WAR OF 1812
America won independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Many issues from this war were not yet resolved by the early 1800s. The rising tension made America take action to protect itself. In 1794, a series of forts was built along the Atlantic coast. These forts were made of timber and earth. The battery at Point Peter was the southernmost of these forts. Florida, just across the St. Marys River, was Spanish territory.
At this time, Britain was at war with France. Britain and France tried to stop each other from trading with America. American merchants did not like British interference with their trade overseas. Even more, though, Americans resented the British practice of impressment of sailors.
Many British sailors deserted their ships. Conditions and pay were better on American ships. British ships began to stop American trading ships to search for deserters. Many of the men the British captured were actually American citizens. Even so, the British impressed these sailors into duty in the Royal Navy. By 1812, Britain had seized more than 15,000 American merchant sailors. This was more than three times as many sailors as there were in the entire U.S. Navy.
In June 1807, the British warship Leopard stopped the American ship Chesapeake. The American ship's crew would not let British officers on board to search for deserters. The Leopard opened fire and killed three sailors. Americans were outraged.
Congress passed the Embargo Act, which prevented American trade with any foreign countries. The Embargo Act was very unpopular. American merchants could no longer sell their goods. Many merchants turned to smuggling to get their goods to market.
The rivers, islands, and inlets near St. Marys were perfect for smuggling goods into Spanish Florida next door. To stop this smuggling, the U.S. Navy established a gunboat station at St. Marys. Gunboats were smaller than regular warships and could maneuver in coastal inlets and rivers. Despite their agility, the small gunboats were no match for the British Royal Navy and its large warships.
In June 1812, the tension between Britain and America became too great. President James Madison signed the declaration of war on Britain. The first battles of the war were fought in Canada. American leaders were confident they would win. Britain was busy fighting against France. Few British troops were available to defend the Canadian forts.
At Fort Malden, British General Isaac Brock tricked the Americans. He dressed his small force of militia volunteers in red coats. The Americans believed they were up against well-trained British soldiers. Shawnee war chief Tecumseh led 600 American Indian troops to help the British. Tecumseh sent his soldiers to march from different positions. The Americans believed they were surrounded. They became afraid to attack and surrendered.
The first American victory of the war came at sea in August 1812. Captain Isaac Hull commanded the U.S.S. Constitution. Much of the wood used to build the Constitution was harvested from live oaks from coastal Georgia. This wood proved to be so resistant to cannon fire that the ship earned its nickname "Old Ironsides." The British ship Guerriere fired at the Constitution from long range. The British shots damaged the Constitution, but Hull waited until the Guerriere was in close range. He fired all his guns at once and destroyed the Guerriere.
When Napoleon, the French leader, was captured, Britain sent more troops to fight in America. British forces marched on Washington. Americans evacuated the city knowing they couldn't fight off the British. They had only 400 soldiers to defend against 4,000 British troops. The invading army set fire to the White House and the Capitol. First lady Dolley Madison saved many important state documents, including a famous painting of George Washington.
From Washington, the British moved on to try to capture Baltimore. American troops got ready to protect Baltimore. They strengthened the defenses of Fort McHenry, and they made an enormous flag to fly over the fort. British ships attacked Fort McHenry all night long. The British were unable to destroy the fort, and stopped their bombardment. In the morning, Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer watching the battle from a nearby ship, noticed that the flag still flew over Fort McHenry. He wrote a poem about the battle. His poem was later set to music and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner." In 1931, it became the national anthem.
By 1814, the war had become very unpopular. British and American leaders began peace talks in August. They signed a peace treaty on December 24, 1814, in Ghent, Belgium. News of the treaty did not reach America for some time, though. Several battles were fought after the treaty was signed.
The Battle of New Orleans took place January 8, 1815. British ships sailed into the Gulf of Mexico to attack the city of New Orleans. American General Andrew Jackson quickly gathered troops from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Louisiana, as well as a crew led by pirate Jean Lafitte. The Americans stopped the British attack. While more than 2,000 British soldiers were wounded or killed during the first half-hour of fighting, fewer than 100 American soldiers were killed. General Jackson became a war hero, and he later went on to be president of the United States.
On January 15, 1815, British troops landed at a plantation on Cumberland Island. Their goal was to attack the fort at Point Peter. British troops split into two flanks. They quickly overwhelmed the small American force, and they took Point Peter easily. After the skirmish, British soldiers remained at the fort for several weeks. They raided the town of St. Marys, as well as many neighboring plantations. They kept the goods they plundered as prizes of war. Although New Orleans was the last major battle of the war, the skirmish at Point Peter happened even later. It occurred almost a month after the peace treaty had been signed.
The Napoleonic Wars with France put a strain on Britain's military. As a result, many American sailors, regardless of citizenship, were impressed into the Royal British Navy.
A historic painting of the U.S.S. Chesapeake. When the Chesapeake was attacked by the H.M.S. Leopard, three sailors were killed and eighteen more were injured.
On June 18th, 1812, President James Madison signed a Declaration of War against Great Britain.
The epic 20-minute battle between the U.S.S. Consitution ("Old Ironsides") and the H.M.S. Guerriere marked the first American victory at sea.
A lawyer named Francis Scott Key watched as Fort McHenry withstood 30 hours of bombardment from the British. The sight of the flag still raised at the end of the battle inspired him to first write "The Star-Spangled Banner".
The decisive Battle of New Orleans took place roughly two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was signed. This battle cemented Andrew Jackson as a war hero.