War of 1812,
The popular name of the second war between the
United States and
Great Britain.
Blessed with prosperity and dreading war, the people of the
United States submitted to many acts of tyranny from
Great Britain and
France rather than become involved in armed conflicts with them.
Consequently, the government of the
United States was only nominally independent.
Socially and commercially, the
United States tacitly acknowledged their dependence on
Europe, and especially upon
England; and the latter was rapidly acquiring a dangerous political interest and influence in American affairs when the war broke out. The war begun in 1775 was really only the first great step towards independence; the war begun in 1812 first thoroughly accomplished the independence of the
United States.
Franklin once heard a person speaking of the Revolution as the war of independence, and reproved him, saying, “Sir, you mean the Revolution; the war of independence is yet to come.
It was a war
for independence, but not
of independence.”
When it was determined, early in 1812, to declare war against
Great Britain, preparations were at once made for the crisis.
In February the congressional committee of ways and means reported a financial scheme, which was adopted.
It was a system adapted to a state of war for three years. It contemplated the support of war expenses wholly by loans, and the ordinary expenses of the government, including interest on the national debt, by revenues.
The estimated expense of the war the first year was $11,000,000. Duties on imports were doubled, a direct tax of $3,000,000 was levied, and an extensive system of internal duties and excise was devised.
In March, Congress authorized a loan of $11,000,000, at an annual interest not to exceed 6 per cent., reimbursable in twelve years. When war was declared, only little more than half the loan was taken, and the
President was authorized to issue treasury notes, payable in one year, bearing an annual interest of 5 3/5 per cent. Measures were also devised for strengthening the military force.
It was weak when war was declared.
Congress passed an act, June 26, 1812, for the consolidation of the old army with new levies, the regular force to consist of twenty regiments of foot, four of artillery, two of dragoons, and one of riflemen, which, with engineers and artificers, would make a force of 36,700 men. Little reliance could be placed on the militia, who would not be compelled, by law, to go beyond the bounds of their respective States.
The navy was very weak, in comparison with that of the enemy, the acknowledged “mistress of the seas.”
It consisted of only twenty vessels, exclusive of 170 gunboats,. and actually carrying an aggregate of little more than 500 guns.
The following is a list of forts in existence when war was declared in 1812, and their location:
Fort Sumner,
Portland, Me.;
Fort William and Mary,
Portsmouth, N. H.; Fort Lily,
Gloucester,
Cape Ann;
Fort Pickering,
Salem, Mass.; Fort Seawall,
Marblehead, Mass.;
Fort Independence,
Boston Harbor;
Fort Wolcott, near
Newport, R. I.;
Fort Adams,
Newport.
Harbor;
Fort Hamilton, near
Newport; North Battery, a mile northwest of
Fort Wolcott; Dumplings Fort, entrance to Narraganset Bay, R. I.;
Tonomy Hill, a mile east of North Battery, R. I.;
Fort Trumbull, New London, Conn.;
Fort Jay,
Governor's Island, New York Harbor; works on
Ellis and Bedloe's islands, New York Harbor; Fort Mifflin,
Delaware River, below
Philadelphia;
Fort McHenry,
Baltimore;
Fort Severn,
Annapolis; Forts Norfolk and
Nelson, on
Elizabeth River, below
Norfolk, Va.; forts Pinckney,
Moultrie, and Mechanic, for the protection of
Charleston, S. C.; Fort Mackinaw, island of
Mackinaw;
Fort Dearborn,
Chicago;
Fort Wayne, at the forks of the
Maumee, Ind.; Fort Detroit,
Michigan;
Fort Niagara, mouth of the
Niagara River; Fort
Ontario,
Oswego; Fort Tompkins,
Sackett's Harbor, N. Y. Some of these were unfinished.
While the army of
General Hull was lying in camp below
Sandwich, in
Canada, he was absent at
Detroit two or three days. There had been some skirmishing with detachments of his army, under
Colonels Cass and
McArthur, near the Tarontee; and the apparent supineness of the general made the younger officers and the men suspect him of incapacity, if not of treachery.
While
Hull was absent at
Detroit the
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command of the
American troops in
Canada devolved on
Colonel McArthur, and he resolved to attack Fort Malden.
