Causes of the War of 1812

This article is reprinted from Kathleen Powell's weekly article in the Niagara Falls Review. The original article appeared on July 20th, 2007 -

One of the most complicated things about the War of 1812 is how it started. This war was basically a sideshow to a larger world war - the Napoleonic War - raging in Europe at the same time and the major causes of the War of 1812 can be attributed directly to complications resulting from the European conflict. I will try to make this clearer in the most painless manner possible!

So let's take the three main causes of the War of 1812 and make them a bit easier to understand:

1 - The Impressment of U.S. citizens into the British Navy.

The British Navy was the largest and most powerful navy in the world in 1812 and required a significant number of sailors to keep the fleet running. Being a sailor in the Royal Navy was not an easy life, you were shut up in a small space with poor quality rations and little chance for shore leave. Pay was frequently in arrears and discipline could be harsh and once in the Navy you were there for life. Because of the conditions of Royal Navy service, it is not surprising that it was sometimes difficult to keep men - the desertion rate was high - 500 men per month during the Napoleonic Wars. (Hickey p. 19)

The answer to this was to send the press gangs out to "recruit". The British Navy also claimed the right to remove men from U.S. ships, but only from neutral vessels on the high seas - which the U.S. did not contest. "The real problem was that the Royal Navy impressed British subjects and (by accident, negligence, or design) native-born American citizens from American merchant ships. The British practice sometimes left American vessels (which usually sailed with smaller crews than their European counterparts) dangerously shorthanded, forcing an unscheduled and costly detour to the nearest port to find replacements. More importantly, it deprived American citizens of their freedom." (Hickey p. 20)

To express in words the feeling of the American people about Impressment, here follows a direct quote from President James Madison's War Message to the American Congress on June 14th, 1812:

"The practice, hence, is so far from affecting British subjects alone that, under the pretext of searching for these, thousands of American citizens, under the safeguard of public law and of their national flag, have been torn from their country and from everything dear to them; have been dragged on board ships of war of a foreign nation and exposed, under the severities of their discipline, to be exiled to the most distant and deadly climes, to risk their lives in the battles of their oppressors, and to be the melancholy instruments of taking away those of their own brethren." (http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/scripps/digitalarchive/speeches/spe_1812_0601_madison)

2 - British Orders-in-Council which restricted U.S. trade rights in Europe and at sea.

Of the three major causes of the War, the Orders-in-Council were the most important. Essentially the Orders-in-Council dealt with British restrictions on neutral trade rights on the seas. There were three sets of Orders-in-Council:
· January 1807 - Prohibited neutrals from trading between enemy ports.
· November 1807 - Forced neutrals trading with the European continent to ship their goods through Britain.
· April 1809 - Barred all trade with any European ports between Germany and Italy. (Hickey p. 23)

As a sovereign nation, it is obvious why the Americans were not happy with the Orders-in-Council. In the mind of United States politicians and business men, what right did the British have to decide who the U.S. would trade with and when. Interestingly, the Orders-in-Council were repealed by British on June 16th, 1812, two days before the War started. Due to the length of time it took for news to travel between the two countries, the United States didn’t get word of the repeal until it was too late to make any difference.

3 - The belief by some in the U.S. that the frontier warfare with the Native Americans was being incited by the British.

This was one of the lesser causes of the War of 1812. There was constant pressure from American settlers on the Natives living in Western North America to give up their land and move west. At the same time, the British had strong ties to the Natives through established trading relationships. Understandably, the British wished to retain this relationship should a war happen. While the British had strong ties to the Natives, it is not likely that they would have incited a war or participated in their frontier wars just to keep them happy.

These are the three most commonly cited causes of the War of 1812 and by no means are they cut and dry. To these could be added a number of other minor causes, but that is for another day!

