MADISON FINALLY GETS HIS WAR
It’s not entirely fair to say, as some do, that this was strictly Madison’s war. He had help. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Henry Clay of Kentucky, his principal assistant, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, and other southern and western representatives were collectively known as “Warhawks” and pressured Madison into asking Congress to declare war against Great Britain.
MILITARY COMPARISONS
When the war started, the American army consisted of 7,000 regulars. (Theoretically, there were also thousands of citizen soldiers in the militia. While the Constitution granted the president the authority to call them into service to suppress insurrections and repel invasions … the legal consensus was that state militia could only be ordered to meet these duties in their own states). Anyway, the military was poorly trained. The army’s officer corps was a ragtag outfit …most had never seen combat … and the ones that did were old, having last seen service in the Revolution, thirty years earlier. West Point, established ten years earlier, had fewer than one hundred graduates ready to assume command. The navy, as mentioned above, was a puny force. By 1812, the US Navy counted only twelve ships of any size, and only three fully dressed battleships.
The Brits had 250,000 battle-hardened men in uniform. True, the bulk of those were in Europe. Nevertheless, 6,000 were stationed in Canada … augmented by 2,000 Canadians, and roughly 3,000 Indians. The British Navy consisted of 500 ships …. 80 of them permanently stationed in the West Atlantic between Canada and the Caribbean. It should have been a rout.
THE CANADIAN DEBACLE
In the long run, the American navy could not possibly defeat their British counterparts. American politicians concluded the most realistic path to pressuring Britain was by targeting Canada …. which seemed like an easy target with a population of only 500,000 compared to 7.7 million in the United States in 1812. Virginia Congressman John Randolph even stated the conquest of Canada would be “a holiday campaign … with no expense of blood or treasure on our part”. (You know … just like that quick war in Iraq and Afghanistan which we were promised.)
Madison grossly miscalculated support from the Canadian populace. He believed the Canadians wished to be liberated from Britain … that they wanted their own 1776 moment. Why not? About two-thirds of the Canadian population had migrated there from the United States. So, the grand plan was to invade Canada when war broke out. The US Army would capture British territory, quickly, and force Britain to the negotiating table. After all, Britain certainly would not want to lose this colony, and they certainly would not divert troops from the European war, and therefore they would be delighted to negotiate favorable maritime rights America had been pursuing. In exchange, America would give Canada back (although there were some who wanted to make Canada part of America). Sounds logical. But, the devil is in the details, and this plan was SNAFU right from the get go.
The correct military strategy was to attack the British at Montreal. A concentrated force sailing up the Hudson River and over Lake Champlain probably could have captured the city. However, recall that the New England Federalists strongly opposed the war. Madison greatly feared that New England’s militias, most necessary to a concentrated attack on Montreal, would simply refuse to turn out for battle! On to to crappy Plan B!
Madison decided to launch a three-pronged northern invasion; 1) attack Montreal, 2) attack Fort Detroit in the far west, and 3) a third army would leave from Fort Niagara and into Canada at the western end of Lake Ontario. America lost the battle of Detroit without firing a shot. The Fort Niagara campaign was divided amongst two generals, neither had military experience, both were appointed political dogs who argued with each other and refused support at critical times, and out of 1,300 men, 900 were captured. The battle for Canada ended about as soon as it started.
Yes, folks, one can make the case that Canada — with a little help from their friends — defeated the United States in the War Of 1812. The immediate impact of the war was to strengthen Canada’s loyalty to England. The United States still had interest in conquering Canada – more half-assed ideas, really – but, by the 1890’s the two nations formed a permanent bond. For all practical purposes, the War Of 1812 was Canada’s war of independence, and they won.
A BRIEF REPRIEVE – US NAVAL VICTORIES
Out-gunned and out-manned the US Navy did achieve some clear victories, even early in the war. In 1812, the USS Constitution —aka, “Old Ironsides” — defeated HMS Guerriere in a ferocious battle off the coast of Nova Scotia. In the same year, the USS United States captured HMS Macedonian, a fully dressed 38-gun battleship. In September 1813, the United States achieved further naval success on Lake Erie. Also in 1813, Commander Perry’s fleet of ten ships outmaneuvered a squadron of six British ships despite being outgunned by the much larger enemy vessels. The same Perry who left Americans with a memorable line: “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” A month later, William Henry Harrison – yes, the future president – crossed Lake Erie and defeated the British and their Indian allies in the Battle of the Thames. Tecumseh — leader of the pan-Indian confederation – was killed in that battle. Many of Britain’s Indian allies subsequently abandoned the alliance, and America’s northwest frontier was secured.
MORE BAD NEWS ON THE POLITICAL FRONT
On the political front there was much bad news. Commander Perry – the navy’s best field officer – was “promoted” to a desk job. William Harrison was accused by Secretary Of War, John Armstrong, of financial impropriety, and Harrison, another excellent field commander, was forced to resign.
The cost of the war broke the Treasury. By 1814, $34 million dollars (a hefty sum in its day) was borrowed to finance the war.
Madison sent a delegation (including John Quincy Adams) to meet with Czar Alexander in St. Petersburg, but the British left before the delegation arrived and the whole thing was an embarrassment.
Madison probably suffered a severe anxiety attack on May 30, 1814 — the day the French signed a peace treaty with Britain and its allies. Madison strongly believed that a good portion of Britain’s 250,000 troops would make their way to Canada.
THE HOUSE, THE HOUSE, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!!
Madison didn’t have wait long for some of his fears to come to fruition. Two months after the French-British peace treaty Royal Navy ships carrying about 6,000 British regulars sailed into Chesapeake Bay. Secretary of War, John Armstrong, did not believe the Brits would attack the swampy and forest-shrouded city of Washington … that the British had more interest in the coastal cities. Bad call, muchacho! American forces actually outnumbered the Brits. However, poor intelligence – such as Americans being badly deployed – and a multitude of errors, and many American deserters, led to the British marching virtually unchallenged into the city. Then the Brits burned all public buildings except the Patent Office …. and the White House.
BASTARDS !!!!!!!!!!!!
[Worthy Of Further Study: Dolley Madison, the greatest First Lady of them all. Thomas Jefferson spent few resources on the presidential mansion, believing it would detract from the emphasis of a simple and frugal government. He also avoided elaborate social gatherings at the White House, as he believed they “stank” of the aristocratic courts of Europe. As such, when the Madisons moved into the White House in 1809, the building itself was in disrepair. Dolly established a new philosophy … that the White House should be decorated in a manner appropriate to the dignity of the office it represented. So, she completely refurnished the White House and transformed it into a compelling symbol for the new nation — not nearly as ostentatious as found in European palaces, but rather a quiet dignity within the framework of American political ideology. But, it was more than just a symbol. Dolly also turned it into an arena of governance. The many social events she planned were done with the intention of placing the White House at the center of Washington society … with her husband at the center of policy decisions and deal making. And as her beloved White House burned to the ground, she risked her life gathering up critical White House documents … as well as the great Gilbert Stuart portrait of President George Washington, and carried them away to safety.]SIZE MATTERS!!
To his credit (I suppose) Madison never wavered that the United States would eventually achieve victory. Where did that confidence come from? Let’s recap:
—— the Treasury is depleted, the Canada campaign was a disaster, the Navy which actually won battles has its best commanders sitting behind a desk, military desertions are significant, military ineptness abounds, New England not only won’t help the cause but it threatening to secede while at the same time trying to negotiate a separate peace deal with the Brits, even as 7,500 British soldiers were headed towards New Orleans, and now his capital is burned! Hooahhh!!
To understand the source of his confidence one must look thirty years earlier. During debates over the suitability of a republican form of government to a country as large as America, Madison argued that America’s size would prevent any faction or narrow interest group from dominating the government. Now he believed that the United States could absorb battles lost at Detroit, Niagara, and even Washington, and that it could prevail despite the disloyalty of the Federalists in New England. The United States was simply too large, and consequently, too resilient, to be defeated. In other words, America was too big to fail!
HOW DID THE SUPERIOR BRITS MANAGE TO MESS THIS UP?
It seems, at least in this instance, that Madison was right about America’s size. British fortunes suddenly turned for the worse.
After burning (and looting) the capital, the Brits marched to Baltimore … and met a different fate at the hands of a more skillfully deployed American force of both militia and army regulars. American sharpshooters picked off one-by-one the British division approaching the city from the south. Meanwhile, the big guns at Fort McHenry prevented the British fleet from entering the city’s harbor. By September, the British were forced to withdraw and abandon their campaign in the Chesapeake. Simultaneously, American forces stationed on Lake Champlain turned back a British invading army and 11,000 British troops were forced to retreat back into Canada. Mid-1814 ended relatively well for the Americans.
More importantly, back in England, British leaders lost the hearts & minds of their subjects. After 20 years of fighting France, and before that, fighting in the American Revolution … well, the people were simply fed up with war. The British became much more preoccupied in rebuilding Europe after the final defeat of Napoleon. A London newspaper even harshly criticized the burning of Washington. On top of all that, even military leaders were questioning whether victory was possible. The Duke of Wellington, the hero of Waterloo, was offered command of the British force in North America … and, he declined, saying the American continent could never be subdued. The loud drums of war fell deadly quiet.
WE WON! WE WON!!! Ummmmmm …. WHAT DID WE WIN?
This combination, military defeats in America and the loss of will to fight back in England, led to a peace treaty being signed in Ghent, Belgium on Dec. 24, 1814. The war would officially end in February 1815 after ratification by both governments.