He detached some rangers to seek a convenient passage of the Tarontee above the bridge, so as to avoid the guns of the
British armed vessel
Queen Charlotte, lying in the river.
This was impracticable.
A scouting party was sent under
Major Denny to reconnoitre, who found an Indian ambuscade between
Turkey Creek and the Tarontee, in the
Petit Cote settlement.
There
Denny had a sharp skirmish with the Indians, when a part of his line gave way, and he was compelled to retreat in confusion, pursued nearly 3 miles by the victors.
He tried to rally his men, but in vain.
In the skirmish he lost six men killed and two wounded. This was the first blood shed in the
War of 1812-15.
The defeat of
Hull weakened the confidence of the government and the people in an easy conquest of
Canada, and immediate steps were taken, when the armistice of
Dearborn was ended, to place troops along the northern frontier sufficient to make successful invasion, or prevent one from the other side.
Vermont and New York joined, in co-operation with the
United States, in placing (September, 1812) 3,000 regulars and 2,000 militia on the borders of
Lake Champlain, under
Dearborn's immediate command.
Another force of militia was stationed at different points along the south bank of the
St. Lawrence, their left resting at
Sackett's Harbor, at the eastern end of
Lake Ontario. A third army was placed along the
Niagara frontier, from
Fort Niagara to
Buffalo, then a small village.
This latter force of about 6,000 men, half regulars and volunteers and half militia, were under the immediate command of
Maj.-Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer, a leading Federalist of New York.
The reverses that befell the
American army during 1812 spread a gloom over the people, justified the warnings of the opposition who prophesied disaster, and increased the activity and machinations of the peace party.
But before the close of the year the brilliant exploits of the little American navy dispelled the brooding gloom that hung over the people and filled them with joy and confidence.
These justified the judgment of the Federalists.
who always favored measures for increasing the navy, and the opposition of the Democrats to it ceased.
These naval victories astounded the
British public.
The lion was bearded in his den. The claims of
Great Britain to the mastery of the seas were vehemently and practically disputed.
Nor were the naval triumphs of the
Americans confined to the national vessels.
Privateers swarmed on the oceans in the
summer and
autumn of 1812, and were making prizes in every direction.
Accounts of their exploits filled the newspapers and helped to swell the tide of joy throughout the
Union.
It is estimated that during the last six months of 1812 more than fifty armed British vessels and 250 merchantmen, with an aggregate of over 3,000 prisoners and a vast amount of booty, were captured by the
Americans.
The British newspapers raved and uttered opprobrious epithets.
A leading
London journal petulantly and vulgarly gave vent to its sentiments by expressing an apprehension that
England might be stripped of her maritime supremacy “by a piece of striped bunting flying at the mast-heads of a few fir-built frigates, manned by a handful of bastards and cowards.”
The position of the
American army at the close of 1812 was as follows: The Army of the Northwest, first under
Hull, and then under
General Harrison, was occupying a defensive position among the snows of the wilderness on the banks of the
Maumee River; the Army of the Centre, under
General Smyth, was resting on the defensive on the
Niagara frontier; and the Army of the
North, under
General Bloomfield, was also resting on the defensive at
Plattsburg, on the western shore of
Lake Champlain.
Admiral Cochrane, who succeeded
Admiral Warren in command on the American Station, issued a proclamation, dated at
Bermuda, the rendezvous of the more southern blockading fleet, April 2, 1813.
It was addressed to slaves under the denomination of “persons desirous to emigrate from the
United States.”
Owing to the inability of nearly all the slaves to read, the proclamation had very little effect.
It is said that a project had been suggested by British officers for taking possession of the peninsula between the
Delaware and
Chesapeake bays, and there
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training for British service an army of negro slaves.
The project was rejected only because the
British, being then slaveholders themselves, did not like to encourage insurrection elsewhere.
General Armstrong,
Secretary of War, planned a second invasion of
Canada in the autumn of 1813.
There had been a change in the military command on the northern frontier.
For some time the infirmities of
General Dearborn, the
commander-in-chief, had disqualified him for active service, and in June (1813) he was superseded by
Gen. James Wilkinson, who, like
Dearborn, had been an active young officer in the Revolution.
