The War of 1812



The War of 1812

Introduction

The War of 1812 was fought primarily by two countries; namely, the United States of America and Great Britain. However, Canada was added to the war when American forces tried to capture the country as a tactical move. The War of 1812 was the worst war in American History. There are several reasons for this war to have been the worst fought war. Firstly, the Americans were not prepared for a war when it was declared. Secondly, the navy did not exist, and the army was undermanned, poor trained and overly confident. Thirdly, there was widespread prevalence of poor military leadership. Additionally, there was a lack of supplies and the militia refused to cross over to Canada in an attempt to occupy the country. The American capital was burned to the ground by the Canadians. The Americans under estimated the power of the Canadian militia. America had to face the bout of failure many times during the war. The British forces were able to destroy the American territory along with the Canadians. However, the end of the war had some positive effects for the United States like the boost of the manufacturing industry.

Discussion

Both sides in this war had trouble mounting successful offensive operations and had difficulty fighting in the treacherous conditions. Waging war in remote wilderness areas posed such difficult logistical problems that fate typically favored the defending side. Hence, on the battlefield the War of 1812 ended in a draw. In the war at sea, the United States won a series of impressive frigate duels early in the war, but thereafter an ever tightening British naval blockade kept most American warships in port. American privateers did considerable damage to British trade, although getting prizes to a friendly port were always problematical. Moreover, British warships and privateers took a heavy toll on those American merchantmen that ventured to sea. In the end, British naval power triumphed in the war at sea, although the United States made a much better showing than anyone had anticipated.

The United States faced persistent problems raising men and money to fight and finance this war. Despite offering princely bounties (that by the end of the war amounted to two or three times the annual income of an unskilled civilian laborer), recruitment for the U.S. Army always lagged behind need. At the end of the war, army strength was only at around two-thirds of its authorized level. When a major war loan failed in the summer of 1814, public credit collapsed. The government defaulted on the national debt and was forced to rely increasingly on treasury notes. Treasury notes are a form of short-term, interest-bearing paper money that banks and army contractors were increasingly reluctant to accept. Even when treasury notes were offered at discount, they did not want to accept them. Had the war lasted much longer, the popular phrase from the American Revolution, "not worth a Continental”," might have been replaced by "not worth a treasury ...