War of 1812
After the American Revolution, Americans had
learned and tried to stay out of foreign quarrels. Unfortunately the Americans couldn't catch a break, due to the British capturing American ships, and the British holding territory that isn't theirs. Although their was also a third reason, many Americans wanted Indian Land but the British in their western forts had become friends and protectors of the Indians. Americans could take no more, after getting everyone to agree, war was declared against Great Britain on June 18, 1812. Although it is call the War of 1812, the war really lasted from 1812-1815. Riots broke out due to the war in Baltimore in protest of the war. The Americans tried many times to invade Canada but failed almost every time. In 1813 Americans capture and burn the city of York (present day Toronto), which then led to the British burning the city of Washington, D.C. The British not only burned the Capitol but the White House, the Library of Congress, and the Congress Building. The most famous battle of the war took place in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 13, 1814. It was on that day that General Robert Ross led the British warships as they began to attack the Americans at Fort McHenry in attempt to take over the Baltimore harbor. After 25 hours of the British attempting to demolish Fort McHenry, they had given up and the Americans had won. But what make this battle famous from all the rest? Well a 30 by 42 foot American flag was raised during the battle over Fort McHenry, and withstood various cannon and gunfire attacks from the British until the very end of the battle. Francis Scott Key , a lawyer from Baltimore, witnessed the attack and wrote the National Anthem also known as "The Star Spangled Banner", which is a reason this attack is so famous. The War of 1812 ended in peace. The treaty of Ghent signed on December 24, 1814 in Ghent Belgium returned all territorial conquests made by the two sides. It did not address the issue of impressment, one of the major causes of the war. The importance of the War of 1812 is not known by many but should be. |