Leaving
Flournoy in command at New Orleans,
Wilkinson hastened to
Washington, D. C., when
Armstrong assured him he would find 15,000 troops at his command on the borders of
Lake Ontario.
On reaching
Sackett's Harbor (Aug. 20), he found one-third of the troops sick, no means for transportation, officers few in number, and both officers and men raw and undisciplined.
After some movements on the lake,
Wilkinson returned to
Sackett's Harbor in October, sick with lake fever.
Armstrong was there to take personal charge of preparations for an attack upon
Kingston or
Montreal.
Knowing the personal enmity between
Wilkinson and
Wade Hampton,
Armstrong, accompanied by the
adjutant-general, had established the headquarters of the War Department at
Sackett's Harbor to promote harmony between these two old officers, and to add efficiency to the projected movements.
Wilkinson, not liking this interference of
Armstrong, wished to resign; but the latter would not consent, for he had no other officer of experience to take his place.
After much discussion, it was determined to pass
Kingston and make a descent upon
Montreal.
For weeks the bustle of preparation was great, and many armed boats and transports had been built at the
Harbor.
On Oct. 17 orders were given for the embarkation of the troops at
Sackett's Harbor, and
General Hampton, then halting on the banks of the
Chateaugay River, was ordered to move to the
St. Lawrence, at the mouth of that stream.
The troops at the harbor were packed in scows, bateaux,
Durham boats, and common lake sailboats, at the beginning of a dark night, with an impending storm hovering over the lake.
Before morning there was a furious gale, with rain and sleet, and the boats were scattered in every direction.
The shores of the little islands in that region were strewn with wrecks, and fifteen large boats were totally lost.
On the 20th a large number of the troops and saved boats arrived at
Grenadier Island, near the entrance to the
St. Lawrence.
There they were finally all gathered.
The damage and loss of stores, etc., was immense.
The troops remained encamped until Nov. 1.
The snow had fallen to the depth of 10 inches. Delay would be dangerous, and on Nov. 9
General Brown and his division pushed forward, in the face of a tempest, to
French Creek, at the present village of
Clayton, on the
St. Lawrence.
Chauncey at the same time made an ineffectual attempt to blockade the British vessels in the harbor of
Kingston.
British marine scouts were out among the
Thousand Islands.
They discovered the
Americans at
French Creek, where, on the afternoon of Nov. 1, there was a sharp fight between the troops and British schooners and gunboats filled with infantry.
The remainder of the troops, with
Wilkinson, came down from
Grenadier Island, and on the morning of the 5th the whole flotilla, comprising 300 bateaux, preceded by gunboats, filled with 7,000 troops, went down the
St. Lawrence, pursued by British troops in a galley and gunboats, through the sinuous channels of the
Thousand Islands.
The same evening the belligerents had a fight by moonlight in
Alexandria Bay, and land troops from
Kingston reached
Prescott, opposite
Ogdensburg, at the same time.
Wilkinson disembarked his army just above
Ogdensburg, and marched to some distance below to avoid the batteries at
Prescott.
Brown, meanwhile, successfully took the flotilla past
Prescott on the night of the 6th, and the forces were reunited 4 miles below
Ogdensburg.
There
Wilkinson was informed that the
Canada shores of the
St. Lawrence were lined with posts of musketry and artillery to dispute the passage of the flotilla.
To meet this emergency,
Col. Alexander McComb was detached with 1,200 of the best troops of the army, and on the 7th landed on the
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Canada shore.
He was followed by
Lieutenant-Colonel Forsyth with his riflemen.
On the 8th a council of war was held, and, after receiving a report from
Col. J. G. Swift, the
chief engineer, concerning the strength of the army, the question “Shall the army proceed with all possible rapidity to the attack of
Montreal?”
was considered, and was answered in the affirmative.
General Brown at once crossed the river with his brigade.
Meanwhile a large reinforcement had come down from
Kingston to
Prescott, and were marching rapidly forward to meet the
American invaders.
A severe engagement ensued at Chrysler's Field, a few miles below
Williamsburg (Nov. 11, 1813). The flotilla was then at the head of the
Long Rapids, 20 miles below
Ogdensburg.
The
Americans were beaten in the fight and driven from the field (see
Chrysler's field, battle of), and that night they withdrew to the boats.
The following morning the flotilla passed the
Long Rapids safely.
