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War of 1812
The War of 1812 between Britain and the United States took place
against the global backdrop of the long struggle between Britain, with a
shifting series of European allies, and the French and European empire
of Napoleon. In the first decade of the 1800s each side forbade neutral
nations to trade with the other side, but only the British with the dominant
Royal Navy could impose these restrictions upon a burgeoning American
merchant marine which was beginning to trade worldwide. In addition to
their search for contraband, the British stopped American ships to
remove sailors whom they regarded as British subjects and, always
desperate for trained manpower in the long wars with France, pressed
them into service in the Royal Navy. Some British captains were not
careful to ensure that these seamen were in fact British rather than
American citizens.
The United States and Britain came to the brink of war in 1807 when the
British ship HMS Leopard stopped the American frigate USS Chesapeake
just outside American territorial waters. When the American vessel
refused to be inspected, the British fired into the frigate, boarded it and
removed four seamen whom the British captain claimed to be deserters.
Although the British apologized, they did not end their stop and search
practices.
During the same years the Americans came increasingly into conflict with
both the British and the Native people living in the "Old Northwest" of the
Ohio and upper Mississippi watersheds. Britain did not initially surrender
such western posts as Fort Niagara, Detroit and Fort Michilimackinac to
the Americans as required by the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended
the American Revolution. First Nations in this region, who regularly
gathered at these posts to trade, looked to the British to assist them to
stem the encroaching tide of American settlement, but substantive help
was not forthcoming. Nevertheless, expansionist "War Hawks" in the U.S.
Congress accused the British of aiding the Native people. In June 1812,
President James Madison declared war, convinced that this was the only
way to bring pressure upon the British to address the Americans'
maritime grievances and to appease the "War Hawks." Nothing happened
for a month, until American Brigadier General William Hull crossed the
Detroit River to occupy the far western Upper Canada outpost village of
Sandwich.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century British North America was a
collection of separate colonies or provinces -- Upper and Lower Canada,
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, St. John's Island (Prince Edward Island) and
Newfoundland -- united only by having a single governor general. With
the exception of funds voted by the colonial legislatures for local
defence, foreign relations and defence were British responsibilities. The
Governor-in-Chief of British North America, Lieutenant-General Sir
George Prevost, and the colonial lieutenant-governors were the effective
military commanders and makers of local strategy. A shortage of British
regular soldiers and the need for maritime control of the Great Lakes
meant that British North American commanders had to adopt a primarily
defensive strategy for the first two years of the war. Napoleon's defeat
and abdication in early 1814 allowed Britain to transfer more of its troops
from Europe to North America. While negotiations to end the war
continued, both sides launched offensives that, while unsuccessful for
both, involved the heaviest fighting of the war.
The war affected the various regions of British North America quite
differently. Because the New England states generally opposed the war,
the Maritimes quickly reached a peaceful arrangement with the
Americans. The British colonies served chiefly as bases for the Royal
Navy's blockade of the American seaboard and for privateering voyages
against American merchant shipping.
In Lower Canada, present-day Quebec, the canadien population was by
1812 reconciled to British rule and turned out for militia service when
ordered to do so. British North American Governor-in-Chief Prevost
recognized that Lower Canada, especially Québec city, was key to a
successful defence. In the end, however, the Americans launched only
one major attack against the colony, which was thwarted by a mixture of
British fencibles (regular troops recruited for local defence only) and
canadien militia at the battle of Châteauguay in 1813.
Upper Canada was the scene of many of the military operations of the
war. At the outset, support for the British administration was not easily
forthcoming. Much of the colony had been only recently settled, largely
from the United States, and many of these settlers could only be
charitably described as "late Loyalists." There was sympathy for the
American cause both in the colonial legislature and in the countryside.
Determined to rally support for the British North American side,
Major-General Isaac Brock, commander in Upper Canada, launched a
pre-emptive strike on Detroit. His victories there and at Queenston
Heights persuaded many colonists that the province could be held and
that they must do their duties as militiamen in the fighting which
continued over two and a half years.
Even within Upper Canada different areas were affected differently by the
war. The eastern part of the colony faced a long open frontier with the
Americans. Each side raided the other throughout the war but the
Americans made only one real offensive here. In the autumn of 1813 an
advance toward Montréal was thwarted at Crysler's Farm, near
present-day Morrisburg. The Americans made more serious invasion
attempts throughout the war along the Niagara frontier, where much of
the heavy fighting took place. Brock's early advantage in taking Detroit
was lost in 1813 by Major-General Henry Procter, who abandoned the
western end of the colony after the defeat of the British squadron on
Lake Erie. Although Procter was decisively defeated and his Shawnee
ally Tecumseh killed by Major General William Henry Harrison, a future
American president, at Moraviantown on the Thames River, the
Americans did not pursue their advantage but withdrew to their Detroit
base.
