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Period: to
War of 1812
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American "War Hawks" & "Madisons War"
A group of young men known as "War Hawks" dominated Congress during this period. Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina were the outstanding leaders of the group. Clay was then Speaker of the House of Representatives. Like Clay and Calhoun, most of the War Hawks came from Western and Southern states, where many of the people were in favor of going to war with Great Britain. -
Chesapeake Affair & Impressments
June 22: The Chesapeake Affair: USS Chesapeake fired on and boarded by the HMS Leopard off Norfolk, Virginia. The British navy forced american sailors to work on British war ships. -
Hull invades Upper Canada
July 12: U.S. General Hull invades Upper Canada at Sandwich across from Detroit -
Fall of Detroit
Isaac Brock becomes a hero throughout the British Empire and his army secures a windfall of bounty and supplies. The victory at Detroit provides much needed momentum to the British cause in Upper Canada. Besides inspiring confidence amongst the militia it convinces many neutral native tribes to join Tecumseh's alliance. For the Americans it is a tremendous setback. This is not the easy war the War Hawks had promised. -
Battle of Queenston Heights
Although this is a decisive victory for the British, it has been won at great cost. Brock has been killed. He was an intelligent and well-liked commander and also a crucial link with Tecumseh's confederacy -
Laura Secord
Laura Secord warned the British troops of an american attack. The British prepared themselves and won the war. -
Americans Burn York (Toronto)
The American army at Sackett's Harbour still greatly outnumbers the British defenders of Kinston, but in the American commanders' overheated imagination, it is the other way around; it is they who are now outnumbered. -
Battle of Thames
The rout of the British-Native army on October 5, 1813, The great Indian leader Tecumseh was slain in hand-to-hand combat and his Native Alliance shattered. The retreating British troops were left in complete disarray. After the battle, British officials faced the prospect of losing all of Upper Canada west of Kingston. -
British burn Washington
The American cabinet’s response to the landing of British troops in Chesapeake Bay was one of utter confusion. The poorly trained militia forces, hastily mustered under Baltimore lawyer William Winder, were easily routed by the seasoned British troops. Washington was quickly sacked and its public buildings burned. When the British tried to take Baltimore, they found it closely defended and retreated after a short siege. -
Treaty of Ghent ends war
On Christmas Eve of 1814, the members of the British and American negotiating teams, scrawled their signatures and affixed their individual seals to the document, which once ratified by their respective governments, would end the war of 1812. The Treaty of Ghent, in effect, meant that thousands of people had died for nothing: nobody won the war of 1812. -
Battle of New Orleans
The battle of New Orleans occurs after the war was over, At 5:00 am on January 8, 1815, British General Edward Pakenham loses to Colonel Thornton’s troops.