War of 1812
“2nd
“The Forgotten War”
War for Independence”
James Madison
• Virginian
• Republican
• “Father of the
Constitution”
• Former Secretary
of State under TJ
• Elected president
in 1808
Call to War
• Madison calls Congress to declare war on
Britain in 1812
• Impressments of American sailors
• Britain needed troops to fight Napoleon and the French
• British backing of Indian uprisings on the Frontier
• Congress declares war on Britain
• June 1812
• First time Congress declares war
• Britain actually revoked Impressment Act 2 days
before war was declared
• Word had not yet reached United States
1812 – Sea Battles
• In 1812, British
had 97 naval
vessels in
American waters
• Americans had 22
• US Navy was
depleted under
Jefferson
• Madison called for
privateers
• Privately owned
ships
• “cheapest and best
navy”
Comparison of Navy vs Privateers during
War of 1812
U.S. Navy
Privateers
23
517
Total guns on ships
556
2893
Enemy ships
captured
254
1300
Total ships
Sea Battles USS Constitution
• One of the first ships built by
the US Navy
• Commanded by Isaac Hull
• Copper sheathing on the hull,
spikes, and bolts made by Paul
Revere
• Left Chesapeake Bay in June
after declaration of war
• Chased by British ships
• Met the HMS Guerriere off the
coast of Nova Scotia on August
19th
Sea Battles “Old Ironsides”
Painting of combat between USS Constitution and HMS Guerriere by Michel Felice Corne
Sea Battles “Old Ironsides”
• Hull fired his guns at 25 yards ravaging the
Guerriere
• British commander returned fire but was
amazed at how his cannon shot bounced
harmlessly off the Constitution’s hull
• Earned nickname “Old Ironsides”
• Ships collide three times during the battle
• 3rd collision knocked over Guerriere’s mast
• Hull burns HMS Guerriere and returns to
American a hero
Sea Battles US Sea Power
• American dominated the seas in 1812
• Victories by the USS Constitution, USS
United States
• Successful American privateers
• Captured over 1,000 British ships by war’s end
• By 1813, Britain deployed more ships
and blockaded US ports
• Docking many US ships until the war’s end
• Overpowering American ports
• Able to land troops on American shores
The Northern Front Invasion of Canada/Northwest Territory
• As battle is raging at sea,
US decides to attack British
held Canada in July of 1812
• Closest way to engage the
British army
• Thought it would be a
“mere matter of marching”
• Small British army joined
with Tecumseh to defeat
weak and ill-prepared
American invasion
• British and Indian forces
then marched South into
Northwest Territory
• Defeated Americans at Fort
Dearborn, Mackinac, and
Detroit
• Fort Dearborn Massacre
• Michigan, Wacker
• Initial invasion = disaster
The Northern Front –
Burning of York
• Americans were ready for the
campaigning season in 1813
quicker than the British
• 2,000 Americans set off in
April for York (now Toronto),
Canada’s capital
• Attacked weakly defended city
on April 27th
• 700 British
• 320 American casualties
(including General Zebulon
Pike)
• British explode several of their
own ships and kill over 100
Americans
• 150 British
• British surrendered city on
April 28th
• Americans burned many Gov.
buildings including Parliament
The Northern Front Holding our Ground
• 1813 saw British forces team with
Tecumseh and attempt to take US forts
in Ohio
• Americans repelled British at Fort Meigs
(May), Fort Stephenson (August)
• William Henry Harrison led a
ragtag group of 4500 KY militia
to retake Great Lakes region
• Regained Fort Detroit
• Marched into Canada
The Northern Front Battle of Lake Erie
•
•
Sept. 10, 1813
Oliver Hazard Perry commanded
9 US vessels on Lake Erie
•
•
•
•
Perry commands from the USS
Lawrence
The Lawrence inflicts heavy
damage upon the British fleet
but is also heavily damaged and
surrenders
•
•
•
•
•
Faced 6 British ships
A ship building race started in
January
Meanwhile, Perry is rowed under
heavy fire to resume command on
the USS Niagara
The Niagara is able to defeat HMS
Detroit and forces Barclay to
surrender
All other British ships were
captured or destroyed
Decisive American victory
Gave US control of Lake Erie for
remainder of the war
Battle of Lake Erie by William H. Powell
“Dear General:
We have met the enemy and they
are ours…”
The Northern Front Battle of Thames
• Oct. 5, 1813
• Harrison had been pursing British
and Indian forces and caught up
with them at Moraviantown on the
Thames River
• Reinforced by troops sent by Perry
• After breaking through initial
Indian resistance, Harrison
engaged a larger group of British
regulars and Indians
• Americans broke through British
lines
• British cannon failed to fire and
they retreated
• Tecumseh and his men stayed and
kept up the fight
• During fierce fighting in swampy
terrain, Tecumseh was killed
• Remainder of Indian forces
dissolved
Death of Tecumseh
The Eastern Front 1814 - Here come the Redcoats…
• Britain defeats Napoleon in 1814,
freeing up the rest of their army for an
American attack
• Britain lands in the Chesapeake Bay and
marches towards Washington DC
• 6,500 American militia under William
Winder meet 4,500 British 6 miles
outside city in Bladensburg, MD
The Eastern Front Bladensburg Races
• August 24th 1814
• Seasoned Redcoats under General
Robert Ross cut through inexperienced
lines of militia
