Warfiless: War of 1812 (1812-1815)

The Battle of New Orleans in 1815  

 

War of 1812 (1812-1815)--Sometimes called the Second American War of Independence, this conflict pitted the young United States against her old colonial ruler, Britain. The war began over leftover issues from the first American-British War, and from Britain's ongoing wars against Napoleon and France.

This second Anglo-American war began in 1812 and ended in 1815. Over 1,600 British and 2,260 American soldiers, marines, and sailors perished in this war on both land and on the ocean. While at war with the United States, Britain was also fighting against France and her allies in Europe.

Due to their war with France, the British sought to restrict American trade with France, and imposed a set of restrictions which the U.S. considered illegal under international law. The U.S. declared war on Britain on July 18, 1812 after years of enduring British restrictions and attacks on American shipping, the forcible impressment of thousands of American sailors into service with the British navy, increasing anger at British restraints on American trade with France and other European nations, and frustration at continuing British military support for Native Americans fighting against the expanding United States.

When war was declared by the United States in the summer of 1812, the American military was woefully unprepared for conflict with the world's most powerful empire. Even though the British were engaged in a life and death struggle with Napoleon's France, troops were sent to reinforce British Canada and to battle the Americans.

The war that developed was a repeat of the American desire to invade and absorb Canada. Just as in the American Revolutionary War, British and Canadian forces beat back an American invasion. Modern Canadians trace the first true inkling of their nationhood to this war and the Canadian contribution to their own defense.

The war featured several battles, as the Americans invaded Canada, the British landed troops in the U.S. and burned Washington, D.C. The final battle of the war came in New Orleans in early 1815, with a clear American victory over an invading British army. Ironically, the Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, Belgium. Due to the slow means of communication at that time (sailing ships travelling from Europe to America would take about two weeks to arrive), several more battles were fought after the signing of the treaty. On January 8, 1815, General Andrew Jackson defeated a large British force at New Orleans. On February 12, 1815, the British won a battle and captured the American

Fort Bowyer, in Mobile, Alabama. Recieving word the next day of the signing of the Treaty, British forces abandoned the fort and left American territory.

On February, 18, 1815, President James Madison officially notified Congress of the Treaty of Ghent, thereby ending the war.

 

The War of 1812 Began: July 18, 1812

The War of 1812 Ended: February 18, 1815

The War of 1812 Was Fought Between: United States vs. Great Britain

Location of The War of 1812 : The fighting centered on the U.S. East Coast, New Orleans, Canada, and in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

The War of 1812 Resulted In: Effectively a stalemate, though the U.S. considered it a victory over a much more powerful opponent

The Length of The War of 1812: Two years and eight months

The War of 1812 Casualties:

American Military Casualties:
2,260 Deaths

Army: 1,950

Navy: 265

Marines: 45

4,505 Wounded

Army: 4,000

Navy: 439

Marines: 66

*An estimated 15,000 total deaths occurred due to the war on the American side. As is typical of warfare in this era, more deaths occurred from disease and other causes than through actual battle wounds and causes.

British Military Casualties:

1,160 Deaths

3,679 Wounded

British Military Deaths and Wounded in the War of 1812: (Non-Battle Casualties)

3,321 Deaths by Disease

 

 

 

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