The War of 1812

The seizure of American ships and sailors, combined with the British support of American Indian resistance, led to strident calls for war against Great Britain. In a narrow vote, Congress authorized the president to declare war against Britain in June 1812, beginning the War of 1812.

Although the outbreak of the war had been preceded by years of angry diplomatic dispute, neither side was ready for war when it came. Britain was heavily engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, most of the British Army was deployed in the Peninsular War (in Spain), and the Royal Navy was compelled to blockade most of the coast of Europe. The number of British regular troops present in Canada (and supported by Canadian militia) in July 1812 was officially stated to be 6,034. Throughout the war, the British secretary of state for war and the colonies was the Earl of Bathurst. For the first two years of the war, he could spare few troops to reinforce North America and urged the commander in chief in North America, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, to maintain a defensive strategy. The naturally cautious Prevost followed these instructions, concentrating on defending Lower Canada at the expense of Upper Canada, which was more vulnerable to American attacks, and allowing few offensive actions. Throughout the war, Britain was able to successfully defend Canada.

War in the North

Early Defeats

The War of 1812's primary theater on land was along the northern border of the United States. The war went very badly for the United States at first. The British scored an important early success when their detachment at St. Joseph Island, on Lake Huron, learned of the declaration of war before the nearby American garrison at the important trading post at Mackinac Island in Michigan. A scratch force landed on the island on July 17, 1812, and mounted a gun overlooking Fort Mackinac. After the British fired one shot, the Americans, taken by surprise, surrendered. This early victory encouraged American Indian resistance, and large numbers moved to help the British at Amherstburg (near the western end of Lake Erie).

Detroit

On July 12, 1812, General William Hull led an invading American force of about 1,000 untrained, poorly-equipped militia across the Detroit River and occupied the Canadian town of Sandwich, now a neighborhood of Windsor, Ontario. Once on Canadian soil, Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender. He also threatened to kill any British prisoner caught fighting alongside an American Indian. The proclamation helped stiffen resistance to the American attacks. Hull's army was too weak in artillery, however, and by August, Hull and his troops retreated to Detroit.

The senior British officer in Upper Canada, Major General Isaac Brock, felt that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada and to convince the American Indians who were needed to defend the region that Britain was strong. He moved rapidly to Amherstburg with reinforcements, and, along with Shawnee leader Tecumseh, immediately attacked Detroit. Hull and his troops surrendered Detroit without a fight on August 16. The surrender not only cost the United States the village of Detroit, but also control over most of the Michigan territory. 

Knowing of British-supported attacks from American Indians in other locations, Hull ordered the evacuation of the inhabitants of Fort Dearborn (Chicago) to Fort Wayne. During evacuation, the inhabitants (soldiers and civilians) were attacked by Potowatomis on August 15 in what is known as the "Battle of Fort Dearborn." The fort was subsequently burned.

Battle of Queenston Heights

Several months later, the United States launched a second invasion of Canada against the Niagara Peninsula. On October 13, U.S. forces were again defeated at the Battle of Queenston Heights. Brock was killed during the battle, however, and British leadership suffered after his death.

Battle of Ogdensburg

By the end of the year, the British controlled half the Northwest. The British were potentially most vulnerable over the stretch of the St. Lawrence River where it formed the frontier between Upper Canada and the United States. During the early days of the war, there was illicit commerce across the river. Over the winter of 1812 and 1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from Ogdensburg on the American side of the river, which hampered British supply traffic up the river. On February 21, Sir George Prevost passed through Prescott on the opposite bank of the river with reinforcements for Upper Canada. When he left the next day, the reinforcements and local militia attacked. At the Battle of Ogdensburg, the Americans were forced to retire.

Military and civilian leadership remained a critical American weakness until 1814. The early disasters were brought about chiefly by American unpreparedness, and a lack of leadership drove U.S. Secretary of War William Eustis from office. His successor, John Armstrong, Jr., attempted a coordinated strategy late in 1813 with 10,000 men, aimed at capturing Montreal; however, he was thwarted by logistical difficulties, uncooperative and quarrelsome commanders, and ill-trained troops. After losing several battles to inferior forces, the Americans retreated in disarray in October 1813.

Battle of Lake Erie 

By the middle of 1814, U.S. generals, including Major Generals Jacob Brown and Winfield Scott, had drastically improved the fighting abilities and discipline of the army, and U.S. forces scored several victories. A decisive use of naval power came on the Great Lakes and depended on a contest of building ships. The United States started a program of building warships at Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario, where 3,000 men were recruited, many from New York City, to build eleven warships early in the war. In 1813, American Captain Oliver Hazard Perry and his naval force won control of Lake Erie in the Battle of Lake Erie, cutting off British and American Indian forces in the west from their supply base. 

Olivar Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie

Oliver Hazard Perry's message to William Henry Harrison after the Battle of Lake Erie began with what would become one of the most famous sentences in American military history: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." This 1865 painting by William H. Powell shows Perry transferring to a different ship during the battle.

Battle of the Thames

The British also were decisively defeated by General William Henry Harrison's forces on their retreat toward Niagara at the Battle of the Thames in October 1813. Tecumseh was counted among the dead, and American Indian resistance began to ebb as his confederacy disintegrated. Control of Lake Ontario changed hands several times, with both sides unable and unwilling to take advantage of the temporary superiority.