Reassessing the War of 1812

Entering the third year of the War of 1812, it would be an understatement to say the war had not gone well for the United States.  The British had burned Washington DC and dominated the seas choking American commerce.  The US could point to few successes.  Yet at the dawn of 1815, an unknown frontier general named Andrew Jackson was about to change the perception of the outcome.  With the British threatening to capture New Orleans, Jackson desperately scrambled to assemble a force of 4,700 to oppose 15,000 well-trained British regulars.  The wily Jackson offset the disadvantage building a formidable defensive line designed to capitalize on swampy Louisiana ground.  On January 8, 1815 well-formed lines of British soldiers began charging the American line and Jackson faced a great moment in history.  

Background

Much of European history in the preceding 1,000 years involved a struggle between contending factions for dominance.  Columbus’ voyages of exploration expanded the competition to the New World.  Over the next 300 years, many wars followed.  Hostilities in the Americas were sideshows to much larger European clashes for trade and influence.  For example, the French and Indian War was only one part of the larger worldwide Seven Years War fought by every major European power across Europe, Africa and India.  Capturing Canada was insignificant for the British compared to ousting France from India and in establishing the Royal Navy as the world’s foremost navy.  Even though the American Revolution took place on US soil, European powers became involved.  These monarchies had no affection for principles of American liberty.  They sought to check Britain’s growing power.  The French played a crucial role in defeating the British but victory held dire consequences for King Louis XVI.  He bankrupted France’s treasury creating instability resulting in the French Revolution.

As the French descended into the Great Terror, new European conflicts broke out to quell the anti-royal revolutionary movement.  Out of the chaos came Napoleon who re-established order while repelling invaders.  The resurgent French went on the offensive defeating continental powers building a new empire from Spain to Germany.  Americans tried in vain to stay out of the European conflict.  Washington, Adams, and Jefferson bent over backward avoiding provocations from the British and the French.

 

 

America began learning an important lesson: to claim neutrality, would not make it so.  The British cared nothing about neutral intentions or American sovereignty.  They began capturing US merchant vessels and impressing American sailors into the British Navy.  Between 1807 and 1812 alone the British seized over 400 US ships and impressed close to 9,000 Americans.  By 1812, the US could no longer remain neutral.  As British depredations grew, President James Madison realized American honor and sovereignty were at stake.  Declaring war was the only option.

The War of 1812

The US was not prepared on land or on sea to battle a major empire.  The US enjoyed a few limited successes, but over the next two years, the war went badly.  The British burned Washington DC and the Royal Navy controlled the seas cutting off US commerce.  Matters could have been worse but for the fact that the British focused most of their military assets and effort on France.  Fortunately, events in Europe drove those in America.  A European coalition compelled Napoleon to surrender in early 1814.  The British no longer needed to impress US sailors and seize American merchant vessels and the causes of war evaporated.*  The US and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814 ending the War of 1812.

Battle of New Orleans

Even though the treaty was signed, the war was not over.  Unaware hostilities had ceased, British 15,000 regulars landed on the Gulf Coast threatening New Orleans.  Situated near the head of the Mississippi River, New Orleans was the jewel of the recently purchased Louisiana Territory.  It was the destination for most of the commerce generated throughout the Midwest via the Mississippi River.

Andrew Jackson commanded a scant force of 970 US Army soldiers to counter the invasion.  The British moved slowly which gave Jackson time to scrounge up militia from Louisiana, Tennessee and Kentucky to increase his forces to 4,700.  The American militia was a true cross section of the American populace with 462 white farmers, free African Americans and 52 Choctaw Indians.  Still badly outnumbered, Jackson built strong earthworks studded with artillery outside New Orleans.

On January 8, 1815, the British charged in three lines but they quickly bogged down in the Louisiana swampland.  Jackson’s cannons raked the British lines with grapeshot while American infantry poured devastatingly effective rifle fire from the safety of their breastworks.  Within 25 minutes the Americans killed 700 British soldiers including many of the senior officers, wounded 1,400 more and captured 500 losing only 7 dead and 6 wounded.  The British packed up and left Louisiana in utter defeat.

Aftermath 

Though the burning of Washington DC held little military significance, it was deeply humiliating for the young nation.  Most of the British Army was engaged in Europe and the Americans were powerless to prevent the destruction of their own capital by a small, second class force.  However, New Orleans ended the war on a high note for America.  So who won the War of 1812?  The answer is clear, both the US and Britain won. 

Britain emerged from the Napoleonic wars in a strong position.  India became the “crown jewel of the British Empire” and Britain’s economy exploded.   Control of India opened vast sources of raw materials and ready markets for manufactured goods to feed Britain’s burgeoning factories as the Industrial Revolution took hold.  With unchallenged dominance of the seas, the British exploited India to become the most powerful economy in the world. 

 

The Battle of New Orleans made Jackson’s reputation and fame which served as a springboard to his election as President in 1828.  As the first frontier born president, Jackson helped bind coastal states to those of the interior.  Jackson set a precedent for strong executive leadership that gradually came to overshadow the other branches of the US government.

 

Victory at New Orleans, redeemed the reputation of the US military and the US as a whole.  Americans confirmed their status as a “nation among nations” by holding its own against a major European power.  After recognizing that high sounding principles were only effective if backed by force, the US became more assertive after the War of 1812 in protecting American waters and territories.  Madison’s successor James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine warning European powers the US would no longer tolerate their meddling in the New World.  In excluding Europe, Monroe set forth a clear distinction between the Old and New Worlds that prevented Europeans from fighting over colonial possessions while establishing a zone of US influence that enhanced American sovereignty.

Even the British blockade served an important purpose.  With access to finished goods cut off, Americans began manufacturing their own.  The Industrial Revolution soon spread to the US.  With Britain protecting free sea trade routes, American merchants prospered, industrial centers grew in the North, and Southern planters found huge new markets for cotton.

The implications of the War of 1812 took time to manifest tangible results.  The Monroe Doctrine only took hold as American military prowess and economic development matured, but when Teddy Roosevelt announced America’s entry onto the world stage, the Monroe Doctrine took center stage.  The seeds of the Industrial Revolution grew slowly but they were planted during the British blockade.  By 1900, the US replaced Britain as the most powerful economic machine.  The War of 1812 was not the sole cause, but it was important and deserves a more prominent place in American History.  

 

Sources:

Anton Otto Fischer USS Constitution vs. HMS Guerriere (date unknown)

https//:upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/USS_Constitution_v_HMS_Guerriere.jpg

 

Unknown artist, Impressment of American Sailors (date unknown)

https//:public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/War-of-1812-British-impressment-4.jpg

 

Unknown artist, Burning of Washington (date unknown)

http//:i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/07/article-2414528-0912000E000005DC-910_636x452.jpg

 

Herbert Morton Stoops Battle of New Orleans (date unknown)

National Archives ID No. 6384919

https//:catalog.archives.gov/id/6384919

 

Amedee Forestier, Treaty of Ghent between Great Britain and the United States, Dec. 24, 1814. (1914)

(Courtesy Library and Archives Canada-via Parks Canada, Historica Dominion Institute and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society)

https//:4gwar.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/war_of_1812_treaty_of_ghent.jpg

 

Artist unknown, Steam Engine Lithograph (1867)

http//:www.fasttrackteaching.com/ffap/Unit_3_Industry/Steam_Engine_1867_dbloc_sa.gif