Chapter V - The First North American War | Part 1
"Men of the eleventh! the enemy say we are good at a long shot, but cannot stand the cold iron. I call on you to give the lie to that slander. Charge!"
-Winfield Scott
Presidential Cabinet of Henry Clay:
Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins
Secretary of State: John Quincy Adams
Secretary of the Treasury: Albert Gallatin
Secretary of War: Jonathan Russell (resigned) - Richard M. Johnson
Attorney General: Simon Snyder (died) - William W. Bibb (died) - William Lowndes
Secretary of the Navy: Richard M. Johnson (promoted) - William H. Crawford
Secretary of the Interior: William H. Crawford (promoted) - Langdon Cheves
Upon ascending to the Presidency, Clay crafted a cabinet dominated with War-Hawks and political allies. While initially contemplating selecting his congressional ally John C. Calhoun for the state department, he decided to instead appoint John Quincy Adams so Calhoun could be elected Speaker of the House. Albert Gallatin would be placed at the Treasury Department, and Clay allies Simon Snyder, Richard M. Johnson, and Jonathan Russell were put at the Justice, Navy, and War departments respectively. For Interior, Senator William H. Crawford was chosen, hoping to somewhat please the states rights' Republicans in the party with his selection. Over the course of the war, the cabinet would change frequently. Secretary of War Russell resigned after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Kingston and subsequent defeats in Lower Canada, with Navy Secretary Johnson replacing him. Crawford would be promoted to Johnson's old department, with South Carolinian and Calhoun ally Langdon Cheves being appointed to succeed Crawford. After Attorney General Simon Snyder died in 1819, Georgian War-Hawk William W. Bibb was chosen to replace him, though also died in office with William Lowndes eventually being appointed to fill the vacancy. Secretary of State Adams disagreed at points on how to conduct the war against Clay, with the two feuding regularly near the end of the Presidency, though however Adams would stay in hopes of using the position to elevate his eventual candidacy for the Presidency.
Domestically, Clay would deviate from Jeffersonian domestic policies of low taxation and instead pass the Tariff of 1817, which massively raised tariff rates to help fund the war, much to the chagrin of state's rights' Republicans like Senator John Randolph who would lead his small but
very loud faction to denounce the President and even threaten a Presidential run in 1820.
On June 1st, 1812, Clay sent a message to Congress recounting American grievances against Great Britain, calling on congress to declare war. The House of Representatives took little time to deliberate, before voting in favor of the declaration of war. The Senate also concurred in declaration, soon voting in favor as well. None of the Federalists in congress voted to declare war, while most Republicans dominated by the War-Hawks, voted in confirmation of the war. For the second time in the nation's history, the United States would officially be at war with a foreign power.
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American artillery during the invasion of Upper Canada under the command of B.G. William Hull
To say that either side of the conflict were entirely ready for the conflict would be incredibly false. While the British were mostly at peace in Europe, they had not prepared for a war with the United States and thus Canada was left without many British troops that were necessary for a proper defense. At home in the Union, support for the war was mixed. Federalists strongly opposed the war, viewing it as an unneeded, costly war of expansion while even some Republicans were opposed, thinking America was unprepared for war. However, the War-Hawk dominated Congress would control the war throughout Clay's Presidency, strongly supporting the President in his actions of conducting the war effort.
Through the early part of the war British War Secretary Earl Bathurst urged Lieutenant General George Prévost to maintain a defensive strategy at the start and wait for British reinforcements to arrive. Prévost followed these instructions and concentrated on defending Lower Canada at the expense of Upper Canada, which was more vulnerable to American attacks and allowed few offensive actions. While former President Davie had increased funding for both the Army and Navy, it was still not at Britain's level, and thus the United States hoped for a quick war that would end soon. This "blitz" strategy had worked at first initially, but would soon fail.
Brigadier General William Hull and his army invaded Upper Canada on July 12, arriving at Sandwich after crossing the Detroit River. Due to Davie's military funding, Hull's men would be well trained and disciplined. Hull issued a proclamation ordering for all British subjects to surrender, or "the horrors, and calamities of war will stalk before you". The proclamation said that Hull wanted to free them from the "tyranny" of Great Britain, giving them the liberty, security, and wealth that his own country enjoyed—unless they preferred "war, slavery and destruction". He also threatened to kill any British soldier caught fighting alongside indigenous fighters. Instead of inciting fear into his enemy, Hull's proclamation only helped to stiffen resistance to the American attacks. However, Hull ignored pushback, feeling confident in his strong amount of supplies and artillery that his forces were near unstoppable.
