War of 1812 Land Battles

War of 1812

Land Battles

Published by Ronald T. Campbell at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Ronald T. Campbell

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Table of Contents

Introduction

07/17/1812 – Surrender of Fort Michilimackinac

08/15/1812 – Fort Dearborn Massacre

08/16/1812 – William Hull Surrenders Detroit

10/13/1812 – Battle of Queenston Heights

01/22/1813 – Battle of Frenchtown

01/23/1813 – River Raisin Massacre

Spring/1813 – Dearborn and Chauncey Target York

04/27/1813 – Battle of York

04/28/1813 – Aftermath of the Battle of York

05/01/1813 – Siege of Fort Meigs

05/27/1813 – Capture of Fort George

05/29/1813 – Battle of Sackett’s Harbor

06/06/1813 – Battle of Stoney Creek

08/02/1813 – Battle of Fort Stephenson

10/05/1813 – Battle of the Thames

Fall/1813 – Americans Threaten Montreal

10/26/1813 – Battle of Chateauguay

11/11/1813 – Battle of Crysler's Farm

12/19/1813 – Capture of Fort Niagara

03/30/1814 – Second Battle of Lacolle Mill

07/05/1814 – Battle of Chippawa

July/1814 – From Chippawa to Lundy's Lane

07/25/1814 – Battle of Lundy's Lane

08/24/1814 – Battle of Bladensburg

08/25/1814 – British Burning of Washington

09/12/1814 – Battle of North Point

09/13/1814 – Battle of Fort McHenry

12/23/1814 – General Andrew Jackson’s Surprise Attack

01/08/1815 – Battle of New Orleans

Bibliography

About the Author

Introduction

When the United States declared war against England on June 18, 1812, the American forces were not ready for combat. The U.S. Army consisted of about 7,000 regular troops led by experienced but aging commanders from the Revolutionary War and younger officers with no battle experience. America’s two senior field officers were Major General Henry Dearborn, who was 61 years old, and 59-year-old Brigadier General William Hull. Both had health problems. To make matters worse, just as happened fifty years later during the Civil War, the United States government hastily appointed promising political leaders who would prove to be poor military commanders. It would take time and unnecessary losses before the cream of young American officers rose to the top.

There were only eighteen states during the war. Most of the countryside was frontier populated by Native Americans, fur trappers, and traders. Canada and the United States shared an ambiguous border, and exactly which settlers were north of the border and which ones were south of the border was difficult to determine. American politicians believed that most Canadians would welcome being rescued from the tyranny of the English Crown and greet American troops with open arms. For this reason, the U.S. government’s primary goal at the outset of war was to free Canada from England. They underestimated the national pride of Canadians and their loyalty to Britain. The War of 1812 is often called America’s Second War of Independence. It should also be considered Canada’s War of Independence – from the United States.

England was already involved in a lengthy and costly war with Napoleon on mainland Europe. In 1812, they had neither the manpower nor the resources to vigorously support another conflict in America. Canada had about half the number of regulars and militia as the United States; however, their military leaders were far superior at the beginning.

Talented and popular Major General Sir Isaac Brock was a British officer, the Governor of Upper Canada (Ontario), and Commander-in-Chief of the province’s armed forces. At forty-three years old, he was in the prime of his military career. His subordinate, General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe (49), was another British officer with years of military experience. Lower Canada (Quebec and Newfoundland) was governed and commanded by another professional soldier, competent but cautious 45-year-old Major General George Prevost.

The War of 1812 lasted barely two-and-a-half years and was a misguided affair that did not need to be fought. News of conciliatory measures from Britain that would have avoided any military conflicts arrived in America after war was declared. Thirty-one months later, the Battle of New Orleans would be fought before news of the war’s end reached the United States.

Between those two belated events, North America witnessed tragedies and atrocities, foolish acts and brilliant efforts. Native Americans massacred defenseless civilians and prisoners at the Fort Dearborn and Raisin River Massacres. United States troops mercilessly burned Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and government buildings at York (Toronto). In retaliation, a British army torched Washington. Sir Isaac Brock died at the first significant battle of the war, at Queenston Heights, and General Zebulon Pike – namesake of Pike’s Peak – was killed after the Battle of York had ended.

Young leaders emerged. Some became famous, like Winfield Scott, who later devised the Anaconda Plan that would ultimately defeat the Confederacy. Most are now forgotten; heroes like Major George Croghan who successfully defended Fort Stephenson and General Jacob Brown who saved Sackett’s Harbor.

When the war was over, the Treaty of Ghent returned everything back to the way it was before America’s first invasion of Canada. The War of 1812 did not need to be fought; however, the conflict should not be forgotten because it was an important event in history. Three future U.S. Presidents led men into combat: Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Zachary Taylor. Francis Scott Key wrote The Star Spangled Banner, which became the American National Anthem, while observing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor. And for decades afterward, Americans celebrated their unlikely win at the Battle of New Orleans almost as joyously as the Fourth of July. Perhaps most significantly, the War of 1812 was the last time England and the United States met in armed combat.

July 17, 1812 – Surrender of Fort Michilimackinac

When war was declared, Sir Isaac Brock ordered the capture of Mackinac Island. After losing tactical advantage, the fort was surrendered without bloodshed.

The British constructed Fort Michilimackinac (later renamed Fort Mackinac) on Mackinac Island between 1779 and 1781. The fort guarded the channel between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, three hundred miles north of Fort Detroit. After the Revolutionary War ended in 1782, the British ceded Mackinac Island to the United States and later built another fortification on nearby St. Joseph Island.

The British Prepare to Attack Fort Michilimackinac

When the United States declared war on Great Britain, on June 18, 1812, Major General Isaac Brock ordered Captain Charles Roberts on St. Joseph Island to seize Fort Michilimackinac. Accordingly, Captain Roberts began building a force of approximately 45 regulars of the Tenth Royal Veteran Battalion, 180 Canadian backwoodsmen, and more than 400 warriors from the Chippewa, Menominee, Ottawa, Sioux, and Winnebago tribes.

Meanwhile, there were approximately 60 American troops stationed at Fort Michilimackinac, commanded by Lieutenant Porter Hanks. Although the war was almost one month old, the remote fort had not been informed!

The Americans became suspicious when native tribesmen in war canoes were seen traveling north towards St. Joseph Island. On July 16, Lieutenant Hanks ordered a militia officer, Captain Michael Dousman, to travel north and observe activities at the British fort. Unfortunately, after leaving Mackinac Island, Captain Dousman was almost immediately captured by the British force on its way to attack Fort Michilimackinac.

The British Forces Gain Tactical Advantage

The British soldiers and their allies sailed to Mackinac Island aboard the armed schooner Caledonia, seventy war canoes, and ten bateaux. They landed under cover of darkness on the north side of the island. While his artillerists dragged two 6-pounder cannon to the heights above the American fort, Captain Roberts, with the help of the captured Captain Dousman who had been paroled, evacuated civilians from the small village and sheltered them inside an abandoned distillery on the west side of the island.

Doctor Sylvester Day, the fort surgeon who lived in the village, secretly traveled to the American fort and reported the British landing. He also delivered news that the British were warning that if a single shot was fired in defense of the fort, the native tribesmen would massacre everyone inside. Ignoring this threat, Lieutenant Hanks prepared to repel the attack by moving ammunition to the blockhouse and loading his cannon.

At nine o’clock on the morning of July 17, the Americans discovered that the British