Truth About America’s Victory in 1812

The War of 1812 lasted from June 18, 1812 until February 17, 1815. It is often remembered as Britain's attempt to reclaim the United States after losing the American Revolution. That interpretation has persisted for generations, but it overlooks the strategic situation facing the British Empire. For more than a decade, Britain had been consumed by the Napoleonic Wars, committing enormous amounts of manpower, money, and naval power to the struggle against France and its allies. That situation changed dramatically in 1813. After the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig, Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and other Allied armies invaded France. Although Napoleon won several engagements during the Six Days Campaign, the Allies captured Paris in March 1814. The Treaty of Paris forced Napoleon into exile on the island of Elba, restored France's borders to those of 1792, and ended years of large-scale fighting across Europe. With the European War temporarily over, Britain could finally turn its attention elsewhere. Victory had come at an enormous cost. The government faced staggering debts, the Royal Navy required extensive repairs after years of continuous warfare, and British industry needed reliable sources of timber, cotton, tobacco, and other valuable resources. Did these circumstances convince Britain to reclaim its former colonies, or was the War of 1812 driven by a very different set of priorities? To answer that question, we first have to examine why the war began in the first place. What actually caused the War of 1812? How successful were British forces? What changed their fortunes? How did the Americans finally win? Hello, I'm Colin Heaton, former history professor, Army and Marine Corps veteran, and welcome to this episode of Forgotten History. History is replete with rational reasons for the war, such as the United States wanting war due to the British kidnapping or impressing sailors to serve in their Navy. Some of that did occur, but that was not the real reason. But the French were doing it also. The British had actually ended the practice of impressment before the war started due to the threats of embargoes against doing commercial business with Britain, which needed cotton, tobacco, and other cash crops. During the ongoing Napoleonic Wars, trade with France and Britain were seriously affected, as both nations worked to block the United States from trading with the other. American shipping had been prosperous due to maritime trade with the British, French, and Spanish empires, although eventually the British challenged the U.S. claim that free ships make free goods, and began enforcing the so-called Rule of 1756, stating that trade was permitted in peacetime, but would not be allowed to continue in wartime. The Royal Navy enforced the act from 1793 to 1794, especially in the Caribbean Sea, before the signing of the Jay Treaty on November 19, 1794. Under the primary terms of the treaty, American maritime commerce was given trading privileges in England and the British East Indies, and Britain agreed to evacuate forts still held in the Northwest Territory by June 1, 1796, and the Mississippi River was declared freely open to both countries. Although the treaty was ratified by both countries, it was highly unpopular in the United States and was one of the rallying points used by the pro-French Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, in wresting power from the pro-British Federalists, led by George Washington and John Adams. After Jefferson became President in 1801, relations with Britain deteriorated, and systematic enforcement of the Rule of 1756 resumed after 1805. Napoleon had cut Britain off from European and American trade. The Berlin Decree of November 21, 1806 established Napoleon's continental system, which declared U.S. ships that visited British ports were to be treated as enemy vessels. The British responded in kind, with orders in council on November 11, 1807 that required neutral ships to obtain licenses at English ports before trading with France or its colonies. In retaliation, France announced the Milan Decree of December 17, 1807, which authorized the capture of any neutral vessel that had submitted to British scrutiny. Consequently, American ships that obeyed Britain faced capture by the French in European ports, and if they complied with Napoleon's continental system, they could fall prey to the Royal Navy. American merchants were not really happy about this. President Thomas Jefferson exerted economic pressure against Britain and France by pushing Congress into passing the Embargo Act of December 1807, which forbade all export shipping from U.S. ports to most imports from Britain. This move by Jefferson was just one of several acts that caused him public support. The Embargo Act hurt Americans more than the British or French, and many Americans defied it by smuggling goods out. Just before Jefferson left office in 1809, Congress replaced the Embargo Act with the Non-Intercourse Act, which exclusively forbade trade with both Great Britain and France. Again, not really popular with farmers, merchants, and ship owners, and this also proved to be ineffective. So smuggling became their primary trade of choice, and both the British and French looked the other way as long as they could get what they needed. The Non-Intercourse Act was replaced by Makin's Bill No. 2 on May 1, 1810, that resumed trade with all nations but stipulated that if either Britain or France dropped commercial restrictions, the United States would revive non-intercourse against the other. In August, Napoleon insinuated that he would exempt American shipping from the Berlin and Milan Decrees. Although the British demonstrated that French restrictions continued, Britain continued to punish American ships suspected of carrying goods to French territories. President James Madison then reinstated the Non-Intercourse Act against Britain in November 1810, locking Britain