Ø Angered by Britain’s interference in the nation’s
affairs, the United States went to war.
Ø The War of 1812 showed that the United States was willing and able to protect its
national interests.
ONE AMERICAN’S
STORY
The war between the United States and Britain had begun in 1812. Two years later, British troops were marching toward Washington, D.C. Dolley Madison, the
president’s wife, stayed behind until the last minute. With bombs bursting in
the distance, she hurried to save important historical objects from the White
House.
A VOICE FROM THE
PAST
I have had [a wagon] filled with . . . the most
valuable portable articles belonging to the house. . . . I insist on waiting
until the large picture of General Washington is secured . . . It is done! and
the precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York, for safe keeping.
Dolley
Madison, from a letter sent to her sister
When the British troops arrived in the city,
they set fire to many public buildings, including the White House and the
Capitol. The next day, a violent storm caused even more damage. Fortunately,
the heavy rains that accompanied the storm helped put out the fires.
The War Begins
Britain did not really want a
war with the United States because it was already
involved in another war with France. To try to avoid war,
the British announced that they would no longer interfere with American
shipping. But the slow mails of the day prevented this news from reaching the United States until weeks after June
18th, when Congress approved Madison’s request for
declaration of war.
The War of 1812 had two main phases. From 1812
to 1814, Britain concentrated on its war
against France. It devoted little
energy to the conflict in North America, although it did send
ships to blockade the American coast. The second phase of the war began after
the British defeated France in April 1814. With
their European war nearly at an end, the British could turn their complete
attention to the United States.
The United States military was weak when
the war was declared. Democratic-Republicans had reduced the size of the armed
forces. When the war began, the Navy had only about 16 ships. The army had
fewer than 7,000 men. These men were poorly trained and equipped, and were
often led by inexperienced officers. A young Virginia army officer complained
that the older officers were victims of “sloth, ignorance, or habits of
[excessive] drinking.”
The First Phase of the
War
In spite of its small size, the United States
Navy rose to the challenge. Its warships were the fastest afloat. American
naval officers had gained valuable experience fighting pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. Early in the war,
before the British blockaded the coast, ships such as the Constitution and
the United States won stirring victories.
These victories on the high seas boosted American confidence.
The most important U.S. naval victory took
place on Lake Erie. In the winter of 1812–1813, the Americans had
begun to build a fleet on the shores of Lake Erie. Oliver Hazard Perry, an experienced
officer, took charge of this infant fleet. In September 1813, the small British
force on the lake set out to attack the American ships. Commodore Perry, who
had predicted that this would be “the most important day of my life,” sailed
out to meet the enemy. Perry’s ship, the Lawrence, flew a banner declaring,
“Don’t give up the ship.”
For two hours, the British and Americans
exchanged cannon shots. Perry’s ship was demolished and the guns put out of
action. He grabbed his ship’s banner and leaped into a rowboat. Under British
fire, he and four companions rowed to another ship. In command of the second
ship, Perry destroyed two of the enemy’s ships and soon forced the British to
surrender. After the battle, Perry sent a message to General Harrison: “We have
met the enemy and they are ours.”
When General Harrison received Perry’s note, he
set out to attack the British. But when Harrison transported his army
across Lake Erie to Detroit, he discovered that the
British had retreated into Canada. Harrison pursued the British
forces and defeated them at the Battle of the Thames in
October. This victory put an end to the British threat to the Northwest—and
also claimed the life of Tecumseh, who died in the battle fighting for the
British.
The Second Phase of the
War
After defeating Napoleon in April 1814, Britain turned its full
attention to the United States. As you read in One American’s
Story, British forces burned the Capitol building and the president’s mansion
in August. The British then attacked Fort McHenry at Baltimore.
The commander of Fort McHenry had earlier requested a
flag “so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it.” Detained
on a British ship, a Washington lawyer named Francis Scott Key watched the
all-night battle. At dawn, Key discovered that the flag was still flying. He
expressed his pride in what became the U.S. national anthem.
A VOICE FROM THE
PAST
Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early
light What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming, Whose broad
stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O’er the ramparts we
watch’d were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and
the home of the brave?
Francis Scott Key, Star-Spangled Banner
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
The “Star-Spangled Banner,”
was inspired by the flag that flew over Fort McHenry.
Francis Scott Key’s song
enjoyed widespread popularity for more than 100 years before an act of Congress
made it the national anthem in 1931.
Original
size: 30 feet by 42 feet
Current
size: 30 feet by 34 feet
Meanwhile, in the north, the British sent a
force from Canada across Lake Champlain. Its goal was to push
south and cut off New England. The plan failed when the American fleet
defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in September 1814.
In the south, the British moved against the
strategic port of New Orleans. In December 1814,
dozens of ships carrying 7,500 British troops approached Louisiana. To fight them, the
Americans patched together an army under the command of General Andrew Jackson.
The British attacked Jackson’s forces on January 8, 1815. Protected by earthworks, American riflemen
mowed down the advancing redcoats. It was a great victory for Jackson. American casualties
totaled 71, compared to Britain’s 2,000. Though the
Battle of New Orleans made Jackson a hero, it was
unnecessary. Slow mails from Europe had delayed news of the
Treaty of Ghent, which ended the
War of 1812. It had been signed two weeks earlier, on December 24, 1814.
The Legacy of the War
The treaty showed that the war had no clear
winner. No territory changed hands, and trade disputes were left unresolved.
Still, the war had important consequences.
First, the heroic exploits of men such as Andrew
Jackson and Oliver Perry increased American patriotism.
Second, the war broke the strength of Native
Americans, who had sided with the British.
Finally, when war interrupted trade, the
Americans were forced to make many of the goods they had previously imported.
This encouraged the growth of U.S. manufactures. The United States had also proved that it
could defend itself against the mightiest military power of the era. For
perhaps the first time, Americans believed that the young nation would survive
and prosper.
