#WarOf1812

[whencyclopedia]

Battle of the Thames

The Battle of the Thames (5 October 1813), or the Battle of Moraviantown, was a decisive engagement in the War of 1812, in which a US army under General William Henry Harrison defeated a British and Native American force in Upper Canada. The battle resulted in the death of the Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh and the dissolution of his intertribal confederacy.

Battle of the Thames

William Emmons (Public Domain)

Background: The Struggle for Michigan

On 16 August 1812, less than two months after the War of 1812 had been declared, the British captured the major US outpost of Fort Detroit without a fight, giving them control of the entire Michigan Territory. This decisive victory could not have been achieved without the help of several northwestern Native American nations, who had sided with the British in order to resist the aggressive westward expansion of the United States. Under the charismatic leadership of the Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh, these Native American nations were in the process of joining together in a new intertribal confederacy, with the goal of recovering lands they had lost to the US after the disastrous Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794). Britain was eager to support this new confederacy, viewing it as a potential buffer state between the US and Canada, and promised to help set up the Native Americans on lands west of the Ohio River.

The United States, anxious as it was to prevent a hostile, British-backed Native American confederacy from arising on its western frontier, was determined to nip the threat in the bud by reconquering Michigan. This task was allotted to Major General William Henry Harrison, the popular hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe, and his newly formed Army of the Northwest, comprised mainly of volunteers from Kentucky and Ohio. In early October 1812, Harrison set out towards Detroit, but his progress was hindered by poor logistics and bad weather. Forced into winter quarters by January 1813, Harrison faced additional difficulties when the leading column of his army – at the small settlement of Frenchtown, Michigan, on the River Raisin – was attacked and defeated by a British and Native American force. After the battle, the British soldiers withdrew to Detroit, taking their able-bodied captives but leaving behind those Kentuckian prisoners who were too wounded to walk. When night fell, many of these wounded Kentuckians were massacred by Potawatomi warriors allied with the British, who desired vengeance for their villages that had been burned by Harrison's army during its advance through Ohio.

Harrison, upon learning of the defeat at the Battle of the River Raisin, withdrew the rest of his army to the Maumee River, where he hastily built Fort Meigs in February 1813. For the next several months, the Army of the Northwest remained holed up in the fort, even withstanding a brief siege in May. Before he could continue his advance toward Detroit, Harrison knew that the Americans needed to gain control of Lake Erie; possession of the lake would allow them to more easily reinforce and resupply their army in Michigan. With this goal in mind, the Americans built nine vessels on the lake, which were placed under the overall command of Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry.

The Battle of Lake Erie

Julian Oliver Davidson (Public Domain)

In late August, Perry moved his naval squadron to Put-in-Bay, Ohio, a position from which he could blockade the main British outpost along the lake, at Amherstburg in Upper Canada (present-day Southern Ontario). A squadron of six British ships, under Robert Heriot Barclay, sailed out to meet this threat, culminating in the Battle of Lake Erie (10 September 1813), in which Perry prevailed, capturing the British vessels; as Perry himself would put it in his report to Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." With the Americans in control of Lake Erie, Harrison was free to resume his advance toward Detroit. In mid-September, his army marched into Michigan along the lakeshore, supplied by Perry's victorious ships in the lake.

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[joyfultunes]

Reading Adventures

I finished Perilous Fight by Stephan Budiansky. I enjoyed it, although the writing style drove me a little crazy. He clearly researched this era thoroughly. I learned a lot about this war and enjoyed the discussion.

[dallas-pioneer]

[albertocajiao]

Blastin - - - #photographer #warof1812 #canada #filmphoto #gobrokeshootfilm #lomography #35mmfilm (at Niagara Falls, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CinsLC8pGzn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sfc-paulchambers]