out of receiving American goods while supporting the French economy, which moved both nations one step closer to war. But back in America, things were getting serious as events on the US-Northwestern border with Canada added to the pressure. Americans were pushing into British-held areas inhabited by tribes friendly to the British, and Indian fears over American encroachment grew. Two Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and Tenske Watawa, known as the Prophet, attempted to form an Indian confederation to challenge the American expansion. As Indian tensions rose, the American public blamed the British for the problems. The British Major General Isaac Brock, the commander of Upper Canada and now modern Ontario, had orders to avoid worsening American frontier problems. Seeing that the problem was getting worse, Brock augmented his outnumbered British regulars and Canadian militia forces with Indian allies, which only confirmed what the Americans had been saying. Brock's efforts were aided in the fall of 1811, when Indiana Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison fought the Battle of Tippecanoe and destroyed the Indian settlement at Prophetstown near modern battleground Indiana. This event convinced most of the Indians that their only hope of stemming further encroachments by American settlers lay with the British. American settlers, in turn, believed that Britain's removal from Canada would end their Indian problems. Meanwhile, Canadians suspected that American expansionists were using Indian unrest as an excuse for a war of conquest. Under increasing pressure, Madison summoned the U.S. Congress into session in November 1811. Pro-war Western and Southern Republicans led by Kentucky war hawk Henry Clay elected him as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Madison sent a war message to the U.S. Congress on June 1, 1812 and signed the Declaration of War on June 18, 1812. The vote seriously divided the House 79-49 and was a close call in the Senate at 19-13. Because seafaring New Englanders opposed the war while Westerners and Southerners supported it, Federalists accused war advocates of expansionism under the ruse of protecting American maritime rights. Expansionism, however, was not as much a motive as was the desire to defend American honor. United States attacked Canada because it was British, but there was no plan to conquer and occupy the areas. Additionally, the prospect of taking East and West Florida from Spain encouraged Southern support for the war, but Southerners, like Westerners, were sensitive about the United States' reputation in the world. Furthermore, British commercial restrictions hurt American farmers by borrowing their produce from Europe. Every level of production and commerce was affected. The onset of war both surprised the British government, especially because it was preoccupied with the fight against France and some Americans. In addition, political changes in Britain had already moved Parliament to relax tensions with the United States. Prime Minister Spencer Percival's assassination on May 11, 1812 brought a more moderate Tory government to power under Lord Liverpool. British West Indies planters had been complaining for years about the interdiction of U.S. trade, and their growing influence, along with a deepening recession in Great Britain, saw the orders in council abolished. Geography and logistics also neutralized the British numerical advantage. Supplying thousands of troops across the Atlantic and down narrow wilderness corridors was a logistical nightmare. To invade New York from Canada, the British army relied entirely on Lake Champlain to move supplies. When American naval forces defeated the British fleet at the Battle of Plattsburgh, the 10,000-man British invasion force had to abandon its campaign and retreat to Canada simply because it could no longer feed itself. Neither the British in Canada nor the United States were prepared for a new war, and the British saw American hostilities as a minor distraction. This disinterest resulted in a failure to provide soldiers, supplies, and a strong naval presence until later. The British knew that American military power was basically weak and disorganized, despite Michigan Territorial Governor William Hull leading U.S. forces into Canada from Detroit. Major General Isaac Brock and Tecumseh's warriors chased Hull back across the border and frightened him into surrendering Detroit on August 16, 1812, without firing a shot. Both Americans and even the British were shocked at the lack of Hull's forces' professionalism. Major General Henry Proctor then led raids into the Northwest region. Hull's replacement, William Henry Harrison, limited in soldiers, could barely defend a few scattered outposts. On the northeastern border, U.S. Brigadier General Henry Dearborn could not attack Montreal because of uncooperative New England militias. U.S. forces under Stephen Van Rensselaer crossed the Niagara River to attack Queenston on October 13, 1812, but ultimately were defeated by a stiff British defense organized by Brock, who was killed during the battle. Then U.S. General Alexander Smith tried an invasion on the Niagara, which was a disaster. In 1813, Madison replaced Dearborn with Major Generals James Wilkinson and Wade Hampton, an awkward arrangement made worse by a complicated invasion plan against Montreal. The two generals, who disliked each other immensely, also refused to coordinate their efforts and Montreal was never in danger. But the British felt that they had a trump card, their Royal Navy on the Great Lakes. American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's Lake Erie Squadron won a great victory off Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, against the British commander, Captain Robert Barclay. The naval victory allowed Harrison to retake Detroit and defeat Procter's British and Indian forces at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, and Tecumseh was killed. This ended his