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President Madison takes office
There was tension with Britain when James Madison took office in 1809. Americans resented the continuing of the impressment of the American sailors by the British. The Amrican were then angry at the British because they were arming some Native Americans in the Northwest. -
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The War of 1812
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War Hawks Take Power
''War Hawks'' was a term for a person who was eager for a war with Britain. Opposition to war was the strongest in New England at the time. Many people from New England (New Englanders) thought that the war with Britain would harm the Amerian trade. -
Relations with Great Britain Worsen
This happened in the early months of 1812. In the spring of 1812, said that they will keep on impressing American sailors. Durring that time, Native Americans in the Northwest strated to gave new attacks on some frontier settlements. In the month of June, the Congress declared war on Britain. -
Congress Declares War on Britain
In June, British started impressing American sailors. This was because Madison took office. Americans started to get very angry with Britain. The British would not stop impressing all the American sailors. American Congress soon declared war on Britain for the impressing of sailors. -
America is not Ready for War
When the war just began, Americans were confident that they would win. It then came apparent that that they were not prepared. Thomas Jeferson's spending cuts weakened the whole American military. Jefferson also weakened their other form of defence, there were only 16 warships left ready to fight in the war. They also had a small army wich consisted of 7,000 men left for war. -
Invasion of Canada
Even before the war began, the war hawks were wanting to invade Canada. They expected that the Canadians to welcome the chance to throw off British rule. In July of 1812, all American troops under General William Hull invaded Canada and Detroit. Hull feared that they did not have enough soldiers, then he soon retreated. The American forces had better luck on Lake Erie. Both of the sides were aware of the importance of controlling the whole lake. A key three-hour battle took place at Put-In-Bay. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
In the beginning of the war, the British set up a blockade of the whole American coast. A "Blockade'' is a term that means the action of shutting a port or road to prevent people or supplies from coming into an area or leaving it. By 1814, the British navy had 135 warships ready for war, and blockading all the American ports. After reinforcing the British troops, they then were able to close off all of the American ports by the war's end. -
USS Constitution scores a victory
In August 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the big British warship. The British ship was was named ''Guerriere'' in the fierce battle. According to American tradition, the Americans nicknamed the ship "Old Ironsides''. The Americans called it ''Old Ironsides'' because the British artillery fire bounced of the ship's thick wooden hull. To the Americans, they thought that the ship was mad of iron. -
Second Battle of Sackets Habor
The Second Battle of Sacket's Harbor or also known as The Battle of Sackets Harbor.This battle took place on 29 May 1813. A British force was transported across Lake Ontario and attempted to capture the town. In the early weeks of the War, the British seized control of the Great Lakes. -
Battle of Lake Erie
The American forces had better luck on Lake Erie. Both sides were aware of the importance of controlling the lake. A key three-hour battle took place at Put-In-Bay, in the western part of the lake, in 1813. Durring the battle, the American flagship was very badly damaged. The American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, had switched to another American ship and he then continued the brutal fight until it was won. Perry then retreated back into Canada. -
Battle of Thames
After the British defeat in the Battle of Lake Erie, all the U.S. troops that were under Gen. William H. Harrison pursued retreating British soldiers across the big Ontario peninsula. Ou of the big British force, there were 600 regulars, and there were also 1,000 Indians under Tecumseh. He soon met 3,500 of the U.S. troops at the Thames River near Moraviantown, Ont. The outnumbered British were then quickly defeated, and the leader, Tecumseh was then killed. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
The Native Americans of the south also suffered from defeat. The summer of 1813, Creek warriors had attacked several of the American settlements in the south. Andrew Jackson then took command of all of the American forces that were in Georgia. In march 1814, Jackson had defeated all the Creeks that were at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The treaty that ended the fighting forced all the Creeks to give up millions of their acres of land. -
Battle of Fort Ontario
The Battle of Fort Oswego happened during the early months of 1814. The Lake Ontario was frozen, and the British and the American naval squadrons had been building two frigates each.James Lucas Yeo squadron embarked the landing force and set out from Kingston late on 3 May during the attack. The official British Army casualty return, wich was signed by Lieutendant Colonel John Harvey.The British gathered more that 2,400 barrels of supplies that they needed such as: Pork, bread,etc. -
Washington, D.C Attacked and Burned
In 1814, the new British strategy was to attack the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. In August 1814, the british force martched into the city. Dolley Madison, the President's wife, had gathered up all the important papers and then she fled to the White House. The British had set fire to several of the government buildings, and then they soon caught the White House on fire, as well. All Americans were shocked that their army could not defend Washington. -
Battle of Plattsburgh
The Battle of Plattsburgh had ended the final invasion of the northern states during the War of 1812. With the abdication of Napoleon I and the apparent end of the Napoleonic Wars, which was on April 1814, large numbers of British troops became available for service against the United States in the War of 1812. In an effort to break the deadlock in North America, around 16,000 men were dispatched to Canada to aid in an offensive against American forces. -
Attack on Baltimore and the Writing of the Star Spangled Banner
After the attack on Washington, the British then moved to Baltimore. Their first objective was Fort McHenry, which defended the city's harbor. The British warships bombarded the fort throughout the night of September 13, 1814. Francis Scott Key, which was a young American, was there when the attack occured. At dawn, Key saw that the American flag was still flying over the fort. The Americans had beaten off the attack. On the back of an envelope, Key wrote a poem called the"Star-Spangled Banner". -
Hartford Convention
In December 1814, a group of Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut. Some of the delegates debated, some of the news of the peace treaty arrived. With the war over, the Hartford Convention ended. To some Americans, the War of 1812 was known as the "Second War of Independance" from Britain. The European nations would now have to treat the young republic with respect. -
Tready of Ghent
By 1814, Britain had tired of war. Peace talks had begun in Ghent, Belgium. On the following Christmas Eve 1814, the two sides had signed the Treaty of Ghent, which was the treaty that soon ended the war. The treaty had returned things to the way that they have been before the War of 1812. -
Battle of New Orleans
The news of the Ghent Treaty had took several weeks to reach the United States. In that time, the two of the sides fought one more battle. In January 1815, The american forces that were under General Andrew Jackson had won a stunning victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans.