General Wilkinson was ill, and word came from
Hampton that he would not form a junction with
Wilkinson's troops at St. Regis.
The officers were unwilling to serve longer under the incompetent
Wilkinson, and it was determined, at a council of war, to abandon the expedition against
Montreal.
The troops went into winter quarters at
French Mills (afterwards
Covington), on the
Salmon River.
The news of
Perry's victory on
Lake Erie (see
Erie, Lake, battle on) startled the
British public, and strange confessions of weakness were made in the
English and provincial newspapers.
“We have been conquered on the lake,” said a Halifax paper, “and so we shall be on every other lake, if we take as little care to protect them.”
Others urged the necessity of an alliance with the Indians to secure the possession of
Canada.
“We dare assert,” said a writer in one of the leading British reviews, “and recent events have gone far in establishing the truth of the proposition, that the Canadas cannot be effectually and durably defended without the friendship of the Indians and command of the lakes and river St. Lawrence.”
He urged his countrymen to consider the interests of the Indians as their own; “for men,” he said, “whose very name is so formidable to an American, and whose friendship has recently been shown to be of such great importance to
us, we cannot do too much.”
Towards the close of 1813, the whole of the
New England States presented a united front in opposition to the national administration and the war. The peace faction was very active and industriously sowed discontent.
The newspapers and orators of the ultra-Federal party denounced the administration as hostile to
New England, which, it was asserted, was treated as a conquered province; her great interests—commerce and navigation— being sacrificed, and her sentiments of right and justice trampled upon.
They declared that every
New England man of promise in public affairs had been for twelve years proscribed by the national government, and that, reduced as
New England was by follies and oppressions to the brink of ruin, it was her first duty to consult her own interest and safety.
The idea was broached in a Boston newspaper (
Daily Advertiser) that it would be desirable for
New England to conclude a separate peace with
Great Britain, or, at least, assume a position of neutrality, leaving it to the States that chose to fight it out to their hearts' content.
No person appeared as the avowed champion of such a step.
It was denounced as a treasonable suggestion, and produced considerable anxiety at
Washington.
These discontents finally led to the
Hartford convention (q. v.).
For nearly two years the
Americans waged offensive war against
Great Britain (1812-14), when they were compelled to change to a war of defence.
The entire sea-coast from the
St. Croix to the
St. Mary's, and of the
Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans and beyond, was menaced by British squadrons and regiments.
At
Portland,
Boston,
Providence,
New Haven, New York,
Baltimore,
Norfolk,
Charleston, and
Savannah, which were exposed to attack, the people were soon busy casting up fortifications for defence.
On Jan. 6, 1814, the United States government received from that of
Great Britain an offer to treat for peace directly at
London, that city being preferred because it would afford greater facilities for negotiation.
It was proposed, in case there should be insuperable objections to
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London, to hold the conference at Gottenburg, in
Sweden.
This offer, with the selection of Gottenburg, was accepted by
President Madison, who, at the same time, complained of the rejection of
Russia's mediation, which had been offered three separate times.
He nominated as commissioners to negotiate for peace
John Quincy Adams and
James A. Bayard, to whom
Henry Clay and
Jonathan Russell were added as special representatives of the war party.
At the same time,
Russell was nominated and confirmed as minister to
Sweden.
Early in 1814 the most serious business of Congress was to provide for recruiting the army.
The enlistment of twelvemonths' men, it was found, stood in the way of more permanent engagements, and the fourteen regiments of that character then existing were to be replaced by men to serve five years. Nor were any volunteers to be retained except for a like period.
Three additional rifle regiments were to be raised; two regiments of light dragoons were consolidated, and three regiments of artillery were reorganized into twelve battalions.
Could the ranks be filled under this organization, there would be an army of 60,000 regulars.
To fill these ranks the money bounty was raised to $124—$50 when mustered in and the remainder when discharged, the latter sum, in case of death, to go to the soldier's representatives.
To anybody who should bring in a recruit, $8 were allowed.
In the debate on this subject Daniel Webster made his first speech in Congress, in which he declared that the difficulty of raising troops grew out of the unpopularity of the war, and not from political opposition to it. The enormous bounties offered proved that.
