Transcript Chapter 10 Less. 4 *The War of 1812

Chapter 10 Less. 4
“The War of 1812”
The War Begins!
• Great Britain did not really want a war with the
United States.
• They were already involved in a war with France.
• Britain announced they would no longer interfere
with American shipping.
• Unfortunately, the mail was so slow, it didn’t reach
the United States until weeks after Congress had
already declared war!
• The War of 1812 had two main phases.
The War Begins!
• The United States military was weak when the
war was declared.
• Democratic Republicans had reduced the size
of the armed forces.
• The navy only had about 16 ships
• The army had fewer than 7,000 men poorly
trained and ill-equipped.
• They were led by inexperienced officers.
The First Phase of the War
• The most important U.S. naval victory was
The Battle of Lake Erie.
• The winter of 1812-13, Oliver Hazard Perry
led the fleet.
• The fleet sailed out to meet the enemy.
Commodore Perry sailed on the Lawerence.
• He flew a banner “Don’t give up the ship”
• For two hours they exchanged cannon fire.
• The Lawerence was demolished and sinking!
The First Phase of the War
• Under British fire, Perry jumped into a
rowboat and sailed with his banner to
another ship.
• In the second ship, Perry took command and
destroyed two of the enemy’s ships.
• They forced the British to surrender.
• After the battle, Perry sent the message,
“We have met the enemy, and they are
ours!”
The First Phase of the War
• After hearing Perry’s message, General
William Henry Harrison transported his army
across Lake Erie to Detroit, Michigan to attack
the British.
• They had already retreated back to Canada.
• Harrison pursued the British into Canada.
• The Battle of Thames took place in October
of 1813.
The First Phase of the War
• The battle of Thames took place near
present day Ontario, Canada.
• The victory put an end to the British threat
in the Northwest
• More importantly, Tecumseh, the Shawnee
chief died in the battle fighting for the
British.
The Second Phase of the War
• Great Britain finally defeated France in April
1814.
• Britain turned its attention to the United
States.
• In August 1814, the British attacked
Washington D.C.!
• They burned the Capitol building and the
White House.
• British Redcoats attacked Fort McHenry in
The Battle of Baltimore.
The British occupied Washington DC for 26 hours until
a hurricane and tornado hit! The British were spooked
and returned to their ships.
The Second Phase of the War
• Francis Scott Key, a Washington lawyer,
was sent on board a British ship to
negotiate the release of American
prisoners.
• While on board, he witnessed the all night
battle on Fort McHenry!
• At dawn, Key discovered that the
American flag was still flying at the fort.
The Second Phase of the War
• The sight of the flag inspired Key to write
the poem, “Defense of Fort McHenry”
• It was later put to music and retitled “The
Star Spangled Banner” Congress
proclaimed it our national anthem in 1931.
The Second Phase of the War
The Star Spangled Banner
• Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
• What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
• Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous
fight,
• O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
• And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
• Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
• O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
• O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
The Second Phase of the War
• In the north, the British sent a force from
Canada across Lake Champlain.
• Its goal was to push south and cut off New
England.
• The Battle of Lake Champlain took place in
September, 1814.
• The American fleet defeated the British.
• This ended the final invasion of the
northern states by Britain.
The Second Phase of the War
• In the south, the British moved against the
port of New Orleans.
• The Battle of New Orleans took place in
December, 1814.
• Dozens of ships carrying 7,500 British
Redcoats approached Louisiana.
• General Andrew Jackson led the American
forces.
The Second Phase of the War
• The British attacked Jackson’s army on
January 8, 1815.
• Protected by earthern walls, American
riflemen mowed down the advancing
Redcoats.
• The battle was a great victory with 71
American casualties and 2,000 British
casualties.
The Second Phase of the War
• The Battle of New Orleans was tragic
because it was unnecessary.
• The Treaty of Ghent, a treaty which ended
the War of 1812, had been signed two
weeks before. The war was officially over.
• Slow mail from Europe had delayed the
news!
• The battle, however, made Andrew Jackson
a hero.
The Legacy of the War
• The treaty showed there was no winner,
no territories changed hands, and trade
disagreements were still left unsolved.
• There were four positive consequences of
the War of 1812.
1. The heroic exploits of Keys and Jackson
increased American patriotism.
2. The war broke the strength of the Native
Americans who sided with the British.
The Legacy of the War
3. The war encouraged the growth of
U.S. manufacturing. (When war
interrupted trade, many Americans
were forced to make for themselves
the goods they needed.)
4. The United States proved that it
could defend itself against the
mightiest military power of the era.