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War of 1812

This article is about the British-American War from 1812 to 1815. For the Franco-Russian conflict, see French invasion of Russia. For other uses of this term, see War of 1812 (disambiguation).

The War of 1812 was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies from June 1812 to February 1815. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theater of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right, though it was separate.

War of 1812

War of 1812 Montage.jpg

Clockwise from top: damage to the U.S. Capitol after the Burning of Washington; the mortally wounded Isaac Brock spurs on the York Volunteers at the battle of Queenston Heights; USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere; The death of Tecumseh in 1813; Andrew Jackson defeats the British assault on New Orleans.

Date 18 June 1812 –17 February 1815

(2 years and 8 months)

Location

Eastern and Central North America, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Result

Treaty of Ghent

Military stalemate; both sides' invasion attempts repulsed

Status quo ante bellum

Defeat of Tecumseh's Confederacy

Belligerents

United States

Choctaw

Cherokee

Creeks

Seneca

United Kingdom

The Canadas

Tecumseh's Confederacy[1]

Shawnee

Creek Red Sticks

Ojibwe

Fox

Iroquois

Miami

Mingo

Ottawa

Kickapoo

Delaware (Lenape)

Mascouten

Potawatomi

Sauk

Wyandot

Bourbon Spain

Florida (1814)

Commanders and leaders

United States James Madison

United States Henry Dearborn

United States Jacob Brown

United States Winfield Scott

United States Andrew Jackson

United States William Henry Harrison

United States William H. Winder (POW)

United States William Hull Surrendered (POW)

United States Zebulon Pike †

United States Oliver Hazard Perry

United States Isaac Chauncey

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland George, Prince Regent

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Lord Liverpool

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sir George Prévost

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sir Isaac Brock †

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Gordon Drummond

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Charles de Salaberry

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Roger Hale Sheaffe

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Robert Ross †

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Edward Pakenham †

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland James FitzGibbon

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Alexander Cochrane

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland James Lucas Yeo

Tecumseh †

Strength

U.S. Army:

7,000 (at war's start)

35,800 (at war's end)

Rangers: 3,049

Militia: 458,463*

U.S. Marines

U.S. Navy and Revenue Cutter Service (at war's start):

Frigates: 12

Other vessels: 14

Privateers: 515 ships[2]

Native allies:

125 Choctaw

unknown others[3]

British Army:

5,200 (at war's start)

48,160 (at war's end)

Provincial regulars: 10,000

Militia: 4,000

Royal Marines

Royal Navy

Ships of the line: 11

Frigates: 34

Other vessels: 52

Provincial Marine (at war's start): ‡

Ships: 9

Native allies: 10,000–15,000[4]

[2]

Casualties and losses

2,200–3,721 killed in action[5]

4,505 wounded

15,000 (est.) died from all causes[a]

4,000 slaves freed [6]

20,000 captured[7][8]

8 frigates captured or burnt

278 privateers captured

1,400 merchant ships captured

British Empire:

1,160[9]–1,960 killed[2][b] in action

3,679+ wounded

10,000 died from all causes[2][c]

4 frigates captured

~1,344 merchant ships captured (373 recaptured)[5]

15,500 captured

Native allies:

10,000 dead from all causes (warriors and civilians)[2][d]

Unknown captured

* Some militias operated in only their own regions.

† Killed in action

‡ A locally raised coastal protection and seminaval force on the Great Lakes.

From the outbreak of war with Napoleonic France, Britain had enforced a naval blockade to choke off neutral trade to France, which the US contested as illegal under international law. To man the blockade, Britain impressed American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy. Incidents such as the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, which happened five years before the war, inflamed anti-British sentiment in the US. In 1811, the British were in turn outraged by the Little Belt affair, in which 11 British sailors died.[10][11] Britain supplied Native Americans who raided American settlers on the frontier, hindering American expansion and provoking resentment.[12] Historians debate whether the desire to annex some or all of British North America (Canada) contributed to the American decision to go to war. On June 18, 1812, US President James Madison, after heavy pressure from the War Hawks in Congress, signed the American declaration of war into law.[13]

With most of its army in Europe fighting Napoleon, Britain adopted a defensive strategy. American prosecution of the war effort suffered from its unpopularity, especially in New England, where it was derogatorily referred to as "Mr. Madison's War". American defeats at the Siege of Detroit and the Battle of Queenston Heights thwarted attempts to seize Upper Canada, improving British morale. American attempts to invade Lower Canada and capture Montreal also failed. In 1813, the Americans won the Battle of Lake Erie, gaining control of the lake, and at the Battle of the Thames defeated Tecumseh's Confederacy, securing a primary war goal. A final American attempt to invade Canada was fought to a draw at the Battle of Lundy's Lane during the summer of 1814. At sea, the powerful Royal Navy blockaded American ports, cutting off trade and allowing the British to raid the coast at will. In 1814, one of these raids burned the capital, Washington, although the Americans later repulsed British attempts to invade New England and capture Baltimore.

In Britain, there was mounting opposition to wartime taxation and demands to reopen trade with America. With the abdication of Napoleon, the blockade of France ended and Britain ceased impressment, rendering the issue of the impressment of American sailors moot. The British were then able to increase the strength of the blockade on the United States coast, annihilating American maritime trade and bringing the US government near to bankruptcy. Neither side wanted to continue fighting. Peace negotiations began in August 1814, and the Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24. News of the peace did not reach America for some time. Unaware of the treaty, British forces invaded Louisiana and were defeated at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. These late victories were viewed by Americans as having restored national honour, leading to the collapse of anti-war sentiment and the beginning of the Era of Good Feelings, a period of national unity. News of the treaty arrived shortly thereafter, halting military operations. The treaty was unanimously[14] ratified by the US Senate on February 17, 1815, ending the war with no boundary changes.

Origins

Forces

Declaration of war

Course of war

Treaty of Ghent

Losses and compensation

Long-term consequences

Memory and historiography