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Mar 30, 2017 · Explore our timeline of the War of 1812 and learn about the important events and battles that happened throughout this period of American history – from the Battle of Tippecanoe to the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. View the American Revolution and Civil War timelines. Pre-War 1812 1813 1814 1815.
- River Raisin
The Michigan Territory became a focal point shortly after...
- Pensacola
The British yet again found themselves toiling at Pensacola...
- Treaty of Ghent
Signed on December 24, 1814, in Ghent, Belgium, the Treaty...
- James Madison
During Madison’s presidency, Warhawks led by Henry Clay and...
- River Raisin
1812: Jul 1: United States doubles customs duties: 1812: Jul 12: U.S. General William Hull's army invades Upper Canada at Sandwich: 1812: Jul 16: Battle of River Canard: 1812: Jul 17: Capture of Fort Mackinac: 1812: Jul 19: Attack at Sackets Harbor, New York: 1812: Aug 5: Battle of Brownstown: 1812: Aug 8: British General Isaac Brock embarks at ...
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What happened during the war of 1812?
What events happened in 1811 & 1815?
How did the American Revolution and the war of 1812 fit into global conflicts?
What caused the war of 1812?
- Overview
- Major causes of the war
The commercial restrictions that Britain’s war with France imposed on the U.S. exacerbated the U.S.’s relations with both powers. Although neither Britain nor France initially accepted the U.S.’s neutral rights to trade with the other—and punished U.S. ships for trying to do so—France had begun to temper its intransigence on the issue by 1810. That, paired with the ascendance of certain pro-French politicians in the U.S. and the conviction held by some Americans that the British were stirring up unrest among Native Americans on the frontier, set the stage for a U.S.-British war. The U.S. Congress declared war in 1812.
Read more below: Major causes of the war
Napoleonic Wars: Great Britain, France, and the neutrals, 1800–02
Read more about Britain’s involvement in the Napoleonic Wars.
How did the War of 1812 end?
Peace talks between Britain and the U.S. began in 1814. Britain stalled negotiations as it waited for word of a victory in America, having recently committed extra troops to its western campaign. But news of their losses at places like Plattsburgh, New York, and Baltimore, Maryland, paired with the duke of Wellington’s counsel against continuing the war, convinced the British to pursue peace more genuinely, and both sides signed the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814. The final battle of the war occurred after this, when a British general unaware of the peace treaty led an assault on New Orleans that was roundly crushed.
The tensions that caused the War of 1812 arose from the French revolutionary (1792–99) and Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815). During this nearly constant conflict between France and Britain, American interests were injured by each of the two countries’ endeavours to block the United States from trading with the other.
American shipping initially prospered from trade with the French and Spanish empires, although the British countered the U.S. claim that “free ships make free goods” with the belated enforcement of the so-called Rule of 1756 (trade not permitted in peacetime would not be allowed in wartime). The Royal Navy did enforce the act from 1793 to 1794, especially in the Caribbean Sea, before the signing of the Jay Treaty (November 19, 1794). Under the primary terms of the treaty, American maritime commerce was given trading privileges in England and the British East Indies, Britain agreed to evacuate forts still held in the Northwest Territory by June 1, 1796, and the Mississippi River was declared freely open to both countries. Although the treaty was ratified by both countries, it was highly unpopular in the United States and was one of the rallying points used by the pro-French Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, in wresting power from the pro-British Federalists, led by George Washington and John Adams.
After Jefferson became president in 1801, relations with Britain slowly deteriorated, and systematic enforcement of the Rule of 1756 resumed after 1805. Compounding this troubling development, the decisive British naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar (October 21, 1805) and efforts by the British to blockade French ports prompted the French emperor, Napoleon, to cut off Britain from European and American trade. The Berlin Decree (November 21, 1806) established Napoleon’s Continental System, which impinged on U.S. neutral rights by designating ships that visited British ports as enemy vessels. The British responded with Orders in Council (November 11, 1807) that required neutral ships to obtain licenses at English ports before trading with France or French colonies. In turn, France announced the Milan Decree (December 17, 1807), which strengthened the Berlin Decree by authorizing the capture of any neutral vessel that had submitted to search by the British. Consequently, American ships that obeyed Britain faced capture by the French in European ports, and if they complied with Napoleon’s Continental System, they could fall prey to the Royal Navy.
Britannica Quiz
A History of War
The Royal Navy’s use of impressment to keep its ships fully crewed also provoked Americans. The British accosted American merchant ships to seize alleged Royal Navy deserters, carrying off thousands of U.S. citizens into the British navy. In 1807 the frigate H.M.S. Leopard fired on the U.S. Navy frigate Chesapeake and seized four sailors, three of them U.S. citizens. London eventually apologized for this incident, but it came close to causing war at the time. Jefferson, however, chose to exert economic pressure against Britain and France by pushing Congress in December 1807 to pass the Embargo Act, which forbade all export shipping from U.S. ports and most imports from Britain.
June 1812: War Hawks declare war on Britain. August 20, 1812: USS Constitution defeats the Guerriere. 1812: 3-pronged US attack on Canada. September 1812: USS Wasp fights the Frolic. 1813: Battle of the Thames, Tecumseh killed. September 9, 1813: Perry forces surrender of British fleet on Lake Erie.
Old Ironsides. Captain Isaac Hull, commanding the USS Constitution, destroys HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia. British artillery fire fails to damage the Constitution 's oak hull during the battle, earning the American frigate its famous nickname, "Old Ironsides." Aug 16, 1812.
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Prepared by Heather Colautti of Windsor’s Community Museum. Considered the first battle of the War of 1812. Takes place between Tecumseh’s brother, The Prophet, and William Henry Harrison (Governor of the Indian Territory’s) army. President James Madison signs war bill into law.
