Transcript The War of 1812 in a Nutshell

THE WAR OF 1812
Adapted with
credit to
L. Templin
CANADA AND THE WAR OF 1812
Some describe the War of 1812 as
Canada’s War of Independence
For the Americans it was a war of
conquest
For Canadians it was a war of
survival
Between 1812 and 1814, Canada
won the right to not be American
PRE-WAR EVENTS
Louis XVI (France) helped the Americans with
their revolution and then faced a revolution in
France
During the French Revolution King Louis and
his wife Marie Antoinette had their heads
chopped off by a guillotine
A General named Napoleon Bonaparte
eventually seized power and set France on a
European war of conquest.
THE WAR OF 1812
 To sum up…
 The French Revolution led to the Napoleonic Wars of
1793-1815
 With Britain bogged down in Europe fighting
Napoleon, the Americans saw their chance at
capturing British North America – and they took it.
 Why would they want BNA?
“FREE TRADE AND SAILORS’ RIGHTS”
The Americans also had some
genuine grievances against the
British
The British were preventing France
from trading with the United States
The British Navy had also asserted
its right to board foreign ships and
press any British citizens they found
into military service.
THE CHESAPEAKE INCIDENT
 British ship HMS
Leopold fired on the
Chesapeake and killed
several men
 British boarded the ship
and arrested four socalled deserters
 Two were American
citizens
 Britain apologized and
released the Americans
 The damage had been
done
A MERE MATTER OF MARCHING
 American history books usually portray the
United States as the underdog in 1812.
 Why? Because they were up against the
formidable British Empire
 This isn’t entirely accurate. Great Britain was
tied up in Europe, and Canada lay poorly
defended and exposed.
 The Canadians didn’t flock over to the American
side of the fight
CONSIDER THE REAL ODDS:
How could the Americans possibly lose?
Population of the United States (USA): 7.5
million
Population of Upper Canada: less than
80,000
The entire population of the British North
American (BNA) colonies combined was less
than 1 million
WAR!
On June 18, 1812 the United States
of America declared war on Great
Britain – and made immediate plans
for the Conquest of Canada
Remember Canada didn’t exist as a
separate country at this point
THE WAR IN UPPER CANADA
(ONTARIO)
The original Loyalist population of Upper
Canada had been swamped by an influx of
American settlers whose true loyalty
remained in doubt
Fortunately (for Canada) the U.S. forces were
very poorly organized and launched scattered
attacks rather than focusing their approach
Most of the battles took place along the
border between the USA and BNA (Canada)
GENERAL ISAAC BROCK
 Brock was the man in
charge of defending BNA
from the American
invaders
 He was a brilliant
strategist and an
inspiring leader
 Isaac Brock was long
remembered as the
fallen hero and saviour of
Upper Canada
TECUMSEH
Tecumseh was a Shawnee
chief who was allied with
the British
Stop American expansion
into Native territory
To secure a sovereign
First Nations Confederacy
in the interior.
PAN-NATIVE ALLIANCE
Tecumseh brought
together dozens of
different Nations
(Pan-Native Alliance)
Fought alongside the
British for tactical
reasons, not loyalty.
THE DETROIT BLUFF
Brock dressed Canadian militia in the red
coats of the regular army to make them
seem like they were professional soldiers
Tecumseh marched warriors three times
through the trees in front of Fort Detroit
American estimates of Tecumseh’s forces
ranged as high as 3000 warriors
In fact, Tecumseh had fewer than 600
men on hand.
THE CAPTURE OF DETROIT
No attack was needed.
General Hull was so scared of an
massacre that he caved almost
immediately
All it took were a few cannon shots
and a threatening ultimatum from
Brock.
SIGNIFICANT BATTLES
(BACK AND FORTH…BACK AND FORTH)
 August 18, 1812 - Brock and Tecumseh capture Detroit
 October 13, 1812 - Battle of Queenston Heights – Americans
ultimately pushed back, but Brock dies
 April 27, 1813 – General Dearborn (USA) captures York
(Toronto)
 June 6, 1813 – Battle of Stoney Creek – American advance
stopped cold
 June 24, 1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams – Americans turned
back
 July 31 , 1813 – Americans re-capture York (Toronto)
 October 5, 1813 – Battle of Moraviantown – Tecumseh dies
 October 25, 1813 – Battle of Chateauguay – American
invasion force defeated by French and English Canadians
 November 11 , 1813 – Battle of Crysler’s Farm – Americans
defeated
 July 25, 1814 – Battle of Lundy’s Lane – a confusing and
bloody conflict that ends in a stalemate (though both sides
claim they won)
 August 1814 – British capture and burn Washington
THE BURNING OF YORK (TORONTO 1813)
 American warships bore down upon the town of York on Lake
Ontario’s shore
 York was the capital of Upper Canada and was weakly defended
 The British were also developing a naval base at York
 British retreated but Americans were unsure they had given up
the fight and stayed in position only 400 yards from the garrison
 British sent fire to an ammunition magazine which exploded
 Devastating for American troops who retaliated by sacking the
town
BURN, WASHINGTON! BURN! (1814)
 Why is the White House white ?
 Because we burned it, that’s why! Or at least, the British d id.
 In direct retaliation for what the Americans had done in York ,
the British captured and burned Washington D.C.
 The attack came as a complete surprise
 President Madison and his defending army ran away so fast
the battle became known, sarcastically, as “a race ”
 The President’s own residence was badly damaged and the
walls scorched
 The building was hastily rebuilt and the exterior painted over
with whitewash. It became known as “the white house”
SO WHO WON?
 The Americans think
they won it. Really.
 But…they didn’t even
come close to their
goal – the conquest of
Canada
 But war is after all a
political tool, and what
counts in the end are
the long term results,
not individual heroics
 Britain’s First Nation
allies were completely
shut out of the
negotiations
 So were the people of
BNA
 The Americans had
refused to allow either
at the bargaining table .
TREAT Y OF GHENT (BELGIUM 1814)
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
THE FINAL SCORE
The Americans reaffirmed their
sovereignty
Territory went back to respective
nations
British North America was not annexed
Canada would not have existed if the
Americans had won
The First Nations lost