by weather. Wilkinson heard that a British force was pursuing him under Captain ] and Lieutenant Colonel ] and landed near ] by 10 November, about 150 kilometres (90&nbsp;mi) from Montreal. On 11 November, his rear guard of 2,500 attacked Morrison's force of 800 at ] and was repulsed with heavy losses.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=45}} He learned that Hampton could not renew his advance, retreated to the United States and settled into winter quarters. He resigned his command after a failed attack on a British outpost at ].{{sfn|Army and Navy Journal Incorporated|1865|pages=469}}
On August 24, ], ] insisted that the British would attack ] rather than Washington, even when units of the ], accompanied by major ships of the ], were obviously on their way to the capital. The inexperienced ], which had congregated nearby at ], to protect the capital, were defeated in the ], opening the route to Washington. While First Lady ] saved valuables from the then named "President's House" (or "President's Palace" – now the "]"), Fourth President ] and the government with members of the ], fled to ].<ref name="burn washington">{{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 |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> Seeing that the Battle of Bladensburg, northeast of the town in rural ] was not going well, ] ] ordered Captain ], commandant of the ] on the Eastern Branch of the ] (now the ]), to set the facility ablaze to prevent the capture of American naval ships, buildings, shops and supplies.<ref name="burn washington" /> Tingey had overseen the Naval Yard's planning and development since the national capital had been moved from ] to Washington in 1800, and waited until the very last possible minute, nearly four hours after the order was given to execute it. The destruction included most of the facility as well as the nearly-completed frigate ''"Columbia"'' and the sloop ''"Argus"''.<ref>{{Cite book|title = August 24, 1814: Washington in Flames|last = Herrick|first = Carole L.|publisher = Higher Education Publications, Inc.|year = 2005|isbn = 0-914927-50-7|location = Falls Church, VA|page = 90}}</ref>


==== Niagara and Plattsburgh campaigns, 1814 ====
The British commanders ate the supper that had been prepared for the ] and his departmental secretaries after returning from hopeful glorious U.S. victory, before they burned the Executive Mansion; American morale was reduced to an all-time low. The British viewed their actions as retaliation for the destructive American invasions and raids into Canada, most notably the Americans' burning of York earlier in 1813. Later that same evening, a furious storm (some later weather experts called it a ], almost a ]) swept into Washington, D.C., sending one or more ] into the rough, unfinished town that caused more damage but finally extinguished the fires with torrential rains, leaving fire-blackened walls and partial ruins of the ], ] and ] that were set alight the first night.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbook.com/1814.htm |title=The Tornado and the Burning of Washington |publisher=Weatherbook.com |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> In addition, the combustibles used to finish off the ] destruction that the Americans had started, exploded, killing or maiming a large number of "Red-Coats." Subsequently, the British left Washington, D.C. the following day after the storm subsided.


]]]
Having destroyed Washington's public buildings, including the President's Mansion and the Treasury, the British army and navy next moved several weeks later to capture Baltimore, forty miles northeast, a busy port and a key base for American privateers. However, by not immediately going overland to the port city they sneeringly called a "nest of pirates", but returning to their ships anchored in the ] and proceeding later up to the Upper Bay, they gave the Baltimoreans plenty of time to reinforce their fortifications and gather regular ] and state militia troops from surrounding counties and states. The subsequent "]" began with the British landing on Sunday, September 12, 1814, at ], where the Baltimore harbour's ] met the ], where they were met by American militia further up the "Patapsco Neck" peninsula. An exchange of fire began, with casualties on both sides. Major Gen. ] was killed by American snipers as he attempted to rally his troops in the first skirmish. The snipers were killed moments later, and the British paused, then continued to march northwestward to the stationed Maryland and Baltimore City militia units deployed further up Long Log Lane on the peninsula at "Godly Wood" where the later ] was fought for several afternoon hours in a musketry and artillery duel under command of British Col. ] and American commander for the Maryland state militia and its Third Brigade (or "Baltimore City Brigade"), Brig. Gen. ]. The British also planned to simultaneously attack Baltimore by water on the following day, September 13, to support their military now arrayed facing the massed, heavily dug-in and fortified American units of approximately 15,000 with about a hundred cannon gathered along the eastern heights of the city named "Loudenschlager's Hill" (later "Hampstead Hill" - now part of ]). These overall Baltimore defences had been planned in advance and foreseen by the state militia commander, Maj. Gen. ], who had been set in charge of the Baltimore defences instead of the discredited ] commander for the Mid-Atlantic's 10th Military District (following the debacle the previous month at ]), ]. Smith had been earlier a ] officer and commander, then wealthy city merchant and ], ] and later ]. The "Red Coats" were unable to immediately reduce ], at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor to allow their ships to provide heavier naval gunfire to support their troops to the northeast.


The Americans again invaded the Niagara frontier. They had occupied southwestern Upper Canada after they defeated Colonel Henry Procter at ] in October and believed that taking the rest of the province would force the British to cede it to them.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=137}} The end of the war with Napoleon in Europe in April 1814 meant that the British could deploy their army to North America, so the Americans wanted to secure Upper Canada to negotiate from a position of strength. They planned to invade via the Niagara frontier while sending another force to recapture Mackinac.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=47}} They captured Fort Erie on 3 July 1814.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=49}} Unaware of Fort Erie's fall or of the size of the American force, the British general ] engaged with ], who won against a British force at the ] on 5 July. The American forces had been through a hard training under Winfield Scott and proved to the professionals under fire. They deployed in a shallow U formation, bringing flanking fire and well-aimed volleys against Riall's men. Riall's men were chased off the battlefield.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armyhistory.org/the-battle-of-chippewa-5-july-1814/|title=The Battle of Chippewa, 5 July 1814 – The Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army|date=16 July 2014 }}</ref>
], where ] placed off-shore in a U.S. truce ship was inspired to write the four-stanza poem he originally titled "The Defence of Fort McHenry", which later when set to music became named the "]", adopted as the national anthem in 1931.]]
At the bombardment of ], the British naval guns, mortars and revolutionary new "]" had a longer range than the American cannon onshore, and the ships mostly stood off out of the Americans' range, bombarding the fort, which returned very little fire and was not too heavily damaged during the onslaught except for a burst over a rear brickwall knocking out some fieldpieces and resulting in a few casualties. Despite however the heavy bombardment, casualties in the fort were slight and the British ships eventually realized that they could not force the passage to attack Baltimore in coordination with the land force. After a last ditch night feint and barge attack during the heavy rain storm at the time led by Capt. ] around the fort up the Middle Branch of the river to the west which was split and misdirected partly in the storm, then turned back with heavy casualties by alert gunners at supporting western batteries ] and ], so the British called off the attack and sailed downriver to pick up their army which had retreated from the east side of Baltimore. 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, illuminating the flag that was still flying over the fort. The defence of the fort inspired the American lawyer ] to write "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem that was set to music as "]".


An attempt to advance further ended with the hard-fought but inconclusive ] on July 25. The battle was fought several miles north of ] near Niagara Falls and is considered the bloodiest and costliest battle of the war.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|pp=307–309}}{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=187}} Both sides stood their ground as American General ] pulled back to Fort George after the battle and the British did not pursue.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=51}} Commanders Riall, Scott, Brown, and Drummond were all wounded; Scott's wounds ended his service in the war.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|p=309}}
===Great Lakes and Western Territories===


The Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged ]. The British tried to storm Fort Erie on 14 August 1814, but they suffered heavy losses, losing 950 killed, wounded, and captured, compared to only 84 dead and wounded on the American side. The British were further weakened by exposure and shortage of supplies. Eventually, they raised the siege, but American Major General ] took over command on the Niagara front and followed up only halfheartedly. An American raid along the ] destroyed many farms and weakened British logistics. In October 1814, the Americans advanced into Upper Canada and engaged in skirmishes at ]. They pulled back when they heard of the approach of the new British warship {{HMS|St Lawrence|1814|6}}, launched in Kingston that September and armed with 104 guns. The Americans lacked provisions and retreated across the Niagara after destroying Fort Erie.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=52}}
====Invasions of Upper and Lower Canada, 1812====
]
American leaders assumed that Canada could be easily overrun. Former President Jefferson optimistically referred to the conquest of Canada as "a matter of marching".<ref>{{cite book|author=Ronald J. Dale|title=The Invasion of Canada: Battles of the War of 1812|url=|year=2001|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|page=17|isbn=1550287389}}</ref> Many Loyalist Americans had migrated to Upper Canada after the Revolutionary War. There was also significant non-Loyalist American immigration to the area due to the offer of land grants to immigrants, and the U.S. assumed the latter would favour the American cause, but they did not. In prewar Upper Canada, General Prévost was in the unusual position of having to purchase many provisions for his troops from the American side. This peculiar trade persisted throughout the war in spite of an abortive attempt by the U.S. government to curtail it. In Lower Canada, which was much more populous, support for Britain came from the English elite with strong loyalty to the Empire, and from the ] elite, who feared American conquest would destroy the old order by introducing ], ], republican democracy, and commercial capitalism; and weakening the ]. The Canadian inhabitants feared the loss of a shrinking area of good lands to potential American immigrants.{{sfn|Burroughs|2000|loc="Prévost, Sir George"}}


], 14 August 1814]]
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 Lake Champlain. 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 ] opposing the settlers.


Meanwhile, after Napoleon abdicated, 15,000 British troops were sent to North America under four of ]'s ablest brigade commanders. Fewer than half were veterans of the ] and the rest came from garrisons. Prévost was ordered to burn Sackett's Harbor to gain naval control of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Upper Lakes, and to defend Lower Canada from attack. He did defend Lower Canada but otherwise failed to achieve his objectives,{{sfn|Grodzinski|2010|pp=560–561}} so he decided to invade New York State. His army outnumbered the American defenders of ] under General ], but he was worried about his flanks and decided that he needed naval control of Lake Champlain. Upon reaching Plattsburgh, Prévost delayed the assault until Captain ] arrived in the hastily built 36-gun frigate {{HMS|Confiance|1814|6}}. ''Confiance'' was not fully completed, and her raw crew had never worked together, but Prévost forced Downie into a premature attack.<ref>George C Daughan. ''1812: The navy's war''. {{ISBN|0465020461}} pp. 343–345</ref>
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 natives, and large numbers moved to help the British at ]. The island totally controlled access to the ], giving the British nominal control of this area, and, more vitally, a monopoly on the fur trade.


The British squadron on the lake under was more evenly matched by the Americans under Master Commandant ]. At the ] on 11 September 1814, ''Confiance'' suffered heavy casualties and struck her colours, and the rest of the British fleet retreated. Prevost, already alienated from his veteran officers by insisting on proper dress codes, now lost their confidence, while MacDonough emerged as a national hero.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=190–193}}
]
An American army under the command of William Hull invaded Canada on July 12, with his forces chiefly composed of untrained and ill-disciplined militiamen.{{sfn |Benn |Marston |2006 |p=214}} 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".<ref>{{Cite book|title = A History of the War Between Great Britain and the United States of America: During the Years 1812, 1813, and 1814|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yMsFyctLriQC|publisher = Maclear & Company|date = 1855-01-01|first = Gilbert|last = Auchinleck}}</ref> This led many of the British forces to defect. John Bennett, printer and publisher of the York Gazette & Oracle, was a prominent defector. Andrew Mercer, who had the publication's production moved to his house, lost the press and type destroyed during American occupation, an example of what happened to resisters.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Peppiatt|first1=Liam|title=Chapter 24: Andrew Mercer's Cottage|url=http://www.landmarksoftoronto.com/andrew-mercers-cottage|website=Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited}}</ref> He also threatened to kill any British prisoner caught fighting alongside a native. The proclamation helped stiffen resistance to the American attacks. Hull's army was too weak in artillery and badly supplied to achieve its objectives, and had to fight just to maintain its own lines of communication.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}


]
The senior British officer in Upper Canada, Major General Isaac Brock, felt that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada, and to convince the aboriginals who were needed to defend the region that Britain was strong.{{sfn |Benn |Marston |2006 |p=214}} He moved rapidly to Amherstburg near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and immediately decided to ]. Hull, fearing that the British possessed superior numbers and that the Indians attached to Brock's force would commit massacres if fighting began, surrendered Detroit without a fight on August 16. Knowing of British-instigated indigenous 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 and civilians) were attacked by Potowatomis on August 15 after travelling only {{convert|2|mi|km}} in what is known as the ].{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=84}} The fort was subsequently burned.


The Americans now had control of Lake Champlain; ] later termed it "the greatest naval battle of the war".{{sfn|Roosevelt|1900|p=}}
Brock promptly transferred himself to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General ] was attempting a second invasion. An armistice (arranged by Prévost 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 Niagara River on October 13, but suffered a crushing defeat at Queenston Heights. 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.


Prévost then turned back, to the astonishment of his senior officers, saying that it was too hazardous to remain on enemy territory after the loss of naval supremacy. He was recalled to London, where a naval court-martial decided that defeat had been caused principally by Prévost urging the squadron into premature action and then failing to afford the promised support from the land forces. He died suddenly, just before his court-martial was to convene. His reputation sank to a new low as Canadians claimed that their militia under Brock did the job but Prévost failed. However, recent historians have been kinder. Peter Burroughs argues that his preparations were energetic, well-conceived, and comprehensive for defending the Canadas with limited means and that he achieved the primary objective of preventing an American conquest.{{sfn|Burroughs|1983}}
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 United Empire Loyalists, who had fought for the Crown during the American Revolutionary War, strongly opposed the American invasion. However, many in Upper Canada 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>{{harvnb|Fraser|2000|loc="Mallory, Benajah"}} and {{harvnb|Jones|2000|loc="Willcocks (Wilcox), Joseph"}}</ref>


====American Northwest, 1813==== ==== Occupation of Maine ====
]'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".{{citation needed|date=July 2013}} This 1865 painting by ] shows Perry transferring to a different ship during the battle.]]


Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a base for smuggling and illegal trade between the United States and the British. Until 1813, the region was generally quiet except for privateer actions near the coast. In September 1813, the United States Navy's brig {{USS|Enterprise|1799|2}} ] the Royal Navy brig {{HMS|Boxer|1812|2}} off ].{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=75–91}}
{{Main article|Ohio in the War of 1812}}
After Hull's surrender of Detroit, General William Henry Harrison was given command of the U.S. Army of the Northwest. He set out to retake the city, which was now defended by Colonel ] in conjunction with Tecumseh. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at ] along the ] on January 22, 1813. Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard, who could not prevent some of his North American aboriginal 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 |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> The incident became known as the ]. The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, and the phrase "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans.


On 11 July 1814, ] took Moose Island (]) without a shot and the entire American garrison, 65 men{{sfn|Kilby|1888|p=79}} of ] peacefully surrendered.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=81–94}} The British temporarily renamed the captured fort "Fort Sherbrooke". In September 1814, ] led 3,000 British troops from his base in Halifax in the "Penobscot Expedition". In 26 days, he raided and looted ], ] and ], destroying or capturing 17 American ships. He won the ], with two killed while the Americans had one killed. Retreating American forces were forced to destroy the frigate {{USS|Adams|1799|2}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adams I (Frigate) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/adams-i.html |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command |language=en-US}}</ref>
In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh set ] in northwestern ]. American reinforcements arriving during the siege were defeated by the natives, but the fort held out. The Indians eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return north to Canada. A second offensive against ] 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.


The British occupied the town of ] and most of eastern Maine for the rest of the war, governing it under martial law{{sfn|Kilby|1888|p=80}} and re-establishing the colony of ]. The Treaty of Ghent returned this territory to the United States. When the British left in April 1815, they took £10,750 in ] duties from Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used to establish ] in Halifax.{{sfn|Harvey|1938|pp=207–213}} Decisions about the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay were decided by joint commission in 1817.{{sfn|Anderson|1906}} However, ] had been seized by the British as part of the occupation and was unaddressed by the commission. While kept by Britain/Canada, it remains in dispute to this day.{{sfn|Connolly|2018}}{{sfn|DeCosta-Klipa|2018}}
On ], American commander Captain ] fought the ] on September 10, 1813. His decisive victory at "]" ensured American military 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 ] was killed.


=== Chesapeake campaign ===
====Niagara frontier, 1813====
{{main|Chesapeake campaign}}
] area during the War of 1812]]
]
Because of the difficulties of land communications, control of the ] and the ] 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 ] at ] in northwestern New York. Commodore Isaac Chauncey 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, almost 3,000 men worked at the naval shipyard, building eleven warships and many smaller boats and transports. Having regained the advantage by their rapid building program, Chauncey and Dearborn attacked ], on the northern shore of the lake, the capital of ], on April 27, 1813. The ] was a "]" American victory, marred by looting and the burning of the small Provincial Parliament buildings and a library (resulting in a spirit of revenge by the British/Canadians led by Gov. ], who later demanded satisfaction encouraging the ] to issue orders to their ] later operating in the ] region to exact similar ] on the American Federal capital village of ] the following year). However, ] was strategically much more valuable to ] supply and communications routes along the ] corridor. Without control of Kingston, the ] could not effectively control ] or sever the British supply line from ].


The strategic location of the ] near the ] made it a prime target for the British. Rear Admiral ] arrived there in March 1813 and was joined by Admiral Warren who took command of operations ten days later.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|pp=156–157}} Starting in March a squadron under Cockburn started a blockade of the mouth of the Bay at ] harbour and raided towns along the Bay from ] to ]. In late April Cockburn landed at and set fire to ] and destroyed ships that were docked there. In the following weeks he routed the local militias and looted and burned three other towns. Thereafter he marched to ] and destroyed it along with sixty-eight cannons.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=153}}
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 counteroffensive 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 native 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 counterattack, which was nevertheless repulsed at the ]. Thereafter, Chauncey and Yeo's squadrons fought two indecisive actions, neither commander seeking a fight to the finish.


On 4 July 1813, Commodore ], an American Revolutionary War naval officer, convinced the Navy Department to build the ], a squadron of twenty barges powered by small sails or oars (sweeps) to defend the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in April 1814, the squadron was quickly cornered on the ]. While successful in harassing the Royal Navy, they could not stop subsequent British operations in the area.
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 Canadians and politicians in control. 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. Early the next morning on December 19, the British and their native allies stormed the neighbouring town of Lewiston, New York, torching homes and buildings and killing about a dozen civilians. As the British were chasing the surviving residents out of town, a small force of Tuscarora natives intervened and stopped the pursuit, buying enough time for the locals to escape to safer ground. It is notable in that the Tuscaroras defended the Americans against their own Iroquois brothers, the Mohawks, who sided with the British.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.historiclewiston.org/history.html |title= Historic Lewiston, NY |publisher= Historical Association of Lewiston |accessdate=2010-10-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Lewiston monument to mark Tuscarora heroism in War of 1812 |newspaper= ] |date= August 21, 2010 |last= Prohaska |first= Thomas J. |url= http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/niagara-county/article44523.ece |accessdate=2010-10-12}}</ref> Later, the British attacked and burned ] on December 30, 1813.


==== Burning of Washington ====
In 1814, the contest for Lake Ontario turned into a building race. Naval superiority shifted between the opposing fleets as each built new, bigger ships. However, neither was able to bring the other to battle when in a position of superiority, leaving the ] a draw. At war's end, the British held the advantage with the 112-gun {{HMS|St Lawrence|1814|6}}, but the Americans had laid down two ] ] ships. The majority of these ships never saw action and were decommissioned after the war.
{{See also|Burning of Washington}}
In August 1814, a force of 2,500 soldiers under General Ross had just arrived in Bermuda aboard {{HMS|Royal Oak|1809|6}}, three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels. Released from the Peninsular War by victory, the British intended to use them for diversionary raids along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. In response to Prévost's request,{{specify|date=July 2020}} they decided to employ this force, together with the naval and military units already on the station, to strike at the national capital. Anticipating the attack, valuable documents, including the original Constitution, were removed to Leesburg, Virginia.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|pp=316-317}} The British task force advanced up the Chesapeake, routing Commodore Barney's flotilla of gunboats, carried out the ], landed ground forces that bested the US defenders at the Battle of Bladensburg, and carried out the ].


United States Secretary of War ] insisted that the British were going to attack Baltimore rather than Washington, even as British army and naval units were on their way to Washington. Brigadier General ], who had burned several bridges in the area, assumed the British would attack Annapolis and was reluctant to engage because he mistakenly thought the British army was twice its size.{{sfnm|Webed|2013|1p=126|Hickey|1989|2p=197}} The inexperienced state militia was easily routed in the Battle of Bladensburg, opening the route to Washington. British troops led by Major General ], accompanied by Cockburn, the 3rd Brigade attacked and captured Washington with a force of 4,500.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=317}} On 24 August, after the British had finished looting the interiors, Ross directed his troops to set fire to number of public buildings, including the ] and the ].{{efn|The task was directed by pyrotechnic experts Lieutenants George Lacy and George Pratt of the Royal Navy.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=317}}}} Extensive damage to the interiors and the contents of both were subsequently reported.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=196–197}} US government and military officials fled to Virginia, while Secretary of the United States Navy ] ordered the ] and a nearby fort to be razed in order to prevent its capture.{{sfn|Herrick|2005|page=90}}{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=59}} Public buildings in Washington were destroyed by the British though private residences ordered spared.{{sfn|Webed|2013|p=129}}
====St. Lawrence and Lower Canada, 1813====
] (May 1814), War of 1812]]
]), John Tutela, and Young Warner, three ] veterans of the War of 1812.]]
The British were potentially most vulnerable over the stretch of the St. Lawrence where it formed the frontier between Upper Canada and the United States. During the early days of the war, there was illicit commerce across the river. Over the winter of 1812 and 1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from ] on the American side of the river, which hampered British supply traffic up the river. On February 21, Sir George Prévost 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.


==== Siege of Fort McHenry ====
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 ] that would embark in boats and sail from Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario and descend the St. Lawrence. Hampton was delayed by bad roads and supply problems and also had 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 ]'s smaller force of ] 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 kilometres (90&nbsp;mi.) from Montreal. On November 11, Wilkinson's rear guard, numbering 2,500, attacked Morrison's force of 800 at ] and was repulsed with heavy losses. After learning that Hampton could not 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 ].


] during the ]. Watching the bombardment from a truce ship, ] was inspired to write the four-stanza poem that later became "]".]]
====Niagara and Plattsburgh Campaigns, 1814====
After taking some munitions from the Washington Munitions depot, the British, boarded their ships{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=59}} and moved on to their major target, the heavily fortified major city of Baltimore. Because some of their ships were held up in the Raid on Alexandria, they delayed their movement allowing Baltimore an opportunity to strengthen the fortifications and bring in new federal troops and state militia units. The "]" began with the British landing on 12 September 1814 at ], where they were met by American militia further up the Patapsco Neck peninsula. An exchange of fire began, with casualties on both sides. The British Army commander Major Gen. Robert Ross was killed by snipers. The British paused, then continued to march northwestward to face the stationed Maryland and Baltimore City militia units at Godly Wood. The ] was fought for several afternoon hours in a musketry and artillery duel. The British also planned to simultaneously attack Baltimore by water on the following day, although the Royal Navy was unable to reduce ] at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor in support of an attack from the northeast by the British Army.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
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 British eventually realized that they could not force the passage to attack Baltimore in coordination with the land force. A last ditch night feint and barge attack during a heavy rain storm was led by Captain ] around the fort up the Middle Branch of the river to the west. Split and misdirected partly in the storm, it turned back after suffering heavy casualties from the alert gunners of ] and Battery Babcock. The British called off the attack and sailed downriver to pick up their army, which had retreated from the east side of Baltimore. 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, illuminating the flag that was still flying over the fort. The defence of the fort inspired the American lawyer ] to write "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem that was later set to music as "]".{{sfn|Coleman|2015|pp=599–629}}
The outnumbered Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged ]. The British suffered heavy casualties in a failed assault and were weakened by exposure and shortage of supplies in their siege lines. Eventually the British raised the siege, but American Major General ] took over command on the Niagara front and followed up only halfheartedly. The Americans lacked provisions, and eventually destroyed the fort and retreated across the Niagara.


=== Southern theatre ===
Meanwhile, following the abdication of Napoleon, 15,000 British troops were sent to North America under four of Wellington's ablest brigade commanders. Fewer than half were veterans of the Peninsula and the rest came from garrisons. Prévost was ordered to neutralize American power on the lakes by burning Sackets Harbor, gain naval control of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the Upper Lakes, and defend Lower Canada from attack. He did defend Lower Canada but otherwise failed to achieve his objectives.{{sfn|Grodzinski|2010|pp=560–1}} Given the late season he decided to invade New York State. His army outnumbered the American defenders of ], but he was worried about his flanks so he decided he needed naval control of Lake Champlain. On the lake, the British squadron under Captain ] and the Americans under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough were more evenly matched.
Because of the region's polyglot population, both the British and the Americans perceived the war in the Gulf South as a fundamentally different conflict from the one occurring in the ] and Chesapeake.{{sfn|Millett|2013|p=31}}


==== Creek War ====
On reaching Plattsburgh, Prévost delayed the assault until the arrival of Downie in the hastily completed 36-gun frigate {{HMS|Confiance|1814|6}}. Prévost 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 Battle of Plattsburgh 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".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roosevelt |first1=Theodore |year=1987 |orig-year=1882 |title=The Naval War of 1812 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FiZ3AAAAMAAJ&q=%22greatest+naval+battle+of+the+war%22+inauthor:roosevelt&dq=%22greatest+naval+battle+of+the+war%22+inauthor:roosevelt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivx72N46jPAhVMPhQKHS8TC0oQ6AEIKTAC |location=Annapolis |publisher=Naval Institute Press |page=337 |isbn=0870214454 |access-date=24 September 2016 }}</ref> The successful land defence was led by ]. To the astonishment of his senior officers, Prévost then turned back, saying it would be too hazardous to remain on enemy territory after the loss of naval supremacy. Prévost was recalled and in London, a naval court-martial decided that defeat had been caused principally by Prévost's urging the squadron into premature action and then failing to afford the promised support from the land forces. Prévost died suddenly, just before his own court-martial was to convene. Prévost's reputation sank to a new low, as Canadians claimed that 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 Prévost'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.{{sfn|Burroughs|2000|loc="Prévost, Sir George"}}
{{main|Creek War}}
] and killed 400 to 500 people. The massacre became a rallying point for Americans.]]
Before 1813, the war between the Creeks, or ], had been largely an internal affair sparked by the ideas of Tecumseh farther north in the Mississippi Valley. A faction known as the ], so named for the colour of their war sticks, had broken away from the rest of the Creek Confederacy, which wanted peace with the United States. The Red Sticks were allied with Tecumseh, who had visited the Creeks about a year before 1813 and encouraged greater resistance to the Americans.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|pp=23–25}} The Creek Nation was a trading partner of the United States, actively involved with British and Spanish trade as well. The Red Sticks as well as many southern Muscogee people like the ] had a long history of alliance with the British and Spanish empires.{{sfn|Braund|1993}} This alliance helped the North American and European powers protect each other's claims to territory in the south.{{sfn|Hurt|2002}}


On 27 July the Red Sticks were returning from ] with a pack train filled with trade goods and arms when they were ] by Americans who made off with their goods. On 30 August 1813, in retaliation for the raid, the Red Sticks, led by chiefs of the Creeks ] and ], attacked ] north of ], the only American-held port in the territory of ]. The attack on Fort Mims resulted in the horrific death of 400 refugee settlers, all butchered and scalped, including women and children, and became an ideological rallying point for the Americans.{{sfnm|Waselkov|2009|1pp=116, 225|Hickey|1989|2pp=147–148|Latimer|2007|3p=220}} It prompted the state of Georgia and the Mississippi militia to immediately take major action against Creek offensives. The Red Sticks chiefs gained power in the east along the ], ] and ] in the Upper Creek territory. By contrast, the Lower Creek, who lived along the ], generally opposed the Red Sticks and wanted to remain allied to the U.S. ] ] recruited Lower Creek to aid the ] under General ] and the state militias against the Red Sticks. The United States combined forces were 5,000 troops from East and West Tennessee, with about 200 indigenous allies.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=72}} At its peak, the Red Stick faction had 4,000 warriors, only a quarter of whom had muskets.{{sfn|Adams|1918|p=785}}
To the east, the northern part of ], soon to be ], was invaded. Fort Sullivan at ] was taken by ] on July 11. ], ], ], and ] were taken, and Castine became the main British base till April 15, 1815, when the British left, taking £10,750 in tariff duties, the "Castine Fund" which was used to found Dalhousie University.<ref>D. C. Harvey, "The Halifax-Castine Expedition", ''Dalhousie Review'' 18(1938—39): 207—213.</ref> Eastport was not returned to the United States till 1818.


