The War Of 1812

By Jtepfenh

  • President Madison Takes Office

    President James Madison Was Inaugurated On March 1st, 1809. Tension With Britain Was High During This Time. Americans Were Angry Because Britain Had Armed Native Americans In The Northwest And Because Britain Continued The Impressment Of American Sailors.
  • Period: to

    The War Of 1812

  • War Hawks Take Power

    Two Strong Nationalists Named Henry Clay And John C. Calhoun Became Leaders In The House Of Respresentatives. These Two Men And Their Supporters Were Called 'War Hawks' Because They Were Eager For War With Britain.

  • Relations With Great Britain Worsen

    Relations With Britain Gradually Got Worse During The First Few Months Of 1812. In The Spring, Britain Told America They Would Continue With The Impressment Of American Sailors. Meanwhile, Native Americans In The Northwest Began New Attacks On Frontier Settlements.

  • Congress Declares War On Britain

    When The War Began, Americans Were Positive They Would Win. The War Did Not Come At A Good Time For The British, Who Were Still At War In Europe. However, Britain Was Not Willing To Meet America's Demands To Avoid War.

  • America Is Not Ready For War

    Thomas Jefferson's Spending Cuts Weakened American Military
    Strength. The Navy Only Had 16 Warships Ready For Action. The Army Had Less Than 7,000 Men.

  • Britain Blockades American Ports

    In The Beginning Of The War, Britain Set Up A Blockade Of The American Cost. By 1814, The British Had 135 Warships Blockading American Ports. The British Were Able To Close Off All American Ports By War's End.

  • Invasion Of Canada

    American Troops Under General William Hull Invaded Canada From Detroit. William Hull Feared He Did Not Have Enough Soldiers, And He Soon Retreated. The British Took Adavntage Of His Confusion, Surrounded His Army, And Forced Them To Surrender. The British Captured More Than 2,000 Soldiers.

  • USS Constitution Scores A Victory

    A Major Sea Battle Was Fought At The Beginning Of The War. The USS Constitution Defeated The British Warship Guerriere. In This Fierce Battle, British Artillery Fire Bounced Off The Ship's Thick Wooden Hull, Earning It The Nickname 'Old Ironsides'.

  • Second Battle Of Sackets Harbor

    A British Force Went Across Lake Ontario And Attempted To Capture The Town. Americans Repelled The Attacking Military Force.

  • Battle Of Lake Erie

    A Three Hour Battle Took Place In The Western Part Of Lake Erie. During The Battle, The American Flagship Was Badly Damaged. Oliver Hazzard Perry Switched To A Different Ship And Continued To Fight Until He Won. With Americans In Control Of The Lake, The British Were Forced To Retreat Back Into Canada.

  • Battle Of Thames

    The Americans Followed The British And Their Native American Allies Into Canada. There, They Defeated The British In The Battle Of Thames. Tecumseh Was Killed In This Battle, Along With Many Others.

  • Battle Of Horseshoe Bend

    Creek Warriors Attacked Several Southern American Settlements. Andrew Jackson Took Command Of American Forces In Georgia, And Deafeated The Creeks At The Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The Treaty That Ended The Fighting Forced The Creeks To Give Up Millions Of Acres Of Land.

  • Battle Of Fort Oswego

    The British Tried To Raid Fort Oswego. This Fort, With The Nearby Village Of Oswego, New York, Was A Vital Staging Point On The American Supply Route From New York. The British Beleived That There Was 30 Guns Intended For The American Soldiers Waiting At The Fort, And They Wanted Those Guns.

  • Washington DC Attacked & Burned!!

    A British Force Marched Into The City. They Set Fire To Several Government Buildings, Including The White House. Americans Were Shocked To Learn That Their Army Could Not Defend Washington.

  • Attack On Baltimore & The Writing Of The Star Spangled Banner

    British Warships Bombarded Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key Watched The Attack. At Dawn, He Saw The American Flag Still Flying Over The Fort, Which Meant The Americans Had Beaten Off The Attack. Key Wrote A Poem That Described His Night's Watch And Called It 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. The Poem Became Popular And Was Set To Music. In 1931, It Became The National Anthem.

  • Battle Of Plattsburgh

    This Battle Took Place Shortly Before The Signing Of The Treaty Of Ghent. This Battle Ended The Invasion Of The Northern States During The War Of 1812. It Was A Huge Victory For The United States.

  • Hartford Convention

    Some Delegates To The Hartford Convention Suggested That New England States Secede From The United States. While Delegates Debated, News Of The Peace Treaty Arrived. With The War Over, The Hartford Convention Quickly Ended.

  • Treaty Of Ghent

    Britain Had Gotten Tired Of War. Peace Talks Began In Ghent, Belgium. On Christmas Eve, The Two Sides Signed The Treaty Of Ghent And The War Was Over. Things Were To Return To The Way They Were Before The War.

  • Battle Of New Orleans

    News Of The Treaty Took Several Weeks To Reach The United States. In That Time, Both Sides Fought One More Battle. American Forces Won A Stunning Victory Over The British At The Battle Of New Orleans.