CHAPTER XVII

THE WAR OF 1812

ENGLAND'S conduct caused many Americans to cry out for vengeance; but the men who directed the government were

Rise of the

war hawks "

against war. Jeffer

son, Madison, and their leading advisers had seen the dark days of the revolution. They remembered how hard it was to win independence, and feared to imperil it by beginning a war we might not win. It was better, they said, to endure insults a little longer. But there were many young men in the country who did not share their feeling of caution. They believed that we could defeat England, and demanded that we should give her fair warning, and then declare war if she did not relax her hard treatment. The older leaders pronounced these arguments rash, and dubbed the young men "war hawks"; but the people were pleased, and in 1810 so many of the "war hawks" were elected to congress that they were able to control its action. By reason of our peculiar

James Madison

system they did not take their seats until late in 1811, but from that time the attitude of our government was warlike.

Madison himself became alarmed, as well he might be, for 1812 was an election year. He could not hope to be reëlected if he clung to the policy Madison's

of peace at any change of price. After a while position

he began to favor the war party, and soon afterwards the leaders of the war party announced that they were for Madison's reëlection. Among the young men who now took a strong hold on public affairs the most prominent were Henry Clay, of Kentucky; Grundy, of Tennessee; Peter B. Porter, of New York; and three promising young men from South Carolina, -Calhoun, Lowndes, and Cheves.

The rise of the war feeling in the United States was known

in England. The England ministers there did relents

not wish war with us, but they knew how pacific Madison was, and they thought they could do as they wished without arousing him to the fighting point. Now that the "war hawks" were in control these ministers began to show more courtesy. When they heard that congress had passed laws to raise a larger army and were about to order new ships for the navy, they knew the situation was serious. Then they began to talk of repealing their restrictions on American trade. June 16, 1812, they announced that the restrictions would

be withdrawn, and a week later the withdrawal was actually made.

War declared

If a cable had connected the two countries, the war of 1812 would probably have been avoided. As it was, the American congress passed a declaration of war on June 18, two days after the British ministry had given notice that they would repeal the chief cause of the war, the restrictions on our commerce. When the British heard that we had declared war in spite of their yielding, they thought that we might be induced to make peace without beginning to fight; but the American people were so thoroughly aroused that they would not think of peace. Great Britain was then straining every nerve to defeat Napoleon, and did not want war with the United States.

Our attack on Canada

Most Americans believed that Canada could be taken in a few months. England was not able to spare from the war beyond the Atlantic enough troops to hold the country against a strong army from our side of the Great Lakes, and Canada herself was thinly settled. It seemed certain, therefore, that we should soon carry our boundaries far northward. Throughout the three years of the war we made our greatest efforts on this boundary. At first we were badly beaten, and then we were able to hold our own, but during the war we were not able to carry on a successful campaign in Canada itself. The cause of this failure was the weak organization of the American army and the poor commanders placed at its head. The soldiers were raw militia who had not been trained to serve against seasoned troops. The officers were appointed through political influence and knew not what a battle was like. As the war progressed the men learned better the business of the soldier. The good officers in the lower grades were gradually promoted to higher command, while the older commanders lost enough battles to insure their dismissal from high places. the war lasted another year, the army would probably have given a better account of itself.

The army

Had

Our navy

The second place at which we sought to injure our enemy was on the sea. England had many times as many ships as we, and she had swept her enemies from the seas in Europe so completely that she could send a large number of ships into American waters. But when the war began, she did not expect severe fighting from Americans and carelessly allowed her inferior vessels to meet us. The result was a series of brilliant American victories which opened the eyes of Englishmen. The

first was the victory of the Constitution, commanded by Isaac Hull, over the Guerrière, a British ship which had become noted for impressments of American sailors. The American vessel was a little the larger, but Hull fought with fine skill and courage. No other antagonist, it was said, had ever overcome a British ship on the same conditions. As news of victory after victory came in, American pride in the navy reached high pitch, and before the war ended congress ordered that many new ships be built.

The American victories put England on her mettle, and she sent out her best ships. One of them was the Shannon, whose

A

captain burned to redeem the honor of the British navy. He waited outside of Boston harbor until he met the American ship Chesapeake, commanded by Captain Lawrence. battle followed, in which Lawrence was defeated and killed. He was not prepared for battle, and should have avoided it; but he was too bold to run away. His last words as he

The navy checked

was carried below, mortally wounded, were "Don't give up the ship"; and they became the motto of the navy in many a campaign. By 1813 the British had many ships in America, and they blockaded our ports so closely that our navy was able to do nothing more on the sea during the war.

On the Lakes, however, the American navy won two im

On Lake
Erie

portant victories. One was in 1813 on

Lake Erie, when Perry, who had worked night and day to build his ships, met a British squadron and defeated it by hard fighting. The British ships were destroyed, cap

tured, or driven into hiding, and the American flag went where it

The result was that the British

would over all parts of the lake. could not hold their forts at the western end of the lake, and all the region round Detroit fell into American hands. The other victory was won on Lake Champlain in 1814. The British had invaded upper New York with a great army, hoping to cut off New England from the rest of the country