Operations

the St.

James Yeo kept maneuvering for advantage and avoided a decisive action, so that the advantage was now with one side and now with the other. An American force landed at York, the present Toronto, and burned on Lake the parliament house, which later gave the British Ontario and a pretext for burning the government buildings Lawrence, at Washington. In October, 1813, General Wil- 1813 kinson left Sackett's Harbor with 3000 men and moved down the St. Lawrence against Montreal, but suffered a disgraceful repulse at Chrystler's Farm. Meanwhile General Wade Hampton, who had marched from Plattsburg to the St. Lawrence with 4000 men to coöperate in the attack on Montreal, grew tired of waiting for Wilkinson and returned to Plattsburg without orders. Hampton resigned from the service and Wilkinson was whitewashed by a courtmartial. At the close of the campaign on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence neither side OPERATIONS AROUND NIAGARA. had any marked advantage.

Each occupied about the same territory that it held at the beginning.

Fighting

The American campaign of 1814 was better managed on the Canadian frontier. General Jacob Brown was placed in command of the whole Ontario line. He collected his forces at Sackett's Harbor and then around advanced to Niagara, where General Winfield Niagara, 1814 Scott had his little force well organized and disciplined. The Americans crossed the Niagara River and on July 5 Scott gallantly won the battle of Chippewa, the American loss being 297 and the British 515. Ten days

later, the main body under Brown having joined Scott, a desperate battle was fought at Lundy's Lane. The Americans claimed the victory, but their losses were heavier than the British and they soon retired to Fort Erie, where they remained shut up by the British until they finally recrossed the river. This was the end of offensive operations against Canada.

Meanwhile Napoleon had been overthrown and in May England had made peace with France. The British govern

The British take the offensive

ment at once decided to tighten the blockade and to send to America a large force of veteran troops, trained in the wars against Napoleon. The British were now in a position to assume the offensive and four separate attacks were planned. One expedition occupied the coast of Maine as far as the Kennebec, another attempted an invasion of New York by way of Lake Champlain, a third was sent to the Chesapeake to attack Washington and Baltimore, and a fourth was sent to capture New Orleans. The outlook for Americans was dark.

The British advance

from Canada checked by Macdonough's victory on Lake

During the summer of 1814, General Prevost advanced from Canada to the lower end of Lake Champlain with a force of 11,000 men. He could proceed no farther without gaining control of the lake, which was commanded by a small naval force under Captain Thomas Macdonough. There was also a force of 2000 American troops at Plattsburg Champlain, commanded by General Macomb. A desperate battle on the lake occurred off Plattsburg September 11. At the end of two hours Macdonough's principal ship, the Saratoga, was disabled and the British seemed to have the victory in their grasp. Macdonough skillfully managed, however, to let one end of his ship swing around with the current so as to present a new broadside to the British. After another half hour's fighting the British ship Confiance struck her colors and the others soon

September

II, 1814

followed.

Macdonough's victory was the most decisive of the war, for Prevost's force of 11,000 men at once began the retreat to Canada.

ton

The Chesapeake expedition was purely punitive. The British had no idea of permanently occupying any territory in this region. They entered the Patuxent River The burning August 18, 1814, and marched unopposed to of WashingBladensburg, five miles from Washington. Here on August 24, 4000 British regulars easily routed the illorganized force of between 6000 and 7000 militia which had been hastily collected to oppose

them. The British then entered Washington, burned the Capitol, White House, and several other public buildings, and retired without opposition to their ships in the Patuxent.

Proceeding up the Bay the British anchored off the mouth of the Patapsco on Sep- The attack tember 11. The troops on Baltiwere landed at North more Point, twelve miles from Baltimore, while the ships proceeded up the river to bombard Fort McHenry. Next day occurred the battle of North Point. As the British advanced up the peninsula they were attacked by the militia and their commander, Major General Ross, was killed. They continued the advance and drove the Americans back into the trenches before the city, but as these were filled with 14,000 militia, the British hesitated to press the attack. Meanwhile the fleet had failed to take Fort McHenry, so the invading force decided to reëmbark and retire. During the bombardment of the fort Francis Scott Key, who had been detained aboard one of

the British ships, was inspired to write the "Star-Spangled Banner."

The Battle

of New Orleans, January 8, 1815

In the late autumn of 1814 Great Britain sent a force of over 10,000 men, composed mainly of Wellington's seasoned troops, to the mouth of the Mississippi River for the purpose of capturing New Orleans and gaining control of the Louisiana territory. Andrew Jackson, who had recently been appointed major general and placed in command of the Southwest, was at Mobile, which had been lately occupied by American troops, when he learned that the British were about to attack New Orleans. Calling on the militia of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia to follow him, he at once set out for the scene of action and threw himself with great energy into the work of preparing the city for defense.

On January 8, 1815, Jackson won a brilliant victory over the British. He had fortified himself strongly about five miles below New Orleans. He had with him about 4000 troops, mostly militia, but expert marksmen. The British commander, General Pakenham, advanced cautiously with a division of 5000 men and tried to carry the American trenches, but he was repulsed with heavy losses, mainly through the superiority of the American riflemen, who picked off the British with unerring accuracy. Three of the British major generals were killed, among them Pakenham, and their total losses were over 2000, while the Americans lost only 71.

The battle of New Orleans caused great rejoicing throughout the country, but it did not affect the outcome of the war, for the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent two weeks before it was fought. Its effect on the course of American history, however, was far reaching, for it brought the West into greater prominence and made Andrew Jackson the military hero and the political leader of that section.

The American peace commissioners, John Quincy Adams,

24, 1814

James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Jonathan Russell, had been carrying on weary negotiations with the British commissioners at Ghent since September. The treaty The British commissioners were overbearing and of Ghent, the American commissioners could not agree December among themselves. Both governments were, however, tired of war, and they finally instructed their commissioners to waive most of the demands which they had been instructed to make. The treaty, which was finally agreed to December 24, 1814, restored things to their former status and contained not a single provision relating to the questions that had occasioned the war. A copy of the treaty reached New York late at night February 11, 1815, and spread quickly through the country concurrently with the news of Jackson's great victory. The people were quite satisfied to let the war close with the battle of New Orleans. New England had for some time been restive under Virginia domination of national politics and during the war the disaffection of this section became a serious question. When war was declared nineteen members of Congress from New England, with several other Federalists from the Middle States, issued an address declaring the war unjustifiable, and when the president called for troops Massachusetts and Connecticut refused to furnish them, claiming that under the Constitution they could not be forced to send their militia outside of the State. Even the navy suffered from the lack of New England support. About half the officers who served during the war were furnished by Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the Southern States; of the remainder the Middle States furnished nearly two thirds and New England a little over one third.

The attitude

of New England during

the war

New England also refused to subscribe to national loans. Of the $98,000,000 borrowed during the war this section subscribed less than $3,000,000. All the while specie was