1. Adapted with credit to L. Templin THE WAR OF 1812

2.  Some describe the War of 1812 as Canada’s War of Independence  For the Americans it was a war of conquest  For Canadians it was a war of survival  Between 1812 and 1814, Canada won the right to not be American CANADA AND THE WAR OF 1812

3.  Louis XVI (France) helped the Americans with their revolution and then faced a revolution in France  During the French Revolution King Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette had their heads chopped off by a guillotine  A General named Napoleon Bonaparte eventually seized power and set France on a European war of conquest. PRE-WAR EVENTS

5.  To sum up…  The French Revolution led to the Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815  With Britain bogged down in Europe fighting Napoleon, the Americans saw their chance at capturing British North America – and they took it.  Why would they want BNA? THE WAR OF 1812

7.  The Americans also had some genuine grievances against the British  The British were preventing France from trading with the United States  The British Navy had also asserted its right to board foreign ships and press any British citizens they found into military service. “FREE TRADE AND SAILORS’ RIGHTS”

8.  British ship HMS Leopold fired on the Chesapeake and killed several men  British boarded the ship and arrested four so- called deserters  Two were American citizens  Britain apologized and released the Americans  The damage had been done THE CHESAPEAKE INCIDENT

9.  American history books usually portray the United States as the underdog in 1812.  Why? Because they were up against the formidable British Empire  This isn’t entirely accurate. Great Britain was tied up in Europe, and Canada lay poorly defended and exposed.  The Canadians didn’t flock over to the American side of the fight A MERE MATTER OF MARCHING

10.  How could the Americans possibly lose?  Population of the United States (USA): 7.5 million  Population of Upper Canada: less than 80,000  The entire population of the British North American (BNA) colonies combined was less than 1 million CONSIDER THE REAL ODDS:

11.  On June 18, 1812 the United States of America declared war on Great Britain – and made immediate plans for the Conquest of Canada  Remember Canada didn’t exist as a separate country at this point WAR!

12.  The original Loyalist population of Upper Canada had been swamped by an influx of American settlers whose true loyalty remained in doubt  Fortunately (for Canada) the U.S. forces were very poorly organized and launched scattered attacks rather than focusing their approach  Most of the battles took place along the border between the USA and BNA (Canada) THE WAR IN UPPER CANADA (ONTARIO)

13. GENERAL ISAAC BROCK  Brock was the man in charge of defending BNA from the American invaders  He was a brilliant strategist and an inspiring leader  Isaac Brock was long remembered as the fallen hero and saviour of Upper Canada

14. TECUMSEH  Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief who was allied with the British  Stop American expansion into Native territory  To secure a sovereign First Nations Confederacy in the interior.

15.  Tecumseh brought together dozens of different Nations (Pan-Native Alliance)  Fought alongside the British for tactical reasons, not loyalty. PAN-NATIVE ALLIANCE

16.  Brock dressed Canadian militia in the red coats of the regular army to make them seem like they were professional soldiers  Tecumseh marched warriors three times through the trees in front of Fort Detroit  American estimates of Tecumseh’s forces ranged as high as 3000 warriors  In fact, Tecumseh had fewer than 600 men on hand. THE DETROIT BLUFF

17.  No attack was needed.  General Hull was so scared of an massacre that he caved almost immediately  All it took were a few cannon shots and a threatening ultimatum from Brock. THE CAPTURE OF DETROIT

18.  August 18, 1812 - Brock and Tecumseh capture Detroit  October 13, 1812 - Battle of Queenston Heights – Americans ultimately pushed back, but Brock dies  April 27, 1813 – General Dearborn (USA) captures York (Toronto)  June 6, 1813 – Battle of Stoney Creek – American advance stopped cold  June 24, 1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams – Americans turned back  July 31, 1813 – Americans re-capture York (Toronto)  October 5, 1813 – Battle of Moraviantown – Tecumseh dies  October 25, 1813 – Battle of Chateauguay – American invasion force defeated by French and English Canadians  November 11, 1813 – Battle of Crysler’s Farm – Americans defeated  July 25, 1814 – Battle of Lundy’s Lane – a confusing and bloody conflict that ends in a stalemate (though both sides claim they won)  August 1814 – British capture and burn Washington SIGNIFICANT BATTLES (BACK AND FORTH…BACK AND FORTH)

20. THE BURNING OF YORK (TORONTO 1813)  American warships bore down upon the town of York on Lake Ontario’s shore  York was the capital of Upper Canada and was weakly defended  The British were also developing a naval base at York  British retreated but Americans were unsure they had given up the fight and stayed in position only 400 yards from the garrison  British sent fire to an ammunition magazine which exploded  Devastating for American troops who retaliated by sacking the town

22.  Why is the White House white?  Because we burned it, that’s why! Or at least, the British did.  In direct retaliation for what the Americans had done in York, the British captured and burned Washington D.C.  The attack came as a complete surprise  President Madison and his defending army ran away so fast the battle became known, sarcastically, as “a race”  The President’s own residence was badly damaged and the walls scorched  The building was hastily rebuilt and the exterior painted over with whitewash. It became known as “the white house” BURN, WASHINGTON! BURN! (1814)

24.  The Americans think they won it. Really.  But…they didn’t even come close to their goal – the conquest of Canada  But war is after all a political tool, and what counts in the end are the long term results, not individual heroics  Britain’s First Nation allies were completely shut out of the negotiations  So were the people of BNA  The Americans had refused to allow either at the bargaining table. SO WHO WON?

25. TREATY OF GHENT (BELGIUM 1814)

26. BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

27.  The Americans reaffirmed their sovereignty  Territory went back to respective nations  British North America was not annexed  Canada would not have existed if the Americans had won  The First Nations lost THE FINAL SCORE