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STARS, STRIPES AND A PINE

Stars, Stripes and A Pine, Post #1:

The War of 1812 was meant to be a quick war, an easy war, a “Second War of Independence” that would be as great as the first…or at least, would’ve been. No-one expected a British victory in Baltimore. No-one anticipated the death of Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. And no-one expected the Northern states to be ripped away… [1]

American performance during the conflict was very poor. Despite scoring a few crucial victories during the early years of the conflict, American troops were falling back on almost every front by 1814. The unexpected British victory at Baltimore left some of the country’s most important cities open for capture. Philadelphia would fall only a few months later.

The utterly humiliating Treaty of London (1815) saw the United States lose nearly half of its states to the newly created Republic of New England. Although it was pretty much a buffer state, designed to protect Britain’s holdings in Canada, many couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment: talk of New England seceding had been present since the beginning of the century, most of it stemming from the Embargo Act of 1807, though this piece of legislation was repealed just a few days before James Madison took office. Being forced to recognize New England caused serious damage to Madison’s reputation, already low because of his administration’s perceived incompetence during the War of 1812.

A new border was also agreed upon between the US and Canada: a simple straight line, stretching from the now Canadian province of Wisconsin to the Pacific Coast (though the latter wouldn’t become official until 1845). Skirmishes between British and American soldiers on the borders of Wisconsin and Michigan would go on for many years. With the Democratic-Republicans having lost a significant amount of support, the 1816 election was won by Federalist candidate Rufus King… [2]



Bombardment of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore (1814)

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[1] I couldn’t really think of a single POD for this timeline, so i have the British, either through better planning or sheer luck, score more victories in the War of 1812, allowing them to claim victory and press their demands.

[2] More detail in a future post…
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