Editing War of 1812 (section)

== Course of war ==
{{see also|Timeline of the War of 1812}}
The war was conducted in several theatres:
# The [[Canada–United States border]]: the [[Great Lakes region]] ([[Old Northwest]] and [[Upper Canada]]), the [[Niagara Frontier]], and the [[St. Lawrence River]] ([[New England]] and [[Lower Canada]]).
# At sea, principally the Atlantic Ocean, the [[East Coast of the United States|American east coast]] and [[The Maritimes|Maritime Canada]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Joshua M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0fRjMQEACAAJ |title=Battle for the Bay: The Naval War of 1812 |date=2012 |publisher=Goose Lane Editions |isbn=978-0-86492-759-0 |language=en}}</ref>
# The [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] and Southern United States (including the [[Creek War]] in the [[Alabama River]] basin).
# The [[Mississippi River]] basin.

=== Unpreparedness ===
[[File:Anglo American War 1812 Locations map-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Northern theatre, War of 1812]]

The war had been preceded by years of diplomatic dispute, yet neither side was ready for war when it came. Britain was heavily engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, most of the British Army was deployed in the Peninsular War in Portugal and Spain, and the Royal Navy was blockading most of the coast of Europe.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=847}} The number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially 6,034, supported by additional Canadian militia.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=72–75}} Throughout the war, the British [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies|War Secretary]] was [[Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst|Earl Bathurst]], who had few troops to spare for reinforcing North America defences during the first two years of the war. He urged Lieutenant General [[George Prévost]] to maintain a defensive strategy. Prévost, who had the trust of the Canadians, followed these instructions and concentrated on defending Lower Canada at the expense of Upper Canada, which was more vulnerable to American attacks and allowed few offensive actions. Unlike campaigns along the east coast, Prevost had to operate with no support from the Royal Navy.{{sfnm|Hannay|1911|1pp=22–24|Hickey|1989|2p=194}}

The United States was also not prepared for war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=War Of 1812 {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/war-1812 |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Madison had assumed that the state militias would easily seize Canada and that negotiations would follow. In 1812, the regular army consisted of fewer than 12,000 men. Congress authorized the expansion of the army to 35,000 men, but the service was voluntary and unpopular; it paid poorly and there were initially few trained and experienced officers.{{sfn|Quimby|1997|pp=2–12}} The militia objected to serving outside their home states, they were undisciplined and performed poorly against British forces when called upon to fight in unfamiliar territory.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=847}} Multiple militias refused orders to cross the border and fight on Canadian soil.{{sfn|Dauber|2003|p=301}}

American prosecution of the war suffered from its unpopularity, especially in [[New England]] where anti-war speakers were vocal. Massachusetts Congressmen [[Ebenezer Seaver]] and [[William Widgery]] were "publicly insulted and hissed" in Boston while a mob seized Plymouth's Chief Justice [[Charles Turner Jr.|Charles Turner]] on 3 August 1812 "and kicked [him] through the town".{{sfn|Adams|1918|p=400}} The United States had great difficulty financing its war. It had disbanded its [[First Bank of the United States|national bank]], and private bankers in the Northeast were opposed to the war, but it obtained financing from London-based [[Barings Bank]] to cover overseas [[bond (finance)|bond]] obligations.{{sfn|Hickey|2012n}} New England failed to provide militia units or financial support, which was a serious blow,{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=80}} and New England states made loud threats to secede as evidenced by the [[Hartford Convention]]. Britain exploited these divisions, opting to not blockade the ports of New England for much of the war and encouraging smuggling.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=233–234, 349–350, 478–479}}

===War in the West===
====Invasions of Canada, 1812====
[[File:Reddition de Détroit.jpg|thumb|American surrender of [[siege of Detroit|Detroit]], August 1812]]

An American army commanded by William Hull invaded Upper Canada on July 12, arriving at Sandwich ([[Windsor, Ontario]]) after crossing the [[Detroit River]].{{sfn|History of Sandwich}}<!-- This ref verified. --> Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender.{{sfn|Auchinleck|1855|p=49}} The proclamation said that Hull wanted to free them from the "tyranny" of Great Britain, giving them the liberty, security, and wealth that his own country enjoyed{{snd}}unless they preferred "war, slavery and destruction".{{sfn|Laxer|2012|p=131}} He also threatened to kill any British soldier caught fighting alongside Indigenous fighters.{{sfn|Auchinleck|1855|p=49}} Hull's proclamation only helped to stiffen resistance to the American attacks as he lacked artillery and supplies.{{sfn|Aprill|2015}}{{sfn|Clarke Historical Library}}

Hull withdrew to the American side of the river on 7 August 1812 after receiving news of a [[Battle of Brownstown|Shawnee ambush]] on Major [[Thomas Van Horne]]'s 200 men, who had been sent to support the American supply convoy. Hull also faced a lack of support from his officers and fear among his troops of a possible massacre by unfriendly Indigenous forces. A group of 600 troops led by Lieutenant Colonel [[James Miller (general)|James Miller]] remained in Canada, attempting to supply the American position in the Sandwich area, with little success.{{sfn|Laxer|2012|pp=139–142}}

Major General Isaac Brock believed that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada and to convince the tribes that Britain was strong.{{sfn|Benn|Marston|2006|p=214}} He moved to [[Amherstburg]] near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and [[Siege of Detroit|attacked Detroit]], using [[Fort Malden]] as his stronghold. Hull feared that the British possessed superior numbers, and [[Fort Lernoult|Fort Detroit]] lacked adequate gunpowder and cannonballs to withstand a long siege.{{sfn|Rosentreter|2003|p=74}} He agreed to surrender on 16 August.{{sfn|Marsh|2011}}{{sfn|Hannings|2012|p=50}} Hull also ordered the evacuation of [[Fort Dearborn]] (Chicago) to [[Fort Wayne]], but Potawatomi warriors ambushed them and escorted them back to the fort where they were [[Battle of Fort Dearborn|massacred]] on 15 August. The fort was subsequently burned.{{sfnm|Hickey|1989|1p=84|Ingersoll|1845|2p=31}}{{efn|Hull was later court-martialed for cowardice, neglect of duty and for lying about lack of supplies. He was convicted and sentenced to death, but President Madison granted him a pardon for his heroic service during the Revolutionary War.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=84}} }}

Brock moved to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General [[Stephen Van Rensselaer]] was attempting a second invasion.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=848}} The Americans attempted an attack across the [[Niagara River]] on 13 October, but they were defeated [[Battle of Queenston Heights|at Queenston Heights]]. However, Brock was killed during the battle and British leadership suffered after his death. American General [[Henry Dearborn]] made a final attempt to advance north from Lake Champlain, but his militia refused to go beyond American territory.<ref>Daughan, George C. 1812 (pp. 109–111). Basic Books. Kindle Edition</ref>

==== American Northwest, 1813 ====
[[File:Battle erie.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|[[Oliver Hazard Perry]]'s message to William Henry Harrison after the [[Battle of Lake Erie]] began thus: "We have met the enemy and they are ours".{{sfn|We Have Met}}]]
{{main|Ohio in the War of 1812|Siege of Detroit}}

After Hull surrendered Detroit, General William Henry Harrison took command of the American [[Army of the Northwest (United States)|Army of the Northwest]]. He set out to retake the city, which was now defended by Colonel [[Henry Procter (British Army officer)|Henry Procter]] and Tecumseh. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at [[Battle of Frenchtown|Frenchtown]] along the [[River Raisin]] on 22 January 1813. Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard and his Potawatomie allies killed and scalped [[River Raisin Massacre|60 captive Americans]].{{sfn|National Guard History eMuseum}} The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, but "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans.{{sfn|Taylor|2010|pp=201, 210}}

In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh set [[Siege of Fort Meigs|siege to Fort Meigs]] in northwestern Ohio. Tecumseh's fighters ambushed American reinforcements who arrived during the siege, but the fort held out. The fighters eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fortmeigs.org/history/|title=A History of Fort Meigs – Fort Meigs: Ohio's War of 1812 Battlefield|website=www.fortmeigs.org|access-date=17 March 2021|archive-date=14 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114003801/https://www.fortmeigs.org/history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Along the way they attempted to [[Battle of Fort Stephenson|storm Fort Stephenson]], a small American post on the [[Sandusky River]] near Lake Erie. They were repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the Ohio campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.birchard.lib.oh.us/content/battle-fort-stephenson|title=Battle of Fort Stephenson &#124; Birchard Public Library|website=www.birchard.lib.oh.us}}</ref>

