US History
Fort Burrows
Other Americans were less enthusiastic. New Englanders, especially, talked scornfully of ‘Mr. Madison’s War.’ In fact, before the war ended, some New Englanders would threaten to leave the Union.
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The US was not ready for war!
Jefferson had reduced spending on defense
- navy had only 16 ships against the powerful British fleet |
- army was small and ill equipped |
- many officers knew little about warfare |
There were few regular troops so the gov’t relied on volunteers
Congress voted to give them a bounty of land and cash equal to about a year’s salary for most workers
Attracted by high pay and a chance to own their own farms, young men eagerly enlisted
They were poorly trained and had little experience so many deserted
British navy blockaded American ports to stop American trade
US sea captain were unable to break the blockade but won some victories
One famous battle took place early in the war, August 1812. As he was sailing near New Foundland, Isaac Hull, captain of the USS Constitution, spotted the British ship, HMS Guerriere. For nearly an hour, the two ships jockeyed for position. At last, the guns of the Constitution roared into action. They tore holes in the sides of the Guerriere and shot off both masts. Stunned the British captain had not choice but to surrender. American sea captains won other victories at sea which cheered Americans but did little to win the war.
War in the West
One goal of the War Hawks was to conquer Canada because they were convinced that Canadians would welcome the chance to throw off British rule and join US
Invasion of Canada
General William Hull moved US troops into Canada from Detroit
The Canadians only had a few untrained troops to ward off the invasion but were led by a clever British general, Isaac Brock
Brock paraded his soldiers in red coats to make it appear that experienced British troops and a large number of Indians were helping the Canadians
Brock’s scare tactics worked – Hull retreated from Canada and future attempts to invade also failed
Battle of Lake Erie
In 1813, Americans set out to win control of Lake Erie
Captain Oliver Hazard Perry had no fleet, so he designed and built
his own ships
In September 1813, Perry sailed his tiny fleet against the British
In the Battle of Lake Erie, the British battered Perry’s own ship, Lawrence
Perry rowed over to another US ship, Niagara, and continued to fight
Americans won the Battle of Lake Erie and Perry wrote his message of victory on an envelope: “We have met the enemy and they are ours”
Native American Losses
After losing control of Lake Erie, the British and ally Tecumseh retreated from Detroit to Canada
General William Henry Harrison pursued them
Americans won a decisive victory at the Battle of Thames
Tecumseh died in the fighting and his Indian confederation fell apart
The Creeks continued their fight against settlers in the South
Andrew Jackson took command of American troops in the Creek War
In 1814, with the help of the Cherokees, Jackson won a crushing victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend
The leader of the Creeks surrendered to Jackson saying,
“Your people have destroyed my nation”
Final Battles
In 1814, Britain and its allies defeated France so Britain could now send more troops and ships to the US
The British Burn Washington
In August 1814, British ships sailed into Chesapeake Bay and landed an invasion force about 30 miles from Washington, D. C.
American troops met the British at Bladensburg, Maryland
The battle-hardened British quickly scattered the untrained Americans
The British met little resistance as they marched towards the capital
First Lady Dolley Madison waited at the White House for her husband to return and wrote this letter to her sister:
“Will you believe it, my sister? We have had a battle or skirmish near Bladensburg and here I am still within sound of the cannon! Mr. Madison comes not.
May GOD protect us. Two messengers covered with dust come bid me fly. But here I mean to wait for him.”
Dolley Madison, Memoirs and Letters of Dolley Madison
Dolley Madison gathered up important papers and a portrait of GW and fled
The British set fire to the White House and other buildings
They marched north toward Fort McHenry in Baltimore
The British rockets bombarded the harbor all night
When the morning fog lifted, the American flag still waved over Fort McHenry
The British withdrew at the Battle of Baltimore
Francis Scott Key wrote a poem about the battle called the ‘Star Spangled Banner’
Battle of New Orleans
In late 1814, the British prepared to attack New Orleans and sail up the Mississippi River
Andrew Jackson was waiting with a strong army of his frontier fighters
Jackson’ s forces included thousands of frontiersmen and Choctaw Indians
Citizens of New Orleans volunteered to join Jackson’s troops including hundreds of African Americans
American soldiers used trench warfare to defend themselves
On January 8, 1815, the British attacked New Orleans
More than 2,000 British fell under the deadly fire of sharpshooters and American cannons – only 7 Americans died
Americans cheered the victory at the Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson became a national hero overnight
His fame did not dim when Americans learned the battle had taken place two
weeks AFTER the war ended!
US and Britain had already signed a treaty in Europe!
¿ ¿ What victories did the American forces win in the South ?
turn to page 323 and use the Map/Chart to answer this question.
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African Americans in the War
The Battle of New Orleans was not the only place where black and white
soldiers fought side by side
After British attacks on Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, African Americans
volunteered to help defend Philadelphia
The State of NY organized two regiments of black volunteers to serve in army
African Americans also served with distinction in the US Navy
They helped win the Battle of Lake Erie and other naval battles
Commander Shaler praised one particular black sailor killed in battle:
“He fell near me, and several times requested to be thrown
overboard, saying he was only in the way of others. When
America has such sailors, she has little to fear from the tyrants of the ocean.”
Nathaniel Shaler, letter to his agent, January 1, 1813
Protest and Peace
In the early 1800s, news took weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean
By late 1814, Americans knew peace talks had begun but didn’t know if they would succeed or last
As Jackson prepared to fight the Battle of New Orleans, New Englanders were meeting to protest “Mr. Madison’s War”
New Englanders Protest
The British blockade had hurt New England’s sea trade
New England also feared that the US might win Florida and Canada
If new states were carved out of these lands, the South and West would become more influential than New England
In December 1814, delegates around New England met in Hartford,
Connecticut
Most were Federalists and they disliked the Republican President and war
The delegates to the Hartford Convention threatened to leave the Union if the
war continued
While debating secession, news of the peace treaty arrived and the
Convention ended quickly
The threat of secession further weakened the dying Federalist party
Nothing Was Settled
A peace treaty was signed in Ghent, Belgium on December 24, 1814
John Quincy Adams summed up the Treaty of Ghent in one sentence:
“Nothing was adjusted, nothing was settled”
Britain and the US agreed to restore prewar conditions
The treaty said nothing about impressments or neutrality as these issues
faded due to the end of the wars in Europe
Other issues were settled later – dispute over a border between Canada and
the US was settled in 1818
Looking back, many Americans felt the War of 1812 had been a mistake
Others argued that Europe would now treat the young republic with more respect
Heroes, like Oliver Hazard Perry, William Henry Harrison and Andrew Jackson gave Americans pride in their country
“The people are now more American. They feel and act more as a nation”
¿ ¿ What were the results of the War of 1812 ?
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1. How was the United States unprepared early in the war ?
a.________________________________________________________________________b.________________________________________________________________________c.________________________________________________________________________d.________________________________________________________________________
2. What successes did Americans have in the West ?
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3. How did the final battles of the war progress ?
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4. Why did New Englanders protest against the war ?
a.________________________________________________________________________b.________________________________________________________________________c.________________________________________________________________________d.________________________________________________________________________
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