And he advised giving over all ideas of invasion, and also all restrictive war waged against commerce by embargoes and non-importation acts.
“If war must be continued, go to the ocean,” he said, “and then, if the contention was seriously for maritime rights, the united wishes and exertions of the nation would go with the administration.”
Little was done towards increasing the force of the navy, excepting an appropriation of $500,000 for the construction of a steamfrigate or floating battery, for which
Fulton offered a plan, and the authorizing the purchase, for $225,000, of the vessels captured on
Lake Erie.
At a cost of about $2,000,000 in bounties, 14,000 recruits were obtained, of whom the
New England States furnished more than all the rest of the States put together.
At the beginning of August, 1814,
Armstrong, the
Secretary of War, ordered
General Izard, in command of a large body of troops at
Plattsburg, to march a larger portion of them to co-operate with the army on the
Niagara frontier.
This order produced amazement and indignation in the minds of
Izard and his officers, for they knew the imminent peril of immediate invasion, from the region of the
St. Lawrence, of a large body of
Wellington's veterans, who had lately arrived in
Canada.
Both the army and people were expecting an occasion for a great battle near the foot of
Lake Champlain very soon, and this order produced consternation among the inhabitants.
Izard wrote to the War Department in a tone of remonstrance, Aug. 11: “I will make the movement you direct, if possible; but I shall do it with the apprehension of risking the force under my command, and with the certainty that everything in this vicinity but the lately erected works at
Plattsburg and
Cumberland Head will, in less than three days after my departure, be in the possession of the enemy.”
Nine days afterwards
Izard wrote to the
Secretary: “I must not be responsible for the consequences of abandoning my present strong position.
I will obey orders, and execute them as well as I know how.”
The removal of this force invited the invasion of
Prevost immediately afterwards, which was checked by the
American army and navy at
Plattsburg, where, with great diligence,
General Macomb concentrated troops for defence immediately after
Izard left.
From the beginning of the war the government had to depend upon loans for funds, and in this matter the peace faction found an excellent chance for embarrassing the administration.
They took measures to injure the public credit, and so much did they do so that upon each loan after 1812 a ruinous bonus was paid.
On a loan of $16,000,000, at the beginning of 1813, the lender received a bonus of about
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$2,000,000. In March, 1814, the darkest period of the war, a loan of $25,000,000 was authorized, when the peace faction, at public meetings, through the newspapers, and even from the pulpit, cast every possible embarrassment in the way of the government.
Their opposition assumed the character of virtual treason.
They violently denounced the government and those who dared to lend it money; and by inflammatory publications and personal threats they intimidated many capitalists who were disposed to lend.
The result was, not half the amount of the proposed loan was obtained, and that only by the payment of $2,852,000 on $11,400,000. Then this unpatriotic faction pointed to this event as evidence of the unwillingness of the people to continue the war. So disastrous were these attempts to borrow money that only one more of a like nature was made through the remainder of the war, the deficiency being made up by treasury notes.
Foiled in their efforts to utterly prevent the government from making loans, the peace faction struck another blow at the public credit, and the complicity of
Boston banks gave it intensity.
The banks out of
New England were the principal lenders to the government, and measures were taken to drain them of their specie, and so produce an utter inability on their part to pay their subscriptions.
Boston banks demanded specie for the notes of New York banks and those farther south which they held, and at the same time drafts were drawn on the New York banks for the balances due the
Boston corporations, to the total amount of about $8,000,000. A panic was created, and great commercial distress ensued, for the banks so drained were compelled to contract their discounts.
This conspiracy against the public credit was potent and ruinous in its effects.
To make the blow more intensely fatal, the conspirators made arrangements with agents of the government authorities of
Lower Canada, whereby a very large amount of British government bills, drawn on
Quebec, were transmitted to New York,
Philadelphia, and
Baltimore, and offered on such advantageous terms that capitalists were induced to purchase them.
By this means an immense amount of gold was transmitted to
Canada, and so placed beyond the reach of the government and put into the hands of the enemy.
In January, 1815,
Alexander J. Dallas,
Secretary of the Treasury, in a report to Congress, laid bare the poverty of the national treasury.
The year had closed with $19,000,000 unpaid debts, to meet which there was a nominal balance in the treasury of less than $2,000,000 and about $4,500,000 of uncollected taxes.