Captain [[Oliver Hazard Perry]] fought the [[Battle of Lake Erie]] on 10 September 1813. His decisive victory at [[Put-in-Bay, Ohio|Put-in-Bay]] ensured American military control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats and compelled the British to fall back from Detroit. This enabled General Harrison to launch another invasion of Upper Canada, which culminated in the American victory at the [[Battle of the Thames]] on 5 October 1813, where Tecumseh was killed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Thames|title=Battle of the Thames &#124; War of 1812|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=9 October 2023 }}</ref>

==== American West, 1813–1815 ====
[[File:Upper Mississippi 1812.png|thumb|upright=1.0|The Upper Mississippi River during the War of 1812: {{olist|[[Fort Belle Fontaine]], American headquarters|[[Fort Osage]], abandoned in 1813|[[Fort Madison]], defeated in 1813|[[Fort Shelby (Wisconsin)|Fort Shelby]], defeated in 1814|[[Battle of Rock Island Rapids]], July 1814; and the [[Battle of Credit Island]], September 1814|[[Fort Johnson]], abandoned in 1814|[[Fort Cap au Gris]] and the [[Battle of the Sink Hole]], May 1815}}]]

The Mississippi River valley was the western frontier of the United States in 1812. The territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 contained almost no American settlements west of the Mississippi except around [[St. Louis]] and a few forts and trading posts in the [[Boonslick]]. [[Fort Belle Fontaine]] was an old [[trading post]] converted to an Army post in 1804 and this served as regional headquarters. [[Fort Osage]], built in 1808 along the [[Missouri River]], was the westernmost American outpost, but it was abandoned at the start of the war.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2002|p=270}}<!-- Unable to verify, but has not failed verification. -- This page not available at Google Books. Needs to be looked at by someone with better access. ER. --> [[Fort Madison]] was built along the Mississippi in Iowa in 1808 and had been repeatedly attacked by British-allied Sauk since its construction. The United States Army abandoned Fort Madison in September 1813 after the indigenous fighters attacked it and besieged it{{snd}}with support from the British. This was one of the few battles fought west of the Mississippi. [[Black Hawk (Sauk leader)|Black Hawk]] played a leadership role.{{sfn|Cole|1921|pp=69–74}}<!-- No preview at Google Books; somebody with better access please verify. -->

The American victory on Lake Erie and the recapture of Detroit isolated the British on Lake Huron. In the winter a Canadian party under Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert McDouall]] established a new supply line from York to [[Nottawasaga Bay]] on [[Georgian Bay]]. He arrived at [[Fort Mackinac]] on 18 May with supplies and more than 400 militia and Indians, then sent an expedition which [[Siege of Prairie du Chien|successfully besieged and recaptured]] the key trading post of [[Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin|Prairie du Chien]], on the Upper Mississippi.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=7, 47}} The Americans dispatched a substantial expedition to relieve the fort, but Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo warriors under Black Hawk ambushed it and forced it to withdraw with heavy losses in the [[Battle of Rock Island Rapids]]. In September 1814, the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo, supported by part of Prairie du Chien's British garrison, repulsed a second American force led by Major [[Zachary Taylor]] in the [[Battle of Credit Island]].<ref>Barry M. Gough, ''Fighting Sail on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: The War of 1812 and its Aftermath'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2002, 77–79,</ref> These victories enabled the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo to harass American garrisons further to the south, which led the Americans to abandon [[Fort Johnson]], in central Illinois Territory.{{sfn|Nolan|2009|pp=85–94}} Consequently, the Americans lost control of almost all of Illinois Territory, although they held onto the St. Louis area and eastern [[Missouri]]. However, the Sauk raided even into these territories, clashing with American forces at the Battle of [[Cote Sans Dessein, Missouri|Cote Sans Dessein]] in April 1815 at the mouth of the [[Osage River]] in the [[Missouri Territory]] and the [[Battle of the Sink Hole]] in May 1815 near [[Fort Cap au Gris]].<ref>Roger L. Nichols, ''Black Hawk and the Warrior's Path'', Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 64–65</ref> This left the British and their Indian allies in control of most of modern Illinois and all of modern Wisconsin.{{sfn|Concise Historical Atlas|1998|p=85}}

Meanwhile, the British were supplying the Indians in the Old Northwest from Montreal via Mackinac.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=48}} On 3 July, the Americans sent a force of five vessels from Detroit to recapture Mackinac. A mixed force of regulars and volunteers from the militia landed on the island on 4 August. They did not attempt to achieve surprise, and Indians ambushed them in the brief [[Battle of Mackinac Island (1814)|Battle of Mackinac Island]] and forced them to re-embark. The Americans discovered the new base at Nottawasaga Bay and on 13 August they destroyed its fortifications and the schooner ''[[Nancy (1789 ship)|Nancy]]'' that they found there. They then returned to Detroit, leaving two gunboats to blockade Mackinac. On 4 September, the British surprised, boarded, and captured both gunboats. These [[engagements on Lake Huron]] left Mackinac under British control.<ref>Barry M. Gough, ''Fighting Sail on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: The War of 1812 and its Aftermath'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2002, 103–121</ref>

The British returned Mackinac and other captured territory to the United States after the war. Some British officers and Canadians objected to handing back Prairie du Chien and especially Mackinac under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent. However, the Americans retained the captured post at Fort Malden near Amherstburg until the British complied with the treaty.{{Sfn|Elting|1995|p=323}} Fighting between Americans, the Sauk and other indigenous tribes continued through 1817, well after the war ended in the east.{{sfn|First United States}}

=== War in the American Northeast ===

==== Niagara frontier, 1813 ====

[[File:Niagra River and Territory, 1812.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.0|{{center|[[Niagara Peninsula]], War of 1812 map<br />depicting locations of forts, battles, etc.}}]]

Both sides placed great importance on gaining control of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River because of the difficulties of land-based communication. The British already had a small squadron of warships on Lake Ontario when the war began and had the initial advantage. The Americans established a Navy yard at [[Sackett's Harbor, New York]], a port on Lake Ontario. Commodore [[Isaac Chauncey]] took charge of the thousands of sailors and [[shipwright]]s assigned there and recruited more from New York. They completed a warship (the corvette [[USS Madison (1812)|USS ''Madison'']]) in 45 days. Ultimately, almost 3,000 men at the shipyard built 11 warships and many smaller boats and transports. Army forces were also stationed at Sackett's Harbor, where they camped out through the town, far surpassing the small population of 900. Officers were housed with families. [[Madison Barracks]] was later built at Sackett's Harbor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.northamericanforts.com/East/New_York/Madison_Barracks/Madison_Barracks.html|title=Madison Barracks|website=www.northamericanforts.com}}</ref>

Having regained the advantage by their rapid building program, on 27 April 1813 Chauncey and Dearborn attacked [[York, Upper Canada|York]], the capital of Upper Canada. At the [[Battle of York]], the outnumbered British regulars destroyed the fort and dockyard and retreated, leaving the militia to surrender the town. American soldiers set fire to the Legislature building, and looted and vandalized several government buildings and citizens' homes. The burning of York was pivotal for the British, and resulted in the absence of supplies that would be needed in later battles.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Horsman |first=Reginald |url=https://archive.org/details/warof18120000unse/ |title=The War of 1812 |date=1969 |publisher=Knopf |page=104 |language=en |quote=Barclay was also in a critical position in regard to the equipping and provisioning of his ships. Ordnance, ammunition, and other supplies for Lake Erie had been stored at York and been burned or taken by the Americans, and the retreat of the British from Fort George made it exceedingly difficult to send any other stores from Lower Canada |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>Daughan, George C. 1812 (p. 178). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.</ref> 

On 25 May 1813, Fort Niagara and the American Lake Ontario squadron began bombarding [[Fort George, Ontario|Fort George]].{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=37}} An American amphibious force assaulted Fort George on the northern end of the Niagara River on 27 May and captured it without serious losses.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} The British abandoned [[Fort Erie]] and headed towards [[Burlington Heights (Ontario)|Burlington Heights]].{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} The British position was close to collapsing in Upper Canada; the Iroquois considered changing sides and ignored a British appeal to come to their aid.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} However, the Americans did not pursue the retreating British forces until they had largely escaped and organized a counter-offensive at the [[Battle of Stoney Creek]] on 5 June. The British launched a surprise attack at 2{{nbsp}}a.m., leading to confused fighting{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} and a strategic British victory.{{sfn|Ridler|2015}}

The Americans pulled back to Forty Mile Creek rather than continue their advance into Upper Canada.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} At this point, the [[Six Nations of the Grand River]] began to come out to fight for the British as an American victory no longer seemed inevitable.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=40}} The Iroquois ambushed an American patrol at Forty Mile Creek while the Royal Navy squadron based in Kingston sailed in and bombarded the American camp. General Dearborn retreated to Fort George, mistakenly believing that he was outnumbered and outgunned.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=41}} British Brigadier General [[John Vincent (British Army officer)|John Vincent]] was encouraged when about 800 Iroquois arrived to assist him.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=41}}

