How did the War of 1812 Happen?

Out of all of America's wars, the War of 1812 is one of the least understood. Despite its high stakes, pitting the United States against the full might of the British Empire, it has been nicknamed America's Forgotten War. But this underrated conflict shaped America at a pivotal moment. It made legends that are still well-known today, saw the U.S. suffer some of its most humiliating defeats, and has left its legacy in the hearts of every single American, whether they know it or not. The causes of the war were rooted in trade. In 1807, the British passed the Orders in Council that called for American ships to be blocked from trading with France. The British had also taken to capturing American ships and forcing their sailors into service in the Royal Navy. Britain was at war with Napoleon at the time and needed the manpower. America made numerous appeals to Britain to change its policies but was ignored. The French, in turn, were doing the same thing, seizing American ships, blocking them from British ports, and forcing American sailors into service in the French Navy. The actions of both countries were aggravating, but America realized it could play the two rivals off each other. In May 1810, Macon's Bill called for free and open trade with both countries despite their offenses, but with a catch. Madison would immediately suspend all American trade with one power if the other lifted all their restrictions on American trade. Basically, he counted on Britain and France wanting to harm each other more than wanting to restrict Americans. Napoleon leapt at the chance first and made promises of lifting the restrictions but demanded that Madison embargo Britain immediately. Madison was happy with the offer and announced his intention to do exactly that, but it didn't take long for him to realize Napoleon was bluffing. Napoleon had no intention of lifting restrictions on the Americans and was lying to get America to embargo Britain anyway. John Quincy Adams called it a deception so blatant it would give sight to the blind. When Britain realized France wasn't going to budge, it decided not to bother either. The US had tried every mode of coercion short of war, as one congressman put it, to get Britain to stop its attacks on American trade. When all other methods had failed, what option did they have but war? This was the argument James Madison made when he spoke before Congress on June 1st, 1812. No nation could endure these attacks on its sailors and ships without doing anything about it. The official declaration of war was signed on June 18th. Unknown to the Americans, Britain had in fact revoked the orders in council two days before on June 16th. News took weeks to travel between London and Washington though, and the two nations found themselves at war just as one of the chief causes of that war was being repealed. With a vote of 79 to 49 in the House and 19 to 13 in the Senate, it was the closest war vote in US history. It was a clear partisan split with the Republicans rallying to war and the Federalists calling for peace. Republicans like Jefferson and Madison had always favored France, while the Federalists had always inclined towards Britain. For many Republicans, Federalist reluctance to go to war hinted at their true desire to overthrow the Republic and restore the British monarchy. This certainly wasn't true, but the idea that the Americans were fighting to protect the ideas of democracy and freedom from British tyranny was a potent one. The strange part was the regional differences in support for the war. The war was supposedly fought over Britain's interruptions of maritime trade and the impressment of sailors, but New England, which suffered most from these, voted mostly against the war in Congress and was reluctant to assist the war effort. Meanwhile, Southern and Western states with no naval trade were overwhelmingly in favor of it. This shows that the real causes of the war were a lot more complex. Western support for the war probably came from a desire to acquire land in Canada from the British and to punish the British for their support of Indian groups in the Northwest, such as Tecumseh's Confederacy, who were fighting against American settlers. There was also an age split, with old guard congressmen generally going against the war while younger members like J.C. Calhoun of South Carolina and Henry Clay of Kentucky were more enthusiastic. This younger generation had not fought in the revolution and seemed to want their own chance at glory against the British. In Calhoun's own words, they wanted to prove that we have not only inherited the liberty which our fathers gave us, but also the will and power to maintain it. But America was in no shape for a war. The U.S. Army had less than 7,000 troops, and even when Congress authorized the recruitment of another 25,000 of them, they struggled to find the recruits. By November 1812, they hadn't raised 10,000 new volunteers and could barely afford to give them uniforms. Aside from regular troops, the U.S. would have to rely on volunteers serving for a term of one year and the state militias, even though they weren't supposed to serve outside of their own state. The naval situation was even worse. There was a great concern among Republicans that a navy would pose a threat to freedom and peacetime and create a naval elite class who might dominate the state. In January 1812, Congress voted against expanding the navy even as tensions with Britain were climbing. As a result, America entered the war with just 17 warships, only 7 of them frigates, and none were ships of the line that dominated naval warfare of the age. Britain's North America fleet at the outbreak of the war was just one ship of the line and nine frigates, barely a fraction of the Royal Navy's global strength, but still enough to crush the Americans in a straight fight. To top it all off, Madison and the Republicans resisted raising taxes as long as possible until March 1812, and the abolition of the Bank of the United States in 1811 made it difficult for the U.S. to borrow