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The War of 1812
Adeline Benjamin
period 9 -
President Madison takes office
When Madison took office many Americans were angry at the British. They had armed Native Americans! Also many Americans felt a new since of nationalism -
War Hawks Take Power
In 1810, Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina became leaders of the House of Representatives. They were strong nationalists. Their supporters became known as war hawks. War Hawks are people who wanted to be at war with Britain. -
Relations with Great Britain Worsen
The United States were told by the British that they would continue impressing sailors. Impressment is when the British would seize American sailors and force them to serve in the British navy. Also Native Americans started to attack the new frontier settlements. -
Congress Declares war on Britain
When the United States declared war on Britain it didn't come at a good time, for Britain was also at war with Europe. Britain was not ready to give up though. They kept supporting the Native Americans, it was one way to keep the Americans from invading and attacking Canada. -
America is not Ready for War
At first the Americans were confident they would win but that soon changed for the worse. Jefferson had cut down most of they navy they only had 16 warships ready. He had also cut weakened the army. They now only had fewer then 7,000 men. -
Britain Blockades American Ports
A blockade is when someone shuts down a port or road to prevent people or supplies from coming to or from an area. In July of 1814, Britain did this to the United States ports. They used 135 warships! -
Invasion of Canada
Even before the war started War Hawks wanted to invade Canada. In July, of 1812, under the command of General William Hull they invaded Canada. Hull and his troops feared they didn't have enough troops so they soon fell back. The British commander General Isaac Brock soon found out what they were doing and took the advantage. His army of Native Americans and British soldiers surrounded Hull's army of American troops and forced them to surrender. The British captured more than 2,000 troops. -
Invation of Canada
It was a great win for the British, but a very dissapointing defet for the Americans. -
USS Constitution scores a victory
This big sea battle was fought at the beginning of the war. The United States navy defeated the British navy. According to tradition the British artillery bounced off the ships thick wood hull. Giving it the nickname "Old Ironsides". It seemed as if the Constitution was made of iron. -
Battle of Lake Erie
After the embarrassing defeat in Canada the Americans scored an amazing victory in the Battle of Lake Erie.The three-hour battle took place in the western part of the lake. At first the American flagship was badly damaged, so the clever American commander Oliver Hazared Perry switched to another ship until the battle was won. -
Battle of Thames
With Americans in control of Lake Erie the British were forced to leave Detroit and retreat back into Canada. As they retreated General William Henry and his soldiers followed. They followed them all the way back to Canada, where the Battle of Thames took place and the Americans defeated the British and Native Americans. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
In the summer of 1813, Creek warriors attacked many southern settlements made by the Americans. The commander Andrew Jackson took control of American forces in Georgia. In March of 1814, Jackson defeated these Creeks in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.. The treaty that ended the fighting made the Creeks give up a lot of acres of land. Millions of acres of land. -
Wastington, D.C Attacked & Burned
The British had a different war strategy though, it was to attack the nations capital, Washington, D.C. When the British forces marched into the city the first lady gathered up her husbands most important papers and left the city. The British burned and attacked many important government buildings, one of which was the White House. Americans were shocked to find out that the army couldn't defend Washington! -
Attack on Baltimore
After the attack in Washington the British moved onto Baltimore. They wanted to capture Fort McHenry because it defended the city's harbor. The British warships bombed the fort on the night of September 13, 1814. At the end of the night though the American flag was still standing, the Americans had beaten off the British. -
Writing of the Star-Spangled Banner
On the night of the Attack on Baltimore a young American, Francis Scott Key watched the brutal attack. By the end of the night it was over and at dawn he saw the American flag still standing on top of the fort, because the Americans had won. On the back of an old envolope, he wrote a poem he called "The Star-Spangled Banner". It told the story of that night . The poem became very popular. In 1931, Congress made it the national anthem of the United States. -
Hartford Convention
In December of 1814, a group of Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut. Some delegates suggested that the New England States secede from the USA. Scede means to withdraw. While they delegates debated they heard about a peace treaty and the Hartford Convention soon came to an end. -
Treaty of Ghent
By 1814, Britain had become tired of war. Talks of Peace began in Ghent, Belgium. On the Christmas Eve of 1814, the Americans and British signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war. The treaty helped to bring life back to the way they were before the war. -
Battle of New Orleans
News of the treaty took several weeks to reach the United States though. In that short amount of time the two sides had one last battle. Under the command of General Andrew Jackson the American forces won and amazing victory against the British forces in the battle of New Orleans.