An American force surrendered on 24 June to a smaller British force due to advance warning by [[Laura Secord]] at the [[Battle of Beaver Dams]], marking the end of the American offensive into Upper Canada.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=41}} British Major General [[Francis de Rottenburg]] did not have the strength to retake Fort George, so he instituted a blockade, hoping to starve the Americans into surrender.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=44}} Meanwhile, Commodore [[James Lucas Yeo]] had taken charge of the British ships on the lake and mounted a counterattack, which the Americans repulsed at the [[Battle of Sackett's Harbor]]. Thereafter, Chauncey and Yeo's squadrons fought two indecisive actions, off the Niagara on 7 August and at Burlington Bay on 28 September. Neither commander was prepared to take major risks to gain a complete victory.{{sfn|Malcomson|1998}}

Late in 1813, the Americans abandoned the Canadian territory that they occupied around Fort George. They set fire to the village of Newark (now [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]]) on 10 December 1813, incensing the Canadians. Many of the inhabitants were left without shelter, freezing to death in the snow. The British retaliated following their [[Capture of Fort Niagara]] on 18 December 1813. A British-Indian force led by Riall [[Battle of Lewiston|stormed the neighbouring town]] of [[Lewiston, New York]] on 19 December; four American civilians were killed by drunken Indians after the battle. A small force of [[Tuscarora people|Tuscarora]] warriors engaged Riall's men during the battle, which allowed many residents of Lewiston to evacuate the village.{{sfn|Historic Lewiston, New York}}{{sfn|Prohaska|2010}} The British and their Indian allies subsequently [[Battle of Buffalo|attacked]] and burned [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] on Lake Erie on 30 December 1813 in revenge for the American attack on Fort George and Newark in May.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=143, 159}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-02 |title=War of 1812 {{!}} History, Summary, Causes, Effects, Timeline, Facts, & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812 |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==== St. Lawrence and Lower Canada, 1813 ====
[[File:Battle of Chateauguay.jpg|thumb|Fencibles, militia, and [[Mohawk people|Mohawks]] repel an American attack on [[Montreal]], [[Battle of the Chateauguay]], October 1813]]

The British were vulnerable along the stretch of the St. Lawrence that was between Upper Canada and the United States. In the winter of 1812–1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from [[Ogdensburg, New York]] that hampered British supply traffic up the river. On 21 February, George Prévost passed through [[Prescott, Ontario]] on the opposite bank of the river with reinforcements for Upper Canada. When he left the next day, the reinforcements and local militia attacked in the [[Battle of Ogdensburg]] and the Americans were forced to retreat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wgpfoundation.org/historic-markers/war-of-1812-5/|title=WAR OF 1812|date=19 December 2018|website=William G. Pomeroy Foundation}}</ref>

The Americans made two more thrusts against Montreal in 1813.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=45}} Major General [[Wade Hampton I|Wade Hampton]] was to march north from Lake Champlain and join a force under General [[James Wilkinson]] that would sail from Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario and descend the St. Lawrence. Hampton was delayed by road and supply problems and his intense dislike of Wilkinson limited his desire to support his plan.<ref>Daughan, George C. 1812 (p. 220). Basic Books. Kindle Edition</ref> [[Charles de Salaberry]] defeated Hampton's force of 4,000 at the Chateauguay River on 25 October with a smaller force of [[Canadian Voltigeurs]] and [[Mohawks]]. Salaberry's force numbered only 339, but it had a strong defensive position.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=45}} Wilkinson's force of 8,000 set out on 17 October, but it was delayed by weather. Wilkinson heard that a British force was pursuing him under Captain [[William Mulcaster]] and Lieutenant Colonel [[Joseph Wanton Morrison]] and landed near [[Morrisburg, Ontario]] by 10 November, about 150 kilometres (90&nbsp;mi) from Montreal. On 11 November, his rear guard of 2,500 attacked Morrison's force of 800 at [[Battle of Crysler's Farm|Crysler's Farm]] and was repulsed with heavy losses.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=45}} He learned that Hampton could not renew his advance, retreated to the United States and settled into winter quarters. He resigned his command after a failed attack on a British outpost at [[Battle of Lacolle Mills (1814)|Lacolle Mills]].{{sfn|Army and Navy Journal Incorporated|1865|pages=469}}

==== Niagara and Plattsburgh campaigns, 1814 ====

[[File:Battle of Lundys Lane.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|American infantry prepare to attack during the [[Battle of Lundy's Lane]]]]

The Americans again invaded the Niagara frontier. They had occupied southwestern Upper Canada after they defeated Colonel Henry Procter at [[Delaware Nation at Moraviantown|Moraviantown]] in October and believed that taking the rest of the province would force the British to cede it to them.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=137}} The end of the war with Napoleon in Europe in April 1814 meant that the British could deploy their army to North America, so the Americans wanted to secure Upper Canada to negotiate from a position of strength. They planned to invade via the Niagara frontier while sending another force to recapture Mackinac.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=47}} They captured Fort Erie on 3 July 1814.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=49}} Unaware of Fort Erie's fall or of the size of the American force, the British general [[Phineas Riall]] engaged with [[Winfield Scott]], who won against a British force at the [[Battle of Chippawa]] on 5 July. The American forces had been through a hard training under Winfield Scott and proved to the professionals under fire. They deployed in a shallow U formation, bringing flanking fire and well-aimed volleys against Riall's men. Riall's men were chased off the battlefield.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armyhistory.org/the-battle-of-chippewa-5-july-1814/|title=The Battle of Chippewa, 5 July 1814 – The Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army|date=16 July 2014 }}</ref>

An attempt to advance further ended with the hard-fought but inconclusive [[Battle of Lundy's Lane]] on July 25. The battle was fought several miles north of [[Chippawa Creek]] near Niagara Falls and is considered the bloodiest and costliest battle of the war.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|pp=307–309}}{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=187}} Both sides stood their ground as American General [[Jacob Brown (general)|Jacob Brown]] pulled back to Fort George after the battle and the British did not pursue.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=51}} Commanders Riall, Scott, Brown, and Drummond were all wounded; Scott's wounds ended his service in the war.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2002|p=309}}

The Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged [[siege of Fort Erie]]. The British tried to storm Fort Erie on 14 August 1814, but they suffered heavy losses, losing 950 killed, wounded, and captured, compared to only 84 dead and wounded on the American side. The British were further weakened by exposure and shortage of supplies. Eventually, they raised the siege, but American Major General [[George Izard]] took over command on the Niagara front and followed up only halfheartedly. An American raid along the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] destroyed many farms and weakened British logistics. In October 1814, the Americans advanced into Upper Canada and engaged in skirmishes at [[Cooks Mills, Welland|Cook's Mill]]. They pulled back when they heard of the approach of  the new British warship {{HMS|St Lawrence|1814|6}}, launched in Kingston that September and armed with 104 guns. The Americans lacked provisions and retreated across the Niagara after destroying Fort Erie.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=52}}

[[File:British taking of the Northeast Bastion during the night assault on Fort Erie, August 14, 1814.png|thumb|left|upright=1.0|Unsuccessful British assault on [[Siege of Fort Erie|Fort Erie]], 14 August 1814]]

Meanwhile, after Napoleon abdicated, 15,000 British troops were sent to North America under four of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington| Wellington]]'s ablest brigade commanders. Fewer than half were veterans of the [[Peninsular War]] and the rest came from garrisons. Prévost was ordered to burn Sackett's Harbor to gain naval control of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Upper Lakes, and to defend Lower Canada from attack. He did defend Lower Canada but otherwise failed to achieve his objectives,{{sfn|Grodzinski|2010|pp=560–561}} so he decided to invade New York State. His army outnumbered the American defenders of [[Plattsburgh, New York|Plattsburgh]] under General [[Alexander Macomb (general)|Alexander Macomb]], but he was worried about his flanks and decided that he needed naval control of Lake Champlain. Upon reaching Plattsburgh, Prévost delayed the assault until Captain [[George Downie]]  arrived in the hastily built 36-gun frigate {{HMS|Confiance|1814|6}}. ''Confiance'' was not fully completed, and her raw crew had never worked together, but Prévost forced Downie into a premature attack.<ref>George C Daughan. ''1812: The navy's war''. {{ISBN|0465020461}} pp. 343–345</ref>

The British squadron on the lake was more evenly matched by the Americans under Master Commandant [[Thomas Macdonough]]. At the [[Battle of Plattsburgh]] on 11 September 1814, ''Confiance'' suffered heavy casualties and struck her colours, and the rest of the British fleet retreated. Prevost, already alienated from his veteran officers by insisting on proper dress codes, now lost their confidence, while Macdonough emerged as a national hero.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=190–193}}

[[File:Battleofpburg.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Defeat at Plattsburgh led Prévost to call off the invasion of New York.]]

