Nova Scotia, which bore the brunt of the war

Nova Scotia, which bore the brunt of the war, numbered one small ship of the line, seven frigates, nine smaller sloops and brigs along with five schooners.^[75]By contrast, the United States Navy comprised 8 frigates, 14 smaller sloops and brigs, and no ships of the line. DELL Inspiron E1505 CPU Fan The U.S. had embarked on a major shipbuilding program before the war at Sackets Harbor, New York and continued to produce new ships. Three of the existing American frigates were exceptionally large and powerful for their class, larger than any British frigate in North America. HP 532613-001 CPU Fan Whereas the standard British frigate of the time was rated as a 38 gun ship, usually carrying up to 50 guns, with its main battery consisting of 18-pounder guns; the USS Constitution, President, and United States, in comparison, were rated as 44-gun ships, carrying 56-60 guns with a main battery of 24-pounders. HP Envy 14-1080eo CPU Fan The British strategy was to protect their own merchant shipping to and from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the West Indies, and to enforce a blockade of major American ports to restrict American trade. Because of their numerical inferiority, the American strategy was to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics, such as the capture of prizes and engaging Royal Navy vessels only under favourable circumstances. ACER TravelMate 5230 CPU Fan Days after the formal declaration of war, however, it put out two small squadrons, including the frigate President and the sloop Hornet under Commodore John Rodgers, and the frigates United States and Congress, with the brig Argus under Captain Stephen Decatur. These were initially concentrated as one unit under Rodgers, who intended to force the Royal Lenovo 3000 G430 CPU Fan Navy to concentrate its own ships to prevent isolated units being captured by his powerful force. Large numbers of American merchant ships were returning to the United States with the outbreak of war, and if the Royal Navy was concentrated, it could not watch all the ports on the American seaboard. ASUS EEE PC 1215N CPU Fan 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. But, 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. Dell Vostro 3750 CPU Fan Meanwhile, the Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, sailed from Chesapeake Bay on July 12. On July 17, Broke's British squadron gave chase off New York, but the Constitution evaded her pursuers after two days. After briefly calling at Boston to replenish water, on August 19, the Constitution engaged the British frigate HMS Guerriere. Toshiba Satellite L500-018 CPU Fan After a 35-minute battle, Guerriere had been dis-masted and captured and was later burned. The Constitution earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" following this battle as many of the British cannonballs were seen to bounce off her hull. Hull returned to Boston with news of this significant victory. On October 25, the United States, commanded by Captain Decatur, captured the British frigate HMS Macedonian, which he then carried back to port.^[ COMPAQ Presario CQ42-116TU CPU Fan At the close of the month, the Constitution sailed south, now under the command of Captain William Bainbridge. On December 29, off Bahia, Brazil, she met the British frigateHMS Java. After a battle lasting three hours, Java struck her colours and was burned after being judged unsalvageable. TheConstitution, however, was relatively undamaged in the battle.^[ HP Pavilion dv6-2115eg CPU Fan The successes gained by the three big American frigates forced Britain to construct five 40-gun, 24-pounder heavy frigates^[78] and two "spar-decked" frigates (the 60-gun HMS Leander and HMS Newcastle^[79]) and to razee three old 74-gun ships of the line to convert them to heavy frigates.^[80] The Royal Navy acknowledged that there were factors other than greater size and heavier guns. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan The United States Navy's sloops and brigs had also won several victories over Royal Navy vessels of approximately equal strength. While the American ships had experienced and well-drilled volunteer crews, the enormous size of the overstretched Royal Navy meant that many ships were shorthanded and the average quality of crews suffered. HP 646578-001 CPU Fan The constant sea duties of those serving in North America interfered with their training and exercises.^[81] The capture of the three British frigates stimulated the British to greater exertions. More vessels were deployed on the American seaboard and the blockade tightened. On June 1, 1813, SONY VAIO PCG-6L2L CPU Fan off Boston Harbor, the frigate Chesapeake, commanded by Captain James Lawrence, was captured by the British frigate HMS Shannonunder Captain Sir Philip Broke. Lawrence was mortally wounded and famously cried out, "Don't give up the ship! Hold on, men!"