1. THE WAR OF 1812 EUROPEAN WARS COME TO THE HOMELAND

2. About the time we were buying Louisiana from France, Napolean was beginning some serious expansion across Europe. He began conquering all of his neighbors. Over the next 6-7 years Napolean was very successful, and then he turned his sights on England. England already considered France to be the enemy, but now it was getting personal. Pretty quickly the English began to get angry with the Americans for trading with their enemies (the French). NAPOLEAN BEATS UP ON EUROPE

3. The English started to attack American ships or prevent them from getting to France. Many times the captured crew was forced in Naval service with England The Americans said that this was against international law because it was unfair Many of the men from the captured ships were threatened with English Prison unless they agreed to fight for England against France. These things did not make the Americans happy. WAR OF 1812

4. In 1812 Napolean also suffered some major defeats, and suddenly England has no one else to fight, and they really wanted to teach to colonists a lesson. The English probably would have enjoyed reconquering the United States, but that was not their goal. Their goal was to make war on America’s ability to sail across the ocean and trade with France. The war was really a naval war. THE WAR BEGINS

5. The British mainly wanted to set up a blockade of the American Coast The American coast was so big, and the English so stretched out on man- power that they never totally succeeded in creating the blockade. Still the Americans realized again that their Navy really was no match for the English on the open Ocean THE OCEAN BATTLES

6. The Great Lakes saw a lot of Naval fighting. Much of the fighting was done between the English in Canada and the Americans. Again the Indians fought for the English because the Americans were taking their land. THE NAVAL BATTLES ON THE GREAT LAKES

7. America fought the English in what is now Canada. Both sides pushed each other back and forth a little bit, but after the war, the lines were put back to how they were before the war (status quo ante bellum). AMERICA VS. CANADA

8. As a result of the war with the United States the English people in Canada started to feel a little more unified (together as one). The war of 1812 made Canada what it is today and gave the people there a sense of national pride and solidarity. Even so, they became an independent nation peacefully (they did not fight a war with England). CANADA BECOMES MORE UNIFIED

9. Much of the success against the English navy came from the fact that we were already here. If we lost a ship the men were saved, a new ship was built very quickly and the crew was fighting again very soon. If the British lost a ship the men were captured, imprisoned, and the ship could not be easily replaced. We were able to keep the powerful British navy under some control simply by outbuilding them. AMERICAN NAVY

10. The English blockaded much of the coast, but they would often land their ships, surround small coastal towns, then demand that the town pay a fee, agree not to trade with other enemies, or else the British would burn the town down. Some towns were burned, many agree to just stay out of the war. ENGLISH RAIDS

11. The English raids were often very effective. In August of 1814 one raid marched into Washington. Much of the city had been evacuated because of the war, and the fact that Washington is so close to the ocean. The British did not have enough men to keep control of the city so they decided to burn as much of it as they could. THE BURNING OF WASHINGTON

12. The British were led by a guy named General Cockburn. He was responsible for many of the raids. One building he really wanted to burn was a printing office of a newspaper that always printed mean things about him. GENERAL COCKBURN

13. When he got to the building some ladies begged him not to burn the building because it was surrounded by homes and the fire would spread to the homes of the innocent civilians. Cockburn was not a total jerk, so he agreed. Instead of burning the print shop he ordered his men to tear the building down brick by brick, destroy the printing machinery and take all of the letter “C” blocks so that they would not be able to print his name if they rebuilt quickly NO MORE “C”S

14. The British burned the House of Representatives, and the Senate. They burned many government buildings but spared a few for fear of burning homes of innocent civilians A rainstorm saved many of the first buildings from being completely burned BURNING WASHINGTON

15. The British marched next to the White House First lady Dolley Madison stayed behind rescuing art and other things until just minutes before the British arrived. The British came into the mansion. There they found a dinner set for the President and 40 guests who had evacuated 30 minutes earlier. The British ate the food then burned the White House THE BURNING OF THE WHITE HOUSE

16. The British soldiers realized that the rain would put the fires out so they got as much fuel as they could, and added it to the fire. Then the rain stopped and many parts of Washington burned so bright that lights from the flames lit up Baltimore some 40 miles away. FUEL FOR THE FIRE

17. The next day a tropical hurricane blew threw the Washington area. The heavy rains put the fires out, and forced the British to go back to their ships. The entire occupation lasted 26 hours. As soon as the British left the President and the rest of government went back to work. The sandstone walls of the White House survived the fire. They were cleaned that winter and the home was rebuilt the next year. 26 HOURS

18. An artist’s picture of the burned out White House. The Sandstone frame survived the fire (notice the burn marks by the windows). The front portico and the wood framed roof are burned away.

19. As General Cockburn prepared for the attack on Washington he and his men stayed with a man by the name of Dr. William Beanes. Beanes was not a friend of the English but agreed to let them use his house as headquarters so that they would not burn it down. A LITTLE STORY

20. After the attack on Washington, Cockburn and the British leaders did not come back to Beanes’ house, but some British soldiers did. When they got there they caused a lot of problems (mostly just rowdy, celebration behavior). They also began to pillage and steal things out of the home. Beanes was angry so he got some men together and they captured the English soldiers. BEANES GETS IN TROUBLE

21. Of course word got out that Beanes had taken some British soldiers prisoner. So some officers came over to get their men back, and they were angry with Beanes so they took him back to their ship as prisoner. BEANES TAKEN PRISONER

22. Two men were sent by the President to ask the British to release Dr. Beanes. These men were John Stuart Skinner, and Francis Scott Key. When General Cockburn found out that his soldiers had been so rude to Dr. Beanes and caused so many problems he overruled his officers and released Beanes. HERE COME THE LAWYERS

23. Just as Beanesy, Skinner and Francis Scott Key got into their rowboat boat to go home the General called them back. The General was a little uneasy because the British were just about to launch an attack on Fort McHenry and the city of Baltimore. These three men, had heard some of the planning, they had seen the battle plans, they knew how powerful the British were, and where they were. Letting the men go would endanger the British attack plans and risk lives. …WAIT A MINUTE

24. They were told that they would not be released until after the battle. The men basically had to sit on the boat watching as the British attacked Fort McHenry and their home town of Baltimore. They watched all night, and one of them, Francis Scott Key, was so inspired by what he saw when the sun came up the next morning that he wrote a poem with four verses. ONE GREAT POEM

25. FIRST VERSE O! say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

26. SECOND VERSE On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

27. THIRD VERSE And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country should leave us no more! Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

28. FOURTH VERSE O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.' And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

29. It Started as a poem, but we Americans liked it so much that it was eventually put to music and now we sing it. It is our National Anthem, but the song’s actual name is “The Star Spangled Banner.” It was written by Key as he watched the British attack the fort. In the morning the British realized that it wasn’t worth their time to keep up the battle, so they gave up and left. THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

31. In Europe Napolean was defeated. The English won the war and Napolean was exiled to an Island in the middle of the ocean where he stayed until he died. Since the English didn’t care if the Americans traded with the French anymore, they stopped attacking American ships. THE RESULT OF THE WAR

32. Since the reasons for the war (illegal trade embargoes) were suddenly resolved, both sides realized that the war was no longer worth fighting. England had no intention of trying to recapture the United States, and there was no reason to continue fighting, so the two sides agreed to a treaty and the war ended. END OF THE WAR