The Americans now had control of Lake Champlain; [[Theodore Roosevelt]] later termed it "the greatest naval battle of the war".{{sfn|Roosevelt|1900|p=[https://archive.org/stream/navalwarorhisto00roosgoog#page/n120/mode/1up 108]}}

Prévost then turned back, to the astonishment of his senior officers, saying that it was too hazardous to remain on enemy territory after the loss of naval supremacy. He was recalled to London, where a naval court-martial decided that defeat had been caused principally by Prévost urging the squadron into premature action and then failing to afford the promised support from the land forces. He died suddenly, just before his court-martial was to convene. His reputation sank to a new low as Canadians claimed that their militia under Brock did the job but Prévost failed. However, recent historians have been kinder. Peter Burroughs argues that his preparations were energetic, well-conceived, and comprehensive for defending the Canadas with limited means and that he achieved the primary objective of preventing an American conquest.{{sfn|Burroughs|1983}}

==== Occupation of Maine ====

Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a base for smuggling and illegal trade between the United States and the British. Until 1813, the region was generally quiet except for privateer actions near the coast. In September 1813, the United States Navy's brig {{USS|Enterprise|1799|2}} [[Capture of HMS Boxer|fought and captured]] the Royal Navy brig {{HMS|Boxer|1812|2}} off [[Pemaquid Point Light|Pemaquid Point]].{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=75–91}}

On 11 July 1814, [[Thomas Masterman Hardy]] took Moose Island ([[Eastport, Maine]]) without a shot and the entire American garrison, 65 men{{sfn|Kilby|1888|p=79}} of [[Fort Sullivan (Maine)|Fort Sullivan]] peacefully surrendered.{{sfn|Smith|2007|pp=81–94}} The British temporarily renamed the captured fort "Fort Sherbrooke". In September 1814, [[John Coape Sherbrooke]] led 3,000 British troops from his base in Halifax in the "Penobscot Expedition". In 26 days, he raided and looted [[Hampden, Maine|Hampden]], [[Bangor, Maine|Bangor]] and [[Machias, Maine|Machias]], destroying or capturing 17 American ships. He won the [[Battle of Hampden]], with two killed while the Americans had one killed. Retreating American forces were forced to destroy the frigate {{USS|Adams|1799|2}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adams I (Frigate) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/adams-i.html |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command |language=en-US}}</ref>

The British occupied the town of [[Castine, Maine|Castine]] and most of eastern Maine for the rest of the war, governing it under martial law{{sfn|Kilby|1888|p=80}} and re-establishing the colony of [[New Ireland (Maine)|New Ireland]]. The Treaty of Ghent returned this territory to the United States. When the British left in April 1815, they took £10,750 in [[tariff]] duties from Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used to establish [[Dalhousie University]] in Halifax.{{sfn|Harvey|1938|pp=207–213}} Decisions about the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay were decided by joint commission in 1817.{{sfn|Anderson|1906}} However, [[Machias Seal Island]] had been seized by the British as part of the occupation and was unaddressed by the commission. While kept by Britain/Canada, it remains in dispute to this day.{{sfn|Connolly|2018}}{{sfn|DeCosta-Klipa|2018}}

=== Chesapeake campaign ===
{{main|Chesapeake campaign}}
[[File:The War of 1812 in the Chesapeake.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Map of the Chesapeake Campaign]]

The strategic location of the [[Chesapeake Bay]] near the [[Potomac River]] made it a prime target for the British. Rear Admiral [[George Cockburn]] arrived there in March 1813 and was joined by Admiral Warren who took command of operations ten days later.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|pp=156–157}} Starting in March a squadron under Cockburn started a blockade of the mouth of the Bay at [[Hampton Roads]] harbour and raided towns along the Bay from [[Norfolk, Virginia]] to [[Raid on Havre de Grace|Havre de Grace, Maryland]]. In late April Cockburn landed at and set fire to [[Frenchtown, Baltimore|Frenchtown, Maryland]] and destroyed ships that were docked there. In the following weeks he routed the local militias and looted and burned three other towns. Thereafter he marched to [[Principio Furnace|iron foundry at Principio]] and destroyed it along with sixty-eight cannons.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=153}}

On 4 July 1813, Commodore [[Joshua Barney]], an American Revolutionary War naval officer, convinced the Navy Department to build the [[Chesapeake Bay Flotilla]], a squadron of twenty barges powered by small sails or oars (sweeps) to defend the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in April 1814, the squadron was quickly cornered on the [[Patuxent River]]. While successful in harassing the Royal Navy, they could not stop subsequent British operations in the area.

==== Burning of Washington ====
{{See also|Burning of Washington}}
In August 1814, a force of 2,500 soldiers under General Ross had just arrived in Bermuda aboard {{HMS|Royal Oak|1809|6}}, three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels. Released from the Peninsular War by victory, the British intended to use them for diversionary raids along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. In response to Prévost's request,{{specify|date=July 2020}} they decided to employ this force, together with the naval and military units already on the station, to strike at the national capital. Anticipating the attack, valuable documents, including the original Constitution, were removed to [[Leesburg, Virginia]].{{sfn|Latimer|2007|pp=316-317}} The British task force advanced up the Chesapeake, routing Commodore Barney's flotilla of gunboats, carried out the [[Raid on Alexandria (Virginia)|Raid on Alexandria]], landed ground forces that bested the US defenders at the [[Battle of Bladensburg]], and carried out the [[Burning of Washington]].

United States Secretary of War [[John Armstrong Jr.]] insisted that the British were going to attack Baltimore rather than Washington, even as British army and naval units were on their way to Washington. Brigadier General [[William H. Winder]], who had burned several bridges in the area, assumed the British would attack Annapolis and was reluctant to engage because he mistakenly thought the British army was twice its size.{{sfnm|Webed|2013|1p=126|Hickey|1989|2p=197}} The inexperienced state militia was easily routed in the Battle of Bladensburg, opening the route to Washington. British troops led by Major General [[Robert Ross (British Army officer)|Robert Ross]], accompanied by Cockburn, the 3rd Brigade attacked and captured Washington with a force of 4,500.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=317}} On 24 August, after the British had finished looting the interiors, Ross directed his troops to set fire to number of public buildings, including the [[White House]] and the [[United States Capitol]].{{efn|The task was directed by pyrotechnic experts Lieutenants George Lacy and George Pratt of the Royal Navy.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=317}}}} Extensive damage to the interiors and the contents of both were subsequently reported.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=196–197}} US government and military officials fled to Virginia, while Secretary of the United States Navy [[William Jones (statesman)|William Jones]] ordered the [[Washington Navy Yard]] and a nearby fort to be razed in order to prevent its capture.{{sfn|Herrick|2005|page=90}}{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=59}} Public buildings in Washington were destroyed by the British though private residences ordered spared.{{sfn|Webed|2013|p=129}}

==== Siege of Fort McHenry ====

[[File:Ft. Henry bombardement 1814.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|An artist's rendering of the bombardment at [[Fort McHenry]] during the [[Battle of Baltimore]]. Watching the bombardment from a truce ship, [[Francis Scott Key]] was inspired to write the four-stanza poem that later became "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]".]]
After taking some munitions from the Washington Munitions depot, the British boarded their ships{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=59}} and moved on to their major target, the heavily fortified major city of Baltimore. Because some of their ships were held up in the Raid on Alexandria, they delayed their movement allowing Baltimore an opportunity to strengthen the fortifications and bring in new federal troops and state militia units. The "[[Battle of Baltimore|Battle for Baltimore]]" began with the British landing on 12 September 1814 at [[Fort Howard (Maryland)|North Point]], where they were met by American militia further up the Patapsco Neck peninsula. An exchange of fire began, with casualties on both sides. The British Army commander Major Gen. Robert Ross was killed by snipers. The British paused, then continued to march northwestward to face the stationed Maryland and Baltimore City militia units at Godly Wood. The [[Battle of North Point]] was fought for several afternoon hours in a musketry and artillery duel. The British also planned to simultaneously attack Baltimore by water on the following day, although the Royal Navy was unable to reduce [[Fort McHenry]] at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor in support of an attack from the northeast by the British Army.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

