
1812 to 1815
War of 1812
by Something Something
The War of 1812 was a conflict fought between the United States and its allies, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its dependent colonies in North America and its allies. Many native peoples fought in the war on both sides.
Table of Contents / Timeline
Prologue: Origins of the War
1812 Jan 1 -
New York, USA
The origins of the War of 1812 (1812-1815), between the United States and the British Empire and its First Nation allies, have been long debated. There were multiple factors that caused the US declaration of war on Britain: 1. A series of trade restrictions introduced by Britain to impede American trade with France with which Britain was at war (the US contested the restrictions as illegal under international law). 2. The impressment (forced recruitment) of seamen on US vessels into the Royal Navy (the British claimed that they were British deserters). 3. The British military support for American Indians who were offering armed resistance to the expansion of the American frontier to the Northwest Territory. 4. A possible desire by the US to annex some or all of Canada. 5. Implicit but powerful was a US motivation and desire to uphold national honor in the face of what they considered to be British insults, such as the Chesapeake affair.
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Declaration of war
1812 Jun 1 -
Washington
On 1 June 1812, President James Madison sent a message to Congress recounting American grievances against Great Britain, though not specifically calling for a declaration of war. The House of Representatives then deliberated for four days behind closed doors before voting 79 to 49 (61%) in favour of the first declaration of war. The Senate concurred in the declaration by a 19 to 13 (59%) vote in favour. The conflict began formally on 18 June 1812, when Madison signed the measure into law. He proclaimed it the next day, while it was not a formal declaration of war. This was the first time that the United States had declared war on another nation and the Congressional vote was the closest vote in American history to formally declare war
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U.S. General William Hull's army invades Upper Canada at Sandwich
1812 Jul 12 -
Windsor, Ontario

Siege of Fort Mackinac
1812 Jul 17 -
Fort Mackinac
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First Battle of Sacket's Harbor
1812 Jul 19 -
Sackets Harbor, New York
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Siege of Detroit
1812 Aug 12 -
Detroit, Michigan Territor
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USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere
1812 Aug 19 -
Atlantic Ocean
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Battle of Queenston Heights
1812 Oct 13 -
Queenston
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Battle of Frenchtown
1813 Jan 18 -
Frenchtown, Michigan Territo
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The Battle of York
1813 Apr 27 -
York, Upper Canada (now Toro
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Battle of Thames
1813 Aug 5 -
Moravian of the Thames, Ont
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Battle of Lake Erie
1813 Sep 10 -
Lake Erie
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Battle of Chippawa
1814 Jul 5 -
Chippawa, Upper Canada (pres
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British burn Washington, D.C.
1814 Aug 1 -
Washington, D.C.
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Battle of Plattsburgh
1814 Sep 6 -
Plattsburgh, New York
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The Battle of New Orleans
1815 Jan 8 -
Near New Orleans, Louisiana
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Treaty of Ghent
1815 Feb 17 -
Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent (8 Stat. 218) was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in Belgium). The treaty restored relations between the two parties to status quo ante bellum by restoring the prewar borders of June 1812.
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Epilogue
1816 Jan 1 -
New England, USA
The border between the United States and Canada remained essentially unchanged by the war and the treaty that ended it addressed the original points of contention—and yet it changed much between the United States and Britain. The Treaty of Ghent established the status quo ante bellum. The issue of impressment became irrelevant when the Royal Navy no longer needed sailors and stopped impressing them.
Britain defeated the American invasions of Canada and its own invasion of the United States was defeated in Maryland, New York and New Orleans. After two decades of intense warfare against France, Britain was in no mood for more conflicts with the United States and focused on expanding the British Empire into India.
The Battle of York showed the vulnerability of Upper and Lower Canada. In the decades following the war, several projects were undertaken to improve the defence of the colonies against the United States.
The Indian tribes allied to the British lost their cause. The indigenous nations lost most of their fur-trapping territory. Indigenous nations were displaced in Alabama, Georgia, New York and Oklahoma, losing most of what is now Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin within the Northwest Territory as well as in New York and the South.
The war is seldom remembered in Great Britain. The massive ongoing conflict in Europe against the French Empire under Napoleon ensured that the British did not consider the War of 1812 against the United States as more than a sideshow. Britain's blockade of French trade had been entirely successful, and the Royal Navy was the world's dominant nautical power (and remained so for another century). While the land campaigns had contributed to saving Canada, the Royal Navy had shut down American commerce, bottled up the United States Navy in port and widely suppressed privateering. British businesses, some affected by rising insurance costs, were demanding peace so that trade could resume with the United States. The peace was generally welcomed by the British. However, the two nations quickly resumed trade after the end of the war and a growing friendship over time.
The nation gained a strong sense of complete independence as people celebrated their "second war of independence". Nationalism soared after the victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
This war enabled thousands of slaves to escape to freedom, despite the difficulties. The British helped numerous Black Refugees resettle in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where Black Loyalists had also been granted land after the American Revolutionary War.
Jackson invaded Florida in 1818, demonstrating to Spain that it could no longer control that territory with a small force. Spain sold Florida to the United States in 1819 under the Adams–Onís Treaty following the First Seminole War. Pratt concludes that "thus indirectly the War of 1812 brought about the acquisition of Florida. To both the Northwest and the South, therefore, the War of 1812 brought substantial benefits. It broke the power of the Creek Confederacy and opened to settlement a great province of the future Cotton Kingdom".
Characters
References
- Arthur, Brian (2011). How Britain Won the War of 1812: The Royal Navy's Blockades of the United States. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-665-0.
- Auchinleck, Gilbert (1855). A History of the War Between Great Britain and the United States of America: During the years 1812, 1813, and 1814. Maclear & Company. p. 49
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