PERRY "September the tenth, full well I ween Two-Book LAWRENCE "Let shouts of victory for laurels won |
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MENTOR GRAVURES | MENTOR GRAVURES | |
CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE | COMMODORE OLIVER HAZARD PERRY | |
COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR | THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE | |
COMMODORE WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE | GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON | |
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THE MENTOR · DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
MARCH 15, 1916
Our defeat of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War was conclusive; though "we" in that case included France, without whose aid the patriots must have been defeated. It is not so easy to discover a fund of military glory in the War of 1812.
That was a great war year. Within a few days of the declaration of war by the United States against Great Britain, Napoleon's Grand Army of over 400,000 men crossed the Niemen into Russia. Six months later 4,000 of that host recrossed, pursued by the Russians; and probably not more than 100,000 of the whole number ever saw their homes again. In 1813, while the Americans were fighting on the ocean and on Lake Erie, Napoleon was driven out of Germany. A few weeks before the Battle of Lundy's Lane, Napoleon was compelled to abdicate. Soon after the news of the Peace of Ghent with Great Britain was received in the United States, in 1815, Napoleon broke loose from Elba; and a few months later he was again a prisoner and sent to St. Helena.
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Entered at the Postoffice at New York, N.Y., as second-class matter. Copyright, 1916, by The Mentor Association, Inc.
To most of Europe the American War of 1812 seemed an unwarrantable flank attack in the great running fight of the nations. Russia and
From the painting by John Vanderlyn
THE ELEPHANT AND THE WHALE
Nevertheless Congress found some difficulty in selecting the enemy to fight; for the conditions were remarkably like those of the year 1915. People used to talk then about the "war between the elephant and the whale": the elephant being the land army of Napoleon, which apparently nothing could withstand, and the whale being the navy of Great Britain, which had command of the sea. That struggle reached a crisis in 1806, when the two belligerents, not being able to reach and hammer each other, did their best to hammer the neutral carrying trade, which was carried on largely in American ships.
General Hull surrendered to General Brock, Governor of Upper Canada, at Detroit on August 16, 1812
BY ORDERS IN COUNCIL
Great Britain declared the whole French coast blockaded from Brest to the Elbe, just as in 1915 the same power declared the whole North Sea coast to be blockaded. By Decrees France declared the whole British Islands to be in a state of blockade, exactly as Germany recently declared those coasts to be a "naval zone." The consequence was that the French captured 600 American merchantmen in the next nine years, and the British took 900.
In this long controversy the French were the wiliest, the British were the most arrogant. The United States would have been
In this battle, which took place on July 25, 1814, and lasted from sunset to midnight, the Americans under General Jacob Brown were left in possession of the field, but were unable to carry away the heavy artillery which they had captured
At that time the United States found it hard to provide a remedy. The most obvious method was to refuse to trade with either of the nations. Accordingly an Embargo was laid by Congress in 1807, by which no cargoes of any kind were allowed to leave American ports, bound to a foreign destination. The embargo very nearly brought England to terms; but the United States had not patience to wait for its results. The shipping trade was paralyzed, and the farmers and planters could not export their surplus. In view of these losses, Congress after fourteen months' experience repealed the embargo.
CAUSES OF THE WAR
Since neither France nor Great Britain would accept the opportunity to make a friend of the United States, the captures went on; and England added the impressment of American seamen from American merchant vessels. The idea that a subject of the British Empire could change his allegiance and become the citizen of another nation seemed to England a dangerous novelty. Still, if the great sea-power had been willing to pay a little more wages to her men-of-warsmen, she could have filled her ships by enlistment. If she had been content to "press" men from her own merchant ships, she would not have aroused the antipathy of the Americans. To save a few hundred thousand pounds and to assert a right to claim Englishmen who had become American citizens,
When the war broke out, more than 5,000 Americans had been at one time or another impressed; and 2,000 or 3,000 were actually serving on board British men-of-war till the hostilities began. Then, having been originally seized without reason, they were made prisoners of war.
At the Battle of Chippewa on July 5, 1814. Colonel Miller with three hundred men captured a height, the key to the British position. It was a desperate and courageous exploit
Considering the eventual result of the war, it is striking that the United States government placed little dependence on its navy, but expected to carry on a brilliant land campaign. Canada was to be conquered, and then, as Henry Clay put it, they could "negotiate a peace at Quebec or Halifax."
This was not a new thought. In the Revolutionary War Canada was invaded by Montgomery and Arnold and all but annexed to the new United States. How could Canada resist? Its population in 1812 was about 50,000; that of the United States was nearly 8,000,000. During the nine years from 1803 to 1812 the United States had tried every means short of war; and the vigorous young "war hawks," headed by Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, were tired of accepting what they felt to be a standing offence to their nation.