The British eventually realized that they could not force the passage to attack Baltimore in coordination with the land force. A last ditch night feint and barge attack during a heavy rain storm was led by Captain [[Charles Napier (Royal Navy officer)|Charles Napier]] around the fort up the Middle Branch of the river to the west. Split and misdirected partly in the storm, it turned back after suffering heavy casualties from the alert gunners of [[Fort Covington]] and Battery Babcock. The British called off the attack and sailed downriver to pick up their army, which had retreated from the east side of Baltimore. All the lights were extinguished in Baltimore the night of the attack, and the fort was bombarded for 25 hours. The only light was given off by the exploding shells over Fort McHenry, illuminating the flag that was still flying over the fort. The defence of the fort inspired the American lawyer [[Francis Scott Key]] to write "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem that was later set to music as "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]".{{sfn|Coleman|2015|pp=599–629}}

=== Southern theatre ===
Because of the region's polyglot population, both the British and the Americans perceived the war in the Gulf South as a fundamentally different conflict from the one occurring in the [[South Carolina Lowcountry|Lowcountry]] and Chesapeake.{{sfn|Millett|2013|p=31}}

==== Creek War ====
{{main|Creek War}}
[[File:Fort Mims massacre 1813.jpg|thumb|left|In 1813, Creek warriors [[Fort Mims massacre|attacked Fort Mims]] and killed 400 to 500 people. The massacre became a rallying point for Americans.]]
Before 1813, the war between the Creeks, or [[Muscogee]], had been largely an internal affair sparked by the ideas of Tecumseh farther north in the Mississippi Valley. A faction known as the [[Red Sticks]], so named for the colour of their war sticks, had broken away from the rest of the Creek Confederacy, which wanted peace with the United States. The Red Sticks were allied with Tecumseh, who had visited the Creeks about a year before 1813 and encouraged greater resistance to the Americans.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|pp=23–25}} The Creek Nation was a trading partner of the United States, actively involved with British and Spanish trade as well. The Red Sticks as well as many southern Muscogee people like the [[Seminole]] had a long history of alliance with the British and Spanish empires.{{sfn|Braund|1993}} This alliance helped the North American and European powers protect each other's claims to territory in the south.{{sfn|Hurt|2002}}

On 27 July the Red Sticks were returning from [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]] with a pack train filled with trade goods and arms when they were [[Battle of Burnt Corn|attacked]] by Americans who made off with their goods. On 30 August 1813, in retaliation for the raid, the Red Sticks, led by chiefs of the Creeks [[William Weatherford|Red Eagle]] and [[Peter McQueen]], attacked [[Fort Mims]] north of [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], the only American-held port in the territory of [[West Florida]]. The attack on Fort Mims resulted in the deaths of 400 refugee settlers, all butchered and scalped, including women and children, and became an ideological rallying point for the Americans.{{sfnm|Waselkov|2009|1pp=116, 225|Hickey|1989|2pp=147–148|Latimer|2007|3p=220}} It prompted the state of Georgia and the Mississippi militia to immediately take major action against Creek offensives. 

The Red Sticks chiefs gained power in the east along the [[Alabama River]], [[Coosa River]] and [[Tallapoosa River]] in the Upper Creek territory. By contrast, the [[Lower Creek]], who lived along the [[Chattahoochee River]], generally opposed the Red Sticks and wanted to remain allied to the U.S. [[Indian agent]] [[Benjamin Hawkins]] recruited Lower Creek to aid the [[United States historical military districts|6th Military District]] under General [[Thomas Pinckney]] and the state militias against the Red Sticks. The United States combined forces were 5,000 troops from East and West Tennessee, with about 200 indigenous allies.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=72}} At its peak, the Red Stick faction had 4,000 warriors, only a quarter of whom had muskets.{{sfn|Adams|1918|p=785}}

The Indian frontier of western [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] was the most vulnerable but was partially fortified already. From November 1813 to January 1814, Georgia's militia{{clarify|date=July 2020}} and auxiliary Federal troops from the [[Muscogee (Creek)|Creek]] and [[Cherokee]] indigenous nations and the states of [[North Carolina]] and [[South Carolina]] organized the fortification of defences along the Chattahoochee River and expeditions into Upper Creek territory in present-day Alabama. The army, led by General [[John Floyd (Georgia politician)|John Floyd]], went to the heart of the Creek Holy Grounds and won a major offensive against one of the largest Creek towns at the [[Battle of Autossee]], killing an estimated two hundred people. In November, the militia of Mississippi with a combined 1,200 troops attacked the Econachca encampment in the [[Battle of Holy Ground]] on the Alabama River.{{sfn|Braund|2012}} Tennessee raised a militia of 5,000 under Major General [[Andrew Jackson]] and Brigadier General [[John Coffee]] and won the battles of [[Battle of Tallushatchee|Tallushatchee]] and [[Battle of Talladega|Talladega]] in November 1813.{{sfn|Remini|2002|pp=70–73}}

Jackson suffered enlistment problems in the winter. He decided to combine his force, composed of Tennessee militia and pro-American Creek, with the Georgia militia. In January, however, the Red Sticks attacked his army at the [[Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek]]. Jackson's troops repelled the attackers, but they were outnumbered and forced to withdraw to his base at [[Fort Strother]].{{sfn|Adams|1918|pp=791–793}}

In January, Floyd's force of 1,300 state militia and 400 Creek moved to join the United States forces in Tennessee, but they were attacked in camp on the Calibee Creek by [[Tukabatchee]] Muscogees on 27 January.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Battle Horseshoe Bend 1814.jpg|thumb|upright|Creek forces were defeated at the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]], bringing an end to the [[Creek War]].]]
Jackson's force increased in numbers with the arrival of United States Army soldiers and a second draft of Tennessee state militia, Cherokee, and pro-American Creek swelled his army to around 5,000. In March 1814, they moved south to attack the Red Sticks.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=213}} On 27 March, Jackson decisively defeated a force of about a thousand Red Sticks at [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Horseshoe Bend]], killing 800 of them at a cost of 49 killed and 154 wounded.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|pp=146–151}}

Jackson then moved his army to [[Fort Jackson (Alabama)|Fort Jackson]] on the Alabama River. He promptly turned on the pro-American Creek who had fought with him and compelled their chieftains, along with a single Red Stick chieftain, to sign the [[Treaty of Fort Jackson]], which forced the Creek tribe as a whole to cede most of western Georgia and part of [[Alabama]] to the U.S. Both Hawkins and the pro-American Creek strongly opposed the treaty, which they regarded as deeply unjust.<ref>Frank L. Owsley Jr., The Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands: The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans, 1812–1815 LibraryPress@UF, Gainesville, Florida, 2017, 87–91</ref> The third clause of the treaty also demanded that the Creek cease communicating with the British and Spanish, and trade only with United States-approved agents.{{sfn|Bunn|Williams|2008}}{{Failed verification|date=July 2024}}
{{clear}}

====Gulf of Mexico coast====
British aid to the Red Sticks arrived after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in April 1814 and after Admiral [[Alexander Cochrane]] assumed command from Admiral Warren in March. Captain Hugh Pigot arrived in May 1814 with two ships to arm the Red Sticks. He thought that some 6,600 warriors could be armed and recruited. It was overly optimistic at best. The Red Sticks were in the process of being destroyed as a military force. Cochrane underestimated Jackson's competence, and was likely unaware of his progress over the Creek, even after his victory.{{sfn|Daughan|2011|pp=371–372}} In April 1814, the British established an outpost on the [[Apalachicola River]] ([[Prospect Bluff Historic Sites]]). Cochrane sent a company of Royal Marines commanded by [[Edward Nicolls]],{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=284}} the vessels {{HMS|Hermes|1811|6}} and {{HMS|Carron|1813|6}} and further supplies to meet the Indians in the region.{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=285}} In addition to training them, Nicolls was tasked to raise a force from escaped slaves as part of the [[Corps of Colonial Marines]].{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=285}}

On 12 July 1814, General Jackson complained to the governor of West Florida, [[Mateo González Manrique]], situated at Pensacola that combatants from the Creek War were being harboured in [[Spanish Florida|Spanish territory]] and made reference to reports of the British presence on Spanish soil. Although he gave an angry reply to Jackson, Manrique was alarmed at the weak position he found himself in and appealed to the British for help. The British were observed docking on August 25 and unloading the following day.{{sfn|Hughes|Brodine|2023|pp=876–879}}