money if it needed it. The odds were clearly stacked against America on paper. In practice, the Americans hoped that strong leadership and good old American spirit would It was decided that invading Canada would be the best option. The Americans believed the Canadians were just waiting for the chance to rise up against the British, and they'd barely have to fire a shot in order to kick the British out. The campaign, as the retired Thomas Jefferson wrote, would be The invasion of Canada would be a three-pronged affair. One invasion would proceed from Michigan under General William Hull. A second force under General Stephen von Rensselaer would cross the Niagara River. The third under General Henry Dearborn would march from Albany, New York, and aim for Montreal. The plan was immediately beset with problems. Hull dithered and delayed the attack on the British Fort Malden on the Canadian-Michigan border. Ohio's militiamen refused to cross the border and join any attack he made. Hull was also paranoid of British reinforcements sneaking up on him and troubled by endless rumors of Indian attacks behind his lines. Only on July 12th did he order his men into Canadian territory, expecting, like Jefferson did, that the Canadians would rally to his call and fight the British. Hull was completely disappointed and received no volunteers. On July 16th, his forces encountered a British scouting party, marking the first proper engagement and casualties of the war. Three weeks later, on August 6th, he finally began his actual attack on Fort Malden. But when news reached him of an Indian ambush upon US troops at Maguaga, he feared he would be outflanked and ordered a full retreat back to Detroit. The entire campaign had failed to achieve anything. The British almost couldn't believe their luck. They immediately went on the offensive, intentionally spreading false information about the number of Indian allies they were bringing with them to incite fear and headed straight for Detroit. Hull's resolve collapsed completely. When British troops appeared outside the walls of Detroit on August 16th, he surrendered without firing a shot, and all of Michigan was handed over to the British. Hull was allowed to return home, where his actions got him court-martialed and sentenced to death. Madison stepped in at the last minute to spare him execution in light of his service in the Revolutionary War, but he spent the rest of his life in disgrace. Over in New England, General Dearborn couldn't get New England to offer up the troops he needed for his campaign. New England wasn't eager for a war in the first place, and the state militias weren't supposed to serve outside their state no matter what Madison or Dearborn's orders demanded. Frustrated with the delay, Stephen von Rensselaer took his 4,000 regular troops across the Niagara River in October 1812. Von Rensselaer's men took the British by surprise at Queenstown and gained the upper hand in the battle at first. To seal the victory though, they needed reinforcements, and the only troops that were to hand were the New York militia. The militia refused orders to cross the border, and von Rensselaer's unsupported men were soon overwhelmed by British and Canadian troops. They retreated back across the Niagara River with 100 dead and nothing to show for it. Only in November did General Dearborn finally assemble enough men for the attack towards Montreal. Dearborn set out from Albany with 6,800 men, which unfortunately included many state militiamen. As soon as they got to the Canadian border, many of the militiamen decided they didn't want to go into Canada after all. 2,000 of them left his army, and Dearborn's campaign was over before it began. He fought a single battle at the Lacolle Mills on November 20th, losing 5 men to a British and Indian force about 1 20th the size of his own, before giving up and turning back. One contemporary described the whole campaign as a miscarriage without even the heroism of a disaster. Surprisingly, the only part of the war in 1812 that didn't go terribly for the US was at sea. America didn't have any ships of the line, but it did have some well-armored frigates that could stand up to any of those in the Royal Navy. With so few British ships spread out across North America, the US knew the only hope of victory was luring these British ships into one-on-one engagements where America actually stood a chance. On August 19th, Captain Isaac Hull of the frigate USS Constitution and the nephew of the disgraced William Hull did exactly that, catching and sinking the HMS Guerriere in open battle. The Constitution was so well-armored that British cannonballs would bounce right off the Hull, earning her the nickname Old Ironsides. The sinking of one ship had little practical effect, but Old Ironsides' victory was the only real good news of the war so far. Seeing this success, Madison ordered his ships to be split into three squadrons to hunt down what British ships they could. The strategy worked, and several British ships were sunk. In October, the Americans even managed to capture the HMS Macedonian and sail it back to port as a war prize, the first time the US had ever done such a thing. By the end of the year, the tiny American navy had won more individual engagements against the British than France's navy had done in the last 20 years of conflict. On top of this, privateers, basically legally sanctioned pirates, seized 450 British trading inflicting a serious blow on Britain's American trade. America's naval victories had little strategic value, but they were badly needed for American morale after the failures in Canada. They were also enough to maintain confidence in Madison's leadership, allowing him to win re-election in November 1812. However, these small victories could not disguise the truth. America had lost Michigan and hundreds of troops against an enemy with more troops and ships than they could hope to match. The War of 1812 was only just beginning, but all signs pointed towards disaster for the United States. 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