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The War of 1812 began as a disagreement between Britain and the U.S. This conflict started around 1812 (when the battles for Canada began) and managed to keep going till around 1815 (when the last battle was fought). Most of these battles took place up near the Great Lakes. The war ended in a treaty called The Treaty of Ghent. This war was terribly managed by the United States, but luckily the soldiers "had the extraordinary good furtune to escape the consequences of a war that it had badly mismanaged from the outset." (Encarta, War of 1812, page 17)

During the War of 1812, as it was called, there were a total of 11 major battles. Most of the battles were based around the great lakes and only one battle was fought in the South. The major battles began in 1812 and ended in 1815.

The war was encouraged by a group of Americans known as the War Hawks."They believed that British officers from Canada were encouraging Native American peoples to rebel against the United States, a charge that may have had some foundation." (Encarta 2004 'War of 1812' II. Causes of the war) One of the main members of this group was Henry Clay (above) They believed that they could stop this war by using federal aid to protect against British interference in American Seas.

The war was also encouraged by the impessment of sailors. The British impressed the U.S. sailors and allowed them to come aboard. The United States considered this "kidnapping" of the American sailors.

There were two battles in 1812. One was in Detroit and the other was in ton Heights. There were four battles in 1813. These battles included battles in Toronto, Thames River, Lake Erie, and Raisin River. Again there were four battles in 1814. There were battles along the east coast. One in Baltimore and the other in Washington, D.C. The battle of Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner." The others were at Lundy's Lane and Lake Champlain. The last war, in 1815 was down south. This battle was in New Orleans. This gave us a total of 11 major battles in the United States. Most of these battles were aimed for the Canadian area. This was due to the fact that the US wanted to own Canada too and push the British out of North America.

This is the Constitution as it sails on its 200th Birthday.

The United States had a navy and some of the ships carried 44 cannons or more. These ships were superior to many in the British navy that only carried 38 cannonss. Two of the best armed U.S. ships at the time were the Constitution and the United States, which had about six more s than the British ships had. That was a lot more fire power at the time.

One of the major battles that occured was when the British took hold of Washington D.C. The British landed in Maryland and set out to take over Washington D.C. on August 18, 1814. The were met on the border of Bladensberg, Maryland by about 5000 patriots on August 24. The British easily broke through the ranks without much effort and marched into Washington, burned the White House, along with the Capital Building.

The Battle of Lake Champlain was an American victory. It was one of the more important turning points of the War of 1812. Even though the Americans did not have the firepower that the British had, they were able to defeat the British Armada on September 11, 1814. The British troops retreated into Canada. This was the second to last battle, as the Treaty of Ghent, was designed in December 1814.

There were also other nicknames for the War of 1812. One of these was the Second War for Independence.

The Treaty of Ghent had three major parts:

1. Fix the Boundary between the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains.

2. Limit the War Ships in the Great Lakes.

3. British and U.S. share Oregon for 10 years.

This was a political cartoon I found at Daily Press

Also, I found the "Star Spangled-Banner" by Francis Scott Key. It also has how and when it was written.

Military Heritage: War of 1812, is also a good site to use for referance on how the battle was fought, animated pictures on the battle fronts, a timeline of events, and also a referance for other questions you may have.

Bibliography:
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