The War of 1812 in a Nutshell

Canada and the War of 1812

• The War of 1812 was basically 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

The Lead-up to War

• Louis XVI helped the Americans with their American Revolution was now in the middle of a revolution of his own.

• During the French Revolution Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette had their heads chopped off by a guillotine

• A ruthless little general named Napoleon seized power and launched France on a European war of conquest.

The War of 1812

• What is important to realize, from a Canadian perspective, is this:– The French Revolution led to the Napoleonic

Wars of 1793-1815– The War of 1812 was the North American

phase of this conflict• With Britain bogged down in Europe

fighting Napoleon, the Americans saw their chance at capturing Canada – and they took it.

“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.

• In 1807, they fired upon a U.S. vessel, the Chesapeake, killing several men, before boarding the ship and arresting four so-called deserters – two of whom were American citizens. Britain later apologized, and released the Americans but 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 British Empire

• This isn’t entirely accurate. Great Britain was tied up in Europe, and Canada lay poorly defended and exposed.

• Consider the real odds:• Population of the United States: 7.5 million• Population of Upper Canada: less than 80,000• The entire population of the British North American colonies

combined was less than 1 million

• How could the Americans possibly lose?

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 boarder between the United States and the British North American Colonies (Canada)

General Isaac Brock• Brock was the man in

charge of defending the colony 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 that was allied with the British

• His main goals were to– Stop American expansion into

Native territory– To secure a sovereign First

Nations Confederacy in the interior.

• He brought together dozens of different Nations and fought along side the British for tactical reasons, not loyalty.

Bluffing their way to victory• The Americans were confident that the Canadians would

flock over to the American side of the fight – but they didn’t!

• Brock had an idea – there weren’t very many British regular soldiers so he dressed Canadian militia in the red coats of the regular army to make them seem like they were professional soldiers

• He also knew that the Americans were terrified of the Natives and Brock and Tecumseh used this to their advantage– Tecumseh paraded his men in front of the American Garrison

then led them through the woods to join the end of the line again. Then they marched past again. Tecumseh marched the same men by three times and the Americans never caught on

– Their 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 Indian

Massacre that he caved almost immediately

• All it took were a few cannon shots and a threatening ultimatum from Brock.

Battles• 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 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

Burn, Washington! Burn!• Why is the White House white? Because we burned it,

that’s why! Or at least, the British did. In August 1814, and 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, and President Madison and most of his defending army ran away so fast the battle became known, sarcastically, as “a race”. The British spent the next two days ransacking the U.S. capital and torching the public buildings. When 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?• Do you want to know the

strange thing about the War of 1812? The Americans think they won it. Really.

• Do you want to know what’s even stranger? They’re right. Not in a military sense of course.

• On the battlefield, the Americans lost. 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

• The United States lost a war and won a conference.

• Britain’s First Nation allies were completely shut out of the negotiations

• So were the Canadians• The Americans had refused to

allow either at the bargaining table.

• The United States came away with their soverignty reaffirmed

The Final Score

• Who won? Who lost? The final score stands like this:

• The Americans won• The Canadians broke even• The First Nations lost