War of 1812 TIMELINE RED TEXT represents action that is part of the War of 1812 Chesapeake Campaign. 1812 June 18: At President James Madison’s urging, America declares war against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. June 23: The U.S. frigate President , commanded by Commodore John Rodgers (a Havre de Grace, Md. native), fires the first shots of the war while sparring with the frigate HMS Belvidera below Nantucket Island. July 12: General William Hull sets off on an invasion of Canada. One month later, Hull surrenders Fort Detroit (Michigan) to the British and is court-martialed. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM, GREENWICH, ENGLAND MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY Above: Escape of HMS Belvidera June 23, 1812 . Left: This circa-1812 painted wooden barrel canteen belonged to Private Augustus Sadler. The No. 48 refers to the soldier’s numbered listing on the muster roll. January 18–23: British and Indian allies repel American troops at the Battle of Frenchtown (Michigan). Dozens of American survivors are massacred the next day. May 3: British raiders destroy most of Havre de Grace despite Lieutenant John O’Neill’s heroism attempting to defend his hometown. O’Neill is captured. 1813 THE BEGINNING Americans had won their hard-fought independence from British rule a mere three decades earlier. Now, amid raging debates regarding issues of free trade and westward expansion, the young United States once more declared war against Great Britain. Britain, intending to strike a blow against Napoleonic France, had imposed restrictions against American trade with the European continent. The Royal Navy also intercepted U.S. merchant ships in order to seize seamen and conscript them into service. At the same time, the British united with American Indians to obstruct U.S. expansion into disputed territories along the Great Lakes and Northern Frontier. Even as the fighting began, America remained divided on the exact course to take. The odds were stacked against the United States, which had only June 1: Mortally wounded in a naval battle off Boston Harbor, Captain James Lawrence of the USS Chesapeake delivers one last order to his crew: “Don’t give up the ship!” But the frigate, which had also been involved in an 1807 incident that was a precipitating factor in the war, is captured by the British vessel HMS Shannon and taken into service by the Royal Navy as the HMS Chesapeake . (Continued on page 6) Star-Spangled Banner Travel Guide | 5
Star-Spangled Banner Star-Spangled Banner 2018: Page 5