President of the United States, 1809–1817
From the portrait by Gilbert Stuart
THE LAND WAR
In accordance with the plan of invasion, several "armies" of 2,000 or 3,000 men were pushed to the Canadian frontier; but in the very first fight the tables were turned, and Detroit was captured by the British. It took more than a year and 20,000 men to push back the British into Canada. Five different American commanders were ignominiously headed or defeated in attempting to invade Canada across the Niagara River or the St. Lawrence River. Except for Harrison's little victory at the Battle
On September 12, 1814, General Ross in command of the British force advancing on Baltimore, was shot as he rode at the head of his troops by two American troopers concealed in a hollow. Baltimore was defended bravely, and the British were repulsed
This disagreeable chapter in our military history was due to the fact that the government had made no sufficient preparation of men or materials, and was obliged to rely upon untrained volunteer militia. These were men of personal courage and intelligence; and under such commanders as Jacob Brown and Andrew Jackson they showed that they had the instincts of soldiers. Nevertheless they were poorly drilled and equipped. In one campaign they stopped short when they reached the Canadian line, because they said they were not constitutionally bound to fight, except for the defense of their own country.
Secretary of State, 1811–1817. He also acted as Secretary of War in 1814–1815. President, 1817–1825. From the portrait by John Vanderlyn
The result was that, starting with a regular army of only 7,000, which finally included about 50,000 men, 400,000 additional recruits were raised during the war. The total number of Canadians and British troops engaged in the war was not over 20,000. The Americans lost 30,000 men; and when the war was over the United States was not in possession of one foot of Canadian territory, while the British were occupying about half of the present state of Maine.
This heartbreaking result ought not to be charged to the soldiers so much as to the administration. John Armstrong, Secretary of War, allowed the British to land 5,000 men on the Chesapeake and to march fifty miles overland to Washington. Within a distance of two days' land travel from that city lived nearly 100,000 able-bodied men, most of them accustomed to handle a gun. Yet the British force was allowed to capture Washington, to burn the public buildings, and to retire to its fleet almost without losing a man. Till
Victorious leader at the Battle of New Orleans. President, 1829–1837. From a drawing from life by J.B. Longacre
WAR AT SEA
A proof that the defeats of the War of 1812 were not due to lack of fiber among the American people as a whole, was the brilliant success of the operations on the high seas. Jefferson and Madison both thought the navy would do more harm than good. The British had twice seized the little navy of the Danes, and it seemed as though our ships would only be a whet to the appetite of the British naval giant. Against our 18 ships of war, of which only six were sizable frigates, the British could oppose 170 large ships and 700 others. They had the prestige of a hundred years of naval supremacy; they had driven the French and Spanish ships of war from the sea.
Therefore it was a joy to the nation when, seven weeks after the outbreak of the war, the frigate Constitution captured the Guerriere and later the Java; then the United States captured the Macedonian; the Frolic took the Wasp; the Essex, the first American ship of war to appear in the Pacific, captured numbers of British whalers there. In thirteen duels, one ship on each side, the Americans won eleven victories.
Gradually the fleet was worn down; the Chesapeake was taken by the Shannon; the President and the Adams were captured; and at the end of the war there was not a public ship on the ocean flying the flag of the United States. However the navy in two unexpected directions won new laurels. On Lake Erie Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British fleet at the battle of Put-in Bay, and sent his ever memorable despatch, "We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop." On Lake Champlain, Commodore Macdonough beat the British; while McComb with his militia withstood and repelled the British attack at Plattsburg.
Harrison was one of the few able leaders that the United States had during the War of 1812. He was President for only one month in 1841. He died in office.
From the portrait of by J.B. Lambdin
When the cruisers were driven off the sea, the privateers continued the naval war. At that time a merchantman could be turned into a capable fighting ship by
From the painting by W.J. Aylward
Courtesy, Harper's Magazine
Copyright, Harper & Brothers
For a hundred years experts have been trying to find out just why the United States was so successful in the naval war. The British newspapers of the day tried to prove that it was because they called a vessel a frigate when it was really bigger and stronger than the British frigate. That did not affect the captain of the Guerriere when he accepted battle with the Constitution: he evidently thought that he had size and power enough to capture his adversary. The Americans appear to have had heavier guns, better training in handling the guns, better marksmanship, to have been quicker and smarter.
It was the privateers that were in the long run most effective. The London Times complained toward the end of 1814 that "there are
When Perry's flagship, the "Lawrence," was riddled by the enemy, he transferred himself in a small boat to the "Niagara." This ship broke the British line, and then the battle was won. From a painting by Carlton T. Chapman
From "Naval Actions of The War of 1812," by James Barnes.
