The War of 1812 is one of the forgotten wars of the United States. The war lasted for over two years, and while it ended much like it started, in stalemate, it was in fact a war that once and for all confirmed American Independence. The offensive actions of the United States failed in every attempt to capture Canada. On the other hand, the British army was successfully stopped when it attempted to capture Baltimore and New Orleans. There were a number of American naval victories in which American vessels proved themselves superior to similarly sized British vessels. These victories coming after victories in the Quasi War (an even more forgotten war) launched American naval traditions.

The United States declared War on Great Britain on June 12, 1812. The war was declared as a result of long simmering disputes with Great Britian. The central dispute surrounded the impressment of American soldiers by the British. The British had previously attacked the USS Chesapeake and nearly caused a war two years earlier. In addition, disputes continued with Great Britain over the Northwest Territories and the border with Canada. Finally, the attempts of Great Britain to impose a blockade on France during the Napoleonic Wars was a constant source of conflict with the United States.

Source: "New Nation: America 1787-1820" CD-ROM, MultiEducator, Inc.

In one of the most important battles of the war, American naval forces, under the command of Commodore MacDonough, defeat a British fleet on Lake Champlain. The American naval victory forces the British to withdraw, and thus ends the British invasion.

The Star-Spangled Banner inspired the American national anthem, which begins with the lyrics, "O say can you see by the dawn's early light." The words were written by Francis Scott Key, a young Washington attorney who, during the War of 1812, sailed to the British fleet to obtain the release of a captured American. Key was detained by the British and was forced to witness from his ship the bombardment of Fort McHenry near Baltimore during the night of September 13-14, 1814. Defended under the command of Major George Armistead, the fort withstood the attack, and the sight of the American flag still floating at dawn inspired Key's verses, which were written on the way ashore in the morning. Oddly enough, the song only became the official national anthem by executive order of President Wilson in 1916 and his order was only confirmed by an act of Congress in 1931. The flag that inspired the song was sewn by Mary Pickersgill, a local resident of Baltimore. Major Armistead, anticipating an attack by the British, had asked her to make the flag extra-large so as to be plainly visible to the English fleet. The final size of the flag was 42 feet by 40 feet. The flag stayed within the Armistead family for generations after the war, and much of it was given away as souvenirs before its importance to the nation was recognized. The flag's dimensions are now 34-by-30 feet, a loss of nearly one-fifth its original size. The flag is being refurbished at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
Prepared by Gerald Murphy (The Cleveland Free-Net - aa300) Distributed by the Cybercasting Services Division of the National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN).