America’s Forgotten War
The War of 1812 stands out in American history as a disappointment to most, a forgotten war as soon as one managed to finish 8th grade history class. It doesn’t have the same fervor as the Civil War, nor does it have the same righteous outcome as the Revolutionary War.
But June marked the anniversary of the start of the war, so now is a perfect time to open those history books again and explore what and why this war happened. It’s a bit confusing, involves Canada to some extent, the British, of course, and a lot of other elements that led to its inconclusive outcome. It gave rise to some commanding officers who later helped mold the country by taking the reins of the presidency–Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison and James Madison.

James Madison, president of the United States in 1812, who signed the document declaring war on Britain.
The United States suffered more casualties and deaths than did the British. 35,000 soldiers participated on behalf of America, leading to 2,200 deaths and 15,000 casualties. By contrast, the British had 48,000 soldiers in America, of which 1,600 died and 5,000 were injured.
Neither the United States nor the British in Canada were prepared for this war. The British were distracted by the war with France and saw this conflict as a distraction at best.
One might ask why the great Indian chief Tecumseh was involved, and why more than 10,000 Native Americans took part in this conflict. The British had convinced them that, if the British were victorious, they would set up a state in the uncharted Midwest as an Indian state. Canada also became involved in the war, since it was a colony of Britain and provided an easy place for America to strike back at the English. But the main reason the United States once again went to war with the mighty Brits was due to restriction of trade. At the time, the British were fighting a war against France. America traded with France, who depended on

Tecumseh
these trade goods to prolong the war. If England could cut off the trade route, they’d shorten the conflict. But there were four distinct factions involved in the war on North American soil–British, American, Canadian and Native American–and they each saw the conflict from a different vantage point.
These Napoleanic Wars took precedence, so at the start of this war, the British were merely on the defensive. In actual fact, not many in the British Empire even knew there was another conflict going on in America, since they were involved in a fierce fight with France. Canada became involved since they feared a takeover by the United States. In fact, Thomas Jefferson wrote about how he’d like to acquire all of Canada for the United States and rid England of the continent altogether, so Canada had a right to worry. He was so confident this would be the outcome, he wrote to a friend:
The acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching, and will give us experience for the attack of Halifax the next, and the final expulsion of England from the American continent.
The battle was fought on land and sea, which gave the U. S. an early advantage on the water, since their warships were much larger than the British frigates. However, the well-trained British foot soldiers outmatched the Americans on land. Skirmishes took place in both Canada and on the eastern seaboard. Buffalo, NY suffered the most damage of the American cities, being reduced to ruins.

U.S. frigate United States capturing the British frigate …
Currier & Ives/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZC2-3120)
In 1814, when the war with France ended, the British began attacking the United States with their full forces, burning the White House in August of that year. However, by this time, the Americans had become a force to be reckoned with and they won decisive victories at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814, when the American forces outlasted the British at Fort McHenry, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner. and the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Johnny Horton made the battle famous in song, which can be heard here:
Results of this conflict were minor. The British ceased impressing American sailors into the Royal Navy. Up to this point, thousands of US citizens were removed from American ships and made part of the British navy. The great Indian leader, Tecumseh, worked for the British during this war, which resulted in the end of his confederacy and his death at the Battle of the Thames in 1813, and the British no longer allowed for privateering.
The Treaty of Ghent signaled a negotiated end to the conflict. Neither side lost any territory and the war was not considered a victory on either side. But it did prove once again that America was no longer a colony of the crown, and was its own separate country.
http://www.historynet.com/war-of-1812
https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/war-of-1812-begins?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2017-0618
WOW! It’s finally time for me to learn about the War of 1812. I couldn’t stand history in grade school. And what does a kid care about understanding the importance of America’s past. It was not until my return to school as an adult did I realize what I had missed. It’s been quite a journey!!! Thank you for this one Becky.
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I learned a lot while researching this article, Gail. Had no idea the Native Americans had a stake in it, for example. We could really learn from our past if it were better taught.
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It has been a forgotten war, and yet, it has some unique elements like the burning of Washington and writing of the Star-Spangled Banner. I enjoyed the Johnny Horton song when I was a kid and had memorized the lyrics without even realized it was about the War of 1812. (And I still remember most of the lyrics – love the part about the alligator!)
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I loved the Johnny Horton song when I was a kid, too, and like you, didn’t realize what it was about. But the words came right back to me when I was researching this article. Now the words are more than just a clever ditty. Glad you enjoyed the blog post.
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Reblogged this on Time Will Tell and commented:
Here’s a good post about the war of 1812. Make sure to listen to the Battle of New Orleans song. I loved it as a kid.
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Good post. I learned a lot. Thanks!
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Thanks, Gay. Glad you enjoyed it. I learned a lot while researching this. And the Johnny Horton song made me tap my toes.
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I’m going to save this post for future research. If I continue the Brentwood Saga series, I will be researching the War of 1812 for a future novel. Great post, Becky!
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It might come in handy, Elizabeth. I used parts of the story in my latest Regency. It’s so much fun to do this kind of research and finding out things that we never knew before.
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Great reminder of what historians often credit as being the final battles of the Revolution. Good job, Becky!
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I’ve heard this song on the Oldies Channel on Sirrus Radio.
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Well, wasn’t that battle of New Orelans one of the first situations that brought Americans speaking French and English together as a group? I am no buff in American history.
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No, that was the Acadian explusion.
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Great post about the War of 1812. Many people don’t know that the British burned the white house during the war. Thanks for sharing.
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We learn a great deal in school about the war of 1812, there are thousands of forts, national historic sites and monuments all over our country to pay tribute to our successful war participation. stories of Tecumsehs bravery, Laura Secord 20 km trek through the country side, Sir Issac Brock death in battle. These are our national heroes
what is has been consider not such a fine moment is American history. has been glorified to us. History has a slant by whom ever tells the story.
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