The first engagement of the British and their Creek allies against the Americans on the Gulf of Mexico coast was the 14 September 1814 attack on [[Fort Bowyer]]. Captain William Percy tried to take the United States fort, hoping to then move on Mobile and block United States trade and encroachment on the Mississippi. After the Americans repulsed Percy's forces, the British established a military presence of up to 200 Marines at Pensacola. In November, Jackson's force of 4,000 men [[Battle of Pensacola (1814)|took the town]].{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|1997|pp=409–11}} This underlined the superiority of numbers of Jackson's force in the region.{{sfn|Sugden|1982|p=297}} The United States force moved to New Orleans in late 1814. Jackson's army of 1,000 regulars and 3,000 to 4,000 militia, pirates and other fighters as well as civilians and slaves built fortifications south of the city.{{sfn|Tucker et al.|2012|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hVSrJBQYAk8C&pg=PA229 229]}}

American forces under General James Wilkinson, himself a paid Spanish secret agent,{{sfn|McPherson|2013|p=699}} took the Mobile area from the Spanish in March 1813. This region was the rump of Spanish West Florida, the western portion of which had been annexed to the United States in 1810. The Americans built Fort Bowyer, a log and earthen-work fort with 14 guns, on [[Mobile Point]] to defend it.{{sfn|Chartrand|2012|p=27}} Major Latour opined that none of the three forts in the area were capable of resisting a siege.<ref>Latour (1816), p.7 '[[Fort St. Philip|Fort Plaquemines]], that of [[Fort Pike|Petites Coquilles]], and fort Bowyer at Mobile point, were the only advanced points fortified; and none of them capable of standing a regular siege.'</ref>

At the end of 1814, the British launched a double offensive in the South weeks before the Treaty of Ghent was signed. On the Atlantic coast, Admiral [[Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet|George Cockburn]] was to close the [[Intracoastal Waterway]] trade and land [[Royal Marine]] battalions to advance through Georgia to the western territories. While on the [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf]] coast, Admiral Alexander Cochrane moved on the new state of Louisiana and the [[Mississippi Territory]]. Cochrane's ships reached the Louisiana coast on 9 December and Cockburn arrived in Georgia on 14 December.{{sfn|Owsley|2000}}

[[File:BattleofNewOrleans2.jpg|thumb|American forces repelled a British [[Battle of New Orleans|assault on New Orleans]] in January 1815. The battle occurred before news of a peace treaty reached the United States.]]

The British army had the objective of gaining control of the entrance of the Mississippi.{{sfn|Grodzinski|2011a|p=1}} To this end, an expeditionary force of 8,000 troops{{sfn|Hughes|Brodine|2023|p=929}} under General [[Edward Pakenham]] attacked Jackson's prepared defences in New Orleans on 8 January 1815. The Battle of New Orleans was an American victory, as the British failed to take the fortifications on the East Bank. The British attack force suffered high casualties, including 291 dead, 1,262 wounded and 484 captured or missing{{sfnm|1a1=Reilly|1y=1974|1pp=303, 306}}{{sfn|Remini|1999|p=167}} whereas American casualties were light with 13 dead, 39 wounded and 19 missing,{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=285}} according to the respective official casualty returns. This battle was hailed as a great victory across the United States, making Jackson a national hero and eventually propelling him to the presidency.{{sfn|Remini|1999|pp=136–83}}{{sfn|Stewart|2005|pp=144–146}} In January 1815 Fort St. Philip endured [[Siege of Fort St. Philip (1815)|ten days of bombardment]] from two [[bomb vessel]]s of the Royal Navy. [[Robert V. Remini]] believes this was preventing the British moving their fleet up the Mississippi in support of the land attack.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=288}}

After deciding further attacks would be too costly and unlikely to succeed, the British troops withdrew on 18 January.{{sfn|Gleig|1836|p=344}} However, adverse winds slowed the evacuation operation and it was not until 27 January 1815 that the [[Battle of New Orleans British order of battle|land forces]] rejoined the fleet, allowing for its final departure.{{sfn|Remini|1999|p=181}} After New Orleans, the British moved to take Mobile as a base for further operations.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|p=36}} In preparation, General [[John Lambert (British Army officer)|John Lambert]] laid siege to Fort Bowyer taking it on 12 February 1815. However HMS ''[[HMS Brazen (1808)|Brazen]]'' brought news of the Treaty of Ghent the next day and the British abandoned the Gulf Coast.{{sfn|Frazer|Carr Laughton|1930|p=294}} This ending of the war prevented the capture of Mobile, and any renewed attacks on New Orleans.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|p=36}}

Meanwhile, in January 1815, Cockburn succeeded in blockading the southeastern coast of Georgia by occupying [[Camden County, Georgia|Camden County]]. The British quickly took [[Cumberland Island, Georgia|Cumberland Island]], [[Battle of Fort Peter|Fort Point Peter]] and Fort St. Tammany in a decisive victory. Under the orders of his commanding officers, Cockburn's forces relocated many refugee slaves, capturing [[St. Simons, Georgia|St. Simons]] Island as well to do so. He had orders to recruit as many runaway slaves into the Corps of Colonial Marines as possible and use them to conduct raids in Georgia and the Carolinas.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|pp=29–30}} Cockburn also provided thousands of muskets and carbines and a huge quantity of ammunition to the Creeks and Seminole Indians for the same purpose.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|pp=32–33}} During the invasion of the Georgia coast, an estimated 1,485 people chose to relocate to British territories or join the British military. However, by mid-March, several days after being informed of the Treaty of Ghent, British ships left the area.{{sfn|Bullard|1983|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}

The British government did not recognize either West Florida or New Orleans as American territory. The historian Frank Owsley suggests that they might have used a victory at New Orleans to demand further concessions from the U.S.{{sfn|Owsley|1972|pp=36–37}} However, subsequent research in the correspondence of British ministers at the time suggests otherwise.{{sfnm|Latimer|2007|1pp=401-402|2a1=Carr|2y=1979|3a1=Eustace|3y=2012|3p=293}} with specific reference to correspondence from the Prime Minister to the [[Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh|Foreign Secretary]] dated 23 December 1814.{{sfn|British Foreign Policy Documents|p=495}} West Florida was the only territory permanently gained by the United States during the war.{{sfn|Introduction: War of 1812}}

===The war at sea===
====Background====
[[File:A View of Halifax - Thomas Davies.jpg|thumb|The Royal Navy's [[North America and West Indies Station|North American squadron]] was based in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]] and [[Bermuda]]. At the start of the war, the squadron had one [[ship of the line]], seven [[frigate]]s, nine [[Sloop-of-war|sloops]] as well as [[brig]]s and [[schooner]]s.{{sfn|Gwyn|2003|p=134}}]]

In 1812, Britain's Royal Navy was the world's largest and most powerful navy, with over 600 vessels in commission, following the defeat of the French Navy at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] in 1805.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=21}} Most of these ships were employed blockading the French navy and protecting British trade against French privateers, but the Royal Navy still had 85 vessels in American waters, counting all North American and Caribbean waters.{{efn|Admiralty reply to British press criticism.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=180}}}} However, the Royal Navy's North American squadron was the most immediately available force, based in Halifax and [[Bermuda]] (two of the colonies that made up [[British North America]]), and numbered one small [[ship of the line]] and seven frigates as well as nine smaller [[Sloop-of-war|sloops]] and brigs and five [[schooner]]s.{{sfn|Gwyn|2003|p=134}} By contrast, the entire United States Navy was composed of 8 frigates, 14 smaller sloops and brigs, with no ships of the line. The United States had embarked on a major shipbuilding program before the war at Sackett's Harbor to provide ships for use on the Great Lakes, and continued to produce new ships.

==== Opening strategies ====
The British strategy was to protect their own merchant shipping between Halifax and the West Indies, with the order given on 13 October 1812 to enforce a blockade of major American ports to restrict American trade.{{sfn|Arthur|2011|p=73}}

Because of their numerical inferiority, the American strategy was to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics such as the capturing prizes and engaging Royal Navy vessels only under favourable circumstances.

Days after the formal declaration of war, the United States put out two small squadrons, including the frigate ''President'' and the sloop {{USS|Hornet|1805|2}} under Commodore [[John Rodgers (1772–1838)|John Rodgers]] and the frigates ''United States'' and {{USS|Congress|1799|2}}, with the brig {{USS|Argus|1803|2}} under Captain [[Stephen Decatur]]. These were initially concentrated as one unit under Rodgers, who intended to force the Royal Navy to concentrate its own ships to prevent isolated units being captured by his powerful force.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Large numbers of American merchant ships were returning to the United States with the outbreak of war and the Royal Navy could not watch all the ports on the American seaboard if they were concentrated together. Rodgers' strategy worked in that the Royal Navy concentrated most of its frigates off [[New York Harbor]] under Captain [[Philip Broke]], allowing many American ships to reach home. However, Rodgers' own cruise captured only five small merchant ships, and the Americans never subsequently concentrated more than two or three ships together as a unit.{{sfn|Black|2008}}

==== Single-ship actions ====
[[File:USS Constitution vs Guerriere.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Constitution}} defeats {{HMS|Guerriere|1806|6}} in a [[USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere|single-ship engagement]]. The battle was an important victory for American morale.]]

