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 Attacks in the East
• 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
• 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