However, the Ghent talks actually started earlier in the year in August 1814. Madison sent five delegates – including John Quincy Adams and John Clay – and amongst American demands were the end of impressment …. and turning over Canada to the United States. Madison had balls! The Brits made even more ridicules demands; a new Canadian border located farther to the south, the creation of an independent Indian state in the northwest, British navigation rights on the Mississippi River, the exclusion of American fishing boats from the Grand Banks and the the exclusion of the American Navy from the Great Lakes. The Brits had no brains!
But, in Ghent by December 1814 all parties dropped their aggressive demands. A simple ceasefire was proposed, prisoners of war would be exchanged, and captured territories from both sides would be returned.
STUNNINGLY, impressment – one of the two major reasons for going to war in the first place — was not even mentioned. Maritime issues and trade policies – the other major reason for going to war – was mentioned, but only that it would be addressed at some future conference1.
Strangely, the American diplomats were ecstatic. Why??? After all that bloodshed and destruction, the Ghent Treaty insured that both sides gained absolutely nothing … as if the war never happened. A Canadian historian wrote;
[1NOTE: By Dec 1814 the British practice of impressment had all but ended. And, since France was no longer an enemy of Britain, the Royal Navy no longer needed to stop American shipments to France. Nevertheless, the United States and Britain would argue about trade restrictions and access to markets for the next fifteen years after Ghent! By 1830, the West Indies were far less important to American exporters than new markets in Latin America. Also by 1830, Britain’s commitment to mercantilism had been replaced internally by support for free trade. In other words, the issues that so bothered Madison would have been resolved of their own accord in due time … WITHOUT A WAR. The War of 1812 wasn’t concluded at Ghent …. it died of old age.]“It was as if no war had been fought, or to put it more bluntly, as if the war that was fought was fought for no good reason. For nothing has changed; everything is as it was in the beginning save for the graves of those who, it now appears, have fought for a trifle.”
INJUN INTERLUDE #1: UP A CREEK
Worthy of much further study than I have room for here, is the significant victory by Jackson over the Creek Nation. At one time or another the Brits, French, Spanish, and even other Indian Nations (Tecumseh and his Shawnee) aligned with various factions within the Creeks to make war against the United States. The war against the Creeks officially ended in the Treaty of Fort Jackson just five months before the war’s final battle at New Orleans.
A couple staggering statistics; 1) about 15% of the Creek population was decimated and, 2) the treaty resulted in an enormous land grab as the Creeks lost 36,000 square miles of their territory (half of Alabama, and southern Georgia).
The Creeks, and to a lesser extent other Indian tribes, were to play a significant role in the British alliance to attack New Orleans. Had the Creeks won their war, the combined forces might very well have overcome Jackson’s army, and New Orleans might have been lost.
INJUN INTERLUDE #2: TECUMSEH, THE GREAT SHAWNEE WARRIOR
Tecumseh was sick and tired of seeing the social and cultural deterioration, inter-tribal conflict, and white encroachment on Indian lands. So, he developed a plan. Indians needed to restore control over their lives. The only way to do this, he said, was to be unified, to overcome tribal differences, rebuild their integrity, and create a Pan-Indian alliance strong enough to defeat the military forces supporting white expansion. Starting in 1807, he and his brother (Tenskwatawa – “The Prophet”) traveled throughout the interior of America building this alliance of Indian tribes. The obstacles were huge, especially overcoming the decades of inter-tribal prejudices, fears, and wars. But, Tecumseh was a powerful and compelling orator.
In village after village he preached unity to a dispirited people. He urged them to reject the pollutants of the white man; alcohol, European dress, Christianity. He also preached great patience. He said they must avoid all confrontations with the whites until the confederation was large and strong enough to effectively resist the power of white armies. Isolated skirmishes would only weaken them. They must wait until the time was right,
Legend has it that Tecumseh said he would send a message when the time was right. He would stamp his foot—and when he did, the earth would shake, the buffalo would stampede, the skies would become dark with birds taking flight, huge cracks would open in the earth’s surface, and the great river would flow backwards.
But, his brother, the Prophet, couldn’t wait. He launched into a fiery oratory and convinced his followers of his own bullshit – that the white man’s bullets could not harm them. So, in Nov. 1811 the Prophet battled an American force led by William Henry Harrison at Tippecanoe Creek. The Prophet lost, and the dream of a Pan-Indian alliance died with it. Tecumseh would go on to align his small remnant of the Indian confederation with the British, fought in the battle of Detroit, and was killed at the Battle of the Thames in 1813, disbanding the alliance forever.
Most interestingly though, on Dec. 16, 1811, just over a month after the disaster at Tippecanoe, a great earthquake shook Arkansas and was felt throughout the Mississippi Valley, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico – the New Madrid earthquake. According to eyewitnesses, buffalo stampeded, the skies became dark with birds taking flight, huge cracks opened in the earth’s surface, and the great Mississippi River flowed backward.
Tecumseh’s prophecy had come to pass …. just not the way he expected.
Continued on next page…
