Chapter 8, Section 4

The War of 1812

Early Battles

• War of 1812 began in the summer months – United States up against the world’s most

powerful military (Great Britain)– War Hawks (pro war members of Congress)

made claims that the war would be a swift and easy victory

War at Sea

• British navy had hundreds of war ships• United States navy had fewer than 20 at the

start of the war• Most of Britain’s ships were scattered across the

globe– Great Britain had a vast colonial empire covering

almost every continent on the globe• United States navy was small but well trained

– Powerful new warships like the USS Constitution– Americans had several naval victories in one-on-one

duels• These victories embarrassed the British and boosted

American morale• Eventually, the British navy blockaded America’s seaports

Battles Along the Canadian Border

• American leaders wanted to follow up naval victories with an invasion of British Canada

• 3 planned attacks– From Detroit– From Niagara Falls (present day Buffalo, NY)– From the Hudson River towards Montreal

Battles Along the Canadian Border

• American Attack from Detroit (failed)– British soldiers and Native Americans led by

Tecumseh captured Fort Detroit

• Other American attacks failed because state militia refused to cross the Canadian border – Argued that they did not have to fight in a

foreign country

Battles Along the Canadian Border

• 1813 Americans went on the offensive again– Goal was to break British control of Lake Erie– Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in command– Battle of Lake Erie

• Perry said out to meet the British on September 10• Battle ended when the British surrendered• Perry’s brilliant victory forced the British to

withdraw, giving the United States military control of Lake Erie and renewing morale

Battles Along the Canadian Border

• Control of Lake Erie allowed William Henry Harrison to march into Canada with his ground forces

• Battle of the Thames River (October 1813)– William Henry Harrison defeated British and Native

American forces– Harrison’s victory ended British power in the

Northwest Territory– Tecumseh’s death during the battle struck a blow to

the British alliance with Native Americans in the region

The Creek War

• War between the United States and Native American forces erupted in the south in 1813– Creek tribe angry that settlers were pushing into their

lands– Attacked Fort Mims on the Alabama River

• Destroyed the fort and killed 250 Americans

– Andrew Jackson• American Commander of the Tennessee militia• Gathered 2,000 volunteers (hence the nickname “The

Volunteer State”) to fight against the Creek Nation

The Creek War

• Jackson attacked the Creek in spring of 1814

• Jackson’s victory against the Creek became known as the Battle of Horseshoe Bend

• Treaty of Fort Jackson– Ended the Creek War– Forced the Creek Nation to give up millions of

acres of their land for white settlement

Great Britain on the Offensive

• Despite US victories in the West and South, the situation was dire in the East

• Great Britain defeats Napoleon’s France in 1814 and could now focus all of their energy on the war in America– Sent more troops to America

British Attacks in the East

• Great Britain attacked Washington D.C.– President James Madison

forced to flee the capital– British set fire to the city

and burned the White House

• Dolley Madison– Wife of President James

Madison– Refused to leave the White

House until a famous portrait of George Washington was rescued

Dolley Madison

• British moved south to Maryland

• Attacked Fort McHenry – Shelled the fort for 25 hours– Americans refused to surrender, even in this

dark hour

British Attacks in the East

British Attacks in the East• Francis Scott Key

– Watched “…the bombs bursting in air” at Fort McHenry “…o’er the ramparts” on the night of September 13-September 14, 1814

– In the morning, when the smoke cleared, Francis Scott Key saw “…broad stripes and bright stars” flying over Fort McHenry

– Because “…the flag was still there”, Francis Scott Key became overwhelmed with American pride and wrote a little poem

– We know this poem today as “The Star-Spangled Banner”

– The flag that so inspired Francis Scott Key now resides as an exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

The Battle of New Orleans

• After the attack on Washington, British forces moved on the New Orleans– The British goal was the capture the city and

take control of the Mississippi River

• Andrew Jackson in control of American forces in New Orleans– Forces made up of regular soldiers, free

African Americans, Choctaw Native Americans, state militia, and French Pirates led by Jean Lafitte

The Battle of New Orleans

• The Battle of New Orleans– Began on the morning of January 8, 1815– As British forces began marching toward US

defenses, they were caught in an open field undefended

• More than 2,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded in a short span of time

– Americans suffered only 70 casualties– This battle made Andrew Jackson a national hero– Last major battle of the War of 1812

Effects of the War

• Prior to the Battle of New Orleans, a group of New England Federalists met secretly in Hartford, Connecticut

• Hartford Convention– Federalists agreed to oppose the war and send

delegates to meet with Congress

• Before the delegates could reach Congress, news arrived that the war was over– Critics mocked the Federalists and the party lost

much of its power

Effects of the War

• Treaty of Ghent– Signed in Belgium on Christmas Eve 1814– Ended the War of 1812– Slow communications prevented the

Federalists or Andrew Jackson from knowing of the war’s end

Cause and Effect

CAUSES EFFECTS

•British impressment of United States sailors

•Increased sense of national pride

•Interference with American shipping

•American manufacturing boosted

•British military aid to Native Americans

•Native American resistance weakened