The War Of 1812 From A Canadian Perspective
Not the most well-known conflict in the United States or Britain, for Canada, the War of 1812 was a crucial event in its history on the road to becoming an independent nation
Barely thirty years after the American Revolution in the British American colonies, tensions between Britain and the United States remained high. Many Americans, still loyal to Britain, had fled to Canada after the Revolution and remained wary of their neighbors to the south.
A rapidly growing U.S. population was looking to expand westward from the original Thirteen Colonies. This put American interests in direct conflict with numerous native First Nations tribes living near the new republic.
In Europe, a bitter war was raging between Napoleon’s France against several countries, including Great Britain. As both Britain and France attempted to blockade each other, the United States was caught in the middle of the struggle as they traded with both countries. With a larger navy, American shipping tended to be stopped by British ships, harming American trade severely.
Many politicians in the United States saw war with the Canadian colonies as an extension of the American Revolution. British North America, it was believed, could be invaded and freed from British influence completely, absorbed into the new American republic without much military effort. Notably, there was much resistance to war in the New England states, which traded heavily with Canada.
The War Years
The War of 1812 continued until 1815. Three figures stood out on the British/Canadian side: Sir Isaac Brock, Tecumseh, and Laura Secord. Their influences were felt particularly in the early stages of the conflict.
Tied down fighting Napoleon’s France, regular British troops were in short supply in Canada. General Sir Isaac Brock was in charge of defending the southwest Part of the British colonies, known as Upper Canada. Greatly outnumbered by American regular forces, Brock enlisted the aid of the Shawnee First Nations chief Tecumseh and Canadian militias.
In one of the first acts of the war, American general William Hull crossed the border into Canada from Detroit. Brock met with and formed a military alliance with Tecumseh. Although still outnumbered by American forces, Brock and Tecumseh attempted to make their respective troop numbers look inflated. Tecumseh crossed the Detroit River for an assault and Brock marched for a direct attack on Detroit. Seeing the two-pronged attack forming, Hull panicked and surrendered Detroit. This victory gave British North America the first sense that an American invasion could be repulsed.
Having secured the border with Detroit, Brock was soon called to Queenston Heights (near Niagara Falls), to stop another American invasion. Despite being outnumbered again, Brock decided to launch a counterattack. While leading his troops, Brock was shot and killed, a great loss to the British. However, with the aid of Mohawk warriors and British reinforcements, the American attack was turned back.
In 1813, the Canadian side lost another great leader when Tecumseh was killed. Tecumseh had spent most of his life fighting American attacks on First Nations territories. His ultimate goal was to unite the many diverse First Nations to prevent further loss of native territories. While he had no special loyalty to the British, Tecumseh decided an alliance with the British might give First Nations greater influence and autonomy following the war.
At the Battle of the Thames in 1813, outnumbered British troops quickly retreated, leaving Tecumseh fighting alone with his warriors. Despite the pressure to retreat, Tecumseh continued to fight, but was shot and killed on the battlefield. The American victory in battle and the loss of Tecumseh left First Nations unity in disarray, as well as fueling distrust with the British, who were so quick to retreat from the battlefront.
Laura Secord was a Loyalist who’s family had come to Canada following the American Revolution. Living near Queenston Heights, Laura’s husband James, a British soldier, was injured during the same battle that Brock was killed. Laura helped James recover at home. In 1813, Americans forces occupied Queenston Heights and some American officers were billeted in the Secord home.
Laura Secord overheard a conversation among the officers that a surprise attack on British forces thirty kilometers away was being planned. One evening Secord left her home and trekked the thirty kilometers, through forests and around American posts, to warn the British command of the impending attack. Her warnings proved successful as a preemptive British ambush foiled the planned attack.
Outcomes of the War
There were a number of battles through 1815. The capital of Upper Canada, York, was captured and burned. In retaliation, British troops attacked Washington and burned the presidential building, what would be named later as the White House. A later British attack on New Orleans was stopped by a force led by the future American president, Andrew Jackson.
An attempted American invasion of French Lower Canada was repelled. Similar to the First Nations, the French Canadian inhabitants had no love of the British Empire, but also didn’t want to be ruled by an unknown English speaking nation.
The Americans were becoming weary of the ongoing war. The British had just defeated Napoleon and wanted a quick end to the North American conflict.
The peace Treaty of Ghent left the boundaries between Canada and the United States essentially the same as before the war. Diplomatic mechanisms were put in place for dialogue between the two countries regarding future disputes. Both aspects of the treaty lasted peacefully into the 21st century, resulting in great friendship between the two countries.
However, the Treaty of Ghent also gave the Americans full access to expand west into First Nations lands without British interference. Both in the United States and Canada, European settlers would continue to claim further territories, leaving native tribes with ever smaller lands to hold.
For the United States, the new peace allowed the country to continue to grow politically, economically, and militarily into a world power.
For British North America, it awoke much of the Canadian population to a new sense of identity, separate from both America and Britain. It would slowly adapt laws and customs from both countries, as well as its own. As American power grew, Britain pushed for the Canadian colonies to unite. Canada would not form a separate country within the British Empire until 1867.
