On this date in 1812 James Madison signed the declaration that
started the War of 1812 with Great Britain. War was opposed by a sizable
minority, but the British economic blockade of France, the pressing of American
sailors into service aboard British vessels, and the British support for
hostile Great Lakes tribes on the American frontier gave congressional war
hawks the support they needed.
American forces began the conflict by launching a
three-point invasion of Canada, which failed miserably. In 1914 Napoleon Bonaparte's
empire began to crumble, allowing the British to focus on combat in America.
Washington DC fell that year and in August the White House, the Capitol, and
other government were burned by British and Canadian troops as repayment for
similar acts of arson by US troops while in Canada.
September brought the turning of the leaves and the tide. Thomas
Macdonough won the Battle of Plattsburg Bay on Lake Champlain, forcing the
invading British to retreat back to Canada and leading to the conclusion of US-British
peace negotiations in Belgium. On Christmas Eve 1814 the Treaty of Ghent was signed
and the War of 1812 formally came to an end, but it wasn't the end of
hostilities.
Communication of the era being what it was, British forces
assailing the US Gulf Coast weren't informed of the treaty for weeks. On January
8, US forces under the command of Andrew Jackson achieved what is arguably the
greatest American victory of the war when they routed the British at the Battle
of New Orleans. News of the Treaty of Ghent and Jackson's victory reached the
US public nearly simultaneously, fostering a false connection between the two,
encouraging a new found sense of confidence in American power, and providing
inspiration for a 1960's hit by Johnny Horton.