The more recently built frigates of the US Navy were intended to overmatch their opponents. The United States did not believe that it could build a large enough navy to contest with the Royal Navy in fleet actions. Therefore, where it could be done, individual ships were built to be tougher, larger, and carry more firepower than their equivalents in European navies.{{efn|"They are superior to any European frigate," Humphreys wrote of the design he had in mind, "and if others should be in [the enemy's] company, our frigates can always lead ahead and never be obliged to go into action, but on their own terms, except in a calm; in blowing weather our ships are capable of engaging to advantage double-deck ships." In another design Humphreys proposed "such frigates as in blowing weather would be an overmatch for double-deck ships, and in light winds evade coming into action."{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=419–420}} }} The newest three 44-gun ships were designed with a 24-pounder main battery. These frigates were intended to demolish the 36- to 38-gun (18-pounder) armed frigates that formed the majority of the world's navies, while being able to evade larger ships.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=50}} Similarly the Wasp class ship-sloops were an over-match to the Cruizer class brigs being employed by the British. The Royal Navy, maintaining more than 600 ships in fleets and stations worldwide, was overstretched and undermanned; most British ships enforcing the blockade were (with a few notable exceptions) less practiced than the crews of the smaller US Navy.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=372}}{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=418–419}}{{sfn|James|1817}}{{sfn|Roosevelt|1904|p=257}}{{efn|With sufficient training and drilling gunnery could be improved, but there was no immediate solution for the lack of crew numbers on British ships. There were six hundred ships in service, manned by only 140,000 seamen and marines. Subsequently the Royal Navy was spread out thin which compromised a crew's overall efficiency and could not rival the quality and efficiency of the crews employed in the smaller, all-volunteer U.S. Navy.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=382}} }} This meant that in single-ship actions the Royal Navy ships often found themselves against larger ships with larger crews, who were better drilled, as intended by the US planners.{{efn|Admiral Warren was evidently concerned, because he circulated a standing order, on March 6, directing his commanders to give priority to "the good discipline and the proper training of their Ships Companies to the expert management of the Guns." All officers and seamen on the North American station were urged to keep in mind "that the issue of the Battle will greatly depend on the cool, steady and regular manner in which the Guns shall be loaded, pointed & fired." Two weeks later, the Admiralty issued a circular to all the British admirals, discouraging the daily "spit and polish" scouring of the brasswork and directing that "the time thrown away on this unnecessary practice be applied to the really useful and important points of discipline and exercise at Arms."{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=418}} }}

However naval ships do not fight as individuals by the code of the [[duel]], they are national instruments of war, and are used as such. The Royal Navy counted on its numbers, experience, and traditions to overcome the individually superior vessels. As the US Navy found itself mostly blockaded by the end of the war, the Royal Navy was correct.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/war-of-1812|title=Milestones: 1801–1829 – Office of the Historian|website=history.state.gov}}</ref> For all the fame that these actions received, they in no way affected the outcome of the results of Atlantic theatre of War. The final count of frigates lost was three on each side, with most of the US Navy blockaded in port.{{efn|Compared to other nations, the British navy had mastered the practice of employing blockades, which severely compromised an enemy's freedom of movement, supply lines, and economic vitality. It also protected their commercial shipping by preventing enemy privateers and cruisers from going out to sea and capturing prizes.  Britain's ten-year-old commercial and military blockade of continental Europe had largely succeeded in its twin goals of interdicting most seagoing commerce while keeping the French navy imprisoned in its ports. It was therefore to be expected that the main thrust of British naval strategy during the war was the employment of blockades along the American coast.{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=419–420}} }} During the war, the United States Navy captured 165 British merchantmen (although privateers captured many more) while the Royal Navy captured 1,400 American merchantmen.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}} More significantly, the British blockade of the Atlantic coast caused the majority of warships to be unable to put to sea and shut down both American imports and exports.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=220}}{{efn|The tightening grip of the British blockade was beginning to take a severe economic toll on communities throughout the country. The drain on the treasury remained a pressing concern, and the Republican-dominated Congress finally recognized the need for more tax revenue; a new levy fell on licences, carriages, auctions, sugar refineries, and salt.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=455}} }}

Notable single-ship engagements include [[USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere|USS ''Constitution'' vs HMS ''Guerriere'']] on 19 August 1812,{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=385}} [[USS United States vs HMS Macedonian|USS ''United States'' vs HMS ''Macedonian'']] on 25 October,{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=397}} USS ''Constitution'' vs [[HMS Java (1811)|HMS ''Java'']] on 29–30 December,{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=848}}{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=377}} [[Capture of USS Chesapeake|''HMS Shannon'' vs USS ''Chesapeake'']] on 1 June 1813 (the bloodiest such action of the war),{{sfn|Toll|2006|pp=411–415}} [[Battle of Valparaíso|HMS ''Phoebe'' vs USS ''Essex'']] on 28 March 1814,{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=253}} [[Capture of USS President|HMS ''Endymion'' vs USS ''President'']] on 15 January 1815.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|pp=368–373}}

In single ship battles, superior force was the most significant factor. In response to the majority of the American ships being of greater force than the British ships of the same class, Britain constructed five 40-gun, 24-pounder heavy frigates{{sfn|Gardiner|1998|p=162}} and two "spar-decked" frigates (the 60-gun {{HMS|Leander|1813|6}} and {{HMS|Newcastle|1813|6}}) and others.{{sfn|Gardiner|1998|pp=163–164}} To counter the American sloops of war, the British constructed the {{sclass|Cyrus|ship-sloop}} of 22 guns. The British Admiralty also instituted a new policy that the three American heavy frigates should not be engaged except by a ship of the line or frigates in squadron strength.{{efn|The superior force and scantlings of the American 44-gun frigates, now denounced as "disguised ships of the line," prompted the Admiralty to issue a "Secret & Confidential" order to all station chiefs prohibiting single-frigate engagements with the Constitution, President, or United States. A lone British frigate was henceforth ordered to flee from the big American frigates, or (if it could be done safely) to shadow them at a prudent distance, remaining out of cannon-shot range, until reinforcements.{{sfn|Toll|2006|p=383}} }}

The United States Navy's smaller ship-sloops had also won several victories over Royal Navy sloops-of-war, again of smaller armament. The American sloops ''Hornet'', {{USS|Wasp|1807|3}}, {{USS|Peacock|1813|2}}, {{USS|Wasp|1813|3}} and {{USS|Frolic|1813|2}} were all [[full-rigged ship|ship]]-rigged while the British {{sclass|Cruizer|brig-sloop|0}} sloops that they encountered were brig-rigged, which gave the Americans a significant advantage. Ship rigged vessels are more manoeuvrable in battle because they have a wider variety of sails and thus being more resistant to damage. Ship-rigged vessels can back sail, literally backing up or heave to (stop).{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|James|1817|p={{page needed|date=April 2021}}}}{{sfn|Gardiner|2000|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}{{efn|More significantly, if some spars are shot away on a brig because it is more difficult to wear and the brig loses the ability to steer while a ship could adjust its more diverse canvas to compensate for the imbalance caused by damage in battle.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=138}} Furthermore, ship-rigged vessels with three masts simply have more masts to shoot away than brigs with two masts before the vessel is unmanageable.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|p=138}}{{sfn|James|1817|p={{page needed|date=April 2021}}}}}}

==== Privateering ====
[[File:Clipper Built Privateer Schooner.gif|thumb|[[Baltimore Clipper]]s were a series of schooners used by American [[privateers]] during the war.]]
The operations of American [[privateer]]s proved a more significant threat to British trade than the United States Navy. They operated throughout the Atlantic until the close of the war, most notably from Baltimore. American privateers reported taking 1300 British merchant vessels, compared to 254 taken by the United States Navy,{{sfn|American Merchant Marine}}{{sfn|Franklin}}{{sfn|Brewer|2004}} although the insurer [[Lloyd's of London]] reported that only 1,175 British ships were taken, 373 of which were recaptured, for a total loss of 802.{{sfn|Latimer|2007|p=242}} Canadian historian Carl Benn wrote that American privateers took 1,344 British ships, of which 750 were retaken by the British.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}} The British tried to limit privateering losses by the strict enforcement of [[convoy]] by the Royal Navy{{sfn|Kert|2015|p=146}} and directly by blockading coastal waterways and capturing 278 American privateers. Due to the massive size of the British merchant fleet, American captures only affected 7.5% of the fleet, resulting in no supply shortages or lack of reinforcements for British forces in North America.{{sfn|Lambert|2012|pp=394–395}} Of 526 American privateers, 148 were captured by the Royal Navy and only 207 ever took a prize.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}}