For the next year's services $50,000,000 would be required.
The total revenue, including the produce of the new taxes, was estimated at about $11,000,000—$10,000,000 from taxes, and only $1,000,000 from duties on imports, to such a low ebb had the commerce of the
United States been reduced.
Various schemes for raising money were devised, but the prospect was particularly gloomy.
The government was without money or credit; the regular military force was decreasing; the war party were at variance,
Great Britain refusing to treat on admissible terms; a victorious British army threatening the
Northern frontier;
Cockburn in possession of
Cumberland Island, off the coast of
Georgia; the
Southern States threatened with servile insurrection; a formidable British armament preparing to invade the
Gulf region; and the peace faction doing all in their power to embarrass the government.
It was at this juncture that the complaints of the
Hartford convention (q. v.), and a commission from the legislature of Massachusetts appeared before the government.
Fortunately, the news of the treaty of peace and the victory at New Orleans went over the country in February and saved the people from utter discouragement.
The government took heart and authorized a loan of $18,400,000, the amount of treasury notes then outstanding; and as an immediate means to go on with, a new issue of treasury notes to the amount of $25,000,000 (part of them in sums under $100, payable to bearer, and without interest) was authorized.
The small notes were intended for currency; those over $100 bore an interest of 5 2/5 per cent. All acts imposing discriminating duties on foreign vessels of reciprocity nations, and embargo, non-importation, and non-intercourse laws, were repealed; and so commerce was immediately revived and the revenue increased.
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The whole number of captured British vessels during the war, on the lakes and on the ocean, including those taken by privateers (of which there remained forty or fifty at sea when peace was proclaimed), and omitting those recaptured, was reckoned at 1,750.
There were captured or destroyed by British ships 42 American national vessels (including 22 gunboats), 133 privateers, and 511 merchant-vessels—in all 686, manned by 18,000 seamen.
Chronology.
The following is a record of the chief battles and naval engagements between the United States forces and the combined
British and
Indian forces:
Action at
Brownstown,
Mich.......Aug. 5, 1812
Action at Maguaga, 14 miles below
Detroit......Aug. 9, 1812
Surrender of
Fort Dearborn and massacre (
Chicago)......Aug. 15, 1812
Surrender of
Detroit by
Gen. William Hull (
Michigan))......Aug. 16, 1812
Frigate
Constitution captures British frigate
Guerriere ......Aug. 19, 1812
Defence of
Fort Harrison, Indiana,
Capt. Zachary Taylor commanding......Sept. 4, 1812
Battle of Queenston......Oct. 13, 1812
Sloop-of-war
Wasp captures British sloop
Frolic ......Oct. 18, 1812
Action at
St. Regis, N. Y.......Oct. 23, 1812
Frigate
United States captures British frigate
Macedonian ......Oct. 25, 1812
Affair at
Black Rock, N. Y.; attempted invasion of
Canada by the
Americans under
Gen. Alexander Smyth......Nov. 28, 1812
Frigate
Constitution captures British frigate
Java off the coast of
Brazil......Dec. 29, 1812
Schooner
Patriot sails from
Charleston, S. C., for New York......Dec. 30, 1812
[This vessel, having on board Theodosia, the wife of
Governor Alston and only child of
Aaron Burr, is never heard of afterwards.]