^[81] The two frigates were of near-identical size. Toshiba Satellite X205-S9349 CPU Fan Chesapeake 's crew was larger but most had not served or trained together. British citizens reacted with celebration and relief that the run of American victories had ended.^[82] Notably, this action was by ratio one of the bloodiest contests recorded during this age of sail, with more dead and wounded than HMS Victory suffered in four hours of combat at Trafalgar.  DELL yy529 CPU Fan Captain Lawrence was killed and Captain Broke was so badly wounded that he never again held a sea command. In January 1813, the American frigate Essex, under the command of Captain David Porter, sailed into the Pacific to harass British shipping. HP Pavilion dv7-3020es CPU Fan Many British whaling ships carried letters of marque allowing them to prey on American whalers, and they nearly destroyed the industry. The Essex challenged this practice. She inflicted considerable damage on British interests before she and her tender, Essex Junior ( armed with twenty guns) were captured off Valparaiso, HP G62-369TX CPU Fan Chile by the British frigateHMS Phoebe and the sloop HMS Cherub on March 28, 1814.^[84] The British 6th-rate Cruizer-class brig-sloops did not fare well against the American ship-rigged sloops of war. The Hornetand Wasp constructed before the war were notably powerful vessels, and the Frolic class built during the war even more so (although Frolic was trapped and captured by a British frigate and a schooner). HP 13.V1.BJ195.F.GN CPU Fan The British brig-rigged sloops tended to suffer fire to their rigging more frequently than the American ship-rigged sloops. In addition, the ship-rigged sloops could back their sails in action, giving them another advantage in manoeuvring.^[85] Following their earlier losses, the British Admiralty instituted a new policy that the three American heavy frigates should not be engaged except by a ship of the line or smaller vessels in squadron strength. Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7016 CPU Fan An example of this was the capture of the President by a squadron of four British frigates in January 1815. But, a month later, the Constitution engaged and captured two smaller British warships, HMS Cyane and HMS Levant, sailing in company.^[86] Success in single ship battles raised American morale after the repeated failed invasion attempts in Upper and Lower Canada. HP Pavilion dv7-1451nr CPU Fan However these single ship victories had no military effect on the war at sea as they did not alter the balance of naval power, impede British supplies and reinforcements, or even raise insurance rates for British trade. The operations of American privateers proved a more significant threat to British trade than the U.S. Navy. HP G62-a57SG CPU Fan They operated throughout the Atlantic and continued until the close of the war, most notably from ports such as Baltimore. American privateers reported taking 1300 British merchant vessels, compared to 254 taken by the U.S. Navy.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.^[91] SONY Vaio VGN-NR31S/S CPU Fan However the British were able to limit privateering losses by the strict enforcement of convoy by the Royal Navy and by capturing 278 American privateers. Due to the massive size of the British merchant fleet, American captures only affected 7.5% of the British merchant fleet, resulting no supply shortages or lack of reinforcements for British forces in North America.^[92] IBM 91P9252 CPU Fan 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. Toshiba Satellite M70-122 CPU Fan However privateering remained popular in British colonies. It was the last hurrah for privateers Bermudawho vigorously returned to the practice after experience in previous wars.^[93] The nimble Bermuda sloops captured 298 American ships. Privateer schooners based in 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 cruisers. SONY UDQFWPH22FQU CPU Fan The small British North American squadron had difficulty at the beginning of the war in blockading the entire U.S. coast, faced by the need to convoy vessels against American privateers. However as additional ships were sent to North America in 1813, the Royal Navy was able to tighten the blockade and extend it, first to the coast south of Narragansett by November 1813 and to the entire American coast on May 31, 1814. HP Pavilion dv6-2150ei CPU Fan The British government, having need of American foodstuffs for its army in Spain, benefited from the willingness of the New Englanders to trade with them, so no blockade of New England was at first attempted. The Delaware River and Chesapeake Baywere declared in a state of blockade on December 26, 1812. HP G42-367TU CPU Fan 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 U.S. government was driven to issue orders to stop illicit trading; this put only a further strain on the commerce of the country. Toshiba Satellite P100-238 CPU Fan The overpowering strength of the British fleet enabled it to occupy the Chesapeake and to attack and destroy numerous docks and harbours. 