The Indian frontier of western ] was the most vulnerable but was partially fortified already. From November 1813 to January 1814, Georgia's militia{{clarify|date=July 2020}} and auxiliary Federal troops from the ] and ] indigenous nations and the states of ] and ] organized the fortification of defences along the Chattahoochee River and expeditions into Upper Creek territory in present-day Alabama. The army, led by General ], went to the heart of the Creek Holy Grounds and won a major offensive against one of the largest Creek towns at the ], killing an estimated two hundred people. In November, the militia of Mississippi with a combined 1,200 troops attacked the Econachca encampment in the ] on the Alabama River.{{sfn|Braund|2012}} Tennessee raised a militia of 5,000 under Major General ] and Brigadier General ] and won the battles of ] and ] in November 1813.{{sfn|Remini|2002|pp=70–73}}
====American West, 1813–14====
] U.S. headquarters; 2: ], abandoned 1813; 3: ], defeated 1813; 4: ], defeated 1814; 5: ], July 1814 and the ], Sept. 1814; 6: ], abandoned 1814; 7: ] and the ], May 1815.]]
] in 1810, captured by British-supported Indians in 1813.]]
The ] valley was the western frontier of the United States in 1812. The territory acquired in the ] of 1803 contained almost no U.S. settlements west of the Mississippi except around ] and a few forts and trading posts. ], an old trading post converted to a U.S. Army post in 1804, served as regional headquarters. ], built in 1808 along the Missouri was the western-most U.S. outpost, it was abandoned at the start of the war.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2002|p=270}} ], built along the Mississippi in what is now Iowa, was also built in 1808, and had been repeatedly attacked by British-allied ] since its construction. In September 1813 Fort Madison was abandoned after it was attacked and besieged by natives, who had support from the British. This was one of the few battles fought west of the Mississippi. ] played a leadership role.<ref>Cyrenus Cole, ''A history of the people of Iowa'' (1921) pp. 69–74.</ref>


Jackson suffered enlistment problems in the winter. He decided to combine his force, composed of Tennessee militia and pro-American Creek, with the Georgia militia. In January, however, the Red Sticks attacked his army at the ]. Jackson's troops repelled the attackers, but they were outnumbered and forced to withdraw to his base at ].{{sfn|Adams|1918|pp=791–793}}
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.


In January, Floyd's force of 1,300 state militia and 400 Creek moved to join the United States forces in Tennessee, but they were attacked in camp on the Calibee Creek by ] Muscogees on 27 January.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
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 natives 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 that 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 British boarding parties from canoes and small boats. This ] left Mackinac under British control.
], bringing an end to the ].]]
Jackson's force increased in numbers with the arrival of United States Army soldiers and a second draft of Tennessee state militia, Cherokee, and pro-American Creek swelled his army to around 5,000. In March 1814, they moved south to attack the Red Sticks.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=213}} On 27 March, Jackson decisively defeated a force of about a thousand Red Sticks at ], killing 800 of them at a cost of 49 killed and 154 wounded.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=146–151}}


Jackson then moved his army to ] on the Alabama River. He promptly turned on the pro-American Creek who had fought with him and compelled their chieftains, along with a single Red Stick chieftain, to sign the ], which forced the Creek tribe as a whole to cede most of western Georgia and part of ] to the U.S. Both Hawkins and the pro-American Creek strongly opposed the treaty, which they regarded as deeply unjust.<ref>Frank L. Owsley Jr., The Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands: The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans, 1812–1815 LibraryPress@UF, Gainesville, Florida, 2017, 87–91</ref> The third clause of the treaty also demanded that the Creek cease communicating with the British and Spanish, and trade only with United States-approved agents.{{sfn|Bunn|Williams|2008}}{{Failed verification|date=July 2024}}
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 indigenous tribes that received British gifts and arms, enabling them to take control of parts of what is now Michigan and Illinois, as well as the whole of modern Wisconsin.<ref>Concise Historical Atlas of Canada, plate 38, Geoffrey J. Matthews, University, of Toronto Press.</ref> In 1814 U.S. troops retreating from the ] on the upper Mississippi attempted to make a stand at ], but the fort was soon abandoned, along with most of the upper Mississippi valley.{{sfn|Nolan|2009|pp=85–94}}
{{clear}}

After the U.S. was pushed out of the Upper Mississippi region, they held on to eastern Missouri and the St. Louis area. Two notable battles fought against the Sauk were the ], in April 1815, at the mouth of the ] in the ], and the ], in May 1815, near ].<ref>
{{harvnb|Stevens|1921|pp=}}{{Verify source|date=October 2010}}</ref>

At the conclusion of peace, Mackinac and other captured territory was returned to the United States. At the end of the war, some British officers and Canadians objected to handing back Prairie du Chien and especially Mackinac under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent. However, the Americans retained the captured post at Fort Malden, near ], until the British complied with the treaty.{{Sfn|Elting|1995|p=323}}

Fighting between Americans, the Sauk, and other indigenous tribes continued through 1817, well after the war ended in the east.<ref name=first>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaw.on.ca/~jsek/us1inf.htm |title=First United States Infantry |publisher=Iaw.on.ca |accessdate=2012-08-27}}</ref>

===Southern theatre===

====Creek War====
{{Main article|Creek War}}
The ] between ] Creeks and U.S. troops, occurred in the southern parts of Alabama on July 27, 1813 prompted the state of Georgia as well as the Mississippi territory militia to immediately take major action against Creek offensives. The Red Sticks chiefs gained power in the east along the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Rivers – Upper Creek territory. The Lower Creek lived along the Chattahoochee River. Many Creeks tried to remain friendly to the United States, and some were organized by federal Indian Agent ] to aid the 6th Military District under ] and the state militias. The United States combined forces were large. At its peak the Red Stick faction had 4,000 warriors, only a quarter of whom had muskets.<ref>Adams, 785.</ref>

Before 1813, the Creek War had been largely an internal affair sparked by the ideas of Tecumseh farther north in the Mississippi Valley, but the United States was drawn into a war with the Creek Nation by the War of 1812. The Creek Nation was a trading partner of the United States actively involved with Spanish and British trade as well. The Red Sticks, as well as many southern ] people like the ], had a long history of alliance with the Spanish and British Empires.<ref>Braund, Kathryn E., Deerskins and Duffels: The Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America, 1685–1815. (University of Nebraska Press 2008).</ref> This alliance helped the North American and European powers protect each other's claims to territory in the south.<ref>Hurt, R. Douglas. The Indian Frontier, 1763–1846 (University of New Mexico Press 2006).</ref> On August 18, 1813, Red Stick chiefs planned an attack on ], north of Mobile, the only American-held port in the territory of West Florida. The attack on Fort Mimms resulted in the death of 400 settlers and became an ideological rallying point for the Americans.<ref>Waselkov, Gregory A. A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813–1814. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2006.</ref>
] in 1813. The Creek warriors attacked the fort, and killed a total of 400 to 500 people.]]

The Indian frontier of western ] was the most vulnerable but was partially fortified already. From November 1813 to January 1814, Georgia's militia and auxiliary ] troops - from the ] and ] Indian nations and the states of ] and ] – organized the fortification of defences along the ] and expeditions into Upper Creek territory in present-day Alabama. The army, led by ], went to the heart of the "Creek Holy Grounds" and won a major offensive against one of the largest Creek towns at ], killing an estimated two hundred people. In November, the militia of Mississippi with a combined 1200 troops ] on the Alabama River.<ref>Braund, Kathryn E. Tohopeka: Rethinking the Creek War and the War of 1812. (University of Alabama Press 2012).</ref> Tennessee raised a militia of 5,000 under Major Generals ] and Coke and won the battles of ] and ] in November 1813.<ref>Remini, pp. 70–73.</ref>

The Georgia militia withdrew to the ], and Jackson's force in ] mostly disbanded for the winter. In January Floyd's force of 1,300 state militia and 400 Creek Indians moved to join the U.S forces in Tennessee, but were attacked in camp on the ] by ] Indians on the 27th.

Despite enlistment problems in the winter, the ] forces and a second draft of Tennessee state militia and ] and ] allies swelled his army to around 5,000. In March 1814 they moved south to attack the Creek.<ref>Remimi, Robert. Andrew Jackson and the course of American Empire. 1977.</ref>
On March 26, Jackson and General ] decisively defeated the Creek Indian force 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.<ref>Donald Hickey, ''The War of 1812'' (1989), pp. 146–51.</ref>
The American army moved to ] on the ]. On August 9, 1814, the Upper Creek chiefs and Jackson's army signed the "]". The most of western ] and part of ] was taken from the Creeks to pay for expenses borne by the United States. The Treaty also "demanded" that the "Red Stick" insurgents cease communicating with the ] or ], and only trade with U.S.-approved agents.<ref>Bunn, Mike and Clay Williams. Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812. Charleston: History Press, 2008.</ref>

British aid to the Red Sticks arrived after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in April 1814 and after Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane assumed command from Admiral Warren in March. The Creek promised to join any body of 'troops that should aid them in regaining their lands, and suggesting an attack on the tower off Mobile.' In April 1814 the British established an outpost on the ] at ]. Cochrane sent a company of Royal Marines, the vessels {{HMS|Hermes|1811|6}} and {{HMS|Carron|1813|6}}, commanded by Edward Nicolls, with further supplies to meet the Indians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/C/00846.html |title=HMS Carron |publisher=Pbenyon.plus.com |accessdate=2013-11-11}}</ref> In addition to training the Indians, Nicolls was tasked to raise a force from escaped slaves, as part of the Corps of Colonial Marines.<ref>Sugden, p. 285.</ref>

In July 1814, General Andrew Jackson complained to the Governor of Pensacola, Mateo Gonzalez Manrique, that combatants from the Creek War were being harboured in Spanish territory, and made reference to the British presence on Spanish soil. Although he gave an angry reply to Jackson, Manrique was alarmed at the weak position he found himself in. He appealed to the British for help, with Woodbine arriving on July 28, and Nicolls arriving at Pensacola on August 24.<ref>Sugden, pp. 286–7.</ref><ref name="JACKSON ON THE GULF COAST">{{cite web|url=http://www.vectorsite.net/tw1812_07.html |title=The War Of 1812 - JACKSON ON THE GULF COAST |publisher=Greg Goebel |accessdate=2013-09-07}}</ref>

The first engagement of the British and their Creek allies against the Americans on the Gulf Coast was the attack on Fort Bowyer September 14, 1814. Captain William Percy tried to take the U.S. fort, hoping that would enable the British to move on Mobile and block U.S. trade and encroachment on the Mississippi. After the Americans repulsed Percy's forces, the British established a military presence of up to 200 Marines at Pensacola. In November, Jackson's force of 4,000 men ] in November.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=409–11}} This underlined the superiority of numbers of Jackson's force in the region.<ref>Sugden, p. 297.</ref> The U.S force moved to New Orleans in late 1814. Jackson's army of 1,000 regulars and 3,000 to 4,000 militia, pirates and other fighters, as well as civilians and slaves built fortifications south of the city.<ref>Tucker (2012), p. 229.</ref>


====Gulf Coast==== ====Gulf Coast====
British aid to the Red Sticks arrived after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in April 1814 and after Admiral ] assumed command from Admiral Warren in March. Captain Hugh Pigot arrived in May 1814 with two ships to arm the Red Sticks. He thought that some 6,600 warriors could be armed and recruited. It was overly optimistic at best. The Red Sticks were in the process of being destroyed as a military force.{{sfn|Daughan|2011|pp=371–372}} In April 1814, the British established an outpost on the ] (]). Cochrane sent a company of Royal Marines commanded by ],{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=284}} the vessels {{HMS|Hermes|1811|6}} and {{HMS|Carron|1813|6}} and further supplies to meet the Indians in the region.{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=285}} In addition to training them, Nicolls was tasked to raise a force from escaped slaves as part of the ].{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=285}}
{{Main article|Battle of New Orleans}}
American forces under General ], who was himself getting $4,000 per year as a Spanish secret agent, took the ] area—formerly part of ]—from the Spanish in March 1813; this would be the only territory permanently gained by the U.S. during the war.<ref name="galafilm">{{cite web|url=http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/people/wilkinson.html.|title=The War of 1812|publisher=galafilm.com|accessdate=2014-09-26}}</ref> The Americans built ], a log and earthenwork fort with 14 guns, on ].<ref>Chartrand, René (2012), ''Forts of the War of 1812'', Oxford, Oxfordshire: Osprey, p. 27.</ref>


On 12 July 1814, General Jackson complained to the governor of West Florida, ], situated at Pensacola that combatants from the Creek War were being harboured in ] and made reference to reports of the British presence on Spanish soil. Although he gave an angry reply to Jackson, Manrique was alarmed at the weak position he found himself in and appealed to the British for help. The British were observed docking on August 25 and unloading the following day.{{sfn|Hughes|Brodine|2023|pp=876–879}}
At the end of 1814, the British launched a double offensive in the South weeks before the Treaty of Ghent was signed. On the ] coast, Admiral George Cockburn was to close the ] trade and land ] battalions to advance through Georgia to the western territories. On the ] coast, Admiral Alexander Cochrane would move on the new state of Louisiana and the ]. Admiral Cochrane's ships reached the Louisiana coast December 9, and Cockburn arrived in Georgia December 14.<ref>Owsley, Frank L., ''Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands: The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans, 1812–1815'', University of Alabama Press, 2000.</ref>


The first engagement of the British and their Creek allies against the Americans on the Gulf Coast was the 14 September 1814 attack on ]. Captain William Percy tried to take the United States fort, hoping to then move on Mobile and block United States trade and encroachment on the Mississippi. After the Americans repulsed Percy's forces, the British established a military presence of up to 200 Marines at Pensacola. In November, Jackson's force of 4,000 men ].{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=409–11}} This underlined the superiority of numbers of Jackson's force in the region.{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=297}} The United States force moved to New Orleans in late 1814. Jackson's army of 1,000 regulars and 3,000 to 4,000 militia, pirates and other fighters as well as civilians and slaves built fortifications south of the city.{{sfn|Tucker et al.|2012|page=}}
]
On January 8, 1815, a British force of 8,000 under General ] attacked Jackson's defences in New Orleans. The Battle of New Orleans was an American victory, as the British failed to take the fortifications on the East Bank. The British suffered high casualties: 291 dead, 1262 wounded, and 484 captured or missing{{sfnm|1a1=Reilly|1y=1974|1pp=303, 306|2a1=Remini|2y=2001|2p=167}} whereas American casualties were 13 dead, 39 wounded, and 19 missing. It was hailed as a great victory across the U.S., making Jackson a national hero and eventually propelling him to the presidency.{{sfn|Remini|2001|pp=136–83}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V1/ch06.htm|title=Chapter 6: The War of 1812 |publisher=Army.mil |accessdate=2011-01-11}}</ref> The American garrison at Fort St. Philip endured ] from ] guns, which was a final attempt to invade Louisiana; British ships sailed away from the ] on January 18. However, it was not until January 27, 1815, that the ] had completely rejoined the fleet, allowing for their departure.<ref>Remini, Robert V., ''The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory'', Viking Penguin, 1999.</ref>


American forces under General James Wilkinson, himself a paid Spanish secret agent,{{sfn|McPherson|2013|p=699}} took the Mobile area from the Spanish in March 1813. This region was the rump of Spanish West Florida, the western portion of which had been annexed to the United States in 1810. The Americans built Fort Bowyer, a log and earthen-work fort with 14 guns, on ] to defend it.{{sfn|Chartrand|2012|p=27}} Major Latour opined that none of the three forts in the area were capable of resisting a siege.<ref>Latour (1816), p.7 '], that of ], and fort Bowyer at Mobile point, were the only advanced points fortified; and none of them capable of standing a regular siege.'</ref>
After New Orleans, the British tried to take Mobile a second time; General John Lambert laid siege for five days and took the fort, winning the ] on February 12, 1815. HMS ''Brazen'' brought news of the Treaty of Ghent the next day, and the British abandoned the Gulf coast.<ref>Edward Frazer and L. G. Carr-Laughton (1930),''The Royal Marine Artillery 1803—1923'', Volume 1, 1804—1859, London: Royal United Services Institution, OCLC 4986867, p. 294.</ref>


At the end of 1814, the British launched a double offensive in the South weeks before the Treaty of Ghent was signed. On the Atlantic coast, Admiral ] was to close the ] trade and land ] battalions to advance through Georgia to the western territories. While on the ] coast, Admiral Alexander Cochrane moved on the new state of Louisiana and the ]. Cochrane's ships reached the Louisiana coast on 9 December and Cockburn arrived in Georgia on 14 December.{{sfn|Owsley|2000}}
In January 1815, Admiral Cockburn succeeded in blockading the southeastern coast by occupying ]. The British quickly took ], ], and Fort St. Tammany in a decisive victory. Under the orders of his commanding officers, Cockburn's forces relocated many refugee slaves, capturing St. Simons Island as well, to do so. During the invasion of the Georgia coast, an estimated 1,485 people chose to relocate in British territories or join the military. In mid-March, several days after being informed of the Treaty of Ghent, British ships finally left the area.<ref>Bullard, Mary R. Black Liberation on Cumberland Island in 1815. (University of Georgia Press, 1983).</ref>


] in January 1815. The battle occurred before news of a peace treaty reached the United States.]]
====Postwar fighting====


The British army had the objective of gaining control of the entrance of the Mississippi.{{sfn|Grodzinski|2011a|p=1}} To this end, an expeditionary force of 8,000 troops{{sfn|Hughes|Brodine|2023|p=929}} under General ] attacked Jackson's prepared defences in New Orleans on 8 January 1815. The Battle of New Orleans was an American victory, as the British failed to take the fortifications on the East Bank. The British attack force suffered high casualties, including 291 dead, 1,262 wounded and 484 captured or missing{{sfnm|1a1=Reilly|1y=1974|1pp=303, 306}}{{sfn|Remini|1999|p=167}} whereas American casualties were light with 13 dead, 39 wounded and 19 missing,{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=285}} according to the respective official casualty returns. This battle was hailed as a great victory across the United States, making Jackson a national hero and eventually propelling him to the presidency.{{sfn|Remini|1999|pp=136–83}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|pp=144–146}} In January 1815 Fort St. Philip endured ] from two ]s of the Royal Navy. ] believes this was preventing the British moving their fleet up the Mississippi in support of the land attack.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=288}}
In May 1815, a band of British-allied Sauk, unaware that the war had ended months before, attacked a small band of U.S. soldiers northwest of St. Louis.{{sfn|Tanner|1987|p=120}} 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 British agents.<ref name=first/> Several uncontacted isolated warships continued fighting well into 1815 and were the last American forces to take offensive action against the British.


After deciding further attacks would be too costly and unlikely to succeed, the British troops withdrew on 18 January.{{sfn|Gleig|1836|p=344}} However, adverse winds slowed the evacuation operation and it was not until 27 January 1815 that the ] rejoined the fleet, allowing for its final departure.{{sfn|Remini|1999|p=181}} After New Orleans, the British moved to take Mobile as a base for further operations.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|p=36}} In preparation, General ] laid siege to Fort Bowyer taking it on 12 February 1815. However HMS '']'' brought news of the Treaty of Ghent the next day and the British abandoned the Gulf Coast.{{sfn|Frazer|Carr Laughton|1930|p=294}} This ending of the war prevented the capture of Mobile, and any renewed attacks on New Orleans.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|p=36}}
==The Treaty of Ghent==
{{main article|Treaty of Ghent}}


Meanwhile, in January 1815, Cockburn succeeded in blockading the southeastern coast of Georgia by occupying ]. The British quickly took ], ] and Fort St. Tammany in a decisive victory. Under the orders of his commanding officers, Cockburn's forces relocated many refugee slaves, capturing ] Island as well to do so. He had orders to recruit as many runaway slaves into the Corps of Colonial Marines as possible and use them to conduct raids in Georgia and the Carolinas.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|pp=29–30}} Cockburn also provided thousands of muskets and carbines and a huge quantity of ammunition to the Creeks and Seminole Indians for the same purpose.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|pp=32–33}} During the invasion of the Georgia coast, an estimated 1,485 people chose to relocate to British territories or join the British military. However, by mid-March, several days after being informed of the Treaty of Ghent, British ships left the area.{{sfn|Bullard|1983|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}
===Factors leading to the peace negotiations===
By 1814, both sides had either achieved their main war goals or were weary of a costly war that offered little but stalemate. They both sent delegations to a neutral site in Ghent, Flanders (now part of Belgium). The negotiations began in early August and concluded on December 24, when a final agreement was signed; both sides had to ratify it before it could take effect. Meanwhile, both sides planned new invasions.


The British government did not recognize either West Florida or New Orleans as American territory. The historian Frank Owsley suggests that they might have used a victory at New Orleans to demand further concessions from the U.S.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|pp=36–37}} However, subsequent research in the correspondence of British ministers at the time suggests otherwise.{{sfnm|Latimer|2007|1pp=401-402|2a1=Carr|2y=1979|3a1=Eustace|3y=2012|3p=293}} with specific reference to correspondence from the Prime Minister to the ] dated 23 December 1814.{{sfn|British Foreign Policy Documents|p=495}} West Florida was the only territory permanently gained by the United States during the war.{{sfn|Introduction: War of 1812}}
In 1814 the British began blockading the United States, and brought the American economy to near bankruptcy,<ref>Donald Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (Chicago, IL, 1989).</ref><ref>3.George Daughan, ''1812: The Navy's War'' (New York, NY, 2011).</ref><ref>Lambert "the challenge" pg. 399.</ref><ref>Brian Arthur, "How Britain won the war of 1812 - The Royal Navy's Blockade of the United States", Boydell Press, Suffolk, 2011, ISBN 9781843836650.</ref> forcing it to rely on loans for the rest of the war. American foreign trade was reduced to a trickle. The parlous American economy was thrown into chaos with prices soaring and unexpected shortages causing hardship in New England which was considering secession.{{sfn |Hickey |1989 |p=231}}<ref>{{harvnb|Morison|1941|pp=205–206}}</ref> But also to a lesser extent British interests were hurt in the West Indies and Canada that had depended on that trade. 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, as shown by high insurance rates.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=217–218}} British landowners grew weary of high taxes, and colonial interests and merchants called on the government to reopen trade with the U.S. by ending the war.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|pp=362–365}}


===Negotiations and peace=== ===The war at sea===
====Background====
At last in August 1814, peace discussions began in the neutral city of Ghent. Both sides began negotiations warily<ref>For details of the negotiations, see Samuel Flagg Bemis, ''John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy'' (1956) pp 196-220; Robert V. Remini, ''Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union'' (1991) pp 94-122; {{cite book|last1=Ward|first1=A.W.|last2=Gooch|first2=G.P.|title=The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, 1783-1919: 1783-1815|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVwyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA537|year=1922|publisher=Macmillan Company|pages=537–42}} and A. T. Mahan, "The Negotiations at Ghent in 1814," ''American Historical Review'' (1905) 11#1 pp. 68–87, esp. pp. 73–78 </ref> The British diplomats stated their case first, demanding the creation of an Indian barrier state in the American Northwest Territory (the area from Ohio to Wisconsin). It was understood the British would sponsor this Indian state. The British strategy for decades had been to create a buffer state to block American expansion. Britain demanded naval control of the Great Lakes and access to the Mississippi River. The Americans refused to consider a buffer state and the proposal was dropped.<ref>Robert Remini, ''Henry Clay'' (1991), p. 117.</ref> Although article IX of the treaty included provisions to restore to Natives "all possessions, rights and privileges which they may have enjoyed, or been entitled to in 1811", the provisions were unenforceable.<ref>Mahan, "The Negotiations at Ghent in 1814," pp. 73–78 </ref> The Americans (at a later stage) demanded damages for the burning of Washington and for the seizure of ships before the war began.<ref>Ward and Gooch, </ref>
] was based in ] and ]. At the start of the war, the squadron had one ], seven ]s, nine ] as well as ]s and ]s.{{sfn|Gwyn|2003|p=134}}]]


In 1812, Britain's Royal Navy was the world's largest and most powerful navy, with over 600 vessels in commission, following the defeat of the French Navy at the ] in 1805.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} Most of these ships were employed blockading the French navy and protecting British trade against French privateers, but the Royal Navy still had 85 vessels in American waters, counting all North American and Caribbean waters.{{efn|Admiralty reply to British press criticism.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=180}}}} However, the Royal Navy's North American squadron was the most immediately available force, based in Halifax and ] (two of the colonies that made up ]), and numbered one small ship of the line and seven frigates as well as nine smaller ] and brigs and five ]s.{{sfn|Gwyn|2003|p=134}} By contrast, the entire United States Navy was composed of 8 frigates, 14 smaller sloops and brigs, with no ships of the line. The United States had embarked on a major shipbuilding program before the war at Sackett's Harbor to provide ships for use on the Great Lakes, and continued to produce new ships.
American public opinion was outraged when Madison published the demands; even the Federalists were now willing to fight on. The British had planned three invasions. One force burned Washington but failed to capture Baltimore, and sailed away when its commander was killed. In northern New York State, 10,000 British veterans were marching south until a decisive defeat at the Battle of Plattsburgh forced them back to Canada.<ref group=lower-alpha>The British were unsure whether the attack on Baltimore was a failure, but Plattsburg was a humiliation that called for court martial ({{harvnb|Latimer|2007|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 ] to command in Canada and take control of the Great Lakes. Wellington said that he would go to America but he believed he was needed in Europe.{{sfnm|1a1=Perkins|1y=1964|1pp=108–109|2a1=Hickey|2y=2006|2pp=150–151|3a1=Hibbert|3y=1997|3p=164}} Wellington emphasized that the war was a draw and the peace negotiations should not make territorial demands:


==== Opening strategies ====
{{quote|I think you have no right, from the state of war, to demand any concession of territory from America&nbsp;... 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 cannot on any principle of equality in negotiation claim a cessation of territory except in exchange for other advantages which you have in your power&nbsp;... 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.{{sfnm|1a1=Mills|1y=1921|1pp=19–32|2a1=Toll|2y=2006|2p=441}}}}
The British strategy was to protect their own merchant shipping between Halifax and the West Indies, with the order given on 13 October 1812 to enforce a blockade of major American ports to restrict American trade.{{sfn|Arthur|2011|p=73}}


Because of their numerical inferiority, the American strategy was to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics such as the capturing prizes and engaging Royal Navy vessels only under favourable circumstances.
The Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, aware of growing opposition to wartime taxation and the demands of Liverpool and Bristol merchants to reopen trade with America, realized Britain also had little to gain and much to lose from prolonged warfare especially after the growing concern about the situation in Europe.{{sfnm |1a1=Latimer |1y=2007 |1pp=389–391 |2a1=Gash |2y=1984 |2pp=111–119}} After months of negotiations, against the background of changing military victories, defeats and losses, the parties finally realized that their nations wanted peace and there was no real reason to continue the war. Now each side was tired of the war. Export trade was all but paralyzed and after Napoleon fell in 1814 France was no longer an enemy of Britain, so the Royal Navy no longer needed to stop American shipments to France, and it no longer needed to impress more seamen. It had ended the practices that so angered the Americans in 1812. The British were preoccupied in rebuilding Europe after the apparent final defeat of Napoleon.


