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Declaration of War
• American President James Madison is pressured by “War Hawks” and expansionists to declare war.
• With tension mounting due to the British impressing American sailors, cutting off European trade and supporting the Aboriginals, Madison has no choice.
• The United States declares war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. -
Capture of Fort Mackinac
• When Madison declared war on Great Britain, he did not adequately inform his troops that war was happening.
• At British Fort St. Joseph, across from American Fort Mackinac, Captain Charles Roberts knew about the war before Fort Mackinac did.
• Captain Roberts launched a surprise attack on the Fort and, as they were unprepared, the Fort was surrendered to the British. -
Battle of Detriot
• British commander Sir Isaac Brock and Native chief Tecumseh work together to seize Fort Detroit. They tricked United States General Hull to believe that they had five times as many soldiers as they really did.
• General Hull surrenders Fort Detroit to Sir Isaac Brock without any large battle.
• Brock and Tecumseh’s claim of Fort Detroit stops any American chance of attacking Canada through Detroit, and allowed Brock to gain many war resources at the Fort. -
Battle of Queenston Heights
Queenston Heights• With Detroit cut off, American General Sheaffe attempts to invade Upper Canada at the Niagara River.
• Sir Isaac Brock works with Aboriginal allies and Canadian militia- men who identified as Canadian and who volunteered to protect their own land- against Sheaffe’s attack.
• Brock is killed in the battle of Queenston Heights. Despite this, the British/Militia/Aboriginal side wins the battle.
• The British have now stopped the Americans from invading two of three target areas of Upper Canada -
Battle of York
• American leader Isaac Chauncey leads an attack on York- present day Toronto- which was the capital of Upper Canada at the time.
• The fort at York is relatively undefended by British troops.
• American troops on the sea and land capture the British capital of Upper Canada. They proceed to burn the capital to the ground.
• This is a major blow to the British morale. -
Capture of Fort George
• The American plan was to capture Fort York, then proceed to take Fort George from there.
• After York was captured and burned, American troops led by Chauncey attacked Fort George by land and water.
• Americans captured Fort George from the British and used it as a strategic base for the raids of further areas of Upper Canada.
• British General Vincent and many of his troops, however, were able to escape. Americans did not kill or capture many British men. -
Battle at Stoney Creek
• US Major Henry Dearborn decided to march his troops further into Upper Canada to gain more British land.
• Dearborn's troops were stalled by bad weather, however, giving a British rider named Billy Green time to spy on the incoming American attack and inform the British side.
• The British army made a surprise attack on the American troops that had set up camp at Stoney Creek. They succeeded in pushing back the American troops. However, both sides experienced many causalities. -
Battle of Beaverdams
• Lt-Colonel Charles Boerstler planned to attack British General Vincent's troops who were stationed at Beaver Dams (near Thorold and Niagara Falls).
• Laura Secord overheard American soldiers speaking about the upcoming attack. She made a dangerous trip through the forest to warn British General FitzGibbon of the attack.
• FitzGibbon, now aware of the upcoming attack, was able to beat the Americans.
• However, they relied heavily on Aboriginal support. They would not have won without them. -
Battle of Lake Erie
• The American leaders knew that if they were to gain any significant ground in the war, they would need to take control on the water.
• American Admiral Perry led a fleet of American ships onto Lake Erie.
• At the end of a two hour battle, all of the British ships were captured and their sailors were made prisoner to the Americans. There were few American losses compared to British.
• Not only did Americans win an extremely important body of water, but they defeated the powerful British navy. -
Battle of the Thames
• Following the American victory on Lake Erie, the western part of Upper Canada was at risk for invasion.
• Tecumseh worries that his group of Native tribes that he had worked so hard to bring together would be in danger if the West was invaded. He persuades British General Proctor to fight the oncoming Americans at the River Thames (near present day London)
• Proctor and the British retreat. Tecumseh is killed in the battle, and his warriors lose the will to fight. -
Battle of Chateauguay
• Two American armies, one led by General Hampton and the other led by General Wilkinson, marched toward the St. Lawrence river- the final point of invasion originally planned by Madison.
• Groups of French Canadian militia were integral in these battles. At both points of intersection- Chateauguay and Chrysler's Farm- the French Canadian militia used informal war tactics to beat back the American armies.
• Although they were relatively small battles, these victories were incredibly important -
Battle of Chippewa
• American forces, led by General James Brown, advanced further into Upper Canada. The plan was to raid Burlington Bay, York or Kingston.
• British General Riall met the American forces at the Chippewa River.
• For the first time in the war, the Americans- who were outnumbered by the British- beat the British troops. This was a momentous event, as it opened the grounds for Brown to continue his raid of Upper Canada. -
Battle of Lundy's Lane
• American General Jacob Brown had captured Fort Erie a few weeks prior to this important battle at Niagara Falls, giving him and his troops the vantage point to attack at Lundy's Lane.
• At the end of one of the largest and most brutal battles during the War, American and British forces, who were aided by Aboriginals and Canadian militia, the British were able to force an American retreat back to Fort Erie.
• This was one of the deadliest battles in the war- both sides suffered many casualties. -
Burning of Washington
• The British, in one of the few advances into the United States during the war, targeted Washington for their next attack. They felt that this would deal a huge blow to American morale, and be revenge for the American burning of Upper Canada's capital, York.
• When they received warning of the upcoming British attack, President James Madison, his wife Dolly, and others at the White House fled.
• The British easily occupied Washington and burned it to the ground. -
Treaty of Ghent
• Peace negotiations between both sides began in the beginning of August, 1814 in Belgium.
• The British side wished to be forceful in the negotiations by choosing the land divisions and maintaining a separate Aboriginal state. However, a recent American victory at Baltimore made the power in negotiations more equal.
• It was decided that there would be peace on both sides. The borders would remain the same as they were before, without an Aboriginal state. Their voice was forgotten.
