The War of 1812
Created | Updated Jun 15, 2005
The Stage
The War of 1812 was really just a little side battle in the Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain. Because the United States had been providing a certain amount of support for the French, the British attempted to blockade American shipping and had on occasion impressed American seamen into the Royal Navy. The U. S. finally became fed up and declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812. Likely never having any intention to attack the British Home Islands directly, the American strategy was directed north toward the Canadas (Upper and Lower), the heart of British Possessions in the Americas. The U. S. was likely encouraged by the large population of American ex-patriots in the Canadas. The encouragement was misplaced as these ex-Americans had moved north to escape the Revolution, making the choice to remain British. Having sacrificed so much in that initial choice, they were willing to fight their old homeland to remain United Empire Loyalists.
The Campaign of 1812
War is Declared
Unfortunately for the Americans, their declaration of war came before their preparations were complete. American General Hull crossed in force into Canada from Detroit to try to pursuade the Canadians not to fight. After four weeks wandering what is now southern Ontario, Hull crossed back to Detroit without success. Hull was court-martialled and sentenced to be shot for cowardice but received a Presidential pardon.
The British, on the other hand, although vastly outnumbered, had as their leader the audacious Major-General Isaac Brock. Reading the strategic situation correctly, Brock struck immediately. Although an American capture of Montreal would be the logical first step, Brock knew that American forces would concentrate to the west where British ally Brigadeer-General Tecumseh of the Shawnee was already harrying the Americans.
Michilimackinac Island
Brock sent his forces to capture the strategic American fort on Michilimackinac Island at the entrance to Lake Superior. The Fort was taken without a fight on July 16, 1812.
Detroit
On August 16, the British took Detroit, which had been captured from them by American forces in 1796. On August fifteenth Brock began bombarding the fort with his heavy guns while Techumseh had his Shawnee warriors repeatedly advance and withdraw from the forest, creating the false impression that he had five times his actual strength. Worn down by the bombardment and fearing a massacre at the hands of what they thought to be "savages", the Americans under Brigadier-General Hull capitulated with limited conditions after only a day siege and withot a fight. The Article of Capitulation makes very interesting reading. Strangely, the Detroit Historical Museum webpage has no mention of the capture of Detroit in the War of 1812. The capture of Michilimackinac Island and Detroit gave the British control of the Western Front, Michigan Territory, and the Upper Mississippi Valley.
Queenston Heights
On October 13 at Queenston Heights on the Upper Canadian side of the Niagara River, the Americans lost yet another army when the local militia refused to cross the river as reinforcements, invoking their constitutional right to stay on their own territory. At Queenston Heights the greatest American success was the death of the British commander, Brock.
Frenchtown
A new American army under William Henry Harrison marched north from Kentucky in a campaign to retake Detroit. One wing of this army was badly defeated at Frenchtown on January 22, 1813 by a combined force of British, Canadians, and Indians commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Proctor. This brought the 1812 campaign to a close with British holding two American forts and no Americans in Canada.
The Campaign of 1813
Kingston -- no, York
The campaign of 1813 opened with an American plan to capture Kingston at the east end of Lake Ontario. This plan would cut the Canadas in half. But the Americans changed suddenly changed strategy and marched on York, the capital of Upper Canada, at the other end of the Lake, which they captured on the April 28. The Capture of York was something of a disappointment for the Americans as the retreating British set fire to the one partly built warship left in the harbour, and so naval power on the Lake remained balanced. The Americans did capture a quantity of military supplies which loss hampered the British farther to the west. The Americans soon abandoned York after burning most of the public buildings.
Fort George
The Americans moved on to Fort George on the Niagra Peninsula, which they captured on May 27. This gave the Americans control of the Niagra River, a waterway which would have had much more strategic importance if that famous waterfall hadn't made it unnavigable. Unfortunately for the American Fleet, the British army stationed at Fort George escaped.
Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams
That British Army went on to defeat the Americans at the Battle of Stoney Creek on June 6, capturing two American Generals. The Battle of the Beaver Dams on June 24, in which a force of some five hundred Americans was surprised and captured by some fifty British soldiers, forced the Americans back to Fort George. For the remainder of the 1813 campaign, the Niagara Peninsula was patrolled by small harrying bands from both sides.
On December 10, the remaining Americans in Fort George, worn down by the siege, abandoned the Fort and crossed back into the United States.
Newark and Buffalo
On their way to the river, the American troops set fire to the Canadian town of Newark (now Niagra-on-the-Lake). This action enraged the British who retaliated by burning Buffalo, New York on December 30, 1813.
Fort Meigs and Put-in-Bay
At the western front, the British tried early in the 1813 campaign to dislodge Harrison from Fort Meigs, south of Frenchtown, but failed. The two hastily built fleets fought through the summer for control of Lake Erie and finally met at Put-in-Bay on September 10. The British were short on supplies because of the capture of York and were defeated and captured by American commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the first commander to ever capture a British fleet.
