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The Senate passes the declaration of war against Great Britain requested by President James Madison. Two weeks earlier, the House of Representatives passed a similar war.
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The governor of Connecticut, Roger Griswold, announces that his state's militia will not serve in the war against Britain and Massachusetts Governor Caleb will do the same.
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The first major battle of the War ends in disaster for the United States when General William Hull, leading an American army of 2200 men, surrenders to British forces at Detroit without firing a single shot.
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Captain Stephen Decatur, commanding the USS United States, captures the Macedonian, a British warship.
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James Madison is elected to a second term as president of the United States.
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British forces capture Washington, D.C. The White House, the Capitol, and executive department offices are burned.
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The British attack on Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner."
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Britain and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. The treaty calls for the return of all prisoners of war and captured territory, and the return of slaves seized during the war by the British, and a commitment from both nations to end the international slave trade.