Due to the large size of their navy, the British did not rely as much on privateering. The majority of the 1,407 captured American merchant ships were taken by the Royal Navy. The war was the last time the British allowed privateering, since the practice was coming to be seen as politically inexpedient and of diminishing value in maintaining its naval supremacy. However, privateering remained popular in British colonies. It was the last hurrah for privateers in the insular [[British North America]]n colony of Bermuda who vigorously returned to the practice with experience gained in previous wars.<ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine=The Bermudian |title=Bermuda in the Privateering Business |first=Lieutenant-Colonel A. Gavin |last=Shorto |date=2018-04-05 |access-date=2023-11-26 |url=https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/bermuda-in-the-privateering-business |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |publisher=The Bermudian |archive-date=17 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217122822/https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/bermuda-in-the-privateering-business/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=In the Eye of All Trade: Bermuda, Bermudians, and the Maritime Atlantic World, 1680–1783 |first=Michael |last=Jarvis |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill |date=2010}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Bermuda's Sailors of Fortune |first=Sister Jean de Chantal |last=Kennedy |publisher=Bermuda Historical Society |date=1963 |asin=B0007J8WMW}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Tidewater Triumph: The Development and Worldwide Success of the Chesapeake Bay Pilot Schooner |first=Geoffrey |last=Footner |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |date=1998 |isbn=978-0870335112}}</ref> The nimble [[Bermuda sloop]]s captured 298 American ships.{{sfn|Stranack|1990|p=23}} Privateer schooners based in continental British North America, especially from [[Nova Scotia]], took 250 American ships and proved especially effective in crippling American coastal trade and capturing American ships closer to shore than the Royal Navy's cruisers.{{sfn|Faye|1997|p=171}}

==== British blockade ====
[[File:Principal Campaigns of the War of 1812.gif|upright|thumb|British naval strategy was to protect their shipping in North America and enforce a naval blockade on the United States.]]

The [[Blockade|naval blockade]] of the United States began informally in the late fall of 1812. Under the command of British Admiral [[John Borlase Warren]], it extended from South Carolina to Florida.{{sfn|Arthur|2011|p=73}} It expanded to cut off more ports as the war progressed. Twenty ships were on station in 1812 and 135 were in place by the end of the conflict. In March 1813, the Royal Navy punished the Southern states, who were most vocal about annexing British North America, by blockading [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[Port Royal, South Carolina|Port Royal]], [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]], and [[New York City]] as well. Additional ships were sent to North America in 1813 and the Royal Navy tightened and extended the blockade, first to the coast south of [[Narragansett, Rhode Island|Narragansett]] by November 1813 and to the entire American coast on 31 May 1814.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}}{{sfnm|1a1=Hickey|1y=1989|1p=152 |2a1=Daughan|2y=2011|2pp=151–152 |3a1=Lambert|3y=2012|3p=399}} In May 1814, following the abdication of Napoleon and the end of the supply problems with Wellington's army, New England was blockaded.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=214}}

The British needed American foodstuffs for their army in Spain and benefited from trade with New England, so they did not at first blockade New England.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=55}} The [[Delaware River]] and Chesapeake Bay were declared in a state of blockade on 26 December 1812. Illicit trade was carried on by collusive captures arranged between American traders and British officers. American ships were fraudulently transferred to neutral flags. Eventually, the United States government was driven to issue orders to stop illicit trading. This put only a further strain on the commerce of the country. The British fleet occupied the Chesapeake Bay and attacked and destroyed numerous docks and harbours.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=849}} The effect was that no foreign goods could enter the United States on ships and only smaller fast boats could attempt to get out. The cost of shipping became very expensive as a result.{{sfn|Hickey|2012|p=153}}{{efn|"The British blockade had a crushing effect on American foreign trade. "Commerce is becoming very slack," reported a resident of Baltimore in the spring of 1813: "no arrivals from abroad, & nothing going to sea but sharp [that is fast] vessels." By the end of the year, the sea lanes had become so dangerous that merchants wishing to sell goods had to shell out 50 percent of the value of the ship and cargo."{{sfn|Hickey|2012|p=153}}}}

The blockade of American ports later tightened to the extent that most American merchant ships and naval vessels were confined to port. The American frigates {{USS|United States}} and {{USS|Macedonian}} ended the war blockaded and [[hulk (ship type)|hulked]] in [[New London, Connecticut]].{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=55–56}} USS ''United States'' and USS ''Macedonian'' attempted to set sail to raid British shipping in the Caribbean, but were forced to turn back when confronted with a British squadron, and by the end of the war, the United States had six frigates and four ships-of-the-line sitting in port.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=56}} Some merchant ships were based in Europe or Asia and continued operations. Others, mainly from New England, were issued licences to trade by Admiral Warren, commander in chief on the American station in 1813. This allowed Wellington's army in Spain to receive American goods and to maintain the New Englanders' [[Opposition to the War of 1812 in the United States|opposition to the war]]. The blockade nevertheless decreased American exports from $130&nbsp;million in 1807 to $7&nbsp;million in 1814. Most exports were goods that ironically went to supply their enemies in Britain or the British colonies.{{sfn|Leckie|1998|p=255}} The blockade had a devastating effect on the American economy with the value of American exports and imports falling from $114&nbsp;million in 1811 down to $20&nbsp;million by 1814 while the United States Customs took in $13&nbsp;million in 1811 and $6&nbsp;million in 1814, even though the Congress had voted to double the rates.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=56–57}} The British blockade further damaged the American economy by forcing merchants to abandon the cheap and fast coastal trade to the slow and more expensive inland roads.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=57}} In 1814, only 1 out of 14 American merchantmen risked leaving port as it was likely that any ship leaving port would be seized.{{sfnm|Benn|2002|1p=57|Riggs|2015|2pp=1446–1449}}

As the Royal Navy base that supervised the blockade, Halifax profited greatly during the war. From there, British privateers seized and sold many French and American ships. More than a hundred prize vessels were anchored in [[St. George's Harbour, Bermuda|St. George's Harbour]] awaiting condemnation by the Admiralty Court when a hurricane struck in 1815, sinking roughly sixty of the vessels.{{sfn|Stranack|1990|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}

=== Freeing and recruiting slaves ===
[[File:Gabriel Hall, Nova Scotia.png|thumb|upright|The only known photograph of a [[Black Refugee (War of 1812)|Black Refugee]], {{Circa|1890}}. During the war, a number of African Americans slaves escaped aboard British ships, settling in Canada (mainly in Nova Scotia){{sfn|Whitfield|2006|p=25}} or Trinidad.]]

The British Royal Navy's blockades and raids allowed about 4,000 African Americans to escape [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] by fleeing American [[plantation]]s aboard British ships. American slaves near to the British military rebelled against their masters and made their way to British encampments. The migrants who settled in Canada were known as the [[Black Refugee (War of 1812)|Black Refugees]]. The blockading British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay received increasing numbers of freed slaves during 1813. By British government order, they were considered free persons when they reached British hands.{{sfn|Weiss|2013}}{{sfn|Malcomson|2012|p=366}}

Alexander Cochrane's [[Black Refugee (War of 1812)|proclamation]] of 2 April 1814 invited Americans who wished to emigrate to join the British. Although it did not explicitly mention slaves, it was taken by all as addressed to them. About 2,400 escaped slaves and their families were transported by the Royal Navy to the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|Royal Naval Dockyard]] at Bermuda (where they were employed on works about the yard and organized as a militia to aid in the defence of the yard), Nova Scotia and [[New Brunswick]] during and after the war. Starting in May 1814, younger male volunteers were recruited into a new Corps of Colonial Marines. They fought for Britain throughout the Atlantic campaign, including the Battle of Bladensburg, the attacks on Washington, D.C., and the Battle of Baltimore, before withdrawing to Bermuda with the rest of the British forces. They were later settled in [[Trinidad]] after having rejected orders for transfer to the [[West India Regiments]], forming the community of the [[Merikins]] (none of the freed slaves remained in Bermuda after the war). These escaped slaves represented the largest emancipation of African Americans prior to the [[American Civil War]].{{sfn|Bermingham|2003}}{{sfn|Black Sailors Soldiers|2012}}{{sfn|''The Royal Gazette'' 2016}} Britain paid the United States for the financial loss of the slaves at the end of the war.{{sfn|Taylor|2010|p=432}}