The War of 1812

The War of 1812

Period: Mar 1, 1809 to Jan 31, 1815

President Madison Takes Office

Mar 4, 1809

~ Americans were angry at Britain for arming Native Americans in the Northwest.
~ To most Americans the countrys honor was at stake.
~ Americans felt a new sense of nationalism.
~ Many New Englanders believed war with Britain would harm Americsn trade.
~ Americans also resented the continued impressment of American sailors by the British

War Hawks Take Power

Mar 1, 1810

~ The congress members from the South and West were called the War Hawks.
~ War Hawks had a strong sense of nationalism.
~ They were willing to fight a war to defend American rights.
~ President Madison did not want war.

Relations With Great Britain

Jan 2, 1812

~ Britain was not able to meet American demands to avoid war.
~ In the first days of the war the British set up a blockade on the American Coast.
~ The British had 135 warships blockadeing American ports
~ A major sea battle was fought at the beginning of the war
~ August 1812 USS constitution defeated Britain

Congress Declares War On Britain

Jun 1, 1812

~ President Madison gave into war
~ The House voted 79 to 49 in favor of war
~ The Senate was 19 to 13
~ The Americans soon discovered winning the battle would not be as easy as declareing it

America Is Not Ready For War

Jun 19, 1812

~ The American declaration of war took the British by suprise
~ As the war began the United States faced difficulties of its own
~ The navy had 16 ships to fight against Britain with
~ " The State Of Army" commented a member of congress

Britain blockades american ports

Jul 1, 1812

~ The British navy had 135 warships blockading American ports
~ The British had closed all American ports by wars end
~ In the first days of the war the British set up a blockade

The Invasion Of Canada

Jul 12, 1812

~ General William Hull mooved American troops into canada from Detroit
~ The Canadians were led by a powerful British leader named General Isaac Brock
~ Brocks scare tactics worked
~ Hull retreated from Canada
~ Canadians fought fiercely and forced the Americans to retreat

USS Constitution Scores A Victory

Aug 19, 1812

~ This was major sea battle
~ The USS constiotution beated the British warship Guerrier'e
~ The Americans thought the constitution of being made of iron
~ The Americans nicknamed the Constitution "old Ironsides"

Battle Of Lake Erie

Sep 10, 1813

~ The Americans sent out to win control of Lake Erie
~ The British battered Perry's own ship and left it helpless
~ The Americans won the battle
~ Perry took his flag down and rowed over to another American ship
~ Perry wrote his victory message down on the back of an envelope it read " we have met the enemy and they are ours"

Horseshoe Bend

Mar 27, 1814

~ Andrew Jackson took command of the American troops in the creek war
~ With the help of the Cherokees Jackson won the Horseshoe Bend battle
~ The leader of the creeks walked alone into Jacksons camp to surrender

Washington D.C. Attacked And Burned

Aug 24, 1814

~ President Madison himself watched the battle
~ The British marched to the capital
~ Dolley Madison scrawled a note to her sister
~ Dolley fled South
~ The British marched north towards Baltimore

Attack on Baltimore

Sep 13, 1814

~ The British's first attack was Fort McHenry
~ British warships bombarded the fort through the night
~ At dawn the American flag still fled over the fort
~ The Amricans had beaten off the attack

Writing Of The Star Sangled Banner

Sep 13, 1814

~ Francis Scott Key witnessed the battle and wrote a poem about the bombardment
~ "The star spangled banner" was set to music then adopted as the national anthem of the United States
~ The "broad stripes and bright stars" on the flag waved over Fort McHenry

Battle of Thames

Oct 5, 1814

~ The Americans won the battle of Thames
~ Without Tecumseh's leadership the Indian confederation soon fell apart
~ The British lost control of Lake Erie
~ Tecumseh died in the fighting

Hartford Convention

Dec 15, 1814

~ The Federalists disliked the republican president and the war
~ The delegates threatened to leave
~ News of the peace treaty arrived
~ With the war over the protest was meaningless

Treaty of Ghent

Dec 24, 1814

~ The treaty had turned things to the way they were before the war
~ News of the treaty took several weeks to reach the United States
~ On Christmas Eve 1814 the two sides signed the Treaty of Ghent
~ In that time the two sides fought one more battle

The Battle Of New Orleans

Jan 8, 1815

~ The British hoped to sail up the Mississippi
~ The American soldiers dug trenches to defend themselves
~ Jackson turned his frontier fighters into a strong army
~ Jackson Marched through Mobile and set up camp in New Orleans
~ Andrew Jackson became a national hero