The War of 1812

The war of 1812 began on June 18, 1812, and ended December 24, 1814, with the Treaty of Ghent. However, the final battle of the war was fought on January 8, 1815, after the Treaty had already been signed. President Madison finally signed his name on the Senate ratified treaty on February 16, 1815.a On September 10, 1813, Oliver Hazard Perry led an American victory on Lake Erie. After the battle, he wrote his famous message to General William Henry Harrison: “ We have met the enemy, and they are ours.f There were several factors that led to the War of 1812: 1) Great Britain (and, to a lesser extent, France) was preventing U.S. trade with foreign countries, 2) Great Britain tried to prevent U.S. expansion westward, 3) Britain was arming the Native Americans with guns, 4) Britain was forcing U.S. sailors to serve on British Navy ships, 4) Britain thought America was interested in annexing Canada, and 5) Americans wanted to save their honor in face of British insults.e During the War of 1812, 2,260 Americans were killed in action and 4,505 were wounded. Approximately 15,000 died from all causes directly related to the war (such as disease). Approximately 1,600 British were killed in action; 3,670 were wounded; and 3,321 died from disease. These numbers do not include Native American or Canadian militia fatalitiesf U.S. sailors were better trained than U.S. soldiers during the War of 1812 U.S. sailors were more experienced and better trained than U.S. soldiers during the War of 1812. While U.S. soldiers generally had little experience and training, many sailors had fought against pirates in North Africa and some had been impressed and served aboard British naval ships.b During the War of 1812, more soldiers died of disease than were killed in battle. Common diseases included malaria, measles, smallpox, infections from unclean operating equipment, and pneumonia.e The War of 1812 cost the U.S. around $105 million, which was about the same cost for Great Britain.f Around 3,000 American slaves escaped to the British side during the War of 1812 when the British offered them their freedom and settled some of them in Nova Scotia. Other slaves escaped during the chaos of the war. After the war, the British agreed to pay $1,204,960 to Washington to compensate slave owners.b Andrew Jackson was one of the few U.S generals to welcome African Americans to military service in the War of 1812. He organized a battalion of free blacks, whom he called “brave fellow citizens,” and paid them the same amount as white soldiers.b Most battles of the War of 1812 occurred along the U.S. - Canada border. Other battles took place on the Great Lakes as well as on the Atlantic coast.a