It is still a couple of months away, but for many North Americans, it will be time for the 1812 overture. No, not the descriptive piece of music by the Russian composer, Tchaikovsky. That one celebrated the fortuitous victory of the Russians over the marauding armies of Napoleon, who had rampaged across Europe and entered Russia in June 1812. It wasn’t so much a case of the Russians winning as Napoleon being forced to abandon hostilities after six frustratingly unsuccessful months – defeated, as the cynics say, by General Hunger and General Winter. Just as Napoleon entered Russia, the United States embarked on a war of its own. It was the first war declared by the new nation, which less than half a century before had, with the expenditure of much blood and treasure, thrown off the shackles of its British rulers and taken its place among the nations of the world.

As the 18th century came to a close, Britain found itself at war with its long-time adversary across the English Channel, France. France had persuaded Spain to return to it the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi River, but now, fearing a possible defeat at the hand of the British and the consequent loss of the territory to Britain, offered it to the fledgling US for the bargain price of US$15 million. Thus, in 1803, the US found itself in possession of a vast new stretch of land extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border and over to the Rocky Mountains. This territory, about one-third the size of today’s United States, at the time doubled the area of the new country.

Relations between the US and Britain after the revolution were essentially peaceful but nervous. Freed from British shackles, the United States had begun developing a large merchant fleet which was vital to its economy for transporting to Europe the cotton, tobacco and other products it had wrested from its fertile land. With no other nation powerful enough to challenge it, Britain by this time was the world’s pre-eminent naval power, having defeated France in the sea battle of Trafalgar. In retaliation, Napoleon decreed that Russia and other European nations cut off trade with Britain, leading the British navy to blockade European ports and prevent ships of other countries from delivering their cargoes.

American producers lost much business, but while many were willing to put up with the blockade because they still had substantial trade with Britain, others, particularly in the south, were furious. As early as February 1812, the US Congress approved the creation of a volunteer army and on June 18, declared war against Britain. Ironically, about a week later, London revoked the restrictions it had imposed on American trade, thus removing one of the main reasons for going to war.

The vast territories north of the border were occupied by small pockets of British settlers in a colony called Canada. Most of the populations were in the eastern portions – today’s Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, together with a strip of land in what is now Ontario. This latter territory was ripe for attack by the Americans, who felt that many in Upper Canada (Ontario) would regard the invading army as liberators and rise up against the British. Many of the settlers there were either United Empire Loyalists – exiles who fled the US revolution, or immigrants who had settled after that war. They were defended by small, poorly supplied British garrisons.

The first American attacks were in Upper Canada, which they figured was the easiest target. Lower Canada (now Quebec) had substantial fortifications and its population centres were much farther away from the US than those in Upper Canada. The maritime provinces were easily protected by the superior British navy. The forces in Upper Canada successfully secured the co-operation of the aboriginal populations, and they comprised a formidable force against the US invaders. Major-General Isaac Brock and the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh were celebrated as brilliant leaders in the early stages of the war before they were killed in battle.

Battles took place in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, along the St Lawrence River, and in Lake Champlain in upstate New York. The last engagement between British forces and Canadian settlers took place at a place called Lundy’s Lane near Niagara Falls late in 1914 and ended up essentially as a draw, with both sides completely exhausted. But a lot of the fighting took place at sea.

Three notable battles are celebrated in American popular history. One is the British storming and burning of Washington, including the presidential residence which, after being repaired and re-painted, became known as the White House. Another was the successful defence of New Orleans, which the British attacked in January 1815, even though the two warring countries had, on Christmas Eve, 1814, signed a treaty to end the war in Ghent, Belgium.

Communications were not what they are today and it took a couple of months for the news to reach the Americans. That decisive American victory made General Andrew Jackson a national hero and ultimately propelled him to the presidency.

Perhaps the most celebrated event of the war for the Americans was the repulsion of a British invasion force at Fort McHenry in the Port of Baltimore, which inspired a poem whose words became the lyrics for the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

The British and their allies had defeated Napoleon in 1814, allowing Britain to deploy larger and more seasoned troops to the US, but by then the Americans had learned from their early failures and fought back tenaciously. France and Britain became allies. Britain ended restrictions on trade and stopped pressing Americans into naval service, one of the irritants which caused the war in the first place. After two years, the chief causes for the war had evaporated, and since neither side no longer had a reason to continue or the chance of scoring a decisive victory, they sued for peace.

After the paperwork was completed, the two countries settled in for a long era of peaceful relations. The US developed a spirt of national unity and a state of good feelings with Canada, which was to become independent more than a half-century later. Neither nation has made much of the war in the past, apart from celebrating this battle or that, although a hard core of history buffs have for decades staged re-enactments, complete with period armaments and dress.

While various Canada-based garrisons scored decisive victories over the American invaders, and the Americans had their share of victories over the British at various points, overall, the war meandered on for two years without any great effect. What it did succeed in doing, however, was to provide a launching pad for a professional US army, navy and marine corps, and to foster a sense of nascent nationhood among the Canadian settlers.

This anniversary – the bicentennial – will be celebrated in both countries, with Canada making much of the event. In launching the anniversary celebrations earlier this year, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore, said the anniversary provides “an opportunity for all of us to take pride in our history”.

keeble.mack@sympatico.ca