Peace negotiations began in the summer of 1814. Britain had invaded
France and Napoleon had abdicated, permitting the transfer of British
troops from Europe to North America. While peace talks continued, an
expedition raided and burned Washington, D.C. The American
negotiators in turn were heartened by the news that Lieutenant-General
Prevost had abandoned his expedition against Plattsburg, N.Y., in
September 1814 after his small naval squadron on Lake Champlain was
destroyed. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve, 1814,
returned all territorial conquests made by either side but forced the
British to abandon their tribal allies in the Northwest. The Treaty did not
address the maritime causes of the war after all: with Napoleon's downfall
they were no longer an issue.
against the global backdrop of the long struggle between Britain, with a
shifting series of European allies, and the French and European empire
of Napoleon. In the first decade of the 1800s each side forbade neutral
nations to trade with the other side, but only the British with the dominant
Royal Navy could impose these restrictions upon a burgeoning American
merchant marine which was beginning to trade worldwide. In addition to
their search for contraband, the British stopped American ships to
remove sailors whom they regarded as British subjects and, always
desperate for trained manpower in the long wars with France, pressed
them into service in the Royal Navy. Some British captains were not
careful to ensure that these seamen were in fact British rather than
American citizens.
The United States and Britain came to the brink of war in 1807 when the
British ship HMS Leopard stopped the American frigate USS Chesapeake
just outside American territorial waters. When the American vessel
refused to be inspected, the British fired into the frigate, boarded it and
removed four seamen whom the British captain claimed to be deserters.
Although the British apologized, they did not end their stop and search
practices.
During the same years the Americans came increasingly into conflict with
both the British and the Native people living in the "Old Northwest" of the
Ohio and upper Mississippi watersheds. Britain did not initially surrender
such western posts as Fort Niagara, Detroit and Fort Michilimackinac to
the Americans as required by the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended
the American Revolution. First Nations in this region, who regularly
gathered at these posts to trade, looked to the British to assist them to
stem the encroaching tide of American settlement, but substantive help
was not forthcoming. Nevertheless, expansionist "War Hawks" in the U.S.
Congress accused the British of aiding the Native people. In June 1812,
President James Madison declared war, convinced that this was the only
way to bring pressure upon the British to address the Americans'
maritime grievances and to appease the "War Hawks." Nothing happened
for a month, until American Brigadier General William Hull crossed the
Detroit River to occupy the far western Upper Canada outpost village of
Sandwich.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century British North America was a
collection of separate colonies or provinces -- Upper and Lower Canada,
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, St. John's Island (Prince Edward Island) and
Newfoundland -- united only by having a single governor general. With
the exception of funds voted by the colonial legislatures for local
defence, foreign relations and defence were British responsibilities. The
Governor-in-Chief of British North America, Lieutenant-General Sir
George Prevost, and the colonial lieutenant-governors were the effective
military commanders and makers of local strategy. A shortage of British
regular soldiers and the need for maritime control of the Great Lakes
meant that British North American commanders had to adopt a primarily
defensive strategy for the first two years of the war. Napoleon's defeat
and abdication in early 1814 allowed Britain to transfer more of its troops
from Europe to North America. While negotiations to end the war
continued, both sides launched offensives that, while unsuccessful for
both, involved the heaviest fighting of the war.
The war affected the various regions of British North America quite
differently. Because the New England states generally opposed the war,
the Maritimes quickly reached a peaceful arrangement with the
Americans. The British colonies served chiefly as bases for the Royal
Navy's blockade of the American seaboard and for privateering voyages
against American merchant shipping.
In Lower Canada, present-day Quebec, the canadien population was by
1812 reconciled to British rule and turned out for militia service when
ordered to do so. British North American Governor-in-Chief Prevost
recognized that Lower Canada, especially Québec city, was key to a
successful defence. In the end, however, the Americans launched only
one major attack against the colony, which was thwarted by a mixture of
British fencibles (regular troops recruited for local defence only) and
canadien militia at the battle of Châteauguay in 1813.
Upper Canada was the scene of many of the military operations of the
war. At the outset, support for the British administration was not easily
forthcoming. Much of the colony had been only recently settled, largely
from the United States, and many of these settlers could only be
charitably described as "late Loyalists." There was sympathy for the
American cause both in the colonial legislature and in the countryside.
Determined to rally support for the British North American side,
Major-General Isaac Brock, commander in Upper Canada, launched a
pre-emptive strike on Detroit. His victories there and at Queenston
Heights persuaded many colonists that the province could be held and
that they must do their duties as militiamen in the fighting which
continued over two and a half years.
Even within Upper Canada different areas were affected differently by the
war. The eastern part of the colony faced a long open frontier with the
Americans. Each side raided the other throughout the war but the
Americans made only one real offensive here. In the autumn of 1813 an
advance toward Montréal was thwarted at Crysler's Farm, near
present-day Morrisburg. The Americans made more serious invasion
attempts throughout the war along the Niagara frontier, where much of
the heavy fighting took place. Brock's early advantage in taking Detroit
was lost in 1813 by Major-General Henry Procter, who abandoned the
western end of the colony after the defeat of the British squadron on
Lake Erie. Although Procter was decisively defeated and his Shawnee
ally Tecumseh killed by Major General William Henry Harrison, a future
American president, at Moraviantown on the Thames River, the
Americans did not pursue their advantage but withdrew to their Detroit
base.
Peace negotiations began in the summer of 1814. Britain had invaded
France and Napoleon had abdicated, permitting the transfer of British
troops from Europe to North America. While peace talks continued, an
expedition raided and burned Washington, D.C. The American
negotiators in turn were heartened by the news that Lieutenant-General
Prevost had abandoned his expedition against Plattsburg, N.Y., in
September 1814 after his small naval squadron on Lake Champlain was
destroyed. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve, 1814,
returned all territorial conquests made by either side but forced the
British to abandon their tribal allies in the Northwest. The Treaty did not
address the maritime causes of the war after all: with Napoleon's downfall
they were no longer an issue.