Retreat to Moraviantown and the Battle of the Thames
The British abandoned Detroit and retreated from Fort Amherstburg through the southern tip of Upper Canada to Moraviantown. At Fort Amherstburg on September 13, Tecumseh made a speech to his allies, reprimanding them for their retreat. On October 5, Harrison's Kentuckians met Proctor's combined force of Shawnee, British, Canadians, and Newfoundlanders in the Battle of the Thames. Brigadeer-General Tecumseh died in the battle and the British were defeated, but it was harvest time in Kentucky and Harrison's soldiers wanted to go home. Harrison was unable to advance further. This was the end of the 1813 campaign in the west.
Chateauguay
In the east, a new American plan to divide the Canadas was mounted, this time aimed at Montreal. On October 26, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry lead a small force of Lower Canadian voltigeurs against an American army of 4000 at Chateauguay and drove the Americans back across the border.
Crysler's Farm
On November 11, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Morrison routed James Wilkinson's force of Americans at Crysler's Farm on the Saint Lawrence River and drove the survivors out of Canada. The 1813 campaign left the Americans in possession of the British Fort Amherstburg, giving them control of the Detroit River, and the British holding the American forts of Niagara and Michilimackinac.
The Campaign of 1814
Fort Erie and Chippawa
On July 3, 1814, the Americans captured Fort Erie, at the south end of the Niagara River. They capitalized on this victory two days later by defeating the British at Chippawa.
Lundy's Lane
At Lundy's Lane on the night of July 25, the two forces inflicted heavy casualties on each other and the American advance was stopped.
Fort Erie again
The Americans retreated north to the area of Fort Erie, still held by the British. The British commander, Lieutenant-General Gordon Drumond, ordered a night attack on the Americans and was badly defeated. The Americans and British were at a stalemate in the Niagara Peninsula until November 5, when the Americans withdrew.
The Sack of Washington and the Battle of Baltimore
On August 19, a British force landed at the mouth of the Patuxent River. By August 24 they had marched north and captured Washington virtually without a fight. The British sat down at a captured White House banquet, and, after a pleasant dinner, set fire to the White House and much of the city in retaliation for the American burning of a number of small villages in Upper Canada, contrary to an earlier agreement. The Burning of Washington was done at the specific request of Sir George Prevost, the Governor of Canada. The American First Lady, Dolly Madison, has left us an account of the burning.
Brigadier General Robert Ross the commander of the British land force, turned his sights from Washington toward Baltimore but he was killed in a skirmish en route on September 12. On the morning of September 13, British warships began the bombardment of Fort McHenry. The Bombardment failed to shake the defenders of Fort McHenry, but it did inspire Francis Scott Keys to write "The Star Spangled Banner". The British completed their withdrawal on September 15.
The Capture of Maine
In September, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia led a force south from Halifax and captured Castine, in Maine, on September 3. Within a few weeks, the British held most of Maine and retained control until it was returned to the Americans with the Treaty of Ghent.
Prairie du Chien and Michilimackinac Island again
During 1814, French Canadian voyageurs captured Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi and burned the Fort. They also fought off an American attempt to recapture Michilimackinac. In that attempt the Americans lost two warships captured by the French Canadians.
The Aborted Battle of Plattsburg
In September, the British commander mounted a final push against the Americans around Lake Champlain. With newly arrived veterans of the Napoleonic campaigns which had now ended, Prevost marched south with 11,000 men. On September 11, the British fleet on Lake Champlain was defeated at Plattsburgh Bay by Commodore Thomas Macdonough, and the cautious Prevost called off the ground offensive.
The Treaty of Ghent
Negotiations were for an end to the war were ongoing and finally, a treaty was signed came into effect on December 24, 1814. The boundaries were returned to their pre-war positions. All pre-war conflicts were resolved by the end of the Napoleonic wars, which were the cause of the actions which had precipitated the War of 1812.
Postscript
The Battle of New Orleans
Communication was slow in the 19th century. The last battle of the war,
the Battle of New Orleans was largely fought after the war was over. This was likely a good thing for the British, as they were defeated by Andrew Jackson's rag-tag force of American Regular soldiers, Choctaws, freed slaves, and pirates.
The Battle of the Windmill
American northern ambitions were by no means ended with the Battle of Lundy's Lane. In November of 1838, British and Canadian forces defeated a small American invasion force at The Battle of the Windmill near Wellington, Ontario. The British victory prevented the American capture of Fort Wellington. This invasion was another attempt to divide the Canadas preparatory to a full scale invasion.
Polk and 54-40
In 1844, James K. Polk campaigned for the Presidency with the slogan "54-40 or fight". This was a reference to his desire to expand the northern boundary of the Oregon Territory to latitude 54 degrees, 40 minutes. Such an expansion would have cut Canada off from the west coast. Neither the northward expansion nor the fight occurred.
The Salmon War(and softwood lumber, and wheat, and . . .)
In the Twentieth century disputes continued between the United States and Canada, beginning with the Alaska Border Dispute, which was decided by an international commission in favour of the U. S. in 1903. This decision completed a part of Polk's vision and cut Canada off from a small bit of the Pacific Coast.
Despite Free Trade Agreements, the Twentieth Century ended with Salmon Wars, Softwood Lumber Wars, and Wheat Wars, being on-going disputes between the nations. There has not been military action in these disputes, but there have been Coast Guard seizures.