confederation and the Anglo-Indian alliance. The Creek War erupted in 1813 between Creek Indians, known as Redsticks, and U.S. forces, and again the British were blamed. Later that year, U.S. forces evacuating the Niagara Peninsula razed the Canadian village of Newark, and the British Governor Gordon Drummond retaliated in kind along the New York frontier, destroying towns, with Buffalo, New York burned to the ground. Early in the war, the small U.S. Navy had great leaders, such as Isaac Hull, Stephen Decatur and William Bainbridge, who all commanded heavy frigates and were very decisive in impressive single-ship actions. These frigates, made from live oak, and see our video on the trees that saved America, the British Admiralty instructed its captains to avoid single-frigate versus frigate combat with Americans. The British had another plan. Within a year, the Royal Navy had blockaded important American ports, trapping many of the U.S. frigates. British Admiral George Cockburn also conducted raids along the Chesapeake Bay and extended the blockade from New England to Georgia. By 1814, a new generation of intelligent and competent American Army officers took control. Men such as Jacob Brown, Winfield Scott and Andrew Jackson were of a different mindset. This turnaround was driven by a culling of incompetent leadership. The first two years of the conflict were led by aging Revolutionary War veterans who proved timid and disorganized. By 1814, these political appointees had been replaced by a new generation of aggressive, highly competent commanders. These new commanders forced the American Army to professionalize. Early in the war, American militias routinely broke and ran at the sight of British bayonets. Recognizing this fatal flaw, Scott established a rigorous training camp in Buffalo, New York, drilling the regular Army for 10 hours a day in a combination of European infantry tactics while also falling back on the tried and true method of terrain appreciation and ambush methods. The American soldiers would face off in the European method, just as their fathers had in the Revolution, and then feign retreat, drawing the British into wooded areas where sharpshooters and hidden cannon would resolve the issue. In one example, when the newly trained Americans met hardened British veterans of the Battle of Chippewa, their disciplined advance under heavy fire prompted the British commander to exclaim, quote, those are regulars by God. On March 27, 1814, Jackson defeated the Red Stick Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama. That spring, Brown crossed the Niagara River and took Fort Erie. When British Brigadier General Phineas Rial advanced to challenge the Americans, he was defeated due to American tactics suffering heavy losses at the Battle of Chippewa on July 5, 1814. But Brown also retreated when Commodore Isaac Chauncey's Lake Ontario squadron failed to rendezvous with the army on time, which started the war's costliest battle at the Battle of Lundy's Lane on July 25. Both sides fought in a bloody stalemate, with each side suffering more than 800 casualties before Brown's army withdrew to Fort Erie. Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the Treaty of Paris allowed the British to send large numbers of combat veterans to America, but supplying these men would be the challenge. That summer, veterans under Canadian Governor General George Prevost marched south along the shores of Lake Champlain into New York, but they returned to Canada after Thomas McDonough defeated a British squadron under Captain George Downey at the Battle of Plattsburgh Bay off New York on September 11, 1814. British raids in Chesapeake Bay directed Admiral Alexander Cochran were more successful. British General Robert Ross captured Washington, D.C. on August 24 and burned government buildings, including the United States Capitol and the Executive Mansion, now known as the White House. The British justified this action as retaliation for the American destruction of York, or modern Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada, the previous year. It is also thought to be a morale boost to British forces while demoralizing the Americans. The British assault on Baltimore from September 12-14 failed when Americans repelled an attack at North Point and withstood the naval bombardment at Fort McHenry, an action that inspired Francis Scott Keyes' The Star-Spangled Banner and Ross was killed. The British saw that the bloody stalemate in the North was critical. Even with the promise of more troops, and with the larger Royal Navy patrolling the coast and blockading the harbors, the British commanders saw a problem. Their men could not get resupplied as British ships offshore had no port under their control to support their army. They needed a port, in fact they needed a city as a staging area to push deeper into American territory. The Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard were deemed important because of access to ports and, remember, those live oak trees mentioned earlier. Striking into the southern flank was thought to be a great idea, so the British forces under General Edward Pakenham attacked New Orleans on January 8, 1815 and were soundly defeated by Andrew Jackson's ragtag army. American commanders stopped fighting the British on European terms. The British regulars excelled at linear volleys and open field bayonet charges. In the war's final engagements, American forces refused to fight in the open, instead relying upon heavy entrenchments and concentrated artillery fire. At the Battle of New Orleans, Jackson's men fired from behind thick mud earthworks along a narrow strip of land. The Americans, being in a strong defensive posture, controlling all avenues of approach, with the British needing small boats to move their troops through the bayous with the Americans dominating fields at every angle of fire, destroyed the British. The British infantry marched in tight formation into a wall of cannon and rifle fire, resulting in over 2,000 British casualties compared to roughly 70 Americans killed. This battle was rightly hailed as an American victory. Neither the American nor British military commanders knew that Tsar Nicholas I of Russia offered to mediate the hostilities immediately after the war began. Talks began at Ghent, Belgium, in August 1814 after France surrendered, but the British stalled while waiting for news of a decisive victory in America. However, after the disasters at Plattsburgh and Baltimore, the most prominent military voice in the British Empire spoke up. Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, a living legend and commander of the British Army at the Battle of Waterloo later, pushed the British government to make peace. He knew war and diplomacy, when to select a battlefield and engage, and when not to. He saw no benefit to a war with the Americans and many agreed with him. American diplomats agreed to abandon demands regarding Britain ending impressment, as it had been abandoned already and the British dropped attempts to change the Canadian boundary and establish an Indian barrier state in the Northwest. The commissioners signed a treaty on December 24, 1814. Based on the status quo antebellum, or the situation before the war, the Treaty of Ghent did not resolve the issues that had caused the war, but at that point Britain was too weary and broke to win it and the U.S. government deemed not losing the war as a tolerable substitute for victory. Nevertheless, many Americans became convinced that they in fact had won the contest. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty unanimously. The war basically ended in a draw and the U.S. never achieved any of its main objectives. The main reasons for the American failure to take territory or force Britain into concessions was simple. Political divisions, egos and cronyism prevented the nation from presenting a unified front. Americans could not even agree on what their ultimate objective should be. The U.S. version of history calls the war the Second War of Independence and many in the British Empire were determined to take back the colonies and enslave the citizens of the United States. In fact, the British were only interested in defending Canada and preserving its border with the United States. The U.S. version of history is very proud of how the U.S. Navy defeated the Royal Navy given the many frigate battles won, but the U.S. Navy never defeated the British at sea on a strategic level and the American economy was crippled as a result. Due to the perception of total victory, a surge of patriotism inspired Americans to pursue national goals for decades to come, such as the Monroe Doctrine. Canada has successfully defeated American incursions and remained a British colony, eventually developing its own national identity. Britain's influence among the Northwestern Indians ended forever and American expansion in that region proceeded unchecked. In the South, the Creek War opened a large part of that region for settlement. Spain, also financially debilitated due to the Napoleonic Wars and having its own problems with controlling and supporting its own South American colonies as well as Mexico, decided to give Florida to the U.S. in 1821. The most enduring international consequence of the war was in the arbitration clauses of the Treaty of Ghent, perhaps the treaty's most important feature. Its arrangements to settle outstanding disagreements established methods that could adapt to changing U.S. administrations, British ministries and world events. It laid the seeds of an Anglo-American relationship that would build over time and aid in resolving future disagreements, increasing trade and commerce between the two nations. The United States returned territory seized in British Canada. Britain returned occupied American territory including parts of Maine and positions in the Great Lakes region. Ironically, the treaty made no permanent boundary changes and did not mention the maritime disputes that had helped cause the war. Britain largely abandoned this effort to create a permanent Native American buffer state in the Old Northwest. With Native resistance severely weakened, American settlements expanded rapidly into present-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, Mississippi and later Florida. As a result, later agreements settled boundary questions but were not territorial prizes of the war such as the Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817 which limited naval forces on the Great Lakes. The Convention of 1818 established the U.S.-Canadian boundary along the 49th parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains and provided joint occupation of Oregon territory. The Adams-Onus Treaty of 1819 saw Spain cede Florida to the United States which was effective in 1821 which was completely unrelated directly to the Treaty of Ghent. So, bluntly, United States won greater security and freedom to expand westward, gained Florida but no land was formally awarded to it for winning or surviving the War of 1812. The treaty was also a benchmark in wartime diplomacy where two belligerents, both with their obvious objectives, could agree on terms that re-established the status quo without either side considering territory of any importance and without reparations. One fact that the European powers did take away from the War of 1812 was that geography and logistics determined victory or defeat. The British never had a chance to defeat the United States militarily and achieve long term, let alone permanent, territorial gains given those circumstances, even if they wanted to. Thus, the lesson learned was that no foreign nation would ever try to invade and conquer United States again. Thank you for watching this episode of Forgotten History. If you liked what you saw, please click like, share and subscribe. And if you would like to assist with the ever-increasing cost of production, please consider becoming a channel member and joining our Patreon page.