Days after the formal declaration of war, the United States put out two small squadrons, including the frigate ''President'' and the sloop {{USS|Hornet|1805|2}} under Commodore ] and the frigates ''United States'' and {{USS|Congress|1799|2}}, with the brig {{USS|Argus|1803|2}} under Captain ]. These were initially concentrated as one unit under Rodgers, who intended to force the Royal Navy to concentrate its own ships to prevent isolated units being captured by his powerful force.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Large numbers of American merchant ships were returning to the United States with the outbreak of war and the Royal Navy could not watch all the ports on the American seaboard if they were concentrated together. Rodgers' strategy worked in that the Royal Navy concentrated most of its frigates off ] under Captain ], allowing many American ships to reach home. However, Rodgers' own cruise captured only five small merchant ships, and the Americans never subsequently concentrated more than two or three ships together as a unit.{{sfn|Black|2008}}
British negotiators were urged by Lord Liverpool to offer a status quo and dropped their demands for the creation of an Indian barrier state, which was in any case hopeless after the collapse of Tecumseh's alliance. This allowed negotiations to resume at the end of October. British diplomats soon offered the status quo to the U.S. negotiators, who accepted them. Prisoners would be exchanged, and captured slaves returned to the United States or be paid for by Britain.


==== Single-ship actions ====
On December 24, 1814 the diplomats had finished and signed the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty was ratified by the British three days later on December 27{{sfnm|1a1=Hickey|1y=2006|1p=295|2a1=Updyke|2y=1915|2p=360|3a1=Perkins|3y=1964|3pp=129–130}} and arrived in Washington on February 17 where it was quickly ratified and went into effect, thus finally ending the war. The terms called for all occupied territory to be returned, the prewar boundary between Canada and the United States to be restored, and the Americans were to gain fishing rights in the ].
]. The battle was an important victory for American morale.]]


The more recently built frigates of the US Navy were intended to overmatch their opponents. The United States did not believe that it could build a large enough navy to contest with the Royal Navy in fleet actions. Therefore, where it could be done, individual ships were built to be tougher, larger, and carry more firepower than their equivalents in European navies.{{efn|"They are superior to any European frigate," Humphreys wrote of the design he had in mind, "and if others should be in company, our frigates can always lead ahead and never be obliged to go into action, but on their own terms, except in a calm; in blowing weather our ships are capable of engaging to advantage double-deck ships." In another design Humphreys proposed "such frigates as in blowing weather would be an overmatch for double-deck ships, and in light winds evade coming into action."{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=419–420}} }} The newest three 44-gun ships were designed with a 24-pounder main battery. These frigates were intended to demolish the 36- to 38-gun (18-pounder) armed frigates that formed the majority of the world's navies, while being able to evade larger ships.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=50}} Similarly the Wasp class ship-sloops were an over-match to the Cruizer class brigs being employed by the British. The Royal Navy, maintaining more than 600 ships in fleets and stations worldwide, was overstretched and undermanned; most British ships enforcing the blockade were (with a few notable exceptions) less practiced than the crews of the smaller US Navy.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=372}}{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=418–419}}{{sfn|James|1817}}{{sfn|Roosevelt|1904|p=257}}{{efn|With sufficient training and drilling gunnery could be improved, but there was no immediate solution for the lack of crew numbers on British ships. There were six hundred ships in service, manned by only 140,000 seamen and marines. Subsequently the Royal Navy was spread out thin which compromised a crew's overall efficiency and could not rival the quality and efficiency of the crews employed in the smaller, all-volunteer U.S. Navy.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=382}} }} This meant that in single-ship actions the Royal Navy ships often found themselves against larger ships with larger crews, who were better drilled, as intended by the US planners.{{efn|Admiral Warren was evidently concerned, because he circulated a standing order, on March 6, directing his commanders to give priority to "the good discipline and the proper training of their Ships Companies to the expert management of the Guns." All officers and seamen on the North American station were urged to keep in mind "that the issue of the Battle will greatly depend on the cool, steady and regular manner in which the Guns shall be loaded, pointed & fired." Two weeks later, the Admiralty issued a circular to all the British admirals, discouraging the daily "spit and polish" scouring of the brasswork and directing that "the time thrown away on this unnecessary practice be applied to the really useful and important points of discipline and exercise at Arms."{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=418}} }}
The Treaty of Ghent failed to secure official British acknowledgement of American maritime rights or ending impressment. However, in the century of peace until World War I these rights were not seriously violated. The defeat of Napoleon made irrelevant all of the naval issues over which the United States had fought. The Americans had achieved their goal of ending the Indian threat; furthermore the American armies had scored enough victories (especially at New Orleans) to satisfy honour and the sense of becoming fully independent from Britain.<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Stephen Heidler|author2=Jeanne T. Heidler|title=Encyclopedia of the War Of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_c09EJgek50C&pg=PA208|year=2004|publisher=Naval Institute Press|pages=208–9}}</ref>


However naval ships do not fight as individuals by the code of the ], they are national instruments of war, and are used as such. The Royal Navy counted on its numbers, experience, and traditions to overcome the individually superior vessels. As the US Navy found itself mostly blockaded by the end of the war, the Royal Navy was correct.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/war-of-1812|title=Milestones: 1801–1829 – Office of the Historian|website=history.state.gov}}</ref> For all the fame that these actions received, they in no way affected the outcome of the results of Atlantic theatre of War. The final count of frigates lost was three on each side, with most of the US Navy blockaded in port.{{efn|Compared to other nations, the British navy had mastered the practice of employing blockades, which severely compromised an enemy's freedom of movement, supply lines, and economic vitality. It also protected their commercial shipping by preventing enemy privateers and cruisers from going out to sea and capturing prizes. Britain's ten-year-old commercial and military blockade of continental Europe had largely succeeded in its twin goals of interdicting most seagoing commerce while keeping the French navy imprisoned in its ports. It was therefore to be expected that the main thrust of British naval strategy during the war was the employment of blockades along the American coast.{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=419–420}} }} During the war, the United States Navy captured 165 British merchantmen (although privateers captured many more) while the Royal Navy captured 1,400 American merchantmen.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}} More significantly, the British blockade of the Atlantic coast caused the majority of warships to be unable to put to sea and shut down both American imports and exports.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=220}}{{efn|The tightening grip of the British blockade was beginning to take a severe economic toll on communities throughout the country. The drain on the treasury remained a pressing concern, and the Republican-dominated Congress finally recognized the need for more tax revenue; a new levy fell on licences, carriages, auctions, sugar refineries, and salt.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=455}} }}
==Losses and compensation==
British losses in the war were about 1,160 killed in action and 3,679 wounded;<ref name="historyguy.com"/> 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 that about 15,000 died from all causes directly related to the war.{{sfn|Hickey|2006|p=297}} These figures do not include deaths among Canadian militia forces or losses among native tribes.


Notable single-ship engagements include ] on 19 August 1812,{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=385}} ] on 25 October,{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=397}} USS ''Constitution'' vs ] on 29–30 December,{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=848}}{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=377}} ] on 1 June 1813 (the bloodiest such action of the war),{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=411–415}} ] on 28 March 1814,{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=253}} ] on 15 January 1815.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|pp=368–373}}
There have been no estimates of the cost of the American war to Britain, but it did add some £25&nbsp;million to the national debt.<ref>Latimer, p. 389.</ref> In the U.S., the cost was $105&nbsp;million, about the same as the cost to Britain. The national debt rose from $45&nbsp;million in 1812 to $127&nbsp;million by the end of 1815, although by selling bonds and ] at deep discounts—and often for irredeemable paper money due to the suspension of specie payment in 1814—the government received only $34&nbsp;million worth of specie.{{sfnm|1a1=Adams|1y=1930|1p=385|2a1=Hickey|2y=1989|2p=303}} ], the ] at the time, personally funded the United States government involvement in the war.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}


In single ship battles, superior force was the most significant factor. In response to the majority of the American ships being of greater force than the British ships of the same class, Britain constructed five 40-gun, 24-pounder heavy frigates{{sfn|Gardiner|1998|p=162}} and two "spar-decked" frigates (the 60-gun {{HMS|Leander|1813|6}} and {{HMS|Newcastle|1813|6}}) and others.{{sfn|Gardiner|1998|pp=163–164}} To counter the American sloops of war, the British constructed the {{sclass|Cyrus|ship-sloop}} of 22 guns. The British Admiralty also instituted a new policy that the three American heavy frigates should not be engaged except by a ship of the line or frigates in squadron strength.{{efn|The superior force and scantlings of the American 44-gun frigates, now denounced as "disguised ships of the line," prompted the Admiralty to issue a "Secret & Confidential" order to all station chiefs prohibiting single-frigate engagements with the Constitution, President, or United States. A lone British frigate was henceforth ordered to flee from the big American frigates, or (if it could be done safely) to shadow them at a prudent distance, remaining out of cannon-shot range, until reinforcements.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=383}} }}
In addition, at least 3,000 American slaves escaped to the British lines. Many other slaves simply escaped in the chaos of war and achieved their freedom on their own. The British settled some of the newly freed slaves in Nova Scotia.{{sfn|Schama|2006|p=406}} Four hundred freedmen were settled in New Brunswick.<ref>, Atlantic Canada Portal, University of New Brunswick. Retrieved 2010-02-08.</ref> The Americans protested that Britain's failure to return the slaves violated the Treaty of Ghent. After arbitration by the ] the British paid $1,204,960 in damages to Washington,{{sfn|Lindsay|1920|p={{page needed|date=July 2013}}}} which reimbursed the slaveowners.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/A-D/Arbitration-Mediation-and-Conciliation-Jay-s-treaty-and-the-treaty-of-ghent.html |title=Jay's treaty and the treaty of ghent - Arbitration, Mediation, and Conciliation |publisher=Americanforeignrelations.com |accessdate=2013-07-01}}</ref>


The United States Navy's smaller ship-sloops had also won several victories over Royal Navy sloops-of-war, again of smaller armament. The American sloops ''Hornet'', {{USS|Wasp|1807|3}}, {{USS|Peacock|1813|2}}, {{USS|Wasp|1813|3}} and {{USS|Frolic|1813|2}} were all ]-rigged while the British {{sclass|Cruizer|brig-sloop|0}} sloops that they encountered were brig-rigged, which gave the Americans a significant advantage. Ship rigged vessels are more manoeuvrable in battle because they have a wider variety of sails and thus being more resistant to damage. Ship-rigged vessels can back sail, literally backing up or heave to (stop).{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|James|1817|p={{page needed|date=April 2021}}}}{{sfn|Gardiner|2000|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}{{efn|More significantly, if some spars are shot away on a brig because it is more difficult to wear and the brig loses the ability to steer while a ship could adjust its more diverse canvas to compensate for the imbalance caused by damage in battle.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=138}} Furthermore, ship-rigged vessels with three masts simply have more masts to shoot away than brigs with two masts before the vessel is unmanageable.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|James|1817|p={{page needed|date=April 2021}}}}}}
==Memory and historiography==


===Popular views=== ==== Privateering ====
]s were a series of schooners used by American ] during the war.]]
During the 19th century the popular image of the war in the United States was of an American victory, and in Canada, of a Canadian victory. Each young country saw its self-perceived victory as an important foundation of its growing nationhood. The British, on the other hand, who had been preoccupied by Napoleon's challenge in Europe, paid little attention to what was to them a peripheral and secondary dispute, a distraction from the principal task at hand.
The operations of American ]s proved a more significant threat to British trade than the United States Navy. They operated throughout the Atlantic until the close of the war, most notably from Baltimore. American privateers reported taking 1300 British merchant vessels, compared to 254 taken by the United States Navy,{{sfn|American Merchant Marine}}{{sfn|Franklin}}{{sfn|Brewer|2004}} although the insurer ] reported that only 1,175 British ships were taken, 373 of which were recaptured, for a total loss of 802.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=242}} Canadian historian Carl Benn wrote that American privateers took 1,344 British ships, of which 750 were retaken by the British.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}} The British tried to limit privateering losses by the strict enforcement of ] by the Royal Navy{{sfn|Kert|2015|p=146}} and directly by capturing 278 American privateers. Due to the massive size of the British merchant fleet, American captures only affected 7.5% of the fleet, resulting in no supply shortages or lack of reinforcements for British forces in North America.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|pp=394–395}} Of 526 American privateers, 148 were captured by the Royal Navy and only 207 ever took a prize.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}}


Due to the large size of their navy, the British did not rely as much on privateering. The majority of the 1,407 captured American merchant ships were taken by the Royal Navy. 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. However, privateering remained popular in British colonies. It was the last hurrah for privateers in the insular ]n colony of Bermuda who vigorously returned to the practice with experience gained in previous wars.<ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine=The Bermudian |title=Bermuda in the Privateering Business |first=Lieutenant-Colonel A. Gavin |last=Shorto |date=2018-04-05 |access-date=2023-11-26 |url=https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/bermuda-in-the-privateering-business |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |publisher=The Bermudian |archive-date=17 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217122822/https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/bermuda-in-the-privateering-business/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=In the Eye of All Trade: Bermuda, Bermudians, and the Maritime Atlantic World, 1680–1783 |first=Michael |last=Jarvis |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill |date=2010}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Bermuda's Sailors of Fortune |first=Sister Jean de Chantal |last=Kennedy |publisher=Bermuda Historical Society |date=1963 |asin=B0007J8WMW}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Tidewater Triumph: The Development and Worldwide Success of the Chesapeake Bay Pilot Schooner |first=Geoffrey |last=Footner |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |date=1998 |isbn=978-0870335112}}</ref> The nimble ]s captured 298 American ships.{{sfn|Stranack|1990|p=23}} Privateer schooners based in continental British North America, especially from ], took 250 American ships and proved especially effective in crippling American coastal trade and capturing American ships closer to shore than the Royal Navy's cruisers.{{sfn|Faye|1997|p=171}}
===Canadian===
] in action at the Battle of the Chateauguay]]
In British North America (which would become the ] in 1867), the War of 1812 was seen by Loyalists as a victory, as they had claimed they had successfully defended their country 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.{{sfn|Kaufman|1997|pp=110–135}} ], the first Anglican bishop of Toronto, created the myth, telling his flock that Upper Canada had been saved from the American invaders by the heroism of the local citizenry.{{sfn|Granatstein|2011|pp=4–5}}{{sfn|Berton|2011|pp=29–30}}


==== British blockade ====
A long-term implication of the militia myth remained widely held in Canada at least until the First World War—was that Canada did not need a regular professional army.<ref>CMH, "Origins of the Militia Myth" (February 2006) {{wayback|url=http://www.cdnmilitary.ca/index.php?p=19 |date=20120310154442 }}</ref> While Canadian militia units had played instrumental roles in several engagements, such as at the Battle of the Chateauguay, it was the regular units of the British Army, including its "Fencible" regiments which were recruited within North America, which ensured that Canada was successfully defended.
]


The ] of the United States began informally in the late fall of 1812. Under the command of British Admiral ], it extended from South Carolina to Florida.{{sfn|Arthur|2011|p=73}} It expanded to cut off more ports as the war progressed. Twenty ships were on station in 1812 and 135 were in place by the end of the conflict. In March 1813, the Royal Navy punished the Southern states, who were most vocal about annexing British North America, by blockading ], ], ], and ] as well. Additional ships were sent to North America in 1813 and the Royal Navy tightened and extended the blockade, first to the coast south of ] by November 1813 and to the entire American coast on 31 May 1814.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}}{{sfnm|1a1=Hickey|1y=1989|1p=152 |2a1=Daughan|2y=2011|2pp=151–152 |3a1=Lambert|3y=2012|3p=399}} In May 1814, following the abdication of Napoleon and the end of the supply problems with Wellington's army, New England was blockaded.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=214}}
Main article on Canadian Fencible and Militia Units: ]


The British needed American foodstuffs for their army in Spain and benefited from trade with New England, so they did not at first blockade New England.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}} The ] and Chesapeake Bay were declared in a state of blockade on 26 December 1812. 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 United States government was driven to issue orders to stop illicit trading. This put only a further strain on the commerce of the country. The British fleet occupied the Chesapeake Bay and attacked and destroyed numerous docks and harbours.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=849}} The effect was that no foreign goods could enter the United States on ships and only smaller fast boats could attempt to get out. The cost of shipping became very expensive as a result.{{sfn|Hickey|2012|p=153}}{{efn|"The British blockade had a crushing effect on American foreign trade. "Commerce is becoming very slack," reported a resident of Baltimore in the spring of 1813: "no arrivals from abroad, & nothing going to sea but sharp vessels." By the end of the year, the sea lanes had become so dangerous that merchants wishing to sell goods had to shell out 50 percent of the value of the ship and cargo."{{sfn|Hickey|2012|p=153}}}}
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 territory. 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 ] wrote to a correspondent in 1817,{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=458, 459}} although the ] was built for just such a scenario.


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 ].{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=55–56}} USS ''United States'' and USS ''Macedonian'' attempted to set sail to raid British shipping in the Caribbean, but were forced to turn back when confronted with a British squadron, and by the end of the war, the United States had six frigates and four ships-of-the-line sitting in port.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=56}} Some merchant ships were based in Europe or Asia and continued operations. Others, mainly from New England, were issued licences to trade by Admiral Warren, commander in chief on the American station in 1813. This allowed Wellington's army in Spain to receive American goods and to maintain the New Englanders' ]. The blockade nevertheless decreased American exports from $130&nbsp;million in 1807 to $7&nbsp;million in 1814. Most exports were goods that ironically went to supply their enemies in Britain or the British colonies.{{sfn|Leckie|1998|p=255}} The blockade had a devastating effect on the American economy with the value of American exports and imports falling from $114&nbsp;million in 1811 down to $20&nbsp;million by 1814 while the United States Customs took in $13&nbsp;million in 1811 and $6&nbsp;million in 1814, even though the Congress had voted to double the rates.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=56–57}} The British blockade further damaged the American economy by forcing merchants to abandon the cheap and fast coastal trade to the slow and more expensive inland roads.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=57}} In 1814, only 1 out of 14 American merchantmen risked leaving port as it was likely that any ship leaving port would be seized.{{sfnm|Benn|2002|1p=57|Riggs|2015|2pp=1446–1449}}
By the 21st century it was a forgotten war in Britain,{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=1}} although still remembered in Canada, especially Ontario. In a 2009 poll, 37% of Canadians said the war was a Canadian victory, 9% said the U.S. won, 15% called it a draw, and 39%—mainly younger Canadians—said they knew too little to comment.{{sfn|Boswell|2009}}


As the Royal Navy base that supervised the blockade, Halifax profited greatly during the war. From there, British privateers seized and sold many French and American ships. More than a hundred prize vessels were anchored in ] awaiting condemnation by the Admiralty Court when a hurricane struck in 1815, sinking roughly sixty of the vessels.{{sfn|Stranack|1990|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}
A February 2012 poll found that in a list of items that could be used to define Canadians' identity, the belief that Canada successfully repelled an American invasion in the War of 1812 places second (25%), only behind the fact that Canada has ] (53%).<ref>{{cite web|last=Ipsos Reid|title=Americans (64%) less likely than Canadians (77%) to Believe War of 1812 had Significant Outcomes, Important to formation National Identity, but still more likely to Commemorate War|url=http://www.historica-dominion.ca/drupal/sites/default/files/PDF/war_of_1812_factum_3.pdf|publisher=Ipsos Reid|accessdate=2012-02-14}}</ref> The survey states that 77% of Canadians believe that War of 1812 Bicentennial is an important commemoration.<ref>{{cite web |title=Americans less likely than Canadians to Believe War of 1812 had Significant Outcomes, Important to Formation National Identity, but still more likely to Commemorate War |url=https://www.historica-dominion.ca/content/polls/americans-less-likely-canadians-believe-war-1812-had-significant-outcomes-important |date=February 13, 2012 |accessdate=2013-06-23}}</ref>


=== Freeing and recruiting slaves ===
===American===
], {{Circa|1890}}. During the war, a number of African Americans slaves escaped aboard British ships, settling in Canada (mainly in Nova Scotia){{sfn|Whitfield|2006|p=25}} or Trinidad.]]
Today, American popular memory includes the British capture and the ] in August 1814,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Defense and Burning of Washington in 1814: Naval Documents of the War of 1812 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/burning_washington.htm |work=U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command |accessdate=2013-06-23}}</ref> which necessitated its extensive renovation. Another memory is the successful American defence of Fort McHenry in September 1814, which inspired the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/starflag.htm |title=The Star-Spangled Banner and the War of 1812 |publisher=Encyclopedia Smithsonian |accessdate=2008-03-10}}</ref> The successful Captains of the U.S. Navy became popular heroes with plates with the likeness of Decatur, Steward, Hull, and others, becoming popular items. Ironically, many were made in England. The Navy became a cherished institution, lauded for the victories that it won against all odds.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=456}} After engagements during the final actions of the war, U.S. Marines had acquired a well-deserved reputation as excellent marksmen, especially in ship-to-ship actions.<ref name="Simmons">{{Cite book |last= Simmons |first= Edwin H. |title= The United States Marines: A History, Fourth Edition |publisher= Naval Institute Press |year= 2003 |location= Annapolis, Maryland |isbn= 1-59114-790-5}}</ref>


The British Royal Navy's blockades and raids allowed about 4,000 African Americans to escape ] by fleeing American ]s aboard British ships. American slaves near to the British military rebelled against their masters and made their way to British encampments. The migrants who settled in Canada were known as the ]. The blockading British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay received increasing numbers of freed slaves during 1813. By British government order, they were considered free persons when they reached British hands.{{sfn|Weiss|2013}}{{sfn|Malcomson|2012|p=366}}
===Historians' views===
Historians have differing and complex interpretations of the war.<ref>Jasper Trautsch, "Whose War of 1812? Competing Memories of the Anglo-American Conflict,"
</ref> They agree that ending the war with neither side gaining or losing territory allowed for the peaceful settlement of boundary disputes and for the opening of a permanent era of good will and friendly relations between the U.S. and Canada. The war established distinct national identities for Canada and the United States, with a "newly significant border".{{sfn|Taylor|2011|pp=153, 157, 158 161–2, 164–5, 286}}


Alexander Cochrane's ] of 2 April 1814 invited Americans who wished to emigrate to join the British. Although it did not explicitly mention slaves, it was taken by all as addressed to them. About 2,400 escaped slaves and their families were transported by the Royal Navy to the ] at Bermuda (where they were employed on works about the yard and organized as a militia to aid in the defence of the yard), Nova Scotia and ] during and after the war. Starting in May 1814, younger male volunteers were recruited into a new Corps of Colonial Marines. They fought for Britain throughout the Atlantic campaign, including the Battle of Bladensburg, the attacks on Washington, D.C., and the Battle of Baltimore, before withdrawing to Bermuda with the rest of the British forces. They were later settled in ] after having rejected orders for transfer to the ], forming the community of the ] (none of the freed slaves remained in Bermuda after the war). These escaped slaves represented the largest emancipation of African Americans prior to the ].{{sfn|Bermingham|2003}}{{sfn|Black Sailors Soldiers|2012}}{{sfn|''The Royal Gazette'' 2016}} Britain paid the United States for the financial loss of the slaves at the end of the war.{{sfn|Taylor|2010|p=432}}
In recent decades the view of the majority of historians has been that the war ended in stalemate, with the Treaty of Ghent closing a war that had become militarily inconclusive. Neither side wanted to continue fighting since the main causes had disappeared and since there were no large lost territories for one side or the other to reclaim by force. Insofar as they see the war's resolution as allowing two centuries of peaceful and mutually beneficial intercourse between the U.S., Britain and Canada, these historians often conclude that all three nations were the "real winners" of the War of 1812. These writers often add that the war could have been avoided in the first place by better diplomacy. It is seen as a mistake for everyone concerned because it was badly planned and marked by multiple fiascoes and failures on both sides, as shown especially by the repeated American failures to seize parts of Canada, and the failed British attack on New Orleans and upstate New York. {{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|p=137}}{{sfn|Howe|2007|p=74}}


== Treaty of Ghent ==
However, other scholars hold that the war constituted a British victory and an American defeat. They argue that the British achieved their military objectives in 1812 (by stopping the repeated American invasions of Canada) and retaining their Canadian colonies. By contrast, they say, the Americans suffered a defeat when their armies failed to achieve their war goal of seizing part or all of Canada. Additionally, they argue the U.S. lost as it failed to stop impressment, which the British refused to repeal until the end of the Napoleonic Wars, arguing that the U.S. actions had no effect on the Orders in Council, which were rescinded before the war started.{{sfnm|1a1=Benn|1y=2002|p=83|2a1=Latimer|2y=2007|2p=3}}
{{main|Treaty of Ghent}}


In August 1814, peace discussions began in ]. Both sides approached negotiations warily.{{efn|1=For details of the negotiations, see Samuel Flagg Bemis (1956), ''John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy'', pp. 196–220; {{harvnb|Remini|1991|pp=94–122}}; {{harvnb|Ward|Gooch|1922|pp=}} and {{harvnb|Mahan|1905|pp=73–78}}.}} The British strategy for decades had been to create a ] in the American Northwest Territory to block American expansion. Britain also demanded naval control of the Great Lakes and access to the Mississippi River.{{sfn|Remini|1991|p=117}} On the American side, Monroe instructed the American diplomats sent to Europe to try to convince the British to cede the Canadas, or at least Upper Canada, to the U.S.<ref>Donald Hickey, ''The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict'', Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989, 284</ref> At a later stage, the Americans also demanded damages for the burning of Washington and for the seizure of ships before the war began.{{sfn|Ward|Gooch|1922|p=}}
A second minority view is that both the U.S. and Britain won the war—that is, both achieved their main objectives, while the Indians were the losing party.{{sfnm|1a1=Campbell|1y=2007|1p=10|2a1=Turner|2y=2000|2pp=130–131}} The British won by losing no territories and achieving their great war goal, the total defeat of Napoleon. U.S. won by (1) securing her honor and successfully resisting a powerful empire once again,<ref group=lower-alpha>As ] concluded, "The lessons of the war were taken to heart. Anti-American feeling in Great Britain ran high for several years, but the United States were never again refused proper treatment as an independent power". From ''A History of the English-speaking Peoples: The age of revolution, Volume 3 of A History of the English-speaking Peoples'', p. 366.</ref> thus winning a "second war of independence";{{sfn|Langguth|2006|p=177}} and (2) ending the threat of Indian raids and the British plan for a semi-independent Indian sanctuary—thereby opening an unimpeded path for the United States' westward expansion.<ref>{{harvnb|Turner|2000|p={{page needed|date=June 2013}}}}; {{harvnb|Zuehlke|2007|p={{page needed|date=June 2013}}}}; Hixson (2001){{Verify source|date=October 2010}}<!-- No source given-->; {{harvnb|Williams|1961|p=196}}; {{harvnb|Watts|1987|p=316}}</ref>


], which formally ended the war between the British Empire and the United States]]
====Indians as losers====
American public opinion was outraged when Madison published the demands as even the Federalists were now willing to fight on. A British force burned Washington, but it failed to capture Baltimore and sailed away when its commander was killed. In northern New York State, 10,000 British veterans were marching south until a decisive defeat at the ] forced them back to Canada.{{efn|The British were unsure whether the attack on Baltimore was a failure, but Plattsburg was a humiliation that called for court martial ({{harvnb|Latimer|2007|pp=331, 359, 365}}).}} British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, aware of growing ] to wartime taxation and the demands of merchants for reopened trade with America, realized Britain also had little to gain and much to lose from prolonged warfare especially given growing concern about the situation in Europe.{{sfnm|1a1=Latimer|1y=2007|1pp=389–391|2a1=Gash|2y=1984|2pp=111–119}} The main focus of British foreign policy was the ], at which British diplomats had clashed with Russian and Prussian diplomats over the terms of the peace with France and there were fears that Britain might have to go to war with Russia and Prussia. Export trade was all but paralyzed and France was no longer an enemy of Britain after Napoleon fell in April 1814, so the Royal Navy no longer needed to stop American shipments to France and it no longer needed to impress more seamen. The British were preoccupied in rebuilding Europe after the apparent final defeat of Napoleon.{{sfn|Mahan|1905}}
Historians generally agree that the real losers of the War of 1812 were the Indians (called First Nations in Canada). Hickey says:


Consequently, Lord Liverpool urged the British negotiators to offer a peace based on the restoration of the pre-war status quo. The British negotiators duly dropped their demands for the creation of an Indian neutral zone, which allowed negotiations to resume at the end of October. The American negotiators accepted the British proposals for a peace based on the pre-war status quo. Prisoners were to be exchanged and escaped slaves returned to the United States, as at least 3,000 American slaves had escaped to British lines. The British however refused to honour this aspect of the treaty, settling some of the newly freed slaves in Nova Scotia{{sfn|African Nova Scotians}}{{sfn|Whitfield|2005}} and New Brunswick.{{sfn|Black Loyalists in New Brunswick}} The Americans protested Britain's failure to return American slaves in violation of the Treaty of Ghent. After arbitration by the ] the British paid $1,204,960 in damages to Washington, to reimburse the slave owners.{{sfn|Taylor|2010|p=432}}
{{quote|The big losers in the war were the Indians. As a proportion of their population, they had suffered the heaviest casualties. Worse, they were left without any reliable European allies in North America&nbsp;... The crushing defeats at the Thames and Horseshoe Bend left them at the mercy of the Americans, hastening their confinement to reservations and the decline of their traditional way of life.<ref>{{cite book|last=Donald R. Hickey, Introduction"|title=The War of 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2bBHL2ePWcC&pg=PT22|year=2013|publisher=Library of America|page=22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=John Herd |last1=Thompson |first2=Stephen J.|last2=Randall |year=2008 |title=Canada and the United States: Ambivalent Allies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4KxDd4K1X-gC&pg=PA22 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |page=23 |isbn=9780820331133}}; {{cite book |first=John Stewart |last=Bowman |first2=Miriam |last2=Greenblatt |year=2003 |title=War of 1812 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RFcP4PFvhTUC&pg=PA142 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |pages=142– |isbn=9781438100166}}; {{cite book |first=William B. |last=Kessel |first2=Robert |last2=Wooster |year=2005 |title=Encyclopedia Of Native American Wars And Warfare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laxSyAp89G4C&pg=PA145 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |page=145 |isbn=9780816033379}}; {{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Boyer|2010}} |first=Paul S. |last=Boyer |year=2010 |title=The Enduring Vision 1877 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqawVJRMd8YC&pg=PA244 |publisher=Cengage Learning |page=244 |isbn=9780495800941|display-authors=etal}}</ref>}}


On 24 December 1814, the diplomats had finished and signed the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty was ratified by the British Prince Regent three days later on 27 December.{{sfn|Updyke|1915|p=360}}{{sfn|Perkins|1964|pp=129–130}}{{sfn|Hickey|2006|p=295}}{{sfn|Langguth|2006|p=375}} On 17 February, it arrived in Washington, where it was quickly ratified and went into effect, ending the war. The terms called for all occupied territory to be returned, the prewar boundary between Canada and the United States to be restored, and the Americans were to gain fishing rights in the ].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} The British insisted on the inclusion of provisions to restore to the Indians "all possessions, rights and privileges which they may have enjoyed, or been entitled to in 1811".{{sfn|Mahan|1905|pp=73–78}} The Americans ignored and violated these provisions.{{sfn|Mahan|1905|pp=73–78}}
American settlers into the Middle West had been repeatedly blocked and threatened by Indian raids before 1812, and that now came to an end. Throughout the war the British had played on terror of the tomahawks and scalping knives of their Indian allies; it worked especially at Hull's surrender at Detroit. By 1813 Americans had killed Tecumseh and broken his coalition of tribes. Jackson then defeated the Creek in the Southwest. Historian John Sugden notes that in both theatres, the Indians' strength had been broken prior to the arrival of the major British forces in 1814.{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=311}}


The Treaty of Ghent completely maintained Britain's maritime belligerent rights, a key goal for the British, without acknowledging American maritime rights or the end of impressment. While American maritime rights were not seriously violated in the century of peace until World War I, the defeat of Napoleon made the need for impressment irrelevant and the grievances of the United States no longer an issue. In this sense, the United States achieved its goals indirectly and felt its honour had been upheld despite impressment continuing.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=208–209}}{{sfn|Langguth|2006|pp=374–375}}
Notwithstanding the sympathy and support from commanders (such as Brock,<ref>Sugden, pp. 301–302, mentions that 'Brock 'had urged the British government to protect his Indian allies in peace negotiations, and by the end of 1812 he had obtained from Earl Bathurst, colonial secretary, a promise to that effect.'</ref> Cochrane and Nicolls), the policymakers in London reneged in assisting the Indians, as making peace was a higher priority for the politicians. At the peace conference the British demanded an independent Indian state in the Midwest, but, although the British and their Indian allies maintained control over the territories in question (i.e. most of the ]), British diplomats did not press the demand after an American refusal, effectively abandoning their Indian allies. The withdrawal of British protection gave the Americans a free hand, which resulted in the removal of most of the tribes to ] (present-day ]).{{sfn|Taylor|2011|pp=435–439}} In that sense according to historian Alan Taylor, the final victory at New Orleans had "enduring and massive consequences".{{sfn|Taylor|2011|p=421}} It gave the Americans "continental predominance" while it left the Indians dispossessed, powerless, and vulnerable.{{sfn|Taylor|2011|p=437}}


== Losses and compensation ==
The Treaty of Ghent technically required the United States to cease hostilities and "forthwith to restore to such Tribes or Nations respectively all possessions, rights and privileges which they may have enjoyed, or been entitled to in 1811"; the United States ignored this article of the treaty and proceeded to expand into this territory regardless; Britain was unwilling to provoke further war to enforce it. A shocked ], one of the British negotiators at Ghent, remarked:
{|class="wikitable floatright"
|-
|+Casualties in the War of 1812{{sfn|Tucker|2012|p=113}}
|-
!Type of ]
!United States
!United Kingdom<br />and Canada
!Indigenous fighters
|-
|] and ] || 2,260 || ~2,000 || ~1,500
|-
|Died of disease or accident || ~13,000 || ~8,000 || ~8,500
|-
|] || 4,505 || ~3,500 || Unknown
|-
|] || 695 || ~1,000 || Unknown
|}
Losses figures do not include deaths among Canadian militia forces or Indigenous tribes. British losses in the war were about 1,160 killed in action and 3,679 wounded,{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} with 3,321 British who 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 that about 15,000 died from all causes directly related to the war.{{sfn|Hickey|2006|p=297}}


The war added some £25&nbsp;million to Britain's ].{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=389}} In the United States, the cost was $90&nbsp;million reaching a peak of 2.7% of GDP.<ref>https://sgp.fas.org/crs/natsec/RS22926.pdf</ref> The national debt rose from $45&nbsp;million in 1812 to $127&nbsp;million by the end of 1815, although by selling bonds and ] at deep discounts{{snd}}and often for irredeemable paper money due to the suspension of specie payment in 1814{{snd}}the government received only $34&nbsp;million worth of specie.{{sfn|Adams|1918|p=385}}{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=303}} ], the ] at the time, was among those who funded the United States government's involvement in the war.{{sfn|Adams|1978}}{{sfn|MacDowell|1900|pages=315–316}} The British national debt rose from £451&nbsp;million in 1812 to £841&nbsp;million in 1814, although this was at a time when Britain was fighting a war against Napoleon. The war was bad for both economies.{{sfn|Kert|2015|p=145}}
{{quote|Till I came here, I had no idea of the fixed determination which there is in the heart of every American to extirpate the Indians and appropriate their territory.<ref>PBS, ''The War of 1812'', Essays. http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/essays/treaty-ghent/</ref>}}


In the United States, the economy grew 3.7% a year from 1812 to 1815, despite a large loss of business by East Coast shipping interests. Prices were 15% higher{{snd}}inflated{{snd}}in 1815 compared to 1812, an annual rate of 4.8%.{{sfn|$100 in 1812}}{{sfn|Johnston|Williamson|2019}} Hundreds of new banks were opened; they largely handled the loans that financed the war since tax revenues were down. Money that would have been spent on foreign trade was diverted to opening new factories, which were profitable since British factory-made products were not for sale.{{sfn|Nettels|2017|pp=35–40}} This gave a major boost to the ] in the United States as typified by the ].{{sfn|Bergquist|1973|pp=45–55}}{{sfn|Morales|2009}}
The Creek War came to an end, with the Treaty of Fort Jackson being imposed upon the Indians. About half of the Creek territory was ceded to the United States, with no payment made to the Creeks. This was, in theory, invalidated by Article 9 of the Treaty of Ghent. {{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=304}} The British failed to press the issue, and did not take up the Indian cause as an infringement of an international treaty. Without this support, the Indians' lack of power was apparent and the stage was set for further incursions of territory by the United States in subsequent decades. {{sfn|Sugden|1982|pp=273–274}}


==Long-term consequences== == Long-term consequences ==
{{Main article|Results of the War of 1812}} {{main|Results of the War of 1812}}
The border between the United States and Canada remained essentially unchanged by the war, with neither side making meaningful territorial gains.{{efn|Spain, a British ally, lost control of the ] area to the Americans as a consequence of the ] which took place concurrently with the War of 1812.}} Despite the Treaty of Ghent not addressing the original points of contention and establishing the '']'', relations between the United States and Britain changed drastically. The issue of impressment also became irrelevant as the Royal Navy no longer needed sailors after the war.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}


The long-term results of the war were generally satisfactory for both the United States and Great Britain. Except for occasional border disputes and some tensions during and after the American Civil War, relations between the United States and Britain remained peaceful for the rest of the 19th century. In the 20th century, spurred by multiple world conflicts, the two countries became ]. The memory of the conflict played a major role in helping to consolidate a Canadian national identity after 1867, the year of ].{{sfn|Bickham|2012|pp=262–280}}
Neither side lost territory in the war,<ref group=lower-alpha>Spain, a British ally, lost control of the ], area to the Americans.</ref> nor did the treaty that ended it address the original points of contention—and yet it changed much between the United States of America and Britain.


The ] was a treaty between the United States and Britain enacted in 1817 that provided for the demilitarization of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, where many British naval arrangements and forts still remained. The treaty laid the basis for a demilitarized boundary and was indicative of improving relations between the United States and Great Britain in the period following the War of 1812. It remains in effect to this day. The ] between the United States and Britain was enacted in 1817. It demilitarized the ] and ], where many British naval arrangements and forts still remained. The treaty laid the basis for a demilitarized boundary. It remains in effect to this day.<ref>Christopher Mark Radojewski, "The Rush–Bagot Agreement: Canada–US Relations in Transition." ''American Review of Canadian Studies'' 47.3 (2017): 280–299.</ref>


=== Bermuda ===
The Treaty of Ghent established the ''status quo ante bellum''; that is, there were no territorial losses by either side. The issue of impressment was made moot when the Royal Navy, no longer needing sailors, stopped impressment after the defeat of Napoleon. Except for occasional border disputes and the circumstances of the ], relations between the U.S. and Britain remained generally peaceful for the rest of the 19th century, and the two countries became ] in the 20th century.
]]]
Bermuda had been largely left to the defences of its own militia and privateers before American independence, but the Royal Navy had begun buying up land and operating from there beginning in 1795, after a number of years spent surveying the reefs to find ] channel (which enabled large frigates and ships of the line to pass through the surrounding reefs to ] Anchorage and the enclosed harbours). As construction work progressed through the first half of the 19th century, Bermuda became an ] and the permanent naval headquarters the ], housing the ] and serving as a base and dockyard. Defence infrastructure remained the central leg of Bermuda's economy until after World War II.{{sfn|Stranack|1990|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}{{sfn|Naval Historical Foundation 2012}}{{sfn|Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda}}


=== The Canadas ===
Border adjustments between the U.S. and British North America were made in the ]. ], Massachusetts, was returned to the U.S. in 1818; it would become part of the new State of ] in 1820. A border dispute along the Maine–New Brunswick border was settled by the 1842 ] after the bloodless ], and the border in the ] was settled by splitting the disputed area in half by the 1846 ]. A further dispute about the line of the border through the island in the ] resulted in another almost bloodless standoff in the ] of 1859. The line of the border was finally settled by an international arbitration commission in 1872.
After the war, pro-British leaders in Upper Canada demonstrated a strong hostility to American influences, including republicanism, which shaped its policies.{{sfn|Akenson|1999|p=137}} Immigration from the United States was discouraged and favour was shown to the ] as opposed to the more Americanized ].{{sfn|Landon|1941|p=123}}


The Battle of York showed the vulnerability of Upper and Lower Canada (]). In the decades following the war, several projects were undertaken to improve the defence of the colonies against the United States. They included work on ] at ], ] at Kingston, and rebuilding ] at York. Additionally, work began on the ] to defend the port against foreign navies.{{sfn|Hayes|2008|p=117}} Akin to the American view that it was a "Second War of Independence" for the United States, the war was also somewhat of a war of independence for Canada.{{sfn|O'Grady|2008|p=892}} Before the war Canada was a mix of French Canadians, native-born British subjects, loyalists and Americans who migrated there. Historian ] maintains that the war that threatened Canada greatly helped to cement these disparate groups into a unified nation.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=304}}
===United States===
] office tower (right) near Washington D.C. was named after the war.]]
The U.S. suppressed the Native American resistance on its western and southern borders. The nation also gained a psychological sense of complete independence as people celebrated their "second war of independence".{{sfnm|1a1=Langguth|1y=2006|pp=1, 177|2a1=Cogliano|2y=2008|2p=247}} Nationalism soared after the victory at the Battle of New Orleans. The opposition ] collapsed, and the Era of Good Feelings ensued.{{sfn|Dangerfield|1952|pp=xi–xiii, 95}}


=== Indigenous nations ===
No longer questioning the need for a strong Navy, the U.S. built three new 74-gun ships of the line and two new 44-gun frigates shortly after the end of the war.{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=456, 467}} (Another frigate had been destroyed to prevent it being captured on the stocks.){{sfn|Roosevelt|1902|pp=}} In 1816, the U.S. Congress passed into law an "Act for the gradual increase of the Navy" at a cost of $1,000,000 a year for eight years, authorizing 9 ships of the line and 12 heavy frigates.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=457}} The Captains and Commodores of the U.S. Navy became the heroes of their generation in the U.S. 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: Andrew Jackson (]), Richard Mentor Johnson (]), and William Henry Harrison (]).
] in the early 1790s]]
The Indigenous tribes allied to the British lost their cause. The Americans rejected the British proposal to create an "]" in the American West at the Ghent peace conference and it never resurfaced.{{sfn|Hatter|2016|p=213}} ] argues that "fter the War of 1812, the U.S. negotiated over two hundred Indian treaties that involved the ceding of Indian lands and 99 of these agreements resulted in the creation of reservations west of the Mississippi River".{{sfn|Fixico}}


The Indigenous nations lost most of their ]-trapping territory.{{sfn|Berthier-Foglar|Otto|2020|p=26}} Indigenous nations were displaced in Alabama, ], ] and ], losing most of what is now Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin within the Northwest Territory as well as in New York and the ]. They came to be seen as an undesirable burden by British policymakers, who now looked to the United States for markets and raw materials.{{sfn|Calloway|1986|pp=1–20}} Everyone, including British fur traders were prohibited from entering in the United States for purposes of trade.{{sfn|Berthier-Foglar|Otto|2020|p=26}}
During the war, New England states became increasingly frustrated over how the war was being conducted and how the conflict was affecting them. They complained that the U.S. government was not investing enough in the states' defences militarily and financially, and that the states should have more control over their militias. The increased taxes, the British blockade, and the occupation of some of New England by enemy forces also agitated public opinion in the states.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=255ff}} As a result, at the Hartford Convention (December 1814 – January 1815) Federalist delegates deprecated the war effort and sought more autonomy for the New England states. They did not call for secession but word of the angry anti-war resolutions appeared at the same time that peace was announced and the victory at New Orleans was known. The upshot was that the Federalists were permanently discredited and quickly disappeared as a major political force.{{sfn|Cogliano|2008|p=234}}


British Indian agents however continued to meet regularly with their former allies among the tribes of the Old Northwest, but refused to supply them with arms or help them resist American attempts to displace them. The American government rapidly built a network of forts throughout the Old Northwest, thus establishing firm military control. It also sponsored American fur traders, who outcompeted the British fur traders.{{sfn|Calloway|1986|pp=1–20}} Meanwhile, Euro-American settlers rapidly migrated into the Old Northwest, into the lands occupied by the tribes who were previously allied with the British.<ref>], p. 162</ref> The War of 1812 marked a turning point in the history of the Old Northwest because it established United States authority over the British and Indians of that border region.<ref>Francis Paul Prucha, ''American Indian Treaties: The History of a Political Anomaly'', University of California Press, 1994, 129–145, 183–201</ref>
This war enabled thousands of slaves to escape to British lines or ships for freedom, despite the difficulties. The planters' complacency about slave contentment was shocked by their seeing slaves who would risk so much to be free.{{sfn|Schama|2006|p=406}}


In 1815, with the British gone, most of the Indian tribes of the Midwest made peace with the United States. In the next 15 years they signed a series of treaties selling approximately half of Michigan, half of Indiana, and two thirds of Illinois to the U.S. government, which set up a process for selling the land to white farmers. Pratt concludes, "the war had given the Northwest what it most desired."<ref>Julius W Pratt, ''A History of United States Foreign Policy '' (1955), pp. 137–138.</ref> After the decisive defeat of the Creek Indians at the battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, some warriors escaped to join the Seminoles in Florida. The remaining Creek chiefs signed away about half their lands, comprising 23,000,000 acres, covering much of southern Georgia and two thirds of modern Alabama. The Creeks were now separated from any future help from the Spanish in Florida, or from the Choctaw and Chickasaw to the west. During the war the United States seized Mobile, Alabama, which was a strategic location providing oceanic outlet to the cotton lands to the north. Jackson invaded Florida in 1818, demonstrating to Spain that it could no longer control that territory with a small force. Spain sold Florida to the United States in 1819 in the ] following the ]. Pratt concludes: After the decisive defeat of the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, some Creek warriors escaped to join the Seminole in Florida.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} The remaining Creek chiefs signed away about half their lands, comprising 23,000,000 acres, covering much of southern Georgia and two-thirds of modern Alabama. The Creek were separated from any future help from the Spanish in Florida and from the Choctaw and Chickasaw to the west.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcn-nsn.gov/culturehistory/|title=Culture/History |website=Muscogee (Creek) Nation |access-date=19 March 2021|archive-date=18 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318201200/https://www.mcn-nsn.gov/culturehistory/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{quote|Thus indirectly the War of 1812 brought about the acquisition of Florida.... To both the Northwest and the South, therefore, the War of 1812 brought substantial benefits. It broke the power of the Creek Confederacy and opened to settlement a great province of the future Cotton Kingdom.<ref>Julius W Pratt, ''A History of United States Foreign Policy'' (1955), p. 138.</ref>}}


===British North America (Canada)=== === United Kingdom ===
] deciding whether to leap into the hands of the British, December 1814. The convention led to widespread fears that the New England states might attempt to secede from the United States.]]
]'s 'Monument to the War of 1812' (2008) in Toronto; depicts a larger-than-life Canadian soldier triumphing over an American; both are depicted as metallic toy soldiers of the sort small children play with.]]
The war is seldom remembered in the United Kingdom. The war in Europe against the French Empire under ] ensured that the British did not consider the War of 1812 against the United States as more than a sideshow.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=304}} Britain's blockade of French trade had worked and the Royal Navy was the world's dominant nautical power (and remained so for another century). While the land campaigns had contributed to saving Canada, the Royal Navy had shut down American commerce, bottled up the United States Navy in port and widely suppressed privateering. British businesses, some affected by rising insurance costs, were demanding peace so that trade could resume with the United States.{{sfnm|1a1=Heidler|1a2=Heidler|1y=2002|1p=7|2a1=Latimer|2y=2009|2p=88}} The peace was generally welcomed by the British, although there was disquiet about the rapid growth of the United States. The two nations quickly resumed trade after the end of the war and a growing friendship.{{sfn|Stearns|2008|p=547}}


The historian Donald Hickey maintains that for Britain, "the best way to defend Canada was to accommodate the United States. This was the principal rationale for Britain's long-term policy of rapprochement with the United States in the nineteenth century and explains why they were so often willing to sacrifice other imperial interests to keep the republic happy".{{sfn|Hickey|2014}}
Pro-British leaders demonstrated a strong hostility to American influences in western Canada (Ontario) after the war and shaped its policies, including a hostility to American-style republicanism.{{sfn|Akenson|1999|p=137}} Immigration from the U.S. was discouraged, and favour was shown to the ] as opposed to the more Americanized ].{{sfn|Landon|1941|p=123}}


=== United States ===
The Battle of York showed the vulnerability of Upper and Lower Canada. In the 1820s, work began on ] at ] as a defence against the United States. Additionally, work began on the ] to defend the port against foreign navies. From 1826 to 1832, the Rideau Canal was built to provide a secure waterway not at risk from American cannon fire. To defend the western end of the canal, the British Army also built ] at Kingston.{{sfn|Hayes|2008|p=117}}
] celebrations in 1819. In the United States, the war was followed by the ], a period that saw nationalism and a desire for national unity rise throughout the country.|left]]
The nation gained a strong sense of complete independence as people celebrated their "second war of independence".{{sfnm|1a1=Langguth|1y=2006|pp=1, 177|2a1=Cogliano|2y=2008|2p=247}} Nationalism soared after the victory at the Battle of New Orleans. The opposition Federalist Party collapsed due to its opposition to the war and the ] ensued.{{sfn|Dangerfield|1952|pp=xi–xiii, 95}}


No longer questioning the need for a strong Navy, the United States built three new 74-gun ] and two new 44-gun frigates shortly after the end of the war.{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=456, 467}} In 1816, the United States Congress passed into law an "Act for the gradual increase of the Navy" at a cost of $1,000,000 a year for eight years, authorizing nine ships of the line and 12 ]s.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=457}} The captains and commodores of the Navy became the heroes of their generation in the United States. Several war heroes used their fame to win elections to national office. Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison both benefited from their military successes to win the presidency, while representative Richard Mentor Johnson's role during the war helped him attain the vice presidency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_Richard_M_Johnson.htm|title=Richard Mentor Johnson, 9th Vice President (1837–1841)|website=U.S. Senate |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815145044/https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_Richard_M_Johnson.htm |archive-date= Aug 15, 2021 }}</ref>
===Indigenous nations===
The Native Americans allied to the British lost their cause. The British proposal to create a "neutral" Indian zone in the American West was rejected at the Ghent peace conference and never resurfaced. After 1814 the natives, who lost most of their fur-gathering territory, became an undesirable burden to British policymakers who now looked to the United States for markets and raw materials. British agents in the field continued to meet regularly with their former American Indian partners, but they did not supply arms or encouragement and there were no American Indian campaigns to stop U.S. expansionism in the Midwest. Abandoned by their powerful sponsor, American Great Lakes-area Indians ultimately migrated or reached accommodations with the American authorities and settlers.{{sfn|Calloway|1986|pp=1–20}}


During the war, New England states became increasingly frustrated over how the war was being conducted and how the conflict affected them. They complained that the United States government was not investing enough militarily and financially in the states' defences and that the states should have more control over their militias. Increased taxes, the British blockade, and the occupation of some of New England by enemy forces also agitated public opinion in the states.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=255ff}} At the Hartford Convention held between December 1814 and January 1815, Federalist delegates deprecated the war effort and sought more autonomy for the New England states. They did not call for secession but word of the angry anti-war resolutions appeared as peace was announced and the victory at New Orleans was known. The upshot was that the Federalists were permanently discredited and quickly disappeared as a major political force.{{sfn|Cogliano|2008|p=}}
In the Southeast, Indian resistance had been crushed by General Andrew Jackson during the ]; as President (1829–37), Jackson systematically expelled the major tribes to reservations west of the Mississippi,{{sfn|Remini|2002|pp=62–93, 226–281}} part of which was the forced expulsion of American-allied ] in the ].


This war enabled thousands of ] to escape to freedom, despite the difficulties.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/wedged-between-slavery-and-freedom.htm|title=Wedged Between Slavery and Freedom: African American Equality Deferred |website=U.S. National Park Service |date=August 14, 2017 |first1=Gene Allen |last1=Smith |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230719152949/https://www.nps.gov/articles/wedged-between-slavery-and-freedom.htm |archive-date= Jul 19, 2023 }}</ref> The British helped numerous escaped slaves resettle in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where ] had also been granted land after the American Revolutionary War.<ref name=":0"/>
===Bermuda===
Bermuda had been largely left to the defences of its own militia and privateers before U.S. 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 U.S. 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 19th century, Bermuda became the permanent naval headquarters in Western waters, housing the Admiralty and serving as a base and dockyard. 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 ].


