A Glimpse at History

Because the 1812 Battlefield in Monroe County is now a Nationally recognized Battlefield, it is important for all of us to understand what caused the War of 1812, what Monroe Counties roll in the fight was and what the outcome was. I am going to first take us through the causes of the war.

The immediate causes of the War of 1812 were a series of economic sanctions taken by the British and French against the US. Americans were also outraged at the British practice of impressment, especially after the Chesapeake/Leopard incident in June of 1807. Impressment is the forcing of an individual into military service against their will. The Chesapeake was an American naval frigate and the Leopard was a British vessel both sailing a few miles off the American coast. The Leopard demanded to board the Chesapeake and search the ship for British deserters. The Chesapeake’s commander, James Barron refused, so the Leopard opened fire killing a number of American sailors and wounding even more. The British then sent a party aboard the Chesapeake and dragged four crewman from the vessel impressing them into British service. After the incident, Jefferson ordered British warships to leave American waters and demanded the end to the practice of impressment. The British apologized to a degree, but continued to claim the right to seize American ships and inspect them for deserters.

In addition to impressment and in response to Jefferson demanding that British ships leave American waters, the British imposed new Orders in Council which forbid neutral carriers (which is what the US was) from trading with France. This crippled American trade. The US under Jefferson first tried various retaliatory embargoes. Well, these embargoes hurt the US more than they did the British which angered Americans even more. So, in 1812, with President Madison now in office, Congress declared war against the British.

Filed under: War of 1812 by Savannah Meade