12-14 SEPTEMBER 1814 - BATTLE OF BALTIMORE - #Warof1812 On the morning of 12 September 1814, a British invasion force of three infantry brigades, about 3,000 battle-hardened veterans, supported by several pieces of artillery encountered a brigade consisting of about 4,500 Maryland militia soldiers landed at North Point. Acting as the covering force for the main line of defenses outside of Baltimore, the American troops executed a delaying action that yielded ground grudgingly as they retreated. Expecting to rout the American militia as they had done at Bladensburg before capturing Washington, DC, only a few weeks before, the determined stand by these militiamen caused the British commanders to cancel their planned main attack on the city two days later. After their fleet failed to bombard Fort McHenry into submission and sail into the harbor to outflank Baltimore's line of defensive trenches, the British commanders saw that the planned ground attack was hopeless. DID YOU KNOW: The 1814 Battle of Baltimore included a land-battle at North Point. The British attack on Fort McHenry was part of the naval-phase of the battle. The 175th Infantry of the Maryland Army National Guard carries the lineage and honors of the 5th Maryland Volunteer Militia Infantry Regiment of the War of 1812 The original title of "The Star Spangled Banner" was "The Defense of Fort McHenry." #Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #Forscom #MilitaryHistory #Baltimore #BattleofBaltimore #warof1812 U.S. Army U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Secretary of the Army U.S. Army Chief of Staff #repostedfrom @armyhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CidZ7NaO5iB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[malialaka]

@natgeo magazine. Good reads. See Captain Potter made it to Nuku Hiva island , 3 Ahupuaa tribes fighting of whos in charge, The Hapa Tribe was demolished by Captain Potter who “helped “…American gives a paragraph in Elementary History of #warof1812 . But Im Kauaian and that land that the #HapaTrail is rennacted with prayer of the dead due to the survivors arriving to Kauai of the #pokii line is in #koloa where my grandparents retold me the story in their process of @alohaalliance #homeschooling . When the Briton “American” arrived to Kaua’i they were abruptly met e #luahine and they didn’t do a welcoming protocol, upon the arrival of the Brits she massacred men mid battle For a #scorchingtheearth war of coconut tree’s taken fown in Nukuhiva, Cook Islands, and Marquesas that already started …Brits where coming around into a jealousy battle over Kingdom-State results happening simultaneously on multiple Chiefdoms. They dubbed her “ma- eater”. Kaua’i mourns the Happa tribe and a trail runs a procession from the valley out towards the sea along side #pauolaka #koloafieldsystem flood zone of sweet potatoes and food storage for welcoming guests, @malamamahaulepu @kaneiolouma #waiohai and #punaloa into #poipubeach . Because of Potters choices, #tedpuakinikiniblake , #randywickman , #stellaburgess , #malialaka #kalama #mederios and the #punalineage and more took on court cases to fight year after year to preserve temples and trails. Potter like most of the men, took chifesses of harams and turned them into wife-slaves , the individual female high priestesses names Pili, Papa, Haram then were flipped to from regents to the word “ problem”, “male master headquarters” , “prostitution”. British got word a make Btit Captain decided to name him self “King” from the actual “Quing Dynasty” of Yuxhina and Victoria set out Aboriginal and a PP indigenous protection Act. There after many followed. There are other Polynesian lines that carry this gene. - snipet from @maliaandcompany #lonoikamakahiki Chapters #hawaiianwatermovement #homeofthemakaainana @hawaiianwatermovement #areyousmarterthana5thgrader https://www.instagram.com/p/CfXLjWuv85YJMLH63_jt-oewBj_eXpvMFO5mrU0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[armondokitsch]

[taratarotgreene]

Big monument to Brock. A beautiful setting high up overlooking the river..#monument #brock #history #america #warof1812 #canada (at Brock's Monument) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVVFtLggPde/?utm_medium=tumblr

[whencyclopedia]

Battle of Fort George

The Battle of Fort George (27 May 1813) was an important battle in the War of 1812. It saw the United States launch a successful amphibious assault to capture Fort George, the main British outpost on the Niagara frontier. The Americans, however, failed to capitalize on their victory, and would ultimately abandon the fort seven months later.

