War of 1812

The War of 1812, 1812 to 1815

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Britain from 1812 to 1815. Its causes lay in British interference with American trade and shipping during the Napoleonic Wars, the impressment of American sailors, and rising tension on the western frontier. When war came neither side was ready, and the fighting spread across the Great Lakes and the Canadian border, the Atlantic coast, the Chesapeake, and the Gulf. It ended with the Treaty of Ghent and a return to the pre-war boundaries. The course of the fighting is set out below.

Course of war

Fighting unfolded across four distinct theaters. One stretched along the Canada-United States border, taking in the Great Lakes country of the Old Northwest and Upper Canada, the Niagara Frontier, and the St. Lawrence corridor running through New England and Lower Canada. A second theater lay at sea, mainly on the Atlantic, along the American east coast and around Maritime Canada. A third encompassed the Gulf Coast and the southern United States, including the Creek War fought in the Alabama River basin. The fourth centered on the Mississippi River basin.

Years of diplomatic friction preceded the conflict, yet when hostilities finally broke out, neither side stood ready. Britain remained deeply committed to the Napoleonic Wars; the bulk of its army was tied down in the Peninsular campaign across Portugal and Spain, and the Royal Navy had its hands full blockading much of the European coastline. As of July 1812, official figures placed only 6,034 British regulars in Canada, bolstered by Canadian militia units. Earl Bathurst, who oversaw the war from London as War Secretary throughout the conflict, had little manpower to spare for North American defenses during its opening two years, and he pressed Lieutenant General George Prevost to hold to a defensive posture. Prevost, trusted by the Canadian population, followed this guidance, concentrating his efforts on shielding Lower Canada even though this left Upper Canada more exposed to American thrusts and limited what offensive moves he could make. Unlike commanders fighting along the eastern seaboard, Prevost had no Royal Navy support to draw upon.

America's readiness was no better. President Madison had wagered that state militias could seize Canada with ease, paving the way for a quick negotiated settlement. The regular army numbered under 12,000 men in 1812, and though Congress approved growing it to 35,000, enlistment remained voluntary, poorly compensated, and generally unpopular, with few seasoned officers available at the outset. Militiamen balked at fighting outside their home states; lacking discipline, they fared badly against British forces once thrust into unfamiliar ground, and several units flatly refused to cross into Canadian territory.

The war effort was further hampered by domestic opposition, particularly fierce in New England, where critics spoke out loudly against the conflict. In Boston, Massachusetts congressmen Ebenezer Seaver and William Widgery faced public jeering and insults, while on 3 August 1812 a Plymouth mob seized Chief Justice Charles Turner and dragged him through town by force. Financing the war proved equally difficult once the national bank had been dissolved and private lenders in the Northeast turned hostile to the cause, though the London firm Barings Bank stepped in to cover overseas bond debts. New England's refusal to supply militia or funding dealt a severe blow to the war effort, and talk of secession grew loud enough to produce the Hartford Convention. Britain, sensing an opportunity in this discord, largely spared New England ports from blockade for much of the war and quietly encouraged smuggling there.

William Hull led an American army across the Detroit River into Upper Canada on 12 July, reaching Sandwich, now Windsor, Ontario. He issued a proclamation demanding that British subjects lay down arms, framing his invasion as liberation from British "tyranny" and promising the same liberty, security, and prosperity Americans enjoyed, unless the population chose "war, slavery and destruction" instead. He also warned that any British soldier caught fighting beside Indigenous warriors would be killed. R

Written by Aubrey Research, drawing on the Wikipedia article for the War of 1812.

Where these engagements were fought

84 of the 88 could be placed to a location and appear on the map; the remaining 4 are recorded without a precise point. Select a marker to see the engagement.

Documented engagements

Plus 76 further documented engagements in the War of 1812 record.

Every engagement with a page

All 40 engagements in this record that have their own detailed page, in date order.

By state

Engagements and locations are compiled from published sources: American Battlefield Protection Program (NPS) (public domain (U.S. federal record), boundary survey); Wikidata (structured data, CC0); Wikipedia (text rewritten and cited as a reference, CC BY-SA 4.0).