Jackson invaded ] (then part of ]) in 1818, demonstrating to Spain that it could no longer control that colonial territory with a small force. Spain sold Florida to the United States in 1819 under the ] following the ]. Pratt concludes that "hus indirectly the War of 1812 brought about the acquisition of Florida".{{sfn|Pratt|1955|p=138}}
===Britain===
The war is seldom remembered in Great Britain. The massive ongoing conflict in Europe against the French Empire under ] ensured that the War of 1812 against America was never seen as more than a sideshow to the main event by the British.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=304}} Britain's blockade of French trade had been entirely successful and the Royal Navy was the world's dominant nautical power (and would remain so for another century). While the land campaigns had contributed to saving Canada, the Royal Navy had shut down American commerce, bottled up the U.S. Navy in port and heavily suppressed privateering. British businesses, some affected by rising insurance costs, were demanding peace so that trade could resume with the U.S.{{sfnm|1a1=Heidler|1a2=Heidler|1y=2002|1p=7|2a1=Latimer|2y=2009|2p=88}} The peace was generally welcomed by the British, though there was disquiet at the rapid growth of the U.S. However, the two nations quickly resumed trade after the end of the war and, over time, a growing friendship.{{sfn|Stearns|2008|p=547}}


== Historiography ==
Hickey argues that for Britain:
{{excerpt|Historiography of the War of 1812|templates=-tone}}
{{quote|the most important lesson of all that the best way to defend Canada was to accommodate the United States. This was the principal rationale for Britain's long-term policy of rapprochement with the United States in the nineteenth century and explains why they were so often willing to sacrifice other imperial interests to keep the republic happy.<ref>Donald R. Hickey, "'The Bully Has Been Disgraced by an Infant'—The Naval War of 1812," ''Michigan War Studies Review'' (2014) 2014-097 </ref>}}


==See also== == See also ==
{{cols|colwidth=30em}}
{{Portal|War of 1812|History of Canada}}
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
{{colend}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==Notes== == Notes ==
{{notelist|2}}
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha|30em}}


==References== == References ==
{{Reflist|30em}} {{reflist|20em}}


==Sources== ==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}} {{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web|title=$100 in 1812 → 1815 – Inflation Calculator|url=https://www.officialdata.org/1812-dollars-in-1815|website=Officialdata.org|access-date=8 February 2019|ref=CITEREF$100 in 1812}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Adams |first=Henry |year=1891 |title=History of the United States of America during the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison|location=New York |publisher=Library of America}} , the classic political-diplomatic history
* {{cite book|last=Adams|first=Donald R.|title=Finance and enterprise in early America: a study of Stephen Girard's bank, 1812–1831|url=https://archive.org/details/financeenterpris0000adam|url-access=registration|year=1978|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|jstor=j.ctv4t814d|chapter=A Study of Stephen Girard's Bank, 1812–1831|isbn=978-0-8122-7736-4}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Adams |first=Henry Adams |authorlink=Henry Adams |year=1918 |title=History of the United States of America during the Administrations of James Madison |volume=II |page=400 |publisher=Scribner, 1918 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_wAAAAAYAAJ}} (later edition: ISBN 0-940450-35-6, p.&nbsp;574)
* {{cite book |last=Adams |first=Henry |title=History of the United States of America during the First Administration of James Madison |year=1918 |author-link=Henry Adams |orig-date=1891 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofuniteds06adamuoft/page/n11/mode/2up |volume=II: History of the United States During the First Administration of James Madison |location=New York |publisher=Scribner & Sons }}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Akenson |first=Donald Harman |year=1999 |title=The Irish in Ontario: A Study in Rural History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTeYpObU3qwC&pg=PA137 |publisher=McGill-Queens |page=137 |isbn=9780773520295}}
* {{cite web|title=African Nova Scotians in the Age of Slavery and Abolition|url=https://novascotia.ca/archives/africanns/results.asp?Search=&SearchList1=4|website=Government of Nova Scotia Programs, services and information|date=4 December 2003|ref={{sfnref|African Nova Scotians}}}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Allen |first=Robert S |year=1996 |title=His Majesty's Indian allies: British Indian policy in the defence of Canada, 1774–1815 |chapter=Chapter 5: Renewing the Chain of Friendship |url=https://books.google.com/?id=t9T6y_zk5B0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=his+majesty%27s+indian+allies#PPA121,M1 |location=Toronto |publisher=] |isbn= 1-55002-175-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Akenson|first=Donald Harman|title=The Irish in Ontario: A Study in Rural History|year=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTeYpObU3qwC|publisher=McGill-Queens|isbn=978-0-7735-2029-5}}
* {{cite web|ref=harv|first=Kevin |last=Asplin |date=March 17, 2010|url=http://www.britishmedals.us/files/rmwashington.html |title=Marines at Washington 1814 |publisher= The Asplin Military History Resources}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Benn |first=Carl |year=2002 |title=The War of 1812 |place=Oxford |publisher=]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ml2pdfWRnMoC&lpg=PP1&dq=The%20War%20of%201812.&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true |isbn=978-1-84176-466-5}} * {{cite book |last=Allen |first=Robert S. |chapter=Chapter 5: Renewing the Chain of Friendship |title=His Majesty's Indian allies: British Indian Policy in the Defence of Canada, 1774–1815 |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9T6y_zk5B0C |location=Toronto |publisher=] |isbn=1-55002-175-3 }}
* {{cite web|title=American Merchant Marine and Privateers in War of 1812|url=http://www.usmm.org/warof1812.html|website=Usmm.org|access-date=8 February 2019|ref={{sfnref|American Merchant Marine}}|archive-date=11 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411145816/http://www.usmm.org/warof1812.html|url-status=dead}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv |last=Benn |first=Carl |last2=Marston |first2=Daniel |year=2006 |title=Liberty or Death: Wars That Forged a Nation |place=Oxford |publisher = ]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLfiYpwQY4gC&lpg=PP1&dq=Liberty%20or%20Death%3A%20Wars%20That%20Forged%20a%20Nation.&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true |isbn = 1-84603-022-6}}
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* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Hitsman |first=J. Mackay |year=1965 |title=The Incredible War of 1812 |page=27 |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press}} * {{cite book|last=Cogliano|first=Francis D.|title=Revolutionary America, 1763–1815: A Political History |year=2008|edition=2nd|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-96486-9}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Horsman |first=Reginald |year=1962 |title=The Causes of the War of 1812 |isbn=0-498-04087-9 |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press}} * {{cite book|last=Cole|first=Cyrenus|title=A History of the People of Iowa|year=1921|publisher=The Torch press|location=Cedar Rapids, Iowa|isbn=978-1-378-51025-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMX8tAEACAAJ}}
* {{cite journal|last=Coleman|first=William|title='The Music of a well tun'd State': 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and the Development of a Federalist Musical Tradition|date=Winter 2015|pages=599–629|journal=Journal of the Early Republic |volume=35|issue=4|doi=10.1353/jer.2015.0063|s2cid=146831812}}
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* {{Cite journal|ref=harv |last=Jackson |first=Donald |year=1960 |title=A Critic's View of Old Fort Madison |journal=Iowa Journal of History and Politics |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=31–36}} * {{cite book|last=Coles|first=Harry L.|year=2018|title=The War of 1812|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-22029-1}}
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* {{cite DCB |ref=harv |last=Jones |first=Elwood H. |title= Willcocks, Joseph |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/willcocks_joseph_5E.html |volume=V}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Crawford |editor-first1=Michael J. |editor-last2=Dudley |editor-first2=William S. |year=1985 |title=The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History |volume=1 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtvZAAAAMAAJ |isbn=978-1-78039-364-3 }}
* {{cite journal|ref=harv |last=Kaufman |first=Erik |year=1997 |title=Condemned to Rootlessness: The Loyalist Origins of Canada's Identity Crisis |journal=Nationalism and Ethnic Politics |volume=3|issue=1 |pages=110–135 |url=http://www.bbk.ac.uk/polsoc/staff/academic/eric-kaufmann/loyalists-nep2 |doi=10.1080/13537119708428495}}
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* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Lambert |first=Andrew |year=2012 |title=The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812 |publisher=Faber and Faber}} ISBN 978-0-571-27319-5 * {{cite book|last=Dangerfield|first=George|title=The Era of Good Feelings|year=1952|publisher=Harcourt, Brace|isbn=978-0-929587-14-1}}
* {{cite journal|last=Dauber|first=Michele L.|year=2003|title=The War of 1812, September 11th, and the Politics of Compensation|journal=DePaul Law Review|volume=53|issue=2|pages=289–354}}
* Landers, Jane G. (2010). ''Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-05416-4
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Landon |first=Fred |year=1941 |title=Western Ontario and the American Frontier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1sXAAhVML2gC|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |page=123}} * {{cite book|last=Daughan|first=George C.|title=1812: The Navy's War|year=2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N725G3pQegcC|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-465-02046-1}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Dean |editor-first1=William G. |editor-last2=Heidenreich |editor-first2=Conrad |editor-last3=McIlwraith |editor-first3=Thomas F. |editor-last4=Warkentin |editor-first4=John |year=1998 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw39BoD0-6cC&pg=PA85 |chapter=Plate 38 |title=Concise Historical Atlas of Canada |others=Illustrated by Geoffrey J. Matthews and Byron Moldofsky |publisher=University of Toronto Press |page=85 |isbn=978-0-802-04203-3 |ref={{sfnref|Concise Historical Atlas|1998}} }}
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* {{cite news|last=DeCosta-Klipa|first=Nik|date=22 July 2018|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2018/07/22/machias-seal-island-dispute|title=The Long, Strange History of the Machias Seal Island Dispute|website=Boston.com|access-date=25 July 2020}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Latimer |first=Jon |year=2007 |title=1812: War with America |publisher=Belknap Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-674-02584-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lsWOwZXw1gC}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Deeben|first=John P.|title=The War of 1812 Stoking the Fires: The Impressment of Seaman Charles Davis by the U.S. Navy|date=Summer 2012|magazine=Prologue Magazine|volume=44|issue=2|url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/summer/1812-impressment.html|publisher=U.S. National Archives and Records Administration|access-date=1 October 2014}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Latimer |first=Jon |year=2009 |title=Niagara 1814: The final invasion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YRbRtCL0cdkC&pg=PA88 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |page=88 |isbn=9781846034398}}
* {{cite book|last=Dowd|first=Gregory|title=War Under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British Empire|publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press|year=2002|edition=2004|isbn=978-0801878923}}
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* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Leckie |first=Robert |year=1998 |title=The Wars of America|publisher=University of Michigan|page=255|isbn=0-06-012571-3}} * {{cite book|last=Dowd|first=Gregory|title=A Spirited Resistance: The North American Indian Struggle for Unity, 1745–1815|publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0801842368}}
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* {{cite journal|ref=harv |last=Lindsay |first=Arnett G. |title=Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Great Britain Bearing on the Return of Negro Slaves, 1783-1828 |journal=Journal of Negro History |volume=55 |number=4 |date=October 1920}}
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* {{cite book|last=Elting|first=John R.|title=Amateurs to Arms|year=1995|location=New York|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=0-306-80653-3|url=https://archive.org/details/amateurstoarmsmi00elti}}
* {{cite journal|ref=harv |last=Mills |first=Dudley |year=1921 |title=The Duke of Wellington and the Peace Negotiations at Ghent in 1814 |journal=Canadian Historical Review |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=19–32 |doi=10.3138/CHR-02-01-02 |url=http://utpjournals.metapress.com/content/h536227283689270/}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Morison |first=E. |year=1941 |title=The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783–1860'' |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Co |isbn=0-9728155-6-2 |pages=205–6}} * {{cite book |last=Eustace |first=Nicole |year=2012 |title=1812: War and the Passions of Patriotism |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-0-81-220636-4}}
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* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Nelson |first=Kenneth Ross |year=1972 |title=Socio-Economic Effects of the War of 1812 on Britain (PhD Dissertation)|publisher=University of Georgia|pages=129–44}}
* {{cite book|last=Faye|first=Kert|title=Prize and Prejudice Privateering and Naval Prize in Atlantic Canada in the War of 1812|year=1997|location=St. John's, Nfld|publisher=International Maritime Economic History Association}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Nolan |first=David J. |title=Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682–1862 |editor=William E. Whittaker |publisher=University of Iowa Press |location=Iowa City |year=2009 |pages=85–94 |chapter=Fort Johnson, Cantonment Davis, and Fort Edwards |isbn=978-1-58729-831-8 |url=http://uipress.uiowa.edu/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm}}
* {{cite web|title=First United States Infantry|publisher=Iaw.on.ca|url=http://www.iaw.on.ca/~jsek/us1inf.htm|access-date=27 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728221835/http://www.iaw.on.ca/~jsek/us1inf.htm|archive-date=28 July 2012|ref={{sfnref|First United States}}}}
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* {{cite web|last=Fixico|first=Donald|title=A Native Nations Perspective on the War of 1812|work=The War of 1812|publisher=PBS|url=http://www.war-of-1812.lunchbox.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/essays/native-nations-perspective/|access-date=2021-01-02}}{{Dead link|date=February 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Perkins |first=Bradford |year=1964 |title= Castereagh and Adams: England and The United States, 1812–1823 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles}}
* {{cite web|last=Franklin|first=Robert E.|title=Prince de Neufchatel|url=http://www.princedeneufchatel.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041206195929/http://www.princedeneufchatel.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=6 December 2004|access-date=26 July 2010}}{{unreliable source?|date=February 2022}}
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* {{cite journal|last=Goodman|first=Warren H.|title=The Origins of the War of 1812: A Survey of Changing Interpretations|year=1941|pages=171–186|journal=Mississippi Valley Historical Review |volume=28 |number=2 |jstor=1896211 |doi=10.2307/1896211}}
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* {{cite web|last=Greenspan|first=Jesse|date=29 August 2018|url=https://www.history.com/news/how-u-s-forces-failed-to-conquer-canada-200-years-ago|title=How U.S. Forces Failed to Capture Canada 200 Years Ago|website=History.com|access-date=20 July 2020}}
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* {{cite book |last1=Rodger |first1=N. A. M. |title=Command of the Ocean|author-link1=Nicholas A. M. Rodger|location=London|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2005|isbn=0-14-028896-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Rodriguez |first=Junius P. |title=The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia |year=2002 |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-188-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs7GAwwdzyQC }}
* {{cite book |last=Roosevelt |first=Theodore |title=The Naval War of 1812 |year=1904 |location=New York and London |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |url=https://archive.org/details/navalwarof1812hist00roos |volume=I }}
* {{cite book |last=Roosevelt |first=Theodore |year=1900 |title=The Naval War of 1812 |url=https://archive.org/details/navalwarof181200roos |location=Annapolis |publisher=Naval Institute Press |volume=II }}
* {{cite book|last=Rosentreter|first=Roger|year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPPdAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA74|title=Michigan's Early Military Forces: A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War|publisher=Great Lakes Books|isbn=0-8143-3081-9}}
<!-- S -->
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Joshua |title=Borderland Smuggling|year=2007|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville |isbn=978-0-8130-2986-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Joshua |title=Battle for the Bay: The War of 1812 |year=2011 |publisher=Goose Lane Editions |location=Fredericton, New Brunswick |isbn=978-0-86492-644-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fRjMQEACAAJ }}
* {{cite journal|last=Sjolander|first=Claire Turenner |year=2014 |title=Through the Looking Glass: Canadian Identity and the War of 1812|journal=International Journal|volume=69|issue=2|pages=152–167 |doi=10.1177/0020702014527892 |s2cid=145286750}}
* {{cite journal |last=Stagg |first=John C. A. |title=James Madison and the Coercion of Great Britain: Canada, the West Indies, and the War of 1812 |date=January 1981 |pages=3–34 |journal=William and Mary Quarterly |volume=38 |issue=1 |jstor=1916855 |doi=10.2307/1916855 |isbn=978-0-521-89820-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OHKuBQOpwXkC }}
* {{cite book|last=Stagg|first=John C. A.|title=Mr. Madison's War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American Republic, 1783–1830|year=1983|location=Princeton, NJ|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9780691047027|url=https://archive.org/details/mrmadisonswarpol0000stag|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Stagg |first=John C. A. |title=The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent |year=2012 |series=Cambridge Essential Histories |isbn=978-0-521-72686-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wt4gAwAAQBAJ }}
* {{cite book|last=Stanley|first=George F. G.|title=The War of 1812: Land Operations|year=1983|url=https://archive.org/details/warof1812landope0000stan|url-access=registration|publisher=Macmillan of Canada|isbn=0-7715-9859-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Starkey |first=Armstrong |year=2002 |title=European and Native American Warfare 1675–1815 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-36339-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIWNAgAAQBAJ }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Stearns |editor-first=Peter N. |year=2008|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World|volume=7|page=547}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Stewart |editor-first=Richard W. |year=2005 |title=American Military History, Volume 1: The United States Army and the Forging of a Nation, 1775–1917 |chapter=Chapter 6: The War of 1812 |publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |location=Washington, DC |chapter-url=https://history.army.mil/books/AMH/AMH-06.htm |access-date=8 February 2019 |via=history.army.mil }}
* {{cite book |last=Stranack |first=Ian |year=1990 |title=The Andrew and the Onions: The Story of the Royal Navy in Bermuda, 1795–1975 |edition=2nd |publisher=Bermuda Maritime Museum Press |isbn=978-0-921560-03-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJBjAAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite journal|last=Sugden|first=John|title=The Southern Indians in the War of 1812: The Closing Phase |date=January 1982|jstor=30146793|journal=Florida Historical Quarterly|volume=60|issue=3|pages=273–312}}
* {{cite web|title=Summer 1812: Congress stages fiery debates over whether to declare war on Britain|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/mr-madison-s-war.htm|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|access-date=21 September 2017|ref={{sfnref|Summer 1812: Congress}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Swanson |first=Neil H. |title=The Perilous Fight: Being a Little Known and Much Abused Chapter of Our National History in Our Second War of Independence. Recounted Mainly from Contemporary Records |year=1945 |publisher=Farrar and Rinehart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fiU-AAAAIAAJ }}
* {{cite book |last=Sword |first=Wiley |title=President Washington's Indian War: The Struggle for the Old Northwest, 1790–1795|year=1985 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0806118642}}
<!-- T -->
* {{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Alan|title=The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution|year=2007|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=978-1-4000-4265-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nYRpx1X46YC}}
* {{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Alan |title=The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies |year=2010 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4000-4265-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nYRpx1X46YC }}
* {{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=John Herd|last2=Randall|first2=Stephen J.|title=Canada and the United States: Ambivalent Allies|year=2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4KxDd4K1X-gC&pg=PA22|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-3113-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Toll|first=Ian W.|title=Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy|year=2006|publisher=W. W. Norton|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9iQaPTPYiEC&pg=PP1|isbn=978-0-393-05847-5}}
* {{cite journal |last=Trautsch |first=Jasper M. |title=The Causes of the War of 1812: 200 Years of Debate |date=January 2013|pages=273–293|journal=Journal of Military History|volume=77|number=1}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|editor-last = Tucker | editor-first = Spencer C. | year=2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lyNakUZmQ9IC&pg=PA1097|title=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=1097|isbn=978-1-85109-603-9}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Tucker |first=Spencer C.|year=2012 |title=The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 |volume=1 |edition=illustrated |location=Santa Barbara, California|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-956-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Turner |first=Wesley B. |title=The Astonishing General: The Life and Legacy of Sir Isaac Brock |year=2011 |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=9781459700079 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8vuLBX6XwsC }}
* {{cite web|url=https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/major-events/war-of-1812-overview/|title=War of 1812 Overview|website=USS Constitution Museum|date=17 August 2019|access-date=22 July 2020|ref={{harvid|USS ''Constitution'' Museum}}}}
<!-- U -->
* {{cite book|last=Updyke|first=Frank Arthur|title=The Diplomacy of the War of 1812|year=1915|url=https://archive.org/details/diplomacyofwarof02updy|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press}}
* {{cite web |title=The War of 1812: (1812–1815) |publisher=Commonwealth of Kentucky |website=National Guard History eMuseum |url=http://www.kynghistory.ky.gov/history/1qtr/warof1812.htm |access-date=22 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302020848/http://www.kynghistory.ky.gov/history/1qtr/warof1812.htm |archive-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=dead |ref={{harvid|National Guard History eMuseum}} }}
<!-- V -->
* {{cite book| editor-last=Voelcker |editor-first=Tim| title=Broke of the Shannon and the war of 1812 |year=2013 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley}}
<!-- W -->
* {{cite book|last1=Ward|first1=A. W.|last2=Gooch|first2=G. P.|title=The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, 1783–1919: 1783–1815|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistor00goocgoog|year=1922|publisher=Macmillan Company}}
* {{cite book|last=Waselkov|first=Gregory A.|year=2009|orig-date=2006|title=A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813–1814|edition=illustrated|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-5573-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igdeU3JOTf0C}}
* {{cite book|last=Webed|first=William|year=2013|title=Neither Victor nor Vanquished: America in the War of 1812|publisher=University of Nebraska Press, ]|isbn=978-1-61234-607-6 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1ddr8tx |jstor=j.ctt1ddr8tx}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=We Have Met The Enemy, and They are Ours|encyclopedia=Dictionary of American History|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/we-have-met-enemy-and-they-are-ours|publisher=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=12 June 2018|ref=CITEREFWe Have Met}}
* {{cite web|last=Weiss|first=John McNish|title=The Corps of Colonial Marines: Black freedom fighters of the War of 1812|date=2013|website=Mcnish and Weiss|url=http://www.mcnishandweiss.co.uk/history/colonialmarines.html|access-date=4 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208143724/http://www.mcnishandweiss.co.uk/history/colonialmarines.html|archive-date=8 February 2018|url-status=dead}}
* {{Cite book |section=The Earl of Liverpool to Viscount Castlereagh |title=Supplementary despatches, correspondence and memoranda of the Duke of Wellington, K. G |date=1862 |editor=Second Duke of Wellington |location=London |publisher=John Murray |volume=9 |ref=CITEREFBritish Foreign Policy Documents |url=https://archive.org/details/supplementaryde08wellgoog/page/495/mode/1up |oclc=60466520 }}
* {{cite book|last=White|first=Richard|title=The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815|year=2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHLfiOZVzmMC&pg=PA416|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-00562-4}}
* {{cite journal|last=Whitfield|first=Harvey Amani|date=September 2005|url=https://lh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/lh/article/viewFile/5679/4872|title=The Development of Black Refugee Identity in Nova Scotia, 1813–1850|journal=Left History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Historical Inquiry and Debate|volume=10|issue=2|doi=10.25071/1913-9632.5679|access-date=31 July 2020|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book |last=Whitfield |first=Harvey Amani |year=2006 |title=Blacks on the Border: The Black Refugees in British North America, 1815–1860 |publisher=University of Vermont Press |isbn=978-1-58465-606-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_kXfcV5sZUC }}
* {{cite book|last=Wilentz|first=Sean|title=Andrew Jackson|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GhZl6KhM4cC&pg=PP8|location=New York|publisher=Henry Holt and Co. |isbn=0-8050-6925-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Willig |first=Timothy D.|title=Restoring the Chain of Friendship: British Policy and the Indians of the Great Lakes, 1783–1815 |year=2008|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|edition=2014|isbn=978-0-8032-4817-5}}
* {{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Wolf |first=Joshua J. |date=2015 |title=The Misfortnne to get Pressed:"The Impressment of American Seaman and the Ramifications of the United States, 1793–1812 |publisher=University of Virginia Press |url=https://scholarshare.temple.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12613/4048/TETDEDXWolf-temple-0225E-12189.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y }}
* {{cite news|last=Woodworth|first=Samuel|title=The War|date=4 July 1812|url=https://archive.org/details/warv1n2wood/page/1|newspaper=The War|via=Internet Archive|access-date=8 February 2019|location=New York|publisher=S. Woodworth & Co.}}
<!-- Z -->
* {{cite book |last=Zimmerman |first=Scott Fulton |title=Impressment of American Seamen |volume= |author-link=James Fulton Zimmerman |publisher=Columbia University |year=1925 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VV4SAAAAYAAJ }}
{{refend}} {{refend}}


==Further reading== == Further reading ==
{{main article|War of 1812 bibliography}} {{main|Bibliography of the War of 1812}}
{{refbegin|30em}} {{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Norton |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1G_DwAAQBAJ |title=A Mohawk memoir from the War of 1812 |last2=Benn |first2=Carl |date=2019 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4875-0432-8 |location=Toronto (Canada)}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=American War of 1812}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Byrd |first=Cecil K. |date=March 1942 |title=The Northwest Indians and the British Preceding the War of 1812 |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/7354/8422 |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=31–50 |issn=0019-6673 |jstor=27787290}}
* Center for Military History. U.S. Army Campaigns of the War of 1812:
* {{Cite web |title=The U.S. Army Campaigns of the War of 1812 |url=https://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/wo1812-bseries.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807203022/https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/wo1812-bseries.html |archive-date=7 August 2020 |access-date=29 July 2020 |website=] |ref=none}}
** Barbuto, Richard V. ''The Canadian Theater 1813''. (2013) ISBN 9780160920844
** Barbuto, Richard V. ''The Canadian Theater 1814''. (2014) ISBN 9780160923845 * {{cite book|ref=none|last=Barbuto|first=Richard V.|year=2013|title=The Canadian Theater 1813|publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |isbn=978-0-16-092084-4}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Barbuto |author-mask=2 |first=Richard V.|year=2014|title=The Canadian Theater 1814|publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-092384-5}}
** Blackmon, Richard D. ''The Creek War 1813-1814''; 43pp ISBN 9780160925429
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Blackmon|first=Richard D.|title=The Creek War 1813–1814|year=2014|pages=43|publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-092542-9}}
** Maass, John R. ''Defending A New Nation 1783-1811'' (2013) 59pp
* {{Cite book |last=Maass |first=John R. |title=Defending A New Nation 1783–1811 |publisher=] |year=2013 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=59 |oclc=868340900 |ref=none}}
** Neimeyer, Charles P. ''The Chesapeake Campaign, 1813–1814'' (2014) ISBN 9780160925351
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Neimeyer|first=Charles P.|year=2014|title=The Chesapeake Campaign, 1813–1814|publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-092535-1}}
** Rauch, Steven J. ''The Campaign of 1812'' (2013); 58pp ISBN 9780160920929
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Rauch|first=Steven J.|year=2013|title=The Campaign of 1812|pages=58|publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |isbn=978-0-16-092092-9}}
** Stoltz III, Joseph F. ''The Gulf Theater, 1813-1815''
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Stoltz III|first=Joseph F.|year=2014|title=The Gulf Theater, 1813–1815}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Cleves |first=Rachel Hope |first2=Nicole |last2=Eustace |first3=Paul |last3=Gilje |date=September 2012 |title=Interchange: The War of 1812 |journal=Journal of American History |volume=99 |pages=520–555 |issue=2 |doi=10.1093/jahist/jas236}} historiography
* {{cite journal|ref=none|last1=Cleves|first1=Rachel Hope|last2=Eustace|first2=Nicole|last3=Gilje |first3=Paul |date=September 2012|title=Interchange: The War of 1812|journal=Journal of American History|volume=99 |issue=2 |pages=520–555 |doi=10.1093/jahist/jas236}} Historiography.
* {{Cite book |last =Collins |first =Gilbert |year =2006 |title =Guidebook to the historic sites of the War of 1812 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UmbQbOcdKngC&lpg=PA28&dq=Maritime%20Command%20Museum&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true|publisher=Dundurn |isbn=1-55002-626-7 |ref =harv}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Collins|first=Gilbert|year=2006|title=Guidebook to the historic sites of the War of 1812|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=1-55002-626-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UmbQbOcdKngC&pg=PP1}}
* Daughan, George C. (2011). ''1812: The Navy's War'',
* {{Cite book |last=Dale |first=Ronald J. |title=The invasion of Canada: battles of the War of 1812 |publisher=Lorimer Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-55028-738-7 |location=Toronto |ref=none}}
:Basic Books, New York, pp.&nbsp;491, ISBN 9780465020461
* {{cite magazine|ref=none|last=Foreman|first=Amanda|title=The British View the War of 1812 quite differently than Americans Do|date=July 2014|magazine=]|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/british-view-war-1812-quite-differently-americans-do-180951852/}}
* {{Cite book |last = Heidler|first =David Stephen |author2= Jeanne T. Heidler|year =2004 |title =Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=_c09EJgek50C&lpg=PP1&dq=Encyclopedia%20of%20the%20War%20of%201812&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true |publisher= Naval Institute Press|isbn= 978-1-59114-362-8|ref = harv}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Fowler|first=William M. Jr.|title=Steam Titans: Cunard, Collins, and the Epic Battle for Commerce on the North Atlantic|year=2017|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-62040-909-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pa0rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23}}
* Hickey, Donald R. and Connie D. Clark, eds. ''The Routledge Handbook of the War of 1812'' (2015) 336 pages
* {{cite DCB|ref=none|last=Fraser|first=Robert Lochiel|title=Mallory, Benajah|volume=8|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mallory_benajah_8E.html}}
* ], (1847/1859), ''The naval history of Great Britain...Volume 5'',<br />Richard Bentley, London, pp.&nbsp;458,
* {{cite news |ref=none |last=Hattendorf |first=J. B. |date=28 January 2012 |title=The War Without a Loser |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |id={{ProQuest|918117327}} |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204409004577156861451737498 |access-date=29 July 2020 }}
* ] (1837) ''The naval history of Great Britain...Volume 6'',<br />Richard Bentley, London, pp.&nbsp;468,
* Jensen, Richard. "Military history on the electronic frontier: Misplaced Pages fights the War of 1812." ''Journal of Military History'' 76.4 (2012): 523-556; Examines this Misplaced Pages article * {{cite journal|ref=none|last=Jensen|first=Richard|year=2012|title=Military history on the electronic frontier: Misplaced Pages fights the War of 1812|journal=Journal of Military History|volume=76|issue=4|pages=523–556|url=http://www.americanhistoryprojects.com/downloads/JMH1812.PDF}}
* {{cite DCB |last=Jones|first=Elwood H.|title=Willcocks, Joseph|volume=V |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/willcocks_joseph_5E.html}}
* {{Cite book |last=Malcomson |first=Robert |title=Historical Dictionary of the War of 1812 |location=Landham, Md. |publisher=Scarecrow}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Knodell|first=Jane Ellen|title=The Second Bank of the United States: "Central" Banker in an Era of Nation-building, 1816–1836|year=2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADAlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA99|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-66277-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Misiak |first=Zig |title=War of 1812: Highlighting Native Nations |isbn= 978-0-9811880-2-7 |url=http://www.warof1812rph.com}}
* {{Cite book |last=Perkins |first=Bradford |title=Prologue to war: England and the United States, 1805–1812 |year=1961 |url=http://www.ucpress.edu/op.php?isbn=9780520009967}} * {{cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Christopher |title=The British Seaman 1200–1860: A Social Survey |publisher=Associated University Presse |year=1970 |isbn=9780838677087 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Akyn_wEeiboC }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Lindsay |first=Arnett G. |date=October 1920 |title=Diplomatic Relations between the United States and Great Britain Bearing on the Return of Negro Slaves, 1783-1828 |journal=The Journal of Negro History |language=en |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=391–419 |doi=10.2307/2713676 |jstor=2713676 |issn=0022-2992 |ref=none}}
* Sapio, Victor. ''Pennsylvania and the War of 1812'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2015).
* {{cite journal |last1=Hatzenbuehler |first1=Ronald L. |last2= Ivie |first2=Robert L. |date=Autumn 1980 |title=Justifying the War of 1812: Toward a Model of Congressional Behavior in Early War Crises |url= |journal=Social Science History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=4 |issue=4 |jstor=1171017 |pages=453–477}}
* Smith, Gene Allen. ''The Slaves' Gamble: Choosing Sides in the War of 1812.'' New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
* {{Cite book |last=Malcolmson |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRqpoBEEoloC |title=Historical dictionary of the war of 1812 |date=2006 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8108-5499-4 |series=Historical dictionaries of war, revolution, and civil unrest |location=Lanham, Md. |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last= Stagg |first=J.C.A. |title=The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent |series=Cambridge Essential Histories |year=2012 |isbn=0-521-72686-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Robertson |first=J. Ross |url=https://archive.org/details/landmarkstoronto01robeuoft |title=Landmarks of Toronto; a collection of historical sketches of the old town of York from 1792 until 1833, and of Toronto from 1834 to 1893 Volume 1 |date=1894–1914 |publisher=J. Ross Robertson |location=Toronto |pages=46–47 |chapter=Chapter XXIV: Andrew Mercer's Cottage |oclc=1084366288}}
* {{cite book |last=Suthren |first=Victor |title=The War of 1812 |year=1999 |isbn= 0-7710-8317-3}}
** {{Cite web |last=Peppiatt |first=Liam |date=24 September 2015 |title=Chapter 24: Andrew Mercer's Cottage |url=http://www.landmarksoftoronto.com/andrew-mercers-cottage |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160225031549/http://www.landmarksoftoronto.com/andrew-mercers-cottage%E2%80%8F/ |archive-date=25 February 2016 |website=Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stacey |first=CP |contribution=The War of 1812 in Canadian History |editor-last=Zaslow |editor2-last=Morris |editor3-last=Turner |editor3-first=Wesley B |year=1964 |title=The Defended Border: Upper Canada and the War of 1812 |location=Toronto |ref=harv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Perkins |first=Bradford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mSHsDwAAQBAJ |title=Prologue to War: England and the United States 1805-1812 |publisher=] |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-520-36141-6 |location=Berkeley (Calif.) |ref=none |orig-date=1961}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Joshua M. |title=The Yankee Soldier's Might: The District of Maine and the Reputation of the Massachusetts Militia, 1800–1812 |journal=New England Quarterly |volume=LXXXIV |date=June 2011 |pages=234–264 |issue=2 |doi=10.1162/tneq_a_00088}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Quaife |first=Milo M. |date=March 1915 |title=The Fort Dearborn Massacre |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=561–573 |doi=10.2307/1886956 |jstor=1886956 |doi-access=free}}

* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Randall|first=William Sterne|year=2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgumDQAAQBAJ&q=decatur|title=Unshackling America: How the War of 1812 Truly Ended the American Revolution|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-250-11184-5}}
===Primary sources===
* {{Cite book |last=Sapio |first=Victor A. |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/185/monograph/book/37633 |title=Pennsylvania & the War of 1812 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8131-1193-3 |location=Lexington |ref=none |orig-date=1970}}
* Hickey, Donald R., ed. ''The War of 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence'' (New York: Library of America, 2013). xxx, 892 pp.
* {{cite news|ref=none|last=Simon|first=Richard|title=Who Really won the war of 1812|date=26 February 2012|newspaper=LA Times|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/26/nation/la-na-war-of-1812-20120226|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=13 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213194531/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/26/nation/la-na-war-of-1812-20120226|url-status=dead}}

* {{Cite book |last=Skeen |first=Carl Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbEeBgAAQBAJ |title=Citizen soldiers in the War of 1812 |date=1999 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8131-2089-8 |location=Lexington}} On militia's poor performance
* {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Gene Allen |title=The slaves' gamble: choosing sides in the War of 1812 |publisher=] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-230-34208-8 |location=New York, NY |ref=none}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Joshua M. |date=June 2011 |title=The Yankee Soldier's Might: The District of Maine and the Reputation of the Massachusetts Militia, 1800–1812 |journal=] |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=234–264 |doi=10.1162/TNEQ_a_00088 |issn=0028-4866 |s2cid=57570925 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stacey |first=C. P. |url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116300872201 |title=The Defended Border: Upper Canada and the War of 1812 |publisher=] |year=1964 |editor-last=Turner |editor-first=Wesley B. |location=Toronto |chapter=The War of 1812 in Canadian History |isbn=978-0-7705-1242-2 |ref=none |editor-last2=Zaslow |editor-first2=Morris |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Stagg|first=J. C. A.|year=2012|title=The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent|series=Cambridge Essential Histories|isbn=978-0-521-72686-3}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last1=Studenski|first1=Paul|last2=Krooss|first2=Herman Edward|title=Financial History of the United States|year=1963|publisher=Beard Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_0UqxH-5fdkC&pg=PA77|isbn=978-1-58798-175-3|at=p. 77 tbl. 5 and p. 79 tbl. 6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Suthren |first=Victor J. H. |title=The War of 1812 |publisher=] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7710-8317-4 |location=Toronto |ref=none}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Tanner|first=Helen H.|year=1987|title=Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=0-8061-2056-8|url=https://archive.org/details/nby_e78_g7_a87_1987}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ward |first=John William |author-link=John William Ward (professor) |url=https://archive.org/details/andrewjacksonsym002452mbp |title=Andrew Jackson Symbol For An Age |date=1962 |publisher=] |location=London |orig-date=1955}}
* {{cite book|ref=none|last=Watts|first=Steven|year=1987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7yLuSZ0ww8C&pg=PR1|title=The Republic Reborn: War and the Making of Liberal America, 1790–1820|location=Baltimore|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=0-8018-3420-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=White |first=Leonard D. |url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersoniansstu0000whit |title=The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History 1801–1829 |publisher=Macmillan |year=1951 |location=New York |ref=none |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=Mentor L. |date=Winter 1953 |title=John Kinzie's Narrative of the Fort Dearborn Massacre |journal=] |publisher=University of Illinois Press |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=343–362 |issn=0019-2287 |jstor=40189329}}
* {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=William Appleman |url=https://archive.org/details/contoursofameric007738mbp |title=The Contours Of American History |publisher=] |year=1961 |location=Chicago |oclc=786165043 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Major L. |title=Space time and freedom: The quest for nationality and the irrepressible conflict 1815-1861 |publisher=] |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-8371-7373-3 |series=Contributions in American history |location=Westport, Conn. |oclc=934543 |ref=none}}
{{refend}} {{refend}}


==External links== == External links ==
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* {{cite web |title=Arbitration, Mediation, and Conciliation – Jay's treaty and the treaty of ghent |website=American Foreign Relations |url=http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/A-D/Arbitration-Mediation-and-Conciliation-Jay-s-treaty-and-the-treaty-of-ghent.html |access-date=1 July 2013 }}
{{div col|2}}
* {{cite web |title=CMH: Origins of the Militia Myth |date=26 May 2007 |website=cdnmilitary.ca |url=http://www.cdnmilitary.ca/index.php?p=19 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504135528/http://www.cdnmilitary.ca/index.php?p=19 }}
* ; Oxford Bibliographies Online
* {{cite web|title=People & Stories: James Wilkinson|website=War of 1812|publisher=Galafilm|url=http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/people/wilkinson.html|access-date=26 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000304042926/http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/people/wilkinson.html|archive-date=4 March 2000|url-status=dead}}
* , Government of Canada website
* {{cite web |title=War of 1812 – Statistics |url=http://www.historyguy.com/war_of_1812_statistics.htm |work=Historyguy.com |access-date=4 September 2016 }}
* , Department of National Defence (Canada) website
* {{cite web|title=War of 1812–1815|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/war-of-1812|publisher=United States Department of State|website=Office of the Historian|access-date=26 April 2016}}
* , Kenneth Drexler
* , Government of Canada website.
* , Department of National Defence (Canada) website.
* , Kenneth Drexler.
* , The William C. Cook Collection, The Williams Research Center, The Historic New Orleans Collection * , The William C. Cook Collection, The Williams Research Center, The Historic New Orleans Collection
* , Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army, 1989
* William L. Clements Library. * William L. Clements Library.
* {{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Ghent.html|title=Treaty of Ghent|year=2010|publisher=The Library of Congress|work=Primary Documents in American History}}
* , MilitaryHeritage.com
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706195406/http://faculty.polytechnic.org/gfeldmeth/USHistory.html |date=6 July 2010 }}, chart by Greg D. Feldmeth, Polytechnic School (Pasadena, California), 1998.
* {{cite web |title=Treaty of Ghent |work=Primary Documents in American History |year=2010 |publisher=The Library of Congress |url=http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Ghent.html}}
*, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
* {{cite web |title=War of 1812 |year=2008 |publisher=Galafilm |url=http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/intro/index.html}}
* , David Omahen, New York State Military Museum and Veteran Research Center, 2006.
* , chart by Greg D. Feldmeth, Polytechnic School (Pasadena, California), 1998.
* , lesson plan with extensive list of documents, EDSitement.com (National Endowment for the Humanities).
* {{cite web |title=War of 1812 |year=2000 |publisher=historycentral.com |url=http://www.historycentral.com/1812/Index.html}}
* {{YouTube|Tq0LLB-X4is|''The War of 1812''}}
* {{cite web |title=The War of 1812 |date=2009–2010 |publisher=Archives of Ontario |url=http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/1812/index.aspx}}
* , David Omahen, New York State Military Museum and Veteran Research Center, 2006
* , lesson plan with extensive list of documents, EDSitement.com (National Endowment for the Humanities)
*
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.arc.37624|name="The War of 1812" U.S. Navy}} * {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.arc.37624|name="The War of 1812" U.S. Navy}}
* at Fire Along the Frontier Resource Site * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109052019/http://www.alastairsweeny.com/1812/index.php/Fire_Along_the_Frontier_Stories_and_Texts |date=9 January 2012 }} at Fire Along the Frontier Resource Site.
* at Fire Along the Frontier Resource Site * .
* * .
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140206143106/http://collections.libraries.iub.edu/warof1812/ |date=6 February 2014 }}.
*
* , Brock University Library Digital Repository.
*
* Brock University Library Digital Repository * , Brock University Library Digital Repository.
{{War of 1812|state=expanded}}
* Brock University Library Digital Repository
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Latest revision as of 08:46, 27 December 2024

1812–1815 conflict in North America This article is about the conflict in North America from 1812 to 1815. For the Franco–Russian conflict, see French invasion of Russia. For other uses of this term, see War of 1812 (disambiguation).

War of 1812
Part of the Sixty Years' War

Clockwise from top:
Date18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815
Location
Result Inconclusive
Territorial
changes
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Casualties and losses
  • 2,200 killed in action
  • 5,200 died of disease
  • Up to 15,000 deaths from all causes
  • 4,505 wounded
  • 20,000 captured
  • 8 frigates captured or burned
  • 1,400 merchant ships captured
  • 278 privateers captured
  • 4,000 slaves escaped or freed
  • 2,700 died in combat or disease
  • 10,000 died from all causes
  • 15,500 captured
  • 4 frigates captured
  • ~1,344 merchant ships captured (373 recaptured)
  • 10,000 Indigenous warriors and civilians dead from all causes
  • 14 Spanish killed and 6 wounded
St. Lawrence/Lake Ontario frontier
1812
1813
1814
Niagara Frontier
1812
1813
1814
Great Lakes /
Old Northwest theater
1811
1812
1813
1814
Chesapeake campaign
1813–1814
1813

1814

Gulf theater
1813–1815
Prelude
  • Tecumseh
  • Creeks

    • 1813

    1814

    1815

    Naval battles of the War of 1812
    Atlantic Ocean
  • USS Essex vs HMS Alert
  • USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere
  • Capture of HMS Frolic
  • USS United States vs HMS Macedonian
  • USS Constitution vs HMS Java
  • Sinking of HMS Peacock
  • Rappahannock River
  • Capture of USS Chesapeake
  • Capture of the Young Teazer
  • Capture of HMS Dominica
  • Capture of USS Argus
  • Capture of HMS Boxer
  • Capture of USS Frolic
  • Capture of HMS Epervier
  • Sinking of HMS Reindeer
  • Sinking of HMS Avon
  • Fayal
  • Capture of USS President
  • Capture of HMS Cyane and HMS Levant
  • Capture of HMS Penguin
  • Capture of East India Company ship Nautilus

    • East Coast

    Great Lakes / Saint Lawrence River

    West Indies / Gulf Coast

    Pacific Ocean

    The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the United States Congress on 17 February 1815.

    Anglo-American tensions stemmed from long-standing differences over territorial expansion in North America and British support for Tecumseh's confederacy, which resisted U.S. colonial settlement in the Old Northwest. In 1807, these tensions escalated after the Royal Navy began enforcing tighter restrictions on American trade with France and impressed sailors who were originally British subjects, even those who had acquired American citizenship. Opinion in the U.S. was split on how to respond, and although majorities in both the House and Senate voted for war, they were divided along strict party lines, with the Democratic-Republican Party in favour and the Federalist Party against. News of British concessions made in an attempt to avoid war did not reach the U.S. until late July, by which time the conflict was already underway.

    At sea, the Royal Navy imposed an effective blockade on U.S. maritime trade, while between 1812 and 1814 British regulars and colonial militia defeated a series of American invasions on Upper Canada. The April 1814 abdication of Napoleon allowed the British to send additional forces to North America and reinforce the Royal Navy blockade, crippling the American economy. In August 1814, negotiations began in Ghent, with both sides wanting peace; the British economy had been severely impacted by the trade embargo, while the Federalists convened the Hartford Convention in December to formalize their opposition to the war.

    In August 1814, British troops captured Washington, before American victories at Baltimore and Plattsburgh in September ended fighting in the north. In the Southeastern United States, American forces and Indian allies defeated an anti-American faction of the Muscogee. In early 1815, American troops led by Andrew Jackson repulsed a major British attack on New Orleans, which occurred during the ratification process of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which brought an end to the conflict.

    Origins

    This section is an excerpt from Origins of the War of 1812.
    Origins of the War of 1812

    The origins of the War of 1812 (1812–1815), between the United States and the British Empire and its First Nation allies, have been long debated. The War of 1812 was caused by multiple factors and ultimately led to the US declaration of war on Britain:

    • Trade restrictions introduced by Britain to impede American trade with France with which Britain was at war (the US contested the restrictions as illegal under international law).
    • The impressment (forced recruitment) of seamen on US vessels into the Royal Navy (the British claimed they were British deserters).
    • British military support for Native Americans who were offering armed resistance to the expansion of the American frontier to the Northwest Territory.
    • A possible desire by the US to annex some or all of Canada.
    • US motivation and desire to uphold national honor in the face of what they considered to be British insults, such as the Chesapeake affair.

    American expansion into the Northwest Territory (now Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and northeast Minnesota) was impeded by Indian raids. Some historians maintain that an American goal in the war was to annex some or all of Canada, a view many Canadians still share. However, many argue that inducing the fear of such a seizure was merely an American tactic, which was designed to obtain a bargaining chip.

    Some members of the British Parliament and dissident American politicians such as John Randolph of Roanoke claimed that American expansionism, rather than maritime disputes, was the primary motivation for the American declaration of war. That view has been retained by some historians.

    Although the British made some concessions before the war on neutral trade, they insisted on the right to reclaim their deserting sailors. The British also had long had a goal to create a large "neutral" Indian state that would cover much of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. They made the demand as late as 1814 at the Ghent Peace Conference but had lost battles that would have validated those claims.

    Forces

    American

    During the years 1810–1812, American naval ships were divided into two major squadrons, with the "northern division", based at New York, commanded by Commodore John Rodgers, and the "southern division", based at Norfolk, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur.

    Although not much of a threat to Canada in 1812, the United States Navy was a well-trained and professional force comprising over 5,000 sailors and marines. It had 14 ocean-going warships with three of its five "super-frigates" non-operational at the onset of the war. Its principal problem was lack of funding, as many in Congress did not see the need for a strong navy. The biggest ships in the American navy were frigates and there were no ships-of-the-line capable of engaging in a fleet action with the Royal Navy. On the high seas, the Americans pursued a strategy of commerce raiding, capturing or sinking British merchantmen with their frigates and privateers. The Navy was largely concentrated on the Atlantic coast before the war as it had only two gunboats on Lake Champlain, one brig on Lake Ontario and another brig in Lake Erie when the war began.

    The United States Army was initially much larger than the British Army in North America. Many men carried their own long rifles while the British were issued muskets, except for one unit of 500 riflemen. Leadership was inconsistent in the American officer corps as some officers proved themselves to be outstanding, but many others were inept, owing their positions to political favours. Congress was hostile to a standing army and the government called out 450,000 men from the state militias during the war. The state militias were poorly trained, armed, and led. The failed invasion of Lake Champlain led by General Dearborn illustrates this. The British Army soundly defeated the Maryland and Virginia militias at the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814 and President Madison commented "I could never have believed so great a difference existed between regular troops and a militia force, if I had not witnessed the scenes of this day".

    British

    See also: Canadian units of the War of 1812
    Depiction of a British private soldier (left) and officer (right) of the period

    The United States was only a secondary concern to Britain, so long as the Napoleonic Wars continued with France. In 1813, France had 80 ships-of-the-line and was building another 35. Containing the French fleet was the main British naval concern, leaving only the ships on the North American and Jamaica Stations immediately available. In Upper Canada, the British had the Provincial Marine. While largely unarmed, they were essential for keeping the army supplied since the roads were abysmal in Upper Canada. At the onset of war, the Provincial Marine had four small armed vessels on Lake Ontario, three on Lake Erie and one on Lake Champlain. The Provincial Marine greatly outnumbered anything the Americans could bring to bear on the Great Lakes.

    When the war broke out, the British Army in North America numbered 9,777 men in regular units and fencibles. While the British Army was engaged in the Peninsular War, few reinforcements were available. Although the British were outnumbered, the long-serving regulars and fencibles were better trained and more professional than the hastily expanded United States Army. The militias of Upper Canada and Lower Canada were initially far less effective, but substantial numbers of full-time militia were raised during the war and played pivotal roles in several engagements, including the Battle of the Chateauguay which caused the Americans to abandon the Saint Lawrence River theatre.

    Indigenous peoples

    The highly decentralized bands and tribes considered themselves allies of, and not subordinates to, the British or the Americans. Various tribes fighting with United States forces provided them with their "most effective light troops" while the British needed Indigenous allies to compensate for their numerical inferiority. The Indigenous allies of the British, Tecumseh's confederacy in the west and Iroquois in the east, avoided pitched battles and relied on irregular warfare, including raids and ambushes that took advantage of their knowledge of terrain. In addition, they were highly mobile, able to march 30–50 miles (50–80 km) a day.

    Their leaders sought to fight only under favourable conditions and would avoid any battle that promised heavy losses, doing what they thought best for their tribes. The Indigenous fighters saw no issue with withdrawing if needed to save casualties. They always sought to surround an enemy, where possible, to avoid being surrounded and make effective use of the terrain. Their main weapons were a mixture of muskets, rifles, bows, tomahawks, knives and swords as well as clubs and other melee weapons, which sometimes had the advantage of being quieter than guns.

    Declaration of war

    The United States Declaration of War (left) and Isaac Brock's Proclamation in response to it (right)

    On 1 June 1812, Madison sent a message to Congress recounting American grievances against Great Britain, though not specifically calling for a declaration of war. The House of Representatives then deliberated for four days behind closed doors before voting 79 to 49 (61%) in favour of the first declaration of war. The Senate concurred in the declaration by a 19 to 13 (59%) vote in favour. The declaration focused mostly on maritime issues, especially involving British blockades, with two thirds of the indictment devoted to such impositions, initiated by Britain's Orders in Council. The conflict began formally on 18 June 1812, when Madison signed the measure into law. He proclaimed it the next day. This was the first time that the United States had formally declared war on another nation, and the Congressional vote was approved by the smallest margin of any declaration of war in America's history. None of the 39 Federalists in Congress voted in favour of the war, while other critics referred to it as "Mr. Madison's War". Just days after war had been declared, a small number of Federalists in Baltimore were attacked for printing anti-war views in a newspaper, which eventually led to over a month of deadly rioting in the city.

    Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated in London on 11 May and Lord Liverpool came to power. He wanted a more practical relationship with the United States. On June 23, he issued a repeal of the Orders in Council, but the United States was unaware of this, as it took three weeks for the news to cross the Atlantic. On 28 June 1812, HMS Colibri was dispatched from Halifax to New York under a flag of truce. She anchored off Sandy Hook on July 9 and left three days later carrying a copy of the declaration of war, British ambassador to the United States Augustus Foster and consul Colonel Thomas Henry Barclay. She arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia eight days later. The news of the declaration took even longer to reach London.

    British commander Isaac Brock in Upper Canada received the news much faster. He issued a proclamation alerting citizens to the state of war and urging all military personnel "to be vigilant in the discharge of their duty", so as to prevent communication with the enemy and to arrest anyone suspected of helping the Americans. He also ordered the British garrison of Fort St. Joseph on Lake Huron to capture the American fort at Mackinac. This fort commanded the passage between Lakes Huron and Michigan, which was important to the fur trade. The British garrison, aided by fur traders of the North West Company and Sioux, Menominee, Winnebago, Chippewa, and Ottawa, immediately besieged and captured Mackinac.

    Course of war

    See also: Timeline of the War of 1812

    The war was conducted in several theatres:

    1. The Canada–United States border: the Great Lakes region (Old Northwest and Upper Canada), the Niagara Frontier, and the St. Lawrence River (New England and Lower Canada).
    2. At sea, principally the Atlantic Ocean and the American east coast.
    3. The Gulf Coast and Southern United States (including the Creek War in the Alabama River basin).
    4. The Mississippi River basin.

    Unpreparedness

    Northern theatre, War of 1812

    The war had been preceded by years of diplomatic dispute, yet neither side was ready for war when it came. Britain was heavily engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, most of the British Army was deployed in the Peninsular War in Portugal and Spain, and the Royal Navy was blockading most of the coast of Europe. The number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially 6,034, supported by additional Canadian militia. Throughout the war, the British War Secretary was Earl Bathurst, who had few troops to spare for reinforcing North America defences during the first two years of the war. He urged Lieutenant General George Prévost to maintain a defensive strategy. Prévost, who had the trust of the Canadians, followed these instructions and concentrated on defending Lower Canada at the expense of Upper Canada, which was more vulnerable to American attacks and allowed few offensive actions. Unlike campaigns along the east coast, Prevost had to operate with no support from the Royal Navy.

    The United States was also not prepared for war. Madison had assumed that the state militias would easily seize Canada and that 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 paid poorly and there were initially few trained and experienced officers. The militia objected to serving outside their home states, they were undisciplined and performed poorly against British forces when called upon to fight in unfamiliar territory. Multiple militias refused orders to cross the border and fight on Canadian soil.

    American prosecution of the war suffered from its unpopularity, especially in New England where anti-war speakers were vocal. Massachusetts Congressmen Ebenezer Seaver and William Widgery were "publicly insulted and hissed" in Boston while a mob seized Plymouth's Chief Justice Charles Turner on 3 August 1812 "and kicked through the town". The United States had great difficulty financing its war. It had disbanded its national bank, and private bankers in the Northeast were opposed to the war, but it obtained financing from London-based Barings Bank to cover overseas bond obligations. New England failed to provide militia units or financial support, which was a serious blow, and New England states made loud threats to secede as evidenced by the Hartford Convention. Britain exploited these divisions, opting to not blockade the ports of New England for much of the war and encouraging smuggling.

    War in the West

    Invasions of Canada, 1812

    American surrender of Detroit, August 1812

    An American army commanded by William Hull invaded Upper Canada on July 12, arriving at Sandwich (Windsor, Ontario) after crossing the Detroit River. Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender. The proclamation said that Hull wanted to free them from the "tyranny" of Great Britain, giving them the liberty, security, and wealth that his own country enjoyed – unless they preferred "war, slavery and destruction". He also threatened to kill any British soldier caught fighting alongside Indigenous fighters. Hull's proclamation only helped to stiffen resistance to the American attacks as he lacked artillery and supplies.

    Hull withdrew to the American side of the river on 7 August 1812 after receiving news of a Shawnee ambush on Major Thomas Van Horne's 200 men, who had been sent to support the American supply convoy. Hull also faced a lack of support from his officers and fear among his troops of a possible massacre by unfriendly Indigenous forces. A group of 600 troops led by Lieutenant Colonel James Miller remained in Canada, attempting to supply the American position in the Sandwich area, with little success.

    Major General Isaac Brock believed that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada and to convince the tribes that Britain was strong. He moved to Amherstburg near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and attacked Detroit, using Fort Malden as his stronghold. Hull feared that the British possessed superior numbers, and Fort Detroit lacked adequate gunpowder and cannonballs to withstand a long siege. He agreed to surrender on 16 August. Hull also ordered the evacuation of Fort Dearborn (Chicago) to Fort Wayne, but Potawatomi warriors ambushed them and escorted them back to the fort where they were massacred on 15 August. The fort was subsequently burned.

    Brock moved to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General Stephen Van Rensselaer was attempting a second invasion. The Americans attempted an attack across the Niagara River on 13 October, but they were defeated at Queenston Heights. However, Brock was killed during the battle and British leadership suffered after his death. American General Henry Dearborn made a final attempt to advance north from Lake Champlain, but his militia refused to go beyond American territory.

    American Northwest, 1813

    Oliver Hazard Perry's message to William Henry Harrison after the Battle of Lake Erie began thus: "We have met the enemy and they are ours".
    Main articles: Ohio in the War of 1812 and Siege of Detroit

    After Hull surrendered Detroit, General William Henry Harrison took command of the American Army of the Northwest. He set out to retake the city, which was now defended by Colonel Henry Procter and Tecumseh. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at Frenchtown along the River Raisin on 22 January 1813. Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard and his Potawatomie allies killed and scalped 60 captive Americans. The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, but "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans.

    In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh set siege to Fort Meigs in northwestern Ohio. Tecumseh's fighters ambushed American reinforcements who arrived during the siege, but the fort held out. The fighters eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada. Along the way they attempted to storm Fort Stephenson, a small American post on the Sandusky River near Lake Erie. They were repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the Ohio campaign.

    Captain Oliver Hazard Perry fought the Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813. His decisive victory at Put-in-Bay ensured American military control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats and compelled the British to fall back from Detroit. This enabled General Harrison to launch another invasion of Upper Canada, which culminated in the American victory at the Battle of the Thames on 5 October 1813, where Tecumseh was killed.