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 United States and Macedonian ended the war blockaded and hulked in New London, Connecticut. ACER Aspire 5739 CPU Fan Some merchant ships were based in Europe or Asia and continued operations. Others, mainly from New England, were issued licences to trade by Admiral Sir John Borlase 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. IBM ThinkPad T40 2678 CPU Fan The blockade nevertheless resulted in American exports decreasing from $130 million in 1807 to $7 million in 1814. Most of these were food exports that ironically went to supply their enemies in Britain or British colonies.^[95] As the Royal Navy base that supervised the blockade, Halifax profited greatly during the war. IBM Thinkpad T43 CPU Fan From that base British privateers seized many French and American ships and sold their prizes in Halifax. The blockading British fleet in Chesapeake Bay, based at Bermuda, received increasing numbers of enslaved black Americans during 1813. IBM ThinkPad T43 2668 CPU Fan They were welcomed by Royal Navy officers holding anti-slavery sentiments and, by British government order, were treated as free persons when reaching British hands. In 1814, the British government changed from a policy of passively accepting refugees to actively encouraging slaves to emigrate. IBM ThinkPad T43 1871 CPU Fan It was imperfectly implemented by Admiral Alexander Cochrane's proclamation of April 2, 1814, which offered freedom to slaves reaching British lines or ships. It was similar to the Crown's offers of freedom to slaves during the Revolutionary War. Thousands of enslaved Americans went over to the British with their families during the two years from March 1813, a migration known as the Black Refugees. ACER Travelmate 8104WLMI CPU Fan From May 1814, younger men among the volunteers were recruited into a new Corps of Colonial Marines, initially based on occupied Tangier Island in the Chesapeake. The Corps' companies joined several companies of Royal Marines in September 1814 to become part of the 3rd Battalion Royal and Colonial Marines. DELL Latitude E4300 CPU Fan Earning praise from commanders, the freedmen fought for Britain throughout the Atlantic campaign, including the Battle of Bladensburg and the attacks on Washington, D.C. andBaltimore. Following garrison service in the new Royal Naval Dockyard at Bermuda after the war, the men of the Corps were settled in Trinidad in August 1816. ASUS F80S CPU Fan Seven hundred of these ex-marines were granted land and organized in villages according to their military companies, in the area since known as The Company Villages.^[96] A small number of other freed Americans were recruited into the Second West India regiment  Of those men who did not enlist, the British settled most with their families in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. HP Pavilion dv5-1058eo CPU Fan In 1815, the British resettled 200 black American slaves from the Gulf of Mexico area to Trinidad. Maine, then part of Massachusetts, was a base for smuggling and illegal trade between the U.S. and the British. IBM 13N5182 CPU Fan Until 1813 the region was generally quiet except for privateer actions near the coast. In September 1813, there was a notable naval action when the U.S. Navy's brig Enterprise fought and captured the Royal Navy brig Boxer off Pemaquid Point.^[97] The first British assault came in July 1814, when Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy took Moose Island (Eastport, Maine) IBM Thinkpad T30 2366-AA3 CPU Fan without a shot, with the entire American garrison of Fort Sullivan surrendering.^[98] Next, from his base in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 1814, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke led 3,000 British troops in the "Penobscot Expedition". In 26 days, he raided and looted Hampden, Bangor, and Machias, destroying or capturing 17 American ships. IBM Thinkpad T30 CPU Fan He won the Battle of Hampden (losing two killed while the Americans lost one killed). Retreating American forces were forced to destroy the frigate Adams. The British occupied the town of Castine and most of eastern Maine for the rest of the war. The Treaty of Ghent returned this territory to the United States. HP 535438-001 CPU Fan The British left in April 1815, at which time they took ₤10,750 pounds obtained from tariff duties at Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used to establish Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The strategic location of the Chesapeake Bay near America's capital made it a prime target for the British. DELL Inspiron N3010 CPU Fan Starting in March 1813, a squadron under Rear Admiral George Cockburn started a blockade of the bay and raided towns along the bay fromNorfolk