Capture of Fort George

Alonzo Chappel (Public Domain)

Background: Burning of York

Ever since the opening of hostilities in June 1812, the capture of Canada had been the primary objective of the US government. But several factors – including the unpreparedness of the US military and the incompetence of its general officers – led the first two attempted invasions to end in humiliating failures. By early 1813, with support for the war wavering at home, it was clear that a new approach would have to be taken if the US hoped to wrench Canada from British control. Such an approach was offered by John Armstrong, Jr., the new US secretary of war, who believed that no invasion of Canada would succeed without prior control of the Great Lakes, specifically Lakes Erie and Ontario. If the Americans could achieve naval domination on these lakes, they could strike at vulnerable military outposts and towns along the lakeshore, including York (present-day Toronto), Kingston, and Fort George. In this manner, the Americans could conquer Canada piecemeal.

With this goal in mind, Armstrong ordered a squadron of ships constructed at Sacket's Harbor, on the New York side of Lake Ontario. Placed under the command of Commodore Isaac Chauncey, this flotilla consisted of a corvette – the flagship USS Madison – a brig, and twelve schooners. Once completed, the ships were loaded with 1,700 US soldiers under Major General Henry Dearborn before setting sail for York, the capital of Upper Canada. On 27 April 1813, with Chauncey's ships anchored in Toronto Bay, the US soldiers rowed ashore, establishing a beachhead 4 miles (6 km) to the west of town. Led by the daring Brigadier General Zebulon Pike (Dearborn was supposedly too ill to lead the attack himself), the American soldiers advanced toward York overland as the schooners provided covering fire from the harbor. The British regulars and Canadian militia were outnumbered and slowly fell back. Eventually, the British were ordered to retreat, but not before blowing up the gunpowder magazine in Fort York. The explosion devastated the approaching US troops, as pieces of rock, metal, and other debris rained down upon them. The blast caused over 200 American casualties, including General Pike, who was killed after his ribs were crushed by a falling boulder.

Although their victory was dampened by the explosion, the Americans succeeded in occupying York, marking their first significant land victory of the war. Despite promises made by General Dearborn that private property would be respected, the US soldiers indulged in two days of looting; not only did they carry off valuables found in private homes but they also burned several official buildings including the Government House and the Legislative Assembly (the British would cite these burnings as justification for the burning of Washington, D.C., the following year). Dearborn lingered in York for only two weeks, long enough to load the captured military supplies onto the ships, before marching back to the American lines on 8 May. The Battle of York, though it had not been as complete a victory as Secretary of War Armstrong would have liked, still proved the merits of his plan. Having ravished York, the Americans next turned their sights toward Fort George, the main British military outpost on Lake Ontario. But this time, the Americans did not intend on simply leaving after capturing their objective; this time, they meant to begin their invasion of Canada in earnest.

The British-American War of 1812

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

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[joyfultunes]

Reading Thought

Chapter 6 of Perilous Fight: The British are inventing all kinds of ridiculous excuses to explain away America's success against the renowned Royal Navy. They didn't learn their lesson about underestimating the young United States after the previous war?

However, the English are having success in land battles, which I had forgotten were even a part of this war. I thought this one was fought exclusively at sea.

[lykinsfilms]

Part of the pulley system to pull up the bridge that went over the moat. The United States built the current brick fort in 1822, just seven years after British forces invaded the New Orleans area from the sea, at the close of the War of 1812. It was named Fort Wood in 1827 renamed Fort Macomb in 1851, for General Alexander Macomb, former Chief of Engineers and the second Commanding General of the United States Army. ~ Wikipedia #fortmacomb #cannon #cannonport #warof1812 #fortwood #neworleans #urbex #urbexphotography #urbandecay #urbanexploration #urbanexplorers #abandoned #abandonedamerica #abandonedplaces #forgotten #forgottenplace #urbexworld #urbexexploration #urbexamerica #urbexplanet #urbexer #urbexexplorer #urbuxlovers #riseofthelykins (at Fort Macomb) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIJvz6zgwD9/?igshid=16v12mobhqdau

[mtd1964]

The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh. It was one of the biggest naval battles of the War of 1812. #warof1812 #ohiohistory #lakeerie https://www.instagram.com/p/CE8mAibpgmO/?igshid=19q2q7wwtkkll

[dallas-pioneer]

1812 Veteran Honored 

[diaoman2]

#meghanmarkle #princeharry #divorce #baitandswitch #warof1812 #americanhistory #paybackisabitch https://www.instagram.com/p/CEeneUBA91E/?igshid=1tae7ka5vxyom