    American West, 1813–1815

    The Upper Mississippi River during the War of 1812:
    1. Fort Belle Fontaine, American headquarters
    2. Fort Osage, abandoned in 1813
    3. Fort Madison, defeated in 1813
    4. Fort Shelby, defeated in 1814
    5. Battle of Rock Island Rapids, July 1814; and the Battle of Credit Island, September 1814
    6. Fort Johnson, abandoned in 1814
    7. Fort Cap au Gris and the Battle of the Sink Hole, May 1815

    The Mississippi River valley was the western frontier of the United States in 1812. The territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 contained almost no American settlements west of the Mississippi except around St. Louis and a few forts and trading posts in the Boonslick. Fort Belle Fontaine was an old trading post converted to an Army post in 1804 and this served as regional headquarters. Fort Osage, built in 1808 along the Missouri River, was the westernmost American outpost, but it was abandoned at the start of the war. Fort Madison was built along the Mississippi in Iowa in 1808 and had been repeatedly attacked by British-allied Sauk since its construction. The United States Army abandoned Fort Madison in September 1813 after the indigenous fighters attacked it and besieged it – with support from the British. This was one of the few battles fought west of the Mississippi. Black Hawk played a leadership role.

    The American victory on Lake Erie and the recapture of Detroit isolated the British on Lake Huron. In the winter a Canadian party under Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall established a new supply line from York to Nottawasaga Bay on Georgian Bay. He arrived at Fort Mackinac on 18 May with supplies and more than 400 militia and Indians, then sent an expedition which successfully besieged and recaptured the key trading post of Prairie du Chien, on the Upper Mississippi. The Americans dispatched a substantial expedition to relieve the fort, but Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo warriors under Black Hawk ambushed it and forced it to withdraw with heavy losses in the Battle of Rock Island Rapids. In September 1814, the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo, supported by part of Prairie du Chien's British garrison, repulsed a second American force led by Major Zachary Taylor in the Battle of Credit Island. These victories enabled the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo to harass American garrisons further to the south, which led the Americans to abandon Fort Johnson, in central Illinois Territory. Consequently, the Americans lost control of almost all of Illinois Territory, although they held onto the St. Louis area and eastern Missouri. However, the Sauk raided even into these territories, clashing with American forces at the Battle of Cote Sans Dessein in April 1815 at the mouth of the Osage River in the Missouri Territory and the Battle of the Sink Hole in May 1815 near Fort Cap au Gris. This left the British and their Indian allies in control of most of modern Illinois and all of modern Wisconsin.

    Meanwhile, the British were supplying the Indians in the Old Northwest from Montreal via Mackinac. On 3 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 4 August. They did not attempt to achieve surprise, and Indians ambushed them in the brief Battle of Mackinac Island and forced them to re-embark. The Americans discovered the new base at Nottawasaga Bay and on 13 August they destroyed its fortifications and the schooner Nancy that they found there. They then returned to Detroit, leaving two gunboats to blockade Mackinac. On 4 September, the British surprised, boarded, and captured both gunboats. These engagements on Lake Huron left Mackinac under British control.

    The British returned Mackinac and other captured territory to the United States after the war. Some British officers and Canadians objected to handing back Prairie du Chien and especially Mackinac under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent. However, the Americans retained the captured post at Fort Malden near Amherstburg until the British complied with the treaty. Fighting between Americans, the Sauk and other indigenous tribes continued through 1817, well after the war ended in the east.

    War in the American Northeast

    Niagara frontier, 1813

    Niagara Peninsula, War of 1812 map
    depicting locations of forts, battles, etc.

    Both sides placed great importance on gaining control of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River because of the difficulties of land-based communication. The British already had a small squadron of warships on Lake Ontario when the war began and had the initial advantage. The Americans established a Navy yard at Sackett's Harbor, New York, a port on Lake Ontario. Commodore Isaac Chauncey took charge of the thousands of sailors and shipwrights assigned there and recruited more from New York. They completed a warship (the corvette USS Madison) in 45 days. Ultimately, almost 3,000 men at the shipyard built 11 warships and many smaller boats and transports. Army forces were also stationed at Sackett's Harbor, where they camped out through the town, far surpassing the small population of 900. Officers were housed with families. Madison Barracks was later built at Sackett's Harbor.

    Having regained the advantage by their rapid building program, on 27 April 1813 Chauncey and Dearborn attacked York, the capital of Upper Canada. At the Battle of York, the outnumbered British regulars destroyed the fort and dockyard and retreated, leaving the militia to surrender the town. American soldiers set fire to the Legislature building, and looted and vandalized several government buildings and citizens' homes.

    On 25 May 1813, Fort Niagara and the American Lake Ontario squadron began bombarding Fort George. An American amphibious force assaulted Fort George on the northern end of the Niagara River on 27 May and captured it without serious losses. The British abandoned Fort Erie and headed towards Burlington Heights. The British position was close to collapsing in Upper Canada; the Iroquois considered changing sides and ignored a British appeal to come to their aid. However, the Americans did not pursue the retreating British forces until they had largely escaped and organized a counter-offensive at the Battle of Stoney Creek on 5 June. The British launched a surprise attack at 2 a.m., leading to confused fighting and a strategic British victory.

    The Americans pulled back to Forty Mile Creek rather than continue their advance into Upper Canada. At this point, the Six Nations of the Grand River began to come out to fight for the British as an American victory no longer seemed inevitable. The Iroquois ambushed an American patrol at Forty Mile Creek while the Royal Navy squadron based in Kingston sailed in and bombarded the American camp. General Dearborn retreated to Fort George, mistakenly believing that he was outnumbered and outgunned. British Brigadier General John Vincent was encouraged when about 800 Iroquois arrived to assist him.

    An American force surrendered on 24 June to a smaller British force due to advance warning by Laura Secord at the Battle of Beaver Dams, marking the end of the American offensive into Upper Canada. British Major General Francis de Rottenburg did not have the strength to retake Fort George, so he instituted a blockade, hoping to starve the Americans into surrender. Meanwhile, Commodore James Lucas Yeo had taken charge of the British ships on the lake and mounted a counterattack, which the Americans repulsed at the Battle of Sackett's Harbor. Thereafter, Chauncey and Yeo's squadrons fought two indecisive actions, off the Niagara on 7 August and at Burlington Bay on 28 September. Neither commander was prepared to take major risks to gain a complete victory.

    Late in 1813, the Americans abandoned the Canadian territory that they occupied around Fort George. They set fire to the village of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) on 10 December 1813, incensing the Canadians. Many of the inhabitants were left without shelter, freezing to death in the snow. The British retaliated following their Capture of Fort Niagara on 18 December 1813. A British-Indian force led by Riall stormed the neighbouring town of Lewiston, New York on 19 December; four American civilians were killed by drunken Indians after the battle. A small force of Tuscarora warriors engaged Riall's men during the battle, which allowed many residents of Lewiston to evacuate the village. The British and their Indian allies subsequently attacked and burned Buffalo on Lake Erie on 30 December 1813 in revenge for the American attack on Fort George and Newark in May.

    St. Lawrence and Lower Canada, 1813

    Fencibles, militia, and Mohawks repel an American attack on Montreal, Battle of the Chateauguay, October 1813

    The British were vulnerable along the stretch of the St. Lawrence that was between Upper Canada and the United States. In the winter of 1812–1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from Ogdensburg, New York that hampered British supply traffic up the river. On 21 February, George Prévost passed through Prescott, Ontario on the opposite bank of the river with reinforcements for Upper Canada. When he left the next day, the reinforcements and local militia attacked in the Battle of Ogdensburg and the Americans were forced to retreat.

    The Americans made two more thrusts against Montreal in 1813. Major General Wade Hampton was to march north from Lake Champlain and join a force under General James Wilkinson that would sail from Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario and descend the St. Lawrence. Hampton was delayed by road and supply problems and his intense dislike of Wilkinson limited his desire to support his plan. Charles de Salaberry defeated Hampton's force of 4,000 at the Chateauguay River on 25 October with a smaller force of Canadian Voltigeurs and Mohawks. Salaberry's force numbered only 339, but it had a strong defensive position. Wilkinson's force of 8,000 set out on 17 October, but it was delayed by weather. Wilkinson heard that a British force was pursuing him under Captain William Mulcaster and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison and landed near Morrisburg, Ontario by 10 November, about 150 kilometres (90 mi) from Montreal. On 11 November, his rear guard of 2,500 attacked Morrison's force of 800 at Crysler's Farm and was repulsed with heavy losses. He learned that Hampton could not renew his advance, retreated to the United States and settled into winter quarters. He resigned his command after a failed attack on a British outpost at Lacolle Mills.

    Niagara and Plattsburgh campaigns, 1814

    American infantry prepare to attack during the Battle of Lundy's Lane

    The Americans again invaded the Niagara frontier. They had occupied southwestern Upper Canada after they defeated Colonel Henry Procter at Moraviantown in October and believed that taking the rest of the province would force the British to cede it to them. The end of the war with Napoleon in Europe in April 1814 meant that the British could deploy their army to North America, so the Americans wanted to secure Upper Canada to negotiate from a position of strength. They planned to invade via the Niagara frontier while sending another force to recapture Mackinac. They captured Fort Erie on 3 July 1814. Unaware of Fort Erie's fall or of the size of the American force, the British general Phineas Riall engaged with Winfield Scott, who won against a British force at the Battle of Chippawa on 5 July. The American forces had been through a hard training under Winfield Scott and proved to the professionals under fire. They deployed in a shallow U formation, bringing flanking fire and well-aimed volleys against Riall's men. Riall's men were chased off the battlefield.

    An attempt to advance further ended with the hard-fought but inconclusive Battle of Lundy's Lane on July 25. The battle was fought several miles north of Chippawa Creek near Niagara Falls and is considered the bloodiest and costliest battle of the war. Both sides stood their ground as American General Jacob Brown pulled back to Fort George after the battle and the British did not pursue. Commanders Riall, Scott, Brown, and Drummond were all wounded; Scott's wounds ended his service in the war.

    The Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged siege of Fort Erie. The British tried to storm Fort Erie on 14 August 1814, but they suffered heavy losses, losing 950 killed, wounded, and captured, compared to only 84 dead and wounded on the American side. The British were further weakened by exposure and shortage of supplies. Eventually, they raised the siege, but American Major General George Izard took over command on the Niagara front and followed up only halfheartedly. An American raid along the Grand River destroyed many farms and weakened British logistics. In October 1814, the Americans advanced into Upper Canada and engaged in skirmishes at Cook's Mill. They pulled back when they heard of the approach of the new British warship HMS St Lawrence, launched in Kingston that September and armed with 104 guns. The Americans lacked provisions and retreated across the Niagara after destroying Fort Erie.

    Unsuccessful British assault on Fort Erie, 14 August 1814

    Meanwhile, after Napoleon abdicated, 15,000 British troops were sent to North America under four of Wellington's ablest brigade commanders. Fewer than half were veterans of the Peninsular War and the rest came from garrisons. Prévost was ordered to burn Sackett's Harbor to gain naval control of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Upper Lakes, and to defend Lower Canada from attack. He did defend Lower Canada but otherwise failed to achieve his objectives, so he decided to invade New York State. His army outnumbered the American defenders of Plattsburgh under General Alexander Macomb, but he was worried about his flanks and decided that he needed naval control of Lake Champlain. Upon reaching Plattsburgh, Prévost delayed the assault until Captain George Downie arrived in the hastily built 36-gun frigate HMS Confiance. Confiance was not fully completed, and her raw crew had never worked together, but Prévost forced Downie into a premature attack.

    The British squadron on the lake under was more evenly matched by the Americans under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough. At the Battle of Plattsburgh on 11 September 1814, Confiance suffered heavy casualties and struck her colours, and the rest of the British fleet retreated. Prevost, already alienated from his veteran officers by insisting on proper dress codes, now lost their confidence, while MacDonough emerged as a national hero.

    Defeat at Plattsburgh led Prévost to call off the invasion of New York.

    The Americans now had control of Lake Champlain; Theodore Roosevelt later termed it "the greatest naval battle of the war".

    Prévost then turned back, to the astonishment of his senior officers, saying that it was too hazardous to remain on enemy territory after the loss of naval supremacy. He was recalled to London, where a naval court-martial decided that defeat had been caused principally by Prévost urging the squadron into premature action and then failing to afford the promised support from the land forces. He died suddenly, just before his court-martial was to convene. His reputation sank to a new low as Canadians claimed that their militia under Brock did the job but Prévost failed. However, recent historians have been kinder. Peter Burroughs argues that his preparations were energetic, well-conceived, and comprehensive for defending the Canadas with limited means and that he achieved the primary objective of preventing an American conquest.

    Occupation of Maine

    Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a base for smuggling and illegal trade between the United States and the British. Until 1813, the region was generally quiet except for privateer actions near the coast. In September 1813, the United States Navy's brig Enterprise fought and captured the Royal Navy brig Boxer off Pemaquid Point.

    On 11 July 1814, Thomas Masterman Hardy took Moose Island (Eastport, Maine) without a shot and the entire American garrison, 65 men of Fort Sullivan peacefully surrendered. The British temporarily renamed the captured fort "Fort Sherbrooke". In September 1814, John Coape Sherbrooke led 3,000 British troops from his base in Halifax in the "Penobscot Expedition". In 26 days, he raided and looted Hampden, Bangor and Machias, destroying or capturing 17 American ships. He won the Battle of Hampden, with two killed while the Americans had one killed. Retreating American forces were forced to destroy the frigate Adams.

    The British occupied the town of Castine and most of eastern Maine for the rest of the war, governing it under martial law and re-establishing the colony of New Ireland. The Treaty of Ghent returned this territory to the United States. When the British left in April 1815, they took £10,750 in tariff duties from Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used to establish Dalhousie University in Halifax. Decisions about the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay were decided by joint commission in 1817. However, Machias Seal Island had been seized by the British as part of the occupation and was unaddressed by the commission. While kept by Britain/Canada, it remains in dispute to this day.

    Chesapeake campaign

    Main article: Chesapeake campaign
    Map of the Chesapeake Campaign

    The strategic location of the Chesapeake Bay near the Potomac River made it a prime target for the British. Rear Admiral George Cockburn arrived there in March 1813 and was joined by Admiral Warren who took command of operations ten days later. Starting in March a squadron under Cockburn started a blockade of the mouth of the Bay at Hampton Roads harbour and raided towns along the Bay from Norfolk, Virginia to Havre de Grace, Maryland. In late April Cockburn landed at and set fire to Frenchtown, Maryland and destroyed ships that were docked there. In the following weeks he routed the local militias and looted and burned three other towns. Thereafter he marched to iron foundry at Principio and destroyed it along with sixty-eight cannons.

    On 4 July 1813, Commodore Joshua Barney, an American Revolutionary War naval officer, convinced the Navy Department to build the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, a squadron of twenty barges powered by small sails or oars (sweeps) to defend the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in April 1814, the squadron was quickly cornered on the Patuxent River. While successful in harassing the Royal Navy, they could not stop subsequent British operations in the area.

    Burning of Washington

    See also: Burning of Washington

    In August 1814, a force of 2,500 soldiers under General Ross had just arrived in Bermuda aboard HMS Royal Oak, three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels. Released from the Peninsular War by victory, the British intended to use them for diversionary raids along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. In response to Prévost's request, they decided to employ this force, together with the naval and military units already on the station, to strike at the national capital. Anticipating the attack, valuable documents, including the original Constitution, were removed to Leesburg, Virginia. The British task force advanced up the Chesapeake, routing Commodore Barney's flotilla of gunboats, carried out the Raid on Alexandria, landed ground forces that bested the US defenders at the Battle of Bladensburg, and carried out the Burning of Washington.

    United States Secretary of War John Armstrong Jr. insisted that the British were going to attack Baltimore rather than Washington, even as British army and naval units were on their way to Washington. Brigadier General William H. Winder, who had burned several bridges in the area, assumed the British would attack Annapolis and was reluctant to engage because he mistakenly thought the British army was twice its size. The inexperienced state militia was easily routed in the Battle of Bladensburg, opening the route to Washington. British troops led by Major General Robert Ross, accompanied by Cockburn, the 3rd Brigade attacked and captured Washington with a force of 4,500. On 24 August, after the British had finished looting the interiors, Ross directed his troops to set fire to number of public buildings, including the White House and the United States Capitol. Extensive damage to the interiors and the contents of both were subsequently reported. US government and military officials fled to Virginia, while Secretary of the United States Navy William Jones ordered the Washington Navy Yard and a nearby fort to be razed in order to prevent its capture. Public buildings in Washington were destroyed by the British though private residences ordered spared.

    Siege of Fort McHenry

    An artist's rendering of the bombardment at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. Watching the bombardment from a truce ship, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the four-stanza poem that later became "The Star-Spangled Banner".

    After taking some munitions from the Washington Munitions depot, the British, boarded their ships and moved on to their major target, the heavily fortified major city of Baltimore. Because some of their ships were held up in the Raid on Alexandria, they delayed their movement allowing Baltimore an opportunity to strengthen the fortifications and bring in new federal troops and state militia units. The "Battle for Baltimore" began with the British landing on 12 September 1814 at North Point, where they were met by American militia further up the Patapsco Neck peninsula. An exchange of fire began, with casualties on both sides. The British Army commander Major Gen. Robert Ross was killed by snipers. The British paused, then continued to march northwestward to face the stationed Maryland and Baltimore City militia units at Godly Wood. The Battle of North Point was fought for several afternoon hours in a musketry and artillery duel. The British also planned to simultaneously attack Baltimore by water on the following day, although the Royal Navy was unable to reduce Fort McHenry at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor in support of an attack from the northeast by the British Army.

    The British eventually realized that they could not force the passage to attack Baltimore in coordination with the land force. A last ditch night feint and barge attack during a heavy rain storm was led by Captain Charles Napier around the fort up the Middle Branch of the river to the west. Split and misdirected partly in the storm, it turned back after suffering heavy casualties from the alert gunners of Fort Covington and Battery Babcock. The British called off the attack and sailed downriver to pick up their army, which had retreated from the east side of Baltimore. 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, illuminating the flag that was still flying over the fort. The defence of the fort inspired the American lawyer Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem that was later set to music as "The Star-Spangled Banner".

    Southern theatre

    Because of the region's polyglot population, both the British and the Americans perceived the war in the Gulf South as a fundamentally different conflict from the one occurring in the Lowcountry and Chesapeake.

    Creek War

    Main article: Creek War
    In 1813, Creek warriors attacked Fort Mims and killed 400 to 500 people. The massacre became a rallying point for Americans.

    Before 1813, the war between the Creeks, or Muscogee, had been largely an internal affair sparked by the ideas of Tecumseh farther north in the Mississippi Valley. A faction known as the Red Sticks, so named for the colour of their war sticks, had broken away from the rest of the Creek Confederacy, which wanted peace with the United States. The Red Sticks were allied with Tecumseh, who had visited the Creeks about a year before 1813 and encouraged greater resistance to the Americans. The Creek Nation was a trading partner of the United States, actively involved with British and Spanish trade as well. The Red Sticks as well as many southern Muscogee people like the Seminole had a long history of alliance with the British and Spanish empires. This alliance helped the North American and European powers protect each other's claims to territory in the south.

    On 27 July the Red Sticks were returning from Pensacola with a pack train filled with trade goods and arms when they were attacked by Americans who made off with their goods. On 30 August 1813, in retaliation for the raid, the Red Sticks, led by chiefs of the Creeks Red Eagle and Peter McQueen, attacked Fort Mims north of Mobile, the only American-held port in the territory of West Florida. The attack on Fort Mims resulted in the horrific death of 400 refugee settlers, all butchered and scalped, including women and children, and became an ideological rallying point for the Americans. It prompted the state of Georgia and the Mississippi militia to immediately take major action against Creek offensives. The Red Sticks chiefs gained power in the east along the Alabama River, Coosa River and Tallapoosa River in the Upper Creek territory. By contrast, the Lower Creek, who lived along the Chattahoochee River, generally opposed the Red Sticks and wanted to remain allied to the U.S. Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins recruited Lower Creek to aid the 6th Military District under General Thomas Pinckney and the state militias against the Red Sticks. The United States combined forces were 5,000 troops from East and West Tennessee, with about 200 indigenous allies. At its peak, the Red Stick faction had 4,000 warriors, only a quarter of whom had muskets.

    The Indian frontier of western Georgia was the most vulnerable but was partially fortified already. From November 1813 to January 1814, Georgia's militia and auxiliary Federal troops from the Creek and Cherokee indigenous nations and the states of North Carolina and South Carolina organized the fortification of defences along the Chattahoochee River and expeditions into Upper Creek territory in present-day Alabama. The army, led by General John Floyd, went to the heart of the Creek Holy Grounds and won a major offensive against one of the largest Creek towns at the Battle of Autossee, killing an estimated two hundred people. In November, the militia of Mississippi with a combined 1,200 troops attacked the Econachca encampment in the Battle of Holy Ground on the Alabama River. Tennessee raised a militia of 5,000 under Major General Andrew Jackson and Brigadier General John Coffee and won the battles of Tallushatchee and Talladega in November 1813.

    Jackson suffered enlistment problems in the winter. He decided to combine his force, composed of Tennessee militia and pro-American Creek, with the Georgia militia. In January, however, the Red Sticks attacked his army at the Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek. Jackson's troops repelled the attackers, but they were outnumbered and forced to withdraw to his base at Fort Strother.

    In January, Floyd's force of 1,300 state militia and 400 Creek moved to join the United States forces in Tennessee, but they were attacked in camp on the Calibee Creek by Tukabatchee Muscogees on 27 January.

    Creek forces were defeated at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, bringing an end to the Creek War.

    Jackson's force increased in numbers with the arrival of United States Army soldiers and a second draft of Tennessee state militia, Cherokee, and pro-American Creek swelled his army to around 5,000. In March 1814, they moved south to attack the Red Sticks. On 27 March, Jackson decisively defeated a force of about a thousand Red Sticks at Horseshoe Bend, killing 800 of them at a cost of 49 killed and 154 wounded.

    Jackson then moved his army to Fort Jackson on the Alabama River. He promptly turned on the pro-American Creek who had fought with him and compelled their chieftains, along with a single Red Stick chieftain, to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which forced the Creek tribe as a whole to cede most of western Georgia and part of Alabama to the U.S. Both Hawkins and the pro-American Creek strongly opposed the treaty, which they regarded as deeply unjust. The third clause of the treaty also demanded that the Creek cease communicating with the British and Spanish, and trade only with United States-approved agents.

    Gulf Coast

    British aid to the Red Sticks arrived after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in April 1814 and after Admiral Alexander Cochrane assumed command from Admiral Warren in March. Captain Hugh Pigot arrived in May 1814 with two ships to arm the Red Sticks. He thought that some 6,600 warriors could be armed and recruited. It was overly optimistic at best. The Red Sticks were in the process of being destroyed as a military force. In April 1814, the British established an outpost on the Apalachicola River (Prospect Bluff Historic Sites). Cochrane sent a company of Royal Marines commanded by Edward Nicolls, the vessels HMS Hermes and HMS Carron and further supplies to meet the Indians in the region. In addition to training them, Nicolls was tasked to raise a force from escaped slaves as part of the Corps of Colonial Marines.

    On 12 July 1814, General Jackson complained to the governor of West Florida, Mateo González Manrique, situated at Pensacola that combatants from the Creek War were being harboured in Spanish territory and made reference to reports of the British presence on Spanish soil. Although he gave an angry reply to Jackson, Manrique was alarmed at the weak position he found himself in and appealed to the British for help. The British were observed docking on August 25 and unloading the following day.

    The first engagement of the British and their Creek allies against the Americans on the Gulf Coast was the 14 September 1814 attack on Fort Bowyer. Captain William Percy tried to take the United States fort, hoping to then move on Mobile and block United States trade and encroachment on the Mississippi. After the Americans repulsed Percy's forces, the British established a military presence of up to 200 Marines at Pensacola. In November, Jackson's force of 4,000 men took the town. This underlined the superiority of numbers of Jackson's force in the region. The United States force moved to New Orleans in late 1814. Jackson's army of 1,000 regulars and 3,000 to 4,000 militia, pirates and other fighters as well as civilians and slaves built fortifications south of the city.

    American forces under General James Wilkinson, himself a paid Spanish secret agent, took the Mobile area from the Spanish in March 1813. This region was the rump of Spanish West Florida, the western portion of which had been annexed to the United States in 1810. The Americans built Fort Bowyer, a log and earthen-work fort with 14 guns, on Mobile Point to defend it. Major Latour opined that none of the three forts in the area were capable of resisting a siege.

    At the end of 1814, the British launched a double offensive in the South weeks before the Treaty of Ghent was signed. On the Atlantic coast, Admiral George Cockburn was to close the Intracoastal Waterway trade and land Royal Marine battalions to advance through Georgia to the western territories. While on the Gulf coast, Admiral Alexander Cochrane moved on the new state of Louisiana and the Mississippi Territory. Cochrane's ships reached the Louisiana coast on 9 December and Cockburn arrived in Georgia on 14 December.

    American forces repelled a British assault on New Orleans in January 1815. The battle occurred before news of a peace treaty reached the United States.

    The British army had the objective of gaining control of the entrance of the Mississippi. To this end, an expeditionary force of 8,000 troops under General Edward Pakenham attacked Jackson's prepared defences in New Orleans on 8 January 1815. The Battle of New Orleans was an American victory, as the British failed to take the fortifications on the East Bank. The British attack force suffered high casualties, including 291 dead, 1,262 wounded and 484 captured or missing whereas American casualties were light with 13 dead, 39 wounded and 19 missing, according to the respective official casualty returns. This battle was hailed as a great victory across the United States, making Jackson a national hero and eventually propelling him to the presidency. In January 1815 Fort St. Philip endured ten days of bombardment from two bomb vessels of the Royal Navy. Robert V. Remini believes this was preventing the British moving their fleet up the Mississippi in support of the land attack.

    After deciding further attacks would be too costly and unlikely to succeed, the British troops withdrew on 18 January. However, adverse winds slowed the evacuation operation and it was not until 27 January 1815 that the land forces rejoined the fleet, allowing for its final departure. After New Orleans, the British moved to take Mobile as a base for further operations. In preparation, General John Lambert laid siege to Fort Bowyer taking it on 12 February 1815. However HMS Brazen brought news of the Treaty of Ghent the next day and the British abandoned the Gulf Coast. This ending of the war prevented the capture of Mobile, and any renewed attacks on New Orleans.

    Meanwhile, in January 1815, Cockburn succeeded in blockading the southeastern coast of Georgia by occupying Camden County. The British quickly took Cumberland Island, Fort Point Peter and Fort St. Tammany in a decisive victory. Under the orders of his commanding officers, Cockburn's forces relocated many refugee slaves, capturing St. Simons Island as well to do so. He had orders to recruit as many runaway slaves into the Corps of Colonial Marines as possible and use them to conduct raids in Georgia and the Carolinas. Cockburn also provided thousands of muskets and carbines and a huge quantity of ammunition to the Creeks and Seminole Indians for the same purpose. During the invasion of the Georgia coast, an estimated 1,485 people chose to relocate to British territories or join the British military. However, by mid-March, several days after being informed of the Treaty of Ghent, British ships left the area.

    The British government did not recognize either West Florida or New Orleans as American territory. The historian Frank Owsley suggests that they might have used a victory at New Orleans to demand further concessions from the U.S. However, subsequent research in the correspondence of British ministers at the time suggests otherwise. with specific reference to correspondence from the Prime Minister to the Foreign Secretary dated 23 December 1814. West Florida was the only territory permanently gained by the United States during the war.

    The war at sea

    Background

    The Royal Navy's North American squadron was based in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Bermuda. At the start of the war, the squadron had one ship of the line, seven frigates, nine sloops as well as brigs and schooners.

    In 1812, Britain's Royal Navy was the world's largest and most powerful navy, with over 600 vessels in commission, following the defeat of the French Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Most of these ships were employed blockading the French navy and protecting British trade against French privateers, but the Royal Navy still had 85 vessels in American waters, counting all North American and Caribbean waters. However, the Royal Navy's North American squadron was the most immediately available force, based in Halifax and Bermuda (two of the colonies that made up British North America), and numbered one small ship of the line and seven frigates as well as nine smaller sloops and brigs and five schooners. By contrast, the entire United States Navy was composed of 8 frigates, 14 smaller sloops and brigs, with no ships of the line. The United States had embarked on a major shipbuilding program before the war at Sackett's Harbor to provide ships for use on the Great Lakes, and continued to produce new ships.