to Havre de Grace. On July 4, 1813, Commodore Joshua Barney, a Revolutionary War naval hero, convinced the Navy Department to build theChesapeake Bay Flotilla, a squadron of twenty barges to defend the Chesapeake Bay. HP Pavilion dv6-3070tx CPU Fan Launched in April 1814, the squadron was quickly cornered in the Patuxent River, and while successful in harassing the Royal Navy, they were powerless to stop the British campaign that ultimately led to the "Burning of Washington". This expedition, led by Cockburn and General Robert Ross, IBM 41W5269 CPU Fan was carried out between August 19 and 29, 1814, as the result of the hardened British policy of 1814 (although British and American commissioners had convened peace negotiations at Ghent in June of that year). As part of this, Admiral Warren had been replaced as commander in chief by Admiral Alexander Cochrane, with reinforcements and orders to coerce the Americans into a favourable peace. ASUS A8H CPU Fan Governor-in-chief of British North America Sir George Prevost had written to the Admirals in Bermuda, calling for retaliation for the American sacking of York (now Toronto). A force of 2,500 soldiers under General Ross had just arrived in Bermuda aboard HMS Royal Oak, three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels. SONY UDQFRZH13CF0 CPU Fan Released from the Peninsular War by British victory, the British intended to use them for diversionary raids along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. In response to Prevost's request, they decided to employ this force, together with the naval and military units already on the station, to strike at Washington, D.C. HP COMPAQ 2510P CPU Fan On August 24, U.S. Secretary of War John Armstrong insisted that the British would attack Baltimore rather than Washington, even when the British army was obviously on its way to the capital. The inexperienced American militia, which had congregated at Bladensburg, Maryland, to protect the capital, was routed in the Battle of Bladensburg, opening the route to Washington. APPLE 661-4951 CPU Fan While Dolley Madison saved valuables from the Presidential Mansion, President James Madison was forced to flee to Virginia.^[100] The British commanders ate the supper that had been prepared for the President before they burned the Presidential Mansion; American morale was reduced to an all-time low. HP Pavilion dv6-3034ca CPU Fan The British viewed their actions as retaliation for destructive American raids into Canada, most notably the Americans' burning of York (now Toronto) in 1813. Later that same evening, a furious storm swept into Washington, D.C., sending one or more tornadoes into the city that caused more damage but finally extinguished the fires with torrential rains.^[ HP G56-126NR CPU Fan The naval yards were set afire at the direction of U.S. officials to prevent the capture of naval ships and supplies.^[100] The British left Washington, D.C. as soon as the storm subsided. Having destroyed Washington's public buildings, including the President's Mansion and the Treasury, the British army next moved to capture Baltimore, a busy port and a key base for American privateers. Compaq Presario C556CA CPU Fan The subsequent Battle of Baltimore began with the British landing at North Point, where they were met by American militia. An exchange of fire began, with casualties on both sides. General Ross was killed by an American sniper as he attempted to rally his troops. The sniper himself was killed moments later, and the British withdrew. SONY Vaio VGN-NR360E CPU Fan The British also attempted to attack Baltimore by sea on September 13 but were unable to reduce Fort McHenry, at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. The Battle of Fort McHenry was no battle at all. British guns had range on American cannon, and stood off out of U.S. range, bombarding the fort, which returned no fire. HP Pavilion dv5170us CPU Fan Their plan was to coordinate with a land force, but from that distance coordination proved impossible, so the British called off the attack and left. 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. SONY Vaio VPC-EE3WFX/WI CPU Fan The defence of the fort inspired the American lawyer Francis Scott Key to write a poem that would eventually supply the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner". None of the actions of the Chesapeake campaign were deemed worthy of a British army medal clasp (Fort Detroit, Chateauguay, Chrysler's Farm being the three clasps for the war), but participants in the attack in Washington were paid prize money by the War Office.^[ HP G56-126NR CPU Fan In addition, prize-money arising from the booty captured by the expedition in the River Patuxent, at Fort Washington, and Alexandria, between August 22 and 29, 1814 was paid in November 1817. Three companies of Corps of Colonial Marines were among the recipients. A first-class share was worth ₤183 9s 1¾d; a sixth-class share, which was what probably an ordinary marine would receive, was worth ₤1 9s 3½d.