Compare And Contrast

The War of 1812 (in Britain, the American War of 1812, to distinguish from the war with Napoleon) was fought between the United States of America, on one side, and on the other side the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its colonies, especially Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), Nova Scotia, and Bermuda. The war was fought from 1812 to 1815 and involved both land and naval engagements. Britain was at war with France and to impede American trade with France imposed a series of restrictions that the U.S. denounced as illegal under international law. The Americans declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812, for a combination of reasons-- outrage at the impressment (seizure) of thousands of American sailors into the British navy, frustration at British restraints on neutral trade, and anger at British military support for hostile Indians blocking American settlement of the Old Northwest, which by treaty with Britain belonged to the U.S.[1]

The war started badly for the Americans as their attempts to invade Canada were repeatedly repulsed by General Isaac Brock commanding a small British force, composed largely of local militias and Native American allies. The American strategy depended on use of militias, but they either resisted service or were incompetently led. Military and civilian leadership was lacking and remained a critical American weakness until 1814. New England opposed the war and refused to provide troops or financing. Financial and logistical problems plagued the American war effort. Britain possessed excellent finance and logistics but the ongoing war with France had a higher priority, so in 1812-1813 they adopted a defensive strategy. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 they were able to send veteran armies to invade the U.S., but by then the Americans had learned how to mobilize and fight as well.

At sea the powerful Royal Navy instituted a blockade of the majority of the American coastline (allowing some exports from New England, which was trading with Britain and Canada in defiance of American laws.) The blockade devastated American agricultural exports, but helped stimulate local factories that replaced goods previously imported. The American strategy of using small gunboats to defend ports was a fiasco, as the British raided the coast at will. The most famous episode was a series of British raids on the shores of Chesapeake Bay which included an attack on Washington D.C. that resulted in the burning of the White House, the Capitol, and other public buildings, the "Burning of Washington". That same evening a furious storm swept into Washington D.C. sending one or more tornados into the city and extinguishing the fires with torrential rains.[2]

The American strategy of sending out several hundred privateers to attack British merchant ships was more successful, and hurt British commercial interests, especially in the West Indies. Although few in number compared to the Royal Navy, American Navy's heavy frigates prevailed in several one-on-one naval battles against British ships. The decisive use of naval power came on the Great Lakes and depended on a contest of building ships. Ultimately, Americans won control of Lake Erie and thus neutralized western Ontario and cut the native forces off from supplies. The British controlled Lake Ontario, preventing any major American invasion. The Americans controlled Lake Champlain, and a naval victory there forced a large British invasion army to turn back in 1814.

The Americans destroyed the power of the native people of the Northwest and Southeast, thus securing a major war goal. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, British trade restrictions and impressment ended, thus eliminating that root cause of the war. With stalemate on the battlefields, both nations agreed to a peace that left the prewar boundaries intact. Before Congress ratified the Treaty of Ghent, the Americans decisively defeated a veteran British Army at the Battle of New Orleans.

The war had the effects of both uniting Canadians and also uniting Americans far more closely than either population had been prior to the war. Canadians remember the war as a victory by avoiding conquest by the Americans, while the Americans celebrated victory in a "second war for independence" personified in the hero of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson.

Contents [hide]

1 Causes of the war

2 Course of the war

2.1 Atlantic theatre

2.1.1 Blockade

2.2 Great Lakes and Canadian theatre

2.2.1 Invasions of Upper and Lower Canada, 1812

2.2.2 American northwest, 1813

2.2.3 Niagara frontier, 1813

2.2.4 St. Lawrence and Lower Canada

2.2.5 Niagara Campaign, 1814

2.2.6 American West, 1814

2.3 Atlantic coast

2.3.1 Chesapeake campaign and "The Star-Spangled Banner"

2.4 Creek War

2.5 Treaty of Ghent and Battle of New Orleans

3 Consequences

3.1 United States

3.2 British North America

3.3 Bermuda

3.4 Great Britain

4 See also

5 References

5.1 Popular histories

6 Notes

7 External links

[edit] Causes of the war

For more information, see Origins of the War of 1812

Americans declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812, for a combination of reasons--outrage at the impressment (seizure) of thousands of American sailors, frustration at British restrictions on neutral trade while Britain warred with France, and anger at British military support for hostile tribes in the Ohio-Indiana-Michigan area. After war was declared Britain offered to withdraw the trade restrictions, but it was too late for the American "War Hawks", who turned the conflict into what they called a "second war for independence."

[edit] Course of the war

Although