War of 1812

VI

Third Phase of the War

With the downfall of Napoleon in the early spring of 1814, a third stage of the war began. The British, now freed from war in Europe, began to move substantial troop reinforcements westward across the Atlantic. They planned a three-pronged offensive: vigorous land operations from Canada against the northern U.S. frontier, attacks by sea in Chesapeake Bay, and naval attacks along the southern coast, focusing on New Orleans. The United States was able to respond effectively to these new challenges. More aggressive, war-tested generals had taken command of American armies, and the timely establishment of U.S. naval control of Lake Champlain offset British strengths.

A

New Leaders

Secretary of War Armstrong had taken steps to prepare for the spring campaign of 1814. The military particularly needed good leadership, and Armstrong removed some of the aging generals and replaced them with men of drive and proven competence. The new major generals included Andrew Jackson in the South, Jacob Brown on the Niagara frontier, and George Izard at Plattsburgh near the upper end of Lake Champlain. The first two came from careers as hard-fighting militiamen, while Izard, an army officer, had served with credit under Hampton. Other new officers had earned their positions by merit and formed the core of a new and more competent American military.

B

Chippewa and Lundy's Lane

The United States had already thrown away its opportunity for a successful invasion of Canada. As Napoleon’s empire collapsed in Europe, Britain made plans to send veteran regiments that had fought in Spain to America. On the Niagara frontier the United States countered with a new, more competent army. Brigadier General Winfield Scott had begun training nearly 3500 men at the first signs of good weather. Across the river 2800 British troops prepared for battle under Major General Sir Phineas Riall.

Major General Brown arrived from Sackets Harbor and took command of the American army. He crossed the Niagara River on July 3, captured Fort Erie, and marched north against Riall. The British general, serenely confident from previous experience with American troops, collided with Scott's brigade near Niagara Falls at Chippewa and was soundly beaten. Riall's astonished exclamation, 'These are regulars, by God!' reflects the improved quality of both the American troops and their leadership. 'Small as the affair was, and unimportant in military results, it gave to the United States Army a character and pride it had never before possessed,' historian Henry Adams later wrote of the Battle of Chippewa.

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Meanwhile, British reinforcements arrived. On July 25 a second encounter, at slightly north of Chippewa, ended in a draw with severe losses on each side. American generals Brown and Scott both received serious wounds. The remnants of the American forces withdrew to Fort Erie, followed with extreme caution by British forces under Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond. The Americans immediately worked to strengthen their fortifications and early in the morning of August 14 repulsed an enemy assault that again resulted in heavy British losses. In September an American offensive mangled Drummond's army so badly that he withdrew.

C

Battle of Lake Champlain

On the northern front the British gathered their forces for a decisive effort. A British army of about 15,000 men was based near Montréal. The force included 11,000 British veterans, commanded by the general Sir George Prevost. The British proposed to advance toward Albany and the Hudson Valley by the same wilderness route that Major General John Burgoyne had attempted in 1777 during the American Revolution (see Saratoga, Battles of). That disastrous experience had demonstrated the need for waterborne supply, and the British built a squadron of warships in the Richelieu River for the purpose of gaining naval superiority on Lake Champlain.

The American forces on Lake Champlain were commanded by Captain Thomas Macdonough. He knew that his ships were considerably inferior in gun power to the British squadron, and that the superior British ships would have the greatest advantage in open water. To offset this advantage, he decided to moor his ships across the entrance to Plattsburgh Bay, compelling the enemy to attack him at anchor.

On the morning of September 11 the British naval squadron, commanded by Captain George Downie, sailed to Plattsburgh Bay and immediately attacked Macdonough's anchored ships. After two hours of furious cannonading, the heavier fire of Downie's 36-gun Confiance had silenced all the guns on the exposed side of Macdonough's flagship, the 26-gun Saratoga. The battle seemed to be going against the Americans until Macdonough turned his ship around using lines that he had attached to his anchor cables. He thus brought his untouched guns on the port side into action. The result was decisive. British Captain Downie was killed, and the Confiance lifted anchor and departed. The smaller British ships surrendered.

When the naval battle began, the British forces under Sir George Prevost made a halfhearted attack on American forces deployed on the heights overlooking the bay. Prevost broke off the operation the moment he realized that the American forces had defeated Downie, and the next day he began a quick retreat into Canada. Prevost refused to engage in a wilderness march without a waterborne supply line. Macdonough's courage and tenacity averted the most serious British threat to the United States during the war; the Battle of Lake Champlain was the decisive naval engagement of the War of 1812.

D

March on Washington

During 1814 British naval strength in American waters grew, enabling the British to undertake additional offensive operations. On August 18 the British landed 3500 troops in Maryland, and these units set out to raid Washington, D.C. The British forces encountered little resistance. On August 24, on the outskirts of Washington at Bladensburg, Maryland, an American force of about 5400 men, chiefly militia, broke ranks and fled. The only serious resistance was offered by a force of 600 sailors and Marines under the command of Joshua Barney of the navy. They stood fast as long as they could and inflicted the only losses the enemy suffered.

The British marched on to Washington and burned the Capitol, the White House, and the navy yard, including all the ships anchored there. President Madison and other high officials fled into the countryside. On September 13 the Americans mounted strong resistance to an attack on Baltimore. The unsuccessful British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words of the 'Star-Spangled Banner,' which became the national anthem of the United States. See also Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

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