Sources:

Hickey, Donald, Don’t Give Up the Ship! Myths of the War of 1812; Robin Brass Studios, (Toronto, ON) 2006.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsp&fileName=003/llsp003.db&recNum=276

http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/scripps/digitalarchive/speeches/spe_1812_0601_madison

Drummond Hill Cemetery Tours

Take the tour and hear life stories of some of the prominent figures of Niagara Falls buried in Drummond Hill Cemetery, as portrayed by local actors. Stepping back in time to the early 1900's and embarking from the Battle Ground Hotel Museum, you are led on a tour of the cemetery by William Dalton, the Superintendent of Drummond Hill Cemetery through the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. This historic cemetery, opened in the late 1790's and still in use today, is in the area of the fiercest fighting of the Battle of Lundy's Lane.

This program is not recommended for children below the age of 8.

October 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 at 7:00 and 8:00 pm

Tickets: $8.00 Avaliable at the Lundy's Lane Historical Museum - Get them early, tours sell out quickly!

The 193rd Anniversary of the Battle of Lundy's Lane - July 25th, 2007.

Every year on the Sunday closest to the Battle of Lundy's Lane, the Lundy's Lane Historical Society carries out a Commemorative Service to remember those soldiers who died during the Battle of Lundy's Lane. This battle was one of the most significant of the War of 1812, virtually stunting the U.S. attacks into Upper Canada and changing the direction of the War.

The following is a short synopsis of the Battle of Lundy's Lane for your enjoyment!:

After taking Fort Erie and Chippawa in early July, 1814, American forces under the command of General Jacob Jenning Brown were camped at Chippawa, waiting for an opportunity to slip past General Riall and meet U. S. Commodore Chauncey by July 10th at the mouth of the Niagara River in present day Niagara-on-the-Lake.

In preparation for an attack on Fort George in July, Brown instructed Brigadier-General Winfield Scott to march north from Chippawa, along the shore of the Niagara River to Lake Ontario. When he was in the vicinity of the Falls, Scott caught sight of a few British officers but was not alarmed until he neared Lundy’s Lane when he saw the Canadian and British forces led by Brigadier General Phineas Riall, near a church at the top of the hill. Riall was forming his troops to withdraw to St. David’s, having been ordered, by Drummond, not to fight unless it was unavoidable.

While Scott arranged his brigade into battle formation and sent a messenger to request that Brown send the remainder of the American Forces immediately, Riall began to withdraw his forces. General Drummond, however, arrived with reinforcements from York (present day Toronto), and met Riall at Muddy Run (present day Valley Way) and ordered him to return to Lundy’s Lane. Drummond ordered the British cannons to be placed on a slope by the church and deployed his forces for battle.

Although Scott realized that his men were outnumbered, his Brigade could not retreat without making itself vulnerable to an attack and thus, at 6:00 pm, with the British army barely assembled, Scott attacked the left of the British formation. The 25th Infantry, led by Major Thomas Jessup, circled through the woods east of Portage Road, outflanking the left section of the British troops. In this operation, Riall, who had been seriously wounded, was captured. By 9:00 pm, reinforcements arrived on the battlefield in the form of Ripley’s and Porter’s Brigades for the Americans, and the 103rd regiment under Hercules Scott, a company of the 8th, the flank companies of the 104th and militia for the British. These reinforcements brought the number of troops up to 3700 for the Americans and 3600 for the British.

Upon arrival, American Major-General Jacob Jenning Brown realized that the key to success or failure would depend on possession of the guns on the slope, and therefore sent Colonel James Miller and the 21st infantry to charge the guns. All British gunners were killed, wounded, or captured, and the Americans gained possession of the hill.

The Battle continued for several more hours, during which time Drummond and his weary troops repeatedly charged the equally exhausted American soldiers, with little change in position. Just before midnight, Brown was taken off the field wounded. Command of the Army was to pass to Scott, who was also taken off the field wounded. Brown finally located Brigadier General Ripley and turned command over to him. Although seriously wounded, Drummond rallied his troops for one last charge around midnight and upon reaching the artillery, could see the remnants of the US Infantry retiring back to Chippawa for want of food, water, and ammunition.

