The War of 1812

Causes:

• The United States wanted to expand its territory by capturing Canada from the British and Florida from the Spanish.

• Both Great Britain and France were seizing American ships on the high seas and kidnapping American sailors.

• The United States negotiated a deal with France that stated if the United States stopped trading with Britain, the French would stop seizing American ships.

• The United States believed the British were arming American Indians and encouraging them to attack American settlers in the Northwest Territory.

Question #1

• Identify two causes of the War of 1812

Impressment

The British impress, or kidnap, an American sailor.

In the early part of the 19th century, the British found themselves at war with the French again. With a shortage of men and supplies, the British began to view the weak American navy as the answer to their problems. The British navy and the French to some extent began to seize American ships on the high seas, take their cargo, sometimes kidnap their crew members. After an American ship was captured, a British officer would have the Americans lined up and identify men he believed had defected from the British navy. Those Americans would be forced to serve in the British navy. This action angered the Americans who regarded this as kidnapping.

Question #2

• Why did the British impress American sailors?

British Support of Indiansin the Ohio Valley

To stop American expansion west, the British made alliances with the American Indian tribes in the Ohio Valley. The British supplied the Indians with weapons and supplies in the hope the Indians would use them against American settlers. The British were hoping this would stop American settlement of the Northwest Territory. When the Americans became aware of the British alliance, they were angered because they considered it further British interference in American affairs.

Question #3

• What was the British motivation behind their support of the Indians in the Ohio Valley?

Expansion into Canada

Since the United States failed to seize Canada during the Revolutionary War, some Americans still desired to wrestle the territory from British control. Americans who supported a war with Britain, “War Hawks,” wanted a reason to invade Canada and make it a part of the United States.

Question #4

• Who were the “War Hawks” and what was their motivation?

Major Battles

The War at Sea

The USS Constitution vs. the HMS Guerriere

The American and British navies fought at sea again on August 19, 1815. This battle pitted the USS Constitution against Britain’s HMS Guerriere. The Guerriere opened fire on the Constitution, which started the battle. At one point the two ships were just twenty five yards apart. Both ships began firing muskets at one another; this prevented either ship from taking over the other. However, the English canon balls bounced off the Constitution because of the strong timber used in the ship’s construction. This is how the Constitution received the nickname, “Old Ironsides.” The ships hit each other three times. After the third exchange, the Guerriere’s mast was disabled, the crew was forced to strike its colors, and the captain was forced to surrender.

Question #5

• Who won the first major battle at sea? Why did they win?

Battle of Lake Erie/Put-In-BaySeptember 10, 1813

English and American forces did battle on Lake Erie in the Put-in-Bay on September 10, 1813. Master Commandant Oliver Perry commanded the American fleet, while Commander Robert Barclay directed the British. The Americans took control of the battle, using heavy power to weaken the Royal Navy. America’s fleet, however, was hit hard also; almost eighty percent of the sailors were killed, wounded, or stricken with disease. Barclay was wounded in the battle as Perry led the Americans to victory. Each navy suffered more than one hundred casualties.

The Burning of Washington, D.C.

British troops burned the Executive Mansion leaving only the charred stone shell standing.

Americans would rebuild the interior, paint the outer walls white to cover the smoke damage,

and begin referring to the building as the White House.

General Robert Ross led British troops to attack Washington, D.C., with orders to destroy everything in the path up to the Capitol. The interiors of the buildings that housed the House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the Library of Congress were destroyed. British troops made their way toward the White House, which they later set on fire. First Lady Dolley Madison barely escaped the fire and fled with a full portrait of George Washington. The British continued their attack, burning the United States Treasury to the ground. A hurricane came through the area and put out the fires.

Question #6

• How do you think Americans would feel after the Burning of Washington D.C.?

Battle of Baltimore September 13, 1814

The British army of five thousand men marched from Washington, D.C., toward Baltimore to fight the Americans at the Battle of North Point. Colonel Arthur Brooke led the British effort against American forces, but his soldiers met resistance. At Fort McHenry, Major George Armistead led Americans against the British Royal Navy on September 13, 1814. The United States held its ground, forcing the British fleet to withdraw. An American flag flew over the fort the next day, signaling victory for the United States, and becoming Francis Scott Key’s inspiration for The Star-Spangled Banner.

The Star-Spangled BannerFrancis Scott Key was a young lawyer from Washington in 1814 when he found himself at the center of a raging battle. President James Madison sent Key to arrange for the release of a doctor the advancing British army had captured. Key met with British officers aboard the HMS Surprise; however, because Key had overheard the British battle plan, he was forced to remain on board until the battle was over. Key had a front-row seat to the British bombardment of Fort McHenry outside of Baltimore and wrote a poem to describe what he had seen. The poem would be set to the British drinking tune of “To Anacreon in Heaven.” Later the song would be renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In 1931 an act of Congress made Key’s song the national anthem of the United States.

Francis Scott Key

Fort McHenry Flag

Treaty of GhentDecember 24, 1814

The War of 1812 ended with the signing of a peace treaty in Ghent, Belgium, on December 24, 1814. With communications very slow at the time, the war raged for another two months before word spread of the end of hostilities between Britain and the United States. The treaty restored conditions between Britain and the United States to what they were before the war. The British promised to return all impressed sailors and captured slaves, and the Americans promised to respect Indian territory in present-day Ohio and Michigan.

Battle of New OrleansAndrew Jackson was hailed as a hero after his forces were

victorious over the British at the Battle

of New Orleans.

Pirates fought with Americansat New Orleans.

On January 8, 1815, General Edward Packenham led the British against Andrew Jackson’s American forces defending New Orleans. A fog covered the British soldiers’ advance; but it soon lifted, and they were revealed. The Americans swiftly attacked. Great numbers of British soldiers, including Packenham, were killed and wounded. The British did win a victory near the Mississippi River where they pummeled American forces. The British soldiers were forced to retreat after hearing of Packenham’s failed attempt outside New Orleans. John Lambert took command of the British forces and moved his troops to parts of Mississippi for safety. The battle was inconsequential because the War of 1812 had ended when the Treaty of Ghent was signed two weeks earlier. Unfortunately, news of the treaty had not yet reached New Orleans by the time of the battle.

Question #7

• Why did the Battle of New Orleans take place after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent?

Results of the War of 1812• The British agreed to respect the borders of the United States

and stay out of the Northwest Territory.

• After Americans stopped trading with Great Britain, they were forced to manufacture their own goods. This made the United States more economically self-reliant.

• Americans gained nationalistic pride from their victories against the British.

• After the British defeated the French general Napoleon Bonaparte, both countries resumed their friendship, and British-American trade recommenced.

• American Indian resistance in the Northwest Territory was crushed.

Question #8

• List Three Results of the War of 1812