Moving into Upper Canada, Hull was met with resistance by Major General Isaac Brock. Brock and his forces were unable to hold back the American onslaught, and would quickly move back to York. Shortly after Hull's victory against Brock, Major General Henry Dearborn led his troops across the Niagara River, arriving at the city of Hamilton where Hull and his men caught up with Dearborn, combing their forces together for an attack on York. The subsequent Battle of York would be an American victory, though the battle did not have decisive strategic results as York was a less important objective in military terms than Kingston, where the British armed vessels on Lake Ontario were based. However, soon British reinforcements arrived across the Atlantic, and would put an immediate halt to the American's plans. The Battle of Kingston would remain largely important, and both sides recognized the city's value.
American forces would enter into the Battle of Kingston jubilant, preparing for a triumphant victory over the British. However, instead what would occur could only be described as a slaughter. The American commanders had expected a far smaller force to be awaiting them at Kingston, having already blitzed through Canadian defenders at the battles of Chateauguay and Ogdensburg, and were caught off guard by the presence of the much larger army waiting for them, filled with newly arrived British soldiers. Advancing Americans soldiers would be cut down by bullets as they made their away towards the city, the unexpectedly bigger size of the Canadians defence proving to show a difference. General George Drummond would order a counter-assault, leading his men against the Americans, delivering a fatal blow against Hull and Dearborn's troops. While giving orders, Dearborn would be the victim of a Native attack, being killed alongside his men. With Hull now in complete charge, he would be unable to gain control of his men, as they rushed back in retreat. Major General Harrison would intervene, riding on horseback in the face of enemy fire to rally his troops and hold their ground, his valor convincing many men to stop and actually return fire.
Now again in control, Hull would order a tactical retreat, leaving Kingston and the battle lost to the British. Drummond would order a campaign to retake portions in Upper Canada that were lost to the invading Americans, these operations mostly successful, like seen in the British victory at the Second Battle of York. To the east, Lower Canada would also see great new British victories. General Jacob J. Brown would lead an assault into Lower Canada, being repelled by a lesser force of men led by Charles de Salaberry after British reinforcements from the west would arrive later into the Battle. From there, the eastern front would begin to fall apart as General Prevost achieved victories at the Battle of Sherbrooke and Second Battle of Lacolle Mills, but would fail to execute his plan to invade New York. Following the losses in Upper and Lower Canada, Dearborn would be removed from command and replaced by Harrison, who would instead of planning immediate counter-attacks into Canadian territory, would focus on defending the remaining American occupied territory in Upper Canada. Tasked in charge of the eastern theater would be General John Brooks, a man who was elected to the Governorship of Massachusetts in 1816 but resigned upon the outbreak of war, choosing to fight for his country over politics, gaining the praise of citizens and his fellow soldiers alike and becoming a well known figure for his performance in the east.
Caught off guard, the initial American response to the British invasion of Chesapeake Campaign was weak, the area being under-defended and under-equipped. Major General Robert Ross would be tasked with 4,000 Napoleonic War veterans to raid key points on the American coast. The Major General and his men landed at the mouth of the Patuxent River in Maryland with Washington D.C. as his objective on August, 19, and marched as far as Upper Marlboro, Maryland, meeting weak resistance from the unprepared Americans. President Clay would order the defense of Washington paramount, understanding that if it were to fall, so would the American war effort fall. Thus, he would order Brigadier General William Winder to engage Ross at Bladensburg, Maryland, to stop the assault on the nation's capitol.
Outgunned and outmanned, the British would still put put a good fight against Winder and his men, a dangerously good fight at that. While the Americans were better equipped due to new weapons and supplies flowing into Winder's army, his men were not well trained, while on the other hand Ross's men were battle-hardened veterans from the Napoleonic Wars. In what has become known as the
"Echo of Kingston" Winder would be shot from his horse, a British sharpshooter shooting him through the right arm into the chest. The dying Winder would be transported back to the American camp, before quickly dying. The American force now destabilized, Ross took his chance to destabilize it more, exploiting it and launching an attack forward. As American soldiers retreated, young lieutenant Sam Houston would much like Harrison, attempt to rally American soldiers back into the fight and stabilize the defensives, reportedly shouting to runaway soldiers
"...do not be a coward, men ... remember what lay after defeat if you run, we shall not let Washington burn!". Like Harrison before him, the young Lieutenant would be successful, and Major General Winfield Scott
(who had been transferred from Lower Canada) would take command of the field, and lead a successful counter-assault on the British. American artillery soon clearly made a difference, terrorizing the British, forcing a retreat of which Scott would pursue. The Battle of Bladensburg would prove to be revenge for the American loss at Kingston, and also simultaneously raising the national profile of both Major General Scott and the young Sam Houston.