A scene of carnage greeted the soldiers on the morning after the battle: dead horses and bodies of both American and British soldiers were piled on the battlefield. The armies suffered heavily, with 867 British and Canadian and 861 American soldiers killed, wounded and captured. The Battle of Lundy’s Lane has often been called the “fiercest and bloodiest battle” of the War of 1812.

A battle memorial known as the “Soldier’s Monument” was created by the Canadian Parliament through local subscription of funds and unveiled by the Lundy’s Lane Historical Society on July 25th,1895. The Monument marks the remains of 22 British soldiers whose remains are interred in the vault below.

Ivan's Hysterical Historical

Ivan Idea, why not visit the Lundy's Lane Historical Museum and take part in Ivan Idea's Hysterical Historicals - a series of five Day Camps designed to break the boredom of those lazy summer days! Come for all 5 days, or just pick one or two!

This series of One-Day camps is designed for kids 8-12 years old.

There is a theme for each day:

• Monday, July 16th - Histories Mysteries - Explore the mystery of archeaology and the nature of mysteries throughout history.
• Tuesday, July 17th - Dragons in Midst! - The fascinating world of dragons is this day's fun adventure!
• Wednesday, July 18th - Electrify Me! - The power of Niagara Falls and the making of power from water.
• Thursday, July 19th - There Be Pirates! - Who wouldn't want to come out and play pirates?
• Friday, July 20th - Wizards, Magic and Spells...Oh My! - Why not spend the day looking at the history of magic!

Cost for the day camps is $20.00 per day with multiple child discounts available.

For more information you can call the Lundy's Lane Historical Museum at 905-358-5082

Between 2000 and 2001, the Willoughby Historical Museum received several items recovered by divers from the Niagara River near Historic Fort Erie over a period of several years. The material consisted of several different types of artifacts, such as crockery, glass bottles and military material.

It is from this material that I have chosen the following artifact to highlight. In the 1970s, a local diver recovered an unfired complete piece of grapeshot from the river. As he had done with many of the other objects that he had recovered, he treated the grapeshot with a liberal coating of lacquer. He proudly displayed it on his mantle until his death, at which time it passed to a fellow diver, through whom it eventually found its way to the Museum. Unfortunately, the coating of lacquer made the grapeshot quite unrecognizable to most people, and rather unfit for display. It was in this condition that I found it tucked away in a box in our storage room as I was catching up on our accession records. It intrigued me and I did some research.

What we have is an early form of grapeshot referred to as quilted grapeshot, a common anti-personnel ordinance on naval vessels. It consists of several iron balls (nine in our case) arranged around a spindle and bottom. The balls were often wrapped in a canvas bag drawn tightly around the spindle and held in place by a cord or wire. Often it was also painted red. It can likely be dated to later than 1800, since before then the spindle and bottom were made of wood, whereas most afterwards, like ours, are metal.

As the accompanying picture shows, the grapeshot is quite rusty, likely from many long years immersed in water, and several of the balls have become loose from the main body. The deterioration from being submerged has also obliterated any evidence of red paint, but there were fabric impressions in the rust of the iron balls, supporting the theory that at one time the grapeshot was wrapped in a fabric such as canvas.

Battle of Chippawa Anniversary Today

On July 3rd, 1814 American forces crossed the Niagara River from Buffalo to take Fort Erie marking the beginning of the Niagara Campaign of the War of 1812. British forces moved from Fort George to defend against the invasion, the main body of which stopped at Fort Chippawa on the north side of Chippawa Creek (Welland River) near its entrance to the Niagara River. On July 4th, U.S. forces proceeded north along the Niagara toward Chippawa and met a British Corps of Observation and followed in close pursuit to the Chippawa Creek. Upon arrival and seeing an assembly of British troops at the fortified bridge, the Americans returned to the south side of Street’s (Ussher’s) Creek to camp, sending pickets to watch for attack.

Early on July 5th, American pickets began skirmishing with approaching Canadian Militia and British Allied Native Warriors. Eventually American Militia and Allied Native Warriors set out to clear them, only to be met by a large body of British Regulars. In the battle that ensued a highly trained U.S. force led a devastating attack pushing the British, Canadian and Native forces back across the Chippawa Creek.

