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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

WAR OF 1812

LAKE ERIE⁷⁶

⁷⁶First Invasion, The War of 1812, The History Channel CD.

“With God all things are possible,”
Matthew 19:26. KJV

The second war for American independence was known as “The War of 1812.” This war was fought 30 years after our initial war for independence.

In 1812, America was a loose association of scattered states bordered by British controlled Canada to the north, a vast wilderness to the west and miles of ocean to the east. Lonely villages were surrounded by un-chartered and hostile territories. The English wanted to maintain control of the Mississippi Valley. To do this, they encouraged the Indians again to fight the Americans. The British and Indians executed 50 wounded American prisoners near Detroit.

The Americans, at that time, had only one thing in common, and that was their livelihood in one way or another depended on the shipping industry. The British were fighting against Napoleon and the French. To fight this war, they needed manpower for their navy. For nearly ten years, British ships regularly stopped our ships and forced Americans to serve in their war. As stated, the Americans had several complaints against Great Britain but at the top of the list was, Great Brittan was the forcing of American sailors to fight in the British navy.

Despite her eagerness to fight England, the United States was unprepared to wage war. The American infantry was only a collection of small garrisons scattered over the country. None of the officers had any real combat experience, and everyone underestimated the challenge they were facing. On the other hand, the British army was at its best. The soldiers were well trained, had the best weapons in the world, and their officers were young but very experienced!

LAKE ERIE:

Lake Erie was very important in the war between Great Britain and America. Free passage on the lake was necessary to protect supplies and means of communication. Free passage on this lake was crucial for either army to proceed very far against the other. Great Britain ruled the Great Lakes and therefore they had the advantage over the American army. It was obvious that the American military needed a fleet of warships and needed them right away. The city of Erie had a peninsula which made it a good place to build ships in a protective area, but Erie was a town of only 400 people. The town sat on the edge of a vast wilderness and there were no iron works, no canvas factories, and most of all, no cannons. The closest cannons were in Washington which was 250 miles away as the crow flies. The only thing there was plenty of was timber, but there were no sawmills. For a fleet of ships to be built, all the lumber would have to be cut and finished by hand. Ships are made out of well-seasoned lumber that will not shrink. Shrinking lumber causes the cracks to open and allows water to come in. There was no time to season the lumber so the ships had to be made of green wood. Anchors and ropes were hauled in from Pittsburgh. Sail-cloth was carried from Philadelphia. And cannons were brought from Washington. There were no real roads at the time. These materials had to be transported over mountains and across rivers, and that was during one of the worst winters in history. Almost miraculously, in just eight months, six fine ships were ready for battle.

Oliver Hazard Perry was given command of this fleet of ships in the spring of 1813. But Perry had a huge problem, he had no men. He wrote desperate letters to the Secretary of the Navy pleading for men. Eventually, Perry gathered a hodge podge force of sailors, soldiers, marines, and militia from every state in the Union. Nearly 25 percent of the seamen were African Americans. Then, disease ravished the American fleet. Up to one fourth of these men became violently ill, suffering from lake fever and dysentery. The ships were built in the protection of the Erie peninsula, but the British ships formed a blockade which prevented the finished ships from entering the lake.

Mysteriously, on August 1, the British fleet left the harbor and the U.S. ships were able to get out into the lake. At dawn, September 10, 1813, Perry got his first glimpse of the English fleet; and the U.S. fleet immediately sat sail to challenge it. Moments before the battle, Captain Perry hoisted his personal flag that had these words, “Don’t give up the ship.” About noon, the British opened fire at long range. The British ships were equipped with long range cannons while Perry’s ships were equipped only with short range cannons. Perry’s ships took a terrible beating for nearly one-half hour as he slowly sailed straight toward the enemy. Eighty percent of the crew on his flagship were killed or wounded. Realizing that the flag ship was nearly out of commission, Perry switched ships and climbed aboard the ship, Niagara. Suddenly, at just the right time, the main ships in the British squadron rammed each other and became locked together. Perry sprang into action. He broke through the enemy line and raked the sides of the British ships with his cannons. Within 15 minutes, all cannons went silent and the British surrendered. For 300 years, the British Navy had controlled the oceans of the world. They defeated the Dutch, the Spanish, the French, the Swedish, and the Russians. The British had defeated everybody that stood in their path! This surrender was the first time in their history, one of the few times in all history; they gave up an entire squadron of ships to their enemy. This defeat was a tremendous embarrassment for the British and a much needed morale booster to the U.S. This victory gave the U.S. complete control of the Great Lakes, allowed the Americans to secure the North West territory and reopen supply lines into the frontier.

Study Guide

Chapter Fourteen

1. What was the name of the second war for American independence?

2. What was the only real thread that bound the American colonies together in 1812?

3. In 1812, who were the English fighting against?

4. How did England get some of its needed sailors for their fight?

5. Did America have a strong army at this time?

6. Did England have a strong army at this time?

7. Why was Lake Erie important to both the British and the Americans?

8. Who ruled the Great lakes at the beginning of the war?

9. How large was the city of Erie at this time?

10. Did Erie have the saw mills and factories to build ships, sails, cannons, etc.?