Copyright 1896, by Harper & Brothers
In March, 1915, a British squadron captured the German frigate Dresden in the neutral Chilean waters of the Island of Juan Fernandez. A similar episode occurred in 1814, when the United States ship Essex was cornered and destroyed by two British vessels in the harbor of Valparaiso. The American privateer General Armstrong was also cut out and destroyed by the British under the guns of the Portuguese fort at Fayal in the Azores.
EFFECT ON THE AMERICANS
On the face of it there was not much cause for congratulation in a war in which the United States trebled its national debt and lost 30,000 men and 1,500 merchant ships, without gaining any territory and without securing any promise at the end of the war that the disturbance of neutral trade and the impressment of American seamen would not begin again.
The Commander of the "Essex"
From the painting by Chappel
Another group of troubles arose from the fact that the New England States were against the war from the beginning, refused to allow their militia to join in the forces
The "Essex" was under the command of David Porter, and drove British shipping from the Pacific Ocean. The vessel was finally destroyed by the "Phoebe" and the "Cherub." From a painting by Carlton T. Chapman
From "Naval Actions of the War of 1812," by James Barnes.
Copyright, 1886, by Harper & Brothers
These uncomfortable facts may be cheerfully admitted in view of a strong list of reasons for national congratulation. One was the notable victory of Andrew Jackson at New Orleans, January 8, 1815, after peace had been made, though neither of the armies knew it. Critics have pointed out that Jackson was slow in divining where the British would strike; that he threw up no sufficient intrenchments; that if the British had placed cannon on the west side of the river, they could have fired into his rear and compelled him to retreat. All that does not diminish the glory of Jackson's victory. He showed the energy and determination which brought together a force of 3,500 men, mostly raw militia. This little command lying behind the lines at Chalmette received the attack of 6,000 men. Over 2,000 of the British attacking column were sacrificed, and Jackson remained master of the field, with a loss of seventy-one.
This brilliant success proved that Jackson was a good soldier, which in due time helped to make him President of the United States. It proved also that American militia behind breastworks could repel the attacks of twice their number of experienced soldiers who had recently helped to overthrow Napoleon.
From the painting by Gilbert Stuart
The greatest result of the War of 1812 was to make the Americans realize at once their weakness and their strength. Just at the end of the war Robert Fulton put on the waters of
Commodore in the United States Navy.
From the portrait by J.W. Jarvis
The War of 1812 also for the first time gave the United States an unquestioned place in the sisterhood of modern nations. Though the population in 1815 was only about eight and a half millions, the success of the navy inspired a wholesome respect for Yankee ships and Yankee sailors. In place of the captured ships a new merchant marine was quickly provided, which developed into the famous clipper ships, the triumph of American skill and the glory of the seas. From this time dates the friendship of several European nations, particularly of Russia, whose Czar Alexander was a friend and correspondent of Thomas Jefferson.
Captain Lawrence, commanding the "Chesapeake," was mortally wounded, and his vessel was captured by the "Shannon" off Boston Roads. It was in this engagement that he uttered his famous words, "Don't give up the ship." From a painting by Carlton T. Chapman
From "Naval Actions of the War of 1812," by James Barnes.
Copyright, 1896, by Harper & Brothers
Our former enemy, Great Britain, was converted into a respectful friend who saw the advantages of friendship. The proof is that eight years later George Canning asked the United States to join in a declaration with
The "Cyane" was one of the crack sloops of war in the English service. The "Constitution" after a running fight captured both this ship and the "Levant." From a painting by Carlton T. Chapman
From "Naval Actions of the War of 1812," by James Barnes.
Copyright, 1896, by Harper & Brothers
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
By Henry Adams
Vols. VI-IX contain the best account of the War of 1812.
THE LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON
By John Spencer Bassett
Vol. 1, chapters vi-xiii, treat of Jackson's part in the war.
THE NAVAL WAR OF 1812
By Theodore Roosevelt
Best account of the naval strategy of the war.
A FULL AND CORRECT ACCOUNT OF THE MILITARY OCCURRENCES OF THE LATE WAR BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
By William James
(2 vols.) The standard English account.
THE CANADIAN WAR OF 1812
By Charles Prestwood Lucas
Recent English point of view.
SEA POWER IN ITS RELATIONS TO THE WAR OF 1812
By Alfred Thayer Mahan
(2 vols.) A study of the whole struggle for neutral rights, and the war.
RISE OF AMERICAN NATIONALITY, 1811–1819
By Kendric Charles Babcock
(American Nation, Vol. XIII.)
Most convenient brief account of the war. Recent and impartial.
NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE WAR OF 1812
By James Barnes
Popular and well illustrated.
? Information concerning the above books and articles may be had on application to the Editor of The Mentor.