    Opening strategies

    The British strategy was to protect their own merchant shipping between Halifax and the West Indies, with the order given on 13 October 1812 to enforce a blockade of major American ports to restrict American trade.

    Because of their numerical inferiority, the American strategy was to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics such as the capturing prizes and engaging Royal Navy vessels only under favourable circumstances.

    Days after the formal declaration of war, the United States put out two small squadrons, including the frigate President and the sloop Hornet under Commodore John Rodgers and the frigates United States and Congress, with the brig Argus under Captain Stephen Decatur. These were initially concentrated as one unit under Rodgers, who intended 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 ships were returning to the United States with the outbreak of war and the Royal Navy could not watch all the ports on the American seaboard if they were concentrated together. Rodgers' strategy worked in that the Royal Navy concentrated most of its frigates off New York Harbor under Captain Philip Broke, allowing many American ships to reach home. However, Rodgers' own cruise captured only five small merchant ships, and the Americans never subsequently concentrated more than two or three ships together as a unit.

    Single-ship actions

    USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerriere in a single-ship engagement. The battle was an important victory for American morale.

    The more recently built frigates of the US Navy were intended to overmatch their opponents. The United States did not believe that it could build a large enough navy to contest with the Royal Navy in fleet actions. Therefore, where it could be done, individual ships were built to be tougher, larger, and carry more firepower than their equivalents in European navies. The newest three 44-gun ships were designed with a 24-pounder main battery. These frigates were intended to demolish the 36- to 38-gun (18-pounder) armed frigates that formed the majority of the world's navies, while being able to evade larger ships. Similarly the Wasp class ship-sloops were an over-match to the Cruizer class brigs being employed by the British. The Royal Navy, maintaining more than 600 ships in fleets and stations worldwide, was overstretched and undermanned; most British ships enforcing the blockade were (with a few notable exceptions) less practiced than the crews of the smaller US Navy. This meant that in single-ship actions the Royal Navy ships often found themselves against larger ships with larger crews, who were better drilled, as intended by the US planners.

    However naval ships do not fight as individuals by the code of the duel, they are national instruments of war, and are used as such. The Royal Navy counted on its numbers, experience, and traditions to overcome the individually superior vessels. As the US Navy found itself mostly blockaded by the end of the war, the Royal Navy was correct. For all the fame that these actions received, they in no way affected the outcome of the results of Atlantic theatre of War. The final count of frigates lost was three on each side, with most of the US Navy blockaded in port. During the war, the United States Navy captured 165 British merchantmen (although privateers captured many more) while the Royal Navy captured 1,400 American merchantmen. More significantly, the British blockade of the Atlantic coast caused the majority of warships to be unable to put to sea and shut down both American imports and exports.

    Notable single-ship engagements include USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere on 19 August 1812, USS United States vs HMS Macedonian on 25 October, USS Constitution vs HMS Java on 29–30 December, HMS Shannon vs USS Chesapeake on 1 June 1813 (the bloodiest such action of the war), HMS Phoebe vs USS Essex on 28 March 1814, HMS Endymion vs USS President on 15 January 1815.

    In single ship battles, superior force was the most significant factor. In response to the majority of the American ships being of greater force than the British ships of the same class, Britain constructed five 40-gun, 24-pounder heavy frigates and two "spar-decked" frigates (the 60-gun HMS Leander and HMS Newcastle) and others. To counter the American sloops of war, the British constructed the Cyrus-class ship-sloop of 22 guns. The British Admiralty also instituted a new policy that the three American heavy frigates should not be engaged except by a ship of the line or frigates in squadron strength.

    The United States Navy's smaller ship-sloops had also won several victories over Royal Navy sloops-of-war, again of smaller armament. The American sloops Hornet, Wasp (1807), Peacock, Wasp (1813) and Frolic were all ship-rigged while the British Cruizer-class sloops that they encountered were brig-rigged, which gave the Americans a significant advantage. Ship rigged vessels are more manoeuvrable in battle because they have a wider variety of sails and thus being more resistant to damage. Ship-rigged vessels can back sail, literally backing up or heave to (stop).

    Privateering

    Baltimore Clippers were a series of schooners used by American privateers during the war.

    The operations of American privateers proved a more significant threat to British trade than the United States Navy. They operated throughout the Atlantic until the close of the war, most notably from Baltimore. American privateers reported taking 1300 British merchant vessels, compared to 254 taken by the United States Navy, although the insurer Lloyd's of London reported that only 1,175 British ships were taken, 373 of which were recaptured, for a total loss of 802. Canadian historian Carl Benn wrote that American privateers took 1,344 British ships, of which 750 were retaken by the British. The British tried to limit privateering losses by the strict enforcement of convoy by the Royal Navy and directly by capturing 278 American privateers. Due to the massive size of the British merchant fleet, American captures only affected 7.5% of the fleet, resulting in no supply shortages or lack of reinforcements for British forces in North America. Of 526 American privateers, 148 were captured by the Royal Navy and only 207 ever took a prize.

    Due to the large size of their navy, the British did not rely as much on privateering. The majority of the 1,407 captured American merchant ships were taken by the Royal Navy. 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. However, privateering remained popular in British colonies. It was the last hurrah for privateers in the insular British North American colony of Bermuda who vigorously returned to the practice with experience gained in previous wars. The nimble Bermuda sloops captured 298 American ships. Privateer schooners based in continental British North America, especially from Nova Scotia, took 250 American ships and proved especially effective in crippling American coastal trade and capturing American ships closer to shore than the Royal Navy's cruisers.

    British blockade

    British naval strategy was to protect their shipping in North America and enforce a naval blockade on the United States.

    The naval blockade of the United States began informally in the late fall of 1812. Under the command of British Admiral John Borlase Warren, it extended from South Carolina to Florida. It expanded to cut off more ports as the war progressed. Twenty ships were on station in 1812 and 135 were in place by the end of the conflict. In March 1813, the Royal Navy punished the Southern states, who were most vocal about annexing British North America, by blockading Charleston, Port Royal, Savannah, and New York City as well. Additional ships were sent to North America in 1813 and the Royal Navy tightened and extended the blockade, first to the coast south of Narragansett by November 1813 and to the entire American coast on 31 May 1814. In May 1814, following the abdication of Napoleon and the end of the supply problems with Wellington's army, New England was blockaded.

    The British needed American foodstuffs for their army in Spain and benefited from trade with New England, so they did not at first blockade New England. The Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay were declared in a state of blockade on 26 December 1812. 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 United States government was driven to issue orders to stop illicit trading. This put only a further strain on the commerce of the country. The British fleet occupied the Chesapeake Bay and attacked and destroyed numerous docks and harbours. The effect was that no foreign goods could enter the United States on ships and only smaller fast boats could attempt to get out. The cost of shipping became very expensive as a result.

    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 hulked in New London, Connecticut. USS United States and USS Macedonian attempted to set sail to raid British shipping in the Caribbean, but were forced to turn back when confronted with a British squadron, and by the end of the war, the United States had six frigates and four ships-of-the-line sitting in port. Some merchant ships were based in Europe or Asia and continued operations. Others, mainly from New England, were issued licences to trade by Admiral Warren, commander in chief on the American station in 1813. This allowed Wellington's army in Spain to receive American goods and to maintain the New Englanders' opposition to the war. The blockade nevertheless decreased American exports from $130 million in 1807 to $7 million in 1814. Most exports were goods that ironically went to supply their enemies in Britain or the British colonies. The blockade had a devastating effect on the American economy with the value of American exports and imports falling from $114 million in 1811 down to $20 million by 1814 while the United States Customs took in $13 million in 1811 and $6 million in 1814, even though the Congress had voted to double the rates. The British blockade further damaged the American economy by forcing merchants to abandon the cheap and fast coastal trade to the slow and more expensive inland roads. In 1814, only 1 out of 14 American merchantmen risked leaving port as it was likely that any ship leaving port would be seized.

    As the Royal Navy base that supervised the blockade, Halifax profited greatly during the war. From there, British privateers seized and sold many French and American ships. More than a hundred prize vessels were anchored in St. George's Harbour awaiting condemnation by the Admiralty Court when a hurricane struck in 1815, sinking roughly sixty of the vessels.

    Freeing and recruiting slaves

    The only known photograph of a Black Refugee, c. 1890. During the war, a number of African Americans slaves escaped aboard British ships, settling in Canada (mainly in Nova Scotia) or Trinidad.

    The British Royal Navy's blockades and raids allowed about 4,000 African Americans to escape slavery by fleeing American plantations aboard British ships. American slaves near to the British military rebelled against their masters and made their way to British encampments. The migrants who settled in Canada were known as the Black Refugees. The blockading British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay received increasing numbers of freed slaves during 1813. By British government order, they were considered free persons when they reached British hands.

    Alexander Cochrane's proclamation of 2 April 1814 invited Americans who wished to emigrate to join the British. Although it did not explicitly mention slaves, it was taken by all as addressed to them. About 2,400 escaped slaves and their families were transported by the Royal Navy to the Royal Naval Dockyard at Bermuda (where they were employed on works about the yard and organized as a militia to aid in the defence of the yard), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick during and after the war. Starting in May 1814, younger male volunteers were recruited into a new Corps of Colonial Marines. They fought for Britain throughout the Atlantic campaign, including the Battle of Bladensburg, the attacks on Washington, D.C., and the Battle of Baltimore, before withdrawing to Bermuda with the rest of the British forces. They were later settled in Trinidad after having rejected orders for transfer to the West India Regiments, forming the community of the Merikins (none of the freed slaves remained in Bermuda after the war). These escaped slaves represented the largest emancipation of African Americans prior to the American Civil War. Britain paid the United States for the financial loss of the slaves at the end of the war.

    Treaty of Ghent

    Main article: Treaty of Ghent

    In August 1814, peace discussions began in Ghent. Both sides approached negotiations warily. The British strategy for decades had been to create a buffer state in the American Northwest Territory to block American expansion. Britain also demanded naval control of the Great Lakes and access to the Mississippi River. On the American side, Monroe instructed the American diplomats sent to Europe to try to convince the British to cede the Canadas, or at least Upper Canada, to the U.S. At a later stage, the Americans also demanded damages for the burning of Washington and for the seizure of ships before the war began.

    Depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which formally ended the war between the British Empire and the United States

    American public opinion was outraged when Madison published the demands as even the Federalists were now willing to fight on. A British force burned Washington, but it failed to capture Baltimore and sailed away when its commander was killed. In northern New York State, 10,000 British veterans were marching south until a decisive defeat at the Battle of Plattsburgh forced them back to Canada. British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, aware of growing opposition to wartime taxation and the demands of merchants for reopened trade with America, realized Britain also had little to gain and much to lose from prolonged warfare especially given growing concern about the situation in Europe. The main focus of British foreign policy was the Congress of Vienna, at which British diplomats had clashed with Russian and Prussian diplomats over the terms of the peace with France and there were fears that Britain might have to go to war with Russia and Prussia. Export trade was all but paralyzed and France was no longer an enemy of Britain after Napoleon fell in April 1814, so the Royal Navy no longer needed to stop American shipments to France and it no longer needed to impress more seamen. The British were preoccupied in rebuilding Europe after the apparent final defeat of Napoleon.

    Consequently, Lord Liverpool urged the British negotiators to offer a peace based on the restoration of the pre-war status quo. The British negotiators duly dropped their demands for the creation of an Indian neutral zone, which allowed negotiations to resume at the end of October. The American negotiators accepted the British proposals for a peace based on the pre-war status quo. Prisoners were to be exchanged and escaped slaves returned to the United States, as at least 3,000 American slaves had escaped to British lines. The British however refused to honour this aspect of the treaty, settling some of the newly freed slaves in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Americans protested Britain's failure to return American slaves in violation of the Treaty of Ghent. After arbitration by the Tsar of Russia the British paid $1,204,960 in damages to Washington, to reimburse the slave owners.

    On 24 December 1814, the diplomats had finished and signed the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty was ratified by the British Prince Regent three days later on 27 December. On 17 February, it arrived in Washington, where it was quickly ratified and went into effect, ending the war. The terms called for all occupied territory to be returned, the prewar boundary between Canada and the United States to be restored, and the Americans were to gain fishing rights in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The British insisted on the inclusion of provisions to restore to the Indians "all possessions, rights and privileges which they may have enjoyed, or been entitled to in 1811". The Americans ignored and violated these provisions.

    The Treaty of Ghent completely maintained Britain's maritime belligerent rights, a key goal for the British, without acknowledging American maritime rights or the end of impressment. While American maritime rights were not seriously violated in the century of peace until World War I, the defeat of Napoleon made the need for impressment irrelevant and the grievances of the United States no longer an issue. In this sense, the United States achieved its goals indirectly and felt its honour had been upheld despite impressment continuing.

    Losses and compensation

    Casualties in the War of 1812
    Type of casualties United States United Kingdom
    and Canada     		Indigenous fighters
    Killed in action and died of wounds 2,260 ~2,000 ~1,500
    Died of disease or accident ~13,000 ~8,000 ~8,500
    Wounded in action 4,505 ~3,500 Unknown
    Missing in action 695 ~1,000 Unknown

    Losses figures do not include deaths among Canadian militia forces or Indigenous tribes. British losses in the war were about 1,160 killed in action and 3,679 wounded, with 3,321 British who 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 that about 15,000 died from all causes directly related to the war.

    The war added some £25 million to Britain's national debt. In the United States, the cost was $90 million reaching a peak of 2.7% of GDP. The national debt rose from $45 million in 1812 to $127 million by the end of 1815, although by selling bonds and treasury notes at deep discounts – and often for irredeemable paper money due to the suspension of specie payment in 1814 – the government received only $34 million worth of specie. Stephen Girard, the richest man in the United States at the time, was among those who funded the United States government's involvement in the war. The British national debt rose from £451 million in 1812 to £841 million in 1814, although this was at a time when Britain was fighting a war against Napoleon. The war was bad for both economies.

    In the United States, the economy grew 3.7% a year from 1812 to 1815, despite a large loss of business by East Coast shipping interests. Prices were 15% higher – inflated – in 1815 compared to 1812, an annual rate of 4.8%. Hundreds of new banks were opened; they largely handled the loans that financed the war since tax revenues were down. Money that would have been spent on foreign trade was diverted to opening new factories, which were profitable since British factory-made products were not for sale. This gave a major boost to the Industrial Revolution in the United States as typified by the Boston Associates.

    Long-term consequences

    Main article: Results of the War of 1812

    The border between the United States and Canada remained essentially unchanged by the war, with neither side making meaningful territorial gains. Despite the Treaty of Ghent not addressing the original points of contention and establishing the status quo ante bellum, relations between the United States and Britain changed drastically. The issue of impressment also became irrelevant as the Royal Navy no longer needed sailors after the war.

    The long-term results of the war were generally satisfactory for both the United States and Great Britain. Except for occasional border disputes and some tensions during and after the American Civil War, relations between the United States and Britain remained peaceful for the rest of the 19th century. In the 20th century, spurred by multiple world conflicts, the two countries became close allies. The memory of the conflict played a major role in helping to consolidate a Canadian national identity after 1867, the year of Canadian confederation.

    The Rush–Bagot Treaty between the United States and Britain was enacted in 1817. It demilitarized the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, where many British naval arrangements and forts still remained. The treaty laid the basis for a demilitarized boundary. It remains in effect to this day.

    Bermuda

    The Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda

    Bermuda had been largely left to the defences of its own militia and privateers before American independence, but the Royal Navy had begun buying up land and operating from there beginning in 1795, after a number of years spent surveying the reefs to find Hurd's channel (which enabled large frigates and ships of the line to pass through the surrounding reefs to Murray's Anchorage and the enclosed harbours). As construction work progressed through the first half of the 19th century, Bermuda became an Imperial fortress and the permanent naval headquarters the Western hemisphere, housing the Admiralty and serving as a base and dockyard. Defence infrastructure remained the central leg of Bermuda's economy until after World War II.

    The Canadas

    After the war, pro-British leaders in Upper Canada demonstrated a strong hostility to American influences, including republicanism, which shaped its policies. Immigration from the United States was discouraged and favour was shown to the Anglican Church as opposed to the more Americanized Methodist Church.

    The Battle of York showed the vulnerability of Upper and Lower Canada (The Canadas). In the decades following the war, several projects were undertaken to improve the defence of the colonies against the United States. They included work on La Citadelle at Quebec City, Fort Henry at Kingston, and rebuilding Fort York at York. Additionally, work began on the Halifax Citadel to defend the port against foreign navies. Akin to the American view that it was a "Second War of Independence" for the United States, the war was also somewhat of a war of independence for Canada. Before the war Canada was a mix of French Canadians, native-born British subjects, loyalists and Americans who migrated there. Historian Donald R. Hickey maintains that the war that threatened Canada greatly helped to cement these disparate groups into a unified nation.

    Indigenous nations

    Map showing the general distribution of Indian tribes in the Northwest Territory in the early 1790s

    The Indigenous tribes allied to the British lost their cause. The Americans rejected the British proposal to create an "Indian barrier state" in the American West at the Ghent peace conference and it never resurfaced. Donald Fixico argues that "fter the War of 1812, the U.S. negotiated over two hundred Indian treaties that involved the ceding of Indian lands and 99 of these agreements resulted in the creation of reservations west of the Mississippi River".

    The Indigenous nations lost most of their fur-trapping territory. Indigenous nations were displaced in Alabama, Georgia, New York and Oklahoma, losing most of what is now Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin within the Northwest Territory as well as in New York and the South. They came to be seen as an undesirable burden by British policymakers, who now looked to the United States for markets and raw materials. Everyone, including British fur traders were prohibited from entering in the United States for purposes of trade.

    British Indian agents however continued to meet regularly with their former allies among the tribes of the Old Northwest, but refused to supply them with arms or help them resist American attempts to displace them. The American government rapidly built a network of forts throughout the Old Northwest, thus establishing firm military control. It also sponsored American fur traders, who outcompeted the British fur traders. Meanwhile, Euro-American settlers rapidly migrated into the Old Northwest, into the lands occupied by the tribes who were previously allied with the British. The War of 1812 marked a turning point in the history of the Old Northwest because it established United States authority over the British and Indians of that border region.

    After the decisive defeat of the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, some Creek warriors escaped to join the Seminole in Florida. The remaining Creek chiefs signed away about half their lands, comprising 23,000,000 acres, covering much of southern Georgia and two-thirds of modern Alabama. The Creek were separated from any future help from the Spanish in Florida and from the Choctaw and Chickasaw to the west.

    United Kingdom

    A political caricature of delegates from the Hartford Convention deciding whether to leap into the hands of the British, December 1814. The convention led to widespread fears that the New England states might attempt to secede from the United States.

    The war is seldom remembered in the United Kingdom. The war in Europe against the French Empire under Napoleon ensured that the British did not consider the War of 1812 against the United States as more than a sideshow. Britain's blockade of French trade had worked and the Royal Navy was the world's dominant nautical power (and remained so for another century). While the land campaigns had contributed to saving Canada, the Royal Navy had shut down American commerce, bottled up the United States Navy in port and widely suppressed privateering. British businesses, some affected by rising insurance costs, were demanding peace so that trade could resume with the United States. The peace was generally welcomed by the British, although there was disquiet about the rapid growth of the United States. The two nations quickly resumed trade after the end of the war and a growing friendship.

    The historian Donald Hickey maintains that for Britain, "the best way to defend Canada was to accommodate the United States. This was the principal rationale for Britain's long-term policy of rapprochement with the United States in the nineteenth century and explains why they were so often willing to sacrifice other imperial interests to keep the republic happy".

    United States

    Independence Day celebrations in 1819. In the United States, the war was followed by the Era of Good Feelings, a period that saw nationalism and a desire for national unity rise throughout the country.

    The nation gained a strong sense of complete independence as people celebrated their "second war of independence". Nationalism soared after the victory at the Battle of New Orleans. The opposition Federalist Party collapsed due to its opposition to the war and the Era of Good Feelings ensued.

    No longer questioning the need for a strong Navy, the United States built three new 74-gun ships of the line and two new 44-gun frigates shortly after the end of the war. In 1816, the United States Congress passed into law an "Act for the gradual increase of the Navy" at a cost of $1,000,000 a year for eight years, authorizing nine ships of the line and 12 heavy frigates. The captains and commodores of the Navy became the heroes of their generation in the United States. Several war heroes used their fame to win elections to national office. Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison both benefited from their military successes to win the presidency, while representative Richard Mentor Johnson's role during the war helped him attain the vice presidency.

    During the war, New England states became increasingly frustrated over how the war was being conducted and how the conflict affected them. They complained that the United States government was not investing enough militarily and financially in the states' defences and that the states should have more control over their militias. Increased taxes, the British blockade, and the occupation of some of New England by enemy forces also agitated public opinion in the states. At the Hartford Convention held between December 1814 and January 1815, Federalist delegates deprecated the war effort and sought more autonomy for the New England states. They did not call for secession but word of the angry anti-war resolutions appeared as peace was announced and the victory at New Orleans was known. The upshot was that the Federalists were permanently discredited and quickly disappeared as a major political force.

    This war enabled thousands of slaves to escape to freedom, despite the difficulties. The British helped numerous escaped slaves resettle in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where Black Loyalists had also been granted land after the American Revolutionary War.

    Jackson invaded Florida (then part of New Spain) in 1818, demonstrating to Spain that it could no longer control that colonial territory with a small force. Spain sold Florida to the United States in 1819 under the Adams–Onís Treaty following the First Seminole War. Pratt concludes that "hus indirectly the War of 1812 brought about the acquisition of Florida".

    Historiography

    This section is an excerpt from Historiography of the War of 1812.

    The historiography of the War of 1812 reflects the numerous interpretations of the conflict, especially in reference to the war's outcome. The historical record has interpreted both the British and Americans as victors in the conflict, with substantial academic and popular literature published to support each claim.

    The British viewed the War of 1812 as a minor theatre that was overshadowed by key victories at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, leading to the Pax Britannica. In the United States and Upper Canada, nationalistic mythology around the war took hold following its conclusion.

    With the failure of the invasion of British Canada advancing the concept of Canadian identity, Canada remained a distinct region that would continue to evolve into a nation. Americans were able to enforce their sovereignty, and both the restoration of honor and what has been called the Second War of Independence are important themes in American historiography, and are considered significant results by historians. Indigenous nations are generally held to have lost in the war.

    See also

    Notes

    1. see Results of the War of 1812
    2. Includes 2,250 men of the Royal Navy.
    3. Includes 1,000 combat casualties on the northern front.
    4. The House declared war by 61.7% with a majority in all sections, 20 Members not voting, and the Senate was closer at 59.4%, four not voting. The former Federalist stronghold in Massachusetts had one Democrat-Republican and one Federalist for U.S. Senators, with ten Democrat-Republicans and seven Federalists in the House. Only two states had both Senators in the Federalist Party: Connecticut with 7 Federalist Representatives, and Maryland with 7 Democrat-Republicans and 3 Federalists in the House.
    5. units raised for local service but otherwise on the same terms as regulars
    6. Hickey
    7. Hull was later court-martialed for cowardice, neglect of duty and for lying about lack of supplies. He was convicted and sentenced to death, but President Madison granted him a pardon for his heroic service during the Revolutionary War.
    8. The task was directed by pyrotechnic experts Lieutenants George Lacy and George Pratt of the Royal Navy.
    9. Admiralty reply to British press criticism.
    10. "They are superior to any European frigate," Humphreys wrote of the design he had in mind, "and if others should be in company, our frigates can always lead ahead and never be obliged to go into action, but on their own terms, except in a calm; in blowing weather our ships are capable of engaging to advantage double-deck ships." In another design Humphreys proposed "such frigates as in blowing weather would be an overmatch for double-deck ships, and in light winds evade coming into action."
    11. With sufficient training and drilling gunnery could be improved, but there was no immediate solution for the lack of crew numbers on British ships. There were six hundred ships in service, manned by only 140,000 seamen and marines. Subsequently the Royal Navy was spread out thin which compromised a crew's overall efficiency and could not rival the quality and efficiency of the crews employed in the smaller, all-volunteer U.S. Navy.
    12. Admiral Warren was evidently concerned, because he circulated a standing order, on March 6, directing his commanders to give priority to "the good discipline and the proper training of their Ships Companies to the expert management of the Guns." All officers and seamen on the North American station were urged to keep in mind "that the issue of the Battle will greatly depend on the cool, steady and regular manner in which the Guns shall be loaded, pointed & fired." Two weeks later, the Admiralty issued a circular to all the British admirals, discouraging the daily "spit and polish" scouring of the brasswork and directing that "the time thrown away on this unnecessary practice be applied to the really useful and important points of discipline and exercise at Arms."
    13. Compared to other nations, the British navy had mastered the practice of employing blockades, which severely compromised an enemy's freedom of movement, supply lines, and economic vitality. It also protected their commercial shipping by preventing enemy privateers and cruisers from going out to sea and capturing prizes. Britain's ten-year-old commercial and military blockade of continental Europe had largely succeeded in its twin goals of interdicting most seagoing commerce while keeping the French navy imprisoned in its ports. It was therefore to be expected that the main thrust of British naval strategy during the war was the employment of blockades along the American coast.
    14. The tightening grip of the British blockade was beginning to take a severe economic toll on communities throughout the country. The drain on the treasury remained a pressing concern, and the Republican-dominated Congress finally recognized the need for more tax revenue; a new levy fell on licences, carriages, auctions, sugar refineries, and salt.
    15. The superior force and scantlings of the American 44-gun frigates, now denounced as "disguised ships of the line," prompted the Admiralty to issue a "Secret & Confidential" order to all station chiefs prohibiting single-frigate engagements with the Constitution, President, or United States. A lone British frigate was henceforth ordered to flee from the big American frigates, or (if it could be done safely) to shadow them at a prudent distance, remaining out of cannon-shot range, until reinforcements.
    16. More significantly, if some spars are shot away on a brig because it is more difficult to wear and the brig loses the ability to steer while a ship could adjust its more diverse canvas to compensate for the imbalance caused by damage in battle. Furthermore, ship-rigged vessels with three masts simply have more masts to shoot away than brigs with two masts before the vessel is unmanageable.
    17. "The British blockade had a crushing effect on American foreign trade. "Commerce is becoming very slack," reported a resident of Baltimore in the spring of 1813: "no arrivals from abroad, & nothing going to sea but sharp vessels." By the end of the year, the sea lanes had become so dangerous that merchants wishing to sell goods had to shell out 50 percent of the value of the ship and cargo."
    18. For details of the negotiations, see Samuel Flagg Bemis (1956), John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy, pp. 196–220; Remini 1991, pp. 94–122; Ward & Gooch 1922, pp. 537–542 and Mahan 1905, pp. 73–78.
    19. The British were unsure whether the attack on Baltimore was a failure, but Plattsburg was a humiliation that called for court martial (Latimer 2007, pp. 331, 359, 365).
    20. Spain, a British ally, lost control of the Mobile, Alabama area to the Americans as a consequence of the Patriot War (Florida) which took place concurrently with the War of 1812.
    21. Theodore Roosevelt commented: "Latour is the only trustworthy American contemporary historian of this war, and even he at times absurdly exaggerates the British force and loss, Most of the other American 'histories' of that period were the most preposterously bombastic works that ever saw print. But as regards this battle, none of them are as bad as even such British historians as Alison. ... The devices each author adopts to lessen the seeming force of his side are generally of much the same character. For instance, Latour says that 800 of Jackson's men were employed on works at the rear, on guard duty, etc., and deducts them; James, for precisely similar reasons, deducts 553 men. ... Almost all British writers underestimate their own force and enormously magnify that of the Americans."

    References

    1. ^ Clodfelter 2017, p. 245.
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