Of the 4000 British, Canadian, American and Native forces who bravely fought in the Battle of Chippawa, over 800 lay dead or wounded. Local men of the 2nd Regiment of Lincoln Militia who took part in the battle were witness to the loss of family, neighbours and comrades as well as the devastation of their businesses, farms and homes. In the engagement at Chippawa the regiment is said to have suffered the highest casualty rate of any Canadian sedentary militia unit during the war. Ensign George Rowe lost his father Captain John Rowe, a pregnant Lydia Peer lost her husband Stephen Peer, and Christopher Buchner lost his brother-in-law James Forsyth, beside whom he fought. In Chippawa, Captain Hamilton Merritt of the Militia Cavalry commented that evening, that "every house" was "filled with the wounded".

The Battle of Chippawa marked the coming of age for the American Army being the first occasion in the War of 1812 in which an equal force of American regulars prevailed against British regulars in battle on an open plain. The grey uniform worn by Scott’s Brigade at Chippawa now acts as an inspirational reminder to the United States Military Academy of the battle which is considered by some to be the birthplace of the modern American Army.

As the field returns to nature very little evidence remains of the bloody exchange. Today 300 acres (121 hectares) of the site remains as a rare example of a largely undeveloped War of 1812 battlefield and is preserved by the Niagara Parks Commission as an historic site. A memorial cairn commemorates the brave men who fought and the lasting peace enjoyed in their memory. Informative panels provide an illustrated guide to this important event in the history of North America.

A small memorial ceremony by the Niagara Parks Commission will take place this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. on the hallowed grounds located just south of Chippawa on the Niagara Parkway.

The Rainbow Bridge over the Niagara River

What a feat of engineering to span the Niagara Gorge!

Before bridges were constructed over the Gorge, travellers wishing to get from Canada to the United Sates or vice versa would have to travel by Ferry or during the winter months, navigate the treacherous ice bridges!

While not the first bridge over the Niagara, the Rainbow Bridge is a marvel of beauty and modern engineering.

Construction on the Rainbow Bridge began on May 4th, 1940. In its current location, the Rainbow Bridge is 1,000 feet (305m) north of the American Falls. The Niagara Gorge is 200 feet (60m) deep and approximately one thousand (1,000) feet (305m) wide.

The water current under this bridge averages 26-30 miles per hour. The water depth is in excess of 175 feet (53m). In one minute it is estimated that six billion (6,000,000,000) pounds of water cross under the Rainbow Bridge.

The span of this bridge is 950 feet (289.5m). Each of the main arch abutments is located 50 feet (15m) from the river's edge and 50 feet (15m) above the surface of the water. The abutments and the approach spans rest on solid rock on the sides of the gorge and are high enough to avoid ice damage. The main span of this hinge-less arch type bridge, consists of two steel box girder arches - or ribs - spaced 56 feet (17m) apart. Each arch is made up of 24 sections, 12 feet (4m) high and each weighing 49 to 75 tons.

Approximately 3500 tons of steel were used in the two ribs and 2,000 additional tons of steel in the superstructure and decking. The two ribs are braced together with steel members for rigidity and to resist wind pressures. Steel spandrel columns, resting on the arch ribs, support steel floor beams, stringers and the concrete deck of the roadway above.
With all the sections in place, a closing section of steel measuring approximately eleven inches was used to join the 475 foot (145m) sections extending from each shore. This was later replaced with a permanent piece designed for temperature expansion and contraction and was machined to a tolerance of within one-one-hundredth of an inch. With this piece in place, the arch became self supporting upon its abutments.

The deck of this bridge is 202 feet (61.5m) above the water surface and with the approaches measures 1,450 feet (442m) long.

During construction, life nets placed under the bridge caught those workers who accidentally fell from the structure so that their was no loss of life.

The official opening of the Rainbow Bridge took place on November 1st 1941.

source: www.niagarafrontier.com/bridges.html