There were many reasons for why the war started. One reason why the war started is the British were being unfair to the Native Americans. In the fall of 1811 William Henry Harrison led U.S. troops to victory in the Battle of Tippecanoe. After the defeat, many Indians from the NW territory thought that they needed support from British forces in order to prevent American settlers from pushing them further out of their lands.
At the same time, in late 1811 the War Hawks were putting more and more pressure on Madison, and on June 8, 1812 the president declared war on Britain. Though Congress voted for war, both the House and Senate had different ideas on the issue. Most Western and Southern congressmen supported the war. U.S. forces …show more content…
troops were at the time. On the British side, they had a well managed defense by a British soldier and administrator in charge in upper Canada. On August 16, 1812, the U.S. suffered a humiliating defeat. They were defeated by Brock and Tecumseh's forces after they chased those led by Michigan.
For some American forces things looked better, like for the United States in the West. Harrison was able to retake Detroit with a victory in the battle of Thames, where Tecumseh was killed. Meanwhile, the U.S. navy had been able to score a few victories over the Royal Navy in the early months of the war. After the defeat of Napoleon’s armies in April 1814, Britain was able to turn their full attention to the war effort in North America.
On September 11, 1814, at the Battle of Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain in New York, the American Navy defeated the British fleet. On September 13, 1814, Baltimore’s Fort McHenry took on 25 hours of British Navy Bombardment. The next morning, the fort’s soldiers put up an American flag, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem that is now a song called “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It was originally set to a tune of an old English drinking song, which would later turn into the U.S. National Anthem. British forces left Chesapeake Bay and began gathering their efforts for a campaign against New