^[ HP 3MLX8TATP20 CPU Fan A second and final payment came in May 1819. A first-class share was worth ₤42 13s 10¾d; a sixth-class share was worth 9s 1¾d. American leaders assumed that Canada could be easily overrun. Former President Jefferson optimistically referred to the conquest of Canada as "a matter of marching".^[SONY Vaio VGN-NW240F/S CPU Fan Many Loyalist Americans had migrated to Upper Canada after the Revolutionary War. There was also significant non-Loyalist American immigration to the area due to the offer of land grants to immigrants, and the U.S. assumed the latter would favour the American cause, but they did not. In prewar Upper Canada, SONY Vaio VPC-EB1Z0E/B CPU Fan General Prevost was in the unusual position of having to purchase many provisions for his troops from the American side. This peculiar trade persisted throughout the war in spite of an abortive attempt by the U.S. government to curtail it. In Lower Canada, which was much more populous, support for Britain came from the English elite with strong loyalty to the Empire, Compaq Presario CQ60-514NR CPU Fan and from the Canadien elite, who feared American conquest would destroy the old order by introducing Protestantism, Anglicization, republican democracy, and commercial capitalism; and weakening the Catholic Church. The Canadien inhabitants feared the loss of a shrinking area of good lands to potential American immigrants.^[105] Toshiba Satellite X205-S9800 CPU Fan In 1812–13, British military experience prevailed over inexperienced American commanders. Geography dictated that operations would take place in the west: principally around Lake Erie, near the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and near theSaint Lawrence River area and Lake Champlain. ASUS G2P CPU Fan This was the focus of the three-pronged attacks by the Americans in 1812. Although cutting the St. Lawrence River through the capture of Montreal and Quebec would have made Britain's hold in North America unsustainable, the United States began operations first in the western frontier because of the general popularity there of a war with the British, who had sold arms to the Native Americans opposing the settlers. Compaq Presario CQ60-430SA CPU Fan The British scored an important early success when their detachment at St. Joseph Island, on Lake Huron, learned of the declaration of war before the nearby American garrison at the important trading post at Mackinac Island in Michigan. A scratch force landed on the island on July 17, 1812 and mounted a gun overlooking Fort Mackinac. DELL BFB0505HA CPU Fan After the British fired one shot from their gun, the Americans, taken by surprise, surrendered. This early victory encouraged the natives, and large numbers moved to help the British at Amherstburg.The island totally controlled access to the Old Northwest, giving the British nominal control of this area, and, more vitally,a monopoly on the fur trade. HP Pavilion dv5-1272et CPU Fan An American army under the command of William Hull invaded Canada on July 12, with his forces chiefly composed of untrained and ill-disciplined militiamen.^[106] Once on Canadian soil, Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender, or "the horrors, and calamities of war will stalk before you".^[Toshiba AB7005HX-SB3 CPU Fan He also threatened to kill any British prisoner caught fighting alongside a native. The proclamation helped stiffen resistance to the American attacks. Hull's army was too weak in artillery and badly supplied to achieve its objectives, and had to fight just to maintain its own lines of communication.^[ Toshiba Satellite A500-18T CPU Fan The senior British officer in Upper Canada, Major General Isaac Brock, felt that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada, and to convince the aboriginals who were needed to defend the region that Britain was strong.^[106] He moved rapidly to Amherstburg near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and immediately decided toattack Detroit. HP Pavilion dv5-2135dx CPU Fan Hull, fearing that the British possessed superior numbers and that the Indians attached to Brock's force would commit massacres if fighting began, surrendered Detroit without a fight on August 16. Knowing of British-instigated indigenous attacks on other locations, Hull ordered the evacuation of the inhabitants of Fort Dearborn (Chicago) to Fort Wayne. ASUS EEE PC 1201NL CPU Fan After initially being granted safe passage, the inhabitants (soldiers and civilians) were attacked by Potowatomis on August 15 after travelling only 2 miles (3.2 km) in what is known as the Battle of Fort Dearborn.^[107] The fort was subsequently burned. Brock promptly transferred himself to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General Stephen Van Rensselaer was attempting a second invasion. SONY Vaio VGN-NW240D/T CPU Fan