• American retreat was so fast, the
“battle” came to be known as the
Bladensburg races
• British continued their march to
Washington
• Government evacuated city
• Dolley Madison remained to save as
much from the White House as
possible
The Eastern Front Burning of Washington DC
• British marched into
Washington and burned
the city
• Library of Congress,
Capitol, White House
• No official American
resistance
• Hurricane and tornado
swept through the
capital that night
ravaging the British and
putting out the flames
The Eastern Front Burning of Washington DC
The Eastern Front Battle of Baltimore
• British marched south to Baltimore
• Planned a two-prong attack
• Land attack from the north, sea attack from the south
• On September 12th, British general Robert
Ross arrived on the outskirts of town and
began the push into the city
• Initial British advancement was halted when
Ross was killed by American sharpshooter
• Americans had superior numbers and were well
prepared for attack
• British stopped their advance to wait for results
of sea battle
The Eastern Front Baltimore’s Defenses
• Baltimore was protected to the south by Fort McHenry
The Eastern Front Fort McHenry
• Baltimore was protected to
the south by Fort McHenry
• Americans had sunk old
merchant ships at the
mouth of the harbor to
prevent British ships from
advancing towards Baltimore
• 1000 Americans held Fort
McHenry
• 19 British ships under Arthur
Brooks advanced towards
the Fort and began trading
cannon and mortar fire with
Americans
• The British ships backed out
of range of the fort’s cannon
and bombarded it with
rockets, cannon, and mortar
fire for 25 hours
The Eastern Front Fort McHenry
• After a ferocious night
of bombardment, the
sun rose on
September 14th to find
the oversized
American Flag still
waving above the fort
• The British had fired
an estimated 1800
cannonballs at Fort
McHenry
• The British gave up
their attack
• Sailed back out to sea
to regroup
Star Spangled Banner
• An American citizen named
Francis Scott Key was being
held on one of the British
vessels during the battle
• The sight of the American
Flag on the morning of Sept.
14th inspired Key to begin
writing “In Defense of Fort
McHenry”
• Later to be called “The Star
Spangled Banner” and
become our national anthem
• Set to tune of English
drinking song "The
Anacreontic Song"
The Southern Front –
Andrew Jackson
• Born in SC, lived in TN
• “Tough as old hickory”
• Very tough on his men
• Executed a militiaman for disobedience
• Andrew Jackson had been commanding the
TN militia against the Creek Indians
• Creeks inspired by Tecumseh
• Small battles throughout the war
• Defeated Creek nation in Battle of Horseshoe Bend
in March 1814
• Massacre; 800 of 1000 Red Sticks killed
• Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creeks west into what is
today Alabama
• Indian Removal from the south had begun
The Southern Front –
New Orleans
• After Baltimore, British regrouped and decided
to launch an attack on New Orleans to take
control of the Mississippi River
• Andrew Jackson led a mix-matched group of
4,000 soldiers to defend the city
• Army regulars, KY/TN/LA militia, Indians, free
blacks, pirates
• British landed off the coast of Louisiana on
December 14th, 1814
• Several smaller skirmishes lead up to the main
attack by the British on Jan. 8th
The Southern Front –
Attack on New Orleans
• Jackson’s men built
impressive earthworks
next to the Mississippi
called “Jackson’s Line”
• Behind canal
• On Jan. 8th British
launched a 4 prong
attack on the American
lines
• 8,000 redcoats
• As three groups
engaged different parts
of the main line, a
fourth group would sail
up the Mississippi to
outflank Jackson from
south
The Southern Front –
The Battle of New Orleans
• As the attack began the field
was covered by heavy fog
• As the British approached,
the fog lifted, and they were
met with stiff artillery fire
from the Americans
• British had forgotten ladders
to scale earthworks
• All three main attacks were
repulsed
• British suffered 2,037
casualties
• Americans suffered 71
The Southern Front –
Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans by Herbert Morton Stoops
Treaty of Ghent
• Treaty signed on Dec. 24th 1814 in Ghent,
Belgium
• American commission headed by John
Quincy Adams
• Before Battle of New Orleans
• Word of treaty had not yet reached generals
• Restored things to pre-war status quo
• Simply a mutual end to hostilities, return
of prisoners, territory, etc.
• Issues that started the war had resolved
themselves by war’s end
• British Impressment Act was repealed two
days before War began
• Defeat of the French in 1814 means that
Impressment was no longer needed
• Embargo/Non Intercourse Acts repealed
• Indian Resistance quelled
• Tecumseh killed
• Followers crumbled without leadership
• Jackson’s victories over the Creeks in the
South
Consequences
• America had withstood its first real
military test
• Solidified its national identity
• Affirmed American independence
• Severely weakened Indian resistance
to western expansion
• Lost Tecumseh
• Lost Britain as ally
• Improved struggling economy from
embargo
• Increase in Home manufacturing
• Exposed weaknesses of national
defense
• Madison soon recommended a 10,000
troop standing army (3 times the size
under Jefferson)
• More $ for military