Action at
Frenchtown, now
Monroe, Mich......Jan. 18, 1813
Defeat and capture of
General Winchester at the river
Raisin,
Mich......Jan. 22, 1813
British fleet,
Vice-Admiral Cockburn, attempts to blockade the
Atlantic coast......January et seq. 1813
Sloop-of-war
Hornet captures and sinks British sloop
Peacock near the mouth of the
Demerara River, South America......Feb. 24, 1813
York (now
Toronto),
Upper Canada, captured......April 27, 1813
Defence of Fort Meigs, O., by
General Harrison......April 28–May 9, 1813
Gen. Green Clay is checked in attempting to reinforce Fort Meigs.......May 5, 1813
Fort George, on the west side of
Niagara River, near its mouth, is captured by the
American troops under
General Dearborn......May 27, 1813
Frigate
Chesapeake surrenders to the British ship
Shannon ......June 1, 1813
Action at
Stony Creek,
Upper Canada......June 6, 1813
Affair at
Beaver Dams,
Upper Canada......June 24, 1813
Maj. George Croghan's gallant defence of
Fort Stephenson......Aug. 2, 1813
British sloop-of-war
Pelican captures the brig
Argus in the
British channel......Aug. 14, 1813
Massacre at Fort Mimms, Ala., by the
Creek Indians......Aug. 30, 1813
Brig
Enterprise captures British brig
Boxer off the coast of
Maine.......Sept. 5, 1813
Perry's victory on
Lake Erie......Sept. 10, 1813
Detroit, Mich., reoccupied by the United States forces......Sept. 28, 1813
Battle of the
Thames, Upper Canada;
Harrison defeats
Proctor; death of
Tecumseh......Oct. 5, 1813
Action at Chrysler's Field, on the northern shore of the
St. Lawrence, about 90 miles above
Montreal......Nov. 11, 1813
Jackson's campaign against the
Creek Indians......November, 1813
Gen. George McClure, commanding a Brigade on the
Niagara frontier, burns the village of
Newark,
Canada, and evacuates
Fort George, opposite
Fort Niagara (he is severely censured)......Dec. 10, 1813
Fort Niagara captured by the
British......Dec. 19, 1813
Buffalo and
Black Rock burned by the
British and
Indians......Dec. 30, 1813
General Jackson defeats and crushes the
Creek Indians at Great Horse Shoe Bend, on the
Tallapoosa......March 27, 1814
Frigate
Essex,
Capt. David Porter, surrenders to the British ships
Phoebe and
Cherub in the harbor of
Valparaiso,
Chile......March 28, 1814
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General Wilkinson, with about 2,000 troops, attacks a party of British, fortified in a stone mill, at La Colle,
Lower Canada, near the north end of
Lake Champlain, and is repulsed......March 30, 1814
British blockade extended to the whole coast of the
United States......April 23, 1814
Sloop-of-war
Peacock captures the British brig
Épervier off the coast of
Florida with $118,000 in specie......April 29, 1814
British attack and destroy the fort at
Oswego, N. Y.......May 6, 1814
Action at
Big Sandy Creek, N. Y.......May 29, 1814
Sloop-of-war
Wasp captures the British sloop
Reindeer in the
British Channel......June 28, 1814
Fort Erie, with about 170 British soldiers, surrenders to
Gen. Winfield Scott and
General Ripley......July 3, 1814
Battle of Chippewa,
Upper Canada......July 5, 1814
Battle of
Lundy's Lane, or
Bridgewater, Upper Canada......July 25, 1814
Congress appropriates $320,000 for one or more floating batteries, designed by
Robert Fulton; one finished......July, 1814
[This was the first steam vessel of war built.]
Expedition from
Detroit against Fort Mackinaw fails......Aug. 4, 1814
British troops land at
Pensacola, Fla.......Aug. 4, 1814
British troops, 5,000 strong, under
General Drummond, invest
Fort Erie......Aug. 4, 1814
Stonington, Conn., bombarded by the British fleet under
Commodore Hardy......Aug. 9-12, 1814
British fleet, with 6,000 veterans from
Wellington's army under
General Ross, appears in
Chesapeake Bay......Aug. 14, 1814
Midnight assault by the
British on
Fort Erie repulsed......Aug. 15, 1814
Battle of Bladensburg, the
Capitol at
Washington burned......Aug. 24, 1814
Nantucket Island stipulates with the British fleet to remain neutral......Aug. 31, 1814
Sloop-of-war
Wasp sinks the British sloop
Avon......Sept. 1, 1814
British
General Prevost crosses the
Canadian frontier towards
Plattsburg, N. Y., with 12,000 veteran troops......Sept. 1, 1814
Fleet on
Lake Champlain under
Com. Thomas Macdonough defeats the
British under
Commodore Downie......Sept. 11, 1814
British approaching
Baltimore, Md., under
General Ross; he is killed at
North Point......Sept. 12, 1814
They find the city too well fortified, and retire......Sept. 13, 1814
British fleet bombard
Fort McHenry......Sept. 13, 1814
[During this attack Francis Scott Key wrote
The Star-Spangled banner.]
