The War of 1812 was a strange one. I say strange because it could have been avoided—and it failed to solve the issues that started it. The players in this war? The United States and Great Britain. On the sidelines were France, Canada and Native Americans.  

The War of 1812 was a strange one. I say strange because it could have been avoided—and it failed to solve the issues that started it. The players in this war? The United States and Great Britain. On the sidelines were France, Canada and Native Americans.

So, here’s the scoop: Tension was building between Britain and France under Napoleon. To maintain an upper hand over the other, both the French and the British were stopping U.S. ships to “inspect” their cargo. The British even hauled away British sailors who they found on U.S. ships!

These British sailors were hoping for a better way of life in the U.S., but Great Britain didn’t want to lose their boys. They sought to find the Brits they lost to America by running a language test. The British would force each sailor onboard ships they seized to repeat certain words that were hard to pronounce without an accent. This was, of course, a poor test. There were some American citizens who had fading British accents. These sailors were deported anyway. After only a few years, approximately 6,000 sailors were snatched. One extreme example of this was the USS Chesapeake. The British attempted to board and were refused. They soon resorted to violence and 20 men were killed or wounded. Americans were outraged!

After that, the United States drafted numerous bills and acts against Great Britain to try to protect their sailors and cargo. Eventually the United States, under President James Madison, declared war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812. Now, the ironic thing is that just days before war was declared, the British changed their policies toward wayward British sailors and cargo inspections. However, back then, it took weeks for reports to travel. So, the War of 1812 began. Before we get to the battles, I want to introduce you to an ally on the side of the British. Let’s have Tecumseh (Ti COME suh), a Shawnee Native American, take the stage!

Tecumseh

 Are you wondering why Tecumseh would help the British? Well, he didn’t exactly “want” to, but he hoped to injure the United States. White frontiersmen killed his father, so he was wary of more settling in. He tried to unite all Native Americans east of the Rockies into a single alliance. He even volunteered to be the head of this alliance and declared: “No tribe has the right to…, even to each other, much less to strangers. . . Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn’t the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?4” Tecumseh, whose name means “shooting star,” had a persuasive personality. Through moving speeches, he was able to convince most Natives to join his alliance. But in 1811, while Tecumseh was away from home, his brother lost the Battle of Tippecanoe to William Henry Harrison, a young American governor. Tecumseh was heartbroken.

Enough was enough for Tecumseh. He soon joined the British army with the rank of brigadier general. In the Battle of the Thames (Temz), Tecumseh led 600 Indians alongside British troops to fight against none other than William Henry Harrison, the one who defeated his brother! After the first shots were fired, the British fled. Tecumseh, however, stayed. He fought bravely but died in battle. Native Americans lost one of the greatest leaders they ever had.

The War of 1812 was a strange one. I say strange because it could have been avoided—and it failed to solve the issues that started it. The players in this war? The United States and Great Britain. On the sidelines were France, Canada and Native Americans.

The Assault on Canada

Getting to other battles, the United States believed the best way to fight Great Britain was to attack British settlements in Canada. So, in 1812, Americans pressed north in a three-way assault on Canada, which failed on every front. A year later U.S. troops advanced again toward Canada. Going against orders, U.S. troops burned the city of York (which is now Toronto). This attack stirred the British toward retaliation. In 1814, in the Battle of Bladensburg, the British marched on Washington, D.C., and set fire to the Capitol and the White House! Dolley Madison, the president’s wife, had just cooked dinner when the British arrived. She fled to safety while British troops ate the president’s dinner — before burning his furniture!

After the burning, British warships fired on Fort McHenry through the night in the famous Battle of Baltimore. Onboard one of the British warships was an American lawyer named Francis Scott Key. He was on the British ship to negotiate the release of some prisoners. But through the night of September 13–14, 1814, he had the spectacular view of “bombs bursting in air” while he watched the British shower Fort McHenry with firepower. It was difficult to see how the fort was withstanding the attack. But by “dawn’s early light,” a flag rose to symbolize that Fort McHenry had survived! Inspired, Francis Scott Key wrote the “The Star-Spangled Banner” which grew in fame to become the National Anthem of the United States. 

Battle of New Orleans

Strangely enough, the United States’ greatest victory came after the two nations signed a peace treaty. Once again, slow communication was to blame. You see, though the Treaty of Ghent had been signed to end the War of 1812, General Andrew Jackson successfully led American troops in defending New Orleans against a British army that outnumbered them 2-1. Neither side knew that the war had ended! On December 24, 1814, the Treaty was signed by Great Britain and the United States to end the two-and-a-half-year war. News didn’t get back to America in time to stop 8,000 to 9,000 British troops from attacking the United States at the Battle of New Orleans! The major battle occurred on January 8, 1815, with U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson. In this historic battle, Andrew Jackson had about 4,500 troops, 400 of which were formerly enslaved African Americans. Jackson’s determined troops successfully killed, captured, or wounded approximately 2,000 British while losing just over 100 Americans!

Unfortunately, this victory hardly benefitted the United States at all. In the final treaty, neither Great Britain nor the United States gained any land whatsoever. Ironically, nothing in the treaty mentioned the handling of British sailors or cargo inspections — the very issues that triggered the war! War is strange!

References

4. The Wisdom of the Native Americans, Kent Nerburn, ed. (New York: MJF Books, 1999), 41.

Activities                                                           

Younger Students: The Star-Spangled Banner.

Pretend to be a performer at the opening of an American ball game, and sing the Star-Bangled Banner using words and music to help.

Middle Students: Talk Like Tecumseh.

We have records of several speeches by Tecumseh. Written in English, they hardly capture his mixture of his native tongue and English. Visit this Web site to read a speech by Tecumseh with Indian words in place (and their pronunciations). Practice reading it and recite for your class or family.

www.californiaindianeducation.org/famous_indian_chiefs/tecumseh

Older Students: Battle Buffs

Write a synopsis of any one of the battles of the War of 1812. Chronologically, here are a few: The “STrange, River Raisin Massacre, Lundy’s Lane, Lake Champlain, and New Orleans.