Posted on 12/24/2005 3:09:08 AM PST by mainepatsfan
This Day In History | General Interest
WAR OF 1812 ENDS: December 24, 1814
The Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America is signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada.
In June 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain in reaction to three issues: the British economic blockade of France, the induction of thousands of neutral American seamen into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of Congress, made up mostly of western and southern congressmen, had been advocating the declaration of war for several years. These "War Hawks," as they were known, hoped that war with Britain, which was preoccupied with its struggle against Napoleonic France, would result in U.S. territorial gains in Canada and British-protected Florida.
In the months following the U.S. declaration of war, American forces launched a three-point invasion of Canada, all of which were repulsed. At sea, however, the United States was more successful, and the USS Constitution and other American frigates won a series of victories over British warships. In 1813, American forces won several key victories in the Great Lakes region, but Britain regained control of the sea and blockaded the eastern seaboard.
In 1814, with the downfall of Napoleon, the British were able to allocate more military resources to the American war, and Washington, D.C., fell to the British in August. In Washington, British troops burned the White House, the Capitol, and other buildings in retaliation for the earlier burning of government buildings in Canada by U.S. soldiers. The British soon retreated, however, and Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor withstood a massive British bombardment and inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the "Star-Spangled Banner."
On September 11, 1814, the tide of the war turned when Thomas Macdonough's American naval force won a decisive victory at the Battle of Plattsburg Bay on Lake Champlain. A large British army under Sir George Prevost was thus forced to abandon its invasion of the U.S. northeast and retreat to Canada. The American victory on Lake Champlain led to the conclusion of U.S.-British peace negotiations in Belgium, and on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war. Although the treaty said nothing about two of the key issues that started the war--the rights of neutral U.S. vessels and the impressment of U.S. sailors--it did open up the Great Lakes region to American expansion and was hailed as a diplomatic victory in the United States.
News of the treaty took almost two months to cross the Atlantic, and British forces were not informed of the end of hostilities in time to end their drive against the mouth of the Mississippi River. On January 8, 1815, a large British army attacked New Orleans and was decimated by an inferior American force under General Andrew Jackson in the most spectacular U.S. victory of the war. The American public heard of the Battle of New Orleans and the Treaty of Ghent at approximately the same time, fostering a greater sentiment of self-confidence and shared identity throughout the young republic.
I knew Haliburton had to be involved somehow.
I agree but there is a third reason. It was called the War of 1812 because it was a War.
The Shawnee took up arms against the United States and fought with the British during this war. Tecumseh was made a British Brigadier General. This negated the treaty allowing the warlike Shawnee to live in Ohio. Today's Shawnee, despite this are claiming thousands of acres that was "stolen" from them. No matter how many times I bring up this fact in public debate I NEVER get a response comcerning this, it is glossed over. Oh, they want to build mob ran casinos on land that was "stolen" from their victimized ancestors. This despite Ohio law.
They were built on the lake shore.
Here's a bit of 1812 lore -
When the British attacked Washington, a Marine officer ordered two of his men to hide the gold and silver which made up the Marine Corps budget. The men hid the treasure and then ran out to engage the enemy.
Both men died in the battle, taking the location of the buried treasure with them. To this day it's believed that somewhere in the walls of the old Marine Corps barrack is hidden a treasure of gold and silver.
And we did up up with Florida.
"In Washington, British troops burned the White House, the Capitol, and other buildings in retaliation for the earlier burning of government buildings in Canada by U.S. soldiers."
I thought blaming American troops was something that started in the Vietnam era?
oops!
If it wasn't for the American attitudes and tactics during the War of 1812, Canada would have long been a part of the USA. Upper Canada had more than 1/4 and possibly 1/3 of its residents born in the US and they didn't have that much loyalty to the Crown. The French certainly didn't.
Nevertheless, it took this invasion and the burning of the capital (including the Parliament Buildings - which prompted the retaliatory burning of the White House) to unite the United Empire Loyalists and the European born, the French speaking, and the American born. Confederation in 1867 followed.
And Paul Martin is using the same rhetoric today in order to get re elected.
My GGGGG-Grandfather served in the War of 1812. I contacted the National Archives for his records and was amazed to receive a huge envelope with more than 50 legal size documents. The wealth of information on him astounded me. They even contained a physical description and testimony from his wife and friends. Most of the papers were from when he applied for a small pension that our government started giving out many years after the war. We think government beaurocracy is bad now. It was just as bad way back then. I was amazed at all the hoops he had to jump through to get this tiny amount of money. I sure do treasure those records though and the information that I obtained helped me to trace my roots back many more generations.
Even less than that know our national anthem came from this war.
Gosh, I am not being sarcastic and didn't pick up on the last paragraph where the battle was mentioned. I just didn't want that battle left out of the list of encounters. After all, it inspired a popular song! And I remember reading about that battle years ago. If I am not mistaken, Jackson rode to the presidency on that battle!
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