British attack on
Fort Bowyer,
Mobile Bay, repulsed......Sept. 15, 1814
Garrison at
Fort Erie by a sortie break up the siege......Sept. 17, 1814
General Drummond raises the siege of
Fort Erie......Sept. 21, 1814
Wasp captures the British brig
Atlanta......Sept. 21, 1814
Gallant fight of the privateer, the
General Armstrong, with the
British 74-gun shipof-the-line, the
Plantagenet, in the harbor of
Fayal, one of the
Azores......Sept. 26, 1814
Gen. George Izard, on the
Niagara frontier, moves on
Chippewa with a force of 6,000 men......Oct. 13, 1814
General Izard, after a skirmish with the
British near
Chippewa, Oct. 19, retires to the
Niagara River, opposite
Black Rock......Oct. 21, 1814
Fort Erie abandoned and blown up by the United States troops......Nov. 5, 1814
British approach New Orleans......Dec. 22, 1814
General Jackson attacks the command of
General Keane on Villereas plantation, about 9 miles below the city, and checks its advance on the night of......Dec. 23, 1814
He intrenches about 7 miles below the city......Dec. 24, 1814
[His line, extending at right angles to the river, reached to a cypress swamp about 1 1/2 miles distant, and was protected by rudely constructed breastworks of cotton bales and earth, with a shallow ditch in front.
At the extreme left of this line was stationed the brigade of
General Coffee, 800 strong; then came
Carroll's brigade, about 1,400 men, while the right towards the river was held by 1,300 men under
Colonel Ross, including all the regulars;
General Adair was placed in the rear with about 500 men as a reserve.
Along
[
129]
the line were placed at intervals eighteen guns, carrying from six to twenty-three pound balls, and several guns across the river under
Patterson.
Anticipating an advance on the west bank of the river as well,
Jackson had placed
Gen. David B. Morgan with about 1,200 men and two or three guns a little in advance of his own position.]
British attack
General Jackson with artillery, but are forced to retire......Dec. 28, 1814
Another attempt made......Jan. 1, 1815
Final assault fails......Jan. 8, 1815
[The British commander,
Sir Edward Pakenham, in his final assault designing to attack on both sides of the river at once, ordered
Col. William (afterwards Sir)
Thornton to cross on the night of Jan. 7 with 1,200 men and attack
General Morgan at early dawn.
The main assault under
Pakenham was made as early as 6 A. M., the 8th, in two columns, the right under
Maj.-Gen. Sir Samuel Gibbs, the left under
Maj.-Gen. John Keane, and the reserve under
Maj.-Gen. John Lambert; total force probably numbered about 7,000 men.
General Gibbs's column in close ranks, sixty men front, came under fire first, which was so severe and deadly that a few platoons only reached the edge of the ditch and broke.
In this advance
Gibbs was mortally wounded, and
Pakenham, in his attempt to rally the men, was almost instantly killed.
The left advance under
Keane fared no better,
Keane being severely wounded and carried off the field, and his column routed.
By 8 A. M. the assault was at an end.
Colonel Thornton's attack on the west side of the river was successful, for he routed
General Morgan's militia, which were poorly armed, and drove them beyond
Jackson's position towards the city, and compelled
Patterson to spike his guns and retire, but owing to the failure of the main assault, together with the loss of the
chief officers,
General Lambert, now chief in command, recalled
Thornton from his successes, and on Jan. 9 began preparations for retreating.
Of 7,000 British troops engaged in the assault, 2,036 were killed and wounded, the killed being estimated at over 700;
Americans lost eight killed and thirteen wounded in the main assault; total loss on both sides of the river, seventy-one.]
Frigate
President, forty-four guns,
Commodore Decatur commanding, is captured by the British frigates
Endymion, forty guns, the
Pomone,
Tenedos, and
Majestic......Jan. 15, 1815
Frigate
Constitution captures the
Cyane and the
Levant, British sloops-of-war......February, 1815
Fort Bowyer, invested by the British fleet, surrenders......Feb. 12, 1815
Sloop-of-war
Hornet,
Capt. James Biddle, captures the British brig-of-war
Penguin off the
Cape of Good Hope......March 23, 1815
See also
Jackson,
Andrew; New Orleans; and readily suggestive names of persons and places that were conspicuous in the war.
